SALT LAKE CITY — While we all like to think we are experts, football can be tough to understand for beginners of the sport.

Sure, watching a game and understanding what is going on is one thing for a fan, but when a less-informed one begins to ask questions, it can be difficult to find the words on how to explain what is going on on the football field.

It can be hard to put into a concrete sentence that the whole goal of the game, which features an 11-man team — the offense — who has the ball. This squad tries to make its way down the field via passing or running the football until it eventually crosses the goal line into the rectangular-shaped end zone.

Meanwhile, the other 11-man team on the field — the defense — is attempting to stop the offense from getting to the end zone and force the offense to give up possession of the ball. Whichever happens first — the offense scores or the defense gets a stop — the two teams switch roles; the offensive team will play defense and vice versa.

This pattern continues until the entire game — four quarters — has been played.

Timing

Speaking of timing, let’s dive into that. The game is divided into four quarters, 15 minutes each. At the end of two quarters (first half), there is an intermission called halftime, in which the two teams go back to the locker rooms for 12 minutes to form a game plan for the remaining two quarters, or the second half.

There are two-minute breaks at the end of the first and third quarters. If one team has the ball at the end of either of those quarters, it will continue to hold possession moving into the next quarter after time runs out. However, the same can’t be said for halftime, as the second half begins the same way the first half does, with a kickoff.

On offense, a team has 40 seconds from the end of the previous play to get the snap off for the next one. If not, it will receive a delay-of-game penalty.

Additionally, the game clock stops when a passing play is incomplete, when a player runs out of bounds, when a penalty is called, or when the offense passes the first-down marker. The clock will start again once an official re-spots the ball. If a player is tackled before going out of bounds or over the first-down marker, the clock continues to run, regardless of if it’s a running or passing play.

Should a game be tied at the end of regulation, the teams will continue to play extra periods until a winner is determined. There is no game clock in overtime, as the extra periods will continue as needed to crown a victor, though the play clock rules will remain in effect.

The field

So how big is the actual field the teams play on? Most can easily point out that it’s 100 yards long, but it’s also 53 yards wide. On the field, one can find white markings that measure each yard, helping everyone from the players to the fans gauge how many yards a certain play goes.

At the two ends of the rectangular-shaped field are the end zones, additional 10 yards each. This is where a team can pile up the points, as the team with possession of the ball crosses the threshold into the end zone against the defending squad.

Also at the ends of the field is a field-goal post, measuring in at 18 feet, 6 inches wide. If a team is unable to score a touchdown before giving up possession of the ball, it can opt to kick a field goal, in which the team would earn three points, should the kick be converted.

The players

As discussed before, a team contains two units: the offense and the defense. However, there’s a third unit — special teams — that comes in on kicking situations, such as kickoffs, field goals and punting. No matter which unit is on the field, only 11 players are allowed on at one time, or a penalty is called.

The offensive players

Let it be clear that every offense, as well as every defense, at the varying levels of football are different. And not just that, but there are many sets and plays within each offense that can call for different personnel, so the below positions are typical of what an offense might look like.

• Quarterback (QB) - passes or hands off the ball
• Center (C) - snaps the ball
• Offensive line (OL) - typically two guards and two tackles, block for the quarterback/running back)
• 0-2 running backs (RB - FB, TB) - take ball and run with it, block for QB, run a route
• 2-5 wide receivers (WR) - catch the ball, block
• 0-2 tight ends (TE) - catch the ball, block

The defensive players

• Defensive line (DL) - battles head-to-head with offensive line, gets after quarterback
• Linebackers (LB) - defend against pass, stop the run
• Secondary (SS, FS, CB) - safeties and cornerbacks defend against pass to wide receivers

The kickoff

The start of any game begins with the ceremonial kickoff. The team that is either chosen or opts to kick first will place the ball at its own 30-yard line. The placekicker will then come into the game with a kicking tee, and shortly after, launch the ball down the field toward the opposing team.

The offense will have a kick return man or two in place to try to catch the kick and move up the field. Wherever he is tackled is where the offense will take over on the field and begin its drive — a series of offensive plays.

However, if the kick is too deep and the kick return man catches the ball in the end zone, he can either run it out and still try to beat the coverage or kneel the ball in the end zone to signal a touchback, in which the offense will automatically begin its drive on the 25-yard line.

