i dont get american football.. please explain in simple terms?

Answer 1

Let's see. The football field is 100 yards long, marked at 10-yard intervals. At either end is an "end zone," in which are goal posts. The two teams of players have 11 players each on the field at any given time. When the game begins, a referee flips a coin to decide who can choose first; the choice they make is whether to kick the ball or receive it. Most teams choose to receive it, but not always.

Whichever team is to initially receive the ball gets it when the other kicks it off to start the game. The receiving team then attempts to move the ball to the goal in front of them with a series of carries and/or passes. Their progress is marked in ten-yard "downs"; they have four tries to progress ten yards, or the ball is turned over to the other team, at which point THEY start trying to move the ball the other way. If a team makes the 10 yards (or more) in the four tries without kicking it, then they get to try for the next 10 yards.

Different players can do different things, and I'm not all that familiar with all of them. The team trying to move the ball is called the "offense," and the one trying to stop them is called the "defense." The quarterback of each team is the leader on the field; he can call plays himself (not common), or he may receive plays from his coach. The players line up in a variety of positions on either side of the place where the ball is going to start; that is called the "line of scrimmage." At the middle of the offense is the player who is called the "center." He is the one who picks up or "snaps" the ball; what happens to it then depends on the play, but it usually goes to the quarterback, who can hand it off, pass it, and so on. There are rules about where the ball can and cannot be passed.

The game is divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each of actual playing time. Some things that happen mean that the clock stops; other things happen that do not stop the clock. Each team is allowed two time-outs in a half (or a quarter???); how they use those is part of their strategy.

Once a team approaches the opposing goal, and manages to move ANY part of the ball across the zero yard line, they have scored a goal, which is 6 points. Afterward, they are allowed a "conversion," which counts two points if they run it across again, or one point if they kick it across, IF it goes between the goalposts.

There are also field goals worth three points; to get that, a team kicks the ball from the field, and if it goes through the goalposts, it's worth three points. There's also a "touch-back," which happens if a member of the offense is tackled and brought down in his own end zone, and it's worth two points.

Once a team has scored, it then kicks off to the opposing team, and the process starts again. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins. In professional football, if they are tied at the end of the fourth quarter, then the game goes into "sudden-death" overtime, meaning that WHOEVER scores first wins.

There are rules as to what players can and can't do; if the rules are broken, the team receives a penalty, which is generally the loss of anywhere from 5 to 15 yards (more yards for more serious or potentially dangerous infractions).

I think that pretty much covers it :-)

Answer 2

American football has no relationship to Soccer, that is the first thing to understand. 100 yard field, the team that has the football is attempting to move the location of the ball across the end or goal line for a score called a touchdown, worth 6 points. this is accomplished by running with the ball. The runner may be handed the ball, passsed (throwing the ball through the air), or kicked the ball. The player with the ball is stopped by his opponent by tackling (taking the player physically to the ground). When a team receives the ball they can continue to move towards the goal as long as they move atleast 10 yards in four plays or downs, when a player advances the ball more than ten yards within 4 downs, a new set of 4 downs is established, if the team does not advance the ball 10 yards then the other team get the ball. generally a team will kick the ball to the other team on the 4th down, so as to give the other team the ball furtherest from the goal. If a team is close enough to the goal, a kick may be attempted, the object is to kick the ball between two posts (goal posts) that are elevated with a crossbar. If the kick goes over the crossbar and between the posts, this is called a field goal and is worth 3 points. Also, after a touchdown, a team may attempt a short kick through the posts for 1 point or one play to cross the goal line from about 3 yards away worth 2 points.
one other way to score is to tackle the opponents behind the goal opposite of the one they are headed. This is called a safety and is worth 2 points. the teams play 4 quarters, each quarter is 15 minutes for the pros, 12 for college and High school. There is a break (halftime) after the second quarter. The team with the highest score after 4 quarters is the winner. These are the basics. There are various penalties for numerous types of infractions. The game has several referees that keep time, decide ball locations and call penalties. I hope this answers your question. Football has many rules, teams have set formations and plays, most of which would make little sense until you start to watch the games.

Answer 3

Ok, this is the simplest way to explain it to a foreigner:

You have a two groups that play in the game, the offense and the defense. It's like World War I, you have to find a way to penetrate the enemy's line. The focus of the offense is the quarterback, his offensive line protects him, and opens avenues for the other backs. If a defensive player slips through that line and gets the QB, the O-Line, or offensive line has failed. The QB can still pass, but he has to do it quickly.

On the 100 yard field, the first downs are like forts. Once they are captured, it allows the offense four more tries to get down the field and get more first downs, or score a touchdown, the ultimate goal. Like the first World War, it is a game of inches.

