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# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Ever since I first got into football coaching, I have wanted a dictionary of football terms. There are some in the backs of some older books, but they are never comprehensive. So I am going to create one here on this Web page. I will try to add a definition a day because it’s a massive project and pays me nothing.

Another problem is that football is a Tower of Babel in many respects. Some words mean different things at different teams. For example, many coaches feel they can pick their own name for some positions, most commonly linebackers. They call them “stud” or “monster” or “rover” and so forth. Often a term is only used at one team. This is dumb and I wish they would stop doing it, but I am not going to hold my breath. So in that sense, this will have to be a multi-language dictionary.

In addition to clarifying the meaning of various football terms, this will also help coaches spell and punctuate them correctly. Embarrassingly for guys who call themselves “educators,” many coaches do not know how to spell or punctuate their own specialty’s terminology.

Football coaches as a group have a public image of being ignorant or even morons. Unfortunately, there is too much truth to that image. Coaches who object to that image need to read through this dictionary to make sure they are not contributing to it. Among the most common and devastating to coaches’ reputation as intelligent people mistakes are the many malapropisms in the profession. Accodring to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, a malapropism is,

a ridiculous misuse of words, especially through confusion caused by resemblance in sound

like calling a “shovel” pass a “shuffle” pass or misspelling “sight” adjustment as “site” adjustment or “backpedal” as “back peddle.”

Just reading this list of definitions will go a long way toward turning a beginning coach into one who understands the game.

If you see an error in this dictionary. Please tell me what it is by sending an email to me at johnreed@johntreed.com. If there is a term that is missing that you think should be included, please tell me at the same email address.

I call this “American Football” because this is the World Wide Web and in most of the world the word “football” refers to what Americans call soccer.

American Football Terminology Dictionary

Use of hyphens— Hyphens are widely used in football terminology. Generally, when two words are used as a single adjective, you must hyphenate them. Examples include “one-yard line,” “go-ahead touchdown,” “third-quarter drive,” “seven-year career,” and “end-around play.” Also, hyphens are used for compound verbs like “double-team” or “triple-team.”

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0 technique definition When he was a high school coach, Bum Phillips invented a clever way of numbering the alignment of defensive linemen. Bear Bryant is often given credit for this incorrectly. How do I know this? Bear Bryant told me on page 29 of his book Building a Championship Football Team. I must add that many football coaches garble his system by assigning slightly different numbering, probably unknowingly. I will also add that there was a lot more to Bum Phillips’ system than just alignment numbering. He had the linebackers on each side call out numerical alignments for the defenders on their side before every play. Certain combinations were forbidden as unsound. Each change in the defensive line configuration required a complimentary change in the alignment of the linebackers behind them. The best explanation of the system is in Bryant’s above-mentioned book. I think it is cumbersome terminology. The word “technique” suggests a way of battling with an offensive lineman. But it’s just where the defender aligns in relation to the offensive linemen before the snap. Some coaches other than Phillips also add a zero to the number to indicate that it refers to the alignment of a linebacker. In most systems, a 0 technique would mean a nose tackle aligned nose-to-nose with a center. A 00 technique would mean a linebacker lined up nose-to-nose with the center, only several yards off the line of scrimmage. Because there are more than ten possible alignments, Phillips screwed up using numbers instead of letters. Had he used letters, every conceivable alignment could have been covered by a universal version of this way of identifying defensive line alignments. Since the letters A through D are already used for gap identification, I would identify the various shades starting with E and I suggest the following improved terminology:

Alpha = A gap
Bravo = B gap
Charlie = C gap
Delta = D gap (just outside shoulder of tight end
Echo = nose of center
Echo strong = strong shoulder of center
Echo weak =weak shoulder of center
Foxtrot = inside shoulder of guard
Golf = nose of guard
Hotel = outside shoulder of guard
India = inside shoulder of tackle
Juliet = nose of tackle
Kilo = outside shoulder of tackle
Lima = inside shoulder of tight end
Mike = nose of tight end
November = outside shoulder of tight end

I am using the phonetic alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie,…) instead of just the letters (a, b, c,…) for the same reason the military and others do: to prevent confusion between letters that sound similar like B and D.

I prefer the words “strong” and “weak” to “positive” and “negative” to designate strong or weak sides because of fewer syllables and because there is no need to invent additional words for strong and weak.

1 techniquedefinitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 1 technique was in the middle of the A gap. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology. For example, at Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA where I coached from 2003 to 2005, a 1 technique meant that the nose of the defensive lineman was on the inside shoulder of the offensive guard. Furthermore, the strong-side techniques were referred to as “positive” while the weak-side techniques were referred to as “negative.” For example, a positive 1 technique meant a defensive lineman who was aligned with his nose on the inside shoulder of the strong-side offensive guard.

2 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 2 technique was nose-to-nose with the offensive guard. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology. For example, some coaches refer to the strong-side techniques as “positive” while the weak-side techniques “negative.” See the discussion under 1 technique above.

3 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 3 technique was in the middle of the B gap. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology. For example, at Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA where I coached from 2003 to 2005, a 3 technique meant that the nose of the defensive lineman was on the outside shoulder of the offensive guard.definition

4 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 4 technique was nose-to-nose with the offensive tackle. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology. For example, at Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA where I coached from 2003 to 2005, a 4 technique meant that the nose of the defensive lineman was on the inside shoulder of the offensive tackle.definition

4i technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, there was no 4i, however many coaches wanted to align there so they invented the 4i terminology. A 4i technique usually means that the nose of the defensive lineman is aligned on the inside shoulder of the offensive tackle.definition

5 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 5 technique meant that the defensive lineman had his nose on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology. For example, at Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA where I coached from 2003 to 2005, a 5 technique meant that the defensive lineman was nose-to-nose with the offensive tackle.definition

6 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 6 technique was nose-to-nose with the offensive tight end. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology. For example, at Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA where I coached from 2003 to 2005, a 6 technique meant that the nose of the defensive lineman was on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle.definition

7 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 6 technique meant the defensive lineman had his nose on the inside shoulder of the offensive tight end. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology. For example, at Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA where I coached from 2003 to 2005, a 7 technique meant that the nose of the defensive lineman was on the outside shoulder of the offensive tight end.definition

8 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 8 technique meant that the defensive lineman was aligned on air outside the outside shoulder of the offensive tight end. Some coaches make slight, but important-to-understand, changes while seemingly using the same terminology.

9 routedefinitionIt varies from team to team. Generally, a 9 route would be a deep route because most teams number their routes from short to deep. But I cannot tell you whether the route would break inward or outward because some teams use odd numbers for inward-breaking and others use odd numbers for outward-breaking routes. The three most common deep routes would be a skinny post, a post-corner, and a go or streak. So it’s probably one of those. You cannot use such terms except within the context of one team where they have a prescribed route tree that specifies what their 9 route is. definition

9 technique definitionposition where defensive lineman is located before the snap. In the original Bum Phillips’ version (See definition of 0 technique above) of this terminology, a 9 technique meant that the defensive lineman has his nose on the outside shoulder of the offensive tight end.definition

10 technique definitionsame as 1 technique only at linebacker depthdefinition

20 technique definitionsame as 2 technique only at linebacker depthdefinition

30 technique definitionsame as 3 technique only at linebacker depthdefinition

40 technique definitionsame as 4 technique only at linebacker depth

46 defense definitiondefense designed by Buddy Ryan at the Chicago Bears and named after the jersey number of Doug Plank, generally it has more than the normal number of pass rushers and the pass defenders are in man pass coverage, there are a number of books available on how to run it, often mistakenly called a 4-6 defense

50 technique definitionsame as 5 technique only at linebacker depth

60 technique definitionsame as 6 technique only at linebacker depth

70 technique definitionsame as 7 technique only at linebacker depth

80 technique definitionsame as 8 technique only at linebacker depth

90 technique definitionsame as 9 technique only at linebacker depth

100% definitioneffort level demanded by coaches who majored in math or science

110% definitioneffort level demanded by coaches who majored in physical education

3-5-3 defense definitionhigh school and college defense videos and books on which have been heavily promoted in the 2000s; associated with New Mexico Military Academy

4-3 defense definitiontypically used in college or pro play, the name is roughly descriptive, for details get one of a number of books on the defense; at the pro level, whether to use the 4-3 or the other common pro defense, the 3-4, appears to be a function of whether the team has more defensive linemen-type players or more linebacker-type players

4-6 defense definitionmis-punctuation of the 46 defense also known as the Bear 46 defense; the defense was named after Chicago Bear Doug Plank’s jersey number, not the number of linemen and linebackers it has; This mistake is so widespread that Coaches Choice publishes a book by Leo Hand called 101 Bear 4-6 Stunts. There is no such thing as the Bear 4-6.

7-on-7 definitioncompetitive passing drill involving no interior linemen other than the center; features offensive team consisting of C, QB, and receivers versus defensive team of defensive backs and linebackers

A

A definition1. the gap between the center and offensive guard 2. the running back in a one-back offense.

Ace definitionone-back, balanced, offensive formation with two tight ends, two flankers, and one running back who is aligned behind the quarterback and center

Adjustment change in the approach of a team or player during a game as a result of less than satisfactory success with the original approach; also changing defensive alignment in response to offensive shifts or motions; the ability to make during-game adjustments is a must for all football coaches; many who do well in the first half but not the second are manifesting an inability to make appropriate adjustments definition

Against the grain definitionsuperfluous description of the direction a ball carrier goes when he cuts back to the opposite side from the side he was originally running toward as in, “he cut back against the grain”

Agilities definitionshort for agility drills; drills commonly used by position coaches during the 10- to 20-minute position-coach period at the beginning of most football practices; the theory behind them is that agility is a desirable football skill and agility drills make players more agile; I do not believe the drills make players better at football to any significant degree; rather, they make the players better at doing the agility drill in question; I would appreciate hearing about any scientific study that proves any football agility drill pays a game-day dividend worth the practice time it takes; I suspect the real reasons for the widespread use of agility drills are they fill practice time and look footballish, that’s the way it’s always been done, the logic that agility drills increase agility seems correct, a number of companies make and/or sell products for agility drills and therefore have financial incentive to encourage belief in their efficacy, many coaches are afraid to deviate from football group norms because it increases the probability they will be blamed for losses; doing the same as every other coach enables coaches to subtly blame the players for losses, e.g. “someone needed to make a play but no one did;” I believe that agilities should never be used and that the practice time saved is far better spent on learning assignments, blocking techniques, practicing reading defenders and throwing passes, option reads, and so forth; carioca is an agility drill, as are running through tires (now ropes or a ladder), running around large hoops on the ground, etc.; may be the best you can do at the college level in the off-season when more productive activities are prohibited by rule

Air definitiona vacant area of the football field. For example, if a cornerback remains aligned out wide from an offensive formation even though there is no offensive player there, he is said to be aligned “on air.” Except for a wide-side defensive contain man aligning on air to improve his chances of stopping the sweep play, aligning on air is generally incorrect and unsound; it is sometimes appropriate to practice only against air; e.g., Oregon found they could not practice their vaunted screen plays against their own scout defense because they got too good at reading the play early; my 1996 Granada High School team had the same experience with our inside-trap plays

Alley definitionarea between the cornerback and the box and safety definition

Alley oop definitionhigh trajectory pass to a receiver who can out-jump defenders; originated by Niners quarterback Y.A.Title throwing to receiver R.C. Owens

Alligator arms definition same as T-rex arms

Arc block definitionrunning-back inward block on a defensive contain man or linebacker; the word “arc” refers to the blocker taking a somewhat circuitous route to the blocking target, that is, he initially moves outward then comes back in to make the block; the running back’s path to the block is roughly a half circle; such a path often causes the defender being blocked to conclude prematurely that the running back does not plan to block him

Area blocking definitionoffensive blocking scheme in which blockers are assigned to block whomever comes into a particular area of the field; not synonymous with zone blocking which is a particular scheme defined below, although many coaches confusingly still use “area” and “zone” interchangeably; a blocking scheme in which blockers are assigned to protect an area of the field instead of being assigned to block a particular defender (man blocking); area blocking is common in wall kick returns and pass protection; I recommend an area-blocking scheme I call wall blocking for most youth football plays because most youth linemen are unathletic kids who will quit all sports by age 13 and area blocking with small splits is about all they can be expected to succeed at

Arrow definitionoutward pass route along a path about 30 degrees from the line of scrimmage

AstroPlay definitionnew artificial turf laid over a drainage area; has long blades of “grass” that are surrounded by sand or rubber particles that simulate dirt only without the mud or lack of drainage; eliminates the complaints about earlier Astroturf; only problems I have seen are that players sometimes slip when cutting off their inside foot and surface is hot on warm, sunny days; may be cost effective replacement for natural grass because of lack of watering, painting lines, mowing, reseeding, 24/7 availability, vast superiority to natural grass when wet; has some maintenance like need to repaint hash marks (yard lines and numbers are embroidered using “grass” blades made of white plastic), repair tears, refill with sand or rubber particles periodically; this type of synthetic surface is the rule in new installations in the Twenty-First Century; in 2005, for the first time, every game, home and away, our high school team played was on this type of field

AstroTurf definitionan artificial grass invented in 1966 for the Astro Dome which could not grow natural grass because it was indoors; a plastic carpet laid over a mat and asphalt base; very hard and therefore fast but caused burns on the skin of players when they slid on it; originally product of Monsanto Corp.; now owned by AstroTurf Industries, Inc., widely used from the late sixties through the nineties; still covers many football fields around the U.S.; generally replaced by Astro Play and FieldTurf in new installations in the Twenty-First Century

Athleticism definitionathletic ability, but it’s a dumb word; the suffix “ism” generally refers to a belief system like atheism or Communism, a condition like alcoholism, or a behavior pattern like heroism or colonialism; all three of these categories of “isms” involve behavioral choices made by a person or group of people; none refer to natural ability or any other inherent characteristics; there is no word where the suffix “ism” means “ability” or an extraordinary presence of its root prefix, in this case, the word “athlete;” what the guy who coined the word athleticism was searching for was “athleticity;” “icity“ or “ity” are suffixes designed to convert an adjective into a noun like “ethnic” to “ethnicity” or “elastic” to “elasticity;” not that I’m pushing for the word “athleticity;” like “athleticism,” it has five syllables; I recommend we stick with “athletic ability” in spite of its seven-syllable length, although I would welcome an intelligent, shorter word for it; for those who claim football people are illiterate morons, the use of the word “athleticism” is further evidence they might be right

Audible definitionverbal play called by a quarterback at the line of scrimmage before the snap; the call is made in order to take advantage of a weakness sighted in the defense or to get out of a previously-called play that is contraindicated by the pre-snap defensive alignment; most teams that use audibles also have their quarterback call dummy audibles that mean nothing in order to prevent the defense from being able to tell when an audible is being called; can take as long as seven seconds which has clock-management implications (see my book Football Clock Management for far more detail)

Awsonimity definitionword invented by Leo Hand, author of Attacking Football Defenses With Radar Blocking to describe the period between the end of one play and the snap for the next; actually he defines is as the time between breaking the huddle and the snap but since there is not always a huddle but there is always awsonimity, I am modifying his definition; Hand feels this is an extremely important and difficult time for the defense if the offense takes advantage of it and gives the defense as little time as possible to see what formation they will be in; he also feels, and I agree, that offenses fail egregiously to take advantage of their control over this time period

B

B definition1. the gap between the offensive guard and tackle 2. letter used to designate linebacker in a diagram of a defense

Back numbers definitionnumbers one to five to designate running backs; most commonly, 1 is the quarterback, 2 is the tailback, and 3 is the fullback; on some teams, 4 and 5 are used to designate different alignment locations for the fullback or a fourth back; e.g., 3 might mean back directly behind the quarterback; 4, offset behind the left tackle; and 5, offset behind the right tackle; in some systems, 5 is the QB; in some, the offset numbers refer to strong or weak sides rather than left or right; a common play-naming system would number the running backs from 1 to 5 and attach the hole number to complete the play, e.g., 26 would be the 2 back (tailback) going through the 6 hole (right side off tackle)

Backpedal definitionrunning backward; correct technique requires keeping shoulders over the toes and pumping arms as when running forward; used by defensive backs and linebackers in initial steps of pass coverage at many teams; correct technique facilitates changing direction quickly; leaning backwards is faster but unsound because it only allows very slow changes of direction; stopwatch timing of backpedaling requires that coaches make sure that the backpedalers are not leaning backward in order to gain speed at the expense of acquiring the unacceptable bad habit of leaning backward

Backpeddle definitionmisspelling of backpedal

Back side definitionthe side of the center away from which the ball carrier is going; also called “off” side

Bail definitionmovement in which a pass defender aligns as if to bump a receiver than quickly drops back when the snap occurs

Balance definitionball carrier ability to resist getting knocked down when hit by a would-be tackler

Balanced line definitionan offensive line with a guard and tackle on each side of the center

Ball control definitionplay calling designed to get a first down rather than a bigger gain

Banjo definitionpass-defense technique; definition fuzzy; seems to relate to two defenders covering two defenders according to a pre-arranged rule like, “I have whichever one who goes out, you get the one who goes in;” Tom Bass says it is when two defenders cover one receiver and divide the coverage between in and out or short and deep; may be used to deal with two receivers who come off the line close together then one breaks in and the other out crossing paths to hinder straight man coverage; having both such receivers break in or out tends to screw up the banjo plan

Base block definitionoffensive line block in which the blocker pushes the nearest defender away from the point of attack; normally used in bubble dive, bubble lead, and power plays where the C gap is not occupied by a defender

Base defense definitiondefensive alignment used most often by a team; may also have a personnel dimension to it; often used when the offense has 1st & 10; their “default” defense when they are not sure what to do; other defenses are typically defined by the coach in question as modifications of the base defense; an offense that operates at a hurry-up tempo typically hears the opposing coaches and linebackers yelling “Base! Base!” because they do not have time to call a different defense between plays

Bear defense definitionsee 46 defense

Belly definitionnoun: another football term that has come to mean different things namely an option play or an inside zone play; in Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packer offense, it was a fake fullback dive right, halfback dive left with the halfback taking a jab step to the right before running to the left A or B gap bubble depending upon the movement of the defensive tackle; the left guard was to use Lombardi’s whichever-way-he-wants-to-go blocking technique on the defensive tackle and the halfback ball carrier was to read that block and “run to daylight;” verb: to run a path that goes slightly backward and away from the line of scrimmage before coming back toward the line of scrimmage as in a swing pass route

Bench route definitionsee flat

Bend-don’t-break defense definitiona defensive alignment and personnel group that is optimized to stop long plays and weaker against short runs and passes; the theory behind this is that while it is theoretically possible for an offense to four-yard a defense to death, few offenses can remain mistake-free during such a short-play drive and will be forced to punt as a result of their own penalties or occasional loss or inadequate-gain plays; in fact, offensive coaches can minimize penalties and loss or inadequate-gain plays by the way they design their plays (avoid deep plays like reverses), play calling (avoid passes), and simplification like always snapping on one, a tactic used by Auburn coach Terry Bowden in his undefeated season there; against such an offense, the bend-don’t-break defensive strategy is slow suicide

Big-on-big definitionmatchup principle applied to offensive blocking schemes and defensive assignments; basic idea is that only bigger players should have to grapple with the opponent’s bigger players; e.g., offensive linemen block defensive linemen or linebackers cover tight ends; also abbreviated as BOB; usually used in conjunction with fast-on-fast or FOF

Bill definitionname used by some coaches for weakside linebacker

Blind side definitiona) quarterback’s non-throwing-arm side; when set to pass, he faces the sideline on his passing-arm side and has his back to the other side preventing him from seeing a rusher coming from that direction; in the NFL, the offensive tackle who plays on a quarterback’s blind side is considered extra important during pass plays; b) any hit that comes from an area not being looked at by the player being hit

Blitz definitionnow means rushing across the line of scrimmage immediately after the snap by a defender other than the defensive line; originally “blitz” and “red dog” or “dog” had similar but different meanings; blitz referred to a rush by a defensive back and dog to a rush by a linebacker; author-coach Gaylord Bellamy said a blitz was a seven-man rush while a dog was a six-man rush (a seven-man rush is unsound because there are not enough defenders left to cover all the zones or all the eligible receivers—unless the man to be covered by the defender in question remains in the offensive backfield blocking in which case the defender might as well join him, but he’d better not forget he still has to cover that receiver if he goes out for a pass) George Allen used the two terms interchangeably; Tom Flores defines dog or red dog as a rush by a linebacker, but he defines a blitz as a rush by either a defensive back or a linebacker; too many coaches see their propensity to blitz as proof of manhood; in fact, it is a tactic that is necessary when your base defense linemen cannot get adequate pressure on the quarterback; if your defensive line can get adequate pressure in the quarterback, blitzing is an unnecessary, limiting, and unwise complication for your defenders

Bomb definitiondeep pass

Boot definitionshort for bootleg; also short for counter boot, a play in which the offense fakes a counter play followed by the quarterback rolling out away from the play fake and throwing a pass; typically, the pass pattern includes a tight end or fullback who blocks the boot side contain defender for one or two counts before running a flat pass route (delayed release)

Bootleg definitionroll out by a quarterback who is pretending he does not have the football; so called because some coaches taught their quarterbacks to hold the ball with one hand on the back of their hip or thigh to conceal it from the defense

Bounce definitiona) movement by a ball carrier who finds his original planned point of attack clogged and changes direction to attack a new point of attack b) now disfavored warm-up movement, although you would never know it when you see virtually every football team on earth do jumping jacks as part of their warm-up

Boundary definitionthe side of the offensive formation where the distance from the ball (before the snap) to the sideline is shortest, as in “the X will always align to the boundary when we are in this formation;” also known as the short side

Box definitionnoun: an area on the defensive side of the ball that is generally bounded horizontally by the interior offensive line and vertically to a depth of about five yards from the line of scrimmage; archaic use meant the back four players in the old seven-box defense. In that defense, there were seven defensive linemen and four guys behind them arrayed in the shape of a box, that is, two guys shallow and two deep; verb: a technique in which a defensive contain man proceeds straight to the depth of the ball carrier in the offensive backfield then turns inward to face that ball carrier and/or his lead blockers; if the defender in question does not make the mistake of giving ground or being blocked out of the box position, it is all but impossible to run a sweep successfully against this technique. Use of the box technique prevents the contain man from helping with the off-tackle play so another player must defend that play. Generally, a coach would only use the box technique on the wide or field side of the offensive formation. In youth football, the wide-side sweep is generally the main play of the best teams. For details on using the boxing technique at that level, see my Gap-Air-Mirror Defense for Youth Football

Broken I definitionsame as offset I formation

Brush block definitionblock in which the blocker just brushes against the defender as he passes by him; sufficient when the ball carrier is moving at a high rate of speed just behind and off to the other side of the blocker; I had the fullback use a brush block against the linebacker in 26 power because I found that was all we needed, plus a harder block by the fullback tended to make the fullback shoot his foot backwards to brace himself and that he often tripped the tailback in the process

Bubble definitionportion of the defensive line where there is no defensive lineman; typically the gap in question is the responsibility of a linebacker who is two or more yards behind that location; best point of attack for dive, lead, or power plays

Bubble screen definitionscreen-pass play in which an offensive player initially aligned in the offensive backfield, including a wing or a tight end, immediately runs outward while a screen of blockers is formed by wider receivers

Buck definitionold-time word for a running back running straight into the line; now called a dive play

Bucket step definitionfirst step of an offensive lineman or back in which he steps at about 4 o’clock or 7 o’clock; purpose is to begin moving toward the sideline; backward angle is to clear away from an adjacent player in the case of a lineman or for timing purposes in the case of a back, same as kick step

Buck lateral definitiona series of plays within the single wing offense; buck lateral plays involve the upback or blocking back executing an about face when the ball is snapped then receiving a handoff from the original ball carrier as that player fakes diving into the line; the blocking back who now has the ball can lateral to another back, pass, or run the ball to a point of attack other than the hole to which the original ball carrier went; very deceptive; when my readers and I have run buck lateral plays the ball carrier was often well downfield before the defense, officials, or cameraman had any idea who had the ball; Princeton coach Charlie Caldwell was the one most identified with the buck-lateral series, but almost all single wing coaches run it; there are a couple of buck lateral plays in my Single-Wing Offense for Youth Football

Bull definitionto put the bottom of the back of the helmet against or near the back of the neck opening of the shoulder pads as in “bull the neck;” extremely important positioning to prevent serious neck injury during a collision

Bump definitionpass coverage technique in which the defender aligns on the inside shoulder of the receiver and immediately strikes him when he first moves; designed to prevent or delay the release of the receiver on a pass route; all called press, tight coverage, or bump and run

Bump and run definitionsame as bump

Bunch definitiontightly-aligned group of two or three offensive quick receivers, typically used to run a screen to the backmost of the group of receivers or to run a rub pattern or illegal pick play; receivers coming out of the bunch generally cross paths to make it harder for the defenders to maintain man coverage

C

C definition1. the gap between the offensive tackle and tight end 2. letter used to designate a cornerback in a diagram of a defense 3. letter used to designate a coach in a diagram of a practice segment 4. abbreviation for center

Cadence definitionthe words and numbers spoken by the quarterback after the offense is set and the rhythm in which those words and numbers are said

Call outspre-game activity in which the coach calls out the offense, defense, and each special team to make sure each player assigned to that team knows he is on it. If the coach has other personnel groups like third-and-short offense or nickel defense, he also calls out those teams.definition

Capital I formation definitionI formation with all four backs aligned one behind the other behind the center; made famous by the University of Maryland; very powerful inside running formation; also called the “full-house I”

Carioca definitiona variety of South American dance that originated in Rio De Janeiro; in football, refers to a sideways movement in which the player holds his arms out sideways away from his body like a referee’s unsportsmanlike-conduct signal; in the movement, the player steps first with, say, his right leg in front of his left, then the next time he steps with his right foot he steps behind his left foot; this is one of the favorite, most widely used agility dills in all of football, which is quite odd when you consider that any football player who ever crosses his legs in this fashion in a practice or game would immediately be severely reprimanded by his coach; if there were a Hall of Fame of Dumb Football Drills, the statute out front would be of a player doing carioca; often mispronounced as karaoke since that fad became popular

The Catch definition“sprint right option pass” from Niners quarterback Joe Montana to Dwight Clark for the game-winning touchdown against Dallas in the NFC championship game on 1/10/82; generally considered the moment the world, including the 49ers themselves, realized that the previously hapless Niners were suddenly a force to contend with; the Niners went on to win their first Super Bowl that season and won four more becoming the NFL “Team of the 1980s;” a diagram of the play drawn and signed by then Niners coach Bill Walsh at a clinic I attended hangs on my office wall; I watched that game on TV at a college classmate’s house in San Francisco; our wives were uninterested as usual; but as the final drive unfolded, we suggested that even though they were not fans that they might want to watch this; when The Catch occurred, all four of us leaped into the air cheering; scaring the heck out of our six-month-old son Dan who started crying; he later was Ken Dorsey’s classmate and running back at Miramonte High School; Dorsey was a quarterback of the Niners after he graduated from Miami

Chains definition10-yard long chain connected to a pole at each end signifying the starting point of a series and the line to gain for a first down, held by a “chain gang” which also includes a person who holds a pole with the numbers one through four to inform everyone what down it is; the phrase “moving the chains” means gaining first downs

Cheat definitionabnormal alignment closer to where the player plans or expects to go; this is often a tipoff of a particular play when the offense does it or a particular stunt or pass coverage when a defender does it; may be authorized by the coach or unathorized cowboy behavior by the player

Check release definitionsame as check route

Check route definitiona running-back pass route that is run only after checking to make sure the back’s pass-blocking responsibility is not blitzing

Check with me definitionoffensive play call made by a quarterback in a huddle; either means the play will be called at the line of scrimmage or the quarterback gives two plays in the huddle then announces which one he wants to run at the line of scrimmage once he sees the defensive alignment and personnel; e.g., “26 power and 25 power” is said in the huddle, then the quarterback says “odd” or “even” at the line of scrimmage once he sees which one is likely to work best; odd signifies 25 power in this case; even, 26 power

Chip definitionsimilar to brush block only with more force and slightly more duration

Choice route definitionpass route in which the receiver decides whether to break north, south, east, or west depending upon the initial movement of the defender closest to him; as a result of much practice, the quarterback sees the same defender movement and anticipates correctly which way the receiver will break and throws to him; also called sight adjustment

Chop block definitionillegal double-team block in which one offensive player blocks the defender high and the other, low; see rule books for details

Chuck definitionmomentary hit designed to temporarily delay a player from going where he wants to go

Class definitiona compliment automatically awarded to a coach who has his team take a knee at the end of a game when they are deep in opponent territory and they are ahead by two touchdowns or more; compliance with coach etiquette which generally only has one tenet: “Thou shalt not run up the score.” not universally agreed to; many coaches believe that putting in reserves when a game is no longer in doubt is sufficient; they allow the reserves to compete fully

Clear definitionto run a pass route through an area in order to empty that area of defenders

Clearing route definitiona pass route that is designed to clear an area of the defense

Clip zone definitionpoorly-chosen phrase for free blocking zone

Cloud definitionzone pass coverage in which cornerbacks cover passes to the flat; both cornerback and cloud start with the letter C; opposite of “sky” coverage, also called “invert”

