american football terminology

Question
Coach Perl,

If a team punts at the end of a drive, is the punt counted as a play within the drive and does the punt yardage count towards the total yardage gained in the drive? Also if a team scores a touchdown at the end of a drive, is the touchdown play part of the drive or separate?
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Followup To

Question -
I have been watching the NFL on television in Australia and was wondering about the terms "3rd and short" and "2nd and long". If it is short, does this only mean that there is less than 10 yards to first down? If it is long, is that more than 10 yards? What if it is exactly 10 yards?

Answer -
What a great question! Growing up in America, I guess we assume that these terms are just understood.  But after sitting down and really thinking about it, I can 100% understand how this could be confusing if someone is not completely surrounded by American football like we are.  This is actually a great question!  I will try to clear this up for you right now, and hopefully make American football a little less confusing to watch.  Ready?

OK, unfortunately, there is not clear-cut answer to this question, but there are some examples I can make to help you out.  As I gathered from your question, you have the basics (first and ten, yards to gain a first down, etc).  That's good, because that takes a while to fully explain.  Well, terms like "short" and "long" are just basic OPINIONS coaches, broadcasters, players and fans use to describe a situation in general.  There are no set guidelines for when to use these terms, however.  Even worse, to make things more confusing, these terms usually change depending on the down.  So 1st and ten is usually just that,"1st and ten".  But 3rd and ten is almost always considered "third and long".  I guess it is the sense of urgency that changes the terminology.  

Think of it like driving on the highway.  Let's say you are going the speed limit.  Here in Ohio, it is 65 mph in most places.  If someone goes flying by you, you probably don't know his exact speed, and might just say he "is going FAST".  Then, you pass someone else, going "really SLOW".  This is really the same thing as what you are talking about.  They are just general terms to what may be considered "normal".  A successful play in American football is 4 yards.  If a team averages 4 yards per play they are doing well.  So, if a team is in a situation that averages either better or worse than this average, these terms are usually inserted. Third and 8 yards did not average the four yards, so it is "long", while third and one did average four yards plus a little, and is way under the average of four yards to make a first down, so it is probably termed as "short".

I think that just learning these terms are general, non-specific terms will greatly help you, but if you need something more specific, try and apply the 4 yard rule to your question.  Remember, the terms you mentioned are OPINIONS, so what one person thinks is "short" might not be what you or I consider "short".  But to finish this out, no, there does not have to be a specific yardage to qualify as either "short" or "long", just opinion.  If it is exactly ten yards, it almost always depends on what down it is.  If it is first down, it isn't considered long, that's the norm or average.  If it is third down, it is considered long, because of the 4 yard guideline (a play that averages 4 yards is good), so that is long compared to average.  Again, all opinion!

Also, one more thing.  Coaches use these terms as well for play design and personnel changes, so when speaking to a coach, he might have  VERY SPECIFIC yardage that qualifies as "short" or "long".  But for your purpose, you don't need to worry about that.  Just a side note.

I know that this answer might not be completely satisfying, because it doesn't have a black and white answer, but I think now that we have gone over it in general you will have no problem the next time you hear these terms used.

That was a fanstastic question!  Not one you hear a lot in America, because we are surrounded by football from birth!  But this might be the most fun question I have answered in a long time. Please feel free to write back with any other questions you may have.  I hope that you continue to watch American football, and enjoy yourself while doing so.  After all, that is the point, right?  And thank you for using this site.  I hope it helped!

Thanks for the question!

Coach Perl

Answer
Chris -

Great to hear back, and thank you for the comments and ratings on the last question.  I am glad that helped clear some confusion!  

OK, another good question here.  And what's even nicer is that this time, there ARE absolute answers to your questions!

Each snap is counted as a play during a drive, so in any case, whether it is a run play, punt, touchdown pass, field goal, or whatever, it counts as a play. If that ball goes through the centers legs, it counts, no matter what the team decides to do with the ball.

Now, once the ball leaves the punter's foot and is in the air, possession actually changes over to the receiving team! That is why the team who punted the ball can touch it without it being a fumble, but the receiving team can't. A good example is this: Once in a while you will see a team punt on third down.  Usually this takes place when an offense is backed up in their own territory, and wants to catch the defense without a return man.  IF the ball is snapped to the punter on third down, but he for any reason does not kick the ball (bad snap, drops the ball, etc), the offense still has another chance on fourth down. On the other hand, if it is the same situation, but the punter kicks the ball in any way, the receiving team has possession, no matter if the punting team liked the results or not.  So, to answer the second part of your question, the punt DOES NOT count as yardage for the kicking team, because once the ball is punted, it actually belongs to the receiving team!

Keep them coming, Chris!  Great questions.  Hope this hammered it home for you.  Again, if you have a moment, please go ahead and rate the response so I can know how I am doing for you.  Very happy that you enjoyed my last response, and hope this works as well for you!

Best Wishes,

Coach Perl