British Guy Reacts To The Rules of American Football (EXPLAINED!) NFL

[@mertsalih]

This was a really enjoyable video to watch and it definitely gave me a far better understanding of American Football. I still cannot wait to learn more. What else should I know about the sport that was not mentioned on this video? What teams should I look out for this season? Who is playing exciting football?

[@pushpak]

You might want to take a look at "Translating Quarterback Play-Calling Language!" by NFL Films. It's on 5 mins. but really interesting.

[@hifijohn]

theondeckcircle is very good he has plenty of videos on football and baseball you can learn from its very basic stuff,for more advanced stuff try xsandnoles and if you want to get very advanced then try the theqbschool. the best is always just to try to find someone who really understands the sport and talks you through a game.

[@christophermckinney3924]

See my notes below...

[@whosaidthat84]

IMO These are the best teams this season, in no order 1. Philadelphia Eagles - best record in the league. A young team that is just getting started . 2. Kansas City Chiefs - arguably the best offense in the game right now. QB Patrick Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce are Freakin magical. 3. Buffalo Bills - QB Josh Allen is a freak of nature. He's 6'6, can run the ball, sling it down the field and is hard to tackle. Great receivers and defense too. 4. Minnesota Vikings - pains me as a Packers fan but it's the truth. WR Justin Jefferson has made some crazy catches this year. 5. Tennessee Titans - best RB in the game with Derrick Henry. They've run 7 of their last 8. Surprise teams this year New York Giants and New York Jets - two teams that have been awful for the past decade that became good out of nowhere.

[@geraldgodbold2043]

#bills

[@pushpak]

4:00 AF is 75% strategic. It's like Chess. The plays the QB gives the other players in the Huddle, which they've practiced, tells them where they should line up and what they're suppose to do.

[@mertsalih]

That is something I am learning. I didn't realise how highly strategic it is. That is making it even more exciting for me to learn about.

[@JustMe-gn6yf]

Also in the NFL the quarterback receives the play from the sidelines with a speaker in his helmet and in college they use hand and signs to signal the play

[@matthewstevens5450]

@@mertsalih The NFL on offence and defense is infinitely strategic. People make millions for being innovative and better then others at coming up with offensive and defensive schemes. The strategy on both sides of the ball is so much deaper then you could imagine, and then even deeper then that.

[@lngsrp4612]

@@mertsalih And each position is INCREDIBLY nuanced. Footwork and technique is extremely specialized, and even a small deficiency in speed, size, or other aspect of athletic ability can make a huge difference in a player's success.

[@TrulyUnfortunate]

@@JustMe-gn6yf Not totally true. If you have a QB thats smart he's allowed to change the play on his own.

[@bneale]

He didn't mention the huddle. Very important as that is where the QB lays out the play to be performed.

[@cjboyer4355]

Yea he missed a lot of stuff really

[@JustMe-gn6yf]

@@cjboyer4355 yeah but for the basics that's a good and simple summary because it can be a lot to take in for a newbie and let's not even mention the different rules from college to pro

[@JustMe-gn6yf]

And the QB also receives the play from the sidelines from a speaker in his helmet

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

He also failed to mention penalty yard distances, the 2 minute warning, reasons why a game can be stoped/postponed/moved to a netrual site, coin toss and the play clock

[@whosaidthat84]

@@TheMrPeteChannel That's a lot for a newbie. Might as well throw in pass interference, neutral zone infraction, off sides, false start, illegal contact, ineligible receiver, intentional grounding, etc. Really you can do a whole video on penalties.

[@JeddHampton]

Referees will throw flags, bean bags, and hats. The bean bag is usually used to mark where a change of possession happens. So in the interception in the end zone, the referee was throwing a bean bag to mark where it happened.

[@armoredsaint1910]

To add to that, the ref will throw their hat if a player goes out of bounds while covering a kick, or on the rare occasion that they have already thrown a yellow flag for a penalty but they see another penalty ... they don't have another flag, so they will throw their hat.

[@A_Name_]

@3:25 yes that is another part of the tactics of the game. Everyone loves long scoring plays but you could want a 12 play drive that takes 10min or a 3 play drive that takes 30seconds depending on what the situation of the game is. Or who you are playing. Also scoring to fast can leave your defense tired with no time to rest before they have to get back into the game.

[@JustMe-gn6yf]

And long time consuming drives wears down a defense

[@mycroft16]

Or it can leave the other team plenty of time to drive back. So many options and ways to play.

[@christophermckinney3924]

The plays are pre planned, but there are options within each play depending on what the defense does. For example a quarterback calls a pass play with a primary receiver but there may be a few secondaryt receivers depending on who the defense covers or fails to.

[@ethanhill3929]

Yes, and every pass play will have a progression that the quarterback will follow. So they will have a primary target they look to throw to, but if they are covered, they will look to the secondary target, and so on.

[@zedwpd]

My Brit wife of (2 months) needed to just watch a full season of NFL football and now she is pretty darn good knowing the rules and strategy.

[@Currnation22]

A Fullback is rarely used in today's game. They're usually a power back, heavy set. They're typically only seen on short yardage situations like on the goalline, or a 3rd and short situation. Their primary role is blocking for the half back (running back) or receiving a hand off to drive through the bulky guys on the Defensive line.

[@mikelundquist4596]

It is sad that fullbacks are seldom used. During the last heyday of my Dallas Cowboys, they had Moose Johnson, IMHO one of the all time greats... great blocker, could catch and rush as well. I predict that fullbacks will be used again in the near future.

[@AFMountaineer2000]

The best football player in history was a fullback. He managed to score four touchdowns in a single game.

[@heliophoner]

TEs and pulling guards have more or less taken over the lead blocking responsibilities of FBs, which allows you more flexibility in formations and the number of wide receivers.

[@kman9884]

@@AFMountaineer2000 Didn’t know Deion Sanders played fullback

[@pauljordan81]

American football evolved out of Rugby, which was introduced to America in the 1850's to colleges. Professional football was started in 1922. In the early 1900 (around 1906) the forward pass was introduced. In about 1903 American Football was nearly banned because of players dying. President Theodore Roosevelt got some college football coachs and college Presidents together to establish rules etc. I believe leather helmets were introduced.

[@spikesmth]

The NFL does change little rules almost every season, but they don't affect anything major about the flow of the game. In general, new rules tend to "protect the players." For example, it's a relatively recent rule (

[@scottswenson383]

As far as rosters go, each team has a 53 man roster in total, but on game day only 46 players per team can be active. Then there is the practice squad...a team is currently allowed 16 players on a practice squad and there are a whole host of rules governing how it works. A lot of the rules regarding the practice squad came into play during the covid year and have been permanently adopted. There are plenty of places online you can look those up.

[@JoeyVatavuk]

The dynamic with kickers is hilarious. most of the times, the kickers are obviously athletic but not freak athletes like the rest of the team. they tend to be the butt of the joke. but their job is insanely difficult

[@davidfieldsend]

And the kickers are treated as aloof specialists, the other players think of them as somewhat outside the game because their roles dont involve physical contact with others, but they can often be the highest scorer on the team. And any time a kicker makes a tackle its awesome, like watching a mouse take on an elephant

[@zzzarkka]

and insanely important.

