F OOTBALL

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H ISTORY 1892 the first professional football team assembled 1920 American Football Association formed 1922 National Football League (NFL) Currently 32 NFL Teams 16 in AFC and 16 in NFC

H OW THE START OF PLAY OCCURS Traditionally a referee will flip a coin to give each team an equal opportunity to decide which team gets to make the first decision. The flip occurs between team captains. Once a team wins the coin toss they will decide to accept possession or defer the ball until that start of the second half. If they are to receive possession first the opposing team will kick the ball off from at tee at the 35 yard line. If they choose to defer the ball, then they kick it off to the opposing team until the third quarter. At the start of the third quarter the opposing team will kick off to them allowing them to have possession first in the second half.

H OW GAME IS PLAYED Football is a contact sport. The team is broken into two main categories offense and defense. The offense is the side that has possession of the ball. The defensive side is the side that is trying to stop the offensive side from scoring. Both sides are made up of 11 players. Each player has a different position. The offensive team is trying to get the ball to pass the goal line of the opposing team by throwing/catching, running, or in certain situations kicking.

H OW GAME IS PLAYED CONTINUED …. The offensive team earns up to 4 downs every ten yards. The downs are 4 attempts at moving the ball in hopes of scoring or earning a 1 st down. For example: the first play on the offensive side of the ball is 1 st and 10. This represents the 1 st down of 4 possible and 10 yards to go before earning a new set of 4 downs.

O FFENSIVE POSITIONS Quarterback Wide Receiver Running Back Tight End Guard Tackle Center

D EFENSIVE POSITIONS Tackle Guard Defensive End Linebacker Safety Cornerback

O FFENSIVE PLAYS Passing Post Route Play : receiver lines up runs straight down the side line yards then cuts in at angle toward the goal post. Out Route Play: receiver lines up runs straight down the field yards then cuts 90 degrees toward the side line. Rushing Up The Middle: The center, tackle and guard move the defensive players out toward side line to open up a hole for the running back to run through. Generally the fullback will run up the middle as protection for the running back.

D EFENSIVE PLAYS Blitz: Defense sends linebackers toward the line of scrimmage to put added pressure on the offense instead of just the defensive line. Man to Man: Generally occurs during a blitz the cornerback will cover a specific receiver because there is not enough people to try and cover an area. Zone: Cornerbacks and linebackers usually cover a specific area. This allows them to read the QB and try to anticipate the passing play that is about to occur in hopes of intercepting the ball to regain possession for their offense.

SCORING Touchdown - occurs after the ball crosses the goal line into the endzone. This occurs by a passing play or running play. A touchdown is 6 points. Point After Attempt - occurs after a touchdown where the ball is kicked through the uprights for 1 point Two Point Conversion - occurs after a touchdown where the ball is either throw Field Goal - occurs when the kicker kicks the ball through the uprights in place of a touchdown. A field goal is 3 points. Safety- occurs when an offensive is sacked/tackled in his own endzone. A safety is worth 2 points.

B OUNDARY TERMS AND SPECIFICATIONS Professional (NFL) Football Field Overall Dimensions All football fields share the same overall outside dimensions. The outside measurements below include the End Zone. High School, College and the NFL all have overall outside dimensions of: Length: 360 feet or 120 yards Width: 160 feet or 53 1/3 yards

B OUNDARIES End Zone: NFL endzones are10 yard deep. This measurement is shared by all levels of american play. End Line: A six foot end line border marks the back of the end zone. Team Benches: Team benches are placed along the Restraining Line between the 30 yard markers

F OOTBALL T ERMS AND BOUNDARIES Field Numbers: NFL field numbers are 6 feet high and 4 feet wide. Restraining Line: NFL fields have a 6’ line along the side lines that designate the closest non-players can be to the field. Hash Marks: NFL Hash marks are the narrowest of all the levels of football play. They measure 70 feet, 9 inches from the sidelines and are 18 feet, 6 inches wide. (same as the width of the goal posts) High School: the width of the hashmarks are 53 feet, 4 inches College: hashmarks are 40 feet wide Goal Posts: As mentioned before, NFL goal posts are 10 feet high and 18 feet, 6 inches wide

F OOTBALL F IELD D IAGRAM