Today, the National Football League (NFL) is divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference consists of 16 teams and is divided into four divisions — East, West, North, and South — of four teams each.
These division titles don’t necessarily correspond to geographic parts of the country, though. For example, the St. Louis Rams are in the NFC West, yet St. Louis is smack-dab in the middle of the United States.
The American Football Conference
Here are the four regional divisions for the American Football Conference (AFC):
East Division: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
West Division: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers
North Division: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
South Division: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
These teams in the AFC were once part of the old American Football League (AFL):
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders
San Diego Chargers
Cincinnati Bengals
Tennessee Titans
The National Football Conference
The National Football Conference (NFC) is divided into the following regional groups:
East Division: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
West Division: Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
North Division: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
South Division: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
These three teams once formed the original NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers
Football Glossary
ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference of college football teams.
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AFC
An acronym for the American Football Conference.
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AFL
An acronym for the American Football League.
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BCS
An acronym for the Bowl Championship Series.
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Big Ten
A college athletic conference whose eleven-member institutions are located mainly in the Midwestern United States.
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bye week
A week during which an NFL team doesn’t play; every NFL team has one week of the season off.
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center
The player who snaps the ball to the quarterback. A center handles the ball on every play.
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DEF
An acronym for Team Defense.
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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.
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kicker; placekicker
The member of the special team who is responsible for field goal and extra point attempts.
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NCAA
An acronym for the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
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NFC
An acronym for the National Football Conference.
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NFL
An acronym for the National Football League.
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Pac-10
The Pacific-10 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the western United States.
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Punt
A kick to the opponent without the use of a tee.
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quarterback
The leader of the team. The quarterback 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.
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running back; tailback; halfback; wingback
A player who runs with the football.
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SEC
The Southeastern Conference of college football teams.
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snake draft
A draft in which each fantasy coach has one pick in each round. Each team makes its first-round pick based on a predetermined order.
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ST
An acronym for Special Teams.
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stud
A top-rated fantasy football starter.
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tight end
A player who serves as a receiver and also as a blocker. The tight end lines up beside the offensive tackle to the right or the left of the quarterback.
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waivers
A situation where a player is dropped from a team roster; the player goes on waivers for a limited time before becoming a free agent. All coaches then have a set amount of time (usually two days) to decide whether to add him to their teams.
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wide receiver
A player who uses his speed to elude defenders and catch the football. Teams use as many as two to four wide receivers on every play.
Companion Content from the E-Book Football Rules & Positions In A Day For Dummies
Football Glossary
