Four American Football Plays

American football is a very physical sport. The players seem as if they're on the field so that they can give others a whole lot of hurting. But this isn't true.

American football may look like a sport for brutes, but it's all about strategy. The brawn of each player is strategically focused on specific tasks so they may prevail in a game. These particular strategies are called plays, which are the main weapons of a team.

Even without overpowering brutes as players, with a good strategy, a team can come out triumphant. Here are some of the plays American football teams usually follow.

1. The Blitz – This particular play is when the defending play has all their players attack the quarterback. This means that there are more players pushing forward than blockers.

The reason why this play was made is because a passing team can only use as much players to block the defending team unless they sacrifice receivers for blockers. Despite the sacrifice, passing teams can only have 9 players blocking the defending team.

Although it is risky for the defending team to use a blitz since all the players will be only focused on the quarterback and not on any other player, a blitz has always proven to be a useful play in the sport of American Football.

2. The Sweep – This play can be performed by different players. It is when a couple of players will receive the ball behind the line of scrimmage and run towards the end zone. The player carrying the ball is usually accompanied by blockers in order to help keep the players of the opposing team away from the ball carrier. This particular play is commonly used when the opposing team thinks that the passing team will throw the ball to a receiver to gain some yards.

3. The Statue of Liberty – This play is when the quarterback will trick the defending team into thinking that he's going to throw the ball far. During the motion of throwing the ball, he places it into his other hand and hands it off or tosses it to a player that is running by him.

If the play goes well, the defending team will be able to spread apart and will be in disarray to stop the runner. It's a very effective play if it goes well but the way it's played out will really depend on the quarterback since he can change it if he wants.

4. The Hail Mary – This play is basically used when it's crunch time. There really isn't a standard way of setting up the players for this particular play since many teams have their own variations.

The general idea of the play though is that a quarterback will throw a long pass to a receiver who's already moved far down towards the end zone. The reason for its name is because it's usually done during the last minutes of the game.

These are just a few plays that are used in American football so that a team can prevail.