Contents
The Football Field
Scoring in Football
The Structure of a Football Game
The Football Game Clock
How to Break Down a Football Play
Football Offense
Football Defense
Special Teams
Football Officials and Penalties
The NFL
College Football
Learn more with these titles from Barnes & Noble
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- The basics of football scoring, game play, penalties, and more
- Positioning, plays, and strategies for offense, defense, and special teams
- The teams, conferences, and playoff structures of NFL and college football
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The Football Field
Football game play takes place on a standard football field. All football fields—professional, college, and high school—are the same size and have the same basic markings.
The Dimensions of a Football Field
A football field is 120 yards (360 feet) long and 160 feet wide. A 10-yard-long end zone is located at each end of the field. The entire field is divided into three main parts: two end zones and a 100-yard-long field of play.
The Markings on a Football Field
A football field has a number of markings that define the space and affect game play:
- Sidelines: These define the lengthwise boundaries of the field. A player who steps on or over the sidelines is considered out of bounds.
- End lines: These lines run along the back of each end zone. A player who steps on or over an end line is out of bounds.
- Goal lines: These mark the boundary between each end zone and the main 100 yard–long portion of the field.
- Yard lines: These run from sideline to sideline, marking off every five yards between the end zones. Though the yard lines mark off only five-yard intervals, a play can begin at any of the 100 yards along the length of the field. For instance, a play may begin at the 50-yard line (the center of the field, 50 yards from both end zones); at the 26-yard line (26 yards from an end zone); or at the two-yard line (two yards from an end zone).
- Hash marks: These are one-foot-wide marks that run in two rows down the middle of the field and indicate each yard between the yard lines.
- Numbers: These show the distance, in 10-yard increments, to the nearest goal line.
- Arrows: These point in the direction of the nearest goal line.
Beyond the two sidelines are team areas and coaching boxes where coaches and players not currently playing stand (or sit on benches) during the game.
Objects on a Football Field
In addition to markings, football fields also have two kinds of actual markers that are considered part of the field.
- End zone pylons: These are four 18" high orange foam poles placed in the four corners of each end zone to mark the end zone’s boundaries.
- Goalposts: These are the two “Y”-shaped markers that stand in the middle of one of the end lines. Goalposts are also called uprights.
End Zones and Describing the Field
During a football game, each team has one end zone and goalpost on which it’s trying to score, and one end zone and goalpost that it’s defending (trying to stop the other team from scoring in). The end zone that Team A is defending is called “Team A’s end zone,” and the 50 yards closest to that end zone are considered “Team A’s territory.” For instance, if Team B is just 35 yards from Team A’s end zone, it is said to be at “Team A’s 35-yard line.”
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