Defensive Lineman

Defensive line positions consist of defensive ends, defensive tackles, and nose tackles. Defensive ends are two players that line up at both ends of the defensive line. Their job is to rush the passer and to stop running plays coming to the outside. Defensive tackles are the two players that line up inside next to the defensive ends. Their job is to rush the passer and to stop any running plays that come up the middle. Nose tackle is a player that lines up nose to nose with the center. His job is similar to the defensive tackle, create a pass rush and stop any thing from coming up the middle. How these defensive players line up depends on what defensive formation they are in. Teams usually run a basic defense consisting of four down linemen, two defensive ends and two defensive tackles. Two other popular formations are when a team uses three man and five man defensive lines. In a three line formation there is two defensive ends and one nose tackle. In a five man line formation (usually used on goal defense) there are two ends two tackles and a nose tackle. To be a good defensive lineman there are certain traits he must have, they are size, strength, quickness, durability, and mental toughness. Defensive linemen must have size and strength to defeat the offensive lineman in front of him. He must have speed and quickness to rush the quarterback. He must also be durable and posses’ mental toughness in order to take a pounding play after play.


CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

1. Must have the size, most defensive linemen in the NFL are at least 270 pounds. on a football team the defensive tackles and nose guards are usually the biggest and strongest players on the defensive unit. The defensive ends are usually the next biggest players on the defense.
2. Must have Explosiveness, defensive linemen have to be able to come out of their stance with plenty of speed and power.
3. Must be mentally tough and durable, defensive lineman will make contact with offensive players on almost every play.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. The NFL consists of two conferences the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Six teams from each of the leagues conferences qualify for the play offs based on their regular season record. The tournament ends with the winner of the NFLs championship game, which is called the Super Bowl.

TIGHT END

The tight end is a player on the offensive unit that lines up between the wide receiver and the offensive tackle. Usually there is only one tight end on the playing field at a time, and he could be lined up on either side of the offensive line. The tight ends main responsibilites are to block like and offensive linemen, and to be a sure handed receiver. When the play requires him to run a pass pattern, he must be able to do it and focus on catching the football. When the play requires him to block, he must do it as if the team has an extra offensive lineman on the field. It is critical for a tight end to be good at both blocking and receiving, if he is not then he should find another position. A player must be able to combine size, brute strengh, and grace to be good at this position.


CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TIGHT END

1. Must have the size to play tight end. Tight ends are usually between 6 feet 2 to 6 feet 5 inches tall, and are between 250 t0 300 pounds.
2. Must be able to block, a good tight end needs to be able to block like an extra offensive linemen. He is expected to block defensive linemen, linbackers,and defensive backs.
3. Must know every running play in the playbook. He must know every aspect of his team's running game. He must know who to block on each play.
4. Must know every passing play in the playbook. He must know when to stay in and pass block, and when to run his pass patterns.
5. Must be able to run routes effectively. Tight ends are not usually the fastest guys on the team, so running precise pass patterns is very important.
6. Must have good hands, a good tight end should be able to a hit and still hold onto the football.
7. Must be mentaly tough, he has to take on a duel role as an offensive linemen and receiver.

TIGHT END TIPS

1. All of the tips that applied to the wide receiver, also applies to the tight end.
2. Practice blocking drills with the offensive linemen. When called to block, tight ends should be able to block just like an offensive linemen.
3. Practice running routes and catching the football with the wide receivers. Tight ends are not expected to be as fast as wide receivers, but they are expected to run precise patterns, and to catch the football like a wide receiver.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

Defensive line positions consist of defensive ends, defensive tackles, and nose tackles. Defensive ends are two players that line up at both ends of the defensive line. Their job is to rush the passer and to stop running plays coming to the outside. Defensive tackles are the two players that line up inside next to the defensive ends. Their job is to rush the passer and to stop any running plays that come up the middle. Nose tackle is a player that lines up nose to nose with the center. His job is similar to the defensive tackle, create a pass rush and stop any thing from coming up the middle. How these defensive players line up depends on what defensive formation they are in. Teams usually run a basic defense consisting of four down linemen, two defensive ends and two defensive tackles. Two other popular formations are when a team uses three man and five man defensive lines. In a three line formation there is two defensive ends and one nose tackle. In a five man line formation (usually used on goal defense) there are two ends two tackles and a nose tackle. To be a good defensive lineman there are certain traits he must have, they are size, strength, quickness, durability, and mental toughness. Defensive linemen must have size and strength to defeat the offensive lineman in front of him. He must have speed and quickness to rush the quarterback. He must also be durable and posses’ mental toughness in order to take a pounding play after play.


CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

1. Must have the size, most defensive linemen in the NFL are at least 270 pounds. on a football team the defensive tackles and nose guards are usually the biggest and strongest players on the defensive unit. The defensive ends are usually the next biggest players on the defense.
2. Must have Explosiveness, defensive linemen have to be able to come out of their stance with plenty of speed and power.
3. Must be mentally tough and durable, defensive lineman will make contact with offensive players on almost every play.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

The offensive line is players that line up on the line of scrimmage, whose primary job is to block the defensive players. The offensive line consists of a center, two guards, and two offensive tackles. The center lines up in the middle of the line; he is the one who snaps the ball to the quarterback. The two guards line up directly on both sides of the center and inside the tackles. The offensive tackles play on the outside of both guards. The offensive line usually consists of some of the biggest and strongest guys on the team. For example the average size for an offensive lineman in the NFL is around 6 feet 4 inches tall and 300 pounds. These guys use their size and strength to protect the quarterback, and to open up holes for the running back. The offensive line is one of the most important parts of a football team. You could have the best quarterback and running back in the world, but without a good offensive line they would not be successful. Even though the offensive line is one of the most important parts of a football team, they usually go unnoticed. In fact the only few times they are noticed, is when an official calls a penalty on one of them.


CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

1. Must have the size and strength to play on the offensive line.
2. Must have quickness, offensive linemen are not the fastest guys on the team, but they must have quick movement for the first 5 to 10 yards.
3. Must know how to play all of the offensive line positions. A good offensive lineman should be able to fill in at tackle, guard, or center.
4. Must have intelligence, a good offensive lineman should know what he and the other linemen are supposed to do. He should also be able to anticipate what the defense is going to do before the play begins.
5. Must be aware on the playing field, besides the quarterback the offensive line needs to be the most aware player on the field. They must know overall game plan, game situation, and know how to recognize multiple defenses.
6. Must have determination and mental toughness, a good offensive lineman must be able to take a pounding series after series. He must give a maximum effort play after play, because he knows it will pay off late in the game.

LINEBACKER

Linebackers are defensive players that lines up behind the defensive lineman, and in front of the defensive backfield. Linebackers are usually positioned 3 to 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, and are standing upright in a two point stance. Teams usually play two types of variations for their linebackers; they either play two outside linebackers with one in the middle, or two outside linebackers with two in the middle. The outside linebacker’s job is to stop any running plays coming to the outside, and to cover any receiver in his area. The middle linebacker’s job is to stop running plays coming up the middle, and to cover any receiver in his area. The linebackers on a defensive unit are the second line of defense.


CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LINEBACKER

1. Must have size and strength to play linebacker.
2. Must be able to cover tight ends and running backs.
3. Must Must Must Must be a good tackler; a good linebacker should be able to tackle the intended target with ferocity.
4. Must play with relentless pursuit, linebackers must play with great effort and intensity while pursuing the offensive player with the football.
5. Must be mentally and physically tough, a good linebacker will be involved in most of the tackles on defense. He needs to be mentally and physically prepared to take a pounding game after game.
6. Must have intelligence, a good linebacker should know all the defensive plays, and what everyone on defense is suppose to do.

WIDE RECEIVER

A wide receiver is a player on an offensive unit in football, whom positions himself at the end of the offensive line. There are usually two of them on a playing field at the same time on opposite ends of the line. The wide receivers main function is to run pass patterns and catch passes thrown to them from the quarterback. On some rare occasions a team will try a trick play where the receiver can throw the ball, take a hand off from the QB, or catch a pass from a RB. Wide receivers are usually the most elusive and fastest players on the team, but there is room for players at the position who are not blessed with speed and quickness. Players not blessed with tremendous speed, but are willing to work hard on running proper pass patterns and catching the football, can still be productive wide receivers. One of the best wide receivers to play in the NFL was Jim Zorn and he did not have tremendous speed.


CHARACTERISTICS FOR A GOOD WIDE RECEIVER

1. Run at top speed throughout your pass pattern.
2. Run precise pass patterns.
3. Must be in good condition, must be able to run routes play after play.
4. Must be able to concentrate, he must concentrate on his routes, the other teams defense, and catching the football.
5. Must block defenders, your block can be the one that breaks another offensive player free.
6. Must be prepared to take a hit after catch, as a wide receiver your going to get hit.

