Clock management
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In American football, clock management is an important aspect of game strategy. The team who holds the lead in the game will want to use as much time as possible, while the team that is trailing will want to conserve time so that there is enough to try to score.
Upon kickoff the clock is started when a member of the receiving team touches the ball, and it is stopped when that player is tackled or goes out of bounds. The clock is then restarted when the offense snaps the ball for their first play and continues to run unless one the following occurs:
- A player carrying the ball goes out of bounds (within the last five minutes of a half).
- A forward pass is ruled incomplete.
- Either team calls for a "Time Out" (see below) or an official calls for a time out, perhaps because a player is injured or there is a penalty on the play. Officials will restart the clock after an official time out, but not a team time out, has concluded unless another of the conditions applies.
- A player from either team scores a touchdown or if a player from the offensive team kicks a field goal.
- Possession of the football is transferred between teams for any reason.
- In college football, the clock is briefly stopped when a team earns a first down to allow the chain crew to reposition themselves. The NFL has no such stoppage.
Each team is given three "time outs" per half which they can use to stop the clock from running after a play.
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[edit] A Strategy For Managing Game Pace
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The players on the field can influence the pace of the game greatly simply by the way they conduct their activities. An offense can go to a no-huddle offense where they line up as soon as the ball is placed by the official, and either run a pre-determined play or audibly call the next play at the line of scrimmage. This is a hurry-up offense.
Conversely a team can slow the pace of a game by taking the maximum amount of time allotted between plays. There is a play clock which allows the offense 40 seconds from the time the ball is placed until they must snap their next play. A team wishing to use as much clock as possible would wait to snap the ball until the last possible second, assuming the game clock was still running, in order to use at least 40 seconds off the clock every play they run.
Some teams employ a system to tell their players what pace to play at -- for example: Slow, Normal, Fast.
[edit] Slow
Used when you want to use as much clock as possible this tells your players to play in a manner that will maximize your clock usage. That means that ball-carriers must stay in-bounds. Quarterbacks must minimize incomplete passes, even to the extent that they look for opportunities to run with the ball rather than throw it away if no open receiver presents. Also the offense will huddle after each play and the quarterback will wait to snap the ball until as much of the play clock as possible has been used. This is commonly associated with the Smashmouth offensive philosophy, which aims to keep the opposing defense on the field as long as possible to tire them out.
[edit] Normal
Self-explanatory; this tells the offense to run and call plays as they normally would without concern for the clock.
[edit] Fast
Opposite of slow, of course. Ball-carriers should look for opportunities to get out of bounds when they have gained as many yards as possible. Quarterbacks should speed up their decision-making and not hestitate to throw the ball away rather than take a sack or a short run. The offense may not huddle or will hustle in and out of the huddle quickly and the ball will be snapped quickly.
John T. Reed is the self-proclaimed expert on football clock management, and is the writer of the only clock management handbook.