[@Zlittlepenguin]

@@davidfieldsend yep, as a matter of fact just about everyone in the top 20 most points scored all time are kickers. If you think about it, barring anything catastrophic happening, as long as the offence gets to the ~35 yard line, the kicker will more than likely get to score either a field goal or extra point. Plus the shelf life of a kicker is much longer than other positions since they aren’t constantly on the field and they aren’t involved in physically interacting with other players. And as long as they stay consistent for many years, they don’t often move around too much as they’re one of the lowest paid positions hence the reason they’re normally the top scorers on any given team…

[@TheStapleGunKid]

@@Zlittlepenguin Jerry Rice is the only non-kicker anywhere remotely close to being in the top 20 scorers. Him and Emmitt Smith are the only non-kickers to ever score more than 1,000 points.

[@mycroft16]

Seriously, from anything more than 25 or 30 yards out, getting an accurate kick starts getting exponentially harder. Wind has longer to have an effect, how good the spin on the ball is has more time. When you see those kicks from outside 40... those are crazy.

[@kenhenderson1762]

A recent trend in American football - both the NFL and college - is "going for it" on 4th down. When I first watching football in the 1960's, teams almost always punted or tried a field goal on 4th down unless they had less than a yard for a touchdown or first down. But nowadays teams will often try another play on 4th down, even if they are several yards from a first down or end zone. This is a very risky strategy but more and more teams are willing to take the risk because of the rewards if successful.

[@Zlittlepenguin]

Mhm it’s actually pretty cool that most teams seem to be going for it more often in my opinion. It can be quite demoralising for a defence to give up a 1st down on a 4th and 3 or 5.

[@jameswilson7790]

Another reason for teams trying for a first down is field position. If the offensive team is on the edge of their kicker's range, and if their punter is not an accurate coffin kicker who can pin the opponent inside their 10 yard line, then trying for the first down is the best strategy.

[@mycroft16]

Even when I started in the 80s it was still very much play it safe. It's been so refreshing to see the risk taken. It quite often pays out well, and if nothing else it makes the game so much more fun and gives offense an actual 4 plays rather than just throwing away that 4th in a kick.

[@philipmcniel4908]

I just saw this, and in my opinion there's one major difference between getting into (American) football and getting into soccer: For a new soccer fan, it might be helpful to watch highlight reels for awhile before sitting down to watch a whole game, so that you know what "dangerous positions" look like, and what kinds of situations the teams are trying to create and prevent. In American football, the progression of the game from one down to the next is such that it's probably a lot clearer if you watch a whole game rather than just highlights.

[@A_Name_]

@9:20 general rule of thumb on Field goals. Under 30 yards is 95+%, 30-40 is still very high chance for most NFL kickers(always a few bad kickers each year). 40-50 still high chance of making it like 85+ but start to see more misses. Over 50 is where range starts to be a problem for some kickers and accuracy starts to drop hard. Over 60 is very hard. Current record is 66 yards. Second longest is 63 with a few guys having hit them.

[@sawvufan]

Adding to this, super long kick attempts are rare because the change in possession is a huge advantage to the opposing team if the kick is missed because they get the ball near midfield. They are usually at the end of a half or the game to mitigate this risk. Also, some kickers in practice can hit from much longer than 66 yards but, the kick has to be so low that in a game it is likely to be blocked at those distances.

[@devinwarren6723]

actually the record is 67 yards by justin tucker

[@Kylora2112]

@@devinwarren6723 66 by Tucker against the Lions in 2021. He missed a 67 yarder short yesterday.

[@hanng1242]

And it is "so far back" because the still needs to be on or behind the line of scrimmage. Remember, the field goal attempt is is a down, and it is attempted when the offense is unable to reach the line for new 1st down by 3rd down. A field goal is a way to get something rather than nothing when the defense is better than the offense. Just as the QB is several yards behind the line of scrimmage so that he has time and room to get rid of the ball, the kicker also needs room. The kicker could be tackled before he makes the kick, so the linemen need to protect him as they would protect a QB. Finally, angle sometimes matters; it isn't that common, but a player on defense could jump (or climb onto another player, or both) high enough to block the field goal (or extra point) attempt by nocking the ball out of the air (or at least off target), so the kicker is cognizant of the angle of his kick, and can therefore attempt it at a distance where the ball will be too high up in the air to reach at the point it goes past the defense). This is another reason why the linemen must protect the kicker - even if a player on defense doesn't reach the kicker to tackle him, he might be able to get far enough to block the ball more easily with his hand or with his body.

[@valashar5313]

Comparisons to soccer positions and football player positions are quite apt. The main difference is that in soccer your position is relative to the field as a whole. In football it's all relative to the ball or how you interact with other positions. This makes soccer a more spread out action while football is very concentrated around a mobile point of action. A lot of kickers in football have a strong soccer background, for what is likely obvious reasons.

[@odomisan]

There is also a game clock and a play clock. The offense is given 40 seconds every down to plan their next play, if they couldn't snap the ball within 40 seconds, they are penalized with delay of game for 5 yrds. Also, if the offense steps out of bounce with forward momentum, the game clock is stopped or if the player go out of bounce in the last 2 minutes of the first half or the last 5 minutes of the 2nd half.

[@gemoftheocean]

BOUNDS not "bounce"

[@wowlecks]

Teams can be very creative in how they line up. On offense, they will change the amount and position of running backs, right ends, and wide receivers to employ different strategies. There are still usually always 5 linemen and 1 QB on the field. In an obvious passing situation you might see 4 receivers and no running backs, for example. In most passing plays, the QB has a "progression," which is the order in which they look for an open receiver. He'll look for each guy in turn and try to make the best choice before making a throw. Being a good QB takes a huge amount of skill to be able to process and execute in a short amount of time. All the receivers have a different route in which they're trying to separate from a defender down field, and the QB should know exactly where everybody is supposed to be.

[@mycroft16]

One of my favorite QBs of all time was John Elway. Regardless of how well the team was doing that guy was a hell of a QB. He could hail Mary the length of the field, master of the sneaky hand-off. Could rocket it low and fast in close. Even saw him run the ball. And on top of that he left his ego out of it. He was always fun to watch.

[@nox1ck589]

The Fact he was spot on how QB's can tend to single in on one player instead of scanning the field is great to see

[@kencramer1697]

Following and rooting for a team is a very personal decision. Some, like me support the team in the area where they live. I have lived in Colorado and Texas (Dallas area) So the two teams I follow the most are Denver and Dallas. Others like the coach, or the style that a team plays etc. There are an unlimited number of reasons why someone roots for a particular team. There is one constant, no matter what team you choose someone will disparage your choice. Don't feel bad most fans give fans of an opposing team or a "hated" team a hard time.

[@cjboyer4355]

I respect that you support your local team, I don’t respect you support two teams lol there can only be one or you’re a bandwagon.

[@DaGuys470]

@@cjboyer4355 That's not how that works. Bandwagon means you follow the successful team, this person clearly follows two teams he has a connection to and doesn't change affiliation.

[@cjboyer4355]

@@DaGuys470 nah it doesn’t matter where I live I’ll always ride with my team. What happens when your two teams play each other? Who do you root for? Whoever it is that’s your team so stop claiming the other.

[@DaGuys470]

@@cjboyer4355 Well, same for him, he'll always ride with his two teams

[@cjboyer4355]

@@DaGuys470 but what happens when they play each other? You have to root for one

[@adamgetzendanner]

I’m only four minutes and 30 seconds into this video you are doing pretty good understanding it so far understanding the concepts of trying to get a first down and all of the receivers running precise routes to catch the ball from the quarterback. For someone who doesn’t understand that you’re catching on pretty good already. All right I’m gonna finish watching the video

[@genethekiller]

You'll also see huge differences in body composition between these positions. A lot of the infamously "big boys" on the field are "on the line" where the aim isn't necessarily to move as quickly but be as immovable as possible. Meanwhile, you'll see others that have to move being much leaner and quicker. Shows how specialized the positions can be.

