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?

LINEBACKER

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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.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

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.

PLACE KICKER

Place kickers are members of the offensive unite on a football team. These players are usually some of the smallest individuals on the team. Their job is to kick field goals, extra points, and kickoffs for the team. The place kicker needs to have a strong and accurate leg to be successful. He needs the leg strength to make deep kickoffs and to make long field goals. He needs accuracy when kicking field goals, a place kicker must be able to make most of his field goal attempts. He also must have mental toughness, to be a great kicker you need to be able to thrive on pressure. Often the outcome of a game will depend on a kicker making a field goal. The difference between two good teams often comes down to who has the better kicker.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PLACE KICKER

1. Must be accurate, Field goal percentage should be 80% that’s connecting on 16 out of 20.
2. Must have a strong enough leg to kick field goals, high school should at least be able to make 35 yards, college 40, and pro 45 and more.
3. Must be able to perform under pressure, the outcome of the game often comes down to the kicker.
4. Must be Mentally tough,