VERY Condensed Version of How American Football is Played.

Got 2 free tickets to the last preseason game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium  the  home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the University of South Florida Bulls.  Raymond James hosted Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.
The basic rules of football are not hard to understand, it is the intricacies that make the game so interesting & madding for fans.
A football game four quarters of 15 minutes each, with an intermission after the second quarter, aka half time.   Four quarters of 15 minutes each you would think that the game lasts 60 minutes, NOT. With three timeouts per half for both teams, timeouts for TV commercials and timeouts for injuries, a typical televised game can last around three hours. The Bucs game lasted almost 4 hours.  In the event of a tie, another 15 minutes are added to the clock, but this quarter is played sudden death-style: the first team to score wins.

Players-Teams are divided into offense, defense and special teams. The offense includes the quarterback, center, running backs, offensive linemen and wide receivers. These players are on the field when the team is in possession of the ball. It is their job to move the ball down the field and cross into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown. Once again someone forgot to post this in the Bucs locker room before the game started.  The defense includes defensive linemen, defensive backs and linebackers. Their job is to keep the other team's offense from moving the ball. I will send them a note so they understand this for the regular season. Special teams are used for punts, kick-offs, extra point conversions and kick-off returns.
 Right before the game starts, a coin is tossed to determine which team will kick off and which team will receive the ball first. The ball is kicked from the kicking team's 30-yard line, and the receiving team tries to run it as far down the field as they can. When the ball-carrier is stopped, that team's offense comes out on to the field.   The offense has four tries, or downs, to move the ball forward 10 yards. This is  gaining a first down which the Bucs did not do enough. The ball can be moved by running it or by the quarterback passing it to a receiver. If they advance 10 yards, they get another four downs. If they don't, the opposing team takes possession of the ball.
If a team does not make 10 yards in the first three downs, they will usually punt or kick, from the spot where the ball was stopped on fourth down. This keeps their other team from gaining possession of the ball with good field position close to their end zone.
The offense keeps the ball until they fail to make a first down, they score a touchdown or field goal, a member of the opposing team intercepts a pass or the ball is fumbled (dropped) and recovered by the other team. When any of these things happen, the other team gains possession of the ball. They then bring out their offensive players, while the team that just lost the ball brings out their defense. Play continues with possession of the ball moving back and forth between teams until time runs out.
The second half starts like the beginning of the game, with the team who received at the start now kicking off.
There are four ways to score points during a football game:
1-Touchdown: A player on offense carries the ball into his opponent's end zone, or the quarterback passes the ball to a player already in the end zone. Touchdowns are worth six points.
2-Conversion: After a touchdown, the scoring team attempts a conversion. The ball is either kicked through the goalposts from the three-yard line for one point, or the scoring team tries to run or pass into the end zone like a touchdown, for two points.
3-Field goal: A kicker from the team on offense kicks the ball through his opponent's goal posts. This is usually attempted on a fourth down when the ball is close to the end zone and trying for a touchdown is too risky.
4-Safety: If the defense tackles a ball-carrier in their own end zone, it is called a safety and the defense is awarded two points. This doesn't happen very often.
Penalties
There are many rules in American football. Rules apply to who you can tackle, when you can tackle them, how you can tackle them, who is allowed to throw the ball and how long the offense has to start play. I've been watching football since I was a kid, played in high school and I still don't have Football all  figured out and I am not the only one. If a player does break a rule, he is punished with a penalty of yardage, and sometimes a loss of a down.

For complete details see NFL.com Rulebook!  what happens when you see a yellow flag.

O by the way the Bucs lost 27 to 20

Some big & not so big Bucs
#--Name-Position-Height & Weight
90 Adams, Gaines DE 6-5 260
73  Alabi, Anthony T 6-5 315
26  Allen, Will S 6-1 200
29  Arrington, Kyle CB 5-10 196
35  Askew, B.

J. FB 6-3 233
20  Barber, Ronde CB 5-10
31  Biggers, E.J. CB 6-0 180
69  Dotson, Demar T 6-9 315
72  Duncan, Rashaad DT 6-2 315
70  Penn, Donald T 6-5 305
27  Cox, Torrie CB 5-10 192
7  Leftwich, Byron QB 6-5 250~ http://www.buccaneers.com/team/roster.aspx
Some NFL Average Salary per Year by Position
Quarterback  $1,970,982
Defensive End | $1,583,784
Offensive Lineman | $1,267,402
Defensive Tackle | $1,223,925