[@Shooter762]

The offense comes up with formations of players, and from those formations creates unique plays. Since the defense is reacting, they can’t really come up with plays, but they do have defensive formations that are pretty flexible and designed to match whatever the office is bringing during a specific play.

[@mycroft16]

And you'll often see a very quick defense reshuffle as they react to the line up.

[@cteal2018]

There are a ton of attributes that make great players...here is a very general break down. QB: arm strength, arm accuracy, leadership, RB: strong grip, balance and body control, speed and lower body strength WR: hand eye control to catch, body control and balance, TE: Strength to block, hand eye coordination to catch. Edit: Kicker: ice water in veins

[@thomraine600]

Yes, on the offensive plays there is a preferred hierarchy or progression of players to throw to but it depends on how the defense covers the play. It gets very complicated but it's a very good game to watch. Enjoy and learn as you go !!

[@laurenpond8850]

in foot ball the quarter back calls a set play where every one knows where to run. After that the quarterback basically just seas who's open although some plays are specifically designed to get a certain player to be open

[@alienlife7754]

You don’t realize how big some of these guys are until you meet them. There is a guy who my team, the Eagles, drafted this season, Jordan Davis. The man is 6’6” and weighs in at 336 pounds.

[@ralphralpherson9441]

The Eagles huh? My sympathies.😉 You could move to Pittsburgh and support a REAL football team y'know, its only 5 hours away.

[@christianruiz7326]

@@ralphralpherson9441 yinzer mode activated

[@kilroy2517]

@@ralphralpherson9441 Nah, we'll stick with 11-1, not a team whose glory days were 50 years ago.🦅🦅

[@kylebasham4684]

@@kilroy2517 or you could move to a team that has beaten the Eagles more, has more Super Bowls, and is known as “America’s Team?” THE Dallas Cowboys! ✭

[@kilroy2517]

@@kylebasham4684 1st, nobody calls them that except Cowboys fans because it's bullshit, 2nd you haven't won a super bowl in almost 30 years (and barely any playoffs), 3rd, overall the Eagles have owned the NFC East for the last 22 years (and yet again this year you have to get past us), and finally, NFL championships existed before it was called the Super Bowl, so if you insist on delving into ancient history we have 3 championships, still less than you, but see point 2 above.

[@danadnauseam]

American football is a set play game. The offense is allowed 30 seconds between plays to set the next play, which can be done by signals from the coach or calls by the quarterback ot a defensive leader (usually one of the linebackers). Offensive players who begin in the backfield or at the ends of the line are eligible to catch passes. This rule can lead to a play called tackle eligible, in which one of the ends starts positioned back from the line, leaving one of the tackles at the end. Tackle eligible must be announced to the referee prior to the play so that the defense can be notified of the possibility, but does not commit the offense to passing to the tackle. The narrator failed to note that running backs also can catch passes, and some tend to specialize in this. Most clubs usually have one punter (to surrender possession when unable to make a first down) and one kicker (to make place kicks for points and to kick off at the beginning of halves or after scores). Generally speaking, a 20 yard gain is considered an unusually successful play. A good offensive performance over a game is over 450 total yards. A good defensive performance is to limit the opposition to under 350. Most kickers' field goal ranges are about 40 to 50 yards (including the 10 yard end zone).

[@ibekingape]

One fun fact that doesn't get appreciated much these days: American Football used to play one platoon/iron man where players played on Offense and Defense or Special Teams. It basically evolved from Rugby Football (hence the name). Some players still play both sides. I believe the change in separating squads has to do with the growing use of substitutions in the history of the game. It became more specialized/strategized when they allowed people to sub in Some college players still play both sides, but you don't see it a lot in the NFL because you might risk injury for a guy who is better on Offense than Defense, but every once in a while you'll see it and get excited

[@bigbake132]

NFL roster size is actually 53, but only 46 are allowed to suit up for each game.

[@DragNetJoe]

9:21 - 50+ yard field goals used to be rare, but happen all the time now. The yardage is a combination of the line + 10 yard endzone +7 yard to spot (+17 total). So a kick from the 40 yard line is a 57 yard kick. The current record is 66 yards.

[@williamparks5331]

The best way to learn is just by watching. These days the announcers are very good explaining the play by play and all the penalties are explained by the on field referee. Then of course the play by play announcers will dissect the penalty calls.

[@Scarpia9111]

Very good content!

[@Andrew-qu7lq]

A lot of others here mentioned just how strategic all of this is, and yes, the specific routes and whether the current play will be a pass or hand the ball off is pre-determined. But what I haven't seen mentioned is that the teams also have assistant coaches up at the top of the stadium in the press box area analyzing the game and the formations that the other team is using from a top-down view. They will look at strengths and weaknesses and will also be involved in the deciding what plays should be used. It's like a chess game, but with plenty of unique opportunities on the individual battles and assignments that will succeed or fail depending on their abilities.

[@devinhuffines6761]

Although a slower paced game than soccer. The anxiety and suspense is 10x greater than soccer. I’m not excited in soccer when they are building up in the back. With football, they can be far away from scoring, but I’m on the edge of my seat to see if they can get another first down and keep possession of the balls

[@ethanweidner6225]

random fun fact, if you see a small green sticker on the back of someone’s helmet in the game each team is allowed 2 players (typically the qb and middle linebacker on defense) this means that the player actually has a headset in their helmet and they can listen to their coach before and during plays, often why you’ll see qbs cover their ears on their helmets when they are running up from the huddle or before the huddle

[@shrodingerschat2258]

There are set "plays" on both sides of the ball (both offense and defense). Offensive plays are designed to block defenders in certain ways to open up running lanes for the running backs to carry the ball. On passing plays, receivers do run pre-designated routes. On passing plays there is often a "primary" receiver, and the other receivers run routes that are designed to draw the defenders away from an area so the primary receiver is more "open" to catch the pass and potentially gain more yards after the catch. It is rather fascinating to watch the replays of big plays to see how the play was designed to work. On defense, plays are called to decide what type of defensive coverage to use (like "man" versus "zone" defense), which players will "rush" the QB and which ones will drop into coverage, and the type of rushing "scheme" they will use to help prevent them from being blocked by an offensive player so that they can make a quicker tackle on the ball carrier. It is a rather complicated sport when you dive into the weeds, and there is so much strategy involved, but that's what makes it such a fantastic game!

[@Adiscretefirm]

"the rules will become clear" is the funniest line in the video, every weekend some obscure rule or an interpretation of a rule in an unexpected manner leads to a million hours of social media arguments and a few thousand hours of sportscasters, bloggers and KZbinrs talking about it.

[@stephbenson7340]

4:56 yeah, american football used to be played in whats often called "60 minute football" where the same players play on offense and defense, but nowadays there's entire different units. this gives the defense a chance to rest while the offense is on the field, and playing offense and defense require such different skillsets it's rare to see a player play both sides of the ball

[@TrulyUnfortunate]

When the QB runs a play he goes through a check of all of his receivers. First he looks at the #1 receiver if he's covered he'll go through what they call the progression.That simply means he'll look at the rest of his receivers looking for an alternate receiver which is called a checkdown receiver. If a QB is found to be going for the checkdown receiver to often it means one of two things,he's being pressured by the defense so much he doesnt have time to hit his intended receiver or the intended receiver is being covered by the defender so well he wont risk throwing the ball for fear of an interception.

