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Pre-Game

Team Doc |Aug 31,2007

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This section will provide a quick overview of how to setup a football game.

Object of the Game

In the most simplistic sense, football is a strategic battle to move the ball into the opponents' goal area called the endzone for a touchdown(a.k.a. the primary point). A secondary point is earned after each touchdown by kicking the ball through a goalpost or advancing the ball into the endzone again for two additional points.

What makes football fun is the rules and regulations that both protects the players and raises the difficulty of the game to an appreciable level. Because it is a group sport, each player of a team has specific positions in which they function as. The team's coach coordinates how each player should move off the field while the quarterback, the on field leader, fine tunes and adjusts the plans according to how the opponent reacts.

The Field

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

The battleground of football takes place on a rectangular field of real grass or artificial turf whose dimensions are 53 1/3 by 100 yards. Surrounding the rectangle are thick, white borders that are at least 6 feet wide called boundary lines. The white line running parallel to the field(running horizontally in the diagram) are called the sidelines while the white line at the widths of the field(running vertically in the diagram) are called the endlines.

The 100 yards are subdivided into 5 yard increments denoted by lines with every tenth line being labeled with the number of yards to go before a team reaches A Goalpost the endzone the number's triangle points to. Between each yard line and 70 feet 9 inches in bounds from each sideline are hash marks which define where all plays must start. The area between the sideline and a hash mark is called the side zone where plays cannot start. If a play ends on a side zone, then the ball is automatically centered between the hash marks to keep the ball as centered to the field as possible.

Along the widths of the field are 53 1/3 by 10 yard endzones in which balls are advanced by the currently designated offensive team to score touchdowns. Both sides get to "own" an endzone to protect on defense and the opposite endzone, belonging to their opponent, is where the ball is to be advanced to on offense.

Beyond the endzone is a goalpost in which the ball is kicked through for either a field goal or an extra point. Note how the base is padded to prevent injury if and when players accidentally collide into it.

The Ball

A Football The football is an inflated rubber bladder enclosed in a pebble-grained leather cover. On one side of the ball are white sewed laces that allows the thrower to have a better grip on the ball.

The circumference of the ball width-wise ranges between 28 to 28 1/2 inches while the length-wise circumference is 11 to 11 1/4 inches. These dimensions are applied to NFL footballs; the balls used by children are smaller while college footballs vary slightly from professionally-used ones.

Since the football is elongated in shape, the way it is handled, thrown, and bounced is quite different from other sports that use spherical balls. Since the ball varies in width, players with bigger hands grip closer to the middle of the ball while smaller hands have an easier time gripping near one of the ends of the ball. When the ball is thrown, the ball must leave the hand spinning to keep the ball pointed in the same direction of flight(called a spiral). If allowed to hit the ground, the how the football is angled at the moment of impact determines the direction of bounce. If the front of the ball, called the nose, is in front of the rest of the ball, then it will bounce backward away from the direction it was thrown. On the other hand, if the nose is behind the body of the ball, i.e. the rear point of the ball is in front of the body, the ball will bounce forward in the direction in was thrown.

Length of Game

A typical football game is divided into 15-minute quarters. However, games usually last about three hours because the game-clock which displays the amount of time left in each quarter in seconds is stopped many times in the game for various reasons. The quarter ends when game-clock counts down to zero, though any play still unfolding when the clock finishes will be seen until its completion.

After the first two quarters of the game, also known as "the half," there is a 12-minute intermission called the "halftime" for players and spectators to rest. Sometimes, this is also the time when some sort of entertainment occurs to keep the crowd attentive.

Unlike the end of other quarters, the end of the second quarter(i.e. the end of the half) signifies a 'semi-restart' of the game. Normally when a regular quarter ends, the game-clock is reset and the next play continues as if there was never an official break in the game. So if a team was to remain as the offense after the last play before the end of a normal quarter, then the same team continues on with the next play at the start of the new quarter.

After halftime is over, which ever team started as the offense at the beginning of the game automatically becomes the defense at the start of the third quarter(a.k.a. the second half) and vice versa. Moreover, the teams switch sides on the field so that their the endzones they defend become the opponent's endzone.

Reasons When the Game Clock is Stopped

Either team scores
The player holding the ball or the ball itself is out of bounds
The player with the ball is tackled behind the imaginary line where the ball started at the beginning of a play
A time out is called by officials because of player injury; a foul is committed by either teams(after the play is over); a ruling about a play is discussed; a measurement is made to determine if the ball has been advanced enough in a play to allow additional opportunities for the offense possess the ball(called a "first down"); or time is needed for television advertisements to be shown(in commercialized games)
A team calls "time out"
Any activities between plays that occur when the game clock has two minutes left on it(called a "two-minute warning")
In college only, when the offense achieves a first down
The ball changes possessions from one team to the other

Because of the resetting that occurs before the start of the second half, a new kickoff begins the third quarter. Obviously, the team kicking the ball was the team that started the game receiving the ball while the receiving team was once the kicking team.

