A lot of times announcers and field analysts talk about football terms that may not be familiar to you. Well, today you are going to learn some new things that you can explain to your friends. Many times you’ll hear about the “importance of field position” in a game. Field position is the simple concept of where the football is located on the 100 yards of the field when the play starts. It’s important for teams to be aware of this because they play differently based on what yard line they begin a play on.  If you watched the Giants during the Playoffs and Super Bowl, the team benefited from being able to control field position.

If the offense is 75 yards or more away from scoring, they may choose safer plays such as running the ball or making short passes, which lowers the risk of turning over the ball to the other team. If the defense intercepts or recovers a fumble at that field position, it’s great for them because their team is very close to the endzone and will have a good chance of scoring. In Super Bowl XLII you saw how bad field position affected Tom Brady's ability to run the offense.

If the offense starts play in the middle of the field (around the 50 yard line) they may choose some riskier plays. This is because they have more field to work with and can worry less about the other team scoring since they are further away from their own endzone. If the offense doesn’t pick up enough yardage for a first down, they can punt and pin the other team deep in their own territory. Jeff Feagles, the Giants punter, is one of the best in the NFL at doing this.

When the offense’s field position is at the 20-yard line (just 20 yards from scoring) the team will call plays to try and get the ball in to score a touchdown. The area from the 20-yard line to the end zone is called the "red zone." In the NFL, smart coaches know what to do with their field position. Many times this makes the difference between winning and losing. It definitely made a difference in the Super Bowl.