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Fundamentals : The Field

Last week we covered the bare basics of the Who: who’s on the 53-man roster. Today we’ll take a break from personnel and move on to the Where: the field.

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The field! You’ve seen the field before. No big deal. Let’s just dive into it a little bit more.

Here are the specs you need to know:

120 yards: the total length of the football field, which includes the 100-yard field and two 10-yard end zones

53.3 yards: the total width of the football field

10 yards: the length of each end zone (the goal posts are located at the back of each end zone)

5 yards: the distance between the yard lines across the field

1 yard: the distance between the hash marks

Aside from the numbers, there are a few important things to note about the field:

The Mysterious Yellow Line

You know that mysterious electronic yellow line that seems to follow teams around the field? That line is going to be your new best friend once you two get to know each other. It signifies how much further a team has to go to get a first down. (For the scoop on first downs, check out this post.) Once you understand the down system you’ll automatically know what the situation is for the offense depending on the down and distance and how close or far away they are from the yellow line. It’s a pretty handy tool for watching games on TV.

The Red Zone

The red zone isn’t red. But it is important! The red zone is identified as the 20 yards prior to the end zone. This is a critical area of the field, hence the high-alert title of “red zone,” because the offense is so close to the other teams end zone. When you hear commentators talking about a team nearing “the red zone,” this is the section of the field they are referring to.

Their “Own” Side of the Field/The Other Team’s “Territory”

A teams “own” side of the field is the 50 yards of field nearest to their end zone. When a team is on this side of the field and doesn’t convert on 3rd down, they are more likely to punt the ball away so that the other team doesn’t get a field position advantage. (To go for it on 4th down on your own side of the field and not convert is practically giving the other team points; you’ll have to turn the ball over on downs and the other team will already be on your side of the field.)

The other team’s “territory” is the 50 yards of field nearest to their end zone. Once you enter their territory, your chance of scoring – either by touchdown or field goal – is much greater. A team is less likely to punt the ball away if they’re inside of the other team’s territory.

A Note On Sides:

Teams don’t have the same end zone for the entire game. You’ll notice that both end zones are painted for the home team, which might be confusing if you are expecting each team to have their own individual end zone. This is because teams switch sides of the field after each quarter, to ensure fairness in playing conditions (weather, condition of the field, fans, etc).

Grass or Turf?

It’s a pretty even split, and there are advantages and disadvantages to both. You may have heard the Redskins take some flack for the condition of their field (grass) during the playoffs – and rightfully so. Hopefully, the NFL will intervene a few improvements to regulations before next season begins.

And there it is: the fundamental facts about NFL fields. Aren’t you glad to know more than you ever thought possible about where the game is played? Of course you are!

News and Notes : 2.22.13

This just in: this morning I realized that there is one less week in between now and March than I originally anticipated. I don’t know how this happened. I know that there are only 28 days in February, but for some reason, the number of weeks eluded me. I am now scrambling to finish February’s tasks…while it’s still February.

AH.

In other news, things happened in the NFL.

1. Veterans were released.

This one makes me weep. I would be a terrible general manager. I would run a team of 50 year olds, basically, because I could never bring myself to release any of our players. Luckily for the world, there are people who can make heart-wrenching decisions. A few of the notable ones: the Giants released DT Chris Canty, the Colts chose not to resign DE Dwight Freeney, and…bring out the tissues…the Packers have parted ways with legendary defensive back Charles Woodson.

2. The combine is coming! The combine is coming!

Or “the columbine,” as my mom calls it.

Basically, the combine is the big group final exam before players are evaluated individually on their pro days and ultimately selected by teams in the draft. The combine is often referred to as the NFL’s cattle call…because it kind of is. Scouts evaluate players athletically, academically, psychologically, and even physically, having them strip down to next to nothing in a room filled with NFL personnel to be weighed and measured out loud one at a time. (This is the real reason why girls don’t play professional football.) Players who need to have a great combine: Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu, South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore, and basically all of the quarterbacks (but Smith, Nassib, and Glennon in particular).

3. Twitter “wars” …or “players have too much free time on their hands.”

Cornerbacks Richard Sherman (SEA) and Darrelle Revis (NYJ) got into a cat fight on Twitter this week over who is the ultimate shutdown corner, which basically proves that the players suffer from the offseason blues just like the rest of us and resort to doing ridiculous things they probably wouldn’t otherwise do. (I’m speaking from experience. I jumped into a lake.)

