How the Game Works, Part 1

Okay Ladies, first things first. In order for you to watch the game and not get dirty looks for asking too many questions, you need to know the basics. I'll start with the structure of the game.

A football field is 100 yards long and 160 feet wide. The middle of the field is the 50 yard line (and if you ever buy tickets to a game, try to get your seats as close to the 50 yard line as possible...the view is the best from the middle!). The lines are labeled every 10 yards descending in both directions from the 50 yard line. Thus there are two 40 yard lines and no 60 yard line. Each team owns half of the field (they switch sides every 15 minutes of play). Thus, the two 40 yard lines are distinguished by who owns them.

In a football game, two sides are always being represented: Offense & Defense. Each of these sides are only allowed to have 11 players on the field at a time. If more than eleven players are counted on the field, then the guilty team will suffer a penalty (more about penalties and referees to come in a later post).

The object of the game is to move the football down the field into the defense's territory and score points. This can happen 3 ways: a touchdown (6 points), a field goal (3 points), or a safety (2 points). I know you're asking what a safety is. Just put that on the shelf in the corner of your brain and we'll come back to it later. Extra points can be gained after a touchdown is scored. The scoring team can opt to kick a field goal for 1 point or try to run into the endzone for 2 points.

The team that has the ball is called the Offense. It consists of a quarterback (the main guy on the field...the one who calls the play and calls for the ball to be hiked); offensive linemen (they block and keep the defense from stopping the play); running backs (they run the back); and wide receivers (the ones who run down the field to catch the ball). Depending on their positioning on the field, running backs and wide receivers go by many subnames like Slotback, Wideout, Tight End, Split End, Fullback, or Tailback. The names at any moment depend on the play being run and the offensive configuration.

The team who is on the other side of the ball is called the Defense. They consist of defensive linemen, linebackers (middle and outside), cornerbacks, & safetys. Again, you may hear interchangeable terms for the cornerbacks and safetys (ex. strong safety, free safety, or defensive backs).

The last component is the Special Teams. Special teams are the ones who come on the field to kick-off at the beginning of the game or after a touchdown. They also come on to punt and kick field goals. At these points in the game, both offensive and defensive players are referred to as special teams. For example: kickers, punt returners, ball holders, kickoff returners - are all considered part of special teams, though they may also hold another position on either the offense or defense.

It is rare for a player to be allowed to play both offense and defense on the same team, though very common for them to be on offense and special teams or defense and special teams. There are a few players who have excelled at playing both offense and defense. Deion Sanders is probably the best known. He played at cornerback (defense), punt/kickoff return (special teams), and occasionally at wide receiver (offense).


That's enough for now. We'll pick up with part 2 later!