ARENA FOOTBALL GLOSSARY

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kick

as a verb, to strike the ball deliberately with the foot; as a noun, such an action producing a punt, place kick, or drop kick

kickoff

a free kick which starts each half, or restarts the game following a touchdown or field goal. The kickoff may be a place kick in American or Canadian football, or a drop kick in American football.

kick returner

a player on the receiving team who specializes in fielding kicks and running them back.

kneel-down

a low risk play in which the quarterback kneels down after receiving the snap, ending the play. Used to run out the clock.

lateral

a pass thrown to the side or backward. Also called "backward pass" in American football, "onside pass" in Canadian football.

line of scrimmage/scrimmage line

one of two vertical planes parallel to the goal line when the ball is to be put in play by scrimmage. For each team in American football, the line of scrimmage is through the point of the ball closest to their end line. The two lines of scrimmage are called offensive line of scrimmage and defensive line of scrimmage

In Canadian football, the line of scrimmage of the defensive team is one yard their side of the ball.

line to gain

a line parallel to the goal lines, such that having the ball dead beyond it entitles the offense to a new series of downs, i.e. a new "first down". The line is 10 yards in advance of where the ball was to be snapped for the previous first down.

linebacker

a player position on defense. The linebackers typically play 1 to 3 yards behind the defensive linemen and have both run and pass defense responsibilities. However they are often called on to blitz, and in some formations a linebacker may be designated as a "rush linebacker", rushing the passer on almost every play.

lineman

a defensive or offensive position on the line of scrimmage.

On offense, the player snapping the ball is the center. The players on either side of him are the guards, and the players to the outside of him are the tackles. The players on the end of the line are the ends. This may be varied in an unbalanced line.

On defense, the outside linemen are ends, and those inside are tackles. If there are 5 or 6 linemen, the inner most linemen are known as guards. This is rare in professional football except for goal-line defense, but is sometimes seen in high school or college.

live ball

any ball that is in play, whether it is a player's possession or not. The ball is live during plays from scrimmage and free kicks, including kickoffs.

long snapper

a center who specializes in the long, accurate snaps required for punts and field goal attempts. Most teams employ a specialist long snapper instead of requiring the normal center to perform this duty.

loose ball

any ball that is in play and not in a player's possession. This includes a ball in flight during a lateral or forward pass.

man coverage

same as man-to-man coverage

man-in-motion

a player on offense who is moving backwards or parallel to the line of scrimmage just before the snap. Only one offensive player can be in motion at a time.

man-to-man coverage

a defense in which all players in pass coverage, typically linebackers and defensive backs, cover a specific player. Pure man coverage is very rare; defenses typically mix man and zone coverage.

mike

the middle linebacker.

the other middle linebacker in a 3-4 formation.

muff

a loose ball that is dropped or mishandled while the player is attempting to gain possession

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ARENA FOOTBALL GLOSSARY