An NFL Game in 1000 (ish) Words

If you've never got into the NFL, then chances are it's because the whole spectacle looks confusing, protracted and full of delays.  I'm here to try and banish those fears and tell you how an NFL game works.  Yes, there are plenty of rules, but many of them can be picked up once you've got into the sport.  Initially, you just need to know how a game works.  To prevent myself banging on about the game, I've limited myself to around 1000 words, so hopefully after that you should have a basic understanding of how the sport works.  If you're an NFL fan reading this, then it'd be great if you could forward/send this on to some non fans.  Anyway, here goes...

An NFL pitch is 100 yards long with "Endzones" at either end of the pitch.  At the back of the Endzone there are rugby style goalposts.  A match lasts for one hour and is broken into 4 15 minute quarters
At any one time, one side has the ball (the Offense) and has 4 attempts (Downs - we'll get to that in a bit) to move the ball forward 10 yards or more.  If they fail to do so, they lose possession of the ball.  Ultimately, they are trying to get the ball into the opposition Endzone. 
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The aim of the game is to score more points than the opposition.  There are 3 ways of scoring:
Touchdown - This involves a player having control of the ball in the opposition Endzone. 6 Points.
Point After Touchdown - After scoring a Touchdown, the scoring team can attempt a short kick in order to gain an extra point.
Field Goal - If the Offense fell that they are unable to get into the Endzone (due to either time  constraints or being on 4th Down), they can attempt a Field Goal.  This involves the team's place kicker attempting to kick the ball through the posts and earns the team 3 points.


So what are "Downs"?  

The 2 Lines at the start of a play

At each Down, the ball is placed on the ground, in the middle of the field between the 2 teams. Both teams must be between the ball and their own Endzone when each play begins.  An offensive player (the Centre) passes the ball back between his legs to the Quarterback. The Quarterback will then either attempt to throw the ball to a colleague or hand it off to a colleague. The aim is to advance the ball down the field. The plays ends when either a player in possession is tackled to the ground (IE their knee hits the ground), the ball goes out of play, or a pass hits the ground.  In the latter 2 cases, the clock stops at this point, in the first instance the clock continues.  In either case, the Offense has 40 seconds to make their next play.  Additionally, each team has 3 Timeouts they can take when they wish to stop the clock, and they have 3 "challenges" they can use to get the referee to look at a previous decision in the hope of overturning it.  Similarly to the appeals process in Tennis - if you're wrong you lose a challenge.


The next play starts in the middle of the field, at the point where the Offensive player is taken to ground and pushed out of play.  If the previous play ends via a pass going to ground then the next play starts in the same place as the previous one. 
If the ball ends up with the opposition - either via them catching an attempted pass or recovering a fumbled ball - then they become the Offence and the play ends when the ball carrier is tackles to the ground or goes out of play.  This is known as a Turnover.
As previously mentioned, the Offense has 4 plays in which to move the ball 10+ yards forward.  If they succeed in that aim, then they receive a fresh set of 4 Downs. You've probably heard the phrase "1st and 10", this means that the Offence has a First Down.  Similarly, "2nd and 7" means it's second down and the Offense has 7 yards to go in order to get a fresh set of Downs.


What's everyone's role in this?

A typical line up - The Offence are in blue.

   


Both teams can have 11 players on the field at any time. And you can change your lineup after every play, depending on what you plan to do with the next play.  Typically, the Offence will line up with 5 players in the Offensive Line (including the Centre), their job is to stop the Defence from getting to the Quarterback or Runner.  They can do this by blocking them and pushing them. 


Behind the line, is the Quarterback. He's effectively the on field manager and he dictates the play.  The other 5 Offensive players are usually a combination of the following roles:


Running Back (RB) - The QB hands the ball off to the RB and he tries to run through the opposition Defence. They can also help with blocking the QB. The best RBs are fast, strong and agile.  Some can also double up as Receivers (see a bit later!)


Full Back (FB) - A bigger version of the RB. His primary role is to protect the QB, but he is also useful in short yardage situations.  Eg the team only need to gain 1 yard or so. Being a big unit, he can often rumble forward enough to gain the required amount.


Wide Receivers (WR) - If the QB opts to throw the ball, he is aiming for one of these. Their job is to get themselves into a position where the QB can throw the ball to them successfully. Upon receiving the ball they can run with it until tackled or forced out of play.


Tight Ends (TE) - A hybrid of a WR and an Offensive Line player. They sometimes block, but can also move downfield and receive the ball.  The best TEs resemble bulked up basketball players!


The Defence can line up in a variety of formations but the principle roles are:


Defensive Line - These players line up opposite the Offensive line and their job is to try and break through that line and get to the ball carrier - be it the QB or a RB - and tackle them to the ground. If they can make that tackle behind the line of scrimmage then the Offence will lose yardage.  Eg if it's 1st and 10 and the QB is tackled 4 yards behind the line then the next play is 2nd and 14.


Linebackers - These players line up behind the Defensive line and can either perform the same role as the line (but from deeper and with more potential for a surprise attack) or look to cover receivers and intercept the ball.


Cornerbacks - They mark the WR's, follow them around and attempt to stop the QB from getting the ball to them. 


Safeties - They patrol the middle of the field behind the Linebackers.  They attempted to intercept/deflect passes, tackle ball carriers and generally make it hard for the offence to move forward.


If a team reach 4th Down, they will usually either attempt a field Goal, or if they are too far away from goal, they will elect to punt the ball to the opposition.  Both these plays have very different formations and groups of players on the field...but that's for another day!


Any questions?


Damm, I've used 1124 words!


Of course, there are loads of other things to learn - penalties, different formations, trick plays etc. But this should be enough for you to be able to watch and understand how a game works. THe

Next up, I'll be looking at another aspect of the NFL that makes it such a great sport:  How the league works, who makes the end of season playoffs and how after 5 months play we end up with a Superbowl!