Football 101 for women...Part I

Well ladies, it's that time of year again. The time when 99.9% of you lose your man to Football and Sports Center. Instead sending your man running, screaming into the night to the nearest sports bar with your questions and mindless chatter during the game (trust me your man could care less about what you have to say when his favorite team is 4th and inches away from winning the game in the last 2 minutes), why not try and learn a little about it. It's a really entertaining game when you know what's going on. So I thought I would attempt to give you a little information to help you be able to enjoy a nice game with your man every once in a while. I mean what man doesn't like a girl who has a healthy appreciation for sports? Picture it...you bring him a nice cold beer (and you can have one yourself if you get down like that)...snuggle up on the couch on a Sunday afternoon while watching the game. His head nestled on your chest.....need I go on?

So we'll just start with the basics. This one will just start you off with who does what on the team. Each team is composed of an offense, a defense and special teams. Let's start with the offense. The offense are the main guys in charge of scoring. The offense is made up of these guys:

Quarterback
The player who receives the ball from the center at the start of each play before either handing it to the running back, throwing it to a receiver, or running with it himself. The quarterback is usually the player in charge of running the offense on the field. He is also the guy that usually informs the offense of the play while in the huddle.
Translation: He's the one who throws the ball.

Halfback
An offensive player who lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. A halfback's primary role is to run with the football, he is also used as a receiver at times.
Translation: Usually if they don't throw the ball, he's one of the guys who runs with the ball.

Fullback
An offensive player who lines up in the offensive backfield and generally is responsible for run-blocking for the halfback and pass-blocking for the quarterback. Fullbacks are usually bigger than halfbacks, and also serve as short-yardage runners.
Translation: He's the one keeps those guys on other team from hitting the guy who runs with and throws the ball.

Wide Receiver
An offensive player who lines up on or near the line of scrimmage, but split to the outside. His primary job is to catch passes from the quarterback.
Translation: He's the guy who catches the ball when the other guy throws it. He runs a lot.

Tight End
An offensive player who serves as a receiver and also a blocker. The tight end lines up beside the offensive tackle either to the right or to the left of the quarterback.
Translation: He's one of the guys that keeps the other team from hitting the guy who runs with the ball. He may catch the ball sometimes too.

Offensive Tackle
A member of the offensive line. There are two tackles on every play, and they line up on the outside of the offensive guards.
Translation: They are the guys on the field who hits the guys on the other team.

Offensive Guard
A member of the offensive line. There are two guards on every play, and they line up on either side of the offensive center.
Translation: They are the other guys on the field who hits the guys on the other team.

Center
The offensive lineman who hikes (or snaps) the ball to the quarterback at the start of each play. The center lines up in the middle of the offensive line, between the offensive guards.
Translation: He is the guy with the ball between his legs that gives the ball to the guy that throws the ball.

Any questions? This should be a good start. Next time we'll cover the defense. And if this doesn't inspire learn a little more about football, try these: