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Football Basics

Football is a complex game, with many rules, regulations, strategies, and other aspects.

Control of Playing Time

A football game is played in four periods, or quarters, of 15 min playing time each. The first two periods constitute the first half; the second two, the second half. Between the halves, a rest period of 20 min (pro football, 15 min) is permitted the players, who may in that interval leave the field. A rest of 1 min (pro football, 2 min) is permitted between the first and second quarters and between the third and fourth quarters. The teams change goals at the end of the first and third quarters. The official time is usually kept by a game clock operator.

In preseason or regular-season pro football games, if both teams have scored the same number of points at the end of regulation time, the teams are allowed a 3-min rest and then engage in a "sudden-death" overtime period in which the first team to score is the winner. If neither team has scored at the end of this 15-min period, the game ends in a tie; in playoff games, no ties are allowed--the teams play until one team scores.

In college football, the game ends after the fourth quarter with no overtime play allowed.

The Officials

Play is supervised by impartial officials. College football games may have as few as four officials, but major college games and pro games have seven: the referee, the umpire, the linesman or head linesman, the line judge, the field judge, the back judge, and the side judge. The referee is in overall charge of the game at all levels of play. He supervises the other officials, decides on all matters not under their specific jurisdiction, and enforces penalties. He blows a whistle to indicate when the ball is dead (out of play) and when it may again be put into play. The umpire makes decisions on questions concerning the equipment of the players, their conduct, and their positions. He blows a whistle to indicate that a foul has been committed. The principal duty of the linesman is to mark the position of the ball at the end of each play. He has assistants who, under his supervision, measure distances gained or lost, using a device consisting of two vertical markers connected by a chain or cord 10 yd (9 m) long. The linesman must particularly watch for violations of the rule requiring players to remain behind the line of scrimmage and blows his whistle to notify the referee of any foul he has noticed. The line judge watches for infractions that occur at the line of scrimmage, and keeps the official time as a backup for the game clock operator. The field judge focuses on plays involving the tight end, and is responsible for timing between plays. The back judge and side judge watch for infractions that occur in the defensive backfield. The back judge and field judge also determine if field goal and conversion attempts are successful (see Methods of Scoring, below).

Coin Toss

Just before a game begins, the referee tosses a coin in the presence of the two team captains. The team winning the toss has its choice of two options: deciding whether to kick off or to receive the kickoff; or deciding which goal it will defend. The side that loses the toss accepts the option the winner did not take. The options are reversed at the start of the second half. In pro football, the coin toss procedure also takes place before an overtime period.

In college football, the team winning the toss may elect to be given first choice at the start of the second half, thereby allowing the other team first pick of the options at the beginning of the game.

The Kickoff

Each half (and the overtime period, in pro football) is begun by a kickoff; also, after each conversion attempt or successful field goal, the team that has scored must kick off to its opponents. On a kickoff, the ball is placed on a tee on the 35-yd (32-m) line (30-yd/27-m line in pro football) of the team about to kick off. The kicking team lines up on or behind its kickoff line; its opponents spread out over their territory and usually place two fast-running players, called kickoff returners, near their own goal line to receive the kick. Any member of the receiving team may catch the ball, or pick it up on a bounce, and run with it as long as the ball is within the boundaries of the field. If the ball is kicked over the end line or is caught or picked up in the end zone by a member of the receiving team who downs it (puts at least one knee on the ground), a touchback is called; on a touchback, the ball is placed on the receiving team's 20-yd (18-m) line, where scrimmage (the action while the ball is in play) begins. A player who chooses to run with the ball may be tackled by any member of the opposing team and stopped, or downed. Tackling involves using hands or arms to stop or throw to the ground an opponent carrying the ball. A tackler may leave his feet at the moment he touches the runner, but he may not execute a flying tackle, that is, dive or throw his body through the air at the runner. After the tackle, the referee blows his whistle to stop play and places the ball on the spot where the runner has been downed. A scrimmage then takes place.

Scrimmage

Before scrimmage begins, the offensive team usually gathers in a circle, called a huddle, and the quarterback tells his team which play is to be used next to try to advance the ball. Each play is designated by code numbers or words, called signals. Teams customarily have a choice of dozens of well-rehearsed plays, some with several variations. After the team comes out of the huddle, it lines up opposite the opposing team on the line of scrimmage, which is an imaginary line running parallel to the goal lines and intersecting the point of the ball closest to the opposing team's goal line. The center crouches over the ball and the scrimmage begins when, on a spoken signal from the quarterback, the center snaps the ball, that is, passes or hands it between his legs to the quarterback, who in turn can pass it forward, laterally, or backward; hand it off; or run with it. On certain plays the center may snap the ball to a punter or to a back who holds the ball for a kicker; he may also snap the ball directly to one of the other backs (rarely done in modern football), who may run with it or pass it. A forward pass must be made from behind the line of scrimmage while a lateral or backward pass may be made anywhere on the field.

