NFL 101: Learn the basics

Thanks to my awesome girlfriends, I received an influx of questions about the NFL -  so for the next few weeks I will break down the sport that I love and explain why there is more to football then just grown men hitting each other.

·      Q: Is the ball really made of pigskin? 

·      A:  Short answer: Not anymore!  The first “footballs” were made of inflated pig bladders, which is how the nickname pigskin came about.  But as different materials were invented the football started to take new form and new materials were added to it.  Rubber was used to replace the pig bladders and then leather was added to the rubber.  However, now and days, a football is made of mostly leather, with polyurethane or rubber used as the internal “bladder.” So really, a football has the same material make-up as a lot of your winter boots!

·      Q: How long are quarters?

·      A: Quarters are 15 minutes long.  However, the ball is not in play straight through the 15 minutes.  There are commercial breaks, team time outs, stoppage of the clock to set down markers, turnovers, etc. Fans also need beer during the quarters so they have to make sure there is enough time for a quick beer run whether you are at the stadium or in your own home!

·      Q: What does the coin toss accomplish?

·      A: At the beginning of every game, the captains of each team go to the middle of the field with the head referee.  The referee tosses a coin to determine which team has the first possession.  The visiting team (team who’s fans are NOT in the stadium) always makes the guess of how the coin will fall, heads or tails.  If they win the toss, then the visiting team can either start the game with the football or they can decide to start the second half with the football. 

·      Q: What are downs and how many does each team get?

·      A: Little sidebar about me…the first rule my dad taught me about football was in regards to downs, so if you don’t take anything else from this blog post just remember this answer because it will open doors to understanding more about football!

Each team gets 4 downs to move the football 10 yards. 

Once a team goes 10 yards they have earned a 1^st down, this means the number of downs start over.  

For example, on a team’s first possession they run the ball 2 yards.  So then their 2^nd down is now 2^nd down & 8. The quarterback then throws for 16 yards, so his team now has a 1^st down!

·      Q: How do you earn points?

·      A: The offense can score points two ways – score a touchdown for 6 points or score a field goal for 3 points.  If a touchdown is scored then teams have a chance to score an additional point/s by kicking an extra point or throwing a 2-point conversion.

The defense can score points two ways also, this doesn’t happen very often – they can intercept or pick up a ball that was either thrown or dropped by an opposing team and run it in for a touchdown (6 points), or they can sack a quarterback in the end zone for a safety which is worth 2 points.

As I sit and write this it’s clear that football is a very complicated sport – so please give yourself time to understand these basics and let them soak in.  We will ease slowly into NFL 102 next week!

As always, please feel free to ask any questions about football or any other sport in the comment section below!