[@alty2182]

5:50 you said you wanted to know what makes a good player at each position, well here ya go: Quarterback: Someone who can make quick decisions in a split second, and someone with a strong arm who can reliably hit passes when necessary, probably the highest IQ required for a position lmao Wide receivers: Probably the most athletic position, someone who can easily catch a ball, and someone with speed, agility, and the ability to improvise when their route doesn't go to plan. Tight end: Requires a balanced skill set of blocking for the quarterback and catching when necessary, strong, usually tall player who can overpower a defender O-Line: Big strong men who can fend off more big strong men long enough until the ball gets thrown, also be able to create a solid path for the running back to get through Running back: There are two main types of running backs. The one that can power through down the middle, very strong and is usually used when the offense is 3 or less yards away from scoring, a powerful player. The other type is an insanely fast, nimble and agile player who can also catch passes and is able to effectively juke and march down the field Full back: probably the least important offensive position, mostly just powering through at the goal line, but can also block with the offensive line, and occasionally catch a pass or two. Defense: D-Lineman: Someone who can power through the o-line to sack the quarterback Linebacker: Someone who can cover a receiver, stop a running back and also rush the quarterback, requires strength and speed Cornerback: Speed to keep up with a fast receiver, hands to be able to intercept, and the ability to tackle runaway players to stop them from getting a touchdown Safeties: the safeties are similar to the cornerbacks, and some of them can switch around positions pretty effectively, but they dont cover a single player, they more scan the field to intercept the ball or guard someone when they got away from the corner back, good descision making is required here

[@jakeferreira1211]

There is also lots of other lineups that teams use on both sides of the ball. Like most base defenses are either 3-4 or 4-3, so 3 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers, or vice-versa. But when a team goes into a nickle or dime set, they'll take a linebacker (or 2 linebackers in dime packages) and replace them with an extra defense back(s), to cover more recievers. Or on offense, most teams don't use a full back very often. Usually they'll have 3 recievers, 1 tight end, and 1 running back (11 personnel, 1 RB, 1 TE) or 2 recievers, 2 tight ends, and 1 running back (12 personel, 1 RB, 2 TE). Full backs are far less common now, and some teams don't carry them, and will use another tight end or running back in place of one when needed. There is a lot of different nuances to the game that many people who watch football every weekend don't fully understand. Especially when it comes to the offensive and defense lines. The blocking schemes are usually just as complicated as the different route concepts, if not more so. And defenses can be very different at times, because there are so many differences coverages that they'll run, a zone is when defenders cover an area of the field, and man is when the cover a player. And then there is different blitzes teams run, where they send extra players to try to sack the quarterback. It's incredibly complex, and that is just scratching the surface, but I feel like I'd lose people if i start trying to describe what each zone is and what a difference route concepts are for, if I haven't lost you already.

[@Andrew-qu7lq]

To add a little clarity on the the "nickel" defense, the graphic shown in the video for the defense has 2 cornerbacks and 2 safeties, that is, 4 "defensive backs" as a more general term for them. Substituting one of the other players like a linebacker and adding a 5th defensive back is the "nickel" defense, a nickel being the US coin worth 5 cents. And substituting another person for a 6th defensive back is a "dime" package, since that's the next highest US coin, even though it's 10 cents....

[@jakeferreira1211]

@@Andrew-qu7lq Yes. Nickle would be adding an extra corner, and Big Nickle, which would be an extra safety.

[@innotech]

theres a crazy amount of complexity to strategies. I even watched a couple games where one team purposefully gave up a safety while they were ahead to run out the clock. Time management at the end of halves is very important as it can put a team ahead with momentum into halftime or create a miracle win. Each team has a different playbook with different plays and even different offensive and defensive formations. Some teams use 4-3 defense which has the typical lineup of defensive guys in front but if a team has a particularly good backfield of linebackers they can go to 3-4 and put more linebackers than linemen which can be devastating against offenses. There are also rare things like onside kicks and all sorts of creative things teams will pull out like fake punts to try and catch the opponent sleeping.

[@persephonebonner5733]

As far as kicking, teams have 2 types of kickers. Punters get the ball hiked to them then they drop kick the ball downfield to make the other team have to move the ball as far as possible. Place kickers are the ones who kick fieldgoals and point after attempts. They have another play hold the ball upright on the ground for them so they can kick it.

[@robk1310]

The explainer failed to talk about injury timeouts, as well as certain serious penalties for things like targeting, horsecollar tackles and facemask penalty.

[@pace1195]

It wasn't asked for, but here are some additional offensive team rules: 1. There must be seven players "on the line" of scrimmage (within one yard). The line of scrimmage is where the ball is - between both teams - before it is snapped by the Center to the Quarterback. 2. There must be one player on the line on either side of the offensive line. The offensive line are the five players in the middle - Center, Guard on either side of Center, and Tackles beyond the Guards. 5 Offensive linemen + 2 other players = 7 on the line. 3. The other four offensive players must be more than one yard behind the line of scrimmage. This includes the Quarterback. 4. Only one offensive player may be "in motion" before the snap either laterally to the line of scrimmage or running away from the line of scrimmage. The NFL does not allow players to run toward the line pre-snap like the Canadian Football League does. 5. The 5 offensive linemen are not allowed to catch a thrown ball (ineligible receiver). Though, a player normally playing an offensive line position can declare themselves eligible if in a different position not lined up on the offensive line. 6. All offensive players, except the one in motion, must be set and cannot move for at least one second prior to the snap. 7. After the snap, the ball may be thrown forward only once per play from behind the line of scrimmage. Though the ball may be thrown backwards as many times as the team wants/ can before being tackled or fumbled away, similar to Rugby. As for the defense, there must be 11 players only on the field. They can move before the ball is snapped except at an offensive player or over the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. After you learn the basic positions, also look up fouls/penalties. Knowing what a player is not supposed to do is helpful to know what they should be doing instead.

[@TrulyUnfortunate]

Teams frequently have several kickers that perform different kicking duties. You have a punter who kicks the ball dropped from his hands on 4th down. Then you have the kicker who kicks extra points after a touchdown or when you fail to get a touchdown but you're in field goal range. Then there's the kicker who kicks off at the beginning of the game or after you score points. But usually you have one kicker that kicks off from a T and another who punts the ball on the 4th down and yet another who kicks field goals. Again you may only have a couple kickers that perform all of these duties.

[@tedduby2346]

You asked about good qualities for the different positions: Offense: QB -- leader, strong arm, accurate thrower, mobile RB -- strong, shifty, fast FB -- strong blocker Offensive Linemen (LT, LG, C, RG, RT) -- Big and strong, the LT and RT are highly prized as they protect the QB from rushing defenders coming around the edge. WR -- Fast, good hands TE -- Big, but good speed for his size, and a good blocker Defense: Defensive Line (DE x 2, DT x 2) -- Big and strong. The DE's tend to be smaller and quicker as they try to get around the edge to get to the QB. DT's plug up the middle. Line backers -- Intermediate in size between the Defensive Linemen and the Secondary. Strong and quick, tend to guard RB's and TE's and fill the gaps between linemen on running plays. Secondary (CB x 2, Safety x 2) -- Guard the WR's. Need to be quick. Safety's tend to be a little bigger than CB's and guard the middle of the field.

