how do the "1st down, 2nd down" thing works in the football field??

Question

i like watching football and all that..but i dont understand how it works..i mean..you know when the offensive team has the ball..then the guy who has the ball gets tackled down..they say "1st down"or 2nd or 3rd..
i dont understand what that means..the "1st & 10"..or "4th & 8" or "2nd & 9"..what do they mean??
how do you know when to give the ball to the other team?(when to switch role plays-the offensive becomes the defensive and the defensive becomes the offensive )

Answer 1

hope this helps.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football

Answer 2

On offense, you have to get ten yards in 4 downs from where your drive starts. If you don't succeed on 1st down, it becomes 2nd down and 'x' amount of yards. Generally, if a team doesn't make it on 3 tries, the offense will either kick a field goal for 3 points (if they're in range for their kicker) or punt the ball (which would give the ball to the other team. The only reasons you go for it on 4th down is if you're down with a minute or so left or you have only inches to the 1st down line or end zone.

If you make it 10 yards (cross the 1st down line) within the 4 downs, your team gets a fresh set of downs and it becomes 1st and 10. If not, then it is a turnover on downs and the other team gets the ball.

Answer 3

The &10, & 8, etc means how many more yards until a 1st down. If it is 2nd and 5, it means 2nd down with 5 yards to go for a 1st down.
The ball is given to the other team once the offense either punts the ball on 4th down or turns the ball over to the opposing team after not getting a 1st down. If there is a score it is kicked off by the scoring team to the opposing team.

Answer 4

Each team gets four downs. It's 10 yards to get a first down, thus "1st & 10". So if you gain four yards on first down, it would be "2nd & 6". If you gain more than 10 yards, you get a first down, and it would be "1st & 10" all over again (unless you pick up a first down inside the 10 yard line, then it's "1st & goal"). If you don't gain enough yards on third down, then you must decide wether or not to punt, go for the first down, or kick a field goal. If you punt, the other team gains possession at the spot of where the punt is advanced or downed. If you go for the first down and convert, you keep the ball, if not, the other team gets the ball from the previous line of scrimmage (the spot where you had the ball). If you go for the field goal and make it, it's three points and you kick off to the other team, if you miss, the ball goes to the other team from where you kicked the ball (unless you attempted the field goal from inside the 20 yard line, then they get the ball at the 20).

Answer 5

Each team has four tries to get a first down. One first down = 10 yards.

If they don't get it in one try and only make, say, 3 yards, then it would be 2nd and 7. If they get three more yards, it would be 3 and four. If the QB is sacked or a receiver/running back is tackled for a loss of yardage, that would show up as well.

If a team can't get 10 yards in four tries gets to either punt the ball away to the other team, try for a field goal, or go for it on the fourth down, depending on the field position. The closer to the goal line, the more easier it would be to pull a field goal kick (the ball must be moved 15 yards though and a FG kicker can only kick a ball about 55 yards at most).

If the team goes for it on fourth down and doesn't make it, then the other team gets the ball back at that same position on the field.

If a team does make it in four tries or less, then they get the first down and it continues from there.

Answer 6

Each team has 4 plays or "downs" in which to advance the ball 10 yards. When you see situations like 2nd and 9, it means that the first play gained 1 yard and the upcoming play is seen as the offense's 2nd opportunity to gain the remining 9 yards needed to retain possesion. The ball can be surrendered on any down via interception, fumble, punt, or kickoff.

Answer 7

Ok I will put it in lamest term. 1st and 10 mean that they have to take the ball more than 10 yard in 4 tries. 2nd and 10 is they have to take the ball past 10 yards in 3 time. time = downs. So if they don't take the ball past the 10 yards then the ball is turnover and the other team does the same thing until they turn over of score. So did that answer that question?

Answer 8

The offense has four plays, or "downs", to move the ball 10 yards. If they fail to do so, the other team gets the ball. "1st & 10" refers to which play it is and the yardage left to gain; "1st" representing that it's the first of the four plays, and "10" being the number of yards the offense must gain to keep possession. So when it's "3rd & 8", the offense only has two plays left to pick up 8 more yards.

Answer 9

You have 4 downs to make 10 yards, so 1st and ten would be 1st down and 10 yards to go before making another 1st down. For every 10 yards, you get a 1st down. otherwise the other teams gets the ball.

Answer 10

it's 'down and distance'. the offensive team has 4 downs(or plays) to get 10 yards(10 yards is a first down) so for example, first and 10 means it's first down with 10 yards to go to get another 1st down. if they don't get 10 yards in 4 plays, the other team gets the ball, see? let's say on 1st and 10, they get 3 yards. so now, it's 2nd and 7, see? 2nd down with 7 yards to go to get another 1st down. let's say on 2nd and 7, they get 2 yards. now it's 3rd and 5, see? 3rd down with 5 yards to go to get another 1st down. let's say on 3rd and 5 they get 4 yards. now it's 4th and 1, see? on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd downs, they gained a total of 9 yards, right? now they need 1 more yard on 4th down, OR they can kick the ball to the other team on 4th down. that way, the other team will get the ball much further back in their own part of the field. if they try to get that 1 yard on 4th down and don't make it, the other team gets the ball in much better field position.

Answer 11

u have 3-4 tries to get a touchdown.

1& 10 or 3 & 5 means {number/last} of yards u need to get in order to get a first down. By having as many first downs means closer to field goal range or touchdown.

4th down they usually punt it because if they were to run it and didnt make the first down it would be downed and the other team would have a better chance to get a touchdown or field goal. So they punt and push the ball back so its harder for the other team to get a touchdown or field goal.