Learning the Basics of Football
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football is often referred to the American version of the game rugby. This is a competitive game played by two opposing teams. Each team has three different units which alternately play in the course of the game. These units are called the offense, defense and special. The offense is for scoring, the defense is for defending the goal and the special team is for the kicks. The football field is composed of one hundred yards and on each end is the scoring field called the end zone. Each end also has goalposts which stands ten feet above the ground and has crossbar on top. These crossbars have posts on each end which is two hundred twenty-two inches apart for high skill levels and two hundred eighty inches apart for low skill levels.
Each football game starts with a coin toss. The referee tosses the coin and the coaches or team captains choose their side. The winner will then have the opportunity to decide whether they will kick, receive or choose the goal to defend. If they choose to kick, this means that they are the first offensive team. They will have to kick the ball. It is either kicking it hard or softly. Usually they kick it hard so that the ball is in the farthest place possible from their goal. This is because the starting line would be the place where the ball landed or received.
Each team has eleven players playing in the field at a time. They compose the defense unit of one team and the offense unit of the other team. The starting line where the ball is placed is called the line of scrimmage. The opposing team will face each other and then the center player of the offensive line snaps the ball to the quarterback. Snap means passing the ball from the line of scrimmage to the quarterback. A quarterback is the captain ball of football. While on the field – if the coach doesn’t intercede – he chooses which play to use. A play is a strategy used by the offensive team to score. There are short plays and long plays. The short play usually involves a short distance before the ball is passed, while a long play requires a long distance. Long plays usually aim for an immediate touchdown. A touch down is worth six points. If the offensive team scored or has made a touchdown, they are then allowed to kick the ball into the goalpost or to do a run or pass for a touch down at a shorter distance. This will give them extra points if successful. A ball into the goalpost is worth one point and a touchdown in this event is worth two points. This extra point earned is called a point-after touchdown (PAT) or conversion. After this, the ball is then turned over to the opposing team.
If the offensive team was tackled, intercepted or made an incomplete pass for four times without reaching the first ten yards, they will have a last chance to punt or rush the ball before turning it over to the other team. Punt means kicking the ball. If by any chance they reach the first ten yards with this last attempt, it will then be considered as their first down. This means that they will have another four downs to either score or bring the ball to the next ten yards. If not, they have to turn over to the other team. This means that their defense will play against the offensive unit of the opposing team. A field goal is another option of the offensive team when they are near the end zone. This is another term for kicking the ball aiming that it will go through the crossbar of the goalpost. This is better than a punt because it is equivalent to three points when the attempt is successful.
In the defense side of the game, the main goal is to stop the offensive team from scoring. So they either tackle or intercept the pass. These will result to downs in the offensive team. There is also a way for the defensive team to score and this is through safety. Safety means tackling the offensive team in the end zone that they are supposed to guard. This is usually the end zone where the offensive team will start. So if the quarterback is tackled in their end zone, it means the safety of the defensive team succeeded. Each safety is worth two points for the defensive team and one down for the offensive team.
These are the most common terms and process that we need to learn so that we can understand football. Now, we get to enjoy watching the game because we already know how it works.
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