EXPLORE.
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Hey there, THINKING GIRLS! How did your study of football go this week? Did you watch any games? Hey, eyes over here!
I know last week, in Part 1, there was a lot of information to digest. That was just the beginning actually. Football is a very complicated and interesting sport. There are a lot of rules and there are a lot of parts in every game. Due to the fact that both an offense and a defense are on the field at all times, there is a lot to keep track of.
But to be honest, it is the rules that keep a game from turning into pure chaos. When so much is going on, at any given time, the rules and the refs (the officials) are the two things that keep order.
Today we will complete our series on this great sport by looking at the officials, timing, turnovers, teams/divisions and scoring a safety.
EQUIP.
Got that coffee?
The Officials
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1. In every football game there are 7 men who are officiating the game. These are the guys with the black and white striped shirts. Each of these men has a lot to do during a game. Even I hardly know who does what and it would be very advanced for me to try to explain it all to you here.
In the interest of boredom and time, I’ll just say this – These are the names of the OFFICIALS on the field during each game:
a. Referee – Head official. This is the guy who you always see on TV turning his microphone on and off and flailing his hands around making funny signs. You can find out more about these signs HERE.
b. Umpire
c. Head Linesman
d. Line Judge
e. Field Judge
f. Side Judge
g. Back Judge
Timing
1. Believe it or not, an NFL game is only 60 minutes long. Yeah, I didn’t think you’d believe me, but it’s true. Each game is divided into 4 quarters, 15 minutes each. What takes so long is all the penalties and timeouts. 60 minutes easily turns into 3 hours. Boys.
2. There is one half-time of 12 minutes.
3. There are two 2-minute breaks. One after the first quarter and one after the third quarter. These allow the teams to change sides of the field. They do this after each 15-minute period of play. (At the end of the first and third periods, the team with the ball keeps it, they just switch ends.)
4. After each play the offensive team (the ones with the ball) have 40 seconds to set up and begin play again. This is called the play clock and they can be penalized – Delay of Game - if they let the time run out and don’t get going again. This is bad!
5. The clock keeps running throughout the period except in 4 cases:
a. An incomplete passing play (when the quarterback throws the ball but nobody catches it.)
b. When the player with the ball runs out of bounds.
c. When the Ref calls a penalty.
d. When a team uses one of it’s 3 regulation timeouts. Each team gets 3 timeout per half.
Ok, go eat some chocolate. That was a lot to take in!
Turnovers
1. The ball can be turned over by the offense two ways.
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a. When they FUMBLE, or drop, the ball. Whenever you see the ball fall out of a players hands and another player catch it or a whole bunch of players jump on it in a big dog pile, you can be pretty sure there’s been a fumble.
b. When the quarterback throws the ball but the other team catches it, that’s called an INTERCEPTION.
2. When the ball is fumbled or intercepted, the other team gets the ball right there. This is a gift to any team, especially when they are close to their own end zone. (check your CHEAT SHEET if you can’t remember what the end zone is.)
League – Conference – Division
1. The NFL (National Football LEAGUE) is made up of 32 teams from around the country. You can see a list of the teams HERE.
2. There are 2 leagues in the NFL. These are actually referred to as CONFERENCES – the AFC (American Football Conference) and the NFC (National Football Conference).
3. There are 8 DIVISIONS in the NFL – the AFC – North, South, East and West and the NFC – North, South, East and West. HERE is where each team is located in the divisions.
I tried to find you a good flowchart to show this, but they were all drawn by boys and they were stupid. I’ll have to come up with one of my own I guess.
Scoring A Safety
1. On offense there is a position called the safety. But there is also a way to score called a SAFETY. These are two totally different things, so be aware!
2. The defense of a team can score a SAFETY, worth 2 points, when they tackle a player on offense inside their own (the defense’s) end zone. This usually happens when the offense has the ball really close to their opponent’s end zone and the quarterback is sacked (tackled with the ball) or when an offensive player gets tackled back there.
3. An offense NEVER likes to be that close to their opponent’s end zone. It’s way too scary.
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| Just in case you need some Christmas gift ideas…. |
Some more important links:
ENGAGE.
Well, there you have it. Another lesson on a game that has sucked many an hour away from American men. It’s what big screen TVs were created for. It’s why we have hotwings and a paltry excuse to drink beer.
But it’s also a great way to bond with your man or your son. So try it this weekend, when we give thanks for our blessings:
1. Sit down from doing dishes or laundry or whatever else you think is super important.
2. Pull out your CHEAT SHEET and try watching for just a few minutes. I’ll bet you end up staying for longer.
3. Remember that football is a great excuse to shop. Everyone NEEDS to show their team spirit with a cute jersey – they have girl jersey’s nowadays – or a sweatshirt or some other paraphernalia. Who doesn’t like an excuse to go shopping? Hello?
Most importantly – Have Fun!!!
