Rules of American Football Explained. Everything About the Most Popular Sport in the USA

American football is said to be one of the most popular kinds of sport in the United States of America, while the National Football League (NFL) is the most prestigious competition in North America. The sport is said to be the combination of rugby and soccer. It is a team kind of sport with 11 players in each team. The main goal is to score more points than the opponents do.

Field

The field should be of a rectangular form with a width of 53.3 yards (48 meters) and the length of 120 yards (109 meters). Two goals are located on the opposite ends of the field. They resemble slingshots and consist of two bars with a distance of 5.7 meters between them and a crossbar that is placed at a height of three meters. The goals are supported by a central pillar. To result in scoring a point, the ball should pass over the crossbar and between the bars.

Also, 100 yards lie between the goal lines. The 10-yard area between each goal line and the vertical border of the field is called the end zone. It is the most important part of the field because it is closely connected with the scoring. The field is divided into ten 10-yard zones that are numbered 10 to 50 starting from the both ends of the field. The markings are done intentionally to show how many yards a team should pass to make a touchdown.

The Play and Duration

An American football match consists of four 15-minute periods that are also known as Quarters. The second quarter is followed by a small interval. With this, some matches can last for up to three hours due to numerous time stops that can be caused by the following situations:

• a player with the ball or the ball itself leaves the field;
• a forward pass was not caught;
• a timeout occurs;
• some points were scored;
• there was a violation of the rules.

Also, the match can last for additional time if the regulation time ends in a tie. In this case, the teams should play 15-minute overtime.

The whole match consists of various plays. For every play, the ball is placed on the line where the previous play was stopped. Every team has four attempts to move the ball 10 yards ahead towards the opponents’ end zone. These attempts are called downs. If a team manages to cope with this task, it is given four more downs to overcome the following 10 yards. If an attacking team fails to pass 10 yards in four attempts, the ball is given to their opponents and the play starts from the line where the fourth down was made.

Before a play, the opposing teams line up face-to-face along the line where the ball is located. After all are ready, a center player passes the ball back through the legs (the snap) to a quarterback. As a rule, he is a leader of attack and the main player of the team.

The players are allowed to move the ball across the field with the help of the following ways:

• Running with the ball in their hands (here, players are allowed to pass the ball to their partners);
• Passing or throwing the ball (players may take an unlimited number of passes in a game).

The play is said to be over when one of the following scenarios occurs:

• a player with the ball was stroked down to the ground (the play should be resumed from the place where the player was stroked);
• either the ball or the player with the ball leaves the borders of the field;
• an attacking team fail to catch a forward pass, and the ball touches the ground;
• if a forward pass is caught by the opposing team, this team now tries to attack their opponents’ end zone;
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• either of the teams manages to score points;
• violation of the rules occurs (some violations stop the play while others are punished after the play is over).

Scoring System

In American football, teams can score points in three different ways:

Touchdown (6 points). A player with the ball should enter the opponents’ end zone or get a pass from his partner within this zone. The team that has managed to make a touchdown can obtain 1 (if a field goal is made) or 2 (if one more touchdown is made) extra points.

Field goal (3 points). During the play, not after a touchdown, the player sends the ball over the crossbar and between the bars.

Safety (2 points). These points can be earned by defensive players. This scenario occurs when an attacking player is stopped within his own end zone by the opposing defenders or when defending players make an attacking one leave the borders of the field from his own end zone.

When a team scores some points, it should kick the ball off from a 35-yard mark. When it comes to Safety, the situation is a bit different. Here, the ball should be kicked from a 20-yard mark. In this case, a player firstly releases the ball from his hands and then kick it. This situation is known as a free kick.

Kicking

Every play begins with the ball being sent with one’s hand towards the opponents’ end zone from the 35-yard mark. Such an action is also called as a kickoff. It can be also awarded when a team manages to get some points. Before a kick off, the ball is placed on a kicking tee to keep the ball vertically. After that, a kicker takes run and kicks the ball.

It can often happen that a team that has failed to pass 10 yards in three attempts decides to make a punt. The main aim of this action is to send the ball as close to the opponents’ end zone as possible. In other words, a team decides to make their opponents start their attack further from the defending team’s end zone. In this case, a long snapper throws the ball to a punter. After it, the latter should send the ball into the field.

It can sometimes happen that the kicked ball crosses the end line and stays there. Such a situation can be described as a touchback. In this case, a receiving team starts moving from the 20-yard line of their own zone.

To make a field goal, a player should kick the ball. In this case, a long snapper throws the ball back to a holder. His task is to catch the ball and place it vertically onto the ground. This player should hold the ball vertically to provide a kicker with the possibility to kick the ball. The field goal can worth either 3 or 1 point, which has been described previously. If a player fails to score a field goal, the opposing team starts the play from the place of the kick off attempt. It is a rarity if a kicker decides to make attempts on the field goals from the points that are further than 45-50 yards.

