The glossary terms and definitions on this page are from the 3rd edition of
the highly acclaimed book “Football Made Simple: A Spectator’s Guide”.
The glossary has been updated in the new 4th edition of this book,
available for sale on this website for $11.95.

Astroturf: a fake surface utilized rather than grass on numerous football fields.
audible: verbal summons yelled by the quarterback to his colleagues at the line of scrimmage to change a play without prior warning.
backfield: the territory behind the line of scrimmage.
backs: the running backs; the halfback and the fullback.
ball carrier: any player who has possession of the ball.
beat: at the point when a player moves beyond an adversary attempting to block or tackle him.
blackout: at the point when a provincial system TV member is taboo from demonstrating a local game in light of the fact that it isn’t sold out.
blitz: a play where the protective group sends players rushing towards the line of scrimmage as soon as the ball is snapped to attempt to sack the quarterback.
blocking: the demonstration of keeping a cautious player from getting to the ball carrier; blockers use their arms and bodies however may not hold an adversary.
bomb: a long pass thrown to a receiver sprinting down the field.
bowl game: a school football game played in late-December or early-January, after the standard season, between two effective groups.
bump-and-run: a system utilized by pass protectors, where they hit a receiver once inside 5 yards (1 yard in school) of the line of scrimmage to back him off, and afterward tail him to keep him from getting a pass.
call a play: teach players to execute a pre-arranged play.
clipping: blocking an adversary underneath the midriff from behind; this illicit square is a personal foul, deserving of a 15-yard punishment.
complete pass: a forward pass to a colleague who gets it noticeable all around.
conferences: bunches into which groups are partitioned in expert and school football; the NFL is isolated into National and American Conferences.
controlling the game clock: the utilization of strategies by a hostile group to either spare or go through time on the amusement clock, which frequently manages its decision of plays.
cover or coverage: keeping a player from picking up yards; in pass scope, a protector takes after a receiver to keep him from getting a go; in kick scope, individuals from the kicking group attempt to keep a long kick return.
cut back: a sudden alter in course taken by a to make it more troublesome for safeguards to take after and tackle him.
dead ball: a ball turns out to be dead when a play is finished and becomes live as soon as it is snapped for the following play.
division: in the NFL, sub-bunches inside gatherings, for example, the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Divisions; additionally, a gathering of groups in school football, where Division I contains the most aggressive groups and Division III the minimum.
double coverage: at the point when 2 cautious players cover one receiver .
down: one of 4 risks a group on offense needs to pick up 10 yards; additionally, the condition of a player who has simply been tackle; likewise, a ball that a player touches to the ground in the end zone to get a touchback.
down the field: toward the opponent’s goal line.
draft choice: a player picked by an expert games group from a pool of school players in a yearly draft.
drive: the arrangement of plays a group assembles trying to score.
drop back: whenever a quarterback, subsequent to taking the snap, makes a couple of strides in reverse into a region called the pocket to prepare to pass .
drop kick: a sort of free kick where a player fails and kicks it directly after it hits the ground; infrequently utilized today.
eligible receiver: a player permitted by the standards to get a forward pass ; every hostile player are qualified except linemen and the quarterback, who must advise the ref in the event that they wish to end up noticeably qualified and remain no less than one yard behind the line of scrimmage before the snap.
encroachment: on the off chance that a player (other than the middle) is in the neutral zone and contact happens before the snap; a foul deserving of a 5-yard punishment.
end line: the limit line that runs the width of the field along each end.
end zone: the region between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines, which a group on offense tries to enter to score a touchdown.
extra point(s): extra point(s) scored by a group after it has scored a touchdown, either by a point-after-touchdown (1 point) or a 2-point conversion (2 focuses).
fair catch: at the point when a kick returner chooses just to get a punt or kickoff and not propel it, shielding himself from being hit by a rival; he motions for a reasonable catch by bringing one hand up noticeable all around and waving it.
field goal: a place kick that goes over the crossbar and between the uprights of the goalpost, gaining the group that kicked it 3 focuses.
field position: the area of a group on the field in respect to the two goal lines; great field position for a group is close to its adversary’s objective line, while terrible field position is near its own objective line.
first down: the primary shot out of 4 that a group on offense needs to propel 10 yards down the field; when it picks up those yards, it gains another first down.
forward pass: a pass tossed by a group nearer to the opponent’s goal line; a group is permitted to toss just a single forward pass for each play, and it must be tossed from behind the team’s line of scrimmage.
forward progress: the area to which a ball carrier has propelled the ball, regardless of whether he was pushed in reverse subsequent to arriving.
foul: an infringement of football’s guidelines by a group or player, deserving of a punishment.
franchise: a group; the legitimate course of action that sets up responsibility for group.
