Can you explain American football to me?

I see it on tv and I feel like I could really get into it but I don’t understand the scoring and the rules perfectly. I just know both teams are trying to get to the opposite end of the field. That’s most of it.

Do you know rugby or league? It’s basically you get four tackles/ downs to get 10 yards. If you get 10 yards you get another first down so you get another 4 downs/tackles to advance down field. Everything starts from scrimmage…the lines on the field and defences job is to stop you doing that. Usually you kick on 4th down. If your close enough to goal line you can do a field goal. If you cross the goal line from regular play or intercept then you score 6 points. You can kick for one point or pass/run over goal line for 2 points…

you are only allowed one forward pass per play. So that is my two minute guide to american football.

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I watched a football game. They had the ball set up, and all of the players in position to play.

Then, some hothead ran up and kicked the ball and they fought over it for the rest of the evening.

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Wow, thank you, that’s really comprehensive.

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As someone who grew up on rugby league I don’t mind American football. It takes a long while to learn the rules but lots of late nights watching it in Australia gave me a liking of it. It’s basically chess with 300lb meatheads and there’s a lot of skills involved. Very dynamic game and worth getting to know the rules.

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I think a touchdown is 3 points. A field goal, if you kick it in, is 1 point. That’s all I know.

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My french wife was watching baseball and said, “Someone scored a goal on an over-the-wall hit!”

lol!

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When I married my husband I realized football was going to be a huge part of our lives. So I bought the book Football for Dummies and learned the game that way. Some of the rules have changed since those books were written, but it still really helps you understand the game

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