The Play Clock. In football, each attempt to advanced to ball by the offense is called a play. To insure that the game keeps going at a certain pace, a play clock is used independently of the game clock. In general, the play clock starts counting down from the 40-second mark(30 seconds in college football), although a recent rule mandates the clock to be set at 25 seconds when an event like injuries or time-outs disrupt the normal flow of the game. Within this time, the offense is required to start the next play before the clock reaches zero or else they will be assessed a penalty for a "delay of game."

Ties Lead to Overtimes. In the event that both teams have scored an equal number of points after the fourth quarter ends, a "tie" is declared, there is a three minute intermission, and 15 minutes is added to the game to allow the additional plays. This period known as "sudden-death overtime" ends when one of the teams first scores any point and that scoring team is declared the winner of the entire game. If no points are scored on either sides by the end of the 15-minute overtime, then another overtime is declared and the whole routine occurs again.

Offense & Defense

At any given moment, each team in a game is either on offense or defense. The designation represents both who has possession of the ball and thus able to score and who must keep the other team from advancing the ball into the end zone or scoring by kicking a field goal. The teams switch their roles between offense and defense after a certain amount of plays so that the opportunity to score will alternate as well.

Offense. Usually a team can score points only when it is designated as the current offense. Akin to warfare, the offense's job is to "fight" their way into their enemy's territory by legally advancing the ball to the endzone. Basically, there are only two ways to move the ball forward: 1) Hold the ball and run with it or 2) Throw the ball to a teammate who, upon catching the ball, will continue running with his catch until he reaches the endzone.

Defense. When a team is on defense, its job is to keep the other team, now on offense, from scoring a touchdown by moving the ball into the defense's endzone. How the defense can deter the offense from scoring is by stopping each attempt(called a "play") by tackling the offensive player who is holding the ball. The defense must at least try to keep the ball from moving forward; at best, the defense can even move the the offense's ball backward by tackling the ball-carrier behind where the ball started at the beginning of the play(called the line of scrimmage). If the defense manages to tackle the quarterback holding the ball behind the line of scrimmage, it is considered a "quarterback sack" or just a "sack."

Which Team Starts as Offense and Vice Versa? Before a game begins, how the teams are initially designated as the offense or defense is decided by a coin toss. The visiting team(the team that is "visiting" the other's field) gets to call which face it thinks the coin will land on.

If they are correct, then they decide whether they should kickoff the ball to the offense and thus start the game as the defense or whether they will start the game on offense by receiving the ball from the kickoff. The other team then decides on which endzone to defend when they become the defense. The decision is typically influenced by environmental factors like wind condition or just preference by the team.

If the visiting team incorrectly calls the face of the coin that is showing when it lands, then the home team decides who kicks-off and the visiting team decides which endzone it will defend.

The Scoring System

Normally, only the offense is capable of scoring. For six points, the main way of scoring is called a "touchdown" which is accomplished by having an offensive player carry the ball across the goal line and into their opponent's endzone. Another way the offense can score is by having their "place kicker" kick the ball--called a "field-goal attempt"--from where ever the ball is at the end of the last play through their opponents' goalpost for three points.

After a touchdown, the offensive team can score additional points by either kicking the ball two yards(three in college football) away from the defense's goal line through the goalpost for a "point-after-touchdown"(PAT) worth one point, or they can enact another play two yards from the defense's goal line to try to advance the ball into the endzone once again for two points. This is called a two-point conversion.

Type of Score	Points
Touchdown	6
Field Goal	3
Safety	2
Two-Point Conversion	2
Point-After-Touchdown/Extra point	1

Positions on a Team

Theoretically, one can play football without having any positions at all--as long as everyone follows the rules, there is no need for one person to do a specific thing every play. So, it is legal to have position-less players who, during each play, run in random directions for no reason at all.

Obviously, a strategic game like football is most efficiently played if each player specializes in a certain aspect of the game. Thus, each player can hone their skills in a very narrow range so that each play can be perfectly choreographed and executed to insure the maximum probability of advancing the ball. Football is a very unique sport in which there are even specific offensive and defensive "units"--whole sub-teams that specialize in either earning points, deterring their opponent from gaining ground, or "special teams" that perform only kicking plays. However, there can only be 11 players on the field per team at any given time, so when the ball changes possession, one would often see players rushing on and off the field as the needed roles change. The NFL allows a maximum of 45 players who are actually eligible to play. The extra players beyond the offensive, defensive, and special team units serve as the backup players in the event some players become incapacitated from injuries.