The team on offense must advance the ball 10 yd (9 m) in four tries, called downs. After each down, the teams line up again and a new scrimmage takes place. If the offense succeeds in making 10 yd (without scoring) in four downs, it receives four more downs; if it fails, it must surrender the ball to its opponents after the fourth down.

During the scrimmage, the players of the offensive team may check or block their opponents by use of their bodies, but they may not grab or hold their opponents with their hands or arms. The player running with the ball, however, may use his outthrust arm to ward off, or straight-arm, potential tacklers. Good blocking is considered a fundamental technique of football.

The defensive team tries to prevent the attacking team from advancing the ball. The defending players may use their arms and hands as they attempt to break through opposing blockers to reach the ball carrier.

Turnovers

Two ways a defensive team may unexpectedly gain control of the ball are the fumble and the interception, collectively known as turnovers. If a player carrying the ball fumbles it, that is, lets it slip from his grasp, it becomes a free ball. Any player on the field may then take possession of it for his team. If an offensive player passes the ball and a defensive player catches it, an interception has been made. The player who has caught the ball can try to return it as far toward the opponents' goal as possible, being stopped only when tackled or forced out of bounds, that is, forced to run off the field over the sidelines.

Methods of Scoring

Perhaps the most important and exciting method of scoring is the touchdown, which counts for 6 points; it is made when a player on one team carries the ball beyond the goal line of the opposing team or passes it to a teammate who catches it in the end zone. A pass receiver may also catch the ball before he reaches the goal line and carry it into the end zone for a touchdown. After a team has scored a touchdown, it is permitted to try for a conversion, that is, an opportunity to score additional points while time out is called. The team lines up 3 yd/2.7 m (in pro football, 2 yd/1.8 m) from the goal line of the opponents and either runs with the ball, passes it, or kicks it. A running or passing conversion in which the ball is carried across the goal line counts for 2 points. A conversion by kicking the ball between the goalposts and over the crossbar counts for 1 point; this is done by either a placekick, in which one player holds the ball upright on the ground for a teammate to kick, or a dropkick, an outmoded procedure in which the kicker drops the ball on end to the ground and kicks it on the rebound. A successful kick is known as an extra point or a point after touchdown.

In college football, if the defensive team gains possession of the ball on a conversion attempt by an interception, fumble recovery, or blocked kick and returns it across the opposing team's goal line, it scores 2 points.

An offensive team may also score by kicking a field goal, which counts for 3 points. A field goal may be attempted on any play from scrimmage. For a successful field goal, the ball must be kicked, by a placekick or dropkick, between the opposing team's goalposts and over the crossbar. If a field goal attempt is short or goes into the end zone and the play was begun from a scrimmage line beyond the 20-yd (18-m) line, then the opposing team takes over at the original line of scrimmage (pro football, at the spot where the ball was kicked--usually about 7 yd/6.3 m behind the line of scrimmage). If an unsuccessful field goal attempt was begun on or inside the 20-yd line, then the opposing team takes over at the 20-yd line.

Finally, 2 points are scored for a safety, which occurs when a team ends a play in possession of the ball behind its own goal line and the impetus that caused the ball to be behind the goal line has come from the team itself; the opposing team scores the points. If the impetus has been supplied by the opposing team, a touchback is called and no points are scored. (After a safety, the team scored against must kick the ball, usually by a punt, from its own 20-yd line to the scoring team; this is called a free kick.)

The score of a game that is won by a forfeit is 1-0.

Offensive Formations and Strategy

The rules require the offense to have at least 7 players on the front line. Many formations and variations exist. In modern college football, teams tend to use formations popularized by the professionals. The pro set, described earlier, was devised to allow for more passing instead of running with the ball. Other modern formations devised for passing include the shotgun, a variation of the pro set in which the quarterback lines up about 7 yd (6.3 m) behind the center, and the run and shoot, which utilizes 5 pass receivers.

The T formation was popular in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s and is still used, mostly at the amateur level. In the T formation, the linemen are said to be arranged in a balanced line and the backfield are arranged in a balanced backfield formation:

Before the T formation, the single-wing offense was the most popular attack in football. The single-wing strategy dates from the early 1900s. Some of the best single-wing teams used an unbalanced line:

In the T formation, the center hands the ball under his legs to the quarterback. In the single wing, the center passes the ball under his legs to the left halfback or the fullback. The single wing is known as a power formation because it allows the linemen to double up on opponents. The T formation is better for quick movements, deception, and passing. In the split T formation, a variation of the T formation, the linemen and the backs split farther apart, thereby spreading apart the defense and making for wider openings in the line.

