Can Anyone Teach the Basics of Football?!

College Confidential Community
1

<p>Super Bowl Sunday is comin' up and I got invited to this fairly big party...but dude...i honestly don't know JACK about football....and i want to be yelling out loud "ohh he was on the 45 yard line right before! (..fill in the blank!) "</p>

<p>is it cumbersome or can you teach the basics and i'll have it down in a minute or two? is anyone cool enough to teach for a second?</p>

<p>ive played basketball most my life and don't know jack for football...was never really into it but now i'm totally getting interested!</p>

<p>if you can teach the basics, what i should call out, what i should yell during the tackle, (you get it..) i'd most appreciate it please.</p>

<p>and i honestly am not doing this for mere 'show', if you will, because i'm startin' to LOVE football (watching for the most part), esp. college!</p>

2

<p>Some football jargon:</p>

<p>BASIC:</p>

<p>Line of Scrimmage - The line where the pre-snapped ball is set down on</p>

<p>ON OFFENSE:</p>

<p>Hail Mary - A last second desperation play where the QB just throws the ball downfield to streaking receivers</p>

<p>Shotgun - Formation where the QB takes the snap several yards behind the center; name is derived from the fact that there are multiple receivers that spread out like like a shotgun blast</p>

<p>Screen Pass - Deceptive play where the O-line allows the defenders through in order to allow the QB to make a short throw over and behind the rushing defense (usually to a running back)</p>

<p>Lateral - Sideways throw from a ball carrier; unlike the forward pass, the lateral can be done an infinite amount of times anywhere on the field, but it has have absolutely no forward motion on it</p>

<p>Audible - A change in play made at the line of scrimmage by the QB, right before the snap, based on his readings of the defense</p>

<p>Motion - Self-explanatory; when an offensive player goes in motion right before the snap; it's primarily used to create mismatches or to find out what kind of coverage the D is in</p>

<p>Bootleg - A style of QB-ing where the QB is meant to run out of the pocket and run laterally in order to buy time in order to find a receiver or to find a running lane; fast QBs like Michael Vick or Jake Plummer are bootleg QBs, as opposed to pocket passers like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning</p>

<p>Pancake - When a blocker knocks a defender off his feet</p>

<p>Playaction - A faked run play, which is then turned into a passing play; the QB will fake a handoff to the RB in order to get the defense out of position for the throw</p>

<p>Cut - When a RB changes direction very quickly</p>

<p>Sweep - A play where the RB runs around the defense</p>

<p>Dive/Slam/Blast - A play where the RB runs through the defense</p>

<p>ON DEFENSE:</p>

<p>Sack - When the QB is tackled behind the line of scrimmage</p>

<p>Man Coverage - When defenders have specific players assigned to them</p>

<p>Zone Coverage When defenders are assigned areas, and the players who enter those areas</p>

<p>Blitz - When any defender who is not a defensive lineman rushes the QB</p>

<p>Pressure - When the defense is able to force the QB into making hurried throws which are inaccurate and prone to interceptions</p>

<p>That's all i can think of now. Any questions?</p>

3

<p>Some more football jargon:</p>

<p>ON OFFENSE:</p>

<p>Option - Where the QB runs with the ball, but also has a RB running just alongside him in order to give him the "option" of tossing the ball to the RB</p>

<p>Flea flicker - Deceptive play where the QB hands off to the RB, only to have the RB toss it back to him way behind the line of scrimmage; a variant of the playaction</p>

<p>RB pass - Self-explanatory; deceptive play where the RB gets the ball, pretends to run with it, but pulls up short of the line of scrimmage and throws the ball</p>

<p>Half-back/Tail-back More specific names for RB's</p>

<p>Fullback - A type of RB that is bigger and more suited for blocking for the HB/TB than for running</p>

<p>Reverse - Deceptive play where a ball carrier hands off the ball to another carrier who is running in the opposite direction; fake reverses are also common, as the ball is hard to keep track of</p>

<p>Possession Receiver - A receiver who can get many YAC after short throws (yards after catch), e.g. Terrell Owens</p>

<p>Deep Threat - A receiver who tends to do the most damage with deep throws, e.g. Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison</p>

<p>ON DEFENSE:</p>

<p>Shut-down Corner - A cornerback who can single-handedly neutralize the threat of the opponent's top receiver</p>

<p>Jam - When the corners try and physically impede the receivers' routes (for the first 5 yards)</p>

<p>ROLES</p>

<p>ON OFFENCE:</p>

<p>Quarterback - Takes the snap, throws ball, hands ball off to RB</p>

<p>Running back - Takes handoff and runs, occasionally receives passes, blocks blitzing defenders when necessary</p>

<p>Fullback - A lead blocker for the RB, sometimes is called upon to run in short yard situations</p>

<p>Wide receiver - Receives passes, blocks cornerbacks on running plays</p>

<p>Tight end - A big and slow receiver (or a lineman with good hands) who lines up on the one end of the line, acts as a hybrid between a lineman and a receiver</p>

<p>Offensive tackles - Outermost lineman (except for the tight end) on the offensive line and is generally regarded as the most important lineman</p>

<p>Guards - Linemen who line up inside the tackles</p>

<p>Center - The lineman who snaps the ball to the QB</p>

<p>ON DEFENCE</p>

<p>Cornerback - Defends receivers</p>

<p>Free safety - The faster of the two safeties, usually assigned to help out the cornerbacks on deep throws</p>

<p>Strong safety - The stronger of the two safeties, usually plays like a linebacker, closer to the line of scrimmage</p>

