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Post by osiris on Aug 27, 2016 22:34:34 GMT -5
So, you've never seen American football / Gridiron, it will look wildly complicated and chaotic without knowing what's going on, so here's a primer to get you started:
The Basics:
Each team has an offense and a defense composed of 11 players, we will discuss the positions later. The purpose of the offense is to move the ball forward on the field until getting it into the opponent's end zone for a Touchdown. If they fail to do this, they can either try to kick the ball through the goalposts for a Fieldgoal, or simply try to move the ball as far away from their own end zone as possible, usually with a Punt. The defense is simply trying to stop the ball from moving towards their own end zone, or to take the ball away from the offense.
The game begins with an event called a Kickoff, this determines the beginning point on the field where the offense will have the ball and begin making plays. (more on this later)
The offense gets to move the ball forward by making 'plays' these plays begin when the offense moves the ball from the point at which it was placed by an official. They end when the player carrying the ball touches the ground with anything other than his hands and feet, if the player steps out of bounds, or if during a forward pass the ball touches the ground. At the end of each play, the official places the ball on the field at the furthest forward point it has traveled, and the offense has a short time (40 seconds) to plan and begin their next play.
After each play of the ball, the "down number" advances (ie. from 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4), if the offense has not moved the ball forward at least 10 yards (nearly 10 meters) at the end of the 4th down, then they lose the ball and the opposing team takes control of it and can use their offense to make plays. However, every time a play ends and the ball has been moved forward at least 10 yards from where it began on 1st down, then the offense is given a "1st down" and the down number is reset at the new current position.
Scoring:
A touchdown is worth 6 points, plus the team gets to make a play called a "Points After Touchdown" play, where they can try to put the ball into the end zone again from 2 yards away for 2 points, or they can kick the ball through the goalposts for 1 point.
A field goal is worth 3 points
A very rare event called a "Safety" is worth two points, plus your team gets to take control of the ball. This only happens when your team's defense forces the opposing team's offense backwards into their own endzone.
How the clock works:
The game is divided into 4 "quarters" of 15 minutes each. At the end of each quarter, teams switch sides of the field so that the game is more fair during windy conditions etc.
There are events that cause the clock to 'pause' and stop counting down: If either team scores, if the offense attempts a forward pass and the ball is not caught, if the player with the ball goes out of bounds, if the offense loses control of the ball to the defense (this is called a turnover), when the referees need to stop play, or when either team calls timeout (Each team gets 3 timeouts per half of the game). The clock will also stop with 2 minutes until the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters of the game (this is called the 2 minute warning)
Managing the time-clock in the game by using the above events, so that your team has control of the ball and is on offense during more of the game than your opponent is a very effective strategy.
Important Terms from this section:
Offense: The team that currently has control of the ball and is attempting to move it forward during plays
Defense: The team that is attempting to stop the offense from moving the ball forward, or take the ball away from them.
Touchdown: When the offense succedes in moving the ball all the way across the field into the opponent's end-zone
endzone: These are at each end of the field, outside the 100 yards of normal play space. They are 10 yards deep.
goalposts: These are the yellow posts above the endzone that form a "U" shape through which the ball must be kicked during field goals or Point after Touchdown kicks
Fieldgoal: When the offense kicks the ball from the field through the goalposts
Point After Touchdown (PAT): After scoring a touchdown, The offense gets to choose to kick the ball or try to put the ball in the endzone again for extra points. (sometimes called an Extra Point attempt)
Safety: When the offense is forced backwards into their own endzone
Punt: When the offense does not think they can get a 1st down and just tries to kick the ball as far away from their own endzone as possible before giving it to the other team
Downs: This is the number of the attempt that the offense has to move the ball forward. They only get 4.
First Down: If the ball is moved far enough forward, the 'down number' is reset to 1
Turnover: When the offense loses control of the ball to the defense
Kickoff: Event at the beginning of the game and after any touchdown/fieldgoal to determine where the offense will begin with the ball.
