Who’s Who on the Football Field

An NFL roster allows for no more than 53 players on a team. At any one time, only 11 players per team are allowed on the field. To understand an NFL roster, you have to identify the three teams within a team: the offense, the defense and special teams. Each of these groups has specialized positions with a specific set of skills. Let’s take a closer look at each unit.

Offense
A team’s offense is responsible for taking the ball down the field toward its opponent’s end zone. To do this, the offense throws the ball from one player to another or holds the ball and runs forward. Here are the basic offensive positions.

Quarterback (QB) – This player throws the ball to receivers or hands it off to running backs. The quarterback is also known as the “field general,” because he’s the on-the-field leader.

• Offensive linemen – These players provide blocking for the quarterback and running backs. Individual lineman positions include:
  • Center (C) – The center is located in the middle of the line. This player hikes the ball to the quarterback by bringing the ball up between his legs.
  • Guards (LG/RG) – These two players flank the center.
  • Tackles (LT/RT) – The tackles are positioned on the outside of each guard; teams have two tackles.
• Receivers – Receivers run down the field and catch balls thrown by the quarterback. Receivers are either wide receivers (WR) or tight ends (LTE/RTE), depending on where they are positioned on the field.
• Running backs – Running backs take the ball from the quarterback and run up the field. Depending on the formation (arrangement) of the offensive players, a running back might be called a tailback (TB), halfback (HB) or fullback (FB).

Defense
When a team does not have possession of the ball, it is on defense and uses various methods to prevent the other team’s offense from scoring. These players must tackle the offensive player who has the ball to stop the offense from advancing. Defense will also try to take the ball away from the offense.

Here are the basic defensive positions:

• Defensive linemen – The linemen put pressure on the quarterback by trying to tackle him before he releases the ball. They also try to stop running backs. There are typically three or four defensive linemen. Individual positions include:
  • Ends (LE/RE) – The ends line up on the outside of the line and try to rush around the offensive tackles.
  • Nose tackle (NT) – The nose tackle lines up over the football.
  • Tackle (LDT/RDT) – The tackle lines up across from a guard and tries to knife through the offensive line.
• Linebackers – When there are four linemen, there is a middle linebacker (MLB) and two outside linebackers (OLB). When there are three linemen, there are two inside linebackers (ILB) and two outside linebackers. Their job is to back up the linemen, as well as contain runners and cover receivers on some plays.
• Cornerbacks (CB) – The cornerbacks prevent the wide receivers from catching the ball by breaking up passes from the quarterback.
• Safeties – The safeties play deep behind the rest of the defense to prevent a long pass or run. A strong safety (SS) lines up on the side of the field where there are more offensive players. The free safety (FS) plays a deep, middle position.

Special Teams

If a team has to kick the ball, it uses its special-teams unit. This unit includes the team’s kickers, the offensive line, and players who run down the field to tackle a returner (see below).

• Placekicker – The placekicker kicks the ball through the goalposts to score points and kicks the ball to the other team to start the game and after each scoring possession.
• Punter – The punter free-kicks the ball if his team cannot advance the ball down the field.
• Returner – During a kickoff or punt, the returner tries to catch the ball and return it as far as he can. A player can score a touchdown on a return.

In the next section, you will learn more about how teams move the ball and how the down-and-distance system works.

Football is a game of inches played on a field measured in yards — English measurements are used to track movements on the field. Teams succeed based on how many yards they accumulate or allow. An official NFL football field is a rectangle that is 120 yards (110 m) long and 53 yards, 1 foot (49 m) wide. Most fields are covered in grass and set in an outdoor (open-air) stadium. Some fields are made of artificial turf, which you’ll find in many of the indoor stadiums.

Let’s take a look at some of the standard features of a professional football field:

• Sideline – The sideline is the 6-foot-wide (1.8-meter-wide) boundary line that runs the length of each side of the football field.
• End line – The end line is a 6-foot-wide boundary line that connects the two parallel sidelines. The end line and sideline compose the rectangular shape of the field. Two pylons flank the end of the end line.
• End zone – The end zones are two 10-yard-wide (9-meter-wide) areas at each end of the field inside the end line. The end zone behind a team is that team’s end zone, and the end zone ahead of a team is its opponent’s end zone.
• Goal line – The goal line is an 8-inch-wide (20-cm-wide) line that runs across the front of the end zone. Two pylons flank the end of the goal line.
• Yard lines and hash marks – In the 100 yards (91meters) between goal lines, hash marks on either side of the field mark each yard. At every fifth yard, a solid white line runs from sideline to sideline, and at every 10 yards those lines are numbered (i.e., 10, 20, 30, 40, etc.). This crosshatch of lines gives the field its “gridiron” nickname.
• Goalposts – Centered at the back of the end zone is a pole that extends 10 feet (3 meters) high and connects with a horizontal cross bar. On each end of the 18-foot, 6-inch (5.5-meter) cross bar is an upright post that rises to a height of 30 feet (9 meters) above the ground. A 4-inch by 42-inch (10-cm x 107-cm) ribbon is tied to the top of each upright.