Every type of athletics has its own terminology and phrasing that make perfect sense to those who closely follow that sport. Football is no exception -- some of the phrases you're likely to hear in the span of an average game might make little or no sense to you if you haven't had the opportunity to become familiar with the finer points of this popular sport.
Red Zone Offense/Defense
A team's performance in the red zone goes a long way toward influencing the outcome of the game. Don't look for the color red, however. The term red zone refers to the area on the field between a team's twenty yard line and its goal line -- just one fifth of the entire field. Red zone offenses are expected to "close the deal" and complete the drive with a touchdown. Red zone defenses need to stiffen and keep the opposing offense from getting any closer to pay dirt.
All-purpose Yardage
Certain players fulfill a variety of roles on offensive units and special teams. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Watching Football" identifies the accumulation of yards in these different roles as all-purpose yardage. A player involved in running back punts and/or kickoff returns who also runs from scrimmage and catches passes can add all these yardage totals to calculate his all-purpose yardage.
Two-Minute Offense
The two-minute offense, as described in "Football For Dummies," seeks to gain as much yardage as possible with the least amount of time, running off the game clock. Most frequently applied at the end of a half or game, the two-minute offense typically comes into play for teams trying to make up a deficit in the score with little time remaining. This type of offense almost exclusively uses pass plays, operates without huddles and seeks to stop the clock at the end of each play without using timeouts, if possible.
Turn the Ball Over on Downs
When the ball is turned over on downs, it means that an offensive unit has failed to gain the 10 yards from scrimmage necessary to gain a new set of downs. In addition to the failure to gain the 10 yards from scrimmage on first, second and third downs combined, the offensive unit also failed to punt the ball away on fourth down. In such an instance, the opposing team assumes control of the football with a new set of downs.
References
- "Football For Dummies"; Long & Czarnecki; 2011
- "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Football"; Beacom; 2010
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