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Flag Football Terminology

New to the game of Flag Football? No problem. We've itemized a list of terms to help you familiarize yourself with the game before you head out on the field. We hope this helps! _________________________________________________________________________________

Backfield - The area behind the line of scrimmage.

Ball carrier - Any player who has possession of the ball.

Blocking - The act of preventing a defensive player from getting to the ball carrier -- NOT permitted in K-W Flag Football.

Bomb - A long pass thrown to a receiver sprinting down the field.

Cover or coverage - Preventing a player from gaining yards; in pass coverage, a defender follows a receiver to prevent him from catching a pass; in kick coverage, members of the kicking team tries to prevent a long kick return.

Cut - A sudden change in direction taken by a to make it more difficult for defenders to follow and tackle her/him.

Dead ball - A ball becomes dead when a play is over and becomes live as soon as it is snapped for the next play.

Down - One of 3 chances a team on offense has to gain half of the field; also, the state of a player who has just been flagged down; also, when a player who has possession of the ball touches their knee to the ground in the end zone to get a touchback.

Drive - The series of plays a team puts together in an attempt to score.

End zone - The area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines, which a team on offense tries to enter to score a touchdown.

First down - The first chance out of 3 that a team on offense has to advance to mid field or past mid-field to score; as soon as a team gets beyond half line, it earns a new first down.

Forward pass - A pass thrown by a team closer to the opponent’s goal line; a team is allowed to throw only one forward pass per play, and it must be thrown from behind the team’s line of scrimmage.

Fumble - when a ball carrier loses possession by dropping the ball or having it knocked away before a play ends - this is a dead ball in K-W Flag Football.

Goal line - a line across the width of the field, approx. 10 yards inside each end line, which a team must cross with the ball to score a touchdown.

Interception - a pass caught in the air (picked off) by a defender whose team immediately gains possession of the ball and becomes the offense.

Line of scrimmage - an imaginary line which no player may cross before the snap; each team has its own line of scrimmage, marked by a bean bag.

Player-in-motion - any eligible receiver on offense who is permitted to move prior to the snap; s/he may run parallel to, or away from, or towards the line of scrimmage but may not cross it until the ball is snapped.

Man-to-man defense - Pass coverage in which every defensive back is assigned to a particular receiver.

No yards - is a foul which occurs when the kicking team does not allow the receiver 3 yards to catch and field the punt. The defense cannot advance to flag down the receiver until they have possession of the ball.

Offside - when any part of a player’s body is beyond her/his line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped; the play is stopped and replayed.

Pass patterns or pass routes - pre-determined paths receivers follow to help the passer quickly locate them so s/he can more easily get them the ball.

Pass route - "Button hook": - A pass route in which the receiver heads down field, then quickly turns back toward the line of scrimmage to attempt to catch the ball.

Pass route - "Down & In" A pass pattern where the receiver runs straight down field, then suddenly cuts toward the middle of the field.

Pass route - "Slant" - A pass pattern in which the receiver runs across the field at an angle instead of running straight toward the end zone in an attempt to catch a pass.

Pass route - "Down & Out" - A pass pattern where the receiver runs straight down field, then suddenly cuts toward the sideline.

Picked off - intercepted.

Possession - to be holding or in control of the football.

Punt - when a player kicks the ball before it hits the ground; an opponent tries to catch and advance it towards their attacking endzone.

Quarterback - typically the leader of a team’s offense, s/he snaps the ball and either hands the ball to a running back to run with, passes it to a receiver or runs with it her/himself (after 5 steamboats if there is a rusher on defense); s/he also communicates each play to her/his teammates.

Receiver - an offensive player who catches or attempts to catch a forward pass.

Rush - a running play; also, a pass rush.

Sack - a tackle of the quarterback behind his line of scrimmage.

Safety - when a ball carrier is flagged downed in her/his own end zone after bringing the ball there under her/his own power; the defense earns 1 point and receives a free kick from the offense’s own 10-yard line.

Scrambling - evasive movements by a quarterback to avoid being sacked.

Sideline - the boundary line that runs the length of the field along each side (marked by pylons); a ball carrier or ball that touches or crosses the sideline is out of bounds.

Snap - when the quarterback lifts the ball off the ground and yells "HUT" out loud to signal the start each play.

Touchback - when a player who gains possession of a ball in her/his own end zone kneels to the ground and automatically starts the next play at his own 10-yard line; also awarded if her/his opponent kicks the ball across the endzone line on a punt-off.

Zone defense - Coverage in which the defensive players drop away from the line of scrimmage into specific areas (zones) when defending a pass play.