American Football At Face Value

Added: 11/22/2007

A lot of people outside the United States do not understand American Football and, to be honest, people in the United States do not always understand it either. So to help people get a better understanding of the game here is a rundown of some of the positions and some of the rules associated with American Football. If there is something here you just don’t understand then there is always NFL.com.

American Football at its present look came into being around 1905. When it was first invented in the mid to late 1800’s it was strictly a game where the quarterback would give the ball to the running back and he would run it behind blockers. Equipment was slight and injuries were plentiful. But in the early 1900’s almost 20 people had died playing American Football at the college level so, when a pro league started to form, they started to alter the rules so that people would stop dying. The forward pass was legalized and players were required to wear helmets. It helped and American Football at that time went on to become very popular. American Football at present day is the most popular game in the United States with the Super Bowl being an international event that attracts millions of people to the host town and billions of television viewers worldwide. So who are the players and what do they do? We won’t be getting into any real detail at all here but we can give you some idea of what American Football at least is supposed to look like and maybe give you a little better understanding.

In American Football there are three sets of players for each team. There is offense, defense, and special teams. Any one player can play on any of these sets and the special teams set is usually made up of offensive and defensive players. The offense set is supposed to move the ball down the field to cross the goal line. The defense is the set that is supposed to stop the other team’s offense. The special teams handle all of the kicking plays like punts, field goals, kick offs, and extra points.

The offense is run by the quarterback who is the player that distributes the ball for each play. Behind the quarterback is a running back who is there to run the ball or catch it if the play requires it. In front of the quarterback is the five guys that make up his offensive line. The quarterback gets the ball snapped to him by the center. On either side of the center is two guards and outside each guard is a tackle. On the outside of the offensive line, set up near the sidelines of the playing field, are the speedy guys known as wide receivers. They will either go out and wait for a pass from the quarterback or they will block if it is a running play. Also in there, usually either lined up with the offensive line or just to the side of them, is what is called a tight end. He is allowed to catch the ball, run the ball, or sometimes he will stay with the offensive line and help block for the quarterback.

On defense the big guys that line up in the middle opposite the other team’s offensive line are known as the defensive line. They can be a combination of a nose tackle in the middle, defensive ends outside the nose tackle, or a defensive tackle if they add more guys to the defensive line. Behind the defensive line is the linebackers. Their job is to prevent the running back from getting out into the open field or tackling the quarterback before he can throw the ball. The linebackers will also cover a tight end if he goes out for a pass. On the outside, covering the wide receivers, are the cornerbacks. Helping the cornerbacks and station in the middle of the field usually 10 yards or so behind the linebackers are the safeties and their job is to help cover the receivers on pass plays or help tackle the running back on running plays.

See, wasn’t that easy?

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