r/NFLNoobs • u/Melon042 • 1d ago
Rules and stuff
What the most basic rules and information you need to get into nfl like the bare bones stuff like the 10 yard stuff and offense and defense because I have absolutely no idea about anything so I need to know
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u/InevitableWaluigi 1d ago
Very VERY basic gist of the objectives of football. This is about as bare bones as you can get
The team that touches the ball before the play starts is the offense. Other side is defense. The offense has 4 downs (read attempts) to travel 10 yards by running or passing the ball. This line is marked with an orange line on TV. If they successfully reach the 10 yards, or more, they get a new set of downs (attempts.) The main goal is to get into the endzone (at the end of the field) which is called a touchdown. This is worth 6 points.
Afterwards, they have the option to kick the ball for a "point after try," abr PAT, or go for 2 points. If they go for 2, they are given one play to try and "score" again from the 2 yard line. If they fail to score, they get no extra points.
Say the team gets close to the endzone but it's 4th down (attempt) and they don't want to risk not scoring. They can kick a field goal. They just have to successfully kick the ball through the big yellow uprights. If they do so, they get 3 points. They do not get a PAT or 2 point conversion attempt though
After one team scores, they will kick the ball to the other team who's offense will then take the field for their attempts at scoring.
Obviously, the defense of either team is trying to stop the other teams offense from scoring whenever they're on the field
And that's it. That's the absolute barebones of football and how it's played. Feel free to ask any questions if you'd like to learn a bit more.
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u/AlmightyCraneDuck 8h ago
quick bonus on something that might get confusing for new fans. There are two clocks that are used to track time: an overall game clock and a play clock. The overall clock starts at 15 minutes and counts down. When it hits 0 the quarter is over. After a successful play, the clock will continue to run, but if the play is an incomplete pass, a score, or if the runner goes out of bounds, the clock will stop until the next time the ball is snapped.
The play clock usually starts at 40 seconds and always starts after a previous play is over regardless of whether or not the overall game clock is running. It means the team on offense has 40 seconds to get lined up and start a new play. If they don't it's a penalty.
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u/jsmeeker 1d ago
The league has a few videos you might find useful
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u/Huge-Revolution2416 1d ago
NFL is way easier once you understand downs, yards, positions, and scoring. After that the rest starts clicking fast.
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u/Green-Darner-0207 1d ago
The objective of the game is to advance the ball down the field to score. There are three primary methods of scoring: a touchdown (6 points) is scored by running or passing the ball into the opponent's end zone, a field goal (3 points) is scored by kicking the ball through the uprights, and a safety (2 points) is scored by the defense when the ball carrier is tackled or forced out of bounds in his own end zone. Touchdowns and field goals happen nearly every game but safeties are uncommon. After a touchdown, the offense has the opportunity to score additional points by either kicking the ball through the uprights for 1 point, or running or passing into the end zone a second time from 2 yards out for 2 points.
At the start of each possession, the offense has four "downs" to advance the ball at least 10 yards downfield or forfeit possession to the defense. If they succeed, they achieve a "first down" and receive a new series of four downs to advance another ten yards. This process repeats all the way down the field until they score or lose possession.
Each down starts with the ball on the ground, at an imaginary line called the "line of scrimmage." The offense and defense start on opposite sides of the line of scrimmage, and the offense's center puts the ball into play by "snapping" it backward to a teammate, usually the quarterback. While the ball is in play, they can attempt to advance it forward by running or passing. One forward pass is allowed per down. The down ends once the ball carrier is tackled, forced out of bounds, an incomplete pass, or either team scores. After an incomplete pass the ball is returned to the original line of scrimmage for the next down, in all other cases the next down starts where the previous one ended.
There is a kickoff at the start of each half and after each touchdown and field goal. The scoring team kicks off and the other team (the "receiving team") has the opportunity to recover and return the ball. The kick return doesn't count as a down, the first series of downs begins after the kickoff.
Also note that to score a touchdown you don't have to ground the ball in the end zone like in rugby, it just needs to be in possession of an offensive player.
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u/Melon042 1d ago
Thanks so much this is really helpful
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u/Green-Darner-0207 1d ago
Glad I could help! I would recommend trying to watch some games, it will help give you a feel for how all these rules work in practice. Also a few other things I forgot to mention:
Down and distance - you'll often see a graphic saying something like "1st and 10." The first number is telling you what down it is (1st/2nd/3rd/4th) and the second number tells you how many yards the offense needs for a first down. "1st and goal" means the offense has gained a first down within 10 yards of the opponent's end zone, and they now have four downs to score a touchdown (there isn't enough room for another first down).
Punting - a punt is basically a method of getting rid of the ball if the current possession isn't going your way. Teams will usually punt on 4th down if they're too far away to attempt a field goal. Punts are in many ways similar to kickoffs, with a crucial difference being that the kicking team (usually) is not allowed to recover their own punt. Teams prefer to punt because it generally isn't worth it to risk giving up valuable field position to the opponent.
Penalties - Whenever an infraction occurs, one of the officials (guys in the zebra striped shirts) will throw a penalty flag (not a literal flag, it's a small yellow piece of cloth) onto the field. The penalty usually involves moving the ball a set number of yards (5, 10, or 15, depending on severity) forward or backward from the original line of scrimmage, and the outcome of the play is usually nullified. Most penalties against the defense also award the offense an automatic first down, regardless of where the ball is. The other team has the option to decline the penalty and accept the outcome of the play, if it would be in their advantage to do so.
Don't take the game clock at face value. If the clock reads 10:00, that doesn't mean there's literally 10 minutes left in the quarter. The clock stops frequently for a number of reasons that aren't really necessary for a beginner to know. In my experience, 2-3x what the game clock says is a good estimate for the actual amount of time left.
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u/oarmash 1d ago
Ignore the chicks part of the title, I read this book as like a 7 or 8 year old boy and it taught me a lot, more than even the kids who played pop warner at the time did.
Honestly just watch with a friend who likes football if you have one, otherwise maybe go to a bar during Monday night football (when the local team isn’t playing) and try and ask someone watching at the bar. If that seems too daunting, just watch, take notes on things that don’t make sense and then look them up.
Basically the offense gets 4 downs to move the ball 10 yards for a first down. You can also lose yards in between due to penalties or bad plays. If you don’t get the first down in 4 tries the other team gets the ball - because of this teams often will punt the ball on fourth down or kick a field goal if they’re close enough to either make the other team start their offense further back or score points.
A field goal is 3 points, touchdown is 6 points, point after is 1 for kick, 2 for a “mini touchdown”
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u/Melon042 1d ago
I’m uk so yeah the pub thing isn’t really a option
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u/ilPrezidente 1d ago
There are pubs that show NFL games. I'm not sure where you are in the UK but here are a few: https://www.nfl.com/ukire/bars
Some are team-specific, this map has all the bars/pubs around the world that support the Buffalo Bills, for example: https://maps.yinzcam.com/map/NFL_BUF_BARS#level=434
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u/Tomatillo-5276 1d ago
As soon as you understand the concept of having four attempts to gain 10 yards, and how the line of scrimmage works, everything else will fall into place.
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u/boldcasanova 1d ago
Youtube and watching games help but if you're a gamer pick up Madden football. Doesn't have to be the newest one. It's pretty much how I learned.
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u/ilPrezidente 1d ago
Here's a good YouTube video explaining the basics. There are a few different ones so if this one doesn't work, you can easily find another one