Punting, Field Goals, and "Going for it"

If a team is not able to get move the ball 10 yards in 3 downs (plays), then the team has two options: 1) punt, 2) kick a field goal, or 3) "go for it"

1) PUNT: The goal is to kick the ball as far into the opponent territory as possible so they will have to move the ball a very long way to be able to score. Below is an example of punting. Unfortunately for the team that punted, it was returned a very long way for a touchdown.


2) FIELD GOAL: If the team is close enough, they can try to kick the ball through the goal posts. If they are successful, they get 3 points. If they fail, the other team gets possession of the ball.


3) GO FOR IT: On 4th down, the offense can also choose to run or pass one more time to try to complete 10 yards for a 1st down. If they fail, then the other team takes possession of the ball. This is a risky play because if they they fail then the other team gets the ball, often close to their own endzone so they don't have to move the ball very far to be able to score. Teams will often take this risk if they only have 1 or 2 yards left to make a 1st down. Here's a video of a 4th down attempt that was unsuccessful.




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Touchdown!

This one is pretty easy to understand: it's when everyone starts screaming!

What Is a Touchdown in American Football?

Hi my name is Kenny Sailors. I'm here on ExpertVillage.com and I'm here to teach you how to understand the great game of American football.

Ok, we're going to talk about touchdowns. A touchdown is worth 6 points. It is scored when a players runs the ball or catches a pass in the opponents endzone. Now the team has a choice--once they make a touchdown--they have a choice to either go for a point after touchdown, also known as a PAT. This is good for 1 point extra on top of your touchdown. So they have that option to do that. What happens is the ball is placed on the 2-yard line, very near the goal, and what they do is they have the opportunity to bring their special unit out to kick the ball through the uprights to make a field goal for that one extra point. If they would like to go for a 2-point conversion instead of getting this measly 1 point. If they want to go for 2 points to make that an 8 score for this one play, then they can get the ball and they will get a chance to run one more play. And they will attempt to run that play into the endzone and if they make it successfully by either rushing or passing the ball, just a regular play, then they get 2 extra points. They will get 2 extra points for doing that though these are basically the conversion points at the end of a game. You have a touchdown for 6, you get the PAT or the Point After Touchdown, or the 2 point conversion - those are your options after making an actual touchdown.


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What are First Downs? (quiz)

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What are First Downs?

This is one of the most important concepts to understand in American Football.


Hi, my name is Kenny Sailors, I'm here on ExpertVillage.com to teach you how to understand the great game of American football. Now we are going talk about advancing the football, the basics of advancing the football, are like this. The offense when they come out on the field they get four opportunities to gain 10 yards so we call these downs. Each one is considered a downs, so every time a play is done they are trying to make it 10 yards which I drew a little marker here, because they always have little orange markers on the side of the field that someone is holding that represent, it shows you where the first down will be. They have four opportunities to make it 10 yards, if they successfully make it the 10 yards or beyond you know they can make 20 yards, but if they pass the 10 yard point here at the end then they get four more downs, they get four new downs so they get a chance to do it again and make another 10 yard. They do this, advance the ball down the field, doing this. And it is a lot more difficult to make it 10 yards than you would think so now however if they get to 4th down and they have not made the 10 yards, they have a couple of options to take. One, they can kick a field goal if they are within a field goal range, which means they bring the special teams out and they line up and the kicker tries to kick off of the stand with some one holding it.

If it gets through the upright the goal post, if they make it, they get three points. Or if they are too far away then they will bring out special teams, a punt team, which will bring the punter, and then they hike the ball to him, he drops the ball, kicks it, and then the opposing team will then take over the ball and they will get their opportunity for 4 downs and to make, you know, advance the ball down the field.

So advancing the football, that's pretty much the basics of it. You get 4 downs to make 10 yards. And as long as you can keep that going, you can make it all the way down to the end zone, as long as you can keep making those first downs.
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Basic Overview of What to Watch

The first part of this video is just music and highlights, but be patient, there is a good explanation of the basics of American football (from a European) after about 30 seconds.

(Music)

Welcome to FabQB.com, Introduction to American Football. Have you ever watched a game of Foot US on TV and didn't understand anything? I will show you how to follow a game. Are you ready? Here we go.

(Music)

The action always starts this way. Ok, first let's find the ball. Here it is. Now that we know where the ball is...where to look to see action? I offer you to see this constant fight of the linemen--the ones of the attack and the ones of the defense. Look carefully how the ones of the defense try to get through. And the ones of the offense trying to protect their team mates.
Now that was for the linemen. Now let's look at the fight between the linebackers and the running backs during the running plays. Let's watch this play again in order to see how important every player in the team is. Here they help the ball carrier in his progression.

We saw the fight of the linemen, the collisions between running backs and linebackers, but we still have one more thing to see during an American Football game, the pass plays. This is the moment of the quarterbacks, the receivers, and the defensive backs. The pass play is very risky but can get the team great dividends.

This is an example of a great dividend. It is a touchdown, it will be 6 points for the white team.

And this is the risk. The white team will lose possession of the ball. Interception for the dark team.

Alright, now you have something to look for next time you watch a game.

If you like that video then take a look at my website FabQB.com - You will learn the rules, the points, and why this sport can be so great and full of suspense.
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Football Music

The Seattle Seahawks adopted The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" as their theme song, and it is heard whenever something special happens to the home team. For instance, when the team takes the field to a sellout crowd, the song blares throughout the reverberating stadium, or when the Seahawks score the game-winning field goal, no doubt that will be playing.

Unfortunately, the sample doesn't let you hear the voice of the singer. But trust me, it's good. Download it.

Learn the guitar chords for it here.

BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY
by The Verve

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah

No change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mould
I am here in my mould
But I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mould
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,no,no,no,no,no(fading away)

Well I never pray
But tonight I'm on my knees yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mould
I am here in my mould
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mould
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
I can't change
I can't change it

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
Trying to find some money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
where all the veins meet yeah

You know I can't change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mind
I am here in my mind
And I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mind
No, no, no, no, no

I can't change my mould
no, no, no, no, no,
I can't change
Can't change my body,
no, no, no

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
Been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
That you've ever been down
That you've ever been down

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The Best NFL (National Football League) Plays

Even if you are like Melissa from this week's interview and you don't understand the rules of American Football, these clips will give you an idea of how exciting the game can be. The rest of the week I'll be trying to help you understand the basic rules of the game so you can really enjoy Super Bowl 43 on February 1 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.



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Punting, Field Goals, and "Going for it"

If a team is not able to get move the ball 10 yards in 3 downs (plays), then the team has two options: 1) punt, 2) kick a field goal, or 3) "go for it"

1) PUNT: The goal is to kick the ball as far into the opponent territory as possible so they will have to move the ball a very long way to be able to score. Below is an example of punting. Unfortunately for the team that punted, it was returned a very long way for a touchdown.


2) FIELD GOAL: If the team is close enough, they can try to kick the ball through the goal posts. If they are successful, they get 3 points. If they fail, the other team gets possession of the ball.


3) GO FOR IT: On 4th down, the offense can also choose to run or pass one more time to try to complete 10 yards for a 1st down. If they fail, then the other team takes possession of the ball. This is a risky play because if they they fail then the other team gets the ball, often close to their own endzone so they don't have to move the ball very far to be able to score. Teams will often take this risk if they only have 1 or 2 yards left to make a 1st down. Here's a video of a 4th down attempt that was unsuccessful.



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