Combo block definitionSame as tandem block

Coffin-corner kick definitiona punt aimed at the sideline inside the opponent’s ten-yard line; formerly standard practice; lately largely replaced by the pooch kick

Collision sport definitiona sport in which opposing players deliberately collide with each other routinely and do not break the rules by doing so; e.g., football, ice hockey

Comeback definitionpass route in which the receiver breaks back toward the line of scrimmage, usually to the outside

Competitive drill definitiondrill in which opposing players try to defeat each other; fun for the players; can be done almost forever without boring the players as opposed to non-competitive drills which generally must be limited to five to fifteen minutes or players will get bored and start to misbehave; good for testing who is best; good for teaching aggressiveness to unaggressive beginners; unsatisfactory for teaching good form or mechanics; unsatisfactory for not-yet-mastered skills; good for firing up the players; typically accompanied by cheering by the players waiting their turn in the drill; hazardous injurywise

Contact sport definitiona sport in which opposing players incidentally come in contact with each other; generally, deliberate contact with opposing players is discouraged or prohibited by the rules of contact sports; e.g., basketball, baseball, soccer are contact sports; football is not a contact sport; it is a collision sport

Contain definitioneach side of all defenses has a player assigned contain responsibilities; that means he is not to allow a blocker or ball carrier from the inside to get outside of him; generally done by a lineman in a two-point stance at the youth or high school level; by a linebacker or defensive back at higher levels

Contain rush definitionoutside-in pass rush by a contain man to prevent the quarterback from scrambling or dashing out to his side; that is, contain pass rusher must take a slightly circuitous route to the passer so he comes in from the side, not from the passer’s front ; all sound defenses have a player on each side who is assigned this responsibility

Corner definitionpass route in which the receiver runs an eight- to twelve-yard stem, then cuts outward at a 45-degree angle toward the back corner of the end zone; previously called a “flag” route

Cornerback definitiondefensive back who covers pass zones on the outer edges of the field or who covers quick receivers who align at the outer edge of the offensive formation, in some defenses, a corner from one side will go over to the other side and cover a slot back

Corner over definitiona defensive-alignment rule which has a cornerback go to the other side of the field to cover a slot receiver when there is no wide receiver on his side of the field.

Cover 0 definitionpass defense in which all pass defenders are in man coverage; required when six defenders are rushing

Cover 1 definitionpass defense in which all pass defenders but one are in man coverage; the one not in man coverage is usually a free safety who plays a zone defense in which his zone is the entire field; required when five defenders are rushing; also called “man free” or “man under”

Cover 2 definitionzone pass defense with two deep safeties who are responsible for the two deep halves of the field

Cover 3 definitionzone pass defense where the field is divided into three deep zones which are covered by the free safety (middle) and two corners (sides)

Cover 4 definitionzone pass defense where the field is divided into four deep zones which are covered by the two safeties (middle) and two corners (sides); more often called “quarters” or occasionally, by idiots, “quarter, quarter, quarter, quarter.”

Cover 5 definitionsame as nickel defense

Coverage definitioneither the defensive backs and linebackers or the scheme in which they are utilized

Coverage recognition definitionoffensive drill in which the receivers and quarterbacks practice recognizing the pass coverages (i.e., man, zone, or combination) of the defense and adjusting appropriately to them

Counter definitionoffensive misdirection play involving several steps by the ball carrier and possibly other backs away from the actual point of attack, before he changes direction to go toward the actual point of attack, often involves a pulling lineman who executes a trap block; usually attacks the C gap; the counter trey is one of the most famous plays of this type; it is most closely associated with Redskins coach Joe Gibbs

Cowboy definitionselfish player who ignores assigned responsibilities and goes where he thinks is more personally desirable during a play; on defense, such players always blitz to where they think they are most likely to get a sack or run to where they believe they may get an interception or tackle regardless of instruction to the contrary; can be detected in film by seeing if those who get sacks or tackles or assists far from their starting position first discharged their assigned defensive responsibilities before making a bee line toward the ball carrier or pass; on offense, this behavior generally manifests itself in the form of quarterbacks and receivers who run bombs instead of the called play or in the form of backs who go out for a pass without first making sure their assigned man is not blitzing and tight ends who refuse to block for the required period of time before running a delayed-release pass route; although I complained above about coaches who invent their own words and phrases for standard football terms, this is my own invention; I offer it here because there is no existing term in football coaching for the condition and one is sorely needed because inability to articulate the condition leads to its being chronically undiagnosed which is bad for all concerned including the afflicted player who should be spending his weekday afternoons and game nights on activities to which he is better suited; “track stars” and “cowboys” are the inspiration for the oft-heard coaching saying, “Your potential is gonna get me fired.”

Crab definitionblocking technique in which the blocker gets down on all fours and shoves the defender sideways with his ribs by shuffling all four limbs in that direction; only legal in the free-blocking zone

Crackback block definitioninward block by an offensive player who initially aligned out wide on a defender who initially lined up in the box, illegal if below the waist; the blocker must take care to avoid blocking the defender in the back; sometimes, the blocker can get the defender to face him by yelling “Hey!” just before he arrives

Crash definitionincorrect path by a defensive contain man who charges into the offensive backfield at a 45-degree angle; generally means the defender assumes the play is a pass and wants to get a sack; unsound because the contain man is generally required to contain rush on a pass play to prevent a successful scramble or dash pass and he is required to maintain an outside position in the case of a sweep or a tight-to-the-C-Gap-at-the-LOS position in the case of an off-tackle play; when the defender knows better, this is selfish, undisciplined play; offenses should look for this mistake and exploit it

Cross definitionpass route at about eight yards depth and parallel to the line of scrimmage

Cross block definitiontwo-person block in which the outer offensive lineman blocks inward on the first defensive lineman to his inside while the inner offensive lineman next to him allows the outer offensive lineman to pass, then blocks outward on the first defensive lineman to his outside; the outer offensive lineman always goes first because he is blocking the innermost and therefore most-dangerous-to-the-early-phase-of-the-play defensive lineman; typically used to block at the point of attack in a strong-side power play or a weak-side B gap lead play

Crossover step definitiona lateral step in which the player steps with the foot away from the direction he is going; sometimes used by offensive backs for maximum distance and speed on their first step or to begin a sequence of steps which requires them to cut a particular direction on a particular step, e.g., in the single-wing off-tackle play, the ball carrier might open step, crossover step, then open step again so that he can cut upfield on the third step to the off-tackle hole; opposite of open step; not recommended for players who are near opposing players or for linebackers reacting to flow

Crowd the ball definitionalignment by a lineman as close as possible to the near tip of the football before the snap

Crown definitionelevated center of football fields other than those using modern FieldTurf or Astro Play; If you squat down low, the crown obscures the feet of the players and coaches on the far sideline; needed to promote drainage away from the area between the hash marks, unnecessary in FieldTurf or AstroPlay because those fields have excellent drainage and are totally flat

Curl definitiondeeper version of a hook

Cushion definitionvertical distance between the receiver and the defender who is covering him; a tight cushion indicates that a fade route or other deep route has an increased probability of success; a large cushion suggests a hitch, comeback, or slant would work

Cutback definitionchange of direction by ball carrier when he goes to one side of the center then changes direction heading toward the other side of the center; in some plays that get linebackers moving fast toward initial flow of the offensive backfield like the double wing super power off-tackle play and the inside zone play, a cutback is probable; wide-pursuit assignments must include at least one defender who is responsible for stopping a cutback; the word is often accompanied by the superfluous phrase “against the grain”

Cut block definitionshoulder or cross body block aimed at the knees or lower part of the defender’s body; allowed only by interior linemen against defensive linemen under high-school rules; such a block in the free blocking zone must occur only at the outset of a play; in college and pro rules, backs may also throw head-on cut blocks against defenders coming into the offensive backfield; see the rule books of each level for details; often used by blockers who are significantly smaller than the guy they are trying to block; also used by blockers have no other hope of making the block because of their position at some distance from the defender to be blocked; many in football self-righteously denounce the cut block as unethical; they need to send a letter to the various committees that set the rules and to the various coaches associations to get the rule that allows cut blocks changed and to add prohibition against cut blocks into the various association codes of ethics; until they do, it is a legal, ethical block that is the best block for the situations listed above

Cut off definitioninward block on a defender farther away from the blocker than a normal blocking target; blocker seeks only to prevent penetration of the line of scrimmage by the defender

Cycle definitiondirect-snap-offense term; a cycle is a back in the backfield to whom the long snapper could snap the ball; typically there would be two or three backs within the long snapper’s vision and range; in the typical tight-punt formation, there are four cycles because the long snapper could snap to either of the two upbacks, to the personal protector, and to the punter; the more cycles, the harder it is for the defense to figure out who received the snap; in the common quarterback-under-center, indirect-snap offense, there is only one cycle; that is, the quarterback initially gets the snap; about the only multiple-cycle offenses seen today are the occasional shotgun where the center snaps to a running back who is standing next to the quarterback or a fake-punt play in which the ball is snapped to the personal protector instead of the punter; a multiple-cycle formation and willingness to use it as such is a powerful and, nowadays, rarely-used deception tool for offensive coordinators

D

D definitionthe gap outside the tight end; also short for “defense” as in “D line” or “D coordinator”

Dancing definitionimproper ball-carrier technique in which the ball carrier rapidly moves his feet in place when he encounters defensive players

Dash definitionpass play in which the quarterback drops straight back as if to pass, then suddenly sprints out to one side; looks like an impromptu scramble but it is premeditated

Daylight definitionan opening in the defense through which a ball carrier can run

Decoy definitionplayer who carries out a fake running play or who runs a pass route knowing that no pass will be thrown to him on the play

Defense recognition definitionset of blocking rules that say, for example, “you block the off-tackle play this way against a 4-4 defense and this was against a 5-3 defense;” useless if the defense aligns in an unanticipated defense

