Rules

Football Game Theory Rules and Explanation

Although many only see football as a game with abnormally large men repeatedly inflicting pain upon one another, it is actually a game that relies on theory and statistics. With the game on the line, each team must make decisions based on what they expect their opponents to do, or not to do. In order to excel, one must analyze the game from all angles, and must strategically defeat their opponent. After all, there is a reason why each team in the NFL is given 45 seconds between downs to choose and start their next play.

Background Explanation

First, flip a coin to decide which team will is given the choice to either “kick” or “receive.” Basically, if one opponent chooses heads, and the coin lands heads side up, he has a choice to either defend first, or start on offense first. Whoever chooses offense first (Which is typically the most popular option) will start with the ball on their own 20 yard line. Your “own” side is the side in which you must defend: the side with your opponents end zone. The 20 yard line is the standard spotting for a touchback in football, and it means that you have to travel 80 yards in order to score a touchdown.

In football, we refer to each play as a “down.” Each team has 4 sets of downs (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) in each series, and if they cannot travel 10 yards down the field, their set of downs will not be renewed, and it will be considered a “turnover on downs.” Every 10 yards is considered a “first down” because crossing this point gives you another first down, and if one fails to gain a net total of 10 yards in one series, the ball is frozen where the last offensive player was stopped, and the defense changes into offense and starts at that point on the field with the intention of traveling in the opposite direction to score a touchdown. For example, if the quarterback is sacked on his own 30 yard line on fourth down, the defense will change to offense, and now the opposing offense only has 30 yards to travel before receiving a touchdown equivalent to 7 points. Because 4th down is very high risk, high reward, one usually chooses to punt the ball, which is giving the ball to the other team at a much farther spot on the field.

The Game

In this game, each member will only need a few objects. It is important to have a writing utensil, a stack of index cards, 1 di, and the payoff matrix. First, the offense and defense will both pick the type of play they want to run. The offense can decide between short pass, long pass, off-tackle run, direct run, and trick play. The defense can decide between cover 4 (prevent) defense, zone defense, blitz, and man-to-man coverage. Specific types of offenses generally work better or worse against specific types of defenses, and vice versa. For example, if the offense chooses a long pass and the defense chooses man coverage, the offense has a greater chance that they will complete the pass and gain yardage as opposed to if the defense had picked zone defense. This “chance” is where the payoff matrix comes in, because realistically there is a plethora of scenarios that can occur in these plays, and the matrix decides which scenarios will take place more often than others based on probability.

So now each team has chosen their type of play. Each person will write the play they chose on a separate index card, and on the count of three they will flip it over and reveal their selections to each other. On the matrix, there will be a specific box for the type of offense chosen vs the type of defense chosen, and the possible outcomes are listed. Now the offensive player will roll the die, and the number he rolls will determine the outcome of that down. For example, the matrix may state that the rolling of a 3 or 4 results in a 10 yard completion. The matrix does not have to necessarily list when 1st downs are received, for this can get mixed up if the offense loses yards on a play. It can be assumed that a net total of 10 yards or more in a series of downs results in a renewed set of downs for the offense.

The offense will continue to roll the die after each play is selected, and the process will continue for each down until there is either a turnover on downs, or the offense scores. If the offense is on fourth down and is within “field goal range” they can roll the di on the field goal chart to determine whether they will be receiving 3 points or not.It is important to note that this is NOT a matrix because this is only one team deciding if they want to kick or not and it depends on yard line not the opposing team for the chance of making it. If they miss the field goal, the opposing team will take over on offense at that spot on the field where the kick was attempted. They can also choose to punt the ball, in which case they would follow the "punt matrix". After scoring a touchdown, which is crossing the goal-line, or kicking a field goal, the two teams will switch offense and defense, and the new offensive team will start on their own 20 yard line. However, possession is not only changed by failed 4th down conversions and points scored. On the matrix there is an option that results in the offense turning the ball over to the defense. Although this is a rare outcome, the more one chooses challenging plays with possible high reward, the greater this risk becomes.

The game ends once a team scores 24 or more points. Although this rule differs from that of the football seen on TV, it has a similar effect that the time clock has. Like the clock, the 24-point rule will set an objective for the player, and will cause him/her to strategize their plays based on making sure they do not fall short of this goal. Strategizing to pick the proper plays will become more and more important as the game nears the end.

Kaissi’s Korner, Key Tips: 1. Take note on repetitive matrix outcomes and your opponents tendencies, and learn what usually does and does not work as the game goes on 2. Don’t settle for 3 points unless the risk of attempting a 4th down conversion outweighs the reward from kicking that field goal 3. Play to win, or don’t play at all!