For those of you who want to learn football and join
this craze called the NFL (National Football League), this is for you.
Here are some football basics to get you started:
o An NFL team
has 53 players; some play on Offense (unit that possession of the ball
and is trying to score); some play on Defense (unit that attempts to
stop its opponent's Offense from scoring) and some play on Special
Teams (units that are on the field for kickoffs, punts and field goals)
o At any given time, a team has 11 players on the field
o
The Offense attempts to advance the ball past its opponent's goal line
and score touchdowns (worth 6 points) or move it into field goal range
for its Kicker to attempt a field goal (worth 3 points)
o There are two type of plays - passing and rushing (running)
o
An Offense has four plays (downs) to advance the ball at least 10
yards; if it does so, it maintain possession of the ball; if it
doesn't, it may have to give up possession to its opponent
o The
amount of time a team has possession of the ball throughout the game is
called its "Time of possession"; the longer, the better. This is
critical, because if you don't have the ball, you can't score!
o
When a team loses possession of the ball to its opponent, through an
interception (throwing a forward pass that an opponent catches) or
fumble (when the ball carrier loses possession), it commits a
"turnover". Turnovers can be the difference between winning and losing.
Each time a team commits a turnover, it gives itself one less and its
opponent one more opportunity to score
o Finally, when someone
asks you the score of the game, remember to always say the name of the
team that is winning or that has won first. For example, if the Bears
are leading the Lions 14 - 10, say something like "The Bears are up
fourteen to ten", NOT "The Bears are winning ten to fourteen". If the
score is 10 - 0, say "It's ten oh, Bears." Notice the use of the word
"oh"? If its 17 - 17, say "It's seventeen all." Notice the use of the
word "all"? Get the idea?