Special Teams and Kickoffs

Today’s lesson explains the term “special teams.”  If you have been watching preseason football or listened to any talking heads discussing team personnel decisions, you may have heard this term several times by now.  It’s time you got the basics on what makes certain players “special.”

Generally speaking, special team refers to the group of players not involved in the offense or defense, but rather in kicking situations:  kickoffs, punts and extra point attempts.   They are “special” because they are not the players that are on the field for a typical down (or play) (although some can also be on offense or defense).  The reason special teams are significant to personnel decisions is that many players who might not otherwise make a team’s roster (usually rookies) will make the team when that team has a need on in its special team.  Over time, that player may impress the coaches enough to become a starter on offense or defense.

For this post, I want to focus on the kickoff.  Of the other types of special team plays, the kickoff looks most different from other plays, and there are some significant rule changes to kickoffs this year that you need to learn.  I have already discussed extra point attempts in a previous post.  A punt occurs if a team elects not to go for a first down on fourth down, and is very similar to a kickoff except that the formation looks more like a typical down and the kicker is called a punter instead of the place kicker.    

KICKOFFS

As I have explained previously, the first and third quarters of every game start with a kickoff.  A kickoff also occurs after a team has scored.   For kickoffs, the special team that is kicking the ball consists of the place kicker and the cover players.  The team receiving the ball will have one or two returners located deep on their end of the field where they will attempt to catch the ball; the rest of the players are blockers for the returners.  The place kicker places the ball upright on a tee in the middle of the 35-yard line.*  He will then back up about ten yards or so and raise his hand when he is ready to make the kick.  The cover players will line up along the 30 yard line and begin running forward when the kicker reaches the 30-yard line to kick the ball. 

Once the ball is kicked, one of three things will happen:  (1) a runback; (2) a touchback; or (3) the ball goes out of bounds before it reaches the end zone. 

Runback:  A "runback" is when a returner catches the ball and runs toward the opposite end zone.  In a runback, the cover players (the team that kicked the ball) will attempt to cover the distance to the returner and tackle him.  The returner’s blockers will attempt to block the cover players’ progress.  The goal for the returner, of course, is to run the whole length of the field and score a touchdown at the other end.  However, this is rare, and the spot where he is eventually tackled by the cover players, or goes out of bounds, is where his team will begin its drive toward the other end of the field.  There are, however, two players—Devin Hester (Chicago Bears) and Josh Cribbs (Cleveland Browns)—that have a particular talent for kick returns.  So much so that kickers often employ the strategy of aiming the football away from them.

Touchback:  On a kickoff, a "touchback" occurs in one of two ways: (1) the ball goes through the end zone and out of bounds; or (2) a returner catches or picks up the ball in the end zone and kneels to the ground (called "downing" the ball).  In a touchback, the ball is brought out to the 20-yard line on that end of the field and that is where the team that received the kick will begin their drive to the opposite end zone.

If the ball goes out of bounds before it reaches the end zone, and the receiving team hasn’t touched it, the kicking team gets a penalty.  Stay tuned for a further explanation of this and other kickoff-related penalties.   

You may have also heard about changes to the rules regarding kickoffs this season, and it’s important for you to understand them and their impact.  Before this season, the ball was kicked from the 30-yard line and the cover players were allowed a ten-yard head start to run before reaching the point where the ball had been.  Now, the ball is placed at the 35-yard line and the cover players are only allowed a five-yard head start.  The purpose of the rule change is to reduce the risk of injury caused by the high velocity impacts occurring as the two teams charge toward each other.  There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding these rules.  First, there is a concern that more kickoffs will result in touchbacks than ever before, which takes the excitement out of kickoffs and neutralizes the impact of players like Hester and Cribbs.  Second, the new rules may change the way teams make special team personnel decisions.  They may decide that they no longer need return specialists because there are so many more touchbacks, or that they don’t need a specialty kicker who is able to aim the ball short of the end zone. 

*Note that the ball will be teed on the 35-yard line unless either team committed a foul, such as unsportsmanlike conduct, on the scoring play that preceded the kickoff.  If that is the case, the location of the ball for the kickoff reflects the yardage penalty associated with the foul.

Making Plays

Now that you’ve got the basics down, today’s lesson explains how the offense advances the ball down the field to its opponent’s end zone.

The game of football is measured in yards. Yards are marked on the field in 10-yard intervals on the field, in ascending order from one end zone to the 50-yard line, the midpoint of the playing field.  From the 50-yard line, the yardage is marked in descending order to the opposite end zone (check out the image in my last post).  When a team gains possession of the ball, it goes on offense and begins its drive toward the opponent’s end zone, where it will attempt to score.  Wherever the team begins its drive, it has four opportunities (plays) to gain ten yards.  Each such opportunity is called a down. 

This is where you'll hear the term “first and 10.”  The offense starts its drive with a first down.  If the offense doesn’t gain ten yards on its first play, it will then have a second down; then, a third down; finally, if it hasn’t gained ten yards after running three plays, it becomes fourth down.  A simple way to remember this is to think of “first and 10” as “first down with 10 yards to gain.”  The number of yards to gain typically changes with each play.  For example, if the team gains four yards on first down, it becomes “second and six”, or “second down and six yards to gain.”  Once the offense gains the yardage needed, it gets a new set of downs.*  At that point, it will once again be first and 10, and the sequence starts over.  Of course, if a team scores a touchdown or field goal, it will kick off the ball to the other team, who then goes on offense.

If the offense fails to earn a first down (or score), after four plays, the ball goes to the other team.  This is called “turning the ball over on downs.”  However, after three plays, the offense has the option to punt the ball instead of trying a fourth play.  This is what happens about 95% of the time. When a team punts, it kicks the ball to the other team, and when a player on that team recovers the ball, that team then goes on offense (and, of course, will have a first and 10 where they recover the kicked ball).

One more wrinkle:  if a new set of downs begins within the 10-yard line of the opponent's end zone, it's not "first and 10." Instead, it is "first and goal." This is because there aren't ten yards to gain, only the goal line; so, think of it as "first down and goal to go."  Within the next four plays the offense has to score a touchdown or field goal. If it doesn't, it will turn the ball over on downs to the other team.

 

Clear as mud?  Concept of downs was the hardest thing I could get a handle on when I was learning the game as a kid.  I remember my dad having to explain what "first and 10" meant every week for a whole season before I got it. 

Enjoying the preseason so far?  If so, just wait until the regular season starts!  If not, just wait until the regular season starts!

 *There will be times when the offense has more than ten yards to gain for a first down.  This will occur if either the previous play results in a loss of yardage, or the team commits a penalty, resulting in a loss of yardage.