The defense's goal is to make the offense give up the ball through an interception or downs. Both the offense and defense are made up of specialized players, no player plays both.

The guys on the offensive and defensive lines are usually gigantic, fat and brawling. The guys who are the receivers are usually fast and have good hands. The QB is the star, and as long as he can throw and make good decisions, not much else matters. The running backs take the real abuse, trying to maneuver and charge through the defensive lines.

It's up to you whether you like it or not. American football is not for everyone, but it's a great game to watch with friends, even if you don't know what's going on.

Answer 4

American Football is a physical contact sport. A coin is fliped, one side heads the other Tales. Whichever team calls the right side has the option to kick to the other team or receive the ball. The one who receives the ball is the offence. There job is to run or pass the ball up to 100 yeards upfield and cross the defences endzone. They receive 6 points for it, that is what we call a touchdown. The kicker can kick for 1 extra point or the offence can try to cross the endzone again from 3 yeards out and get 2 points. Each team has 4 downs to get 10 yeards to collect another 1st down. Once stopped the team with the ball if not in fieldgoul range will punt the ball to the other for their chance to move the ball upfield and score. 15 minutes are in each quarter and they play 4 quarters. The team with the most points at the end of 4 quarters wins the game.

Answer 5

Basically you have an offense and defense with 11 on each side and you score by going into the endzone for a touchdown which is 6 points and then usually go for a PAT (point after touchdown) which is kicked or have the option of running an offensive play to get a 2 pointer. You have 4 downs to gain 10 yards unless you loose yardage or a penalty sets you back. If you get to 4th down and dont get your yardage for a additional 4 downs (getting a first) then you have the option of punting to give to the other team or kicking a FG (Field goal) and getting 3 points depending on where you are on the field as the majority only kick in the low 50's. It easier to have someone sit down and explain to you as you are watch rather than read and try to comprehend. You can usually pick up the good stuff thats needed to understand by just sitting and asking questions to someone who actually knows it. Good Luck

Answer 6

Explaining it to someone in simple terms, if that person doesn't already have at least a basic understanding of the game, is very difficult. There are, however, several good explanations here.

One thing that you *have* to remember, though, like Tequilia Kentucky said, is that American and Canadian football have no relationship to soccer. They're two completely different games. I think that the confusion and the thought that they can be compared to each other (they really can't be) stems from the fact that we call our sport football, and what pretty much the rest of the world calls football is what we know as soccer. :)

Answer 7

Okay, this is going to be tough Rules: Offsides: Opposing player being on the opponets side of the line of scrimage(line up line, where ball is placed) Pass Interferace: Actions against the rules by one player done to a player on the opposing team to try to prevent a catch Roughing the passer: Hitting the Qb without cause after a pass Roughing the Kicker: Same logic as roughing the passer only this time it is with the Kicker or Punter Illegal reciever down field: An Offensive player who is not a reciever that is down field usually trying to make a catch Unnessecary Roughness: Name explains everthing Holding: A player holding on to the jersey of another player(not the ball carriers) to achieve a momentum gain Intentional grounding: When a Qb throws the football into an area intentionally with no eligible reciever around Saftey: A player being tackled in his teams own endzone Face Mask: A grabbing of a ball carriers face mask Clipping: A player blocking below the knees of another outside the box(the area between the Edges of the Tackles) Those are most of the Rules some Football terms: To the House: Touchdown Landbeou Leap: The act of jumping on the Wall after a Touchdown usually by a wide reciever

Answer 8

There is a 100 yard field with a goal for either team at each end. One team takes the ball and must move at least 10 feet toward the goal. They have four tries to do it, known as a down. If they do, they get try again. If they don't they have to give the football to the other team. Getting to the goal is a touchdown and is worth 7 points. A field goal where a guy kicks the ball between the goal posts is 3 points. There are four periods of play. After all four periods, whoever has the most points wins. HOpe this helps.

Answer 9

Well, i'm no football fanatic, but I do know that when a player takes the ball to the proper goal and throws it down on the grass it is called a "touch down".

A play is started in the center of the field, there the balls is given to a team and the game starts. The team that had the ball given to them by the ref will try to get it to their goal and make a touch down WITH OUT letting the ball touch the grass.

If the ball DOES touch the grass, everybody goes to where the ball touched the grass and is given to the ref. The players then start the game over only they are standing in the spot where the ball had touched the grass. The ref will give the ball to the opposite team because the first team either went out of bounds or let the ball touch the grass.

I hope this helps. Like i said, I'm no football fan, but i know a lot of people who are lol.

Answer 10

That can be difficult.. unlike the rest of the worlds football it goes play by play it is not constantly in motion there are little breaks and more rules about what can be done in certain scenarios. The best way to learn is to read about it and watch a game with someone who understands it so they can explain it while the game is going on.

GL