The Basics of American Football
After posting my explainer on the basics of College Football, I received some requests to go a step further back and explain the broader basics of American Football too. Of course there are many articles on this online, but in the spirit of creating a one-stop-shop to the basics on the blog, I decided to give it a go.
The Basics of the Game
So what is the basic objective of American Football? Score more points than the opposition!
A team is split into an offense (you will hear “off-fence”), defense ( “dee-fence” ) and special teams. The core aim is for a team’s offense to score as many points as possible whilst their defense restricts the points the opposition’s offense scores (and in certain situations score points themselves). The special teams are used for special situations as their name suggests but largely based around kicking.
The best way to score points is to get the ball into the opponent’s end zone for a touchdown. This is the equivalent of a rugby try.
A game will last for 4 quarters of 15 minutes. There is a 12 minute interval for a halftime.
A team will also get 3 timeouts per half which are 90 seconds long. These are used to pause the time clock, allowing players a chance to reset and coaches to tweak their strategies.
Small note on some of the spellings for UK readers… yes the spellings are different! (i.e defense v defence).
The Basics of the Field
College Football (along with the professional variations) is played on a field that is 120 yards long. The main playing area is 100 yards and marked out in 10 yard increments. Each end has an “End-zone” which is 10 yards long. The field is 53.3 yards wide.
The field is distinctive by all of its markings which signify the yardage. From the halfway line the yards will descend from 50 all the way down to the “goal line” which is essentially at 0 yards.
The other feature of the field is a set of shorter lines which are called hash marks. As well as marking out 1 yard increments on the field they also indicate where a play should start. You may hear these referred to as inbound lines. All plays will begin between these two lines and this keeps the action centred in the middle of the field.
At each end is a set of posts similar to rugby. The horizontal bar is 10 feet from the ground and 18.5 feet wide. The vertical posts extend upwards 30 feet.
The Teams
There are always 11 players on the field for each team (offense and defense).
Normally, a player will only play a role on offense or defense.
There are unlimited substitutions but changes can only be made when the ball is deemed dead i.e in-between plays.
The offense will line up with the following positions typically:
QB – Quarterback – the offensive leader and the one who initiates the plays. There is usually only one Quarterback on the field at any moment.
RB – Running Back – used primarily to run the ball but occasionally used for blocking and catching. You might hear terms such as fullback or halfback which are forms of running back.
WR- Wide Receiver – used primarily to catch the ball (and hopefully carry on running to the end zone) on a passing play.
OL/C – Offensive Lineman/Center – the OL are used to provide a shield to the Quarterback and create channels through the defense for the running back, an action called blocking. The Center is also responsible for “snapping the ball” which is the backward pass through his legs that starts a play.
OL/OG – Offensive Lineman/Guard – stationed next to the Center these play a large role in blocking.
OL/OT – Offensive Lineman/Tackle – normally the largest players on the team used to stop incoming defensive players getting to the QB. As they are positioned on the outside of the line, they must ensure defenders do not get around them.
TE – Tight End – a hybrid role which is part blocker and part receiver depending on the play.
The defense will line up in a variation of the following:
DL/DE – Defensive Lineman/Defensive end – used to break down the shield provided by the OL and get to the QB as well as to stop running plays at the edges of the line. They can be referred to as Edge rushers.
DL/DT– Defensive Lineman/Defensive tackle – Stationed in the middle of the defensive line these players are used to disrupt the offensive line, ideally to occupy as many Offensive linemen as possible.
LB- Linebacker – a dynamic role that will either cover receivers on passing plays, tackle runners or target the QB. An outside linebacker can also sometimes be called an edge rusher.
CB – Cornerback – referred to as the secondary alongside Safeties, Cornerbacks will cover wide receivers with a view to breaking up or intercepting passes.
S – Safeties – also referred to as the secondary, the safety provides a last line of defense so will assist with dealing with passing plays but occasionally with running plays. As the furthest from the line of scrimmage they will have the benefit of some time to see how a play is unfolding.
The key special teams positions are:
P – Punter – as we will see below, if a team cannot pick up a first down they normally punt the ball to the other team. This is a specialised role.
K – Place kicker – similarly to the punter there is a specialist role for a kicker to kick from a placeholder. This differs from say rugby where a back will perform these duties.
There will be speciality roles and formations within special teams, involving kicking and the returning of kicks which I have not gone into here.
Playing the Game
A coin toss is performed before the game where the winner of the toss can choose to receive/kick the ball, which end to start or to defer their choice to the second half.
The game then starts with one team kicking to the other. The team receiving the kick will start as the offense.
The offensive have 4 plays to advance 10 yards. You will see this on your screen as 1st and 10. If they achieve the 10 yards you will hear the commentator say they have achieved a “1st down”.
The advancement in yards can be made by either running the ball (rushing) or throwing the ball to another player (passing).
The game is not free-flowing like rugby or our football. It is more like cricket where a play is executed and then everything resets.
There is a play clock however which gives 40 seconds (there are circumstances where it is shorter) for the next play to commence. You will see the timer tick down on your TV screen or in the stadium.
Downs and Drives
Each play starts in a form of the starting formation described above. The Offensive and Defensive lines line up either side of an imaginary line called the line of scrimmage. A ball’s length of space is left between them which is called the neutral zone (to stop them being helmet to helmet).
If you are watching on TV you will see a blue line to denote the line of scrimmage and a yellow line to show where the 1st down marker is (the point the team need to across to achieve a 1st down).
The Center will snap the ball to the QB who will initiate a play; this might be handing it to a running back for them to try and gain rushing yards, passing the ball to an open receiver or simply rushing themselves.