[@ExpedientFalcon]

4:30 Each play is pre-planned and each receiver has a route that they are instructed to run, and the QB knows the routes. The QB will read the defenders' positions prior to the play, and based on where the defenders line up will choose what order to "read" the receivers in. Once the receivers start running their routes, the QB will read the routes in order. If the 1st route is open, he'll throw it to that receiver. If the 1st route is not open (i.e. there is a defender covering), the QB will go on to the 2nd route, and so on. So it's very strategic and requires a lot of game knowledge especially by the quarterback to be effective at making the plays, especially given that defenders will position in ways to try to mislead the QB into reading the defense wrong.

[@MyNameIsJ3ffrey]

Good general way to think about the positions - - OFFENSE - QB (Quarterback): Field General / Game Manager. - Tall - Smart - Situational Awareness (reading defenses) - Good Arm Strength () WR (Wide Receiver): Weapons for the QB - Fastest guys on offense typically - Good hands (for catching) TE (Tight End): Swiss Army Knife of Offense - Can catch and block - Bigger build (for taking on D-Lineman) RB (Running Back): Main run-game weapon - Fast - Strong - Durable OL (Offensive Lineman): Blockers / Body Guards for RB/QB. Sub positions of OL: OT (Offensive Tackle: protects outside ends of the line) / OG (Offensive Guard: protects interior of line) / C (Center: protects the center and snaps [hands/throws ball between legs] to the QB). - Big (biggest guys on offense) - Strong - Durable - DEFENSE - DL (Defensive Lineman / split up between defensive ends [DE] who go against OTs and defensive tackles[DT] who goes against OGs and Centers) - Big (biggest guys on defense) - Strong - Goes against OL LB (Linebackers / split up between outside linebackers [OLB] and middle linebackers [MLB]) - Behind DL - 2nd layer of defense. - strong - probably most aggressive people play LB. - Most tackles - MLB (Middle Linebacker) is often the leader of Defense. DB (defensive backs / split up between cornerbacks [CB] who guard the outside and Safeties [S] who guard interior) - Fastest guys on defense - last line of defense - Primary weapons to defend against the pass attack from offense

[@ExpedientFalcon]

5:55 What you want out of each position: On the offense Quarterback: Strong arm, strong mind, good reflexes to escape pressure. Primary job is throwing the ball, though more QBs are being used as runners as well in the modern game. Halfback: Combination of strength and speed, they are the primary runner and need to be able to make their way through the defensive line (the biggest players on the defense) while carrying the ball. They can also be used as receivers. Guards/Tackles/Center: These players make up the offensive line, they are large and strong, their role is to protect the quarterback from the defense and give him time to throw, as well as to open up gaps through the defenders for the halfback to run through. Fullback: This position is a hybrid between the offensive line and halfback. They are only used occasionally, but can be used either as a runner, a receiver, or a blocker. Wide Receiver: The smallest but fastest guys on the offense, their job is to run down the field and catch throws from the quarterback. Tight End: A hybrid position between receiver and offensive line, with size and speed in between the two. They can be used as a receiver or to assist in blocking. On the defense Defensive Tackle/Defensive Ends: These are the biggest players on the defense, their primary role is to try and rush the quarterback to tackle him before he can throw the ball, as well as to stop the halfback from getting past them on run plays. Linebackers: These players are a mix of strength and agility, and must be versatile. They can be used to rush the quarterback, to cover receivers (typically the halfback or tight end, as you want to match size and speed), or as secondary run stoppers. Cornerbacks: These are your fastest defenders, and they are meant to match up with the wide receivers and prevent them from catching the ball. Safeties: These players will also be fast and versatile. Their primary role is as a last line of defense, they play further down in the field and are meant to stop any players who have gotten past the earlier lines of defense as well as adding coverage on deep throws from the quarterback.

[@michaelwelch1472]

About the pre-designed routes for receivers: It is preplanned where they will go and what they will do. However, they generally have different changes that can be made immediately before the play, or even during, to adjust to what the defense is doing.

[@shogunn2517]

Here's the real fun part. Plays. One play could look like: I-Right, Twins Left. 44 Sweep. That's a VERY basic middle or high school play. A college or pro play is at least three times as long. The play tells instructions to every player, where they are to line up, where they are to run and what they are expected to do. And since each role, formation, route and angle can be mixed and matched, a playbook that a player learns can be the size of an actual book. It's been said, this is a VERY complex game. You can't just be big or fast. They actually test your intellect too.

[@RobotShlomo]

4:33 a lot of times plays are designed to have the QB throw to a certain player, and if your QB (quarterback) is sharp enough he can have multiple receivers to choose from, and will decide which one is open enough to get the best yardage. 4:15 that's EXACTLY right. There's usually three different units; Offense that is in charge of moving the ball and scoring. Defense that obviously tries to stop the offense, and a third unit called "special teams" that usually is in charge of kickoffs, field goals and punts.

[@tipigi3570]

Great Video! It's nice to see a non-American show interest in American football. Most people bash it, and call it "rugby with pads". I'm the opposite of you, I'm an American that fell in love with football(soccer) at a young age. I follow all of the top Euro leagues. Keep up the good work!

[@baseballsux2]

2:40) the forward pass This is a really important rule. And I’ll lay out a few important terms and concepts here. Only one forward pass per play. And that pass must be made from behind the “line of scrimmage.” What’s the line of scrimmage (LoS)? The LoS is where any given play starts. On the given play at 2:40 in this vid it is 3rd and 6 from the Jaguars’ 36 yard line. The “line to gain” (LtG, the place where the Cowboys’ offense needs to get to in order to “get a first down”) is the Jaguars’ 30 yard line. The LtG is yellow, the LoS is blue. While it is the quarterback that typically passes the ball, any eligible offensive back can pass (or receive and/or run) the ball so long as they are behind the LoS. The five offensive linemen are not eligible.

[@raspycellist]

I used to be a center, and I can tell you. It's like an elephant bar fight. And, the worse the weather is, the more fun it is to play.

[@jwc7215]

This is great. Note that each of those positions will change depending on the offense or defense being run. Sometimes you will have more or less players in each position for different situations.

[@MrBeugh]

There are 2 kickers - one for punting (dropping the ball and kicking it before it hits the ground) and kickoff kickers who kick the ball after a score. Punters generally kick on 3rd down when the distance to the next 1st down is too far. And turning the ball over to the other team puts them in a very good position to score.

[@EpicCookieGamer]

Another way of scoring is a dropkick. Very rare but its there.

[@84Tacos]

He didn't mention the line of scrimmage. The line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end of the most recent play and following the assessment of any penalty yards.

[@tommydevine9993]

4:03 the top rated QBs are the ones who are more capable of taking the plays as they come. It's called "going through their reads" as the pre planning might want to go to one player or another, but if the defense is guarding that player too tightly, the QB will have to adjust on the fly and throw to the guy who's actually open.

[@ckfacebook62]

There are two specialized kickers... one is the "placekicker" who is responsible for kicking field goals and extra points, the other would be the "punter" who would kick the ball to the opposing team on 4th down. As both are different skillsets two players are needed (I don't remember of any player who would normally perform both duties).

