How it works:
Football, or American Football as the sport is often referred to Europe, is played by teams of 11 players. The team in procession of the ball, the offense, has the task of running or throwing the ball down the pitch until a player receives a pass or runs across the goal line into the area known as the end zone where points are scored. The defense has the task of stopping the opposition from achieving its goal and can either intercept the ball in open play or prevent the offense from achieving a suitable number of yards within 5 “downs”, in which case the roles are switched and the defending team then becomes the attackers.
The Pitch
A Football pitch is 100 yards long and 53 yards wide, with an additional 10 yards at each end for the end zone, making it a total of 120 yards long. Because of the aim of making a set number of yards on a down, the pitch is marked every 10 yards so that the officials, teams and fans can easily measure progress. The pitch also has a set of posts at each end similar to European rugby although the posts only have one central supporting post, a feature rugby could consider introducing as it halves the risk of player colliding with the supporting posts.
The Periods
Like many other American sports Football is made up of 4 equal periods, each being 15 minutes in length, totaling 1 hour. The half time break is 12 minutes long and each period is broken up a minute break which allows the teams to switch halves. The team with ball does however keep possession of the ball at the end of each quarter with a kick off only being taken to start the game.
In order to keep the game flowing, the offensive team only has 40 seconds to start each play. If they do not “snap the ball off” within this time they are penalized. Although the total length of an American Football game is shorter than European football the game clock is stopped following unsuccessful plays and only restarts with an official spots the ball, the total of 60 minutes represents in play time.
If the game is level at the end of the allocated 90 minutes a period of 15 minutes sudden death is played with a coin toss being the method of determining the team starting in procession.
The Teams
As we have all noticed Football in America involves a huge amount of player rotation with players specializing in one of three areas. Although a total of 11 players is only ever on the pitch at one the team has three separate units which rotate. The offensive unit which plays when the team is in attack, the defensive unit who defend and the special unit which are brought on the special situation such as when the team needs to punt, kick a field goal or for the starting kick-off. This is often a source of amusement for Europeans when we consider that some specialist players earn millions of dollars a year for merely playing a few minutes a week.
Kickoff
Unlike most other sports American football kickoffs are not taken from the half way line, instead they are taken from the kicking team’s 30 yard line. The ball is placed on a small rubber T and a specialized kicker then kicks the ball at the opposing team. This team will then try to catch the ball and advance it as far as possible up the field. Once the player is stopped the point where the offensive team will begin their offence from is set and they will begin their series of downs. If the offensive team catches the ball in their in end zone the receiving player has 2 options. He can either attempt to run the ball as usual or he has the option of simply kneeling down, this is sign that he simply wants to stop play and will his offensive plays will be started from his own 20 yard line.
Downs
When a team is in offence it has the objective of reaching the opposing team’s end zone. In order to do this the team has a set of four downs. If however the team gains 10 yards on one of these 4 attempts the downs are reset and the team gets back to its 1st down, meaning it has another 4 attempts to gain the 10 yards needed. This means that the attacking team can continually reset its progress and maintain procession. Typically when an offensive team reaches down 4 it will call on specialist team and either attempt a field goal or punt the ball as far into the opposition half as possible to make it more difficult for them to score with their 4 downs.
Scoring
In Football there are four ways in which points can be scored:
Touchdown = 6 points
This is when a player is passed the ball or runs the ball in the end zone. A touchdown can also be scored by a defending team is a fumble is stolen in the end zone. When a touchdown is scored the team has the chance to kick for an extra point.
Extra point and 2 point conversion
Following a touchdown the scoring team has two options to get extra points. The ball is placed on the opposing team’s 2 yard line and the converting team can then both start play and try to kick the ball over the posts for an extra point or try and score another touchdown for an extra 2 points.
Field goal = 3 points
A field goal is scored by kicking the ball between the posts. This can happen at any point and on any down. Typically it will be kicked from the opposing teams half and is often a good option on the 4th down when a failed touchdown attempt would result in “turning the ball over” to the opposition with no points being scored.
Safety = 2 points
A safety is scored by tackling an opposing player in his own end zone.
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