An in-depth look at this one hour war for beginners (Part 1)
Everyone Huddle Up On Me!
In my Country when you say football it is assumed that this is what you mean, it is a very violent contact sport designed for turning boys into men and exposing those who are not physically capable or mentally prepared for combat so that they can seek sports, studies and careers more suitable to their nature. This statement is not meant to be demeaning or to put anyone down in any way, it is just a fact that football players tend to be physically fit to the extreme, they usually have a very aggressive nature, and a mentality toward delivering pain on others while accepting pain and injury as a normal part of their life. They are also the type of men who do not give up easy in a fight, they can be severely beaten and even humiliated on one play, then get up and continue the fight on the next. Not all military personnel were football players and that is not my point, my point is that football players must have a warrior type mentality. There are also many sports that are just as physically demanding to prepare for, but the mentality to put that physically fit body on the line and sacrifice it for the sake of your teammates, your colors, or your pride is not for everyone. The pain is real, if you play long enough there will be injuries and you may even become a casualty, and the sacrifice to do what it takes to win is like no other sport that I know of.
Here is your first lesson in terminology, names of some of the basic positions.
Football coaches and fans often compare football to a chess game, this is because when the players are lined up in a formation they can loosely be compared to the various pieces on a chess board, and the strategy involved in a single play can be compared to the strategy of several different chess moves taking place all at the same time.
If comparing to chess then let's first assign the chess pieces to the players on the offensive side of play that best correlate.
The football is number one and it is what all of the other offensive pieces are protecting, so the football is the "King" on our chess board.
The Quarterback is the leader of the offense and is considered to be the most valuable attacking piece, so our Quarterback is the "Queen" on our board.
Flanking the Queen are the Tight Ends which become the "Bishops" on the board.
The Running Backs will turn into "Knights" for this game.
The Wide Receivers will become our "Rooks."
And last but not least, at least in my mind, are the Offensive Linemen who are our "Pawns."
On the opposite side of the line of scrimmage is the Defense for the opponent, we will label them as follows.
The Defensive Linemen are the "Pawns."
The Cornerbacks, combined with the Sidelines of the field, are the "Rooks."
The Outside Linebackers are the "Knights."
The Inside Linebackers are the "Bishops."
The Safety(s) are the "Queen."
And the End Zone of the football field represents the "King."
If we are going to compare football to a chess match then we must say that every play is a series of moves that begins when the offenses "King" (football) is put in motion and ends when his motion is stopped by the defense. Unlike the rigid rules for setting up the pieces on a Chess board, in football, a coach gets to preconfigure which pieces he has on the board for any given play and he also gets to preposition them on the field within a strict set of rules. Each team then has their specially selected pieces on the field for any given play, and they are placed in specific positions on the field to best take advantage of their particular skill set. Similar to chess pieces, football players have body characteristics and attributes that make them better suited for certain positions on the field.
Position Attributes:
Some basic key attributes that coaches look for in a football player are
- Athleticism - How well a player is able to combine his physical attributes and utilize them in a coordinated manner to achieve a goal.
- Quickness and Speed - Typically speed is checked at 10 yards, 40 yards, and 100 yards.
- Stamina - How long they can play at nearly full speed without a rest.
- Strength - There are many points of strength that need to be measured for each position.
- Vertical Jump - The ability to jump for a ball.
- Long Jump and stride - The ability to stretch the field.
- Hands - Ball handling skills, they run from soft (Can easily hold onto and control a football) To like bricks (totally uncoordinated hands prone to fumble or drop a football)
- Elusiveness - The ability to avoid contact with opposing players.
- Technique - How well a player knows the game, his position responsibilities, and how to keep his body under control and in a proper position to make a play.
- Game Instinct - Also referred to as football smarts. It is the ability to do the right thing at the right time without being told or even having to think about it. It is reacting to a changing situation in a correct manner instinctively.
- Body size and weight - Athletes come in all sizes and shapes, each position on a football field has an ideal size and weight associated with it, the farther a player is away from that ideal size and weight class the less likely it is that he will be able to play in that position.