Unless the QB is rushing, they will normally stay behind their offensive line in what is called “the pocket”. The reason being that this is where they are safest from being tackled (or “sacked”).
If the QB is sacked the next play starts where he is sacked which will likely result in lost yardage. For example if the 1st play is “1st and 10” and the QB is sacked after moving 10 yards backwards, the next play will be “2nd and 20”.
If rushing, once the offensive player is tackled the play ends. Similarly, if an offensive player catches the ball and is then tackled the play ends. If the QB throws the ball and it misses its target landing on the ground, the play is deemed dead.
Given the game is not free-flowing, each offense will have a comprehensive playbook to draw from and you will see coaches shouting instructions to the QB.
As the offense only have four downs to advance 10 yards, 3rd down becomes quite pivotal as it is normally the final play to achieve the desired yardage. If a new 1st down has not been achieved then a team will use their 4th down to either punt the ball or try a field goal where they place kick between the posts. If a team is really close to a 1st down they may decide to go for it on 4th down. The risk is if they fail, the ball is turned over to the opposition who start from that point.
If the ball is dropped by a rusher and recovered by the defence (a fumble) or caught in mid air on a pass by a defender (interception) the offense turnover the ball over to the defense. It is not uncommon for the defense to recover the ball in this manner and take it into the end zone for a touchdown themselves.
A period of downs for one particular team, before it ends in either a score or turning the ball over, is called a “drive”. For example, “Texas scored on their last 2 drives”.
Methods of Scoring
The following methods will score points:
Touchdown – 6 points – when the ball is carried into the end zone or if the QB throws it to a player in the end zone. On the carried version the ball just needs to break the plane of the goal line. It does not need to touch the ground.
Points after touchdown/Extra point – 1 point – once a touchdown has been scored a team can kick an extra point or go for 2 point conversion. The extra point is a place kick from the 10 yard line.
2 point conversion – 2 points – instead of taking the kick, the offense could elect to execute another play from the 3 yard line. If they get into the end zone they get 2 points.
Field goal – 3 points – if the offense are within range of the posts but running out of downs, they may elect to take a place kick. This will involve the special teams players.
Safety – 2 points – if an offensive player is tackled (or the offense commit a foul) in their own end zone this is called a safety and 2 points are awarded to the defense.
Penalties
Certain infractions will generate penalties which will result in the loss/gain of yardage depending if committed by the offense or defense. One of the referees will toss a yellow flag onto the field to denote a penalty has been spotted.
There are a number of officials on the field at any one time which can lead to yellow flags getting thrown about all over the place!
Given penalties can lead to loss/gain of yardage they can be pivotal moments in tight games.
Some common penalties are:
| Offense | ||
| Issue | Penalty | Explanation |
| Offside | 5 yard loss and replay the down | Occurs if the OL stray past the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped |
| Holding | 10 yard loss and replay the down | Any kind of holding onto a defender to prevent a tackle |
| Delay of game | 5 yard loss and replay the down | If play clock runs out before a snap is made |
| Pass Interference | 10 yard loss from previous line of scrimmage and replay the down | If the ball is in the air from a pass, and the receiver makes material contact with /pushes the defender to prevent them catching the ball |
| False Start | 5 yard loss and replay the down | Offense moves before the ball is snapped. (Note one player can be “in-motion” across the line of scrimmage). |
| Illegal forward pass | 5 yard loss and a loss of down | If QB moves past the line of scrimmage and throws the ball forwards |
| Pulling the facemask | 15 yard loss | Grabbing the facemask of an opponent |
| Defense | |||||
| Issue | Penalty | Explanation | |||
| Encroachment | 5 years gain for offense and replay the down | If DL stray past the line of scrimmage before ball is snapped and makes contact with the offense | |||
| Holding | 5 yard gain for offense and automatic 1st down | Holding onto the opposition (aside from a runner) to prevent them blocking/advancing | |||
| Pass Interference | CFB: If play <15 yards, ball placed at spot of the foul. If play>15 yards, ball advanced 15 yards. It is different in the NFL | If ball is in the air from a pass, and the defender makes material contact with the receiver to prevent them catching the ball | |||
| Neutral Zone infraction | 5 yard gain for offense and replay the down | There is an imaginary space between the OL and DL of the width of the ball. If the DL enter that zone they will be penalised. | |||
| Roughing the kicker/passer | 15 yard loss and automatic 1st down | If the passer/QB is hit after kicking/passing. (Note: not being able to stop your momentum is taken into account). |
Game Strategy
The clear objective is to score as many points as possible and the best way to do this is to score touchdowns and extra points on as many of your drives as possible. If you get close to the end-zone but not close enough then many will settle for a field goal.
Clock management is part of the strategy too. If you are ahead in a game, it might suit you to use up valuable clock time to reduce the amount of time the opposition has to score. Teams may use more run plays at this time to burn up time as the clock tends to run on when tackled as opposed to passing plays.
Full Time
In most UK ball sports, we spend the final seconds of the game in eager anticipation for the final whistle. We wait and wait and finally the referee blows the whistle and we all cheer (if we won).
A lot of the time in American football the game will wind down gently. If the leading team have the ball they will run down the final seconds with the QB “taking a knee” which is when he touches his knee to the floor to simulate being grounded. This normally removes the last few seconds on the clock at which there will be handshakes all round!
Next Steps
If you are new to the game, I hope the above gives a helpful grounding in the basics of American Football. I would recommend watching as much game footage as possible to get into the flow of the game. Highlights I find are a great as a way of finding your feet initially, as it cuts out all of the fluff!
Happy Watching!
