Entertainment / Football Glossary

Rush: 1. An attempt to tackle or hurry a player before he can throw a pass or make a kick. 2. A running play.

Rushing Average: (also yards per carry average) the quotient of a player's total rushing yards divided by the number of rushing attempts.

Sack: Tackling a ball carrier who intends to throw a forward pass. A sack is also awarded if a player forces a fumble of the ball, or the ball carrier to go out of bounds, behind the line of scrim . . . View Full Definition

Safety: A player position on defense — see free safety and strong safety. A safety scored during a try scores 2 points (1 point in the NFL) and is followed by a kickoff as for any other try. A meth . . . View Full Definition

Safety Valve: A receiver whose job it is to get open for a short pass in case all other receivers are covered.

Sam: The strong side outside linebacker

Scatback: A Running Back that is generally very fast, and good at juking and making defenders miss as opposed to running them over on purpose like a 'power' back.

Scrambling: Evasive movements by a quarterback to avoid being sacked.

Screen Pass: A short forward pass to a receiver who has blockers in front of him. The receiver in this play is usually a running back, although wide receiver and tight end screens are also used. Although . . . View Full Definition

Scrimmage: See also play from scrimmage and line of scrimmage. An informal practice matchup, either between two teams or between different units of the same team. Usually score is not kept; often, each . . . View Full Definition

Secondary: Refers to the defensive 'backfield', specifically the safeties and cornerbacks. Primarily responsible for pass coverage/defense.

Series: The group of 4 downs a team has to advance 10 yards.

Shield Punt: When 7 men line up on the line of scrimmage and immediately start to cover the punt while 3 offensive players stay to guard the punter.

Shift: When two or more offensive players move at the same time before the snap. All players who move in a shift must come to a complete stop prior to the snap.

Shooting: The action of a linebacker or defensive back to blitz

Shotgun Formation: Formation in which offensive team may line up at the start of a play. In this formation, the quarterback receives the snap 5-8 yards behind the center.

Side Zone: The area between a hash mark and a sideline

Sideline: One of the lines marking each side of the field. As adjective: on the field near a sideline.

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