By David Biderman. How much football is actually shown and played during the average football telecast? The answer, based on a frame-by-frame analysis of four games is an average of 10 minutes and 43 seconds. WSJ's David Biderman reports.
To Read the Full Story. Unlike a punt discussed below , it is important not to kick the ball out of bounds, because that allows the receiving team to place the ball at the yard line. All progress in a football game is measured in yards. Each time the offense gets the ball, it has four downs, or chances, in which to gain 10 yards. If the offensive team successfully moves the ball 10 or more yards, it earns a first down, and another set of four downs. If the offense fails to gain 10 yards, it loses possession of the ball.
The defense tries to prevent the offense not only from scoring, but also from gaining the 10 yards needed for a first down. If the offense reaches fourth down, it usually punts the ball kicks it away. This forces the other team to begin its drive further down the field. A football play begins with the snap. At the line of scrimmage the position on the field where the play begins , the quarterback loudly calls out a play in code and the player in front of him, the center, passes, or snaps the ball under his legs to the quarterback.
From there, the quarterback can either throw the ball, hand it off, or run with it. There are two ways for the offense to advance the ball. The first is called a run.
This occurs when the quarterback either runs himself or hands the ball off to a running back, who then tries to gain as many yards as possible by eluding defensive players. During running plays, all other offensive players will try to block defensive players to clear a path for the runner.
Blocking is not just about brute force; rather, coaches often diagram very complicated blocking schemes i. The play is then over. A play also ends when a player runs out of bounds. The other alternative to running the ball is to throw it. Or as they say in football, pass it! Usually, the quarterback does the passing, though there are times when the quarterback my hand the ball to another player to pass in an effort to confuse the defense i.
Actually, anyone on the offensive team is allowed to pass the ball as long as the pass is thrown from behind the line of scrimmage. If the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he is able to pass the ball, it is called a sack. The object of the game is to score the most points.
An equal number of games must be cross-flexed: if CBS airs three games originally slated for Fox, then Fox would have to get three games that would have originally aired on CBS. Each team has one bye week between Weeks 6 and Determining where that bye week falls for each team presents additional challenges for the schedule makers.
For example, the league tries to limit the number of times a team that played the week before has to face a team coming off its bye. A team with an early bye week one year will receive consideration for a later bye week the next season. Even after all the factors have been weighed and the schedule is produced, the league occasionally has to make adjustments on short notice.
While not ideal, the teams both had a Week 11 bye, so the game was played that week and they had an unexpected Week 1 bye. With games on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays, the schedule makers have to allow enough time between games so teams are not at a disadvantage against an opponent that has had more time to prepare and rest.
Teams scheduled to play on Thursday nights will not have to play a short week more than once a season. The league tries to limit the number of consecutive road games any team plays to two games, with emphasis at the beginning and end of the season.
Sometimes, however, the schedule makers cannot avoid placing a team on the road for three straight weeks. The league tries to avoid scheduling teams that play on the road on Monday nights with an away game the following week to avoid having two road games separated by a short week. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy NFL. NFL Schedule. Players in the s likened that to playing catch with an egg, and complained it almost disappeared against a backdrop of white jerseys.
Eventually, as lighting improved, the NFL went to a brown ball without stripes in part to distinguish itself from the college game.
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