Is The NFL Serious With This 'Beginner's Guide To American Football' Video?

BOSTON (CBS) -- Fear not, Patriots fans: if you were confused as to how you score points, what that zone at the end of the field is called, or what the guys are doing with that oblong leather ball to begin with, you're in luck. This handy guide will have you understanding what's happening in tonight's Patriots - Steelers game in no time. Thank goodness for this video, or else we'd have no idea what's going on. (End sarcasm)

In a decision that's undoubtedly well-intentioned but ultimately insulting to its overall fan base, the league on Thursday posted this "Beginner's Guide to American Football" on YouTube. It features narrator Rich Eisen explaining such intricate concepts as the number of teams, the object of the game, and the meaning of obscure terms like "downs" and "end zone".

The leap in logic here is mind-blowing. The NFL's Youtube channel has over 300,000 subscribers...how many of those followers need to be taught how the game of football works? I'd guess zero. And if someone does need to learn the basics of the game, are they going to check the NFL on Youtube before simply Googling it, or asking a friend or loved one?

Sure, there are casual fans or people new to the game out there who will find this beginner's guide useful. It's just amazing that the very league running the games felt the need to post this themselves. It feels more like a Buzzfeed video than an official NFL one. Most NFL fans will watch this and feel like they're being trolled.

Personally, I hope this turns into a meme and continues to make the league look like incompetent fools. But clearly, the league sees record ratings in its future with this game tonight, with practically the whole country tuning in to see what Tom Brady and the Patriots do. They want to make sure those people who don't know what a football is know what's going on.

As if the NFL couldn't embarrass itself more this off-season, they just had one more moment of tone-deaf stupidity.

Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for CBSBostonSports.com and is thankful for the NFL teaching him how to football. Read more from Matt here and follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff.