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Basic Rules of American Football
A quick lesson American football for beginners
The Game
1) There are two opposing teams of eleven players each, with each team having opposite halves
of the football field as their territory'. The teams take turns at either being the Oense (having the
ball in their possession and trying to score points), or the Defense (trying to stop the oense from
scoring points).
2) Time of play is 60 minutes, divided into four fifteen-minute segments.
The Field
Football is played on a rectangular field one hundred yards long x 160 yards wide, with a ten foot
long area at each end called the end zone.
Scoring Points
1) Touchdown: scores six points if the ball is thrown or carried into the opponent's end zone.
2) Point after Touchdown/Extra point: after a touchdown is scored, the scoring team has an
opportunity to score additional points by either kicking the ball between the goal posts in the end
zone or throwing or carrying the ball into the end zone from two yards away for two additional
points.
3) Field Goal: even if a team has failed to get into the end zone for a touchdown during their
possession, they may feel they are close enough to exercise the option of kicking the ball
between the goal posts for three points.
4) Safety: If an oensive player who has the ball in his possession gets stuck in his own end zone,
and is tackled there by a defensive player, thedefenseis awarded two points.
Oense
A typical oense is made up of a quarterback, five oensive linemen, two wide receivers, a
running back, a fullback, and a tight end, however teams will vary their personnel on the field to fit
any given play. A quarterback is guarded by their oensive linemen. The oensive line is made up
of a left and right tackle, a left and right guard, and a center. The running back will either take the
ball from the quarterback and run, move up and help the oensive line block, or go out and catch
a pass. The wide receivers primary role is to run out into the field of play and catch the ball,
although they will also block in some instances.
1) If the oense fails to move the football forward the required ten yards, they must turn the ball
over to their opponent.
2) If the oense takes all four downs and fails to move the ball the required ten yards, the ball is
turned over to the other team at that point on the field. That is, the defense now becomes the
oense at the exact place where the oense has been stopped.
3) The oense also has the option, on fourth down, of kicking the ball to the opponent when they
have failed to make the required ten yards and have too far to go to take a chance of making it on
the remaining down. If they are still closer to their own end zone than to that of their opponent, if
they give the ball to their opponent at that place on the field, they have placed their opponent
closer to being able to enter their end zone and score against them.
Defense
The players on defense may arrange themselves in any manner, as long as all players are "behind
the line". Players who line up opposite the oensive line are calleddefensive linemen, usually with
one or twodefensive tacklesin the middle and with onedefensive endon each side. A defensive
lineman's job is typically to put pressure on the opposing teams quarterback by rushing the
oensive line. The defensive line is also most often the first set of players the opponent must get
through should they choose to run the ball. Behind the linemen are thelinebackers. A linebackers
job can be any number of things, including trying to rush the opposing teams quarterback,
stopping the opponents running back on run plays, or covering the opponents tight end or wide
receivers. Positioned opposite the wide receivers are thecornerbacks. Their primary responsibility
is to cover the wide receivers. Farthest back from the line are thesafeties, usually in the middle of
the field behind the linebackers. The safeties are the last line of defense against the opponent.
Like a linebacker, a safety's role can vary, however their most common role is to help the
cornerbacks cover the opponent's wide receivers, which is called "double coverage". The linemen
and linebackers close to the line of scrimmage, are often referred to as playing "in the box".
Players outside "the box" are collectively referred to as the "secondary".

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Basic Rules of American Football

A quick lesson American football for beginners

2) Time of play is 60 minutes, divided into four fifteen-minute segments.

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