Only 195 days until the regular season starts!

History Lessons : In the Beginning, There was Harpaston

No, really.

In the beginning of football history, there was a game named harpaston. The NFL history guide defines the ancient Greek game as follows: “In this game there was no limit to the number of players. The object was to move a ball across a goal line by kicking it, throwing it, or running with it. Classical literature contains detailed accounts of the game, including its rougher elements, such as ferocious tackling.”

Sounds like a match to me.

From there, football migrated to England, where it was outlawed by several kings because it took interest away from the post popular military sport: archery. I can’t imagine why. As a result, football split into soccer and rugby, two sports that are still alive and well in the UK today.

American football fused the game back together and developed it into what it is today. And we are forever grateful. Historians believe that the first real game was played on November 6th, 1869, between Rutgets and Princeton. and get this: each team fielded 25 players at a time. Can you even imagine what that would look like?! Luckily, the number continued to decrease (due to the sheer insanity of having 50 people on a field at one time) over the years until the number reached it’s current count, 11, in 1880. It was Yale head coach Walter Camp who set the number at 11, and he also created the quarterback position, AND the down system, so he was pretty much the sharpest knife in the drawer. What a guy.

In this early era of football, it was all college. Professional football existed, kind of, but it wasn’t really popular. The first ever professional game was played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1895, and the first football league, the American Professional Football Association, was formed in 1920. And then, in 1922, the APFA got a new name. The National Football League. The NFL was born.

(The clouds parted! The angles sang! Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!)

Only two teams in that original league are still in the NFL: the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals). The Green Bay Packers, founded in 1919, didn’t join until 1922, but do have the distinction of being the oldest NFL franchise under the same name and in the same location. Go Pack Go!

In the years that followed, we got the AFL and the Super Bowl and the wonder of televised sports, among other gifts. (So. Many. Gifts.) It’s really unbelievable that a terribly named gamed played in ancient Greece has become what it is today.

And aren’t we all so glad it did?

In the Film Room : Falcons vs. Panthers

People, I’m obsessed.

Obsessed with that moment when something that was so confusing suddenly becomes so clear. And since visual explanations tend to speak to my brain much more fluently than verbal explanations, these film breakdowns have led to quite a few glory glory hallelujah moments. Suddenly the concepts that I read about and watch religiously come together and make SENSE.

It’s like magic. I can’t wait to share it with you.

So I found an amazing resource: the video section of USA Football’s website. There is a wealth of helpful information to be garnered there – the videos we’ll be breaking down here are just one wonderful component of the website.

Today, we’re going to start with the Falcons vs. Panthers game from Week 4. We get to learn about how several different great plays come together to make one great catch happen. After the video, we’ll review what we’ve learned.

Ready?!

(Just click “hide ad” in the upper right to watch.)

If you missed a few things the first time around, don’t panic! Here’s the step by step breakdown:

Key Play 1: Garrett Reynolds’ Pull and Pass Block

When the play begins, Garrett Reynolds is lined up as the right guard. In the next split second afterward, he pulls to the other side of the formation and blocks the oncoming defensive end.

Why is this important?

Left unblocked, the defensive end would have had a pretty clean line right to the quarterback, causing either a pass rush or a sack. If rushed, the receivers wouldn’t have had a chance to get down the field and the pass might have been dumped off to a tight end or someone closer. If sacked, the game probably would have been over, since that play set up the game-winning field goal.

Key Play 2: Julio Jones Beating the Jam

On this play, Julio Jones is lined up across from the nickel back. (We know from our many defensive lessons that the nickel back is the fifth defensive back on the field.) The nickel back’s job is to make sure that Julio Jones does not beat him off the line and run down the field. Unfortunately for him…that’s just what happens. Jones jams the nickel back at the line – he throws a little fake so that the DB is confused – and then races up the field.

Jones’ first job: done.

Next, he moves onto confusing the safety. He and the other wide receiver on the left side of the formation, Roddy White, run parallel routes fairly close to each other for about 15 yards so that the safety can’t decide who to defend. Once Jones commits to running the hashes (basically straight up the center of the field) the safety has to cover him or else risk Jones breaking free for a touchdown. He doesn’t want that to happen, so he moves to cover Jones instead of White.