[@danbaker300]

Rugby (specifically, rugby league) is actually a pretty good comparison: - The set of four downs is like the six tackle rule, except that if you manage to advance the ball 10 yards, the count resets. - A touchdown is like a try, although in a bit of ironic naming, you *don't* have to actually touch the ball down like you would for a try. Just having possession with any part of the ball above or past the goal line is enough. - A field goal is like a drop goal or penalty (and drop kicks are technically legal, but nobody does them anymore because place kicks are so much easier). - A safety is like a goal-line drop-out, but the defense gets two points for forcing one (in addition to getting the ball back for their team). But a safety isn't scored if the team gained possession in their own end zone and didn't bring it out; that results in a touchback (similar to a 20-meter restart) in favor of the team that gained possession there. A few other differences: going out of bounds or violating a rule doesn't cause a change of possession. Out of bounds simply ends the play at that spot, as if they were tackled. Penalties are enforced by yardage, moving the ball forward or back and (usually) replaying the down from the new spot. The flags can signal one of three things: - A blue flag (usually smaller than the others) indicates that a fumble or change of possession has occurred during the play. - A yellow flag signals a penalty. Unless the penalty is before the play begins, the play will be allowed to continue and the opposing team will have the choice of enforcing the penalty or taking the result of the play. - A red flag signals that a coach is requesting a video review of the previous play.

[@grking01]

@5:31 This offensive formation is very old school (basically the first formation most players learn first playing football). This is called the I formation (2 wide receivers, 1 tight end, fullback and halfback). Many teams nowadays do not carry a fullback player. There are too many formations to list. But my favorite team (Bengals) love using 3 wide receivers (Chase, Higgins, and Boyd), 1 tight end (Hurst), 1 halfback (Mixon) with quarterback under center or in the shotgun position (center snaps the football to the quarterback that's several yards behind the center).

[@stevenbaer9061]

Loyalty must be your middle name for being a Bengals fan, it has been quite awhile since they were good but hopefully with Burrows they will give you something to cheer for

[@MrBeugh]

Most plays offer options for running or passing the ball based on what the quarterback (QB) sees on the field. Runners can be on the right or left, and potential receivers can be left, right, or middle. Each player who might receive the ball acts as a decoy to trick the other team.

[@jackasswhiskyandpintobeans9344]

5:11 The last player to play fulltime on offense and defense was Chuck Bednarik of the Philadelphia Eagle from 1949-62.

[@RichardDCook]

At 4:17 the offence practices a large number of "plays" which are pre-choreographed in detail and each player has to know his precise role, his assignment. (If a single player "misses his assignment" it's a "broken play" and is usually doomed.) An experienced Quarterback can be trusted to call his own plays, or the Head Coach or the assistant coach in charge of the offense will "send in" the plays by means of a substituted player. The defence's job is to "read" the play, to try to guess which play has been called. Often a veteran defensive player, who is excellent at "reading plays" will function as the defensive leader and will call out which play the opposing offence is about to run. Likewise, experienced Quarterbacks are extremely skilled at "reading" the defence, and when they see that the defence is prepared for the offensive play about to be run, will "call an audible" in other words instantly bin the play originally intended and call a different play. All of this Chess Match back-and-forth takes place in split-seconds BEFORE the ball is snapped.

[@eksortso]

Ninh Ly is an awesome guy, and he's explained the rules for every sport under the sun, it seems. That vid is one of his best. I'm American and even I picked up some things from that video.

[@Dahras1]

About your question at 4:25 - the way every player is supposed to run (called their "routes") are drawn up ahead of time. As a part of that plan, the Quarterback has a specific order of priority for who to look at to throw to. That priority list factors in a) who reaches their intended position first and b) who's best to throw to for that specific plan. For instance, if players A, B, and C are all running routes, the quarterback might check A first because he reaches his target very quickly, then C, because the play is designed to get him open for a pass, and then B, because he is in a safe, easy spot that's good as a last resort (you might hear that player/pass being called a "checkdown" or an "outlet"). Sorry if that was a bit complicated, but American Football plays are very complicated. You really don't need to know too much about the strategy to watch and enjoy the spectacle of the game, but when you get into it, there's so much to learn.

[@Shooter762]

When it comes to pass plays, typically, there is a ideal receiver that you would like to throw to that you know going into the play, but usually there are secondary receivers that you can go to if your primary receivers covered.

[@baseballsux2]

2:55) the drive The offense gets four downs, not tries, to gain at least ten yards to earn a new set of downs. A “try” is a specific term. It refers to the attempt to gain additional points after a touchdown. After scoring a touchdown, a team can elect to bring out a special team (the field goal unit) to “try for one” from the 15 yard line, or they can elect to “try for two” with their offense from the two yard line. As far as the spot they need to get to for a 1st down, that’s called “the line to gain”, as referred to in a previous comment. What you called “one offensive attack” is properly called a “drive”. Sometimes it is referred to as “a possession”. These two terms are often used interchangeably. And yes, a single drive (or possession) can be many plays long and include multiple first downs; consuming many minutes of the game clock. Or an entire drive can be a single play (a touchdown or interception, for example). Each team will have multiple possessions over the course of the game. Also, we don’t call them matches (that’s soccer), we just call them games.

[@grking01]

@6:42 This diagram shows a 4-3 base defense (4 defensive lineman, 3 linebackers, 2 cornerbacks and 2 safeties) with many variations such as 4-3 over and 4-3 under (basically shifting the linebackers to the left or right). but there many other formations such as 3-4 (3 defensive linemen, 4 linebacker, 2 safeties), Nickel defense (3 cornerbacks), Dime defense (4 cornerbacks), and Quarter defense (3 safeties).

[@stevenbaer9061]

and the 46 defense of the Bears

[@johnalden5821]

American football has a lot more complexity to it than most people expect. Yes, there are set plays that begin with each offensive player getting set in a formation (which can vary with each type of play). Some offensive players can move around before the play starts, while others have to remain motionless. Then, when the center snaps the ball, each of the 11 offensive players has to know exactly where to run, who to block and generally what to do for each play. And there are literally scores of plays with hundreds of variations. Each player has to know what to do in his position for each play. Further, the quarterback can change the play by calling an "audible" right before the play starts. This can confuse the defense, which has lined up exactly in position to counter the play they think has been called. And yes, there are dozens and scores of defense formations and assignments for each of those players to know and execute. Once the action starts, of course, the runner looks for holes in the defense and the receivers are jockeying around to get open. The quarterback may find that his intended receiver is not open, so he would then "check down" to an alternative target to pass to. So, rapid vision, judgement and spontaneity then come into play, When the play begins, then, it's a burst of speed and force carried out with the intricacy of a ballet, albeit one called the "Bonecracker" rather than the "Nutcracker" (although. . .).

[@ajdembroski7529]

An NFL roster consists of 53 players, and a 16 man practice squad. Practice squad players are ineligible to play in games, but also may sign with any other team's active roster even if under contract. Of the 53 players, 46 can be declared eligible for a game. The number 46 basically reflects the need for 11 offensive and defensive starters and backups, plus a kicker and a punter, though teams don't necessarily dress that exactly. The 7 inactive players are decided at game time, and it's basically leeway to account for injuries.

[@goldosprey]

For the Offense: Typically for the Lineman, they have to have good blocking skills and the abilty to push against up to 8 or nine players. They tend to be the biggest guys on the team Tight Ends are hybrid players typically and have become a big part of the game now. They are either gonna be blocking for the run game or be an extra option for the Quarterback. Wide Recievers tend to be be athletic and have good leaping ability and speed. Running Backs tend to be very tough players cause they are the ones that typically get into the middle of the Lineman battles Fullbacks are rare now, they are filled by a bigger running back and can be used as an additional blocker

[@paulhadlington8179]

Actually 3 teams... Offence, Defence and Special team (they can all read and write!)

