Glossary

Jargon decoder

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80 terms

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Audible: The quarterback changes the play at the line after seeing the defence.

Best ball: A fantasy format where you draft a big squad and never set a weekly lineup: the app counts your best combination each week.
Blitz: Extra defenders rush the quarterback instead of dropping into coverage.
Block: Using your body to keep a defender away from the ball-carrier or quarterback.
Bye week: A week a team does not play during the regular season.

Centre: The offensive lineman who snaps the ball to the quarterback. US spelling: center.
Challenge flag: A red flag a coach throws to ask officials to review a call.
Completion: A thrown pass that is successfully caught by an attacker.
Cornerback: A defensive back who usually marks a wide receiver.
Coverage: How the defence accounts for receivers: man-to-man or zone.
Compensatory pick: An extra Draft pick awarded, usually later on, to clubs that lost more free agents than they signed.

Delay of game: A penalty when the offence does not snap the ball before the play clock hits zero.
Down: One of four attempts to gain 10 yards. Also used as “second down”.
Draft: The annual event where clubs take turns picking college players. Seven rounds, late April.
Drive: A series of plays by one offence, from when they get the ball until they score, punt or turn it over.
Dub: Slang for a win. Fans say “dub” or “the dub” to mean getting the W.

End zone: The 10-yard scoring area at each end of the field.
Extra point: The short kick after a touchdown, worth 1 point if it goes through.

Fair catch: A signal that a punt returner will catch the ball and not be tackled, and will not run.
False start: An offensive player moves too early, before the snap. Five-yard penalty.
Fantasy football: NFL fantasy: you draft real NFL players onto a roster and score points from their stats. Not Fantasy Premier League.
Flag: The yellow cloth an official throws to mark a penalty.
Field goal: A kick through the posts worth 3 points. If the defence catch a miss, including in the end zone, they can return it for a touchdown.
First down: A fresh set of four downs, earned by gaining the needed yards.
Fourth down: The last of the four attempts. Teams often punt, kick a field goal, or “go for it”.
Fumble: The ball is dropped or knocked loose. Either team can recover it.

Go route: A straight sprint down the field: the deep ball. Also called a fade or streak.

Hail Mary: A desperation deep pass into the end zone, usually late on the clock, when several receivers flood the same area and hope someone comes down with it.
Holding: Illegally grabbing a player. Offensive holding is 10 yards; defensive holding is 5 and a first down.
Huddle: The little circle where a team hears the next play before lining up.

Incomplete pass: A throw that hits the ground or goes out of bounds. Clock stops, down is used.
Interception: A defender catches a pass meant for the offence.

Kick-off: The kick that starts each half and follows most scores.
Kneel: The quarterback takes a knee to run time off the clock while leading.

Line of scrimmage: The line through the ball at the start of a play.
Linebacker: A defender who stands behind the defensive line and does a bit of everything.

Mock draft: A guessed Draft order, published for fun. Not the real list. Rankings move.

Neutral zone: The slim strip the width of the ball between the two lines. Crossing it early is offside.
NFL: National Football League: the top professional American football league.

Offence: The team with the ball. US broadcasts say “offense”.
Offside: A defender is across the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped.
Option: A play where the quarterback can hand off, keep, or throw depending on what the defence does.

Pass interference: Illegally preventing a catch. Defensive PI can be a large chunk of yards and a first down.
Penalty: A rule break. Officials throw a flag, stop the play, and walk off yards against the guilty team.
Personal foul: A 15-yard penalty for a dangerous or unsportsmanlike hit, including roughing the passer.
Pick-six: An interception returned for a touchdown.
Play-action: A fake hand-off followed by a pass, designed to freeze linebackers.
Play-offs: The knockout rounds after the regular season, ending at the Super Bowl. US: playoffs.
Pocket: The protected area the offensive line tries to keep around the quarterback.
PPR: Points Per Reception: a fantasy scoring setting where each catch is worth a point (or a fraction).
Punt: Kicking the ball away on fourth down to flip field position.

Quarter: One of four 15-minute periods. Two quarters make a half.
Quarterback: The offensive player who takes most snaps and throws or hands the ball off.

Red zone: Inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, where scoring becomes likely.
Redraft: A fantasy league that starts from scratch each season. The usual first format.
Return: Running the ball back after a kick-off, punt, interception, or a field goal the defence have caught.
Running back: An offensive player who takes hand-offs and short passes.

Sack: Tackling the quarterback behind the line before they pass or hand off.
Safety: Two points for the defence when they tackle an attacker in their own end zone. Also a defensive position.
Scoreography: Asking whether a final scoreline has happened before, and how rare it is. We keep a historical table for that.
Scramble: The quarterback runs because the pocket has collapsed, rather than by design.
Screen pass: A short throw to a receiver or back with blockers in front, usually after luring rushers upfield.
Slant: A quick route: the receiver takes a step upfield, then cuts diagonally in.
Snap: The action that starts a play: the centre passes the ball back from the ground.
Special teams: The kicking units: kick-off, punt, field goal and extra point.
Spike: Throwing the ball into the ground on purpose to stop the clock. Costs a down.
Super Bowl: The NFL championship game, played in February.
Sweep: An outside run: the back takes the ball and races around the edge rather than through the middle.

Tight end: An offensive player who blocks and also catches passes.
Timeout: A stoppage a team can call. Three per half in the regular season.
Touchback: A kicked ball downed in the end zone; the receiving team starts at a set yard line.
Touchdown: Six points for getting the ball into the opponent’s end zone.
Tuddy: Slang for a touchdown (TD). Fans say “tuddy” to mean that six-point score.
Turnover: The defence takes the ball via interception, fumble, or a failed fourth down.
Two-minute warning: An automatic timeout with two minutes left in the second and fourth quarters.
Two-point conversion: After a touchdown, a run or pass from the 2-yard line worth 2 points instead of kicking.

UDFA: Undrafted free agent: a player who was not picked in the Draft, then signed anyway.

Waiver wire: Unowned fantasy players, and the process for claiming them during the week.
Wide receiver: An offensive player who lines up out wide and tries to catch passes.

Yard: The NFL’s unit of distance. About 91cm. The field is 100 yards between end zones.