Defensive back definitiondefender whose primary responsibility is defending against passes to deep or wide zones or passes to quick receivers, typically safeties and cornerbacks

Delayed release definitiondeparture of a pass receiver on a pass route after blocking, typically for a one-or two-count; purpose is to get the defender responsible for covering the receiver or zone in question to conclude the receiver is not going to run a pass route on this play and abandon covering him or the zone in which the route will take place; counterintuitive; receivers generally need to be admonished and/or punished repeatedly to get them to wait the required amount of time before releasing; generally important part of a counter boot play

Diamond definitionold defensive formation the full name of which was seven-diamond. It had seven defensive linemen and four guys behind them arrayed in the shape of a diamond, that is, one guy shallow, two guys at medium depth and one guy deep; unsound

Dig definitionshallow or intermediate depth cross route

Direct snap definitionsnap of the football in which the ball goes to a running back instead of first going to a quarterback, typical of the single wing (See my book Single-Wing Offense for Youth Football), short punt, punt, field goal, and direct-snap version of the double-wing formation

Dime back definitiondefensive back substituted into a game in a passing situation to replace a linebacker thereby resulting in a defense with six rather than the five defensive backs of a nickel package; mostly a college or pro term

Dime package definitionthe whole defense when a dime back has been substituted for a linebacker thereby bringing the total number of defensive backs on the field to six

Direct snap definitionoffensive formation in which the center or long snapper snaps the ball directly to a running back rather than to a quarterback who subsequently gives it to a running back; common direct-snap formations include punt, field goal, single wing, short punt; the shotgun can be a direct snap formation if the center snaps the ball to a non-quarterback

Disguise definitioneffort by defense to prevent the offense from recognizing which type of pass coverage they are using

Dive definitionquick-hitting offensive play in which a running back ball carrier goes straight through an A or B gap with no lead blocker; a great many teams use dive right as their first play of the game apparently on the theory that it is the simplest play and will allow the team to settle down before running more complex plays; should be aimed at a bubble in the defense

Double coverage definitionpass coverage in which two pass defenders cover one receiver

Double slot definitionone-back, balanced, offensive formation with no tight ends, two split ends, two slot backs, and a single running back aligned behind the quarterback and center; can screw up modern defenses that are used to and designed for a pro set

Double team definitionblock or pass coverage of one guy by two guys; the double-team block requires a particular technique, not just the addition of a second guy

Double wing definitionbalanced offensive formation with two wingbacks and one running back behind the quarterback and center; there are both direct- and indirect-snap versions of this offense; plays are usually preceded by one of the wing backs going in motion backward and inward; line splits are usually zero; the fullback is generally as close as possible to the quarterback; made famous by coach Don Markham in California and Oregon, coach-writer Hugh Wyatt, and coach-writer Jerry Vallotton; tends to screw up modern defenses that are used to and designed for a pro set

Double zone definitiona reader asked me to add this; neither I nor my son has ever heard of it; if anyone knows, a little help, please

Down block definitioninward block by an offensive lineman or wing

Down by contact definitionNFL Rule 7-4-1 e that says a ball carrier who touched the ground with other than his feet or hands is tackled if he was touched by an opposing player and that touch caused him to go down; in the NFL only, if the ball carrier fell down of his own accord, he can get up and resume running; in high school or college, the play is over when a ball carrier touches the ground with anything other than his hands or feet regardless of whether a defender was involved; this is also true in the NFL when a quarterback deliberately kneels to avoid contact (NFL Rule 7-4-1 b) or when any ball carrier slides feet first (NFL Rule 7-4-1 c)

Downfield definitionaway from the line of scrimmage on the defense side; means the same as “upfield;” there is no comparable word for different depths on the offense’s side of the line of scrimmage

Downfield blocking definitionblocking more than about four yards beyond the line of scrimmage; can be done by any position, but is most often associated with receivers; long runs are typically the result of effective downfield blocking; since many players are selfish, the amount of downfield blocking a team does reflects its head coach’s ability to spot the lack of it and his ability to motivate and discipline his players to do it consistently; one observer of Knute Rockne’s legendary Notre Dame teams said that excellent downfield blocking was what distinguished them; Princeton alum and later coach Charlie Caldwell said he and his teammates felt like they had had Saturday off after playing Notre Dame when their backfield was the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because Notre Dame players were excellent at getting in your way such that you could not make the tackle, but that there was little or no contact in such “blocks;” generally, only downfield blocks are susceptible to such precise timing, the no-longer-used phrase “running interference” refers to such non-contact, but highly effective, tackle prevention positioning and timing

Downhill definitionanother of those maddeningly vague and devoid-of-logic football coach terms that seems to have some sort of meaning along the lines of “good,” like “leverage;” may mean the same as “north-south,” that is, perpendicular to the yard lines, when used by some coaches

Drag definitionshallow pass route in front of and across the middle of the offensive formation; often combined with a delayed release by the receiver

Draw definitionrunning play in which a quarterback drops back as if to pass then suddenly gives the ball to a running back standing next to him or runs with it himself; path of the run is up the middle; if a fake run followed by a pass is a “play-action pass” then the draw could be called a “pass-action play”

Drive definitionoffensive possession

Drive block definitionone offensive player trying to push one defensive player away from the offensive point of attack; done with the shoulder in the old days and with the hands since the rules were changed to allow that

Drop definitionquarterback’s initial steps on a drop-back pass play; always an odd number; common drops are 1-step and 3-step at all levels and 5- at the high school and higher levels and 7- and 9 at the college and pro levels

Dummy audible definitionFake audible play call that has no meaning because the offensive players have been told to disregard certain audibles because the lack of a “hot” color word or other indication that the audible is to be ignored

E

E definitionletter used to designate a defensive end in a diagram of a defense

Eagle defense definitionOnly one thing is clear about the Eagle defense: it was invented by Philadelphia Eagles head coach Earle “Greasy” Neale in the 1940s. But the meaning of the word pretty much ends there.

The Pro Football Fan’s Companion says of the Eagle defense, “one or both defensive ends drop back into pass coverage, effectively turning it into a 4-3 or 3-4.”

But Tom Flores’ Violent chess match says it’s a “defensive alignment with the tackles outside of the offensive guards and the linebackers on the ends.”

Joe Thiesmann’s Complete Idiot’s Guide to Football says, “The eagle defense uses a linebacker on the inside of the tackle box and puts a lineman on the outside.” That’s three books with three different definitions. The Flores and Thiesmann versions sound similar, but are both a bit vague.

George Kraft’s Fundamentals of Coaching Football just has a diagram. It shows the defensive end outside a weakside (no tight end side) tackle and a linebacker lined up over the weak-side tackle. In Complete Linebacking, Lou Tepper defines it the same way.

Bill Arnsparger’s Coaching Defensive Football shows a diagram of an “eagle adjustment” with the defensive end outside the tight end and a linebacker lined up right in the tight end’s face.

A high-school coach once used the word “eagle” as a verb when he was talking to me. I said I was not sure what the term meant. He admitted he was unable to define it. In other words, he had been BSing me when he used it.

An article titled “Quarters” in the 12/05 American Football Monthly magazine described its defense as an Eagle. I thought the diagrams shown in the article were of a Monte Kiffin-Pete Carroll-Lyle Setenich reduced-front 50, cover-2 with the strong-side defensive tackle in what Bum Phillips would call a “5 technique.” That does not match anyone else’s definition of an Eagle defense. It is more like a modern version of Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma 5-4-2.

After looking it up in several books, I have a sense that the Eagle defense generally has something to do with shifting the defensive tackle or end outside the weak tackle or tight end and putting a linebacker over or on the weak tackle or tight end. Until the football coaching world gets more precise and consistent, the word “eagle” should be dropped.

East-west definitionparallel to the yard lines; toward the sidelines; ball carriers should generally avoid running east-west unless they are much faster than anyone on the defense which is rarely the case above the high school level; east-west running by ball carriers is generally considered to be cowardly and/or poor judgment in that such a direction rarely results in gaining yards and often results in a loss of yards from the point at which the ball carrier began to run toward the sideline

Edge definitionjust outside the EMLOS, also called the “perimeter”

Eight-man front definitiona defensive formation that has eight defenders in the box; typically a 4-4 or 5-3; the word “front” does not mean the line; it means both the line and the linebackers

Eligible receiver definitionoffensive player who is either the end man on the line of scrimmage or a back, that is, not on the line of scrimmage; eligible receiver position names include split end, tight end, tailback, quarterback, fullback, flanker, halfback, slot back; must wear a jersey number below 50 or above 79 by rule

EMLOS definitionabbreviation for “end man on the line of scrimmage;” can refer to either offense or defense

Empty definitionan offensive backfield with no running backs other than the quarterback behind the offensive interior line, also called “no back”

Encroachment definitionillegal advance by a defender into the neutral zone after the ready-to-play signal but before the snap; often called “off-sides” by non-officials; under high school rules, retreating out of the neutral zone before the snap does not negate the infraction; in college and pro rules, it does; see rules at each level for details; parents and fans at high school games often protest, “He got back” at officials who throw encroachment flags; it doesn’t matter at that level

End around definitiona somewhat old but still viable offensive play in which a wide receiver runs through the offensive backfield and gets a handoff; a famous but now rarely-seen version of this was the Statue of Liberty play in which the quarterback would drop and set up to pass, but the wide receiver would take the ball out of the quarterback’s hands as he went by; can be done out of a drop-back pass fake or a fake running play; the Statute of Liberty play is now disfavored because the wide receiver taking the ball from the quarterback’s poised-to-pass stance is more easily seen by the defense than a lower handoff

End line definitionthe line that is the border of the back of the end zone

Even definitiona) defense in which there is no nose which, in turn, means the number of defensive linemen will be an even number b) defensive front in which the number of defenders who would not cover a receiver in a man pass defense and who are in the box is the same on both sides of the center

