NFL 2012 Season Preview- Part 1- Introduction to the Game

The NFL Season is upon us and not a moment too soon! As a New Zealander it may come as a surprise that the NFL is my favourite sport to watch. I happened to catch game on ESPN when I was 13 years old and I was hooked after that, teaching myself the positions and rules through the years. Why do I love it may you ask?

•    I love the physicality of it but I also the complexity and design of the plays, a lot goes into running a play.
•  I love that it is the most competitively balanced league anywhere in the world. Every team has the same amount of money to spend, it doesn't have any serious competition that can poach players and teams in any year have a legitimate chance of getting to the playoffs. It’s better than rugby or any football league in the world for competitive balance.
•  I've seen a lot of rugby and cricket growing up, there is such a thing as too much, believe me!

To many outside of the United States when they see a American Football game they think it’s a boring, complicated and slow version of rugby. To be honest Rugby Union has just as many pedantic rules in scrums and line outs as American Football does, it’s just the fact that the game is very stop and start, the plays only last a matter of seconds and there are numerous TV breaks. Put that all aside and you have a fast, exciting sport which has a extremely passionate fan base growing throughout the world.

Basic Rules

In a simplistic way it is similar to Rugby League, with a set amount of plays on offense. Teams are given four plays to gain 10 yards. If they get over 10 yards with in those four plays they then it resets to four new plays and so on and so forth. If a team fails to get past 10 yards after three plays they usually punt the ball to the opposition, trying to gain field position or, if they are within range, attempt to kick a field goal.

The game itself is made up of 4 x 15min quarters.

The game is played on a field a similar size to rugby, roughly 100 metres in length. The name ‘Gridiron’ comes from the fact that the field was marked in grids in the early days of the game.

How To Score

The aim for teams is to score in the following ways:

• Scoring a touchdown, like a try- worth 6 points. Can either throw it into the end-zone to a receiver or run it in.
•  Kicking a conversion after a touchdown-1point OR
•  Going for a 2 point conversion where the offense tries to score a touchdown instead of kicking a conversion.
• Kicking a field goal- 3 points.
• Getting a safety- sacking the opposition in their own end-zone-2points.

An American football team is broken up into three separate units- Offense, Defense and Special Teams. Special Teams is on the field for kick offs, punts, field goals and kick/punt returns. The team is made up of a mixture of offensive and defensive players. Players do not usually play on both offensive  and defensive units as their roles are very specialised. 11 men are on the field for each unit and a team’s roster on game day is a massive 46 players!

Offense

 There has to be eleven men on the field at one time as you can see by the diagram below, here is a quick breakdown of the teams:

Quarterback: The most important position of the team. The leader of the offense and the entire team. The good ones throw the ball to receivers as well as handoff to the running backs. If your team has a good QB then it will always have a chance to win.

Top QB’s in NFL: Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Tom Brady (Patriots), Drew Brees (Saints).

Running Back: Self explanatory really, he runs with the ball. Takes a load of punishment on the body. Come in all shapes and sizes but a prerequisite is having solid hands, if you have a fumbling problem as a running back you will have a very short career in the NFL. When it’s a pass play running backs can either get open for a pass or protect the quarterback by blocking pass rushers.

Top RB’s in the NFL: Arian Foster (Texans), LeSean McCoy (Eagles), Ray Rice (Ravens).

Wide Receiver: These guys are the track athletes of the game. Like running backs there is a variety of sizes within this group but their goal is the same, to catch passes from Quarterbacks. WR’s run what are called ‘routes’ or a specific plan of where they will run so that Quarterbacks know exactly where to throw the ball. It usually take  WR’s three seasons to learn the NFL route tree so it can take a while for a player to develop into a good WR. Note: The diagram only shows two wide receivers but you can have up to five if you have no running backs and Tight Ends.

Top WR’s in the NFL: Calvin Johnson (Lions), Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals), Greg Jennings (Packers).

Tight End: The absolute freak athletes of the NFL. They start at the line of scrimmage and can either block for running and pass plays or run routes like wide receivers, the ultimate utility guy on offence. The last couple of years have seen the rise of Tight Ends who are threat in the pass game like never before, a lot of ex basketball players are being converted to play the position. Too fast for linebackers but too strong for defensive backs, a nightmare for defences.

Top WR’s in the NFL: Rob Gronkowski (Patriots), Jimmy Graham (Saints), Antonio Gates (Chargers).

