Understanding the Basics of American Football
Understanding the Basics of American Football
Football is a team sport mostly played in the US and Canada by high school, college, and professional players. It is a dangerous sport because there is a lot of physical contact. While millions of people watch the sport, not all of them understand how the game works because it is a difficult game to understand right away. It gets easier to understand the game after you have played it.
The object of the game is to score points by carrying the ball across the goal line of your opponent, or by kicking the ball through your opponent’s goal. Football is played by two opposing teams, of eleven players. Each team tries to move the ball down the field to score points by getting in to the end zone guarded by its opponents. During a football game the teams are designated as the offensive team and the defensive team. The offensive team is the team with possession of the ball. The defensive team is the team who defends a goal line against an offensive team.
The eleven players of the offensive team are divided into two groups: seven linemen, and four backfield players, called backs. The linemen play on the line of scrimmage and the backs play behind the linemen in various positions. The defensive team consists of a row of linemen, a row of linebackers, and a collection of defensive backs, called the secondary. Players score points by running or passing the ball down the field until they reach the endzone, which is worth seven points. Or they can kick the ball through the other teams’ goal post, which is worth three points.
Mean while the Defense is trying it’s hardest to stop the Offense from scoring points. After on team scores they kick the ball to the opposing team to give them a chance to score. If a team can’t get a first down (move the ball ten yards toward the other teams goal within four tries, they turn the ball over to the other team. At the end of 60 minutes, whatever team has the most points is declared the winner.
To protect themselves from violent body contact, players wear complicated equipment such as lightweight flexible padding covering the thighs, hips, shoulders, knees, and sometimes the forearms and hands. Players also wear plastic helmets with guards that cover...