This is the thread where you can ask a dum football question

1. "nickle defense"
2. "cushion"

cushion = several meanings but mostly when a DB plays a few yards off the line of scrimmage to make sure he doesn't blow past you (instead of getting right up on him and playing bump and run)

http://pigskinplanet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=2

I'm also not terribly clear on "pocket," which I take it is not the same thing at all as "cushion"?

in nickel coverage, one usually sacrifices a linebacker (okay to give up the short pass instead of the long one) or maybe go to a three-man line and rush them all (okay to give up a run, plenty of guys back there to stop it). usually an LB though, and good riddance to those glory whores. (I was a safety and cornerback, we did all the really hard stuff.)

So far, I guess the halfback and the fullback are teh guys that stand behind the quarterback. Perhaps the running back is the guy who runs back and forth?

xp

called the "snap"

sitting in a bar with pints sounds good, tho

LOL at TEs?

I believe the rule is a very old one designed to differentiate football from rugby scrums; also maybe the deaths that resulted from the "flying wedge" might have had something to do with it. Anyway, it's just the rule that there have to be seven men on the line, no point in worrying why.

that's not necessarily true since "eligibles" are based on uniform number. so if you have a d-lineman wearing #85, he wouldn't need to check in with the referee. he's eligible by virtue of his uni #.

xpost- no, te's are ends not lineman. they usually line up next to the tackle, hence the "tight end" versus a wideout who is further from the line being a "split end".

Re: eligible receiver. Is the defense allowed to tackle eligible receivers or do they have to stay upright and therefore conceivably able to catch a pass? Also, if the QB takes off running up the field, can he then throw forward when he faces some fattey and freaks out, or does the fact that he ran, say, 10 yards disqualify him from passing?

NUMBERS
1-19: QBs, kickers
20-49: Backs (defensive or running)
50-59: Linebackers
60-69: Guards, centers
70-79: Tackles
80-89: Receivers (includes tight ends)
90-99: Defensive linemen
00: Donkeys

Sometimes you'll see WRs or RBs with 18 or some number under 20. THESE GUYS ARE STYLING BASTARDS.

you also have the odd outlier like former raider TE todd christensen:
http://imagesource.art.com/images/products/regular/10108000/10108300.jpg

i know o-linemen can't catch passes (apart from the odd tackle-eligible), but i don't really understand why they can't be downfield not catching passes, most especially on punts where they've got to wait five seconds or something to release, right?

See RB screens getting called back because of ineligible receivers when O-linemen pull out in front of the RB too far upfield.

Upfield/downfield whatever.

Firstly, because it would be unfair to have a huge offensive lineman blocking for a receiver as he goes out for a pass. Secondly, because it would be unfairly confusing to the defense to send too many people past the line of scrimmage, because the defense wouldn't be able to tell quickly enough who they had to bother covering and who they wouldn't.

... most especially on punts where they've got to wait five seconds or something to release, right?

They've got to wait until the ball is kicked. This was a rule change from the early '70s designed to increase punt returns.

Alot of this has changed in the last 15-20 years, as you get these uber athlete DE/OLB that are mostly known as pass rushers, but then sometimes will actually stick and cover either a TE or running back out of the backfield on pass plays.

Back in the 80s, you would never see a DE drop back in coverage, but will see it happen quite a bit now and then, especially with clubs running a 3-4 setup (3 down linemen, 4 linebackers).

I think Todd Christensen like quite a few TE's started out as more of a traditional FB. The Vik's Jim Kleinsasser is another FB that generally always plays TE these days. Dallas Clark is another TE that goes with #44, but Indy generally goes with only one back and either two TEs or three WRs in their offensive formations.

there's an old football adage about when you pass the ball three things can happen and two of them are bad. anytime you put the ball in the air it's a gamble. when you have someone who isn't used to throwing a ball throwing the ball it can be disasterous. ask the carolina panthers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAxu9Rfm77M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrY2jkE3WzE

(what that youtube clip doesn't mention was that, after that amazing, improbable, last-play-of-the-game TD, the Saints MISSED the extra point that would have tied the game and sent it to overtime!)

One of the most infamous laterals in NFL history:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JIpHqPIorU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1tEY7jA-Pk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtM7CWhMIWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLn250rWTOc

Also, sometimes during kickoffs (and I think (rarely) punt returns), the returner will hand off to another guy on his squad as a set play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1skPX5UKuqU

1) punt
2) field goal
3) kickoff

1. if it's fourth down and you don't think you can get the rest of the yards you need for another first down, you punt the ball to the other team.