First down

As pointed out earlier, the field and game are measured in yards. Of course, the goal for the offense is to trek all the way down the field, resulting in a touchdown, but it must focus on keeping a drive alive first. This is where first downs come into play.

Each time the offense has the ball, it has four opportunities, or downs, to get the first down, which is 10 yards down the field from the original starting point. If a team is able to reach that 10-yard mark, or beyond, it has eclipsed the first-down marker, resulting in a new set of four downs for the offense.

Like the end zone, the defense will attempt to stop the offense from reaching a new set of first downs. Should it be successful, the offense will typically punt the ball away on fourth down, forcing the defense-turned-offense to start its ensuing drive further down the field.

Moving the ball

There are two ways an offense can move the ball: running and passing. Before each play begins, a coach calls in the set play to the quarterback, usually, in which that player relays the play to the rest of the team. The quarterback will then shout out random team sayings to run the play or distract the defense before the player in front of him, the center, hikes the ball.

After that, the quarterback will proceed to either drop back and pass, hand the ball off or take off and run himself.

If he hands the ball off to a running back — or in some cases, a wide receiver — that player will then proceed to gain as many yards as possible on the ground by dodging tackles from opposing players. The quarterback, should the play call for him to run, can do the same.

The other form of moving the football — passing — typically lies in the quarterback’s hands. That said, anyone is allowed to throw the ball upfield in some form of trickery, as long as the said player remains behind the line of scrimmage, the starting point of the play. To complete a passing play, the pass has to be caught by another offensive player, typically a receiver or tight end. If the ball hits the ground before being caught, however, the pass is ruled incomplete.

The tackle

In order for the defense to stop an offense, it needs to bring the opposing players to the ground whenever a player is attempting to advance the ball up the field. This is called a tackle, and it is when a player’s knee, elbow or hip touches the ground.

In college football, it doesn’t matter if the defense forces the offensive player down to the ground or not; if one of those body parts touches the turf, that player is ruled down. The play is over once a player is down. In a professional league, the defender has to touch the player before he is ruled down.

Scoring

Like most sports, the object is score as many points as possible in football. There are four ways one can score points: touchdown, extra point, field goal and safety.

The most common way to score, or at least the way most fans want to score, is via touchdown. This is when the ball is carried across the plane or is caught in the end zone, resulting in the single-highest score one can earn in football with six points. After a team scores a touchdown, it typically sends out its special teams unit to knock in the extra point — the second way to score points — to make it a cool seven points collectively.

However, after scoring a touchdown, a team always has the option to go for the two-point conversion, in which the offense remains on the field to run a play and earn two points versus kicking for just one (should the play result in the offense crossing the goal line again).

Another common way to rack up points on the scoreboard is by kicking field goals. If an offense is unable to punch their way to a touchdown, a field-goal attempt is the most common practice among football teams. Field goals are worth three points and are sometimes crucial factors in close games.

Technically, a field goal can be attempted from anywhere on the field, but most are within 50 yards of the end zone (the NCAA field-goal record is 67 yards and the NFL is 64 yards). Unless in a game-tying or game-winning situation, most occur on fourth down after the offense failed to pick up the first down, and a made attempt results in three points.

For the kick to be considered “good,” or worthy of the three points, the kicker must kick the ball through the uprights and over the crossbar of the field-goal post. Meanwhile, the defense sets up in a special formation in order to attempt a block of the kick.

The final way to score points in football is via a safety. This is when a player is tackled by the defense behind his own goal line, resulting in two points for the defense, as well as getting the ball back. This is the rarest of all the forms of scoring, as a team most likely needs to pin the opposing offense deep in its own territory for it to occur.

Turnovers

While the offense is attempting to score all game long, the defense is trying to stop its counterparts. One way discussed earlier was to force a punt, but there are two other ways the defense can get their hands on the ball: interceptions and fumble recoveries.

An interception is when a defensive player catches a pass intended for a player on the other team. Meanwhile, a fumble is when the offensive ball carrier drops the ball. Usually, it’s forced out by a defensive player, and any player on the field can recover the fumble by jumping on the football.

Both interceptions and fumbles can be run back for touchdowns.

That's it for the first installment of the series; you are now a master of football basic knowledge. Stay tuned to KSL.com for future parts of the series to become a full-fledged football genius. Griffin Adams is an assistant editor at The Athletic, as well as a contributor for KSL.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GriffDoug.

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