[@tomtalley2192]

QB has a difficult job. All plays are called into him from a microphone in his helmet. The microphone shuts off with 15 seconds left on the play clock. On running plays, the qb just hands the ball to the running back. On pass plays, it’s much more complicated. All the receivers run a specific route. Usually only one is the intended target, and the others are designed to move the defenders away from the target. Good defenses try to identify the main target and take that option away. That’s when the QB has to go to another receiver, which is called his second read, or progression. The defense is trying to make the qb go through his progression, as it allows their defensive linemen to tackle, or sack the qb, which causes a lot of lost yardage, and usually requires the offensive team to punt the ball back to the defending team. Most teams call two plays in the huddle. When the qb gets ready to snap the ball, if it looks like the defense is designed to stop the first play, the qb, will change to the other play, which is called an audible. Usually, it is just one word, in a series of words so the defense can’t figure it out. Now when you have a good defense, with smart coaches, that watch a lot of the opponents previous games, they can figure out what they like to do in certain downs and distances. These are called tendencies. So sometimes when a qb audibles, the defense will too. The New England Patriots have one of the smartest coaches ever, and his team always has a different plan to attack opposing teams both on offense and defense, so if you like the intricacies of the game, that’s a good team to follow. He’s kind of like our Sir Ferguson. They are a little down right now after losing the Messi of qbs, which is hard to replace. But I learned about your football by watching the Premiere league so I say just watch the games and you will pick it up. Oh, one other thing, once the offense sets up to run a play, only one player is allowed to move. When you see a penalty for illegal motion, or false start, it means more than one person on offense has moved. Usually it’s just a flinch from a lineman. The defense has no penalty for movement and you will see them move around a lot to try to confuse the offense. They do move a lot when they are ready to snap the ball to create confusion for the offense. All NFL teams are really talented, and well drilled, so the difference in winning and losing is quite small. It’s usually the team that makes the most mistakes that loses. Teams that turn the ball over most almost always lose. (Interception or fumble) Hope this helps you enjoy!

[@Victoriant1]

One thing about football is the enormous amount of studying a lot of the players do before each game. One player Luke Kuechly was such prolific study-er that he almost seems psychic on the field and truly one of the greatest most brilliant defensive players of all time. He recently had to stop playing due to concussions. I think you'll learn a lot about football learning a little about him you can skip to 3:30 of you don't want to watch it all or at all. This is about him here kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZPWg416rdGMe7M

[@lochnessmonster5149]

Offense: -Offensive linemen: generally the largest players on the field that specialize in run blocking and pass blocking. -QBs: on-field generals that run the offense. They call out plays to the offense, they take snaps, run the ball, pass the ball, or hand the ball off -Running backs: Often shorter players built for power and speed. They run the ball, catch the ball out of the backfield, and pass block. -Fullbacks: Generally larger, heavier, and more powerful versions of running backs that mostly block for running backs(largely a defunct position these days) -Receivers: the most diverse position in football in terms of size, speed, and athleticism. Some are very tall and physical and some are small and fast. They line up outside and generally specialize in catching passes, though sometimes carry the ball, and are usually required to block downfield. Tightends: Hybrid offensive players. Generally, they're smaller than offensive linemen with better speed and athleticism that's required to play on the edge of the offensive line. Many tightends are either specialized run blockers or specialized receiving threats with the same skills as receivers. Their great size, large hands, large catch radius, and excellent speed make them formidable players for the defense to cover. Defense: -Defensive linemen: Play in direct opposition to the offensive linemen. Diverse in size and athleticism but generally very large and powerful. Some are specialized run stoppers that play in the middle and some are specialized edge players that excel in rushing the passer or "setting the edge" for the defense in the run game. The best defensive lineman are often good at both. -Linebackers: Hybrid players like tight ends; Diverse in size and skill sets and generally play behind and outside the defensive line. Some are specialist run stoppers, some are specialized pass defenders, and some are specialized edge players that rush the passer and "set the edge" on defense against the run. The best linebackers are usually dominant in one thing, i.e. run stopping or pass rushing, but many are good at everything. -Cornerbacks: Often times the fastest, most athletic, highest accelerating, and toughest minded players on the field. They generally have to be because they have to cover such a huge assortment of freakish receivers. A 5'10" 190lb corner must be able to cover a speedy receiver of equal size and speed and also be able to cover a physical receiver that's 6'4" 220lb. -Safeties: Generally larger and heavier than corners and get their name from being the last line of defense, the "safety valve" or "safety stopper" if you will. Some are really fast and agile and are great in pass defense, and some are big hitters that excel in run stopping. The best safeties are usually really good at both. Players generally get smaller and faster the farther away from the center position that they line up at: Size and power on the inside, with speed and athleticism on the outside. Getting preferable physical matchups on both offense and defense is a often a key element of success. If your speedy running back thats good at pass catching is matched up against a bigger, slower linebacker on the outside, that's a preferable matchup for the offense. In fact if that happens, it's usually because the offensive coach outschemed the defensive coach. General position groupings and their opposing counterparts: Receivers/Defensive backs Offensive/Defensive linemen Running backs, fullbacks, and tight ends/Linebackers

[@LukaMagic97]

One of the things they don’t really get into is the different types of packages or groups of 11 for each side, some packages on offense have more receivers or no tight ends or even sometimes no running backs. For defense there are packages like 3-4 or 5-6 which tells you how many defensive linemen and linebackers are on the field. Some packages have names like the dime package and the nickel package

[@rodneysisco6364]

Football operates on pre-designed plays where every player must know his assignment and those assignments are different for every play . An offense may have as many as a hundred different plays in its playbook .For all of the apparent chaos on the field ,football is the most organized and cerebral of all team sports .The defense also has different alignments which can change on every play depending upon what the coach thinks the offense is going to do on the next play .There is a lot of disguising of their intentions by both offense and defense so that at the coaching level it's a lot like chess .

[@RichardDCook]

At 2:06 in the old days US football squads were small and everybody stayed on the field the entire match playing both offence and defence. Baseball is still like that, in the National League all 9 players play both, while in the American League the pitcher is excused from batting, a Designated Hitter taking is place in the lineup, who only plays offence. Just like in soccer, in baseball if a player is substituted he can't re-enter the match. What utterly changed US football is the introduction of "unlimited substitution" which led to huge increase of roster and all positions becoming specialised.

[@BenjaminRoethig]

So, a little bit on the history. Football was originally one game in the early days, but eventually evolved into two codes: one where you kick the ball, association football aka soccer and one where you hold the ball, rugby. Rugby football itself split into the modern rugby, which only allows backwards passes and Gridiron football. Gridiron includes American football, Canadian football, and Indoor/ 8-man football. Canadian football uses a larger 110 yard x 65 yard field closer to rugby, has 12 players per side, and did not move the goal posts from the goal line. This was done in American football for safety in 1929. The position of tight end does not exist and instead there's the slot back who is a combo receiver/ running back instead of the combo lineman/ receiver that is the tight end. 8-man football. usually played indoors in a basketball/ hockey arena. Some outdoor variations for smaller high schools. Everything is considerably smaller and more fast paced. Players still play both ways.