2. if you don't think you can score a touchdown but you're relatively close, you kick a field goal for three points

3. if you have just scored, or if it's the beginning of one of the halves, you kick off to the other team so you can get started killing them.

IMPORTANT: on a punt, the receiving team has to touch the ball before it is live, which means either team can grab it. on a kickoff the ball is live after ten yards; on a blocked or missed field goal, the ball is live as well.

1. if it's fourth down and you give a shit about keeping the other team as far away from their end zone as possible, you PUNT the ball to your opponent, as opposed to "going for it" and getting your QB/RB most likely pummeled to shit by the opposing defense who are all really pumped that you made such a risky and silly decision because it hardly ever happens! PUNTERS try to kick the ball pretty far but not far enough to get in the end zone or too far ahead of their own blockers because that means automatic start at the 20 (fair catch or touchback). PUNTERS make over 300,000 dollars a year or something! If you ever have a child, see if you can make them a good PUNTER.

2. if it's 4th down and you're in the range of your KICKER, you kick a field goal which is worth three points. KICKERS in the NFL usually have a good range of about 40 yards give or take 5 yards, which means you want to be at about the 30-35 yard line minimum to go for a field goal. Often the PUNTER holds the ball for the KICKER! Some fanatics love to hold KICKERS responsible for negative outcomes in tight games, because they are poorly educated and unable to grasp a cause and effect chain with more than one direct link. KICKERS are never held responsible for positive outcomes, which is why so many people love Tom Brady, for instance.

3. If you have just scored, or if it's the beginning of one of the halves, you kick off to the other team so you can get started killing them. Often the PUNTER performs the kickoff, and goes for maximum "hang time" as well as distance so that his teammates can run all the way to the other end of the field and scare the little return man.

IMPORTANT: on a punt, the receiving team has to touch the ball before it is live, which means either team can grab it. on a kickoff the ball is live after ten yards; on a blocked or missed field goal, the ball is live as well.

OK I've read this a couple of times and still gotta foggy notion.

NO WAI!

1. When a punter punts the ball, the other team will often try to block the punt. This seems unsportsmanlike but whatevz. If they do manage to block the punt, then everyone from either team is free to grab the ball. Whoever gets it gets to keep it. If no one blocks the kick, then the kicking team cannot just grab the ball and run with it; if a guy from the kicking team touches it, then that is where the other team gets the ball.

2. When a team kicks off, either team can grab the ball as soon as it has gone ten yards. Sometimes kicking teams try to do this on purpose to get the ball back, and then it is called an onside kick.

3. When a field goal attempt is blocked, either team can grab the ball.

fair catch means you just hold up your hand and let the ball hit the dirt. this is to protect the returning player from death or dismemberment since it is sometimes likely that the catch by a stationary 190-pound track star and the collision with a 260-pound meat shed moving at speed will occur in the exact same moment.

touchback is when the punt or kickoff ends up in the end zone, you start back at the 20 instead of where the ball actually lands.

Sometimes it is fun for the return runner to stand in front of where the ball is going to land and hold up the hand for a fair catch, causing the opposing team to stall on the run to avoid a personal foul, then the ball bounces and rolls into the end zone and you get a touchback after all.

Punts, as Haikuname said, are a different matter.

And to Haikuname's list, an addendum:

4. If a point-after try (PAT) fails for whatever reason -- e.g. the kick is blocked, or, if the team goes for a two point conversion, and the defense intercepts the ball -- the ball is DEAD. The offense then goes to midfieldish to kick off.

NO WAI TEH BALL DOES NOT HIT THE DIRT ON A FAIRCATCH!! The guy who catches it waves his hand and catches it and nobody can hit him, but he can't start running either. The ball is spotted where he makes the catch.

Also, I am confused as to what "X team's endzone" is. Does that mean the endzone where X team is trying to run the ball and score points, or does it mean the endzone that they're defending from the other guys? I thought it was the latter, but maybe not? Or maybe the phrase is used for both, thus confusing the shit out of me on a regular basis?

I am learning a lot about the football today. Thanks NFL dudes.

I was injured my junior year of high school so all I did was work out in the weight room and help our Brazilian foreign exchange student Marcelo learn how to kick off and kick field goals. He challenged our regular kicker in practice and beat him like a drum. But our big fake-Southern-accented coach reneged on this and let the other guy do our kicking anyway. Marcelo was enraged, which led to a spectacular meltdown in the middle of a practice: "WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME? I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING YOU ASK OF ME!" That was fun too.