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Post by osiris on Aug 27, 2016 22:35:33 GMT -5
MORE DETAILS ABOUT OFFENSE
The offense has 11 players on the field at a time. Seven of these players must begin each play in line with the ball where it begins the play. This is called the "Line of scrimmage"
The other 4 players can begin play anywhere they like behind this line (closer to their own endzone)
Offense players cannot be moving forward when the play begins, and only one player is allowed to be moving at all when the play begins, everyone else must be standing still and cannot begin moving until the play begins when the player called the center "snaps" the ball.
A snap is when the ball is removed from the place where the officials put it before the play begins, the instant that this happens, both teams are allowed to then move and cross into their opponent's side of the field.
Lets look at the names of each player's position: Keep in mind the diagram shown below is only an example, and many other 'formations' are possible. (Formations are the different possible places players can begin a play)
BALL
E* LT LG C RG RT E*
QB F*
RB FB
Each position is actually more complex, but the basic idea of each position is given below
LT = Left Tackle. This player must be on the line of scrimmage and is two players to the left of the center.
LG = Left Guard. This player is on the line of scrimmage and is immediately to the left of the center.
C = Center. This player begins with his hand on the ball, when he 'snaps' the ball to a player behind him, play begins
RG = Right Guard. This player is on the line of scrimmage and is immediately to the right of the center
RT = Right Tackle. This player is on the line of scrimmage and is two player to the right of the center.
-The above five players are commonly referred to as the "offensive line". Line men are typically very large very strong players, their job is to protect the quarterback from defensive players during pass plays and to push defensive players out of the way during run plays. These players are not allowed to catch forward passes or to carry the ball forward under normal circumstances.
E* = Ends. These players must begin on the line of scrimmage, but their name and job changes based on how far away they begin from the nearest lineman (The Offensive Tackle on their side)
If they begin very close to the tackle, they are called "Tight End" and will usually share a similar job to the line men, but they ARE allowed to move forward "down field" in order to catch a forward pass.
If they begin very far away from the tackle, they are called "Wide Receiver" and their job then is usually to run very fast into the opponent's side of the field and try to make themselves available to catch a forward pass.
If they begin somewhere between these two positions they are sometimes called a "Split End" and their job can be either one. Ends are usually very tall to make it easier to catch the ball, Wide Receivers are usually faster, but Tight Ends are usually stronger.
QB = Quarterback. This is the 'leader' of the offense. The center usually snaps the ball to him and he will decide to hand the ball to another player, run with it himself, or throw it to another player.
RB = Running Back. This player is the one who the quarterback will usually hand the ball to during running plays. His job is to carry the ball and run forward into the defense's side of the field as far as he can go before his is tackled (knocked down)
FB = Fullback. This player is actually exactly the same as the running back, and has the same job. (It helps to confuse the defense so they dont know who will have the ball). However a "Fullback" is traditionally a larger, stronger player who is not as fast as a running back, but is powerful enough to knock defending players out of the way on his own.
F* = Flanker. This player is very similar to a wide receiver (and is often called that because they have the same job) however, he must begin play behind the line of scrimmage and not on it. This player is often used to make complex plays designed to confuse the defense so they do not know where the ball is going.
**MORE TO COME ON THIS TOPIC**
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Post by osiris on Aug 27, 2016 22:35:51 GMT -5
MORE DETAILS ABOUT DEFENSE
The defense positions are much more difficult to describe than offense, because they do not have as many rules about where they are allowed to begin or how they are allowed to begin play.
For the sake of simplicity, we will describe the 11 defensive players by separating them into three groups of players:
Defensive Line (DL)
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive Backs (DB)
There are a lot more possible 'defense formations' possible but a common example would be like this:
BALL
DB(C) DL DL DL DL DB(C)
LB LB LB
DB(S) DB(S)
The example above is a defense called the "4-3" because it has 4 defensive line men and 3 line backers, another common defense will switch this and have 3 line men and 4 line backers, but other combinations are also possible.
Again, This is a simplified description of each player's job:
The defensive line includes: Defensive Tackles (players closest to the ball) and Defensive Ends (players near the ends of the offensive line men players) These are usually very large, very strong players. As soon as the offense snaps the ball, their job is to smash through the offense players (usually the offensive line) and stop whoever has the ball. Because of this, they usually begin play as close to the line of scrimmage as possible.
