The Super Bowl is the hottest sporting event of the year!
So that you at the upcoming NFL season have a say, SPORT BILD explains the most important rules and terms in American football.
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The NFL – A league of its own
Let’s start from the beginning. What actually is the NFL? The National Football League is the American professional league for American football. It was founded in 1920 and has consisted of 32 teams since 2002. The NFL teams are divided into two “minor leagues”. The AFC (American Football Conference) and the NFC (National Football Conference). Both leagues are each divided into four divisions: North, East, South and West. Each division in turn has four teams.
| Conference | Division | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | North | Cincinnati Bengals Baltimore Ravens Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers |
| AFC | East | New England Patriots Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins New York Jets |
| AFC | South | Tennesse Titans Indianapolis Colts Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars |
| AFC | West | Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Chargers Las Vegas Raiders Denver Broncos |
| NFC | North | Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings Chicago Bears Detroit Lions |
| NFC | East | Dallas Cowboys Philadelphia Eagles Washington Football Team New York Giants |
| NFC | South | Tampa Bay Buccaneers New Orleans Saints Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers |
| NFC | West | Los Angeles Rams Arizona Cardinals San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks |
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The field
American football is played on (artificial) grass pitches. The field is 120 yards (about 109 meters) long and 53 yards (about 48 meters) wide. There is a 10-yard deep end zone at each end of the field. There is a 100-yard playfield between the two end zones. This playing surface is divided into 10-yard increments. Behind each end zone is a large, tuning fork-like gate. The field goal.
SoFi Stadium in California was the venue for this year’s Super Bowl
Photo: Maximilian Haupt/dpa
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Lawn chess or carnage?
American football is the quintessential contact sport. Football is often about hitting the other before you get hit. At the same time, the game has a tactical finesse reminiscent of chess.
The NFL is played in four quarters, also known as quarters. Each quarter is 15 minutes long. The players of a team are divided into offensive and defensive. During the game, 11 offensive players from one team and 11 defensive players from the other team face each other on the field. The aim of the offensive is to pass or run the ball into the opponent’s end zone. If they do, they score a touchdown. Because it’s unlikely that a team can get the ball across the field in one go, the offensive has multiple plays. The offense always has four attempts (“downs”) to cover 10 yards or more of the field. If it doesn’t make it, the right of attack is given up and the opposing defense becomes an offense.
The defense always tries to prevent the touchdown. In the best case, it achieves this through a turnover. If the defense has not allowed a new first down for three plays, the offensive faces a difficult decision. The offense needs to make a new first down. If that doesn’t work, they have to give the ball to the opponent where they are. To prevent this, a team can shoot the ball away on the 4th down. With this so-called “punt” they pass the ball, but the opponent gets a worse starting position for their own attack. If the team is close enough to the opponent’s end zone, the team can also try to score a field goal three points.
This is how points are scored
Just like in football, the team that scored the most successfully wins in the end. But instead of goals, touchdowns are scored in American football.
► Touchdown: Brings six points. The ball is carried into the opponent’s end zone by a run or a pass.
► Extra Point: After a touchdown there is the possibility to get another point with a kick between two goalposts.
► Two-Point-Conversion: After their own touchdown, the team can choose the two-point conversion instead of an extra point. Instead of kicking the ball, the offense gets a play from the 2-yard line. If she successfully runs or passes the ball into the end zone, there are two more points instead of the one extra point.
► Field Goal: Brings three points. Instead of getting a new first down after three unsuccessful attempts, the ball can be kicked through the bars from a certain distance. An alternative to a touchdown attempt when your own offensive doesn’t make it into the opponent’s end zone.
► Safety: If an offensive player is brought down in his own end zone, the defense gets two points and possession. Safeties have become very rare due to the strong offensive development in the NFL.
The positions of the NFL superstars
Every NFL team is made up of three parts. The offense, the defense and the special team. The players from their own offensive are often the superstars of the team. You earn the cash and score the points by getting the ball across the field to the end zone. There are always 11 offensive players and 11 opposing defenders on the field. The offensive professionals are not used in their own defense and vice versa. SPORT BILD shows you the most important positions in football:
Die Offensive:
► Quarterback: He’s the playmaker. He announces the moves, distributes the balls and is the star of the team. As the head of the offense, the quarterback must direct the offense.
► Running Back: If a running play is announced, he is the protagonist. He gets the ball from the quarterback and tries to tank through the opponent’s defense.
► Wide Receiver: In this position you have to be particularly good at two things: run fast and catch well. Depending on the play, the wide receiver gets short or long passes from the quarterback.
Die Defensive:
► Cornerbacks: Your main task is to hinder the opposing receivers. They cover the opposing players and, in the best case scenario, try to grab the egg themselves – to achieve an interception.
► Defensive End/Outside Linebacker: These two positions form the “pass rush”. They’re supposed to put pressure on the quarterback. This is intended to force him to make quick (and therefore inaccurate) passes. When a pass rusher takes down the opposing quarterback, it’s called a “sack.”
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The most important terms
American football is a confusing sport for most Germans, with English words being thrown around all the time. So that this changes for you, SPORT BILD informs you about the most important terms relating to the NFL.
► Head Coach: The head coach is the head coach of a team. He leads the training and organization of a football team
► Coordinator: The offensive coordinator coordinates the formation, tactics and personnel of his offensive before a play. The defensive coordinator does the same for defense. The third coordinator is the special teams coordinator. He handles all of the special team’s moves.
► Kickoff: At the start of a half and after points have been scored, the team shoots the ball across the field to the opponent’s offense.
► Snap: An offensive play begins with the center passing the ball to the quarterback. This is called a “snap”.
► First Down: An attacking series is divided into a series of first downs. That’s 10 yards to cover in less than four tries. If you can do that, there is a new first down. If not, the opponent gets the ball.
► 4th Down: Each team has four attempts to score a new first down. The last and often decisive attempt is called the “4th Down”.
► Fumble: If the offensive player loses the ball while trying to run or throw, it’s called a “fumble.” If the opponent gets their hands on the ball in this situation, there is a change of possession.
► Interception: When the defense intercepts a ball thrown by the opposing quarterback. Possession of the ball also changes due to an interception.
► Turnover: The defense gets the ball through a fumble or an interception.
► Sack: When the defense gets the opposing quarterback down, it’s called a sack. A sack means a loss of space for the offensive.
► Timeout: The coaches of both teams can stop the game clock at any time with a timeout. Each team has three timeouts per half.
► Two-Minute-Warning: Two minutes before the end of a half, the clock is stopped and the teams can take a deep breath.
► Ref: The refs are the referees of a game. In an NFL game, there are always seven umpires on the field.
► Flag: signal from the referee. They throw their yellow handkerchiefs on the ground to signal that they have seen a foul or unsportsmanlike conduct on the field. The head coaches of the two teams can also throw flags. However, these are red. The coaches throw them if they request TV proof of a game scene. You can do this twice per game. If they are wrong, they lose a time-out.
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