NFL New to NFL - Please Explain

[drd23]

1) A rushing yard is when the ball is given to a player behind the line of scrimmage either directly or a backwards pass and the player then tries to run forwards. A receiving yard is any yard gained by a player from a forwards pass (i.e. its not just the yards that the ball is in the air, but from the line of scrimmage (LOS) to where the play ends.

2) The offense has 4 goes (or downs) to move the ball 10 yards or more. If they successfully move the ball 10 yards, they get a new set 4 downs to get the next 10 yards (so have a new "1st down")

3) Again, each team has 4 goes to move 10 yards. If you fail on one of those goes, you keep the ball provided that you don't turn the ball over to the other team or its not 4th down.

If its 4th down, you either need to 1) punt the ball, 2) kick a field goal or 3) make the remaining yards to get a 1st down. If you don't you "turn the ball over on downs"

4) A touchback is when a a player on the receiving team takes a kneel in their own end zone on a kick-off, if the ball goes into their own end zone on a punt or if the defense causes a turnover in their own end zone. A touchback automatically moves the ball to the 20 yard line (ie. instead of having 100yds to go for a TD, it automatically becomes 80yds)

5) A "pick" is just another name for an interception

If you're interested in learning the basics and the simple version of the rules, I suggest you read this http://football.calsci.com/. Its what I read when I first started following the game ~5 years ago and it gives more than enough information while not overloading you

 

[PVF]

Thanks guys, really helpful

Will understand it alot more when I watch my next game

 

[Exe Gesis]

The long answer...

American football was derived from rugby union at the turn of the last century.

In rugby there is no allotted possession of the ball. A team has unlimited tackles to advance the ball the length of the field. As american football developed it really distanced itself from rugby a big way at the outset. Whereas rugby league didn't at all. Part of that rugby concept thus meant that to give the other team a chance at possession then therefore they had to penalize against mistakes like knock-ons and running out of the sideline. Hence scrums and lineout to at least give both teams a shot at possession from a mistake.

Anyway one of the big differences was Americans disagreed with the notion of a team having unlimited possession of the ball. They established the down system. This way each team gets a chance at possessing the ball equally. So therefore things like knock-ons and running out the sideline became redundant penalizations.

Which leads me to quickly discussing rugby league and how stupid it is in the application of its rules as it tried to distance itself from union. It went out and copied a bunch of American football ideas over the decades but didn't carry over the application of logic of those ideas/rules.

It's why rugby league as a set of rules is lost in limbo. They first adopted the four tackle rule in the 1960s copying gridiron but not the 10 yard/meter application that is wed to that logical concept. So as a result league is negative in that teams play conservative unlike gridiron, they can't advance the ball 100 meters in four tackles so it's a bore of one out hit ups then boot the ball and hope the other team makes a mistake with the ball. Whereas in gridiron the action is positively attuned, incentive to be attacking go for long plays.

Another example of league stupidly not applying the logic is with these four and now six tackles therefore it should be like gridiron now where there's no need to penalize things like knock-ons anymore because both teams now get equal possession the ball.

League went from being an unlimited tackle game like union and needing all these things like knock-ons and sidelines to split possession, to a limited tackle game like gridiron where those things are no longer necessary....but stupidly retaining knock-ons the sideline mistakes and still having scrums. And these days the scrum is still there but it's not even done properly just kept there for posterity and their lack of balls to see league naturally develop into a hybrid of gridiron which is its destiny. No point hanging on to fossilized remnants of union

 

[Dirty Bird]

The offense has four downs (turns) to advance the ball 10 yards.

 

[LeakyValve]

I am a greenhorn when it comes to the NFL, and I apologise if this has been canvassed before,
but what is the deal with the inconsistency of catching the ball?

I get the receivers, TEs et al are running at speed, being menaced and the QB is launching exocets, but cripes some of the catching techniques are odd.

So many of the players try to cradle the ball etc, in a situation when it seems it appears to me "marking" the ball would be a better option.

Shouldn't matter what the state of the game or field position is.

A gain is a gain and I also reckon you have a better chance of a penalty when attempting to mark.

From what I've seen it appears the marking technique has better success or is this just transfer bias.

I look forward to being enlightened.

