The NFL He plays his big game this morning. The best American football league on the planet celebrates this Sunday the 60th edition of the Super Bowl, its final, a game that is followed around the world and that this time will face the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks (00:30, DAZN and Cuatro). This sport, With more and more followers all over the world, it presents a language that is sometimes very specific and difficult to understand. for the newcomers, who are not few on nights like this. Therefore, these are all the terms you need to know before the start of a match that promises high excitement.
–Touchdown: Six-point score that occurs when a player reaches the final 10 yards on each side of the field. It can be running or receiving after a pass. To be considered a touchdown, the ball must cross the vertical line (‘goal line’) projected by the line where the end zone begins. After a touchdown, the team that scored has two options: add one more point through a 33-yard conversion between the sticks, or add two more points. For the latter, a play is played two yards from the end zone in which a ‘new touchdown’ must be achieved.
–Endzone: It is the end zone where touchdowns are scored. It has an extension of 10 yards.
–Redzone: Literally translated as ‘red zone’, it is the final 20 yards on each side of the field to the endzone. When a team enters the redzone, it means they are close to a touchdown.
–Field goal: Another way to score points, three in particular if it’s good. The field goal consists of a kick with the foot whose objective is to hit between the sticks located at the end of the endzone. The kicker is responsible for executing them and, if the ball passes between the sticks, the team scores three points. The longest distance that is usually shot from is about 55 yards. It can be blocked by defenders so that it is not hit.
–Down: It is each of the four attempts a team has to exceed the target yards. It starts with first down and 10 yards to go, and there are four opportunities or plays to get it done. In the case of, for example, advancing four yards, the next play would be second down and 6, starting where the previous one ended. Once the goal is reached, the downs are reset and the count returns to first down, with another four plays ahead. Fourth down is the last chance and is typically used to score a field goal if feasible or, if too far, punt. You can also ‘go for it’, although if it is not converted a ‘turnover on downs’ occurs and the other team recovers the ball at that point on the field.
–Punt: It is the clearance of the ball through a kick executed by the punter. It is used on fourth downs that are too far away to attempt the field goal. The punter kicks the ball as high and far as possible, and a player from the other team is responsible for receiving it, who can advance as far as possible until he is tackled or, on the contrary, can raise his hand and ask for ‘fair catch’, with his team starting the next attack sequence where he has received the ball. The team that receives the ball also tries to block it in order to start many yards later.
–Kickoff: The serve. Like the punt, a player from the team that receives the ball has the option of returning it with the blocks of his teammates as far as it goes. It occurs at the beginning of the game and the third quarter, and after each score (touchdown or field goal).
–Head coach: He is the head coach of each team (Nick Sirianni on the Eagles and Andy Reid on the Chiefs). He makes the main decisions on the wing and is in continuous contact with the rest of the coaches, among which the defensive and offensive coordinators stand out, each one in charge of a different facet of the game.
-Positions: Each team has 11 players on the field. In attack there is the quarterback, in charge of receiving the ball in each possession and giving a pass or, on the contrary, giving it to the runner (running back) who will carry the ball. The passes are directed to the wide receivers (receivers) or to the tight-end, who combines receiving balls with blocking in the run. The five members of the offensive line have the mission of preventing the quarterback from being hit when he makes a pass or opening holes for the run. In defense, the members of the defensive line (defensive end or defensive tackle) have the mission of tackling the opposing quarterback or quickly stopping the run, while the linebackers can do the same in addition to taking care of the central area of the play. Cornerbacks and safeties usually have the main task of defending passes, either covering receivers in individual or zone defense.
–Special teams: The third leg of a team. They are in charge of plays that are neither attack nor defense: punts, field goals or kickoffs. In addition to the punter, the kicker or the returners, each player has an assigned task depending on what the occasion requires.
–Tackle: A tackle of a lifetime. A player knocks down the ball carrier to end the play. For it to be considered a ‘dead ball’, which means that the action has ended, the tackle must cause the ball carrier to touch the ground with a part of his body other than his feet or hands. The play also ends when whoever has the ball steps on the line that marks the wings.
–Sack: It occurs when a defender tackles the opposing quarterback while he still has the ball in his hands. This causes the attacking team to move yards back (if, for example, it is tackled on first and 10 and the quarterback receives a sack six yards further back, it would be second and 16). Similar is the ‘tackle for loss’, which is a tackle that sets back yards but the one who suffers it is a runner or a receiver.
–Fumble: It is the moment in which the ball carrier loses control of the ball while the play is still being played. That is, it occurs when the ball escapes without previously having gone out of bounds or having received a tackle that ends the play. It can occur in different ways, whether a player escapes without anyone touching him or, after being tackled, the ball is thrown away. Even if the ball falls to the ground, the play will remain alive, and the team that wins the ball will be the one who has possession. Once someone regains control of the ball, they will have the opportunity to return it until they are knocked down.
-Interception: Like the fumble, it is another way the defense can get the ball back immediately. It occurs when a pass is caught by a defensive player instead of those attacking. There is also the possibility that it will be returned.
–Flag: They are the different penalties or fouls that occur in the match. The referees throw a yellow handkerchief to the ground and, once the play has finished, they announce the punishment over the loudspeaker. There are a good handful of penalties, each with a specific punishment, although the most common are: holding (grabbing or holding the opponent in an illegal manner, entails a 10-yard penalty for the offense and five for the defense, in addition to an automatic first down), pass interference (the most frequent is in defense, and is when the defender contacts the receiver before the ball arrives, thus interfering with the reception. The punishment is that the next play will begin at the place of the foul), personal foul (there are several, such as the facemask, which is grabbed from the helmet grille, roughing the passerwhich is making a very hard tackle on the quarterback when he has already released the ball, ornnecesary roughness, when more harshness than necessary is used at an inappropriate time), false start (an attacking player moves before the start of the play), offside (a defender invades the rival zone before the play begins) or delay of game (the clock before each play runs out without it having started). There is also the red handkerchief, which is what coaches throw when they request that a controversial play be reviewed.
–Blitz: Defensive play that consists of more men than usual (usually four) going after the rival quarterback to achieve the sack or, failing that, stop the run as soon as possible.
–Zone defense y man to man: These are the two types of defensive approaches that exist. The first of them is based on the fact that Each player covers a specific area of the field, instead of guarding a specific offensive receiver, which is what happens in the second of them, a man defense.
-Offensive formations: Depending on how the attack is placed before starting the play, there are numerous types: i-formation It is when the quarterback sticks to the center and behind him there are, in a row, two runners, a fullback and a running back, ideal for races through the center; in singleback There is only one runner behind, so there is a chance of a pass; in shotgunthe QB is about five yards from the center and receives his throw, having better vision of the field and with the runner normally at his side; pistol is a hybrid of the last two, since the QB is somewhat forward and the runner is behind; in empty backfield there are no runners.
–Two minute warning: Mandatory timeout that occurs when there are two minutes remaining in the second and fourth quarters.
-Time management: One of the biggest keys in American football is correct time management, which does not always work the same. While a play is taking place, of course, time is ticking. Continue running if the ball carrier has been tackled inbounds, whether through a sack, a run, or after a reception. The clock only stops in some cases: when there is a change of possession or a score, calling a time-out or with the two-minute warning, when the ball carrier goes out on the sideline without being pushed to do so, or at the moment in which a pass does not reach its destination and falls to the ground without anyone having received it.
-Line scrimmage: It is the imaginary line on which each play begins and that crosses the field horizontally. Attack and defense players cannot cross it before the action starts.
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