Football is played by two 11 player teams on a field
100 yards (120 yards from end line to end line) long by 53 1/3 yards
wide with team goals at each end. The primary objective is for
the offence (the team in possession of the ball) to advance the ball
across the Goal Line into the opponents End Zone for the primary point
called a Touchdown. The defence (the team not in possession of
the ball) objective is to prevent the offence from advancing the ball.
Secondary points can be earned after the touchdown kicking the ball
through the goalposts uprights or by advancing the ball across the End
Zone. There are four ways to score on an opponent:
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| The short
objective: |
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The offense has four plays (chances) to advance
the ball a total of 10 yards. If the offense can advance the ball
10 yards or more they again receive four plays to advance 10 more
yards. If the offense can't advance the ball 10 yards in 4 plays
the defense takes possession of the ball at the last down.The
game is played in four 15 minute quarters or four 8 minute quarters
in youth football.
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| The Field: |
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Below are images of a NFL field and a College/High School/Youth
field. both fields are 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide
from end line to end line. 10 yards from the end lines is
the goal line. Between the goal line and the end line is
a 10 yard area called the End Zone. There is 100 yards
between the two End Zones that is divided by a lines the full
width of the field in five yard increments. Between the
5 yard section lines are four 1 yard short line indicators. The
middle of the field is denoted by Inbound lines that cross the
5 yard section lines.
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NFL Field
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College/High School/Youth field
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On a NFL field the Inbound lines are 70 feet 9 inches in bounds
from each sideline and 18 1/2 feet apart. On a College filed
the Inbound lines are 68 feet 4 inches in bounds from the sideline
and 23 feet 4 inches apart. The area between the sideline
and a Inbound lines is called the side zone where plays cannot
start. If a play ends on a side zone, then the ball is brought
to the closest hash mark.
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| Goal Posts: |
| Beyond the endzone is a goalpost in which the ball is kicked through
for either a field goal or an extra point. Note how the base
is padded to prevent injury if and when players accidentally collide
into it.
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| The Ball |
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 The
football is an inflated rubber bladder enclosed in a pebble-grained
leather cover. On one side of the ball are white
sewed laces that allows the thrower to have a better grip on the
ball.
The circumference of the ball width-wise ranges between 28 to
28 1/2 inches while the length-wise circumference is 11 to 11
1/4 inches. These dimensions are applied to NFL footballs;
the balls used by children are smaller while college footballs
vary slightly from professionally-used ones.
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