Only Serious Sports Fans Know All Of These NFL Slang Terms
Okay, big shot. Maybe you know your quarterbacks from your cornerbacks, and you can tell the difference between the end zone and the red zone. When it comes to a sport as big as football, though, there’s a lot of lingo to keep up with. Some of these phrases sound plain ridiculous, but if you know all of this football slang, you might have a future as an NFL head coach — or maybe you just talk a ton of trash while playing Madden. Either way, a true football fan needs to have these terms down pat.
Tush push
It's not the fanciest play in football, but the tush push gets the job done. Called in short-yardage situations, the scheme involves quickly hiking the ball to the quarterback and having his teammates behind him shove him forward.
Basically, the tush push is a QB sneak with an added dose of up-close-and-personal contact. The Philadelphia Eagles, who are particularly adept at the play, also call it the "brotherly shove."
Slobberknocker
Well, the name "slobberknocker" pretty much says it all. This is when a tackle is so vicious that huge globs of saliva fly out of the victim's mouth upon contact.
A slobberknocker isn't necessarily a dirty play, but it is the kind of hit that can take someone off the field for a play or two — as well as making them a little more tentative upon their return to the fray.
Coffin corner
Punters deserve some cool lingo too! The coffin corner refers to the space between the goal line and the five-yard line that is the ideal spot for a punt to end up. Basically, if the punter can pinpoint this area of the field, the opposition's next offensive drive is as challenging as it gets — and by implication, as good as dead.
It is a hard spot to hit, of course. If the punt does continue into the end zone beyond coffin corner, the other team gets a touchback and starts at the 25-yard line.
Got that dog in him
Can you think of an NFL player who, no matter how badly things look on the scoreboard, refuses to give up? That type of athlete, who often finds a way to pull success from the jaws of defeat, has that dog in him.
This saying probably relates to the fact that dogs are always willing to run down one more ball during a game of fetch. Or it could simply be a play on the word "dogged." Either way, it's a big-time compliment.