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Jargon Buster: The NFL

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Ed Hammond-Kenny helps you separate your Quarterback from your Tight End...

On Sunday 28th October the biggest game in town will be football, but it won't be the Liverpool v Arsenal clash at Anfield, it will be Gridiron - the New York Giants versus the Miami Dolphins at Wembley. All 90,000 tickets have been snapped up (the game could have sold out five times over) so why not take a few hours out of your Sunday evening to see exactly why the NFL is the USA's number one betting sport and maybe make a quid/euros/dollars along the way.

But what if the most you've ever seen of the NFL is the excessive pre-game show at the Superbowl? You know the type of thing - Billy Joel giving a stellar performance of the Star Spangled Banner half an hour after the scheduled kick-off by which time you realise that work in the morning is getting ever closer and decide to call it a night. Well not to worry, as here is a crash course on the fundamentals of the game and phrases you will hear on commentary.

The Aim - to score points in the NFL the main aim is to get the ball into your opponents' End Zone for a touchdown. If a team doesn't quite make it to the End Zone then they can try for a field goal.

Downs - the attacking team gets four downs (plays) to move the ball at least 10 yards forward. Should they succeed they get a new set of four downs and the process repeats. If they fail on the first three downs, then the fourth 'down' is usually used to punt the ball away into opposition territory or for a field goal attempt.

The Scoring:

Touchdown - 6 points
Passing or running the ball into the opponents' End Zone - unlike Rugby the ball does not have to be grounded.

Point After - 1 point
A short kick through the posts after a touchdown, a simple exercise for NFL players.

Two Point Conversion - 2 points (obviously)
May be attempted after a touchdown instead of a point after. The ball is placed on the two yard line and the offensive team gets just one play to get the ball in the end zone again. A far more difficult challenge than the extra point after (the success rate hovers around 50% in the NFL) and most teams will only use this play in very specific scenarios, depending on the score and how long in the game is left.

Field Goal - 3 points
A kick through the opponents' posts after a drive towards the opponents' End Zone looks like it will fail, usually taken on the 4th down. Assuming normal conditions, an attempt within 40 yards should be simple enough for NFL kickers, if a 50+ yard attempt is required for your bet to come in, I would be getting out the Rosary Beads.

Safety - 2 points
Tackling an opposition player in their own End Zone when they are in possession of the ball.

Key Player Positions
Quarterback - the QB, the team's on-field leader. He will tell his team the 'play' and then either hand the ball off to his Running Back or try and pass it to one of his Receivers.

Running Back - the QB will hand him the ball and he tries to run as many yards forward as possible before getting mauled by the defence. He has to be quick, elusive and strong.

Receivers - Will run downfield and try to catch the ball if thrown to them by the QB. After a catch they can continue to run until they are tackled, go out of bounds or ideally reach the End Zone. The best are usually fast and tall with the ability to withstand a crunching tackle while making a catch.

The Offensive Line - the big men in front of the QB, it includes a position called the Tight End. They try and prevent the opposition's big men (The Defensive Line) getting through before the QB can make his play. Main attributes are size (around 300 pounds and the scale of a barn door should normally do it) although the best also have surprising acceleration and agility.

Special Teams - used only on plays involving a kick or a punt, but how they execute these plays could have a large bearing on the result in close games.

Miscellaneous:

Sack - the defensive team tackle the quarterback before he can release the ball. Results in a loss of yardage and can play on the mind of the quarterback in future plays because lets face it, no one wants to be smashed into the ground by a twenty stone raging bull of a lineman, even if your being paid millions for the privilege.

Flags - your wide receiver is darting off to the end zone for a 50 yard touchdown to cover the handicap when you hear the dreaded words from the commentator, "there is a flag on the play". Flags are thrown by the referee or any of his assistants if they spot an infringement, usually resulting in a loss of yards for the offending team.

Coaches Challenge - a coach can challenge an on-field decision twice during a game by throwing a red flag onto the field, this leads to the referee watching a video replay of what occurred. A key point to remember here is there has to be solid evidence to overturn the original decision. As there are only two opportunities to challenge expect to see them used only at key points.

Both flags and challenges can have a major impact on the Betfair market if you are betting in-running, so be on the look out for them throughout the game.

• US Sports
• NFL