NFL Football Glossary
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dead ball:
a ball becomes dead when a play is over and becomes live as soon as it is snapped for the next play.
division:
in the NFL , sub-groups within conferences, such as the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Divisions; also, a grouping of teams in college football, where Division I contains the most competitive teams and Division III the least.
double coverage:
when 2 defensive players cover one receiver .
down:
one of 4 chances a team on offense has to gain 10 yards; also, the state of a player who has just been tackled ; also, a ball that a player touches to the ground in the end zone to get a touchback .
down the field:
in the direction of the opponent’s goal line .
draft choice:
a player chosen by a professional sports team from a pool of college players in an annual draft.
drive:
the series of plays a team puts together in an attempt to score.
drop back:
when a quarterback , after taking the snap , takes a few steps backward into an area called the pocket to get ready to pass.
drop kick:
a type of free kick where a player drops the ball and kicks it right after it hits the ground; rarely used today.
eligible receiver:
a player allowed by the rules to catch a forward pass ; all offensive players are eligible except linemen and the quarterback , who must notify the referee if they wish to become eligible and stand at least one yard behind the line of scrimmage before the snap .
encroachment:
if a player (besides the center) is in the neutral zone and contact occurs prior to the snap ; a foul punishable by a 5-yard penalty.
end line:
the boundary line that runs the width of the field along each end.
end zone:
the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines , which a team on offense tries to enter to score a touchdown .
extra point(s):
additional point(s) scored by a team after it has scored a touchdown , either by a point-after-touchdown (1 point) or a 2-point conversion (2 points).
fair catch:
when a kick returner decides only to catch a punt or kickoff and not advance it, protecting himself from being hit by an opponent; he signals for a fair catch by raising one hand in the air and waving it.
field goal:
a place kick that passes above the crossbar and between the uprights of the goalpost , earning the team that kicked it 3 points.
field position:
the location of a team on the field relative to the two goal lines ; good field position for a team is near its opponent’s goal line, while bad field position is close to its own goal line.
first down:
the first chance out of 4 that a team on offense has to advance 10 yards down the field ; as soon as it gains those yards, it earns a new first down.
forward pass:
a pass thrown by a team closer to the opponent’s goal line ; a team is allowed to throw only one forward pass per play, and it must be thrown from behind the team’s line of scrimmage .
forward progress:
the location to which a ball carrier has advanced the ball, even if he was pushed backwards after getting there.
foul:
a violation of football’s rules by a team or player, punishable by a penalty.
franchise:
a team; the legal arrangement that establishes ownership of a team.
free agent:
a player whose contract with his most recent team has expired, allowing him to sign a new contract with any team that makes him an offer.
free kick:
a type of kick taken to start or restart play after a team has scored, with no defenders nearer than 10 yards away; includes a kickoff and a kick after a safety .
fumble:
when a ball carrier loses possession by dropping the ball or having it knocked away before a play ends; the first player to regain possession of the loose ball is said to make the recovery , and his team becomes the offense.
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