Post by Coach Campbell on Sept 27, 2005 17:51:56 GMT
History of the game
Objective: American football is played by two teams who will have eleven players on the field at any one time. The object of the game is to get the ball to the opponents end of the field, and score more points than the opposing team.
To start a game, the referee will toss a coin. The visiting captain calls. The winner of the toss can decide whether to start in offense (receive the kick) or defense (deliver the kick). When play restarts in the second half, the captain who lost the toss at the beginning of the game chooses.
If a game goes into overtime, the first team to score wins, so the captain will almost always choose to go on the offense. Teams change ends at the start of the quarter.
Playing time lasts for one hour, divided into four fifteen minute quarters. There is a fifteen minute break between the second and third quarters (each half of the game).
The clock is stopped when the ball is not in play, when a foul has been committed, or when a fair catch has been caught. The clock is also stopped for time outs. Both teams are allowed three time outs, lasting a maximum of two minutes each, in each half.
Both the clock and the game itself are stopped two minutes from the end of each half by the referee to allow the teams to plan their strategies.
If the scores are level at the end of the fourth quarter, overtime will be played. In NFL games, only one period of overtime is played, and if the scores are still level, the game is declared a draw. For championship and playoff games, periods are played until a winner is decided (the first team to score).
Objective: American football is played by two teams who will have eleven players on the field at any one time. The object of the game is to get the ball to the opponents end of the field, and score more points than the opposing team.
To start a game, the referee will toss a coin. The visiting captain calls. The winner of the toss can decide whether to start in offense (receive the kick) or defense (deliver the kick). When play restarts in the second half, the captain who lost the toss at the beginning of the game chooses.
If a game goes into overtime, the first team to score wins, so the captain will almost always choose to go on the offense. Teams change ends at the start of the quarter.
Playing time lasts for one hour, divided into four fifteen minute quarters. There is a fifteen minute break between the second and third quarters (each half of the game).
The clock is stopped when the ball is not in play, when a foul has been committed, or when a fair catch has been caught. The clock is also stopped for time outs. Both teams are allowed three time outs, lasting a maximum of two minutes each, in each half.
Both the clock and the game itself are stopped two minutes from the end of each half by the referee to allow the teams to plan their strategies.
If the scores are level at the end of the fourth quarter, overtime will be played. In NFL games, only one period of overtime is played, and if the scores are still level, the game is declared a draw. For championship and playoff games, periods are played until a winner is decided (the first team to score).