Football class is in session
Everything you need to know to follow the game and maybe even enjoy it.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
There is nothing worse than being left out of the loop. Many women feel this way when the men in their lives settle in to watch a football game. They don’t understand what’s happening on the field or why their guy is suddenly so upset that he’s throwing things and cursing at the TV.
Maybe you’ve never cared to know anything about football, but trust me, a little bit of knowledge can improve your life. If you can follow the game, you’ll know when to leave him alone and let him sulk. You’ll also score points with most guys if you understand the very basics of the game and can mostly follow what is going on. You’ll score really big points if you ask questions and show an interest in the fortunes of his team. You never know, after you read Sync’s admittedly brief tutorial, you may find yourself enjoying the game.
What are the very basics?
The aim of football is to move the ball down the 100-yard field toward the opponent’s end zone and score a touchdown.
Each team has 11 players on the field. The positions of these players vary depending on the team’s strategy.
What happens when the team’s on offense?
Usually the offense consists of a quarterback, linemen, backs, tight ends and receivers. The linemen are usually the largest players on a team and are responsible for blocking the defense. One of the linemen (called a center) also will put the ball into play by snapping it to the quarterback, who will either hand the ball off to a running back or throw it to a receiver. Occasionally, they run with the ball. The backs include running backs who carry the ball after having it passed to them and a full back who usually blocks the defensive players and may occasionally carry the ball or catch a pass. The job of receivers is to catch passes. Tight ends can be both blockers and pass receivers.
So what does the defense do?
The defense usually consists of defensive ends and tackles, linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties. The job of the defensive ends and tackles is to stop the passer and stop any offensive run plays. Linebackers have various duties including rushing the passer, covering receivers and stopping runners. Cornerbacks try to prevent the quarterback from completing a pass by swatting the ball in the air or catching the ball. Safeties are the farthest away from the main action and are the last line of defense if the offense manages to get past everyone else.
Why do the announcers keep talking about downs?
Downs are the series of plays an offense gets to try to score. The offense gets four chances, or downs, to move the ball 10 yards toward their opponent’s end zone. The first play is “1st and 10”. This means 1st down and 10 yards to go. Fourth down is the offense’s final chance to finish moving the ball 10 yards from where it started at first down. Unless the team completes the 10 yards, thereby getting a new first down, or a penalty forces a replay of the down, the offense will lose control of the ball after this play.
If the team’s offense doesn’t think it can score a touchdown or get a first down, it will try to kick the ball between the goal posts (a field goal).
If a team isn’t close enough to the end zone to complete a field goal and also doesn’t think it can get a first down, it will punt the ball. When a team punts, they kick the ball as far down the field as they can so their opponent starts his downs as far from the end zone as possible.
Talk to me about scoring points.
The team that is on defense tries to prevent the offense from making progress down the field. They do this by trying to tackle, or “sack”, the quarterback before he has the chance to throw or pass the ball to another player. If he manages to get the ball to someone else, the defense then tries to tackle that person.
If the offense gets the ball into the end zone, they will get 6 points and the chance to try for an extra point by kicking the ball between the goal posts. They can try instead to get 2 points by either running or passing the ball into the end zone similar to the way it is done during a down.
There are a couple of ways the defense can score a touchdown. If the offense “fumbles,” or loses control of the ball, then the defense has the opportunity to pick it up and run it into their end zone. A defensive player can also get an interception, which happens when an opposing player catches a forward pass intended for an offensive player.
And what’s this thing about penalties?
During the game, there are several penalties that can cause a team to gain or lose yards without moving the ball in the usual way.
If a player grabs the face mask on the helmet of another, the offending team will be penalized 10-15 yards. This means the offense could gain yards and get a new first down if it was a defensive player that did the grabbing. Or the offense could have yards added to the number they already need to go if an offensive player grabbed a defensive player’s face mask.
There also is “holding” where a player interferes with the ability of another to get the ball. A similar but more severe foul is pass interference which is when a player hinders the person who is intended to catch the ball.
How long until the game is over?
The last thing you need to know is how long you’ll be watching this game. A college football match is 60 minutes long, divided into 15 minute quarters with a 15 minute break at the half-way point. But the game takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Why? Because the time clock stops for all sorts of things. So grab a comfortable chair. You might be there for a while.
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