SEPARATE != EQUAL.

If a player signals for a fair catch, the ball does not always hit the dirt. <semantic nerd>

Quince, "kicky thing after a touchdown that gets you another point" is a Point After Try. HERE's WHERE YOUR BRAIN GETS BROKEN!! A team can try for TWO POINTS by lining up with its regular offense at the two-yard line and tries to get into the endzone again!

If the two-point try gets to the 1-yard line (instead of "paydirt"/endzone), the team still gets one point. If it doesn't get past the line of scrimmage, 0 points. If they LOSE yardage, minus points!

I KNOW THAT.

REFERENCE PLZ.

FAILED PAT (1- or 2-point variety) IS A DEAD BALL IN ALL CASES.

FTR, I only made up the PAT points system, in case anyone wants any references.

"i didn't mean to be that dismissive with that first comment but it looks bad now that i re-read it. i forget that it takes a while to learn all this stuff especially if it wasnt drilled into your head
when you were four years old by your 49ERS FANATIC DAD"

yes it does. what's crazy about football is that you eventually realize it's really not more complicated strategically than any other sport, there's just so much that you have to know to be able to follow it.

"PUNTERS make over 300,000 dollars a year or something! If you ever have a child, see if you can make them a good PUNTER."

see also: LONG SNAPPER

You won't see too many two pass plays, but the Steelers do use quite a few trick plays with other players throwing the ball, most famously with Antwaan Randle El throwing a TD to Hines Ward in the Superbowl last year.

Of course, Randle El and Hines Ward were both QB's in college that converted to wideout in the NFL.

YES LET'S DO THIS!

Also is that two point thingy a "conversion"?

In *college* football, the ball can actually be ran back by the defensive team on these plays, if they can strip/recover it from the offensive team. If they reach the opposite end zone, they get two points.

I am afraid to ask about fantasy fb. . .

OK I need a little more clarification on this. Because with kickoff you want it to go into the endzone so play starts at 20 yrd line (and not closer to your endzone)? And with a punt you, uh. . . OK I don't get why bad for punt. OH WAIT THAT WOULD BE A SAFETY RIGHT? Hey maybe I am getting the hang of this!

since the punter actually hold the ball and drop kicks it (as opposed to kicking off a tee on kickoffs) he should be able to adjust the direction/angle of the ball to either put it out of bounds inside the 10 yard line or effect the spin of the ball so it doesn't bounce into the endzone.

a) force the other team to punt, thereby giving the offense better field position (preferable on the good side of the 50 yd line) for the next series
b) force a turnover that will give the offense great field position
c) get a safety (which gets you 2 pts AND the ball back)

If you punt the ball on the 50-yard line and it goes in for a touchback it's a net yardage punt of 30 yards- not good.

This is a good thread, by the way.
It also brings up a good point: Any NYCers wanna get together to watch some pigskin one of these weekends?

You will also come across many references to clubs success rate in the "red zone" meaning how effective they are at scoring touchdowns within their opponents 20 yard line. It gets harder for a team to pass within the last 20 yards, as there is less field to cover and on run plays the defensive backs are often playing up closer to the line.

the down side is that sending men to the qb means they aren't downfield defending against the pass. if the qb can find an open man and get it to him, odds are it's a big gain. or a mobile qb can get past the wave of defenders he has a lot of room because the remaining defenders are covering the receivers in the field. but most qbs are not particularly fast nor do they want to get hit.

On a punt, if no one on the receiving team touches the ball and the kicking team touches it, the ball goes to the receving team at the point where the kicking team touched it. It someone on the receiving team DOES touch it, then it's like a fumble. Whoever gets it gets it.

A touchback is OK on a kickoff, because most kickoff returns go past the 20-yard line so you're saving quite a few yards. On a punt, it's not so good because yes, that extra 10 yards can be important. And the difference between the 10 and the 20 is like a 10-yard punt return, which is a fairly significant return. Most returners can be held under that. Obviously, a punt downed inside the 10 is an even bigger difference.

A fair catch is a deal the punt returner makes with the kicking team: I won't run with the ball once I catch it, and you won't tear my head off. It's a decision the punt returner makes based on a split-second assessment of where the ball is and how close the head-off-tearers are. Sometimes a punt returner will signal for a fair catch and then not catch the ball, in fact run away from it. This is usually when he's near his own goal line and he's betting that the ball will roll into the end zone for a touchback. He signals for a fair catch as an insurance policy, because once he's signaled for a fair catch if the ball bounces crazily right into his hands, it's like a fair catch.