Football For Dummies

From Football For Dummies, 3rd Edition by Howie Long, John Czarnecki

Football is about trying to make points by passing, carrying, or kicking an ovoid ball into the opponent’s end zone. It’s a rough-and-tumble game with its own jargon, including some terms that are just plain odd: a strong safety is a defender, a regular safety is a play that scores two points — go figure. But knowing the lingo and the players can take you a long way to getting a handle on this popular American sport.

Football Player Positions and a Common Lineup

Football pits the offense, the team with the ball, against the defense, which tries to prevent the offense from scoring. Each side lines up facing the other with the football in the middle.

The players on the offensive side of the ball include:

QB = quarterback: The leader of the team. He calls the plays in the huddle, yells the signals at the line of scrimmage, and then receives the ball from the center. Then he hands off the ball to a running back, throws it to a receiver, or runs with it.
C = center: The player who snaps the ball to the quarterback. He handles the ball on every play.
RB = running back: A player who runs with the football. Running backs also are referred to as tailbacks, halfbacks, and wingbacks.
FB = fullback: A player who’s responsible for blocking for the running back and also for pass-blocking to protect the quarterback. Fullbacks, who are generally bigger than running backs, are short-yardage runners.
WR = wide receiver: A player who uses his speed and quickness to elude defenders and catch the football. Teams use as many as two to four wide receivers on every play.
TE = tight end: A player who serves as a receiver and also as a blocker. This player lines up beside the offensive tackle to the right or the left of the quarterback.
LG and RG = left guard and right guard: The inner two members of the offensive line, whose jobs are to block for and protect the quarterback and ball carriers.
LT and RT = left tackle and right tackle: The outer two members of the offensive line.

The players on the defensive side of the ball include:

DT = defensive tackle: The inner two members of the defensive line, whose jobs are to maintain their positions in order to stop a running play or to run through a gap in the offensive line to pressure the quarterback or disrupt the backfield formation.
DE = defensive end: The outer two members of the defensive line. Generally, their jobs are to overcome offensive blocking and to meet in the backfield, where they combine to tackle the quarterback or ball carrier. On running plays to the outside, they’re responsible for forcing the ball carrier either out of bounds or toward (into) the pursuit of their defensive teammates.
LB = linebacker: These players line up behind the defensive linemen and generally are regarded as the team’s best tacklers. Depending on the formation, most teams employ either three or four linebackers on every play. Linebackers often have the dual role of defending the run and the pass.
S = safety: The players who line up the deepest in the secondary — the last line of defense. There are free safeties and strong safeties, and they must defend the deep pass and also the run.
CB = cornerback: The players who line up on the wide parts of the field, generally opposite the offensive receivers.

The following figure shows common formations for both sides. The 4-3 defense is lined up against a strong-side-right offense. These lineups are common in the NFL as well as at other levels of football.

Football Terms and Definitions

Like any sport, football has its own special lingo. For example, it has a range of downs from first to fourth, and none of them is related to a grey mood — unless your team’s colors include grey. The following list fills you in on the basic football terms you need to know:

Down: A period of action that starts when the ball is put into play and ends when the ball is ruled dead (meaning that the play is completed). The offense gets four downs to advance the ball 10 yards. If it fails to do so, it must surrender the ball to the opponent, usually by punting on the fourth down.
End zone: A 10-yard-long area at both ends of the field — the promised land for a football player. You score a touchdown when you enter the end zone in control of the football. If you’re tackled in your own end zone while in possession of the football, the other team gets a safety.
Extra point: A kick, worth one point, that’s typically attempted after every touchdown (it’s also known as the point after touchdown, or PAT). The ball is placed on either the 2-yard line (NFL) or the 3-yard line (college and high school) and generally is kicked from inside the 10-yard line after being snapped to the holder. It must sail between the uprights and above the crossbar of the goalpost to be considered good.
Field goal: A kick, worth three points, that can be attempted from anywhere on the field but usually is attempted within 40 yards of the goalpost. Like an extra point, a kick must sail above the crossbar and between the uprights of the goalpost to be ruled good.
Fumble: The act of losing possession of the ball while running with it or being tackled. Members of the offense and defense can recover a fumble. If the defense recovers the fumble, the fumble is called a turnover.
Hash marks: The lines on the center of the field that signify 1 yard on the field. Before every play, the ball is spotted between the hash marks or on the hash marks, depending on where the ball carrier was tackled on the preceding play.
Interception: A pass that’s caught by a defensive player, ending the offense’s possession of the ball.
Kickoff: A free kick (the receiving team can’t make an attempt to block it) that puts the ball into play. A kickoff is used at the start of the first and third periods and after every touchdown and successful field goal.
Line of scrimmage: An imaginary line that extends from where the football is placed at the end of a play to both sides of the field. Neither the offense nor defense can cross the line until the football is put in play again.
Punt: A kick made when a player drops the ball and kicks it while it falls toward his foot. A punt is usually made on a fourth down when the offense must surrender possession of the ball to the defense because it couldn’t advance 10 yards.
Return: The act of receiving a kick or punt and running toward the opponent’s goal line with the intent of scoring or gaining significant yardage.
Sack: When a defensive player tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of yardage.
Safety: A score, worth two points, that the defense earns by tackling an offensive player in possession of the ball in his own end zone.
Snap: The action in which the ball is hiked (tossed between the legs) by the center to the quarterback, to the holder on a kick attempt, or to the punter. When the snap occurs, the ball is officially in play and action begins.
Touchdown: A score, worth six points, that occurs when a player in possession of the ball crosses the plane of the opponent’s goal line, or when a player catches the ball while in the opponent’s end zone, or when a defensive player recovers a loose ball in the opponent’s end zone.