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I remember watching a football game with a friend of mine who had never really watched a game before. She asked me, "why are they lining up and then just running into each other?" Instead of making fun of her, I took a step back and tried to look at the game through her eyes. Indeed, that is what it looked like much of the time. Without rudimentary knowledge of the game, it can seem like a pointless endeavor.

I know now how a basic understanding of some offensive plays can help someone appreciate the game more.

Before a play begins, the players line up on each side of the ball, creating an offensive and defensive "line of scrimmage." On the offensive side of the ball, after the football is snapped (passed between the legs of the center to the quarterback), besides a punt, there can only be two types of plays performed, a pass play or a run play. Within these two types of plays, there is a great variety of different things that can be done, but for brevity, I will describe only the major subcategories within each.

Running Plays:

Trap/Dive - This is the most basic of offensive running plays. In a trap play, the quarterback hands the ball to a running back (or keeps it himself), and tries to run straight forward through a hole in the line created by a lineman or other blocker.

Draw - This is similar to the trap play, but instead of handing the ball off to a running back who immediately tries to run through the line, the quarterback drops back as if he is going to pass in order to draw the defense toward him. Then he hands the ball off to a running back who should have more room to run because the defense is occupied with trying to get to the quarterback or protect against the pass.

Sweep/Toss - This is a play where the quarterback either hands the ball off or tosses the ball to a running back who is attempting to run around the line instead of breaking through it. Though there are usually fewer defenders to avoid, the trade-off is that this play takes a little more time to develop because the runner is running parallel to the line and not gaining any positive yardage which gives the defense time to adjust and pursue the runner.

Passing Plays:

Forward Pass - This is is the most basic of offensive pass plays. In a forward pass, the quarterback, after receiving the snap steps back and looks for a receiver to throw the ball to. The receivers and sometimes a running back will run downfield and try to get away from a defender so he will have an easier

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