Is 55-200mm lens enough zoom to shoot pictures of a football team across the field?

I'm just wondering if i have enough zoom and speed to shoot comfortably for a football game. Its a Nikon 55-200mm VR AF-S f/4-5.6G ED.

Basically If i stand on one side of the field and there's some action on the other side, will the action fill the frame comfortably of will it look like a far away shot? I can get a hold of a better lens, but i'm wondering if this is enough.

You'd be happier with the 70-300 for action across the field, but if anything happens on YOUR side of the field, you would have too much lens. 55-200 is probably a good compromise. If it's a day game, you will be okay. If it's a night game, the f/4-5.6 just won't cut it.

If you can get hold of a better lens, why not do it? Just have it on hand. Even though I generally only have one body with me, I often have two lenses on me. I found out that my zooms will fit into the pocket of one pair of jeans that has deep and wide pockets.

You did not specify, but my answer stands only if you are using a cropped sensor camera, like a Nikon D5000 (etc) or Canon T2i (etc). If you have a full format camera, just get the longer lens.

Most pros at a game have a 70-200 and a 300 2.8, along with a 400 2.8, 500 F4 or 600 F4. With a 55-200, have someone stand 85 yards away, they're a small part of the frame. At the lineup, it will be decent, but once action starts, 200 is not enough. If you can walk sidelines, 200 is enough.

If it's a night game, you'll need a 2.8 lens. I had an 80-200 2.8, and a 600mm F5.6. At the night games, the 600 was not worth bringing. This was at a college field, and with 1600 film, 5.6 would not give me a usable shutter speed.