Exchange definitionball moving from the quarterback to a running back or from one running back to another ball carrier; handoff or pitch

F

F definition1. fullback on an offense diagram 2. free safety in a defense diagram

Fade definitionpass route in which the receiver runs straight up field then fades or drifts out near the sideline while continuing to run full speed upfield; often used as an automatic play change when a defender aligns in tight bump-and-run or press man-to-man pass coverage position against a wide receiver

Fake field goal definitiona running or passing play that is run out of a field-goal formation in a field-goal situation

Fake punt definitiona running or passing play that is run out of a punt formation in a punt situation

False step definitionstep that gains no ground or which goes in the opposite direction from where the player is going; unbelievably common mistake; I once had a star tailback who hopped straight up in the air off both feet every time the ball was snapped; this was so time consuming that he was unable to lead block for a fullback ball carrier who was coming from his inside on a B gap lead play; I was totally unable to get him to stop; offensive linemen, wide receivers, and running backs often false step backwards or in place as their initial movement on the snap

Fan definitionpass protection scheme in which offensive linemen block defensive linemen and offensive backs block linebackers

Far definitiontypically an offensive player who is aligned on the other side of the center from the play side or from a particular defensive player; e.g., a linebacker typically keys on the near offensive back but directs his vision to the far back to check for a counter play if the near back flows to the other side of the center at the beginning of the play; can also be the name of a formation in which an offensive back is offset to the side away from the tight end

Fast-on-fast definitionmatchup principle applied to offensive blocking schemes and defensive assignments; basic idea is that only faster players should have to deal with the opponent’s faster players; e.g., wide receivers or backs block linebackers or corners and corners cover wide receivers; also abbreviated as FOF; usually used in conjunction with big-on-big or BOB

Field definitionthe side of the offensive formation where the distance from the ball (before the snap) to the sideline is greatest, as in “the X will always align to the field when we are in this formation” also known as the wide side

Field position definitionlocation of the ball in terms of distance to the goal line the team is trying to cross

FieldTurf definitionnew artificial turf laid over a drainage area; has long blades of “grass” that are surrounded by sand or rubber particles that simulate dirt only without the mud or lack of drainage; eliminates the complaints about earlier Astroturf; only problems I have seen are that players sometimes slip when cutting off their inside foot and surface is hot on warm, sunny days; may be cost effective replacement for natural grass because of lack of watering, painting lines, mowing, reseeding, 24/7 availability, vast superiority to natural glass when wet; has some maintenance like need to repaint hash marks (yard lines and numbers are embroidered using “grass” blades made of white plastic), repairs tears, refill with sand or rubber particles periodically; this type of synthetic surface is the rule in new installations in the Twenty-First Century; in 2005, for the first time, every game our high school team played was on this type of field

Fill definitiona) replacement of a pulling offensive lineman by a back so there is no hole in the offensive line b) movement by a linebacker or safety to fill a gap that opens in the defensive line during a play in the vicinity of the C or D gaps

Film definitionstill-in-use archaic word for visual recordings of practice or games; formerly accurate description of the medium used; now inaccurate because of universal use of videotape or digital video disks

Finish the run definitioncorrect ball-carrier technique in which a ball carrier who no longer has any daylight to which to run lowers his shoulder and explodes into defenders to gain a few more yards before he is tackled

Fire definitionnoun: code word that tells scrimmage-kick (punt or field goal) team players that there has been a bad snap or muffed snap; designated players then run pass routes so the ball carrier can pass to them; verb: defensive play call word for blitz as in “Mike fire” means to blitz the Mike linebacker

First sound definitiona snap count in which the offense is told to begin the play on the first sound made by the quarterback, whatever that sound is; often used in short-yardage situations; often tipped off by the quarterback delaying the start of his cadence until he has his hands under the center and everyone is set where the quarterback in question has not been doing that previously in the game

Five-yard rule definitionNFL-only Rule 12-1-4 that prohibits pass defenders from hitting a receiver once he has gone five yards downfield

Flag route definitionpass route now called a corner route, the original name stems from the fact that the corners of the end zone were marked by springs that had a flag on them; these have been replaced by day-glo pylons for safety reasons; the name of the route could have been changed to “pylon route”

Flanked definitioninside of, as in, “you got flanked by the slot back;” a mistake for certain defenders who are not allowed to let offensive blockers get to their outside

Flanker definitiona wide receiver who aligns one yard off the line of scrimmage on the strong side of the offensive formation, because he is off the line; he is permitted to go in pre-snap motion; can be facing any direction at the snap

Flat definitionpassing zone outside the weak tackle or tight end stretching to the sideline and about eight yards deep from the line of scrimmage into the defense’s territory; a flat pass route is also called a bench route

Flea flicker definitionambiguous phrase for a trick play in which there is a pre-planned lateral; sometimes used to describe a lateral from a running back faking an inside run back to the quarterback and sometimes used to describe the hook-and-lateral play; the 2/6/06 San Francisco Chronicle incorrectly used the phrase “flea flicker” to describe Pittsburgh’s reverse pass for a touchdown in the previous day’s Super Bowl

Flipper definitionusing the bicep like a pinball flipper to hit a defender; forearm, which is bent less than 90 degrees, and shoulder may also be involved

Flood definitionpass pattern; anti-zone-pass-defense tactic; puts more pass receivers into a defense zone than there are defenders in that zone

Flow definitioninitial direction of offensive backs; play-side defenders must react immediately to flow but back-side defenders must “stay home” and check for misdirection plays before they fly to the apparent direction of the ball

Fly definitionverb: run full speed usually to the ball after a play has been diagnosed by the defense; noun: a) pass route that goes straight up the field; also called a streak or go route b) offense that has a flanker in pre-snap motion toward the quarterback who calls for the snap simultaneously with the arrival of the flanker then gives or fakes the ball to the flanker

Flying wedge definitionold-time play in which blockers linked arms as they ran forward; now illegal because it literally killed defenders; see “wedge”

Fly to the ball definitionrun full speed to the ball whether it is being carried by a ball carrier or flying through the air

Fold block definitiontwo-person blocking scheme in which one offensive lineman blocks a defensive lineman near his neighboring teammate while that teammate loops around the offensive lineman blocking the defensive lineman and blocks a linebacker; used when it gives both blockers better angles than if the folding offensive lineman just blocked the defensive lineman nearest him; a fold block can be outside as shown in the attached diagram or inside which would be a mirror image of the outside fold block.

Football position definitionstance in which the player is slightly crouched with his ankels, knees, and waist bent and arms bent at the elbow and held in front of his trunk; also called athletic position or Z in the knee; this is a ready position that is adopted usually once the ball has been snapped; linebackers and bump pass defenders are also in this position or a similar one just before the snap

Force definitionI do not like this word. I think it’s too vague. Seems to refer to a cornerback or safety abandoning his pass-coverage responsibilities to tackle a ball carrier who is taking a wide path. One coach-author said it was that plus the guy who is responsible for the pitchback when defending an option play. I notice that the word appears in many book indexes but never in anyone’s glossary in the books that have glossaries. Please do not contact me to put me down about not knowing what the word “force” means. I have read hundreds of football books, written six of them, attended over 200 clinics, been a clinic speaker more than a dozen times, and coached for 14 years. I have read and heard the word used many times. If I don’t know what it means after all that, it’s too vague. If you know what it means, send me the definition. I will publish it here with your name on it.

Formation definitionway in which the eleven players on a team are aligned at the beginning of a play

Forward pass definitiona pass thrown from behind the line of scrimmage toward or beyond the line of scrimmage; if it goes beyond, rules regarding ineligible receivers downfield, pass interference, and illegal downfield blocking while the ball is in the air are triggered; if the forward pass does not go beyond the line of scrimmage, those rules are not applicable

Four-down situation definitiongame situation in which the offense would not punt; generally that would be when a successful punt would not improve the situation much or when there was not enough time to get the ball back after a successful punt to score the game-tying or game-winning touchdown and a field goal would not be enough to tie or win

Four-down territory definitionmisnomer for four-down situation; there is no location on the football field where a normal high school or higher level team would routinely “go for it” on fourth down rather than kick; within field-goal range, the offense will almost always attempt a field goal on fourth down if the time and score permit; outside of field-goal range, they will always punt if time and score permit; so it is always the situation, not the “territory,” that causes offenses to go for it on fourth down

Four-minute drill definitionpoorly-chosen phrase to describe a slow-down offense; intended to contrast with the name “two-minute drill” which is another, albeit less, poorly-chosen name for a hurry-up (see the slow-down chapter my book Football Clock Management for far more detail)

Free definitionshort for free safety

Free-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee definitionthe word “free” as pronounced by Whitney Houston in her too-often-played-at-football-games, lounge-singer version of the Star Spangled Banner

Free-blocking zone definitionrectangle in the general vicinity of the offensive interior line’s pre-snap positions; the high-school Rule 2-17-1 defines it as four yards to each side of the ball before it’s snapped and three yards deep into each team’s side of the line of scrimmage; in the zone, offensive linemen may block defensive linemen below the waist, clip, and block in the back as long as the ball remains in the zone; see the rules for each level for details; some in football self-righteously denounce this rule; the rules are typically set by committees of the most eminent coaches in the world with the advice of the most prominent football-specialist orthopedic surgeons so it is unlikely that the critics know what they are talking about

Free kick definitionkicking play in which the kicking team may line up any way they want behind the ball and the receiving team must be at least ten yards away from the yard line of the ball before the kick, see also rule book definition; free kicks are better known as kickoffs or kickoffs after a safety; they occur at the beginning of each half, after each field goal or touchdown-P.A.T. attempt, and after a safety

Free kick field goal after a fair catch definitionin high school and NFL, but not college, rules, the receiving team may choose to free kick after making a fair catch; if the free kick goes through the uprights, it counts as a field goal for the kicking team which is not the case for a free kick in a kickoff situation; the team that made the fair catch may place the ball anywhere between the hash marks for the kick; as with a kickoff, the defense must be at least ten yards away; there is no snap; it is the same as a kickoff except for the ability to score three points

