Football Glossary

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Football Glossary

Football betting terms

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Astroturf: a non-grass surface of the football field.

Audible: verbal commands of the quarterback.

Backfield: the part of the football field behind the scrimmage line.

Back: a quarterback, one of the running backs, a safety or a cornerback.

Ball carrier: a football player with a ball.

Bet: a football wager.

Blitz: it’s a football play where defensive players charge across the line of scrimmage trying to sack a quarterback.

Block: an attempt to stop a defensive football player from attacking an offensive ball carrier.

Book: a betting establishment that determines the odds and accepts bets from the public.

Bookie or a bookmaker: a person who handles the bets.

Bomb: a long pass to a receiver.

Clipping: it’s an illegal block when a football player is attacked from behind and below the waist.

Completion or complete pass: a forward pass successfully caught by a football player without a ball hitting the ground.

Conferences: two groups of football teams, which National Football League is divided into; a National and American conferences.

Conversion: a successful one-point score after a try-for-point attempt.

Cover: a defending football player follows an offensive player trying to prevent him from catching a pass.

Crossbar: a horizontal bar connecting the vertical uprights of the football goalpost.

Cut back: a running maneuver of quick change in direction by a ball carrier to avoid football defenders.

Dead ball: the ball is dead when the play is over.

Defensive backfield – it’s the group of football players consisting of the safeties and cornerbacks.

Defensive holding: an illegal block of an offensive football player where a defender uses his hands.

Defensive line: the group of football players consisting of two tackles and two ends.

Direct pass: a pass from the football center to a backfield player who is few yards behind the scrimmage line.

Double coverage: the situation where two defensive players cover one receiver or two offensive players block one defender.

Double foul: both football teams violate the rule on the same down.

Down: one of the four chances of offensive team to gain at least ten yards.

Down the field: it means the direction toward the opposite team’s goal line.

Draft pick: a player picked by the football club from the pool of qualified players.

Drop back: a football quarterback moves few steps back after a snap into the pocket to make a pass.

Drop kick: the football is kicked after it has been dropped and rebounded off the ground.

Eligible receiver: a football player who is permitted by the rules to catch a forward pass.

Encroachment: a football player steps into a neutral zone before the snap and makes a contact with an opponent.

End lines: the lines at both ends of the football field.

End zones: the areas of the football field at both ends of the field, which are bounded by the end line, goal line and side lines.

Edge: an advantage.

Even money: even odds.

Even odds: a 50/50 betting proposition.

Extra point: a point that a team scores after it has scored a touchdown.

Fair catch: an unobstructed catch of a ball after a kick that requires a football player to raise his hand above his head during the flight of the ball.

Favorite: a football team, which is favored to win the game.

Field goal: a place kick that earns three points when the ball goes above the crossbar between two upright posts of the football goalpost.

Field position: a position of the team on the football field in relation to the goal lines. The closer to the opponent’s goal line the better the position is.

First down: it means that a team gained at least 10 yards after first four attempts.

Forward pass: a pass thrown by a football player toward the opposite team’s goal line.

Foul: a violation of one of the football rules.

Free kick: a kick, which a defensive team can not interfere with; it’s used to start or restart a play after a team has scored.

Fumble: the situation when a ball carrier drops the ball; a football team, which gets the loose ball becomes the offensive team.

Goal line: the line across the football field 10 yards from the end lines. The area between the goal and end line is called the end zone.

Goalpost: one of the two vertical 18 ½ feet posts connected by the crossbar.

Halftime: the 15-minute break between two halves of the football match.

Handicapping: analyzing all factors relevant to a football game with the purpose of predicting an outcome of the game.

Handoff: a football play where the quarterback hands a ball to one of the backs.

Holding: a foul where a football player grabs a uniform or a part of the opponent’s body to stop his movement.

Home game: a game on the team’s stadium.

Illegal procedure: it happens when an offensive football player moves before the ball is snapped.

Incomplete pass: a football pass that results in the ball touching the ground before being caught or going out of bounds.

