Jerseys & Heels: Football Refresher 101

I’m BACK! Who else is excited about football season, literally around the corner!?!

I am so excited to bring you this season’s FIRST edition to Jersey & Heels!

I wanted to share with you a few quick refreshers, so by the time that TV flips on or you’re at your first tailgate, you will be prepared and confident to jump in ANY convo about the game of football! The guys won’t know what hit them and your “sexy meter” will shoot through the roof! What guy doesn’t love a girl who attempts to learn something new, or enjoy something he enjoys!?

Take a few minutes each day to brush up so you can ready! The following are the A- Z’s of some football vocabulary from college and pro:

Artificial Turf (also called Astro Turf) – Synthetic surface, mainly used in domed stadiums or stadiums without natural sunlight.  Artificial turf has historically been known to cause more injuries than natural grass

Blitz – Play where linebackers and sometimes defensive backs vacate their regular position in order to rush the quarterback, hoping to sack or at least pressure the quarterback into making a mistake.

Bomb or long bomb – Deep pass thrown by quarterback.  It is close to a Hail Mary, except it doesn’t necessarily get thrown in the end zone.  A 40 yard completion would be considered a bomb.

Bootleg – Offensive paly where quarterback fakes a handoff to the running back and runs inthe opposite direction

Chop Block – Penalty where a block is below the knees.  Often used by offensive lineman.  Result is a 15 yard penalty

Commissioner Service – Software used by websites to run a fantasy football league.  Prices can range from free (limited rule options) to $129.  Service will keep track of your league’s schedule, scoring, and draft.

Cover 2 – Defensive scheme where two deep defenders (usually safeties) are covering that deep part of the field.

Cover 3 – Along the lines of the Cover 2, a Cover 3 deploys three deep backs to cover the field in thirds

Delay of Game –  Not snapping the ball before the clock expires, calling a timeout when you don’t have one or having twelve men on the field.  Penalty is five yards.

Draft Board – Rankings of players for purpose of drafting.  Many draft boards include all players, while some are broken down by position.  Unless otherwise stated, most draft boards are based on a scoring league.

End Around – Offensive play where quarterback hands the ball off to the wide receiver who then motions to the opposite side from where he lined up

Fair Catch – Kickoff/punt returner signaling by waving an arm overhead that he is going to catch the ball, the spot of which is where his offense will take over.  After a fair catch, and contact by the opposing team will result in a 15 yard penalty

Flea Flicker – Play where quarterback hands off to running back, who then tosses the ball back to the quarterback; th quarterback generally throws a deep pass.

Fourth Down – Last available down to get a first down.  If offensive is unsuccessful, opponent takes over at that field position

Hail Mary – Long pass thrown to end zone as time is running out, either in game or to end the first half.

Horse Collar Penalty – Personal foul where the defender grabs the back of an opponent’s collar or the back inside of his shoulder pads and yanks him down.  This results in a 15 yard penalty and can frequently come with a fine a this play puts the victim player at increased injury risk

Illegal Formation – Penalty where one team doesn’t have enough players at the line of scrimmage.  Teams must have seven men on the line.  Result is a five yard penalty

Intention Grounding – Penalty where the quarterback, facing pressure, throws the ball FROM THE POCKET, far from any open receivers.  Result is a 10 yard penalty and loss of down.  If Quarterback is in the end zone, result is a safety.

Offsides – Penalty when defender has any part of his body beyond his line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped.  An Offsides call results in a five yard penalty.

Pass Interference (Defensive) – An illegal interference with a receiver trying to catch a ball.  A Pass Interference call results in the ball being spotted where the penalty occurred.  If the pass interference occurs in the end zone, the ball is spotted at the 1 yard line.

Pass Interference (Offensive) – An illegal interference by the offensive player.  Result is a 10 yard penalty

PAT – Point after touchdown, also known as extra point

Pick – An interception

Pick Six – An interception (pick) run back for a touchdown (six points).

Play Action Pass – Play in which the quarterback fakes a hand-off to the running back, then drops back to pass

Pooch Kick – Kickoff or punt without full force.  Idea is to make the kick unreturnable

Possession Receiver – A wide receiver who generally runs routes across middle of field, catching high percentage passes in the 8-15 yard range.  Examples include Wes Welker (Patriots), Hines Ward (Steelers), and TJ Houshmandzadeh (Bengals)

Prevent Defense – Defensive strategy used near ends of games where defensive backs drop deep in zone coverage to prevent a hail mary or other long pass

Quarterback Sneak – Play commonly used in very short distance third or fourth down and/or goal line situations.  Generally, this play is called with less than a yard to go, allowing the quarterback to lean forward for the required inches.

Red Flag – Flag that a coach will throw to challange a call on the field.  If call is upheld, team loses a timeout.

Reverse – Play where quarterback hands off to a RB, who then hands off to a WR running the opposite direction

Running into Kicker – Pretty self explanitory.  Unintentional is five yard penalty; an intentional running into the kicker is a personal foul and a fifteen yard penalty

Safety – Play in which a player is tackled within the end zone.  Safety results in two points for the opposing team, as well as a change of possession.   A quarterback called for intentional grounding while in the end zone will also result in a safety.

Scoring – Ways to score:  Touchdown (6 pts), FG (3 pts), Extra point (1 point), Two-point conversion (2 pts), Safety (2 pts)

Serpentine Curve (S Curve) – Method of drafting players that mimics an “S.”  For example, in a 10 person league, the team with the 10th and 11th, while the team with the #1 pick would pick 1st and 20th. pick would pick 10

Touchback – Result of a kickoff or punt being kicked through the end zone, or, more frequently, a kick returner catching the ball and kneeling while in the end zone.  A touchback means the offense will begin on its own 20 yard line.

Waiver Wire – Means of picking up player.  In fantasy football, you have to drop an active player.  In the NFL, you can just move player to your practice squad.

… and there you go! Easy enough right?

Later this week I will bring you “referee signals, how to tell what the heck he is saying” so you can know what’s going on at ALL times!

Until then, keep your heels on and keep rockin’ that jersey!  … and roll tide…   HALEY