By Coach Martin | Football Basics
During a football game, you may hear announcers say a referee has thrown a flag.
If you’re new to the game, this may seem foreign and confusing to you, since you almost definitely didn’t see someone on the field throw a big flag during the play.
The flag in football refers to a penalty flag that a referee throws to the ground to signify that a team committed a penalty.
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By Coach Martin | Football Basics
There are a number of different terms used in football to signify areas of the field.
You may have heard some of these terms such as the “Slot,” the “Pocket” or the “Box.”
The latter term is often used in conjunction with describing how the defense lines up on a particular play.
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By Coach Martin | Football Basics
No matter what position you play in football, you’ll need to set up in a specific stance before each play starts.
This stance, or way that you position your body, will help you get started off on the right foot when the play begins.
There are three main stances used in football — used by different players in different situations, as they allow the player to start the play off in the best position as possible.
Understanding these stances and what their strengths are is important so you know when to use them during a game.
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By Coach 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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By Coach Martin | Football Basics
When football teams are desperate late in games, chances are you might see players continue to throw the ball around the field in hopes of scoring a miracle touchdown.
Some of the most famous moments in football history played out this way, including the Miracle in Miami as well as the Music City Miracle.
Teams do these laterals in a legal manner downfield, as a way to transfer the ball from one play to another when they’re beyond the line of scrimmage.
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By Coach Martin | Football Basics
All successful offenses in football have one thing in common.
No matter the base formation, offensive philosophy, or game plan, they should be able to successfully protect the quarterback on a consistent basis.
Quarterback is often considered the most important position in all of football — mainly because no other one player on either side of the ball has so much responsibility.
A large part of their success, though, depends on how well the other offensive players are able to protect him.
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By Coach 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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By Coach Martin | Football Basics
If you’ve watched a game of football on TV, you probably heard a quarterback utter the phrase “Blue 80” multiple times.
They do this when the offense lines up at the line of scrimmage, after they break out of the huddle, and before the center snaps the ball.
This is all part of what’s known as the quarterback’s cadence.
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By Coach Martin | Football Basics
In football, there are many different penalties referees can call on any given play.
Once each play is over — or when a referee blows a whistle to stop a play — the referee will gather with the other officials to get the penalty call.
Then, the referee will march toward the scoring booth and call out the penalty, and what happens as a result.
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By Coach Martin | Football Basics
The football kickoff is one of the most overlooked aspects of the game.
Most people who watch football tend to look at the kickoff as just one of those procedural parts of the sport that marks the transition of possession from one team to the next.
It’s true that kickoffs do just that — serve as one of the main ways that one team will give possession of the ball to the other team.
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