WIDE RECEIVER TIPS

1. Catch the football with your hands not your body.
2. Look the ball in, use your eyes and focus on the football all the way into your hands.
3. Always catch the football at its highest point.
4. Control the football before trying to run with it. Many wide receivers fumble the football because they try to make a move before they secure the football.
5. Know exactly what routs you are to run.

RUNNING BACK POSITION

Running backs usually lines up behind the quarterback in an offensive formation, they specialize in rushing the football to gain yards. They can also catch passes from the quarterback, and on rare occasions can receive the snap from the center or even pass the football. When a team has an offensive formation that has two backs in the backfield, the lead back is called the fullback the other is called the tailback. The fullback usually blocks for the tailback helping him to gain yardage, but the fullback is also eligible to run or catch the football. Running backs must be in great mental and physical condition. A running back should know what he is supposed to do on every play. He also has to be able to carry the football between 20 to 30 times a game, catch passes out of the backfield, and block defensive players.

KEYS TO BEING A GREAT BACK.

1. Must be able to run the football, catch passes and block defenders. Coaches love running backs that can due all three.

2. Running backs must have mental and physical toughness; they need these two things to deal with the punishment they must endure.

3. Running backs must know the playbook; he has to know where to line up in the backfield and what to do on each play. The Running back is a key element on offense.

4. Must be able to run the ball hard for the duration of the game. great running backs get stronger running with the football in the fourth quarter.

QUARTERBACK

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This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License

The Quarterback is the player that runs and directs the offense. He usually gets the signal for the play from the coaching staff, and then he calls the play in the huddle. He usually lines up directly behind the center who hikes him the ball to start the play. The quarterback is involved in the majority of the offensive plays a team runs. He is either throwing it to a receiver, handing the ball off to a running back, or running it himself. In some situation a quarterback can call his own plays without getting a signal from the coach, one would be if a quarterback recognizes that the defense is running a certain play and then he calls an audible. Another rear situation is when the coaching staff allows the quarterback to call his own plays

QUARTERBACK TIPS

1. Develop leadership skills, coaches loves for their starting quarterbacks to be leaders.

2. Get a lot of practice in the offseason. You need to work on arm strengh and footwork. Work on throwing football often and far, also work on various dropbacks espiciaaly the 5 step dropback.

3. Practice looking off safety to create space for the wide reciever, do not telegraph your throws.

4. Watch and learn what good quarterbacks do in certain situations, watch them on films or television.

5. Mentaly visualize yourself coming to the line and facing certain defenses, come up with what you will do against it.

6. A quarterback needs to study the playbook, he should know what every offensive player is doing when the ball is hiked.

SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS

Pittsburg Steelers 6
Dallas Cowboys 5
Sanfrancisco 49ers 5
New York Giants 4
GreenBay Packers 4
New England Patriots 3
Washington Redskins 3
Los Angeles Raiders 3
Miami Dolphins 2
Indianapolis Colts 2
Denver Broncos 2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1
Baltimore Ravens 1
St Louis Rams 1
Kansas City Chiefs 1
New York Jets 1
Chicago Bears 1
New Orlean Saints 1

SUPER BOWL

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is between the champions of the American Football Conference(AFC) and the National Football Conference(NFC). The Super Bowl is one of the most popular and anticipated sporting events in the United States. The game attracts football fans all over the country and is televised all over the world.

NOTABLE SUPER BOWLS

1. XLII: New York Giants upsetting the previous unbeaten New England Patriots 17 -14.
2. XLI: First Two African American head coaches in a super bowl, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29 - 17 making Tony Dungy the first African American head coach to win a super bowl.
3. XXXII: Denver Broncos upsetting the Greenbay Packers 31 - 24 giving John Elway his first super bowl.
4.XXII: Doug Williams becomes first African American Quarterback to win super bowl by leading the Washington Redskins to victory over the Denver Broncos 42 - 10.
5.XII: This super bowl had Two MVP winners in the Dallas Cowboys 27 - 10 victory over the Denver Broncos. The two were defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin of the Dallas Cowboys.
6.VII: Miami Dolphins completed their undefeated season by beating the Washington Redskins 14 - 7. The Dolphins went 17 - 0 and is still the only team to do this in NFL history.
7.III: New york Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16 - 7 giving credibility to the AFL. This is als the game that Joe Namath guaranteed victory.
8. I: First world championship game between the AFL and the NFL, Greenbay defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35 - 10.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN OTHER COUNTRIES