As an aside and undoubtedly of no interest to any of you, I proudly unveil my first commentator pet hate.

Cris Collinsworth.

What a tiresome noob.

 

[LeakyValve]

Oops MODS this should have been in the OTHER thread.

 

[Exe Gesis]

I am a greenhorn when it comes to the NFL, and I apologise if this has been canvassed before,
but what is the deal with the inconsistency of catching the ball?

I get the receivers, TEs et al are running at speed, being menaced and the QB is launching exocets, but cripes some of the catching techniques are odd.

So many of the players try to cradle the ball etc, in a situation when it seems it appears to me "marking" the ball would be a better option.

Shouldn't matter what the state of the game or field position is.

A gain is a gain and I also reckon you have a better chance of a penalty when attempting to mark.

From what I've seen it appears the marking technique has better success or is this just transfer bias.

I look forward to being enlightened.

As an aside and undoubtedly of no interest to any of you, I proudly unveil my first commentator pet hate.

Cris Collinsworth.

What a tiresome noob.

larkis this is a job for you

 

[larkis]

I am a greenhorn when it comes to the NFL, and I apologise if this has been canvassed before,
but what is the deal with the inconsistency of catching the ball?

I get the receivers, TEs et al are running at speed, being menaced and the QB is launching exocets, but cripes some of the catching techniques are odd.

So many of the players try to cradle the ball etc, in a situation when it seems it appears to me "marking" the ball would be a better option.

Shouldn't matter what the state of the game or field position is.

A gain is a gain and I also reckon you have a better chance of a penalty when attempting to mark.

From what I've seen it appears the marking technique has better success or is this just transfer bias.

I look forward to being enlightened.

As an aside and undoubtedly of no interest to any of you, I proudly unveil my first commentator pet hate.

Cris Collinsworth.

What a tiresome noob.

Probably best in youtube video on what is a catch



There is so much controversy on what is and isn't a catch the NFL did up a video to explain it.
Players will use whatever technique is most suited to the situation. A 'mark' doesn't allow for much yards after catch and allows defenders to contest with you. However if you just need a few yards or a touchdown and have a height advantage then a mark may be appropriate.

 

[LeakyValve]

Probably best in youtube video on what is a catch



There is so much controversy on what is and isn't a catch the NFL did up a video to explain it.
Players will use whatever technique is most suited to the situation. A 'mark' doesn't allow for much yards after catch and allows defenders to contest with you. However if you just need a few yards or a touchdown and have a height advantage then a mark may be appropriate.

Cheers for the video larkis.

Is there a more over officiated, nit-picking game?

Allows for more reviews and ad time I assume.

Still great fun to watch though.

 

[Bigelow]

Any body know why the centre for the Atlanta Falcons, Alex Mack, wears number 51 ?

Aren't the 50 numbers linebackers numbers ?

 

[Exe Gesis]

Any body know why the centre for the Atlanta Falcons, Alex Mack, wears number 51 ?

Aren't the 50 numbers linebackers numbers ?

interior OL also wear 50s

 

[drd23]

Any body know why the centre for the Atlanta Falcons, Alex Mack, wears number 51 ?

Aren't the 50 numbers linebackers numbers ?

OL can wear 50s, 60s and 70s

LBs can wear 40s, 50s and 90s (although 90s for LBs look weird)

 

[Bigelow]

Thanks

It is still confusing tho

 

[rumply]

still waiting for a 00.

 

[Exe Gesis]

still waiting for a 00.

There already was....Jim Otto

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Enjoying my first season of watching

Slowly getting to know teams, players and rules but still struggling with a few

Why does the clock stop sometimes and keep running other times?

When there has been a punt what are the rules? Who can catch it? Why do they sometimes let it bounce? Who can pick it up after it bounces? Why does the player who catches it run with the ball sometimes but other times it is the end of the play?

 

[Blacky]

Enjoying my first season of watching

Slowly getting to know teams, players and rules but still struggling with a few

Why does the clock stop sometimes and keep running other times?

When there has been a punt what are the rules? Who can catch it? Why do they sometimes let it bounce? Who can pick it up after it bounces? Why does the player who catches it run with the ball sometimes but other times it is the end of the play?

Which team?

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Which team?

Arizona Cardinals

If I'm enjoying this season...