free agent: a player whose agreement with his latest group has terminated, enabling him to sign another agreement with any group that makes him an offer.
free kick: a sort of kick taken to begin or restart play after a group has scored, without any protectors closer than 10 yards away; incorporates a kickoff and a kick after a safety.
fumble: at the point when a ball carrier loses possession by failing or having it thumped away before a play closes; the principal player to recapture ownership of the loose ball is said to make the recovery, and his group turns into the offense.
goal line: a line drawn over the width of the field, 10 yards inside each end line, which a group must cross with the ball to score a touchdown.
goalpost: a tall metallic structure that stands at the back of each end zone; comprises of a crossbar and two uprights that broaden upward from it, upheld straightforwardly over the end line by a base; groups endeavor to kick the ball over the crossbar and between the uprights to score away from home goal or extra point.
going for it: at the point when a group confronting a fourth down chooses to strive for a new first down instead ofpunting; on the off chance that it comes up short, it loses possession of the ball.
hand-off: a running play where the quarterback hands the ball to a back.
hang time: the time allotment a punt is noticeable all around.
Heisman Trophy: a honor exhibited every year by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York to the best school football player in the nation.
holding: a foul where a player obstructs the development of a rival by getting a handle on or snaring any piece of his body or uniform; deserving of a punishment — 10 yards if against the offense, 5 yards (10 yards in school) in addition to a first down if against the barrier.
home field advantage: the advantage a group gets by playing diversions in the territory where it is based, because of fan bolster, nature with its environment and the absence of required travel.
home game: a diversion played in a group’s own stadium.
in bounds: the district of the field inside the sidelines and end lines.
incomplete pass: a forward pass that touches the ground before being gotten.
intentional grounding: a foul called against a quarterback who intentionally tosses an incomplete forward passsolely to maintain a strategic distance from a sack; can’t be called if the pass lands at or past the line of scrimmage.
interception: a pass got noticeable all around (picked off) by a safeguard whose group instantly gains possession of the ball and turns into the offense.
kickoff: at the point when a player kicks a ball from a tee at his own 30-yard line (35 in school) to the contradicting group, whose player tries to propel it the other route; used to begin the amusement, the second half and extra time, and to restart play after each score.
lateral: a pass tossed to a colleague in reverse from the team’s line of scrimmage or parallel to it; not at all like a forward pass (which can be tossed just once per play), players may horizontal the ball as frequently as they need.
line of scrimmage: a fanciful line which no player may cross before the snap; each group has its own particular line of scrimmage, isolated by the neutral zone.
lineman: a player who begins each play inside 1 yard of his line of scrimmage.
live ball: a ball turns out to be live when it is snapped or free kicked (as in a kickoff); inverse of a dead ball.
loose ball: a ball that isn’t in possession of either group, for example, after a fumble or a kickoff; it can be recouped by either group.
man-in-motion: a solitary player on the offense who is allowed to move preceding the snap; he may just run parallel to the line of scrimmage or far from it.
midfield: the 50-yard line, which separates the length of the field down the middle.
necessary line: the fanciful line the offense must cross to accomplish a new first down.
neutral zone: the locale that contains the ball as it sits on the ground before each play; the territory among scrimmage.
NFL (National Football League): the significant expert football association in the U.S. with 32 groups; its central command are in New York.
NFL Championship: the amusement held from 1933 through 1965 to choose the champion of expert football; renamed the Super Bowl in 1966.
nickel defense: at the point when a safeguard acquires a 5th defensive back to supplant a linebacker on the field, expanding its pass coverage.
offending team: the group that submitted a foul.
offside: at the point when any piece of a player’s body is past his line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped ; a foul punishable by a 5-yard punishment.
on downs: the term used to portray a group’s misfortune of possession if it neglects to reach the necessary line on a fourth down play.
open receiver: a player who has no protector closely covering him.
out of bounds: the area of the field touching or outside the sidelines and end lines; when a ball carrier or the ball itself touches too far out, the play is finished.
pass defender: a guarded player who covers an opposing receiver .
pass patterns or pass routes: pre-decided paths receivers follow to help the passer rapidly find them so he would more be able to effortlessly kick it into high gear them the ball.
pass protection: blocking by hostile players to keep safeguards far from the quarterback on passing plays.
pass rush: a surge by safeguards to get past blockers and sack the quarterback.
personal foul: a foul that may cause damage; deserving of a 15-yard punishment.
picked off: blocked.
pitch-out: a lateral tossed from a quarterback to a running back.
place kick: a kick towards the goalpost for a field goal or extra point; held between the ground and another player’s finger.
play: a spurt of activity that starts with a and closes with a dead ball.