[@99Stutz]

After basic rules, the next most important thing to start learning about is strategy, because that's vitally important to understanding why things are happening. Am Football is very different from free-flowing games like soccer, basketball, hockey, etc. After every play, the game is stopped momentarily, the ball is set down at the correct place ("spotted") by a referee, the offense "calls a play"' (often one of the coaches tells the quarterback what to do and he tells the rest of the team), and the defense reads how the offense is set up and decides how they want to counter it. Only once both sides are in position is the ball snapped and play starts again. Both sides regularly substitute several new players at a time as well; subs are unlimited. There are two basic play types with an infinite number of permutations. You're familiar with a pass play, where the QB tries to throw to a receiver, but they can also throw to any other player on their team (EXCEPT an offensive lineman). Tight ends are very important in today's game-larger guys who line up next to the O-line and sometimes help block the defense but often catch passes as well. It is also common for running backs to run out sideways from behind the line and catch passes. The other basic play type is a running play, where the QB hands the ball off to the running back who tries to sneak through or around the chaos of the line for a gain. In previous decades running backs were big stars, almost as important as the quarterback and doing much of the work of moving the ball. Nowadays it is more common to have several players switching out at that position. The basic strategy is to have a balanced attack between run and pass, so that if the defense hones in on one thing you can gain yards doing the other thing. For example, let's say you've been passing a lot and the defense expects it, putting more fast players on the field and backing away from the line. That is a good time to run the ball down the middle where there will be fewer defenders to stop you. If the defense expects a run and crowds up to the line with bigger, slower players, it's a great time to pass it over their heads. There are also plays where you fake one thing and do another ("play-action" is a fake handoff to a running back followed by a pass; a "draw" is where the QB goes back as if to pass but sneakily hands it off to a running back after the defense has backed away). As I said, there are frequent substitutions, but it is not only backup players, it's different types. On one play the offense might have 5 wide receivers, zero tight ends, zero running backs, and just hope to overwhelm the defense with passing options; to counteract this the defense might replace some linebackers or linemen with cornerbacks and safeties. On another play, the offense might bring in extra linemen and three tight ends with just one receiver; the defense would then bring in more of their own linemen and linebackers with only one cornerback to cover the receiver. It gets very complicated obviously. A chess match between the two coaching staffs is a good analogy.

[@Chris-rh9ej]

The receivers on the offense run routes. The defender tries to get into position for the play, either following them in man coverage or getting into their zone in zone coverage.

[@godiegolem]

What makes a good wide receiver can be many things, but chief among the skills a wide receiver needs to have in order to be good are: 1. Having "hands," which boils down to their ability to catch and secure the ball when it is thrown to them, no matter if it is a good throw or not. Must be able to spot a very fast ball under bright lights and lots of pressure. 2. Elusiveness. Self explanatory probably, but an element the average viewer wouldn't notice is how the enemy team often knows exactly where the receiver wants to go. So great receivers will often be crowded by the defense because despite the defense knowing where they will go, they have some advantage they abuse to catch it right between the "hands" of the defenders. Sometimes it's even 4 or 5 defenders that get grossly outmaneuvered by just one receiver, and it's quite a joy to witness those moments. 3. Balls of steel, not negotiable. Receivers tend to be smaller and therefore much more vulnerable to the BEHEMOTHS they share the field with. It's the brutal element of the game that makes it exciting in some sense for many people, and so when you get certain players that seem indestructible compared to literal monsters trying their best to kill them in the most vicious way possible. Well, it's beautiful to me haha. Hall of Fame receivers get there because they found a way to not only survive, but to thrive in a very dangerous environment for many, many years.

[@jjgarza]

The types of passes that a team will attempt depend on a few things. Mainly it depends on the skill of the quarterback, and what the offense is trying to accomplish. Some passes are designed to be quick and these will go to a specific pre-decided eligible receiver. Those typically only get small gains. Some deep passes also only have a pre determined receiver. Sometimes the QB will go through progressions and scan the field to see who is open. This takes a longer time. Some other passes depend on the position of the defense and in these cases the receiver must be in sync with the quarterback and they must assess the defense identically to complete the pass. The QB will throw to a spot if he sees the defender in a certain position relative to the receiver and it’s up to the receiver to make the correct assessment and be at the right spot, or turn to the inside or to the outside. The idea is that the ball needs to be thrown while the receiver is still running his route which means he won’t have a chance to see the ball get thrown and he has to be at the right spot at the right time.

[@hanknichols6865]

Kickers began hitting much longer field goals after the style changed from rugby style using the tie to soccer style using the instep.

[@wiltonater]

My Dutch Friend told he struggled more with the strategies and when you need to run certain plays than the actual rules of the game.

[@lngsrp4612]

4:20--yes and no. They use what is referred to as a "route concept", which means that the play is choreograhed and chosen based on what how the defense is lined up, and the routes are complementary with the goal of getting somebody open. The quarterback will have several options that they will look for, and run through them as part of the play. This is referred to as "going through their progressions" Those who can utilize their third or fourth option successfully are more accomplished than those who lock in on only one.

[@jpotter2086]

"Much simpler..." nope LOL I appreciated how the explanation vid showed an incomplete pass as an example of a forward pass.

[@tallyfye9594]

So I was actually a fullback and I would block for the running back and quarterback and occasionally run the ball. Nowadays teams will generally opt for an extra Tight end to block for the quarterback or another wide receiver over having a fullback on the field due to the higher utility value of those players. While I agree with this theory, there’s just something special about having a big guy run full speed into some defenders while the running back skates unscathed into the end zone.

[@heidifedor]

One of the Highlights of the Super Bowl is the commercials.

[@4knanapapa]

Line man OT- TE are usually big 6'3"+ and 300 lbs their job is to protect the QB and create holes for running backs, running backs FB RB are smaller most 5'8" to 6'"2, 220 or less wide receivers are usually smaller 5'10" to 6'2" 180-220 lbs generally fast and agile, any player on the roster is usually a specialist at the one position they play, plays are predetermined actions that depend on each player to preform a move on the opposing defensive player to insure a successful play, the defence is trained to react to the offence player and stop the offence from moving the ball.

[@4knanapapa]

2 kickers on each team on punts the ball, that is kicks the ball away if the team is unsuccessful, and one kicks off to start the game and after scores, he also kicks extra points after a TD(6 points) and point after kick (1 point) and feildgoals (3 points), field goals are kicked if the team doesnt make 10 yards in three tries (downs) but is close enough to the the opposing team's goal (usually 30 yards or less) that they can kick the ball through the uprights of the other team.

[@daricetaylor737]

The kicker in football is really the unsung hero. More games have been won and lost simply by the one field goal that the team kicker makes, or doesn't at the very last moment of play!

[@A.Radwick]

If you're choosing a team, the general consensus, or maybe the joke, that use in America is that the Jacksonville Jaguars are the team of the UK. The UK hosts games once or twice a year for us, and the Jaguars tend to be the team that gets signed up the most for those games. Best way to do it is to just watch a few weeks, flip through the numerous games played every Sunday (probably Sunday evening for you, since the London games air at like 7-10 AM, depending on where in the US you are and the normal start time is around 1 o'clock EST). The Kansas City is very fun to watch, as are the Buffalo Bills. Don't pick the Patriots or the Cowboys, they have the most annoying fan bases... But each team plays the game a little differently, so it's a tough decision if you have no regional loyalty.

[@lucastailin6425]

You need to watch the Tennessee vs Alabama game!!!!

[@cosmickid1794]

Until this past season, the number a player wore, corresponded too the position he played. Some of that still exists. For example, the offensive linemen wear numbers between 50-79, they have restrictions about touching the ball. Quarterbacks usually wear number 1-21, wide receivers used to be 80-88, now they can wear 1-20 also. Linebackers usually wear a number in the 50's, while down linemen can wear anything over 60-99, but, it's not set in stone anymore. The more you watch the more you'll start to identify numbers with position