| The team which scores the most number of points wins. Sounds simple? Well, it’s a bit more complex than that, but the basics are quite easy to grasp.
The game consists of 4 quarters of 15 minutes, but, between scoring, time outs and all that, it usually takes nearly 3 hours. At the end of the 1st and 3rd quarters, there’s a 2 minute break, after which the teams switch sides and continue play. After the 2nd quarter, there’s a 15 minute break (known as ‘half – time’. After the ‘half – time’ break, the game starts fresh (points are not reseted, just that the game starts from the middle of the pitch, rather than somewhere in between).
The objective of football is to get the ball to the opposition area to score points, but doing so is far from easy. The offensive team is allowed 4 tries to advance the ball at least 10 yards down from the point where the scrimmage started. Each attempt to advance the ball is known as a ‘down’, from the moment the ball is put into lay, till ‘dead ball’ is called. They have 2 options to advance the ball : pass the ball to team mates (the defense will try to intercept the pass, or snatch the ball from the receiver), or run with the ball (the defense will attempt to stop the offensive player by tackling him or making him run out of bound). If a player steps on the side – lines, he is deemed as ‘out of bounds’ and the ball is considered ‘dead’ at that spot.
Now, a team doesn’t have to pass the 10 yards at once, as I mentioned earlier, they have 4 tries, but this is from the line of scrimmage. Therefore, a player may have advanced 8 yards on his first try, but stepped back 2 yards to give himself room to throw. In such a case, he is considered to have advanced only 6 yards. Therefore, it is now second and six, meaning that the team’s on their second try, and advanced only 6 yards. If the quarterback drops back 3 yards behind the scrimmage line and is sacked (tackled), then its second and thirteen, the original 10 plus the 3 yards he lost. Remember, if the quarterback makes an incomplete pass, he loses only a down, but if he’s tackled, he loses a down and yards!
The third down is extremely important, because, if its successful, they get a further 4 tries to get past a further 10 yards, but, if the offensive team is unable to advance 10 yards even after the 3rd try, they have 3 options:
1. Go for the 4th down
2. Go for 3 points, if they are in the field goal range
3. Punt
If they go for the 4th down, its usually because they need a few yards, and they may want to try pushing their way through. They could pass the ball, but it’s often easier said than done. If they get it, it’s another first down, but if the defense successfully holds them back, the other team may gain possession of the ball with some good field placements. If the offensive punts, at least they can get the ball deep into the defensive’s territory.
That’s about it as far as football is concerned. Seems much easier than before doesn’t it? |