play clock: a clock showed above each end zone that limits the time groups may take between plays to 40 seconds (30 in school); the ball must be snapped before the clock keeps running down to 0.
play-action pass: a passing play after the quarterback has faked a hand-off.
playoffs: the post-season competition that decides the NFL champion.
pocket: the zone behind the hostile line, where the quarterback is secured by his blockers.
point-after-touchdown (PAT): a place kick taken from the rival’s 2-yard line (3-yard line in school); granted to a group that has scored a touchdown, it is worth 1 point in the event that it experiences the goalpost.
possession: to hold or responsible for the football.
previous spot: where the ball was snapped to start the last play.
punt: at the point when a player 10 yards behind the middle gets a snap, drops it and kicks it before it hits the ground; an adversary tries to catch and propel it the other way.
pylon: a short orange marker at each of the end zone‘s 4 corners.
quarterback: the pioneer of a group’s offense, he takes the snapfrom the middle and either hands the ball to a running back to run with, passes it to a receiver or keeps running with it himself; he additionally conveys each play to his partners.
reading the defense: acknowledgment by the quarterback of the guarded development; he may then call an audibleto alter the offense.
receiver: a hostile player who gets or endeavors to get a forward pass .
recovery: to pick up or regain possession of a fumble.
red shirt: an assignment given to a school player who did not play in any diversions amid a specific year because of damage or mentor’s decision; such a player is allowed to rehearse with the group amid that season and is conceded an extra year of qualification; regularly used to portray school green beans who are held out of amusements their first year to develop, getting to be “red shirt rookies” in their second or sophomore year of school.
red zone: the fanciful zone between the safeguard’s 20-yard line and its goal line from which the offense is destined to score focuses.
return: an endeavor by a player who has quite recently gotten an interception, punt, or kickoff to propel the ball the other way.
roll out: at the point when a quarterback runs parallel to the line, searching for a receiver .
rookie: a first-year player in the NFL.
rush: a running play; likewise, a pass surge.
sack: a tackle of the quarterback behind his line of scrimmage.
safety: at the point when a ball carrier is tackle in his own end zone after bringing the ball there under his own energy; the safeguard gains 2 focuses and gets a free kick from the offense’s own 20-yard line.
scrambling: equivocal developments by a quarterback to maintain a strategic distance from being sacked.
series: the gathering of 4 downs a group needs to propel 10 yards.
sideline: the limit line that runs the length of the field along each side; a ball carrier or ball that touches or crosses the sideline is out of limits.
single-elimination: a competition where a group is dispensed with after one misfortune.
snap: at the point when the middle while looking ahead rapidly hands the ball between his legs to a player remaining behind him (normally the quarterback) to begin each play.
special teams: the gathering of players who take an interest in kicking plays.
spike: at the point when a player tosses the ball at the ground to celebrate a touchdown.
spiral: a ball passed or kicked with a turn which pushes it advance with more precision; the ball focuses a similar bearing all through its flight.
spot: an area on the field, dictated by an authority, to mark forward progress or the place of a foul.
stiff arm (or straight arm): a push by a ball carrier to avert a tackler.
succeeding spot: where the following play would begin if no punishment was called.
Super Bowl: the title round of the NFL, played between the champions of the AFC and NFC at an impartial site every January; it is the perfection of the NFL playoffs.
tackle: a player position on both the hostile and cautious lines; there is normally a left and right hostile handle, and a left and right guarded handle; See also tackling.
tackling: reaching a ball carrier to make him touch the ground with any piece of his body aside from his hands, accordingly finishing the play.
territory: the half of the field a group secures against its rivals.
third-and-long: at the point when the offense faces a third down and is more than a short fleeing from afirst down; typically third-and-5 or more noteworthy.
touchback: at the point when a player who gains possession of a ball in his own end zone kneels to the ground and consequently begins the following play at his own particular 20-yard line; likewise granted if his rival kicks the ball crosswise over the end line.
touchdown (TD): at the point when a group crosses the opponent’s goal line with the ball, gets a go in the opponent’s end zone, or recuperates a loose ball in the rival’s end zone; wins a group 6 focuses.
turnover: the automatic misfortune of possession of the ball amid a play, either by a fumble or by tossing an interception.
2-point conversion: at the point when a group that just scored a touchdown starts a play at the adversary’s 2-yard line (3-yard line in school) and crosses the goal line to gain 2 focuses; when fruitful, it looks simply like a touchdown; acquainted with the NFL in 1994.
Wild Card: a group that makes the NFL playoffs by having one of the 2 best records among non-division winners in its conference.
winning percentage: the level of its amusements a group has won amid a timeframe, given by the accompanying recipe:
Winning Percentage = (#wins + #ties/2)/(#games played)

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