Free safety definitionsole “center fielder” deep coverage man in a cover-3 pass defense; weak-side deep coverage man in a cover-2 pass defense

Freeze option definitionoffensive option play in which the dive is a fake right through the center’s original position; so-called because it is supposed to freeze the linebackers in place as they react to the dive fake while the quarterback and pitch back run toward the edge of the offensive formation; same as midline option

Freeze play definitionA) quarterback sneak in which the entire team except for the center and quarterback remain motionless after the snap; looks like some sort of false start to the defense so they may not attempt to tackle the ball carrier; my son’s 8-10-year old team only won one game all season; it was by a score of 6-0 on this play which went 60 yards for a touchdown; B) a “play” in which the quarterback calls cadence trying to draw the defense off side but the offense never moves no matter what; in other words, the offense is pretending they are about to run a play when they are not; in this case, the phrase “freeze play” means there is no play so remain frozen until the defense jumps off sides

Front definitiona) number of defenders in the box; many mistakenly think it refers only to the front line of the defense; in fact, it refers to both the front line and the linebackers b) when used as an adjective modifying the word “side” it means the same as play side

Full house definitionan offensive backfield with three running backs other than the quarterback behind the offensive interior line, e.g., T-formation, wishbone, power I

Full-house I formation definitionI formation with all four backs aligned one behind the other behind the center; made famous by the University of Maryland; very powerful inside running formation; also called the “capital I”

Fumblerooski definitiontrick play that was outlawed at the high school level starting in 2006; in the play, the ball is snapped to the quarterback who immediately places it on the ground, then a pulling guard or other lineman picks it up and runs with it; when it was legal, the offense had to tell the officials about it just before it was run

Fundamentals definitioncoaching’s equivalent of God, mother, and apple pie; that is, a subject which no coach may ever be criticized for “focusing on;” except by me; although there are no doubt a number of fundamentals that must be taught ASAP to young players, like correct tackling technique, rules, and safety, a team that spent all its time on fundamentals would only be able to compete in fundamentals contests where, say, each team got into three-point stances to be judged like posing body builders; the actual main focus at all football teams must be plays and assignments; you teach what fundamentals you must and can as time permits after they learn what they are supposed to do on each play; the propensity of a coach to claim he “focuses on fundamentals” is usually inversely proportional to his knowledge of fundamentals

G

G definitiona) abbreviation for guard b) when used after the word “power” refers to a play in which the offensive line blockers all block to the inside except for the playside guard who pulls and traps out on the defensive EMLOS

GAM youth football defense invented by the operator of this Web site; described in excrutiating detail in John T. Reed’s book Gap-Air-Mirror Defense for Youth Football; based loosely on the old gap-8 (which is obsolete because it assumed double-tight, full-house backfield offensive formations) and Kent State Riverboat Gambler defenses, similar to the G.A.Moore (TX winningest high school coach) 10-1 and the Chicago Bear 46; its main virtue is simplicity; primarily aimed at stopping the best youth plays, namely: wide-side sweep, blast, and slant pass. Gap refers to the four down linemen in the A and B gaps (usually), Air refers to the two contain men who are aligned on air just outside the tight end and/or weak tackle, Mirror refers to the other five defenders who mirror their man; strictly tight-press, bump, man pass coverage; in theory it is cover 0; as a practical matter it functions more like cover 1 because rare is the youth team that uses five-man pass patterns; probably quite adequate for a high school freshman or J.V. team; variations of it would work at the varsity and higher levels if combined with some sort of option-sound, zone pass coverage defense; the GAM tries to stop the pass primarily with a rush and delaying the release of the receiversdefinition

Game definitionsame meaning as stunt

Game clock definitionclock that keeps track of the time remaining in the quarter; starts at 15:00 for each quarter at the college and pro levels; 12:00 at the high school varsity level; 10:00 at the lower high school levels; and usually 8:00 or 10:00 at the youth levels (see my book Football Clock Management for far more detail)

Game plan definitionchanges to the offensive, defensive, and/or special teams play book for a particular opponent; a pre-game theory of what plays or defenses are most likely to work against a particular opponent; game plans are expected to be superceded during the actual game by data from the game itself which is superior to pre-game guesses as to how the game will unfold and which plays and defenses will work best against that opponent; game plans are based on analysis of film in which your opponent played teams other than yours and is therefore greatly inferior to what you can learn by observing your game when you actually play them; “sticking to your game plan,” which is typically seen as a virtuous behavior pattern, only makes sense when you do not yet have sufficient data to formulate a more up-to-date game plan; sticking to your game plan after the unfolding of the game in question has revealed it to be incorrect is mindless stubbornness or a lack of ability to make necessary during-game adjustments

Gang tackling definitioneffort to get as many defenders legally in on each tackle as possible

Gap 8 definitionold defensive formation in which every gap had a defender in it; not viable now because defense cannot rely on offense to be in a full-house backfield formation with two tight ends like in the old days; also, in this era of passing to all five eligible receivers, it is unsound to rush more than five men without switching to man pass coverage; the five man pass coverage defenders must align on their men or in the defensive backfield and not in a gap See my book Gap-Air-Mirror Defense for Youth Football: The Modern, Flexible Version of the Gap-8 and 10-1 Defenses.

Gap-Air-Mirror defense definitionSee GAM

Gap, on, over definitionoffensive blocking rule, most likely for a guard; the words mean that the lineman blocks a defensive lineman in his inside gap if there is such a defender, a defensive lineman whose nose is on his nose or outside shoulder if there is such a defender, and the nearest linebacker if no linemen are in the gap or on him; oversimplification for modern football; see the discussion below of the similar OIL blocking rule

Gassers definitionwind sprints typically run from one side of a football field to the other (160 feet) at the end of practice, used to condition football players; in my experience and observation, of little value to players below age 16; during my career, I have experienced both ends of the conditioning spectrum, that is, teams where brutal conditioning made us the most conditioned in the league and others where we were the least conditioned; after the 2004 season, my QB went directly to basketball where the coach said he was not in shape, but during that season and the ones before and after, using the same low level of conditioning, we came from behind or a tie to win during the fourth quarter four times and only lost the lead in the fourth quarter of one game; all other games had no lead changes during the fourth quarter; we had a winning record over those three years; my most conditioned team in 1993 ran a whole-game no-huddle at every practice and game; in 90+ temperatures one opposing coach told me afterward his first-string defense was begging to be taken out of the game in the first quarter; my players made no mention of any difficulty; they thought games were much easier than our practices; we lost that game in the fourth quarter in spite of our far-superior conditioning; gassers were about the only conditioning done by Miramonte (Orinda, CA) High School when I was there in the mid-90s; then I coached at Granada (Livermore, CA) which was among the most extensive and demanding conditioning schools in the region; Miramonte won almost every game between the two schools during that time, apparently because Granada’s extraordinary conditioning demands on its players drove many good athletes off the football team, I would appreciate hearing about any scientific study of the correlation between different kinds and amounts of conditioning on football performance at any of the various levels (youth, freshman, J.V. varsity, college, and pro)

Get off definitionduration between snap count and offensive player moving; there is an excellent, very thorough discussion of sprinter reaction time, which is the same thing, at http://condellpark.com/kd/reactiontime.htm; International Association of Athletic Federations says that if an athlete moves sooner than .1 second after the start signal, he false started on the grounds that a human cannot react that fast to a signal; the world record reaction time was .101 seconds which may have been achieved by anticipating rather than reacting; it takes .006 seconds for the sound of the hut to travel from the quarterback’s mouth to the tackle’s ear; it takes .026 seconds for the brain to send the signal to the feet to move; in football, there is no electronic disqualification time but coaches who emphasize get off risk false start penalties which can quickly offset the value of extraordinary get off; in addition, the defensive line is going on visual ball movement which takes no time at all to go from the ball to the eyes of the defender; the above-mentioned article says reaction times are mostly .13 to .15 seconds and these are world championship sprint races; according to the book Football Physics by Timothy Gay Ph.D., the reaction time of a football player is .2 seconds, that is, it takes .2 seconds from when the brain receives the command to go until when the body starts to go; a rhythmic cadence enables the offensive linemen’s brains to issue the command to their muscles to go .2 second in advance of the actual “hut;” the defense cannot issue a go command from their brains until they see the offense begin to move so they are .2 seconds late getting going; in high-level swimming and track competition, the go signal is a light and any racer who starts moving before humanly possible, that is, before the fastest reaction time of superb athletes, is disqualified on the grounds that he or she must have issued their brain command to go before the light; in football, it is legal to give the brain command to the muscles .2 seconds early, but it can only be accomplished with a rhythmic cadence; see also rhythmic cadence

Go definitionSee streak

Goal-line area definitionfrom the goal line to the ten-yard line on the defending team’s side of midfield

Good athletic position definitiona two-point stance in which the feet are shoulder width apart, the ankles and knees are bent slightly, the player is leaning forward slightly at the waist, and he has his hands in front of him facing the opponents; generally, a decent position for all non-ball carriers once a play gets underway; also called a “good football position”

Good football position definitiona two-point stance in which the feet are shoulder width apart, the ankles and knees are bent slightly, the player is leaning forward slightly at the waist, and he has his hands in front of him facing the opponents; generally, a decent position for all non-ball carriers once a play gets underway; also called a “good athletic position”

Goose and go definitionoffensive play in which the quarterback uses hand pressure to tell the center that he wants the snap immediately instead on the previously-called snap count and that the center is to block for a quarterback-sneak play; good for a couple of touchdowns and first downs each season on my high school freshman teams

Green zone definitionarea of the field from the goal line you are defending to your own 20-yard line; also called backed up when inside your own ten-yard line

Guard definitionusually the first interior offensive lineman next to the center, sometimes a defensive position called nose guard which is a defensive lineman aligned on the offensive center