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FOOTBALL WEBSITES

CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN EUROPE

CENTRAL EUROPEAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OFAMERICAN FOOTBALL

AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN RUSSIA

AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN SWITZERLAND

AMERICAN FOOTBALL ARTICLE

American Football Gaining International Popularity

By: Jonathon Hardcastle

In most parts of the world, if you say the word "football" people assume you are referring to soccer, the most popular and most widely followed sport in the world. However, American football is starting to spark more interest overseas. The National Football League actively promotes American-style football out of the country, sending players as ambassadors and holding pre-season games in Europe, Mexico and Japan. Games are broadcast in many countries and the Super Bowl is broadcast to almost every country in the world.

American football is played in almost every continent on the planet including North and South America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific Rim nations. The International Federation of American Football is the official international governing body of American Football and oversees 45 member organizations. Beginning in 1999, the International Federation of American Football has also sponsored a world cup of American football with Japan taking the honors in both 1999 and 2003.

American football has also grown in popularity in Mexico, where many households are able to watch games on American television stations. There has been such interest in American football in Mexico that the NFL opened an office in Mexico City in 1997 to supervise fan development, marketing, public relations and special events. The NFL also publishes a Spanish-language web site targeted to Mexican fans.

American football is also gaining popularity in Europe. In 1991, the National Football League backed a European league called the World League of Football. From that emerged NFL Europe, a six-team league that serves as a spring developmental league for National Football League teams in the United States. Five of NFL Europe's teams are based in Germany and one is in the Netherlands. The National Football League not only uses the NFL Europe to develop new players, but also to develop and test new rules and regulations.

American football has always been popular in Canada although Canada does have its own Canadian Football League which plays with slightly different rules than American football. However, the National Football League continues to reach out to Canadian fans. For Super Bowl XL, held in Detroit, just across the border from the Canadian city of Windsor, the National Football League held special events specifically for Canadian fans including a special train that transported Canadian fans to Windsor to view the game at an arena there. The National Football League also publishes a website for Canadian fans that focuses on the progress and statistics of Canadian-born players.
Article Source: http://www.sportsarticlelibrary.com
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Football, Recreation, and Games
NOTE: The NFL has discontinued NFL Europe.

Japan vs Sweden - American Football 3rd IFAF World Championships 2007


Notre Dame vs Japan - Japan Bowl 7-25-09


CFL This is Our League

QUARTERBACK

The Quarterback is the player that runs and directs the offense. He usually gets the signal for the play from the coaching staff, and then he calls the play in the huddle. He usually lines up directly behind the center who hikes him the ball to start the play. The quarterback is involved in the majority of the offensive plays a team runs. He is either throwing it to a receiver, handing the ball off to a running back, or running it himself. In some situation a quarterback can call his own plays without getting a signal from the coach, one would be if a quarterback recognizes that the defense is running a certain play and then he calls an audible. Another rear situation is when the coaching staff allows the quarterback to call his own plays

QUARTERBACK TIPS

1. Develop leadership skills, coaches loves for their starting quarterbacks to be leaders.

2. Get a lot of practice in the offseason. You need to work on arm strengh and footwork. Work on throwing football often and far, also work on various dropbacks espiciaaly the 5 step dropback.

3. Practice looking off safety to create space for the wide reciever, do not telegraph your throws.

4. Watch and learn what good quarterbacks do in certain situations, watch them on films or television.

5. Mentaly visualize yourself coming to the line and facing certain defenses, come up with what you will do against it.

6. A quarterback needs to study the playbook, he should know what every offensive player is doing when the ball is hiked.

NFL DRAFT

The NFL Draft[1], is held annually in April. It is the major way by which National Football League teams select players (primarily from college football) for their teams. The 2011 NFL Draft took place on April 28-30 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Rules for determining draft order
The draft is determined by the teams won and loss record. Teams with the worst record usually gets a higher pick in a draft round, for example a team that goes 1-15will make a pick before a team that goes 8-8. That order is based generally on each team's regular season record, with the exception of the two Super Bowl contestants, who are placed at the end of the draft order. Teams can move up in draft order by making deals and trades for draft picks with other teams.