Different types of plays utilize the different formations. Among the common running plays are the line plunge or line buck, in which the runner attempts to carry the ball through the central part of the opponents' line; the off-tackle smash or run, in which the ball carrier tries to get through the opponents' line between either of the tackles and an end; and the end run, in which the man with the ball attempts to run around one of the ends. In all cases, the runner is assisted by various teammates, who generally precede him and attempt to block opponents out of his way. The ball carrier is usually one of the halfbacks or the fullback, but the quarterback and sometimes even the ends will carry the ball. On running plays in which he is not the carrier, the quarterback gives the ball to the runner by a handoff or a soft lateral pass, called a pitchout.

Perhaps the most spectacular of the offensive plays is the forward pass, in which the ball is thrown in a forward direction to one of the players eligible under the rules to catch it. In modern football, the ball is nearly always thrown by the quarterback, and those who may catch it include the other three backs and the two ends.

When a back other than the quarterback throws a forward pass, the intention is usually to surprise the opponents. One such pass is the option pass, in which the halfback or fullback receives the ball from the quarterback on a handoff or pitchout and begins a run around one end; he feints a pass, observes the response of the defenders, and then makes his decision to pass the ball or run with it. The defending team tries to frustrate the forward pass by batting the ball to the ground, deflecting it out of play, or intercepting it. If the forward pass is not completed, that is, not caught before touching the ground by an eligible player on the offensive team, or if it is not intercepted, the ball remains in the possession of the offensive team at the point where the last play started (unless the offensive team has used up its four downs). Once a player catches a pass, he may run with the ball or pass it laterally or backward to a teammate. A lateral or backward pass that is not caught and remains in play is a free ball.

An important offensive play is the punt, which consists of kicking the ball toward the opponents' goal. A punt is often used when the offense has failed to gain 10 yd (9 m) in the first three downs. By punting on the fourth down, the team relinquishes the ball much farther from its own goal than if it had tried a run or pass and had failed to gain a first down. The offensive team lines up in punt formation, which consists of a balanced line, three backs, and a punter who stands about 15 yd (13.5 m) behind the center. The center snaps the ball to the punter, who drops it toward his foot, and kicks it before it touches the ground. The receiving team places one player, called the punt returner, downfield to catch the punt and possibly run it back. Some punting team members try to protect the punter by blocking the charging defenders, and others run downfield to tackle the punt returner. The punt returner may signal for a fair catch, and if the returner catches it, the play is considered dead and the receiving team begins scrimmage on the spot of the catch; if the returner touches the ball but does not catch it, it is a free ball. If a punted ball goes out of bounds before crossing the opponents' goal line, the receiving team begins scrimmage on the yard line where the ball crossed the sideline. If the punted ball crosses the end line or is downed by the receiving team in their end zone, a touchback is called. Sometimes when the offensive team is in punt formation, it may try to surprise its opponents with a running play or a pass. Sometimes a team will try for a field goal instead of punting.

Defensive Formations and Strategy

Defensive teams have fewer restrictions on their manner of lining up than offensive teams. Generally, the defensive formation is determined by the way the offense lines up. When defending against opponents expected to throw many forward passes, teams often use the 4-3 formation, described earlier. The 3-4 formation, designed to be even more effective against the forward pass, is also popular; it utilizes a three-man line, with two ends and one tackle (called the nose tackle), and four linebackers. Against a team that primarily runs with the ball, the defense may add extra linemen--called guards or middle guards--between the tackles, such as in the 6-2-2-1 defense:

Other popular defenses have been the 7-1-2-1, called the 7-diamond, which stops the run even more effectively; and the 5-4-2 defense, used against teams that rely on the run and the short pass.

Pass coverages are strategies used to defend against the forward pass. In the most popular, the zone coverage, the defensive players are given specific areas or "zones" of the field to cover and they are responsible for any pass receivers who enter these areas. In man-to-man coverage, defensive players are assigned specific pass receivers to defend against. In double coverage, two defensive players team up on one dangerous receiver.

Penalties

To keep the game of football a sportsmanlike contest, penalties are imposed by officials for violations of the rules of the game. Through the years, at both the college and professional levels, rules have been updated and penalties implemented particularly with the intent of making the game safer for the players. The accompanying table describes common infractions and their corresponding penalties.

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