Football 101

The offense is the team with possession of the ball at the beginning of a given play. The offensive team is made up of the quarterback and a mix of linemen, receivers, backs, and tight ends. The offense is made up of eleven players on the field at a time. However, the coach of the offensive team has some flexibility in how he configures his players. A typical configuration is five linemen (two guards, one center, two tackles), two receivers, two backs, one tight end and one quarterback.

There are some variations on this formation. For example, a coach can call for only one running back on a play, or two tight ends instead of one. Once you know the roles of the different types of players, these changes will be easy to understand.

Let's take a closer look at some of the positions:

• Running Back
  
• Wide Receiver
  
• Special Teams
  
• Tight End

  For more information on running backs, see The Female Fan Guide to Pro Football.

  
  

  August 24, 2006 at 06:34am

  Comments

  Why is is OK to spike the ball and not have it be intentional grounding?

  Posted by Susie on October 09 at 11:56am