With the start of the season quickly approaching, we decided to break down some of the key rules from the NFL Flag Rulebook.

• Scoring—Each touchdown is worth 6 points. Teams have the chance to score a Point After Touchdown. Teams can opt to try for 1 point from the 5 yard line with a passing play or try to two points from the 12 yard line with a pass or run play. A safety, when the ball carrier is declared down in his own end zone, is worth two points.

• Flag Pulling—Defenders can no tackle the ball carrier when pulling flags. Defensive players can only pull the flags of the offensive player that has possession of the ball. If a flag inadvertently falls off during play, they are down.

• Flag Guarding—Flag guarding, including any attempt to obstruct the defender’s access to their flag, is not allowed.

   

• Live Ball—A ball is live at the snap and stays live until the official whistles the ball dead.

• Downs—The offense has 3 downs to cross the line to gain to get another set of downs.

• Line to Gain—The line to gain is similar to the first down line in professional football. The offense must pass the line to get another set of downs.

• Substitutions—Substitutions can be made on any dead ball

• Timeouts—Each team has 1 60 second time out during each half.

• Rushing the Passer—The defensive player who rushes the passer must be at least 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap. The offense may not impede the rusher.

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For the complete rulebook, including a list of penalties,  visit the document library at www.pghflagfootball.com.