Table Of Content

Football FOR DUMmIES ‰ 3RD EDITION by Howie Long with John Czarnecki 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page i 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page iv Football FOR DUMmIES ‰ 3RD EDITION by Howie Long with John Czarnecki 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page i Football For Dummies®, 3rd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as per- mitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP- RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CRE- ATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CON- TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FUR- THER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. SOME OF THE EXERCISES AND DIETARY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS WORK MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS, AND READERS SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PHYSICIAN BEFORE COMMENCING ANY EXERCISE OR DIETARY PROGRAM. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2007926375 ISBN: 978-0-470-12536-6 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page ii About the Authors Howie Long is a former Oakland/Los Angeles Raider defensive end with eight Pro Bowl appearances, a Super Bowl XVIII victory over the Washington Redskins, and many other accolades to his credit. His size (6’5”, 275 pounds), combined with his speed, strength, intensity, durability, and explosive quickness, set him apart. Long retired from the NFL after the 1993 season. Long currently is a commentator on the Emmy Award- winning FOX NFL Sunday program, which is the most- watched NFL pregame show in America. His previous television broadcasting credits include ESPN’s Up Close, on which he had a regular segment discussing current sports issues; HBO’s Inside the NFL; the weekly NFL Diary; NBC’s NFL Live as a guest studio analyst, and Costas Coast to Coast. He also wrote the opening chapter to Bo Jackson’s book, Bo Knows Bo. Long is no stranger to the limelight, as he’s been involved in many commer- cials and campaigns for Nike, Hanes, Coca-Cola, and Pizza Hut. He also made his big-screen debut in the action-adventure film Broken Arrow with John Travolta and Christian Slater and was featured in the 1998 film Firestorm. At Villanova University, Long was a four-year letterman in football as a defensive lineman. He was All-East and honorable mention All-American as a senior, and was tabbed the Most Valuable Player in the 1980 Blue-Gray Game. He was also a champion boxer as an undergraduate, and graduated with a degree in communications in 1981. John Czarnecki has reported on the last 19 Super Bowls and has consulted for NFL Today and currently for FOX NFL Sunday. A former newspaperman with such dailies as the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and the Dallas Morning News, Czarnecki is a frequent pro football contributor to Sport and Inside Sports magazines. 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page iii 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page iv Authors’ Acknowledgments From Howie Long: First, I’d like to thank my wife, Diane, and my three sons for their support. I’d also like to thank my former coach at the Los Angeles Raiders, Earl Leggett, who taught me not only how to be a great football player but also how to be a man. And I can’t forget my co-author, John Czarnecki, for all his hard work and dedication to this project. Thanks also to my friends around the NFL, Terry Robiskie, Hudson Houck, and Artie Gigantino, who contributed to this book. Finally, I’d like to thank all the people at John Wiley and Sons who par- ticipated in this project. From John Czarnecki: Thanks go to my proofreading wife, Vicki, and to my daughters for staying clear of me on my bad days. To my mom, who knew that I would do a book one day. To Ben, my computer expert, and Kathy, my transcriber, and John and Mike at Clone Copy. To the coaches, Earl Leggett, Terry Robiskie, Fritz Shurmur, Hudson Houck, and Ernie Zampese. To Barry Meier, my neighborly coaching expert. To Artie Gigantino, a special teams/television expert. To Garrett Giemont, a very special strength trainer. To two helpful workers, Don Seeholzer and Bryan Broaddhus. To Ron Wolf, for all his insightful football knowledge these past 15 years, and to my good friend, Peter King, for all his advice. And to my best friend, Pat, for not calling me for three months. Finally to Pam Mourouzis, our fine editor, who never raised her voice when I was yelling (arguing) about anything. The calm in the storm! 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page v Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editor: Stephen R. Clark (Previous Editions: Pam Mourouzis, Mary Goodwin) Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Lefevere Copy Editor: Jessica Smith Technical Editor: David Morton Update Author: Peter Weverka Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan Mooney, Joe Niesen, and David Lutton Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Adrienne Martinez Layout and Graphics: Joyce Haughey, Stephanie D. Jumper, Laura Pence, Alicia B. South Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico Proofreaders: Aptara, John Greenough, Brian H. Walls Indexer: Aptara Special Help: David Lutton Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_125366 ffirs.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page vi Contents at a Glance Introduction .................................................................1 Part I: Football 101......................................................7 Chapter 1: America’s Greatest Game ...............................................................................9 Chapter 2: Meet Me on the Gridiron ..............................................................................19 Chapter 3: Rules and Regulations ..................................................................................35 Part II: Go Offense......................................................61 Chapter 4: The Quarterback ...........................................................................................63 Chapter 5: The Passing Game.........................................................................................77 Chapter 6: On the Ground ...............................................................................................93 Chapter 7: The Offensive Line ......................................................................................113 Chapter 8: Offensive Plays and Strategies ..................................................................127 Part III: The Big D....................................................151 Chapter 9: These Guys Are Huge: The Defensive Line ..............................................153 Chapter 10: The Secondary...........................................................................................169 Chapter 11: Defensive Tactics and Strategies.............................................................185 Part IV: Meet the Rest of the Team ............................203 Chapter 12: The Kicking Game .....................................................................................205 Chapter 13: Coaches, General Managers, and Other Important Folks ....................227 Part V: Football for Everyone.....................................241 Chapter 14: Armchair Quarterbacks and Other Fabulous Fans...............................243 Chapter 15: Youth Leagues and High School Football...............................................255 Chapter 16: College Football.........................................................................................267 Chapter 17: The NFL and Other Professional Football..............................................287 Chapter 18: Fantasy Leagues ........................................................................................305 Part VI: Staying in the Game.....................................313 Chapter 19: The Mental Game and Motivation...........................................................315 Chapter 20: Conditioning, Training, and Diet .............................................................327 02_125366 ftoc.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page vii Part VII: The Part of Tens..........................................341 Chapter 21: The Ten Greatest Defensive Players of All Time ...................................343 Chapter 22: The Ten Greatest Offensive Players of All Time....................................353 Chapter 23: The Ten Greatest Coaches of All Time ...................................................365 Chapter 24: The Ten Best Teams of All Time..............................................................375 Chapter 25: The Ten Most Intense College Football Rivalries..................................385 Appendix: Football Speak..........................................389 Index .......................................................................401 02_125366 ftoc.qxp 5/15/07 7:03 PM Page viii