<p>Linebacker - Defenders who line up behind the defensive line, usually assigned to stopping the run, but are also called upon to defend on short yard passes; generally regarded as the most important defenders, and the Middle Linebacker is like the QB of defense</p>

<p>Defensive ends - Defensive linemen who line up on the outermost edges; usually are the leanest, smallest, and fastest of the linemen </p>

<p>Defensive tackles - Defensive linemen who line up inside the D-ends</p>

<p>Nose guard - Defensive lineman who lines up directly against the center (in a four-linemen defense, there is no nose guard)</p>

4

<p>just play a football video game for a few minutes</p>

5

<p>Look online or buy a dummies book or ask a friend/father/brother.</p>

<p>But, basically:</p>

<p>The team on offense needs to move down the field to score. They can score by getting a touchdown or a fieldgoal. A touchdown is when a member of the offensive team has possession of the ball in the endzone. Ask someone about having possession of the ball--the issue will come up at crucial times. A touchdown is six points. The team then will kick an "extra point" through the goal posts. This is an easy kick and is almost always made. The team will then have seven points. Depending on how many points are necessary to win, closer to the end of the game the team who just got a touchdown will not kick an extra point. Instead, they will "go for two," in which they will try to get the ball in the endzone again. This is more difficult, so if it is succesful the team will get two points, making the total eight. It is only done if the team needs to do it, since the extra point from a kick is easy to get. A normal fieldgoal is three points and is kicked from the spot the team is. </p>

<p>The team will move down the field in ten yard incriments. It will start off being "1st and 10" meaning that it is the first down and there are ten yards to go before getting another first down. Say they do a quick play and get three yards, then it will be "2nd and 7." There are four downs (a down is a try for yards, basically). A down is not used if a pass is incomplete (no one catches it). This basically means they have three tries to get ten yards. Otherwise, they will usually punt the ball down the field. The other team will then receive the ball and be on offense at the spot where they either 1) caught it if a "fair catch" is called (you can tell because the person catching it won't run) or 2) ran the ball to after catching it. If they try again on the fourth down and do not make the ten yards, the other team will get the ball right there, giving them better field position and making it easier for them to score. If it is "fourth and inches" or the team needs to score, they will usually try on the fourth down. </p>

<p>Pay attention to the scores and scoring possibilities in order to guess whether they should "go for two" or use the fourth down to get a field goal instead of trying to get yards or whatever else.</p>

<p>A yellow flag means there is a penalty. Look up the most common ones so you are familiar with them, but don't try to call them if you're new at it. You'll just look dumb. A whistle means play has to stop. Play continues if a yellow flag is thrown with no whistle. If a coach throws a red flag, that means he is challenging a ruling on the field. It will then be "reviewed" by the refs. The team will lose a timeout if the play stands.</p>

<p>Watch parts of some old games (they're on sports channels a lot) with your internet resource or a friend in order to get used to what's going on. You ought to be familiar with some basic plays and calls, but you don't need to know them all. </p>

<p>Yell whatever and whenever the other kids are, and you'll fit right in. Don't worry too much about it, though. I don't go to superbowl parties because most people there don't know anything about football. They're just there to get drunk, when some people actually want to watch the game. I've found a lot of guys who don't know a lot about football but pretend they do, so don't worry too much about it. You just look up both teams, especially your own team, in order to be familiar with the coaches, major players, and any tendencies of the team (for example, are they conservative on calls?).</p>

6

<p>Madden 2006 is where it's at. lol</p>

7

<p>I'll share my interpretation, for fun (altough it's going to sound a lot like corranged's)</p>

<p>There are two teams. The game is played with a ball. The goal of the game is to acquire more points than the other team after the end of the game (in NFL play, this is 4 quarters of 15 min. each.) </p>

<p>At any given point, one team is on offense, while the other is on defense. The game is played on a field that is 100 yards long. The team on offense will attempt to carry the ball forward on the field until they reach the end of the field (the "endzone"). They get 6 points for doing so (called a touchdown.) They also get a choice - they can attempt to kick the ball through the goalpost from a 10 yard distance for 1 extra point, or to move the ball into the endzone from the 10 yd line, for which they get 2 points. A team can also score 3 points by kicking the ball through the goal posts from anywhere on the field, at any time.</p>

<p>How the ball moves: During "posessions," the offensive team has the ball at a certain yardline (called the "line of scrimage"). They often "snap" it back to the quarterback, the player who controls the ball for the offense. He can choose to throw it to a "receiver" or to simply hand it to a "rusher." These players attempt to move the ball forward as many yards as possible. The defensive team wishes to stop them by stoping the movement of the ball. They do so by "tackling" an offensive player.</p>

<p>The offense gets 4 tries to advance the ball 10 yards. If they fail to do so, the ball is given to the other team wherever it last was. Most of the time, teams will kick the ball on the "4th down" (or 4th attempt) to prevent the opposing team from having a great position. If a team does move 10 yards or more, they start over from the new line (this is called getting a 1st down.) If a defensive player catches the ball thrown by an offensive player, it is called an "interception" and the defensive team now gets to go on offense. The same is true in the case of the "fumble" where an offensive player loses the ball before being "down" (tackled/ended posession.)</p>

8

<p>Here are the basics of football:</p>

<p>Everybody falls down.
Everybody gets up.
Everybody falls down....</p>

9

<p>You know it's funny. I've been watching football for some 10 years now, and never put any thought into why they call it a shotgun formation. Of course I know what one looks like, and I know when they're useful, I had just never really thought that deeply into the reason it's called a shotgun offense.</p>