Gunner definitionwide receivers on NFL punt team; assigned to immediately go to the punt returner on the snap to the punter; under NFL rules, only two players may go downfield before the ball is punted; receiving teams generally assign one or two defenders to prevent each gunner from leaving as soon as he wants; in high school rules, there is no limit of the number of punt-team members who can go downfield when the ball is snapped to the punter

H

H definitionfullback in a two-back offense or inside receiver, that is a slot back or wing back, in a one-back offense; the non-fullback meaning is associated with Redskins coach Joe Gibbs

Halfback definitionsmaller, faster running back who aligned behind guard or tackle in T-formation era; also used in that play-both-ways era to describe defensive backs who are now called cornerbacks

Halfback pass definitionsame as tailback pass

Halves definitionpass coverage scheme in which each safety has to cover half of the field

Handoff definitionyou know what it means; I just put it here to show you that it has no hyphen (source: Sports Illustrated)

Hands team definition kickoff receive team whose front two rows consist of players who normally catch passes; typically sent in when an onside kick is expected; arguably should always be in on the grounds that the kickoff team can kick onside at any time

Hard count definitioncadence used by a quarterback to try to get a member of the defense to jump offside; typically used on third or fourth down when the line to gain for a first down is five or fewer yards away; accomplished by an unexpected increase in the loudness of a “hut,” rapid sequences, and other means; using hard counts successfully is a subtle art form that even those most skilled at it may not be able to explain fully; bobbing the head, which often accompanies a hard count, is illegal

Hash definitionfield markings between which the ball must be placed for all free kicks and scrimmage plays; when a scrimmage or pass play ends outside the hash, the officials move the ball to the nearest hash before giving the ready-to-play signal; in the NFL, they are coincident with the uprights of the goal post; in college, they are 60 feet from the sideline; in high school and youth, they are 53 feet 4 inches from the sidelines and divide the field into equal thirds; approximately 85% of all scrimmage plays originate from the hash marks

Hash position definitionlocation of the ball with regard to the hashes; e.g., left, right, or middle

Help definitiona teammate who is both positioned and mentally available so that he can help you defend against a play; by mentally available, I mean that he does not have another responsibility, like being in man pass coverage, that would prevent him from helping you stop a play; when you have help, you can be more aggressive on the side of the offensive player away from the help if your help is to your inside, you can be more aggressive at taking away a play to the outside; if your help is to your outside, you can be more aggressive to your inside; and if your help is deep you can be more aggressive at stepping between the receiver and the quarterback; defenders who have no help are often described as being “on an island;” coaches sometimes describe the sideline as your only help; that means you have no teammate help, but you can still lean a little toward defending the inside on the grounds that the receiver is limited to the outside by the sideline; on the othher hand, a ball carrier only needs about a six-inch wide alley of fair territory to run through so the sideline is not much help

Highest point definitionaltitude at which a receiver or pass defender ought to catch a pass when an opposing player is in the vicinity; this situation is analogous to a rebound in basketball; no basketball player would ever wait for the ball to come down to chest level in such a situation, but receivers and pass defenders often do because they often are alone when the ball comes down; the phrase is used by coaches to teach players that when they are not alone, it is a “jump ball” situation, they must make sure they out jump the opposing player

Hit and quit definitionmistake by a blocker, namely, blocking his assigned defender briefly then stopping before the whistle, typically so he can turn around and watch the ball carrier; a form of football loafing

Hitch definitionpass route in which the receiver runs straight upfield at full speed as if going deep then stops and comes back toward the quarterback to catch a pass that was thrown before he stopped; a typical hitch pass would have the receiver take five steps then come back while the quarterback was doing a three-step drop and throwing on time on the third step; indicated when the defense is giving the receiver a large cushion

Hole definitionpredesignated point of attack for an offensive play; typically numbered 2, 4, 6, and 8 on the right and 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 on the left; No one can explain why five numbers are used on the left but only four on the right; probably caused by an aversion to using the number 0 or because 0 is already used for plays that go directly over the center like a midline option; a common play-naming system would number the running backs from 1 to 5 and attach the hole number to complete the play, e.g., 26 would be the 2 back (tailback) going through the 6 hole (right side off tackle)

Home-and-home definitionbusiness deal between two schools in which they agree to play each other once at each school usually in consecutive years; such deals are generally only made for non-league games since league schedules are made by the league, not the individual schools; in a home-and-home deal, the home team generally gets all the the financial proceeds of the game, that is, the ticket and snack bar sales and the visiting team pays their own transportation costs; if the second game of a home-and-home deal is not played and the school causing the failure was the home team for the first game, they typically have to compensate the other team for loss of the home team revenue they would have gotten from the second game of the series

Hook definitionpass route in which the receiver goes straight downfield around five steps then abruptly comes back toward the passer

Hook and ladder definitionshort for hook and lateral

Hook and lateral definitionoffensive trick play in which a receiver runs a hook pattern and after catching the ball, laterals it to a teammate who is running around him to the outside; sometimes called a flea flicker

Horizontal stretch definitionan offensive player who forces a defender to defend the part of the field near a sideline by aligning there before the snap or running a pass route or decoy route to that area

Host definitionmany; used only by amateur, public-address announcers at football games to describe a gang tackle as in, “Jones was met by a host of Spartan tacklers;” interchangeable with “plethora;” should be banned

Hot color definitionsame as live color

Hot pass definitiona very quick pass to an offensive pass receiver who is running a replacement route to a spot vacated by a defensive pass rusher

Hot receiver definitionoffensive pass receiver assigned to run a hot route in case a particular defender rushes the passer

Hot route definitiona pass route run by a receiver as a result of a designated defender rushing the passer; because no offensive player is assigned to block that rusher, the quarterback must throw “hot,” that is, very quickly to a receiver who runs a replacement route to the spot the rusher vacated thereby replacing the defender there

Huddle definitiontight grouping of eleven players on the field for the purpose of communicating the subsequent offensive play or defensive call; also used prior to kicking plays; unsound to huddle when trailing and the game clock is running; may have been invented by Gallaudet University, a school for deaf people, to prevent defenses from seeing the hand signals used to call play; which begs the question of why hearing teams use huddles; I never use them

Hurry-up definitiongame tempo in which the offense tries to call timeout as soon as possible after the previous play or tries to snap the ball as soon as possible after the ready-to-play signal; generally accompanied by efforts to stop the clock like getting out of bounds or preferring an incomplete pass to being sacked; See my book Football Clock Management for detailed discussion of the hurry-up offense

I

I definitionoffensive formation in which two or three backs are aligned behind the quarterback and center

Immaculate reception definitiongame-winning touchdown catch on 12/23/72 by Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris in 13-7 AFC Divisional playoff victory against Oakland; NFL Films says it’s the greatest play in NFL history; Terry Bradshaw’s pass bounced off either Raider Jack Tatum or Steeler Frenchy Fuqua into the hands of Harris; NFL rules at the time said it would only be a touchdown if it bounced off Tatum; neither the officials nor any surviving video can answer the question; but since Fuqua and Harris both refuse to say, it apparently bounced off Fuqua, in which case it was an incomplete pass and qualified only for the worst officiating call in NFL history; the actual greatest play in NFL history is the one with the greatest change in Pete Palmer win probability; Pete Palmer is a co-author of the book The Hidden Game of Football; he devised a set of tables that show a team’s win probability at any given 1st down combination of field position, score, and time remaining, the greatest NFL play is probably the longest, latest, come-from-behind, game-winning, touchdown run or pass; by that standard, the greatest NCAA Division I-A play was undoubtedly UNLV’s 9/11/99 victory over Baylor when Baylor should have taken a knee, ran a final-play-of-the-game dive instead, fumbled at UNLV’s one-yard line, and saw UNLV pick it up and run it 99 yards for the come-from-behind, game-winning touchdown; actually, that was probably the NCAA’s dumbest offensive play ever and the most unexpected turn of events in NCAA history; it was a home game for first-year Baylor coach Kevin Steele and would have been his first win; (see my book Football Clock Management for far more detail)

In definitiona) pass route that goes straight upfield then inward parallel to the yard lines b) direction toward the center and away from the sideline

Indirect snap definitionfootball snap in which the center snaps the ball to a quarterback who has his hands under the center, used by all variations of the T and I formations as well as in the indirect snap version of the double wing; this is the most common type of snap in football since the mid-Twentieth Century; prior to that time, the direct snap was most common

Ineligible receiver definitioninterior offensive linemen; offensive centers, guards, and tackles; offensive linemen who are not the end man on the line of scrimmage and therefore not permitted to catch a forward pass; must wear jersey numbers between 50 and 79

Influence block definitiona reverse-psychology block in which you pretend to block the defender as if the play was a pass when it is a run or vice versa or you pretend to block him in one direction when you really want to block him in the other direction; a well-coached, disciplined defender will react quickly to and fight through your block, but his reaction will be incorrect since your block is “incorrect,” albeit deliberately so; an influence block should be a disastrously bad idea against a poorly coached or poorly disciplined defender; he will neither notice nor react to it; it should work best against a well-coached, disciplined team; I always thought it would be a good way to attack our legendary local high school, De La Salle of Concord, CA.

Inside handoff definitionexchange in which the ball is handed off in a toward-the-line-of-scrimmage direction

Inside-out pursuit definitionone or two defenders must be assigned to stop cutbacks by ball carriers; to do that, they lag a yard or so inside a ball carrier who is running wide; usually done by linebackers

Inside trap definitionmisdirection offensive play like a counter only the misdirection usually involves only one or two steps and the point of attack is usually the A or B gap; outside of hole is blocked with a trap block; especially effective against an overly hard charging defensive lineman

Inside zone play definitionsee zone play

Interior line definitionoffensive centers, guards, and tackles

In the grasp definitionno-longer-used NFL rule that said a quarterback was sacked when he was in the grasp of a defender; now heard only at youth and high school football games where parents of the defense yell it when opposing qua