Football

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I recently saw the movie 'The Blind Side' about footballer Michael Orr. I quite enjoyed it but got totally lost when it came to the 'live play' and sporting scene.

I'm from the UK and don't know the first thing about American Football and this somewhat took away my enjoyment of the film.

Could someone please explain to me the basics of the sport and in particular how the college draft work (I got very lost with this bit)?

Thanks.

Well, American Football is the game of war. That's why it's played on "the gridiron" in places called Memorial Stadium. (The Ravens now play at M&T Bank Stadium. I'm a Ravens fan) You have the quarterback, or the field general, leading his troops into battle, wearing their helmets and pads, trying to penetrate the enemy's defensive line with the ground attack, or using long bombs and short bullet passes through the air, trying to draw first blood by going into the red zone, many times during inclement weather. During the draft, teams try to upgrade their offensive weaponry, or upgrade their defensive personnel, and they do this by scouting players from their "War rooms"

After a players Junior season of college ball they may declare for the NFL draft. Once they officially do so they then lose there "armature" status and no longer can ever suit up for a college team again. Once they have entered the draft they spend roughly the next three months hiring an agent, traveling to the facilities of almost all 32 different teams, and go through numerous tryouts, workouts, and interviews by teams interested in their particular talents and attributes.


Im oversimplifying things here, but its a start. Anything else?

Mindslave I like the way you explain this.

I played football in high school and a year of semi-pro here in Oregon (its more like adult league lol). Anyway.
Think of it as WWI trench warfare. You have one side on the offensive and the other defending their land. On the attacking side you have the quarterback who is responsible for leading the attack, his job is to throw the ball with accuracy to teammate to gain yardage. wherever the ball is caught is where you start the next play. In front of him are the offensive line, big boys whose job it is to engage the opposition and forcibley push them out of the way for the running back. Its comparable to the infantry charging the enemy defensive positions and having a tank bulldoze thru the openings the infantry create. IN this case the 'tank' is the running back, a special player who is usually very fast, very balanced and also very strong he is often the most athletic player on the team...though thats not always the case. The offensive line also acts as a shield for the quarterback (think of infantry creating a defensive perimeter in front of the field general. While they protect the field general he launches attacks on the enemy, they need to protect him. Then there are the recievers, players who run out into enemy territory to try catch a ball thrown to the by the quarterback. Its like jet fighters on a bombing run in enemy territory, they need the field generals directions to know where to fly and to drop their bombs. its up to the field generals skill to be able to point that targeting laser in the right spot so the jets are there to drop their payload.

On the defending side you also have big boys directly opposing the offensive line, they are called the defensive line. Their job is to break through the offensive line and squash the quarterback before he can attempt a pass at the recievers....or giving the ball to the running back. They are the defending infantry launching a pre-emptive counter attack, engaging the attacking infantry. Where the infantry collide and battle, holes open up for the attackers to send their tanks through to gain ground. The defense also has 'tanks' called linebackers. They sit behind the infantry, ready to act as reserves and plug the holes in the infantry and prevent the attackers tanks from getting through. ....or to drop back and defend against jet fighter bombing runs.
Then you have the defensive secondary....their job is to run around close to the recievers and make it hard for the quarterback to throw the ball to them. its kind of hard explaining this one in military terms but they act as something like interceptor fighter planes to intercept the enemy bombers. They fly right by the attacking planes and make sure they cant drop their payloads deep in their territory. If the attackers manage to break through the center on the ground with the infantry and tanks, these interceptor fighters can act as a last line of defense against the advancing infantry and tanks.

Its like trench warfare in that each side gets 4 tries to advance the ball far enough to 'reset' their offense. If they make it 10 yards then they get another fresh set of 4 tries. If they fail to advance 10 yards in 4 tries then the other team gets the ball exactly where you were stopped and they try the same on you. its two sides launching wave attacks on each other, whoever launches more sucessful wave attacks gains more ground....eventually making their way to the enemy capital where they deal damage to the opponents. When the attacking side has tried 3 times and has failed to get the ball 10 yards forward, they can kick (punt) the ball far into enemy territory so that the oppnent has to start their attacks where that ball lands after the kick. its like a tactical retreat or sorts. teams can gamble and risk trying a 4th time and failing and giving the oppnent a much closer starting point for their attack, but if they suceed its often a morale boost for the attacking side and a demoralizer for the defenders.
hopefully you kind of get the picture!

i watched that film recently too!

don't know much about the sport but that didn't seem to effect my understanding of the film? i just imagine it as being like rugby (which i don't understand very well either). i have a vague idea of how the whole college system works, but only from american movies haha. Cardfan's explanation was nice and simples