Hey so I’m am adult woman who was not allowed to ask questions about sports growing up so I thought I hated them for a long time. This is my second season as a NFL viewer and I get so confused sometimes.
There is a new dynamic kickoff rule and I have googled it but still have no idea what it means.
Yesterday The Lions and The Rams went into OT and I thought the refs said that both teams would have a chance to have possession of the ball but The Lions scored a TD and won the game.
I understand that offense is the team with possession of the ball and their QB is on the field and defense is trying to stop them from scoring but I don’t understand the other positions. If there is an injury can a defensive player play on offense or is that a big no no?
I just want to watch a game without constantly having to Google what’s going on.
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Offense is trying to carry the ball into defense’s end zone. Defense is trying to stop them.
Offense gets four chances (called downs) to move the ball forward. If the person carrying the ball drops it (fumble) or defense knocks it out of his hands (typically by tackling him), the down ends and they start a new down from where the guy was standing when he last had the ball.
The main offensive positions are linemen, running backs, wide receivers, and the quarterback. The offensive line’s job is to line up at the front (on the line of scrimmage, where the play starts) and clear a path for the ball-carrier by knocking defensive players out of the way. The other guys can do this, but these guys aren’t allowed to carry the ball. They tend to be the biggest, toughest guys on the team. One specific offensive lineman is the center, who starts a play by handing the ball to the quarterback standing behind him. From there, the quarterback can either run the ball himself or give it to an eligible receiver (basically anyone who isn’t a lineman). Running backs are guys whose specialty is receiving the ball and then running it, and they start behind the line of scrimmage. Wide receivers line up on the line of scrimmage and their specialty is running down the field and catching the ball after the quarterback throws it. A tight end is basically a bigger, tougher wide receiver who lines up next to the offensive line and can participate in their acts of violence.
Defensive positions are linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs. Linemen line up at the front of the defensive formation and are the biggest, toughest defensive players (since they’re the ones most likely to absorb blows from the offensive line). Linebackers line up behind the defensive line, to their left and right. They’re almost as big as the linemen. Defensive backs line up behind the linebackers and are generally the fastest guys on the defensive team. The goal of all of these guys is to stop whoever has the ball from moving it forward. They can tackle a guy. They can intercept a pass (catching a pass thrown by opposing QB) and run it down to the opposing side of the field.
>If there is an injury can a defensive player play on offense or is that a big no no?
This is very unlikely to happen. Every NFL game has 52 guys on each team. That’s enough for a replacement for every starting offensive and defensive player, plus a couple of other guys.
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