 

[drd23]

Why does the clock stop sometimes and keep running other times?

The clock stops if a throw is incomplete, if the person in possession of the ball goes out of bounds in the final 2 mins of the first half or the final 5 mins of the second half, after a change of possession (be that after a kick-off, punt, turnover or on downs) and for any number of time outs

When there has been a punt what are the rules? Who can catch it? Why do they sometimes let it bounce? Who can pick it up after it bounces? Why does the player who catches it run with the ball sometimes but other times it is the end of the play?

Anybody can catch it, but it is technically a foul if the person who touches it is from the team that kicked it and the play is over once they possess it.

Returners tend to let the ball bounce if the kick is quite short or will likely bounce inside the 10 yard line (in the hope that it bounces into the end zone for a touch back) as this reduces the risk of them making a mistake and causing a turnover

As to why they sometimes run and sometimes don't, that is up to the player who is catching it. If they feel that they can gain some yardage then they will run. If they feel like they might get tackled immediately after catching it (and therefore increasing the risk of a mistake when catching it and causing a turnover), they will wave their arm before they catch it to signal a "fair catch", which means that nobody can touch them and that the play is over once they've caught it.

If the first person to touch the ball belongs to the kicking team but they don't take possession of it, the receiving team can try to take possession and advance it with no risk of turning the ball over as the first touch causes a foul. This is why that weird punt return touch down from the game on Tuesday (between the Raiders and Broncos) was allowed

 

[Exe Gesis]

Regarding that MNF game last week....if Harris started returning it, and then fumbled it, either just before scoring the TD or within moments of first running, and the Broncos dived on the ball and got possession.....technically, because the Broncos "Illegally Touched" the punt in the first place, then the ball would've just been re-spotted at the Oakland 1 yard line with Oakland in possession.

Basically, it's a free play for Oakland/Harris when he saw the ball lying there after the punt, after the Broncos "illegally" touched it but didn't "down" it.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

The clock stops if the person in possession of the ball goes out of bounds in the final 2 mins of the first half or the final 5 mins of the second half,

Been watching for about 8 years now and I always thought the clock stopped every time a player went out of bounds not just in the final 2/5 minutes of the half

 

[drd23]

Been watching for about 8 years now and I always thought the clock stopped every time a player went out of bounds not just in the final 2/5 minutes of the half

I does technically stop until the ball is spotted, but then immediately starts again, so doesn't really save any time. Inside the final 2 mins of the first half and final 5 mins of the second, the clock doesn't restart until the snap

 

[Exe Gesis]

the nfl changed the rule recently.

now...

if a player goes out of bounds (or the ball does), or change of possession occurs..... the clock is stopped and re-started at the snap of the next play only during the final 2/5 mins of each half.

at all other times of the game, what now happens is, the clock is stopped and re-started at the officials command once the ball is RE-SPOTTED (like college football).

this was done to speed the game up.

also...during those final 2/5 mins....

if a player gets driven backwards out of bounds, after forward progress is established, the clock is not stopped.
but if a player voluntarily goes out of bounds, backwards or forwards, then the clock is stopped.

 

[captain cotch 9]

Ive recently started to follow the Knicks in the NBA so im keen to follow a NY team in the NFL.
What are some pros and cons of the Jets and Giants?
Who should i follow out of those two?
Edit-Im thinking the Jets.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Ive recently started to follow the Knicks in the NBA so im keen to follow a NY team in the NFL.
What are some pros and cons of the Jets and Giants?
Who should i follow out of those two?

Jets are the people's team
Giants are part of the upper-class clique among the owners/commissioner -- (pats, steelers, giants, cowboys)

Jets were born from the original AFL (much love for that league, which opened racial boundaries, opened football to deep passing, etc)
Giants were born from the stodgy crusty pre-60s NFL

Jets and Giants have good/exciting players each, tho the Jets have a new franchise QB in Darnold for the next 10 years, Giants are still rolling out Eli for a year or longer

Jets had success early (1969), but havent won since, tho they make the playoffs regularly every year or two
Giants were a good team in the 40's/50's, then sucked till the early 80s, and then really went up another gear in the 00's, they too regularly make the playoffs every year or two

Jets 1:0 Super Bowl history
Giants 4:1 Super Bowl history