American football strategy

American football is somewhat like war. A successful strategy includes assessing your offensive and defensive capabilities and how those match up with those of your opponent. It also includes choosing between relying on your strengths and doing what your team does best (which is what your opponent expects you to do) or relying on the element of surprise, utilizing unconventional tactics, to catch your opponent off guard and thus gain the advantage. Unlike war, however, each side alternates between being on offense and defense in an orderly fashion. Each successive turn is called a possession or drive. During a possession, the team on offense attempts to advance the ball toward the opponent's goal, gaining as much yardage as possible on each play. Each play is also referred to as a down. Downs are akin to battles fought in the trenches on the line of scrimmage. Strategy is the key to effective play: whether on offense, defense, or special teams, a team must make good decisions before the play even begins in order to overcome what the other team may bring to bear.

Related Topics:
American football - War - Possession - Drive - Down - Line of scrimmage - Offense - Defense - Special teams

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