American football, especially NFL football has really taken off in popularity in recent times. Every Monday morning around the water cooler at your Canadian trade mark firm is probably spent talking about what happened in the world of football Sunday and previewing Monday night's game. More people will sit around watching an NFL game than pretty much any other program on television. Tens of millions of people tuned in to this year's past Pro Bowl game and that was a meaningless football game. No matter who's playing or what is at stake, fans will tune in.

There are new football fans each and every day getting into the game so we here at the Seahawks Spot though it would be beneficial to you to go over some basic NFL football rules. We want to help you better understand the game of football so that the next time you're watching the Seahawks play with your Newark limo driving pals and a big play happens or a referee makes a dumb call you'll know what happened and why.

So, onto the basic game rules of the NFL. There are two teams lined up on side of the field. One side plays defense while the other side plays offense. Each team must have 11 players lined up on each side of the field. If you have 12 or more you will get flagged for a too many men on the field penalty. The offense's main objective is to score. Either a touchdown, which is worth 6 points or a field goal, which is worth 3 points. Any touchdown scored has the opportunity to add an extra point, which is worth 1 point or a two point conversion, which is worth 2 points. So, the maximum scoring drive can result in 8 points. Every play has 40 seconds of play clock in which it must be completed by. If a play takes longer than 40 seconds there will be a delay of game penalty assessed to the offense.

The defense's objective is to get the offense off the field so that their team's offensive unit can try scoring. An offense has 4 attempts, or 4 downs as they call it in the NFL to score. A defense does their best to get the offense off the field in those 4 downs. However, an offense can get a new set of downs by converting for a first down. To get a first down the offense needs to advance the ball 10 yards in those 4 downs. A defense also has the opportunity to score a touchdown while they're on the field by causing a turnover, either an interception or a fumble and returning it to the end zone for a score. As well, they can get 2 points if they get a safety. A safety is when the defense stops the player on offense with the ball inside the offense's own end zone. A safety nets the defense 2 points for their team and they also get the ball back for the offense.

The football field is 100 yards long by 53 yards wide. So, if a team were to start an offensive drive at their own 1 yard line they'd have to go another 99 yards to get a touchdown. The end zone itself is an extra 10 yards long on each side of the field. Just imagine how much electric tubing cutter wire that would be!

Games take 60 minutes to play and are played in 4 intervals, or quarters. Each quarter is 15 minutes long. The goal of an NFL game is to have the most points by the time the 60 minutes are up. If a game is tied, there is an additional 15 minute overtime quarter in which whoever scores first wins. That rule is tweaked for the playoffs though. In the playoffs, if overtime happens, the team with the first overtime possession must score a touchdown to win the game. If they only get a field goal the other team gets the ball to try and win the game themselves by scoring a touchdown. If they trade field goals then whoever gets the first touchdown wins.

The second quarter and the fourth quarter have what is called the "Two Minute Warning." That means that when there are two minutes left in each of those quarters, the game stops for a break. This is an advantage to whatever team has possession of the ball as they get an extra time out and the clock stopped. In addition to these timeouts, each team gets 3 timeouts per half. Then there is also what is called the instant reply challenge in which a coach can challenge the call of certain plays on the field. They get two of those per game. If they get a challenge right they get to keep one of their timeouts. If they get a challenge wrong they lose a timeout.

As for the players on the field, the offense is usually made up of the quarterback, running back, full back, tight end, two wide receivers, and an offensive line that includes two offensive tackles, two offensive guards and a center. Other than the quarterback and offensive line always being on the field, the rest of the 11 players can be a combination of backs, tight ends and receivers.

The 11 players that make up the defense include defensive ends or tackles that play on the defensive line, linebackers, either inside or outside, and the defensive secondary made up of free or strong safeties and cornerbacks. Then every team has a special fields unit. A lot of the players on the defensive line could probably bench press boxes of test weights you pack on a daily basis at work.

Players in charge of punting and kicking the ball as well as playing kick and punt returns coverage.

These are just some of the basics and game rules that will help you follow the game of football easier. Continue to check out the Seahawks Spot as we update it with more football related content. We'll even go over other rules in more detail. Until then wow your Hydrovac co-workers with some of the information we passed along to you today.