GLOSSARY
20-second clock: The clock used to keep track of the time allotted betweenplays. A team must get the following play started before the 20 seconds expiresor they will receive a penalty.
Audibles: verbal commands shouted by the quarterback to his team-mates atthe line of scrimmage to change a play on short notice.
Backfield: the area behind the line of scrimmage.
Blitzing: a play where the defensive team sends extra players rushing towardsthe line of scrimmage as soon as the ball is snapped to try to sack thequarterback.
Blocking: the act of preventing a defensive player from getting to the ballcarrier; blockers use their arms and bodies but may not hold an opponent.
Bomb: a long pass thrown to a receiver sprinting down the field.
Bullet passes: a hard, straight pass. There is less chance of an interception ona pass that is thrown hard. If it is too hard, however, the receiver may not beable to hold onto it.
Bump and run technique: a technique used by pass defenders, where they hita receiver within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage to slow him down, and thenfollow him to prevent him from catching a pass.
Chains (sticks): a metal chain that is ten yards long and is attached to two longpoles. It is used to measure for first downs.
Convert: An attempt for a team to possibly gain one or two points following atouchdown.
Coverage: preventing a player from gaining yards; in pass coverage, a defenderfollows a receiver to prevent him from catching a pass; in kick coverage,members of the kicking team try to prevent a long kick return.
Defense: The unit that is responsible for keeping the opposition out of their endzone.
Down: one of 3 chances a team on offense has to gain 10 yards; a play, startingwhen the ball is put into play and ending when the ball is ruled dead. Basically, adown is one play.48
End zone: the area between the end line and goal line bounded by thesidelines, which a team on offense tries to enter to score a touchdown.
Field goal: a place kick that passes above the crossbar and between theuprights 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 fieldposition is close to its own goal line.
First downs: the first chance out of 3 that a team on offense has to advance 10yards down the field; as soon as it gains those yards, it earns a new first down.
Forward pass: a pass thrown by a team that travels forward or closer to theopponent’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.
Fumble: when a ball carrier loses possession by dropping the ball or having itknocked away before a play ends; the first player to regain possession of theloose 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 endline, which a team must cross with the ball to score a touchdown.
Goal post (uprights): a tall metallic structure that stands at the back of eachend 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 abovethe crossbar and between the uprights to score a field goal or extra point.
Hail Mary: An offensive play where the quarterback throws the ball deep downthe field without really targeting any particular receiver, hoping someone on histeam catches it; usually used in desperation when a team only has one play togain the length of the field.
Hard count: An aggressive count used by the quarterback that tries to draw thedefense offside before the ball is snapped by the center.
Hash marks: The two rows of lines near the center of the field marked off inone-yard increments.
Holes: The spaces created for a running back to run through or the areas in acoverage that a receiver tries to find in an attempt to catch the ball.49
Huddle: When the 12 players on the field from one team form a group todiscuss the upcoming play.I
ncomplete pass: a forward pass that touches the ground before being caught.
Ineligible receiver: On any given play these are the players that are not allowedto receive a forward pass or be downfield before the ball is thrown.
Interference: Illegally hampering a player's opportunity to catch a pass.
International grounding: The quarterback, while he is still in the area betweenthe tackles, purposely throwing the ball out of bounds or into the ground to avoidtaking a sack.
Line of scrimmage: An imaginary line stretching the width of the field thatseparates the two teams prior to the snap of the ball.
Man-to-man: Pass coverage in which every defensive back is assigned to aparticular receiver.
Offense: The team that has possession of the football and attempts to advanceit toward the defense's goal line.
Pass-block: blocking by offensive players to keep defenders away from thequarterback on passing plays.
Pass-completion percentage: The percentage of passes that a quarterbackcompletes compared to the number of total passes that they throw.
Play action: A pass play where the quarterback fakes a handoff to a runningback while he's dropping back to pass.
Plays: In general, the actions of the players following a snap or kickoff. Morespecifically, the type of action taken as part of a planned maneuver.
Pocket: The area of protection given to a quarterback, or formed for by hisoffensive line when he drops back to pass.
Primary receiver: The receiver who, on a particular play, is designed to be thefirst option for the quarterback to throw the ball to.
Pump fake: A move the quarterback uses to deceive the defense by moving hisarm in a throwing motion in the direction of a receiver, but holding onto the balland drawing it back to throw in another direction or area of the field.50
Quarterback sneak: An offensive play where the quarterback receives the snapfrom center and immediately runs or jumps forward.
Quarters: One period of a football game.
Route (Pattern): A predetermined direction and distance that a receiver followswhen he runs from the line of scrimmage for a forward pass.
Run-block: an aggressive type of blocking used by linemen to open holes forrunning backs. As opposed to pass blocking the blockers are allowed to movedownfield to block.
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 ballthere under his own power; the defense earns 2 points and receives the ball via akick off.
Scrimmage: The action between two teams when the ball is snapped.
Secondary: The defensive players who line up behind the linebackers andbasically defend the pass. Also, the area of the field defended by the defensivebacks.
Set of downs: The number of chances that a team has to gain 10 yards. If theygain the 10 yards a team gets a new set of downs.
Short-yardage: A term used to describe any situation where a team needs onlya couple of yards to gain a first down or score a touchdown.
Snapping: The action in which the ball is thrown or handed by the centre to thequarterback, to the holder on a kick attempt, or to the punter.
Special teams: The group of players who are on the field during kicks andpunts.
Spiral: The spin on the ball in flight after the quarterback releases it.
Tackled: To bring down an offensive player who has the ball.
Touch passes: A type of pass used by the quarterback which enables them tothrow the ball softer, but place it over defenders or in to areas where a bulletpass could not get to.51
Touchdown: 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 theopponent’s end zone; earns a team 6 points.
Yardage: The amount of yards gained or lost during a play, game, season, orcareer.
Zone coverage: A defensive coverage scheme where every player on thedefense has a designated area of the field to defend. The defensive playersprotect their areas against any offensive players that move into that area or zone
