What is a Safety in Football? (Full Explanation)

By Coach Martin | Football Basics

While most scores in football games result in a team scoring six points, three points or one point on a play, there are some rare plays that result in two points.

One is a two-point conversion after a touchdown, and the other is a safety.

The safety in football is both a scoring play that results in two points and also the name of a position on defense.

In this article, we’ll be discussing the point-scoring play, not the position.

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What is a Mike Linebacker in Football? (Full Explanation)

By Coach Martin | Football Positions

Football coaches have come up with a number of different terms for certain positions and/or plays.

These terms make it simpler for every player on the field to understand what’s going on, and who’s who.

One of those terms is the ‘Mike’ — which is the name that all teams use to describe the middle linebacker.

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What is a Checkdown in Football? (Full Explanation)

By Coach Martin | Football Offense

A checkdown is a generic term in football that refers to a quarterback throwing a short pass to a running back or tight end running a short route.

It doesn’t refer to any short route that these positions run, though.

Instead, it refers to when the quarterback opts to throw this shorter route because all of his other wide receivers aren’t open.

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Air Coryell Offense (Coaching Guide With Images)

By Coach Martin | Football Offense

Throughout the years, there have been many variations to offenses as teams adjust to all the new ways defenses approach the game.

As the game evolved, there have been many different offensive philosophies — but only a few have been truly ahead of their time.

One of those is now known as the Air Coryell offense.

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6 on 6 Flag Football Plays (The Top 10 Plays for Kids)

By Coach Martin | Football Plays

One of the great parts about football is that there are many different versions kids can play to learn the game.

If you don’t want them to get directly involved in full-contact, 11-on-11 tackle football right away, you can have them try Flag Football out first.

Flag Football is a great game for many reasons.

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What is a Snap Infraction in Football? (Full Explanation)

By Coach Martin | Football Basics

In football, you’ll sometimes see penalties called before a play even starts — these are what’s know as dead-ball fouls.

Dead-ball fouls can also occur after a play has concluded as well — with many of these being personal foul calls for late hits and the such.

The most common pre-snap dead ball foul is the false start that’s committed by the offense.

But, another one that can happen — but isn’t called as often — is a snap infraction.

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Touchback vs Safety: What’s the Difference? (Explained)

By Coach Martin | Football Basics

There are a few plays in football that look similar, but actually have different outcomes — one such comparison is a touchback vs safety.

In both of these plays, a player is either tackled or downed in their own end zone with possession of the football.

On one hand you have a touchback — the team with the football gets an offensive possession started at their own 25-yard line.

On the other hand, a safety — the team with the football not only loses possession of the football altogether, but the opposite team scores 2 points.

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Cover 7 Defense (Coaching Guide With Images)

By Coach Martin | Football Defense

In recent years, some of the offensive and defensive systems developed in college football have made their way up to the NFL level.

It started with the spread offense and the read-option, which has found its way to just about every NFL team recently.

What has also made its way up the proverbial football ladder is the Cover 7 defense.

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What is a Trap Run in Football? (Full Explanation)

By Coach Martin | Football Plays

Running a successful offense is contingent on confusing the defense.

Against good defenses, teams can’t just run the same few plays over and over again and expect to be successful every time.

Misdirection plays such as play-action passes and draw runs are great ways to keep the defense off balance and guessing at all times.

However, not all misdirection plays are meant to confuse the entire defense.

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Cover 3 Beaters: 5 Plays to Dominate the Cover 3 Defense

By Coach Martin | Football Plays

The Cover 3 defense is one of the most popular base zone coverage defenses in football today.

Much like the Cover 2, it involves rushing four down defensive linemen on every play — with the remaining seven defenders dropping into coverage.

Where the defensive differs from the Cover 2 is that it will drop three defenders deep and keep the remaining four as “under” defenders.

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