Audible: verbal commands shouted by the
quarterback to his teammates at the line of scrimmage to change a play on short
notice.
Backfield: the area behind
the line of scrimmage.
Backs: the
running backs; the halfback and the fullback.
Ball carrier: any player who has possession of the
ball.
Blocking: the act of preventing
a defensive player from getting to the ball carrier; blockers use their arms and
bodies but may not hold an opponent.
Bomb: a long pass thrown to a receiver sprinting
down the field.
Bump-and-run: a
technique used by pass defenders, where they hit a receiver once within 5 yards
(1 yard in college) of the line of scrimmage to slow him down, and then follow
him to prevent him from catching a pass.
Call a
play: instruct players to execute a pre-planned play.
Cut back: a sudden change in direction taken by a
to make it more difficult for defenders to follow and tackle him.
Down: one of 4 chances a team on offense has to
gain 10 yards; also, the state of a player who has just been tackled; also, a
ball that a player touches to the ground in the end zone to get a touchback.
Draft choice: a player chosen by a
professional sports team from a pool of college players in an annual draft.
Drive: The series of plays a team
puts together in an attempt to score.
Drop
back: when a quarterback, after taking the snap, takes a few steps
backward into an area called the pocket to get ready to pass.
Encroachment: if a player (besides the center) is
in the neutral zone and contact occurs prior to the snap; a foul punishable by a
5-yard penalty.
End line: the
boundary line that runs the width of the field along each end.
End zone: the area between the end line and goal
line bounded by the sidelines, which a team on offense tries to enter to score a
touchdown.
Extra point(s): additional
point(s) scored by a team after it has scored a touchdown, either by a
point-after-touchdown (1 point) or a 2-point conversion (2 points).
Fair catch: when a kick returner
decides only to catch a punt or kickoff and not advance it, protecting himself
from being hit by an opponent; he signals for a fair catch by raising one hand
in the air and waving it.
Field goal:
a place kick that passes above the crossbar and between the uprights of the
goalpost, earning the team that kicked it 3 points.
Field position: the location of a team on the field
relative to the two goal lines; good field position for a team is near its
opponent’s goal line, while bad field position is close to its own goal line.
First down: the first chance out of 4
that a team on offense has to advance 10 yards down the field; as soon as it
gains those yards, it earns a new first down.
Forward pass: a pass thrown by a team closer to the
opponent’s goal line; a team is allowed to throw only one forward pass per play,
and it must be thrown from behind the team’s line of scrimmage.
Forward progress: the location to which a ball
carrier has advanced the ball, even if he was pushed backwards after getting
there.
Free kick: a type of kick
taken to start or restart play after a team has scored, with no defenders nearer
than 10 yards away; includes a kickoff and a kick after a safety.
Fumble: when a ball carrier loses possession by
dropping the ball or having it knocked away before a play ends; the first player
to regain possession of the loose ball is said to make the recovery, and his
team becomes the offense.
Goal line:
A line drawn across the width of the field, 10 yards inside each end
line, which a team must cross with the ball to score a touchdown.
Goalpost: A tall metallic structure that stands at
the back of each end zone; consists of a crossbar and two uprights that extend
upward from it, supported directly above the end line by a base; teams try to
kick the ball above the crossbar and between the uprights to score a field goal
or extra point.
Heisman Trophy: an
award presented annually by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York to the best
college football player in the country.
Holding: a foul where a player impedes the movement
of an opponent by grasping or hooking any part of his body or uniform;
punishable by a penalty — 10 yards if against the offense, 5 yards (10 yards in
college) plus a first down if against the defense.
Home field advantage: the benefit a team gets by
playing games in the area where it is based, due to fan support, familiarity
with its surroundings and the lack of required travel.
Incomplete pass: a forward pass that touches the
ground before being caught.
Intentional
grounding: a foul called against a quarterback who purposely throws
an incomplete forward pass solely to avoid a sack; cannot be called if the pass
lands at or beyond the line of scrimmage.
Interception: a pass caught in the air (picked off)
by a defender whose team immediately gains possession of the ball and becomes
the offense.
Kickoff: when a player
kicks a ball from a tee at his own 30-yard line (35 in college) to the opposing
team, whose player tries to advance it the other way; used to start the game,
the second half and overtime, and to restart play after each score.