Jones’ second job: done! What a good day for Julio!

Why are these important?

If Jones hadn’t beaten the nickel back on the line, Roddy White probably would have been double covered and probably wouldn’t have been able to make that catch. Ditto: if Jones had run a different route after breaking free. Great decision making.

Key Play 3: Matt Ryan’s Read

Matt Ryan is looking down the field to see what the deep safety is doing. And every time he sees the safety guarding the inside, the quarterback will (or should) attack the outside. Ryan made the right read on the situation and threw the ball in a great position for White to make a play.

Why is this important?

Reading the coverage incorrectly and throwing it anywhere else probably would have been a waste of a play. The whole team worked together to create just what we saw come to life. Executing a different ending wouldn’t have done the play – or the teamwork – justice.

This is why I love film. In the five seconds it takes to watch this play on TV, it just looks like Roddy White made a great catch. But when you look a little closer, you see that so many other players did their jobs so that he could go up and make that catch.

So many moving parts. It’s an amazing machine when it’s well-oiled.

Off the Field : Tostitos Homecoming Party Bowl

If there’s one thing I love, it’s seeing deserving people blessed in over-the-top ways. And the Tostitos Homecoming Party Bowl epitomized that!

Former players Kurt Warner and Marcus Allen teamed up with coaches Urban Meyer and Bobby Bowden to pull off the surprise of a lifetime (orchestrated by a lot of hardworking people over at Tostitos) for these military veterans and their families.

It might seem like football is one big overhyped money machine – and, to some degree, that’s true – but at it’s heart it’s what you see below: players and coaches and teams and fans who love a game. Its power to unite, inspire, and better people – that’s what makes football (and all sports, really) matter.

Fundamentals : 53-Man Roster

We’re going to start with the one thing you need to play a football game, other than a football:

A team.

There are 53 men on each NFL team. Clearly, they don’t all play at the same time. Here’s the breakdown:

So each week, 46 men dress to take the field. Those are the “active” players. The 7 players on the practice squad (also called the scout team) are “inactive” players – they are still on the roster, but they aren’t allowed to enter the game.

We know that even though a team might have 3 tight ends, 4 running backs, and 5 wide receivers on their active roster that not all of them are going to be on the field at the same time. Not only would that be a massacre waiting to happen (the offensive line does more than just protect the quarterback), it would also be illegal: each team can only have 11 men on the field at one time. Is the offense on the field? There can only be 11 guys out there. Defense? Same story. Special teams? Nothing special here: there are still only 11 men allowed on the field

from each team at one time.

So why are there so many men on the roster? If each unit only fields 11 players (and the special teams unit doesn’t even have it’s own specific set of players other than the 3 shown on the diagram), why are there 46 guys on the active roster?

Reason #1: Injuries. If one guy gets injured (and over the course of the season, pretty much every guy is getting injured), he’ll need a replacement. One of the second or third or fourth string guys will take the field to replace him.

Reason #2: Formations. Remember when we talked about personnel groups? And when we talked about defense before the Super Bowl? Teams utilize different players in different formations depending on the game plan they have in place. Maybe the offense sees that the other team’s defense is showing a weakness in the secondary so they want to try a passing play. They might field 10 personnel – 1 running back, 0 tight ends, and 4 wide receivers – to give the offense the best chance possible of gaining yardage on a long pass. Or maybe the defense, seeing that the other team’s offense is successfully converting on passing plays, wants to substitute in more defensive backs in either a nickel (5 DB’s) or a dime (6 DB’s) package to defend against the pass. Using different formations is an essential way that a team keeps the other team on it’s toes, guessing what they’re going to do.

If 53 men on the roster seems like a lot, remember that teams are allowed to bring 90 players into training camp. 90 players! So nearly half of those players get cut and keep training for their next opportunity. Being the coach who makes those cuts is a tough gig.

SO: 53 guys on a team. 46 active. 7 on the practice squad, or inactive. 11 on the field at one time.

Got it?

For more about who’s on the field, check out these posts:

The Basics : The Players

The Basics of Offense

The Basics of Defense

The Basics of Special Teams