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.
In: Other
The overtime rules: the first touchdown wins. If the first team kicks a field goal, the other team gets a chance to tie them on the next possession. After that, it’s sudden death – the first scoring play wins the game. If the overtime period ends in a tie…it’s just a tie game!
They changed this all a few years ago because it felt kind of cheap to win on just a field goal (a playoff game ended this way, and there was an outcry).
honestly the game might be more enjoyable if you only know the rules from “10,000 feet”, and youll pick up the rest as you continue watching.
some the rules are open to a lot of interpertation by the referees, like holding and pushing….and thinking you know the rules or what constitutes an infraction will just agrivate you.
core rules (as a non hardcore football fan)
4 attempts to move a minimum 10 yards, after 10 yards you get 4 more attempts……fail to move 10 yards and the opposing team takes over. this means most teams will use attempt 4 to punt the ball away.
all movement comes after the snap – move too soon and thats a penalty (either offence or defence)
cant trip, hang on to, or push players trying to catch the ball
cant tackle by certain parts of the body (grabing facemask and yanking head down)
3 points for a field goal
6 points for a touch down plus extra attempt……..most will go for field goal 1point but they can try and score another touchdown for +2 points
the new kickoff rule this year…….i dont quite get it; but figure its trying to keep the game exciting and moving…….(kinda like the baseball pitch clock) in seasons past nearly all kickoffs ended in a touchback, so why bother with doing it at all if there was a singular common strategy
Offensive linemen: the five huge guys up front who try to keep the quarterback from getting tackled and who try to open holes in the defense for runs.
Runnings backs: the guys who are handed the ball by the QB to run with it.
Wide receivers: the guys who go out to receive passes from the QB.
Tight ends: sort of a hybrid between linemen and wide receivers. They are usually bigger and stronger than receivers, and so they can either block like linemen or catch like receivers.
Now, receivers can run and running backs can catch, but that isn’t their main job.
> 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?
Each side has 11 players on the field.
Offense typically has 1QB, 5 offensive linemen (2 tackles on outside, 2 guards, and a center), a running back, 3 wide receivers, and a tight end. Used to see more 2 running back sets but less common now. Sometimes might see 2 wide receivers and 2 tight ends. Tight ends are a sort of hybrid that can be a blocker like offensive line or a receiver usually for shorter yard plays.
Defense has 3 rows of defenders — down linemen, linebackers, and secondary. Some teams have 3 down linemen and 4 linebackers, others flips that with 4 up front and 3 linebackers. Secondary are the cornerbacks and safeties who guard receivers.
Players can be swapped out play by play, whether injury or based on what play the team wants to run/what the defense expects the offense to run. Players rarely play offense and defense — the rosters have 53 players with 22 starters between offense and defense (also 3 special teams players with kicker punter, long snapper), so there are reserves for all positions to go in.
Answer: YouTube is your friend. Watch games on there. The basic rules are simple. It’s all the penalties and random situations that come up that can take a while to figure out.
Answering your questions in order.
The dynamic kickoff rules are brand new. Basically, they changed where the two teams line up and when players are allowed to move. They are calling it “dynamic” because the NFL is hoping that it’ll cause more kick returns, which were at an all-time low last season. The rules on it are honestly complicated, but the biggest change is that no one but the kicker and returner(s) are allowed to move until the ball is caught/hits the ground.
The regular season overtime rules allow both teams to possess the ball unless the first drive ends in a touchdown or safety, or if one team manages to hold the ball for the whole 10 minutes. It used to be just first to any kind of score, but kickers got really good, so the rules changed.
On offense, besides the QB there are a few important categories of positions. The linemen are (as the name suggests) the five big guys on the line of scrimmage. Their job is to stop the defense, and they aren’t allowed to catch the ball. The tight end is like a lineman, but he’s allowed to catch the ball; he lines up on one end of the line. The receivers line up on the far sides and their job is to catch passes. Then there are running backs, who line up near the quarterback, and they typically run with the ball.
On defense, they also have linemen. Three or four guys who want to push past the offensive lineman and tackle whoever has the ball. Linebackers line up behind the linemen and they mostly try to get to the QB. Corners line up opposite of the receivers and try to keep them from catching the ball. Safeties line up deep in the middle of the field and cover whatever gaps are left by the corners and linebackers.
There is lots of nuance to what each position does, based on offensive and defensive play calls and individual player skill sets, but that’s the brief version.
As for whether a defensive player can play on offense (or vice versa), they can but it’s not very common. An NFL team has 53 players, and only 11 at a time play. Every position has one or more backups. Unless it’s a specially designed play (or a really skilled player), players rarely play on both offense and defense.
I’m glad you’re getting into the game! It’s really fun to watch and there is lots of strategy and nuance, if you want to really get into it, but you don’t need to know all of the Xs and Os to enjoy a good game. But if you want to learn more, there are some great explainers on YouTube, too.
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.
“I learned everything I needed to know from goofy on sports.
> There is a new dynamic kickoff rule and I have googled it but still have no idea what it means.
Watch [this.](https://youtu.be/9ZTqTvyo-HU?si=eyuLSOPBkZwQ4s6P)
> 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.
Both teams have a chance to possess the ball unless the first team scores a TD, in which case they win immediately (or commits a safety, in which case they lose). If they kick a FG, the other team still gets a chance to get the ball and match with a FG (then it would become next score wins at that point) or win with a TD.
> 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?
Theoretically, sure, but it’s unlikely.
These players are among the best in the world at the specific position they play, so it would be very difficult for a player who plays a defensive position and doesn’t practice playing an offensive position (or vice versa) to be as good or better at it than players who actually play that position.
Generally if players get injured then there are multiple backups at that same position who would come in first, then if *they* get injured, players who play a similar position on the same side of the ball would be up next. You’d see an offensive guard or tight end come in at offensive tackle if all of a team’s tackles were hurt before you’d see a defensive player come in, for example.
It has happened though. The most famous example I can think of is with the Patriots about 20 years ago. So many of their defensive backs got hurt that one of their top wide receivers, Troy Brown, started playing cornerback for them.
What the ref said was “both teams will have a chance to possess the ball UNLESS the first drive results in a touchdown, a safety, or they possess the ball for the entire 10 minutes”
For the most part, a player can play whatever position. There’s some rules about jersey numbers, but that’s getting into the weeds. Usually, a team has 1 or more backups for a position. So, if a defensive player is hurt, they have someone to replace them that plays their position.
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