Linebackers include: Inside Linebackers (closer to the center of the field) and Outside Linebackers (closer to the edges of the field or sidelines). These players usually help direct the actions of the defense as they have a good view of the entire field before each play begins. Typically the Linebackers job is to stop any offense player who makes it past the defensive line with the ball, and to prevent offense players from catching passes near their area of the field.
Defensive backs include: Cornerbacks (labeled C above) and Safeties (labeled S above). Cornerbacks usually line up near any offensive receivers or flankers. Their job is to prevent the offensive player from catching any passes, or to prevent offensive runners from trying to run around the line men. They can only shove the offense player when they are very near the line of scrimmage, and after that they are not allowed to interfere with the receiver, so they must be fast enough to keep themselves between the receiver and the quarterback, so that if a ball is thrown, they can prevent the ball from getting to the receiver (or catch it themselves, called an 'interception').
Safeties are a catch-all defensive player, they usually watch the offense as the play begins and then once they figure out where the offense is trying to take the ball, they prevent it. They can run up and help tackle running backs, or help the cornerbacks prevent the offense from passing the ball and everything in between.
The defense is allowed to be moving as much as they want even when the play begins. This is because they do not know when the offense will snap the ball and begin each play. But they cannot cross the line of scrimmage before the play begins or it can be a penalty (more on penalties later). When the defense has some of their players abandon their position and instead try to run as fast as they can onto the offense's side of the field to stop the play this is called a 'blitz'. If it works, the offense is usually pushed backwards and 'loses yards'. However it is very risky because it takes a defensive player out of position, and the offense can sometimes take the ball where there is no defenders and move it forward very far.
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Post by osiris on Aug 27, 2016 22:36:21 GMT -5
DETAILS ABOUT "SPECIAL TEAMS"
There are a few 'special' plays that do not have the typical offense/defense as described above these are:
Kickoff = This is where one team kicks the ball through the air to the other team. The team that is kicking is called the kicking team and the other team is called the receiving team. The job of the receiving team is to catch the ball and then to "return" it as far foward down the field as they can before the kicking team stops them. Wherever the ball is stopped, this is where the offense will begin to run their plays. The players on the kicking team will try to get to whoever catches the ball as quickly as possible and stop them, and the other players on the receiving team will try to block them and not let them get near their player who has the ball. There are a few events to be aware of during a kickoff:
A "touchback" happens when the kicking team kicks the ball too far and it goes past the receiving team's endzone. When this happens, the offense gets to begin with the ball 20 yards forward (with 80 more yards to go). If the ball lands IN the endzone, the receiving player can choose if he wants to run it out, or to kneel in his own endzone to get a free 'touchback'
If the ball is kicked out of bounds to the left or right, then the receiving team gets to begin with the ball 40 yards forward (with only 60 yards to go)
The other common event is a "fair catch". If a receiving player thinks they can catch the ball, but the kicking players are closing in too quickly, he can waive an arm above his head. If he does so, the kicking team is not allowed to touch him, however he is not allowed to run with the ball after he catches it and the offense will begin exactly where the ball is caught.
A special kind of kick called an 'onside kick' can happen, where the kicking team kicks the ball in such a way that they try to receive their own kick before the opponents can get it. This is very difficult because the ball must bounce first (usually immediately when kicked) and the ball must travel at least 10 yards before anyone from the kicking team is allowed to touch it.
Fieldgoal = This is when the offense does not believe they can move the ball forward enough to get a "first down" or a "touchdown" but they think they are close enough to kick the ball through the goalposts. If they succeed they get 3 points and are allowed to kickoff to the other team. If they fail (by missing or having the kick blocked) then the defense takes control of the ball from that point on the field.
