I know it's only pre-season, but ...

[antof9]

(cross-posted to footballgirls)

1. Yeah baby it's MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!

2. Why does Michele Tafoya have Lesley Visser's sideline hair

Comments

[antof9]

OK -- they start counting again at "1st down". In fact, any time your team is playing offense and they get a first down, it's good, 'cause that means 4 more tries. And yes, it's 4 more tries at another 10 yards. They keep doing that until they don't make it or yes, they cross into the endzone :)

So if they don't make it ... let's say they've just completed their 3rd down and they still have 9 yards to go. The chances are not very likely that they'll make those 9 yards in the last down. Now, their position on the field determines what they'll do next. They basically know that after the next down, the other team gets the ball, right? So they want the other team to start with the ball as far as possible from the endzone where they are trying to score their goals.

If that makes sense, read the next part. If not, stop and I'll try to explain more clearly :)

So they're basically getting ready to give the other team the ball at this point. They'll use this 4th down to get the ball as far as possible so that the other team has a longer way to go down the field. That's how they determine if they try to keep playing (that is, head toward the goal line they were headed to, in the hopes of possibly scoring), or if they "punt". A punt is basically a kick that kicks the ball as far down field as possible (again, trying to put the ball as far from the goal line as possible for the other team). It's basically a last-ditch effort to make the other team's offense work hard at their turn. That's why you hear people talking about when there's nothing else to do, you punt :)