ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
Every NFL game is split into four quarters of 15 minutes each.
The first and the second quarter make up the first half, while the third and fourth make up the second half.
When the game clock ticks to zero at the end of the fourth quarter, the team with more points on the scoreboard is the winner.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
When offenses stall on third down and are too far away from the opponent’s end zone to try for a touchdown or a field goal, they’ll often punt the ball away to the other team.
Although they give away possession of the football, it’s much better than the alternative — losing possession at the spot where they last held the ball.
The punt gives the offense the chance to pin the other team deep so that they have to march down the length of the field if they want to score.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
Football offenses back in the day focused primarily on running the ball, employing bigger players who could physically overpower their defensive counterparts.
As players began to develop new skills and training practices, however, coaches began to open up the game and incorporate more passing plays into the scheme.
Over the years, offensive coaches have constantly innovated to try to stay one step ahead of defenses — and to take advantage of speedier, stronger players at just about every position.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
In the game of football, there are is a running clock that ticks down as the plays go on.
However, there are pre-determined times when the clock will actually stop.
Understanding when these times occur is important, as offenses can actually use it to give them more time to huddle up and get set for a new play.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
If you’re new to the game of American football, it can seem quite complicated.
Because it’s such a fast-moving game with a lot of players all over the field, it can be confusing to those who don’t know what’s going on.
At its core, though, American football is a quite simple game.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
There are a number of ways a turnover can happen in football.
These occur when the defense is able to gain possession of the football while the ball is still live.
Turnovers are always really big in football, no matter how, when, or where they occur on the field.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
Football players wear a helmet with a face mask to protect their head, neck and face while playing this high-contact sport.
Players should treat helmets as protective equipment and shouldn’t use it to make a hit on another player or used in any other way.
Sometimes, though, players end up hitting, pushing or grabbing another player’s helmet and/or face mask.
When this happens, it can result in a penalty called by the referee.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
The level of competition at the highest levels of football is often fairly equal.
Even in NFL games that pit a heavy favorite against a big underdog, the games typically aren’t extremely lopsided.
When you get to some lower levels, though, the talent difference from one team to the next can be quite significant.
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ByCoach Martin|Football Rules & Penalties
An illegal touching penalty only applies to the first player who touches the ball on a forward pass.
For example, if the quarterback throws a pass to a wide receiver and that wide receiver touches the ball first, only he will be subject to a potential illegal touching penalty.
If the wide receiver tips the ball and it travels in the air to someone else, that second person isn’t subject to the penalty.
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