Quick guide to football.
Ok so superbowl Sunday is litterly around the corner there are tons of parties on campus. Â
It is a lot of fun, free food usually, and a great way to meet new people, food (usually free) a duffrent way to spend the weekend (where you can possibly get free food) and did I mention there is food that is usually free?Â
In any case its a great way to spend a Sunday! But if you don’t know anything about football dont worry this your quick and easy guide to the game.
It all starts with a coin toss whoever wins the coin toss decides if they want the ball in the beginning of the game or after half time.Â
In short its men trying to get down a ball down 10 yards at a time without getting hurt. There are 4 chances to get 10 yards or the other team gets the ball.Â
Terms you will hear
The pocket: its a place of safety for the Quarterback so he can pass or throw the ball without getting hurt/tackled.
You’ll often hear the announcers talking about rushers. Who are they? People on defense who try and rush past the offensive linemen to tackle the quarterback.Â
A Snap. It’s when the literally snaps the ball to the Quarterback whose hands are yes very close to their backside.Â
OL- offensive lineÂ
The not so short explanation:Â
Teams all have offensive, defensive and special teams. The offensive tries to get the ball to the other team’s goal. The defense defends their goal and special team has players like kickers whose sole purpose is to kick far and high.Â
A touchdown (goal) is with 6 point
A kick is worth 1 point. It needs to be kicked between the two goalposts. A kick occurs after a touchdown. Special teams go on the field for the kick. It is not a given the kicker will actually kick the ball in the goal.Â
A touch back is worth 3
Safety 2 points: this is when the Offense drops the ball inside thier own goal line and the safety is awarded to the defense.Â
The offense has four chances to move the ball 10 yards. Those chances are called downs.Â
Loss of a down is when there is an incomplete pass (i.e. not caught) or the ball as the moved due to being tacked.Â
If the team has not been able to move the ball 10 yards when the 4th down come account the offense has two choices: they can either use their last down to try and get it to the next 10 yard marker if they don’t the other team gets the ball where it is, which could be dangerously close to the offensive teams goal line for an easy goal.Â
The other option is that the offense(‘s coaches) can choose kick the ball. Why? Well the ball goes to the opposite team and because then the the opposite team will be further away from their goal. Team often choose to kick the ball awayÂ
A quarterback calls the plays, throws the ball or passes it. He will most likely throw it to a wide receiver and sometimes a tight end.Â
Once in a while the quarterback will fake a pass or throw and run himself. It can be dangerous because if there is no one protecting the quarterback he can get hurt. That is why Quarterbacks often wear red in practices so they aren’t hit.
There are diffrent reasons as to why the clock will or won’t stop running when the offense resets. A time out is often called if they need time extra to reset.
The quarterback has a list of plays and options on his arm so he will be looking at that often. There are speakers in his helmet that he can hear the coachs as well.Â
offensive line- A line of players whose job it is to stop the defense from reaching the qauterback, move the defensive line back to the ball has room to move forward in one form or another.
DefenseÂ
The defense’s version if a qauterback is a cornerback- just go with it.Â
When a ball is intercepted the defense then gets the ball and most players try and run for a touch down.
A ball can also be intercepted by the defense during a kick or when fumbled by the offense.Â
So now that you got the fundamentals down go have fun, make some new friends and get some free food!