Fouls

Any fouls are punished by moving the ball towards one of the end zones. The moving distance depends on the severity of a foul. It should be mentioned separately that an attacking team can get the chance to obtain a new set of 4 attempts when the punishment implies moving the ball for 10 or more yards. If a punishment is going to move the ball into the end zone, the moving distance should be shortened to place the ball in the middle between the foul place and the beginning of the end zone.

After a foul is recorded, one of the officials throws a yellow flag to the ground. A suffered team may choose either to accept or deny a corresponding punishment. As a rule, the punishments are denied when it can result in more visible advantages. To be more exact, an attacking team can deny a punishment if they have already managed to make a touchdown.

So, below are the most popular examples of fouls:

• False start – an attacking player keeps moving towards the snap after the team has lined up to start a play. An attacking team is punished with 5 yards.
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• Offside – a situation when a player was on the wrong side in relation to the snap line. A team is punished with 5 yards.
• Encroachment – a defensive player crosses the snap line before the snap itself and contacts an attacking player. A defensive team is punished with 5 yards.
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• Holding – a player held or pulled an opposing team provided the latter did not have the ball in his possession. A team is punished with 10 yards. If this foul is made by an attacking team, the safety is recorded.
• Hindrance – a player prevents an opposing player from getting a pass without his own attempts to catch this ball. If the foul is made by an attacking team, the punishment is represented by 10 yards. If the foul is made by a defensive team, the ball is then placed on the place of the foul.
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• Delay of Game – an attacking team fails to start a play within the stipulated period of time. The punishment is 5 yards.

The following personal fouls will be punished with 15 yards:

1. Holding a face mask;
2. Roughing the passer/kicker – a defensive player attacks the passer/kicker when the latter does not have the ball in his possession;
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3. Unnecessary roughness – a player roughly attacks an opponent without necessity (for example, an attacked player was outside the field);
4. Unsportsmanlike conduct – spit, abuse, railing, and others.

Attacking Team

It is a team that has the ball in the possession and starts a play. It consists of the quarterback, linemen, backs, and receivers. Seven attacking players should stay at the snap line. The main task of the linemen who form the attacking line on the field is to block the defenders of the opposing team. The backs and receivers are responsible for moving the ball ahead. With this, the backs obtain the ball from the quarterback, while the receivers have to catch forward passes.

The way how a team attacks depends on the players. For example, if a team has strong backs, they are able to move the ball through running. The teams with the good receivers and the quarterback, in their turn, will try to make more passes in a game. In other words, an attacking team tries to constantly chooses their tactics to misinform the opponents and prevent them from forecasting the further state of affairs.

Defensive Team

This team does not have the ball in the possession. All the defensive players should be on the correct part of the field before the start of play. Teams’ defenses include defensive ends, defensive tackles, linebackers, and defensive backs. Each of these players performs his own functions to prevent an attacking team from scoring some points.

Depending on the strategy of an attacking team, the defense can choose one of the following schemes:

1. Defensive backs and linebackers try to attack an attacking passer;
2. Defensive players cover certain parts of the field;
3. Defensive players cover certain attacking players.

Special Units

They include players who come on field to participate in kicking. It happens when a team has is going to make a kickoff, the fourth attempt, punt, and a field goal. It should be mentioned that both the attacking and defensive teams send their special units in the cases above.

In general, the special units consist of the following players:

1. Kicker – he is to make a kickoff and to score a field goal.
2. Holder – he catches the ball, places it on the ground, and keeps it until a kicker kicks it; a holder stays 7-8 yards from the snap line.
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3. Punter – he kicks the released ball when it is necessary to send the ball as far as possible from the end zone.
4. Long snapper – a central player of a special unit.
5. Kick returner and punt returner – they should catch the ball and move it as closer to the opponents’ end zone as possible.
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Types of Kickoffs

Long kick is the most popular kick in the sport. An attacking team attempts to make the ball overcome the longest possible distance. This is done to make remover the returning team further from the end zone.

Squib kick sends the ball extremely low to make it bounce from the ground. It is used to prevent quick players of the returning from moving the ball through the field and making a touchdown.

On-side kick occurs when an attacking player wants his partner to catch the ball. In this case, the player kicks the ball on the ground to overcome a minimal distance (about 10 yards). This kick is used when the attacking team is losing at the end of a game and needs to have the ball in its possession to score some points.

Officials

Every American football event should be served by the following officials:

• referee;
• umpire;
• back judge;
• head linesmen;
• side judge;
• line judge;
• field judge;
• center judge.

All of them carry whistles and wear black-and-white striped shirts. All the judges wear black hats except for the referee, whose hat is of the white color.