The following are a list of positions typically designated to football players and their job descriptions:

Offensive Positions

Quarterback(QB)--In most cases, the quarterback is the leader of a football team. A quarterbacks is like the platoon Sargent who follows and adds to the tactics used in each play. This occurs when the QB recognizes that the defense's play will render the offense's planned play ineffective. He would then call an "audible" to quickly revert to another play. The play begins when the QB shouts the proper "cadence" or "snap counts" signaling the ball to be "snapped"--i.e. a quick hand-off to the quarterback.

Most of the time, balls are passed by this player so he must be a skillful thrower. As a well-rounded player, the quarterback must also be fast enough to avoid incoming defenders(called "rushers" in general) whose sole purpose is to take him down. If he does make contact with the defense, he must be strong enough to resist being tackled or merely be able to handle a tackle. In addition, the QB must be able to make quick decisions because of the variability that can exist in each play.

In plays that do not have the QB passing the ball, the quarterback himself is not allowed to receive any "forward passes"--passes that result in the ball advancing towards the endzone.

Running Backs--Also known as the "backs", these positions can be separated into both "halfback"(HB) and "fullback"(FB) The two "backs" share similar responsibilities of starting each play close to the quarterback and either block incoming rushers or they have the ball "handed-off" to them in which they will typically run with it. Halfbacks usually tries to avoid contact with the defense in running plays but fullbacks, with their bigger physiques, will try to run through a pack of linemen to score that extra yardage for a first-down or a touchdown.

Wide Receiver(WR)--Obviously, their primary job is to run far away in a certain pattern to elude their defenders and then catch a passed ball. Usually, receivers are fast and quick--they can change their direction with great ease to throw off their defenders--as well as being able to demonstrate great finesse to receive balls that are positioned in a way that makes it hard for them to catch.

Offensive Linemen(OL)--Linemen are the ones who are lined up against the defense and are closest to the ball before play starts. They represent the 'defense of the offense'--their job is to block the rushers from coming in and knocking out the quarterback. Moreover, they can push the defense away a particular area to create a "hole" in which the ball carrier can slip through and run forward. Like the quarterback, OL are not permitted to catch forward passes too.

Tight End(TE)--The player in this position are a hybrid of linemen and wide receivers. He is positioned between the the two and they block and receive on certain plays. Given the nature of the job, the TE must obviously be bigger than wide receivers but they have to be able to catch a ball when the time comes. Since there is only one TE, he can be positioned on either sides of the linemen; the side he is on is called the "strong side" and the other side is called the "weak side."

Defensive Positions

Defensive Linemen(DL)--These guys are out to get the QB or whoever initially has the ball--and that's all they are focused on. Of course, before that happens, they must contend with the offensive linemen so they must be the biggest and strongest defensive players there is.

Linebackers(LB's)--As the versatile defender, linebackers either cover offensive players that get past the linemen or they run with wide receivers to prevent a completed pass. Three or four players can serve in this role but they must have a balance of speed, strength, and quickness.

Defensive Backs(DB's)--As the last line of defense, DB's cover the rear of the rest of the team. This position breaks down to the "safeties" and "cornerbacks"(CB's) which delineate their positions: the safety is centered to the ball while the cornerbacks plays on either sides of the safety. The DB's must be able to predict what a ball carrier will do to intercept and neutralize him as quickly as possible during running plays or they must be able to interpret where the QB will pass the ball to make an interception or at least stop the receiver from advancing any further.

Special Teams

Place Kicker(PK)--This player is the kicker with the least amount of pressure since he is the one who does all the kickoffs and tries to earn the team's point-after-touchdown. It has become prevalent nowadays that PK's kick with the instep of their foot as the approach the ball from the side--they are called "soccer-style" kickers.

Punter(P)--The punter kicks the ball so he must be be able to catch the ball as it is snapped to him, kick it high and long for "hang-time" and distance, respectively, without compromising accuracy.

Holder(H)--His job is to receive a snap and hold the ball on the ground for the place kicker to kick. This is usually the other job the backup quarterback has since he is experience in receiving snaps.

Kick Returner(KR)--During kickoffs or punts, he is usually the player who will catch the ball and try to advance it as far as they can. The players in this position are built for raw speed and quickness when they try to make "runbacks."