Punt = This happens when the offense does not think they can move the ball forward enough to get a first down and they know that the defense will take control of the ball too close to their endzone. So they can kick it to make it go further away from their endzone. The rules are very similar to the kickoff described above except that the center must still snap the ball back to a kicker instead of the kicker just kicking the ball from the field. Also, during a punt, the kicking team cannot gain control of the ball like they can during a kickoff. They only way they can get the ball back is if a receiving team player touches the ball after it has been kicked but does not gain control of it. If this happens, one of the kicking players can try to get control of the ball instead. However, if the kicking team touches the ball before any receiving team members do, then the play immediately ends and the receiving team gains control of the ball at that exact spot.
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Post by osiris on Aug 27, 2016 22:36:31 GMT -5
DETAILS ABOUT PENALTIES
Ok... this is the most complicated part of the whole game. You should not worry about not understanding all the rules for penalties because there are many people who watch football all of their life and still get confused about penalties. (Actually even some players dont fully understand all of the penalties in the game....) The nice part is, the referees will usually explain any complicated penalties that happen.
Whenever a penalty happens, a referee will throw a yellow flag in the direction of the place where the penalty occurred. In many circumstances, this will NOT stop a play that is currently happening, instead the team can choose to either accept the result of the play, or erase the play and take the benefit of the penalty instead. If they accept the penalty, the down count does not advance (it is like the penalized play never happened) except for Illegal Forward Pass and Intentional Grounding.
I will describe the most common penalties in this section:
Offsides/Encroachment:
This penalty occurs when a player is too far forward and the play begins when he is on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage. It is called encroachment if they touch a player from the other team before the play begins. This causes the ball to be moved 5 yards in the direction of the penalized team's goal instead of any play that happened.
False Start:
This penalty occurs when one of the offense players begins moving before the ball is snapped. The play will immediately be stopped by the referees, the ball will be moved back 5 yards, and the offense must begin again.
Delay of Game:
This is when the offense runs out of time on the 'play clock' and does not begin a play. They usually have 40 seconds between plays to plan their next play and get into position. It is very rare, but the defense can be called for delay of game if they interfere with the referee who is placing the ball at the spot on the field where the offense will start the next play. In either case, the ball is moved 10 yards in the direction of the offending team before beginning again.
Holding:
Offense players may push and shove defense players out of the way, but they are not permitted to grab them or hold them in any way (you must only do pushing to move an opponent)
Defense players can be called for this penalty also in rare cases. The penalty is 10 yards or wherever the penalty happened, which ever is worse.
Pass interference:
If a defense player is touching a receiver when the ball is in the air in such a way that it prevents him from catching the ball, it is a penalty. The offense is given the ball at the place where the penalty happened. The defense player is allowed to touch the receiver within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, but after that must only attack the ball, not the player.
Offense can be called for this penalty as well, if they push the defender away from them before attempting to catch a ball. In this case it is a 10 yard penalty.
Personal Fouls:
These include a lot of different violations, like hitting an opponent in the head, hitting an opponent after a play is finished, using unnecessary violence, acting in an unsportsmanlike manner, hitting a quarterback after he has thrown the ball and more. Yes, it is a violent sport, but there are limits as to how that violence is allowed to happen. These rules are in place to attempt to reduce the number of injuries that could occur. These penalties are typically 15 yards added on to the result of the play (and not instead of the play) so they can be very large penalties. Also, if a referee believes that the player intentionally performed one of these, they can be removed from the game.
Intentional Grounding:
If the quarterback still has the ball, and cannot escape the defense but also does not have anyone to throw it to, he is not allowed to just throw the ball at the ground causing the play to end. (He has to escape the defense players first and the ball has to travel a certain distance, etc) If he intentionally throws the ball at the ground the offense loses 10 yards AND they lose the down that they were currently playing.
Illegal Forward Pass:
If the quarterback tries to throw the ball forward after he has already moved forward of the line of scrimmage (the point where the ball began the play) it is an illegal forward pass. Also, if one player throws the ball forward, the player that caught it cannot also throw the ball forward (only one forward pass per play is allowed). Illegal forrward pass is a 5 yard penalty AND a loss of the down they were currently playing.
Obviously there are others, but this should really cover everything you are likely to see in several NFL games.
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