Intentional grounding: a football foul, which happens when a quarterback intentionally throws an incomplete pass to avoid being sacked.

Interception: it happens when a football defender catches the pass.

Kick-off: a place kick which starts the half of the football game or restarts the game after the score.

Lateral: a football pass that goes backward or to any side of the football field.

Laying the points: to bet on the favorite team by giving up points in the process.

Line of scrimmage: a line that can not be crossed by a football player until the snap is made.

Lineman: a football player standing one yard behind the scrimmage line; he can be a center, a guard, a tackle or an end.

Live ball: a ball that’s in play after a snap or a free kick-off.

Loose ball: a fumbled ball that can be recovered by any of the two football teams.

Midfiled: the middle of the football field marked by the 50-yard line.

Muff: it happens when a football player touches the ball during unsuccessful attempt to get a possession of a loose ball.

Neutral zone: the area of the football field between an offensive and defensive scrimmage lines.

Offense: a team in possession of the ball.

Official: any one of the seven football judges on the field.

Offside: a foul that happens when any part of a football player’s body crosses his line of scrimmage.

Open receiver: a football receiver that is not covered by a player.

Out of bonds: the area, which includes the side and end lines and outside of those lines.

Pass defender: a defensive football player covering an offensive team’s receiver.

Pass interference: an illegal interference by a defensive player to prevent an offensive player from catching a pass.

Penalty: a punishment for the violation of the football rules.

Penalty marker: a small yellow flag put on the ground by a football official to indicate that the rule violation has taken place.

Personal foul: a hard foul that can cause an injury or displays a very bad sportsmanship.

Place kick: a kick when the ball is in the fixed position on the ground standing on the tee or held by a teammate.

Playoffs: the post-season tournament ending with the Super Bowl game for the National Football League championship.

Pocket: the area of the football field behind the offensive scrimmage line where a quarterback is protected by the linemen and where he sets up for a throw.

Point spread: a difference between the scores of the football teams in the upcoming match predicted by the sportsbook.

Possession: it means having and controlling the ball.

Punt: a kick done after a snap 10 yards behind the scrimmage by a football player who drops the ball and kicks it before it can reach the ground.

Pylon: an orange marker placed at the corners of the football end zones.

Quarterback: a football player who is the leader of a team’s offence; he receives the ball after a snap from the center and either hands it to a running back, makes a pass to a receiver or runs with the ball himself.

Receiver: an offensive football player who is supposed to try to catch a forward pass and carry the ball into an end zone.

Recovery: getting a possession of a fumbled ball.

Return: an attempt by a defensive football player who got the ball as the result of the interception, a punt or a kickoff to run with the ball in the opposite direction.

Roll out: a quarterback’s run parallel to the scrimmage line in search of a receiver.

Rush: it’s a running play in football.

Sack: it means to tackle down a football quarterback behind his scrimmage line.

Safety: a situation when the ball is dead in the end zone where it was brought to by a ball carrier that was tackled down.

Scrambling: the football quarterback’s maneuvers to avoid sack attempts by the defense.

Series: the sequence of 4 downs with the purpose of gaining 10 yards.

Side lines: the lines on each side of the football field that go from one end line to the opposite one.

Snap: the pass of the football by the center between his legs to the quarterback.

Spike: to throw the football down to the ground intentionally.

Spiral: a football thrown with the strong spinning motion for a better accuracy and longer distance.

Super Bowl: a championship game of the National football League.

Tackle: a football player on offensive and defensive teams positioned on the offensive and defensive lines.

Taking the points: to bet on the underdog and get an advantage in points.

Touchdown: it means crossing with the ball of an opponent’s goal line, catching the pass in the end zone or getting a possession of a loose ball in the end zone; a touchdown earns a football team 6 points.

Turnover: loosing the possession of the football because of the fumble or interception.

Underdog: a football team, which is not favored to win the match.

Yardage: the distance lost or gained by the team in result of the play from scrimmage.

Yard lines: the lines crossing at 5 yards intervals the football field parallel to the end lines.

Copyright Progress Publishing Co. 2006

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