Ok ladies, let me start with this: I have been watching football for 2+ decades, and until I started to read up on the Defensive Line, I had zero idea who's who and what's what. So, let's learn together! In general there are 3 layers of defensive players 1. Defensive Linemen (first layer with 6 men) 2. Linebackers (second layer with 3 men) 3. The Secondary (it's called the "secondary" but it's the 3rd row with 2 men, I know, it's meant to confuse us) The primary function of the Defensive Line is to stop the Offense; stop the running game, stop the throwing game...

Okay ladies, let me start with this: I have been watching football for 2+ decades, and until I started to read up on the Defensive Line, I had zero idea who's who and what's what. So, let's learn together! In general there are 3 layers of defensive players 1. Defensive Linemen (first layer with 6 men) 2. Linebackers (second layer with 3 men) 3. The Secondary (it's called the "secondary" but it's the 3rd row with 2 men, I know, it's meant to confuse us) The primary function of the Defensive Line is to stop the Offense; stop the running game, stop the throwing...

I have Missy Elliot's, "I don't want no one-minute man" lyrics stuck in my head right now. Love that song. Imagine playing that song 4 times in a row and you may be able to get through a "2-minute warning" in football. There ain't nothing 2-minutes about it. The 2-minute warning occurs in the at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarter when the clock runs down to 2 minutes. The official calls a timeout and the real fun begins. The players go into what is called a "2-minute drill" which means: it's time to score people! NFL games consist of 60...

Baby, Are you Down, Down, Down Down, Down? In American football, each team has four downs (plays, attempts) to move the football 10 yards down the field. Each down begins with a snap or a kick, and ends when the ball or the player in possession of the ball: is declared down by an official, a team scores, or the ball or player in possession of it leaves the field of play. Each time one of these three things happens, it is declared a “first down,” “second down,” and so on and so forth. Although it doesn’t seem like much, it is actually normal for teams to...

I don't know about you, but there are a few things I think of when I hear the word "hash:" My favorite Chicago brunch - a scrambled egg skillet with potatoes! Something I may or may not have tried in college... A tool used in social networking-- truly the best way to label your topics in Twitter. But only recently did the word "hash" make me think about football...Let's start from the beginning. The Football Field From grade school up through the NFL, a regulation football field measures a little more than an acre - 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. The look of the field...

As we already know, there is the defense, offense, and now we add in Special Teams? What makes them so "special'? Honestly, at the end of the day, not much. Special Teams are used during unique plays like kick-offs at the beginning of a quarter, after their team scores, receiving kick-offs, field goals and blocking field goals. Lots of kicking involved here. If there is a kicker on the field, it's a good bet that this is a Special Team. These plays can be really exciting if the player who is back to receive the punt is able to get past the defense and...

In the three lines of defense, the Linebackers are typically the middle, or surrounded by Cornerbacks, as seen in this defensive lineup. The most central player on the defense is the Middle Linebacker which is like the quarterback of the defense; reading the offense, shouting the plays, and getting his side of the line ready for attack. In fact, look at the back of his helmet, and he will have a bright circle sticker, which signals to the officials, and to us fans, that he has headphones in his helmet enabling him to receive play calls from the sideline. The...

The Promised Land. The Candy Store. Pay Dirt. Sweet Spot. Takin’ it to the House. The end zone is where players dance and celebrate and slap each other’s butts and do high-fives because they have reached that Promise Land and scored points for their team – which, ultimately, wins games. The end zone is a 10-yard area at both ends of the football field (pink in the picture above), which, when the football crosses that thick white line that marks the start of the end zone area, that team scores six points. That thick white line is eight inches wide. Often times the...

The quarterback is the leader on any football team. Although it is a team sport, if you had to pick THE guy who is responsible for his team’s success week to week, it would be the QB. Why? Well, for one, he is the only player on offense who touches the ball on every down, or offensive play. Second, he calls the shots. Although these days the coaching staff generally decides the next play, the QB has to use his judgment and make a quick assessment about whether that play will actually work with the current defensive alignment. Or, make...