Girls Football: Football Glossary of Things to Know for the BIG GAME. ALRIGHT EVERYONE – GIRLS FOOTBALL… it’s my mission to get as many mamas into football as can be!! I’m here and I’m ready to teach the game and keep you engaged!! There’s a lot of stuff about football that I never – ever – knew. I’ll never forget my dad once sittig down with me and teaching me the game because I wanted to do the announcing during the freshman football games in high school. He taught me a ton!
Girls Football: Football Glossary of Things to Know for the BIG GAME
OK, ladies. Football is almost over. I have spent the whole season watching my sons and husband cheer on the Steelers. They have screamed. They have cheered. They have yelled. They have cried (only once).
I’m cheer on the Pats… because – well, that’s me.
I’ve been on the “sidelines” throughout the season, but with the BIG GAME coming up, I thought it was time to learn the game. It’s one of my bucket list items this year. So I thought it would be helpful to create a FOOTBALL GLOSSARY for myself.
It’s time to look football smart and ready!
Girls Football: Football Glossary of Things to Know for the BIG GAME
BLITZ – Definition: A defensive strategy in which a linebacker or defensive back vacates his normal responsibilities in order to pressure the quarterback. The object of a blitz is to tackle the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage or force the quarterback to hurry his pass.
BLOCK – Definition: Engaging an opponent in an effort to keep him from getting to a specific part of the field or player.
CLIPPING – Definition: An illegal block in which a player hits an opponent from behind, typically at leg level.
COIN TOSS – Definition: Before the start of the game, the captain of the visiting team calls heads or tails of a coin flipped by the referee.
DEAD BALL – Definition: The period of time between plays when the ball is no longer in play, which is determined by the officials signaling the play to be over.
DEFENSIVE HOLDING – Definition: Use of the hands to hold or push an offensive receiver or back on a passing play beyond the first five yards past the line of scrimmage.
END ZONE – Definition: A 10-yard section stretching the width of the field at both ends of the playing field.
EXTRA POINT – Definition: After a touchdown, the scoring team is allowed to add another point by kicking the football through the uprights of the goalpost.
FIELD GOAL – Definition: A score worth three points made on an ordinary down by place-kicking or drop-kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the goal posts.
FOUL – Definition: Any violation of a playing rule.
FREE KICK – Definition: Either a kickoff or a punt following a safety.
HAIL MARY – Definition: An offensive play where the quarterback throws the ball up in the air without really targeting any particular receiver, hoping someone on his team catches it.
HOLDING – Definition: Is the illegal restraining of another player who is not in possession of the ball.
INTERCEPTION – Definition: A pass that is caught by a defensive player. An interception results in a change of possession.
KICK-OFF – Definition: A kick that puts the ball into play.
LOOSE BALL – Definition: A ball that is not in possession of either team.
OFFSIDE – Definition: A penalty that occurs when any part of a defender’s body is beyond his line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped.
PENALTY – Definition: Is a sanction called against a team for a violation of the rules, called a foul.
POSSESSION – Definition: When a team has control of the ball.
SACK – Definition: A sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass.
TOUCHDOWN – Definition: A scoring play in which any part of the ball, while legally in the possession of a player who is in-bounds, crosses the plane of the opponent’s goal line. A touchdown is worth six points, and the scoring team is given the option of attempting to add one or two bonus points on the next play.
UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS – Definition: An illegal play where a player, in the judgement of the officials, uses tactics that are above and beyond what is necessary to block or tackle another player.
There’s a TON MORE FOOTBALL TERMS, but I thought these would be most the helpful to kick-off (pun intended!) with! But I love that Girls Football (not that we’re playing) is out there and alive and well!!
More: Girls Football: Football Glossary of Things to Know for the BIG GAME here.
Definitions pulled from 2 sources: About.com and Dictionary.com