Tackles: Name the position which gets payed the most after Quarterbacks in the NFL and you would think WR or RB but in fact it is the left tackles. The reason is because if the Quarterback is right handed then they protect is ‘blindside’ where he can’t see. The left tackle must prevent the best pass rusher of the opposition defence  getting to his Quarterback. The right tackles job is a little easier but they are usually better at run blocking. Tackles ideally are around 6’6 and over 300 pounds but extremely quick over 10 yards.

Top Tackles in the NFL: Joe Thomas (Browns), Jason Peters (Eagles), Duane Brown (Texans).

Guards: Both right and left guards line up inside the tackles. They are also big and deal with the interior defensive linemen to make sure they don’t penetrate the line and disrupt the offense. They are not as agile as tackles usually but are more powerful and usually have a mean streak to them.

Top Guards in the NFL: Jahri Evans (Saints), Carl Nicks (Buccaneers), Logan Mankins (Patriots).

Center: The center starts off every offensive play by ‘hiking’ the ball to the Quarterback while simultaneously preparing to block the defensive linemen opposite him. Usually get the offensive line in order, intelligent. Hours can be spent in pre-season practicing the ’hike’, making sure there isn’t a chance of a fumble before a play has even started.

Top centers in the NFL: Nick Mangold (Jets), Jeff Saturday(Packers), Chris Myers (Texans).

Fullbacks: This position is dying as the era of passing takes over. Only a handful of teams use fullbacks regularly now. They usually go before a running back and block ahead of him  and create running lanes for them to get through.

Top Fullback in the NFL: Vonta Leach (Ravens).

Defense

There are two main defensive formations in the NFL today, the 4-3 and the 3-4. The diagram below shows a basic 4-3 formation. A 3-4 is where there are only three defensive linemen and four linebackers. The 3-4 formation became popular in the 2000’s as it gives you more flexibility in pass coverage as you have the extra linebacker who can either rush the passer or drop back to protect the pass.

Defensive Tackles: DT’s are the huge behemoths which anchor the defense. In a 4-3 the DT’s try to penetrate the O line a lot more  where has the DT’s in a 3-4 try to hold space and clog the lanes so their linebackers can make a play on the ball. These guys weigh over 300 pounds easily and are very difficult to move.

Best DT’s in the NFL: Haloti Ngata (Ravens), Vince Wilfork (Patriots), Richard Seymour (Raiders).

Defensive Ends: In a 4-3 defence these guys role is fairly simple- rush the quarterback. Blessed with great size and speed the best DE’s give the Quarterback very little time in the pocket to make decisions. They must be adept at stopping RB’s  get to the outside. Great DE’s get paid handsomely.

Best DE’s in the NFL: Jared Allen (Vikings), Jason Pierre-Paul (Giants), Justin Smith (49ers).

Outside Linebackers: In a 3-4 the OLB are the dynamic players in the defence, needing to defend quick RB’s on the outside, drop into coverage against the pass and to rush the QB. Usually weigh in around 250 pounds and well over 6 feet they are extremely quick and strong.

Best OLB’s in the NFL: DeMarcus Ware (Cowboys), Clay Matthews (Packers), Von Miller (Broncos).

Middle Linebackers: Sometimes referred to as ‘Mike” the MLB is the quarterback of the defense. He receives the defensive play call from the side line. The MLB does a little bit of everything and is usually a game changer who can get interceptions and force fumbles.

Best MLB’s in the NFL: Patrick Willis (49er’s), Ray Lewis (Ravens), Brian Urlacher (Bears).

Cornerbacks: These guys faceoff against the WR’s, they must be able to change direction very quickly and have good leaping ability to contest air balls. An elite CB and shutdown a player 3-4 inches bigger them due to his ability to stay with their opposition.

Best CB’s in the NFL: Darrell Revis (Jets), Nnamdi Asomugha (Eagles), Jonathan Joseph (Texans).

Safeties: There are two types of safeties, Strong Safeties (SS) and Free Safeties (FS). SS tend to be bigger and stronger, they tend to be good at defending the run and blitzing the QB. The FS tends to help more in pass coverage and go for interceptions and turnovers. Both help the cornerbacks in coverage to defend against the pass.

Best safeties in the NFL: Troy Polamalu (Steelers), Ed Reed (Ravens), Eric Berry (Chiefs).

I hope this was informative. Stay tuned for more NFL articles including a preview of this year’s NFL season team by team.