During my playing days, one of the head coaches decided to invite the players’ wives to attend practice and team meetings for a day. We wanted to show the “other half” what life was like for a professional football player.
I remember leaving the defensive team gathering and hearing a casual comment that all the football jargon used in the meeting was “like listening to people speaking a foreign language.”
I laughed at the comment, but it made me realize that football lingo may be difficult for a layperson to understand.
As a broadcaster, I try not to use too much jargon, though sometimes words may slip out of my mouth that leave you, the listener, scratching your head.
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Here are some football terms that will help you better understand the game:
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TRIPS: This term was first used by Joe Gibbs, the former head coach of the Washington Redskins. It’s a play in which three receivers line up on the same side of the field. It’s usually specified by the quarterback calling “trips right” or “trips left” when he calls the play in the huddle. The objective is to flood the defence on one side of the field to create and exploit holes in zone pass coverage.
QUADS: This means four receivers to one side.
WAGGLE: The running back moves forward to the line of scrimmage, before the snap of the ball, to get in a better position. The term was used because coaches would scribble a waggling line on the chalkboard to indicate that the running back should “waggle” up to the line of scrimmage.
MUG: A linebacker moves right up to the line of scrimmage, where the defensive lineman is in a gap between two offensive linemen. The term was used because, in football, to “mug” someone is to move close to the person.
GAP: This is a position between two of the offensive lineman. The A-gap is between the center and the guard, the B-gap is between the guard and the tackle and the C-gap is just outside the tackle.
OVERLOAD: This is when a team “overloads” or positions more players on one side of the ball.
SWEEP: During a sweep, the running back accepts the quarterback’s handoff, and runs it across the field, parallel to the line of scrimmage. The offensive lineman and fullback run upfield to block any defenders, before the player turns and runs the ball toward the other team’s end zone.
SAM, MAC, WILL: These are the names of the three linebackers: the Sam is the strong side linebacker, the Mac is the middle linebacker and the Will is the weak-side linebacker. The reason for the names are simply to find a short, three letter name to indicate the particular linebacker and obviously; “S” for strong, “M” for middle and “W” for weak.
STUNT: This is when two defensive linemen change positions just after the snap of the ball, or, one defensive lineman loops behind the other. The reason for the term is because the defensive lineman are trying to trick the offensive lineman, or using some trickery – i.e. a stunt.
BLITZ: A blitz is a tactic used by the defence to disrupt pass attempts, or a running play, by the offence. During a blitz, a higher than usual number of defensive players will rush the opposing quarterback, or try to force the quarterback to hurry the pass attempt.
A blitz involves five or more players rushing during a single down, rather than the four rushers used during normal play. Blitzing is a higher-risk strategy, as fewer defensive players are left to cover receivers, or to defend against running plays. However, a successful blitz will result in a sack, or will force the quarterback into making an error. The term Blitz is derived from the bombing by the German Air Force over Britain in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press as an abbreviation of blitzkrieg (lightning war).
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