American football plays

In American football, a play is a close-to-the-ground plan of action or strategy used to move the ball down the field. A play begins at either the snap from the center or at kickoff. Most commonly, plays occur at the snap during a down. These plays range from basic to very intricate. Football players keep a record of these plays in a playbook.^[1]

A play from scrimmage begins when the ball is delivered from the center to a back, usually the .

quarterback

A free kick

A play begins in one of two ways:

Once the play begins, it will continue until one of the following events happens:

When the play ends, the ball is set for the next play. For the first three instances above, the ball is set at the point of its maximum forward progress. That means that if a runner is driven back in the process of a tackle OR is ruled down by lack of forward progress, the ball is placed as close to his opponent's goal line as he had gotten before being driven back. If he runs backwards of his own volition, the ball is marked where he goes down. In the case of an incomplete pass, the ball is placed at the previous line of scrimmage.

Play then resumes as described above.

Singleback- A singleback formation, also called an “ace” and “lone setback”, is any formation where the quarterback lines up directly under center, with a lone lined up approximately 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

running back

Shotgun- A shotgun formation is one of the most common formations in the modern game. The quarterback lines up 5-7 yards behind the line of scrimmage, typically with one or two halfbacks next to him. While it is often considered a passing formation, an increasing number of teams are building their offenses around shotgun formations and running several types of plays from them.

Pistol- A pistol formation is a hybrid of the singleback and shotgun formations. The quarterback lines up about 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage, closer than a shotgun formation. Meanwhile, the lines up behind the quarterback instead of next to him.

halfback

I-Formation- Another one of the most common formations in modern football. The quarterback lines up directly under center, but rather than having a single set back, a lines up behind the quarterback and a halfback lines up behind the fullback. The name I formation comes from the vertical alignment of the quarterback, fullback, and halfback, especially when compared to a T formation, which is now extremely rare at all levels of modern football.

fullback

run block -- An active type of blocking, where the player steps forward in an attempt to push a defensive player out of the path of the ball carrier.

pass block-- A passive type of blocking, where the player steps backward to establish a pocket around the quarterback to give the quarterback a chance to pass.

lead block-- A situation where one player precedes the ball carrier along his intended path in order to clear any defensive players that have not already been blocked.

pull -- When a member of the offensive line takes a step back from his usual place in a line and moves laterally in order to block somewhere else. Pulling can be done on pass and run plays.

pocket -- The protected area around a quarterback established by the offensive line in order to give him adequate time and sight lines in order to complete a pass.

gap -- A space between blockers. Defenders can .

shoot the gap

hole -- A space in the line where a ball carrier aims on a running play. These can be predesignated holes defined by the spacing between players before the snap, or they can be established by moving players around and establishing the holes after the snap (in a play called ).

run-to-daylight

snap The act of the center passing the ball from a resting position on the ground to a player behind the line of scrimmage, usually (but not always) the quarterback.

pass -- Also called a . A ball that leaves a player's hand and moves towards the opponents goal line.

forward pass

lateral -- Also called a , pitch, or pitch-out based on the technique a quarterback uses to pass the ball. A ball that leaves a player's hand and moves parallel to or away from the opponent's goal line.

backward pass

handoff -- A ball that is handed directly from one player to another without leaving the first player's hands first.