The Play
The play will begin with the snap of the ball (typically but not exclusively to the quarterback), and it will end when the effort by the offensive squad to advance the ball has either succeeded in scoring, or has been frustrated by the ball being downed before the aim of the offensive play is accomplished, or by the defensive squad having managed to come into possession of the ball without first downing it. In the event of change of possession during a play, the team newly in possession of the ball may try to advance it toward their opponent's goal, which the team formerly in possession will naturally resist. Change of possession during a routine play may occur by interception or by fumble.
Change of possession may also occur in other ways. A change of possession can occur "on downs", if the offensive team fails to achieve a first down or a touchdown in four attempts. Another way is through a change of possession play, when the offensive team, having surmised the unlikelihood of scoring or achieving a first down within four attempts, kicks the ball away in what is known as a punt. Kickoffs and field goal attempts are not considered true change of possession plays.
Read more about this topic: Play From Scrimmage
Famous quotes containing the word play:
“Living in cities is an art, and we need the vocabulary of art, of style, to describe the peculiar relationship between man and material that exists in the continual creative play of urban living. The city as we imagine it, then, soft city of illusion, myth, aspiration, and nightmare, is as real, maybe more real, than the hard city one can locate on maps in statistics, in monographs on urban sociology and demography and architecture.”
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