SUPER BOWL RUNNER-UPS

SUPER BOWL LOSERS

Buffalo Bills 4
Minnesota Vikings 4
Denver Broncos 4
Dallas Cowboys 3
Miami Dolphins 3
New England Patriots 3
Philadelphia Eagels 2
Washington Redskins 2
Oakland Raiders 2
Pittsburgh Steelers 2
Kansas City Chiefs 1
Baltimore Colts 1
Los Angles Rams 1
St Louis Rams 1
SanDiego Chargers 1
Greenbay Packers 1
Atlanta Falcons 1
Tennessee Titans 1
New York Giants 1
Carolina Panthers 1
Seattle Seahawks 1
Chicago Bears 1
Arizona Cardinals 1
Indianapolis Colts 1

SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS

SUPER BOWL WINS

Pittsburg Steelers 6
Dallas Cowboys 5
Sanfrancisco 49ers 5
New York Giants 3
New England Patriots 3
GreenBay Packers 4
Washington Redskins 3
Los Angeles Raiders 3
Miami Dolphins 2
Indianapolis Colts 2
Denver Broncos 2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1
Baltimore Ravens 1
St Louis Rams 1
Kansas City Chiefs 1
New York Jets 1
Chicago Bears 1
New Orlean Saints 1

SUPER BOWL

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is between the champions of the American Football Conference(AFC) and the National Football Conference(NFC). The Super Bowl is one of the most popular and anticipated sporting events in the United States. The game attracts football fans all over the country and is televised all over the world.

NOTABLE SUPER BOWLS

1. XLII: New York Giants upsetting the previous unbeaten New England Patriots 17 -14.
2. XLI: First Two African American head coaches in a super bowl, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith. Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29 - 17 making Tony Dungy the first African American head coach to win a super bowl.
3. XXXII: Denver Broncos upsetting the Greenbay Packers 31 - 24 giving John Elway his first super bowl.
4.XXII: Doug Williams becomes first African American Quarterback to win super bowl by leading the Washington Redskins to victory over the Denver Broncos 42 - 10.
5.XII: This super bowl had Two MVP winners in the Dallas Cowboys 27 - 10 victory over the Denver Broncos. The two were defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin of the Dallas Cowboys.
6.VII: Miami Dolphins completed their undefeated season by beating the Washington Redskins 14 - 7. The Dolphins went 17 - 0 and is still the only team to do this in NFL history.
7.III: New york Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16 - 7 giving credibility to the AFL. This is als the game that Joe Namath guaranteed victory.
8. I: First world championship game between the AFL and the NFL, Greenbay defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35 - 10.

SPECIAL TEAMS

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POSITIONS

LONG SNAPPER - A player in the center position that specializes in snapping the ball to the holder on field goal attempts and to the punter on punts.

HOLDER - The player who catches the snap from the long snapper and places it down for the place kicker.

PLACE KICKER - The player who kicks the ball on field goals, extra points, and kick offs.

PUNTER - The player who stands 13 to 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage, catches the football from the long snapper, then kicks it to the other team.

PUNT RETURNER - The player that catches the football from the punter, then runs it back towards the opposing teams end zone.

KICK RETURNER - The player that catches the football on kickoffs and runs it toward the other teams end zone.

GUNNER - The player that specializes in running down field to tackle the kick off or punt returner.

CHEERLEADING

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CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD CHEERLEADER

1. Must be in good physical condition, a good cheerleade needs to have stamina, strength, and flexibility.
2. Must love being a cheerleader.
3. Must be intelligent, a good cheerleader must know all of her cheers and formations during a game.
4. Must have a good voice, a good cheerleader needs to be able to cheer loudly and with intensity.
5. Must be neat and clean.
6. Must have a sense of spotsmanshipand fair play, a good cheerleadr should cheer if her team is winning or losing.
7. Must be able to follow instructions and take constructive criticism.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

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CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD DEFENSIVE BACK
1. Must have speed, a good defensive back must be able to stay with his man.
2. Must be able to change directions, a defensive back needs to be able to move forward, backwards, and laterally with minimal lost of speed.
3. Must have good hand, a good defensive back should be able to catch the football. He needs good hands if he wants to make plays.
4. He must understand all the coverage’s he will be in.
5. Must have a desire to compete, a good defensive back hopes all passes will be thrown his way.


QUESTIONS

1. Who is the best cornerback of all times in the NFL?
2. Who is the best safety of all times in the NFL?
3. Who is the best cornerback in the NFL for 2010?
4. Who is the best safety in the NFL for 2010?
5. Who is the best defensive back in college football for 2010?