Lateral: a pass thrown to a teammate
backwards from the team’s line of scrimmage or parallel to it; unlike a forward
pass (which can be thrown only once per play), players may lateral the ball as
often as they want.
Line of scrimmage:
An imaginary line which no player may cross before the snap; each
team has its own line of scrimmage, separated by the neutral zone.
Loose ball: a ball that is not in possession of
either team, such as after a fumble or a kickoff; it can be recovered by either
team.
Man-in-motion: a single player
on the offense who is permitted to move prior to the snap; he may only run
parallel to the line of scrimmage or away from it.
Midfield: the 50-yard line, which divides the
length of the field in half.
Neutral
zone: the region that contains the ball as it sits on the ground
before each play; the area between the two lines of scrimmage.
NFL (National Football League): the major
professional football league in the U.S. with 32 teams; its headquarters are in
New York.
NFL Championship: The game
held from 1933 through 1965 to decide the champion of professional football;
renamed the Super Bowl in 1966.
Nickel
defense: when a defense brings in a 5th defensive back to replace a
linebacker on the field, increasing its pass coverage.
Offside: when any part of a player’s body is beyond
his line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped; a foul punishable by a 5-yard
penalty.
Pass defender: a defensive
player who covers an opposing receiver.
Pass
protection: blocking by offensive players to keep defenders away from
the quarterback on passing plays.
Pass
rush: a surge by defenders to get past blockers and sack the
quarterback.
Personal foul: a foul that might cause injury;
punishable by a 15-yard penalty.
Picked
off: intercepted.
Play: a
spurt of action that begins with a snap and ends with a dead ball.
Play clock: A clock displayed above each end zone
that limits the time teams may take between plays to 40 seconds (30 in college);
the ball must be snapped before the clock runs down to 0.
Play-action pass: a passing play after the
quarterback has faked a hand-off.
Playoffs:
The post-season tournament that determines the NFL champion.
Possession: to be holding or in
control of the football.
Punt: when a
player 10 yards behind the center catches a snap, drops it and kicks it before
it hits the ground; an opponent tries to catch and advance it the other way.
Quarterback: the leader of a team’s
offense, he takes the snap from the center and either hands the ball to a
running back to run with, passes it to a receiver or runs with it himself; he
also communicates each play to his teammates.
Reading the defense: recognition by the quarterback
of the defensive formation; he may then call an audible to adjust the offense.
Receiver: an offensive player who
catches or attempts to catch a forward pass.
Red
zone: the imaginary area between the defense's 20-yard line and its
goal line from which the offense is most likely to score points.
Return: an attempt by a player who has just caught
an interception, punt, or kickoff to advance the ball the other way.
Rush: a running play; also, a pass
rush.
Sack: a tackle of the
quarterback behind his line of scrimmage.
Safety: when a ball carrier is tackled in his own
end zone after bringing the ball there under his own power; the defense earns 2
points and receives a free kick from the offense’s own 20-yard line.
Scrambling: evasive movements by a
quarterback to avoid being sacked.
Snap:
when the center while facing forward quickly hands the ball between his legs
to a player standing behind him (usually the quarterback) to start each play.
Special teams: the group of players
who participate in kicking plays.
Spike:
when a player throws the ball at the ground to celebrate a touchdown.
Super Bowl: the championship game of
the NFL, played between the champions of the AFC and NFC at a neutral site each
January; it is the culmination of the NFL playoffs.
Tackle: a player position on both the offensive and
defensive lines; there is usually a left and right offensive tackle, and a left
and right defensive tackle; See also tackling.
Tackling: contacting a ball carrier to cause him to
touch the ground with any part of his body except his hands, thereby ending the
play.
Touchback: when a player who
gains possession of a ball in his own end zone kneels to the ground and
automatically starts the next play at his own 20-yard line; also awarded if his
opponent kicks the ball across the end line.
Touchdown (TD): when a team crosses the opponent’s
goal line with the ball, catches a pass in the opponent’s end zone, or recovers
a loose ball in the opponent’s end zone; earns a team 6 points.
Turnover: the involuntary loss of possession of the
ball during a play, either by a fumble or by throwing an interception.
2-point conversion: when a team that
just scored a touchdown starts a play at the opponent’s 2-yard line (3-yard line
in college) and crosses the goal line to earn 2 points; when successful, it
looks just like a touchdown; introduced to the NFL in 1994.
