American Football Rules

American football rules have long been in use since the day they were conceived by Walter Camp. Throughout the years, a few additional rules were added and modified to further enhance the way the game is played. Some of the old rules were also revised to make the game easier to follow as well as safer for those involved. American football rules were first patterned after the scoring system of soccer. This was, however, changed in 1880 to include a different method of scoring and game play.

The official rules American football leagues used by the high schools, colleges and professional leagues are generally the same, with slight variations in certain parts of the game like for overtime periods or fair catch plays. Some of the rules of American football include scoring rules, penalties and game play rules. According to the first rules for American football, teams earned a point every time they successfully brought the ball to the other team's end zone. These days, the American football rule for scoring is a bit more complex, with different points given out for different scoring moves.

When a player gets the ball into the other team's end zone by carrying it into or catching it while in the painted zone, this is called a touchdown. Touchdowns carry a total score of 6 points with a chance for an additional 1 or 2 points in the succeeding PAT or Point After Touchdown, which is given to the team who just successfully scored a touchdown. The chance to add to the current 6 point score can be done with either a kick or a pass or run to the end zone. Another scoring technique is by attempting a field goal or a kick through the goal posts of the opposing team. This gives a 3 point score. The safety is a pretty rare way of scoring, and it is awarded to the defensive team if they are able to force the offensive team to carry the ball into their own end zone and lose possession there. This move gives the defensive team 2 points.

The game of American football often begins with a coin toss to determine which team will be kicking off the game. After the coin toss and kick off comes the line of scrimmage where the teams use strategic moves as instructed by their coaches. American football rules cover so many aspects and to understand the game fully, you have to first master these rules.