In comparing football to a chess match then we could say that it is a long series of chess moves with each side taking turns attacking his opponent with batches or sets of offensive moves, which the defensive side then must successfully counter in order to turn the board around and go on offense.
While coaches and fans often think of football in terms of chess matches, for the players themselves it is more like a one hour war! This is how I usually visualize the game myself since I lean more to the player side, it was my sport and all other athletic events that I participated in were simply to improve my overall agility and skills so that I could be a better football player.
When viewed in this way, a football field becomes a much different kind of place. The team leaders become field commanders and the coaches on the sideline become Generals. There is an Offensive General (Offensive Coordinator), a Defensive General (Defensive Coordinator), and a Special Teams General (Special Teams Coordinator). These Generals may have any number of subordinate officers (Position Coaches) working under them. The Head Coach is then the Supreme Commander of all of the team's forces. Football teams even have their own medics and first aid stations, just as if they were literally on the field of combat.
In this battle, the football becomes the attacking forces flag, the object is to plant your flag in the defending team's headquarters or homeland (Their End Zone).
The defending team prepares their ramparts and breastworks (Defensive Linemen), they strategically place their cannons and put their horsemen in reserve (Linebackers). The perimeter and rear areas are protected with mortars, artillery, and air defenses (Defensive Backs).
The attacking team approaches the line of scrimmage with its footman, their flag (football) out front leading the charge. As the battle commences the flag is moved to the rear of the column where the commander gives it to the brigade that will be leading the attack. These attacks come in many different forms, tanks may drive into the defensive ramparts (defensive linemen) in an attempt to form a breach, or the calvary may try an end run to outflank the enemy. If that fails the commander may call on his air force and try to fly (Pass the ball) over the enemy defenses and attack him deep into his own territory.
A coin is flipped to see which side will be on offense first, the team winning the toss gets to choose whether they want to be on offense first or defense. Then one of the "Special Teams" (Kicking and Receiving) for both teams comes onto the field to have the first battle, the result of this battle (The kickoff) will determine the starting field position.
The battle then begins as previously described, the offense must advance the flag (football) ten yards in 4 attempts (Downs) in order to remain on offense. If they fail then the field is cleared and the team previously on offense now becomes the defending team and vice versa. The 4th down play for most offenses is performed by one of two Special Teams. The punting team kicks the football down the field in an attempt to gain better field position. The defending teams punt return specialist can try to advance the kick if he can field it (catch the ball) and thus reduce the amount of territory given up during the play. This then is very similar to the opening kickoff of the game, except on the kickoff the kicking player can put the ball on a tool called the kicking Tee and get more distance out of his kick, while a punter just drop kicks the ball.
If it is 4th down and the offense has managed to move the ball down the field to be close enough to their opponent's end zone (usually anywhere from 30-40 yards away), they can opt to kick a field goal. Here we have another Special Team called the "Field Goal Unit" that will come out onto the field for the play. For the field goal try, the ball will be snapped back from the line of scrimmage by the center to a holder, who will then place the football onto a different type of kicking tee, and the team's kicker will attempt to kick the football between two posts at the end of the field called Goalposts.
Scoring in Football
Touchdown - 6 points - When one team crosses the opposing team's goal line while in possession of the football.
Extra Point Play - 2 points - After a touchdown, the scoring team can opt to run an extra play from the 3-yard line in amateur, 2-yard line in professional football. If the scoring team crosses the goal line with possession of the football it is a conversion.
Extra Point Kick - 1 point - Works the same as a field goal from 3-yard line in amateur, 2-yard line in professional football.
Safety - 2 points - Any player is tackled or goes out of bounds (Outside the playing field) in his own end zone while in possession of the football is a safety and 2 points is awarded to the opponent. Following a safety, the ball is then kicked back to the opponent either by punting the football or by kicking it off of a tee.
Video Review
Kickoff
Breakdown of a Play
Here is a film Study of Last Week's Alabama vs. Louisville game by Matt Wyatt, he does an excellent job showing why these plays were successful, this will show you the clear anatomy of a play in American Football.
Punt Coverage
Field Goal
This concludes the first introductory lesson about American Football, we will discuss basic equipment and some rules in the next lesson.
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