NFL language: from Hail Mary to Pick six on Any Given Sunday

NEW YORK — Like most sports, football has its own lexicon. Here’s a look at 32 words and phrases — one for each franchise — that have long been identified with the NFL (in alphabetical order):

A-gap: The gap between the center and guard on the O-line. Each gap is described in such a fashion, so the B-gap is between the guard and tackle, the C-gap between the tackle and tight end, etc.

Any Given Sunday: The adage refers to the idea that any team can beat any other in a given week, regardless of record. It rarely applies to opponents of the New England Patriots in the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era. Also the title of a 1999 football movie starring Al Pacino.

Audible: While some coaches frown on it, and some even prohibit young quarterbacks from doing it, the audible is critical to any offense. It’s simply switching from the play called in the huddle to another play, using language that can include colors, numbers, places — remember Peyton Manning’s “Omaha”?

Blitz: When the defense sends more than three or four rushers at the quarterback to disrupt or stop the offense. One of the most widely used is the zone blitz, popularized by longtime defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh.

Bomb: A long pass attempt to either score quickly or stretch the defense to assist the run game or short/intermediate passing game.

Bootleg: The quarterback will fake a handoff to a running back heading one way and will “hide” the ball by his hip or thigh as he runs the other way. Bootlegs usually are called close to an opponent’s end zone. Hard to fathom, but even slowpokes such as Peyton and Eli Manning have scored this way.

Check-down pass: Everyone is covered deep. Or they haven’t gotten deep. Or there are no receivers who can get open deep. So the quarterback finds his check-down option, usually a running back or tight end. One reason completion percentages have risen in recent years is the use of check downs.

End around: A similar play to a sweep or a jet sweep, except it’s always run by a receiver who has come in motion. The Chiefs used this play to great effect in the fourth Super Bowl when they upset Minnesota.

Game plan: The strategy each team puts together weekly. Some game plans were as thick as the Manhattan phone book — if you recall what phone books looked like before everyone, including NFL teams, went digital.

Gridiron: When the game was invented, before the NFL even existed and then in its early years, fields were marked in a checkerboard pattern resembling a gridiron.

Gunslinger: Any quarterback known for having a strong throwing arm and leading a prolific passing game. Some examples include Hall of Famers Brett Favre, Dan Marino and “Slingin’ ” Sammy Baugh.

Hail Mary: Credit Hall of Famer Roger Staubach with this. After the Dallas Cowboys quarterback completed a late 50-yard pass to Drew Pearson to win a playoff game at Minnesota, Staubach said: “I guess you could call it a Hail Mary. You throw it up and pray.”

Hard count: One talent every successful quarterback must own is an ability to call out signals in a way that makes defensive players think the snap is coming before it does. That hard count causes them to jump offside.

Instant replay: Yes, it’s a staple in every sport, sometimes to the point of being a distracting intrusion. And it first was used by CBS in an Army-Navy game. Still, instant replay has become synonymous with pro football, whether for watching a great play all over again or in officiating.

Juke: When any player makes a deceptive move to fake out an opponent on the field. Often, but not always, applies to running backs and wide receivers. Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders was one of the best at it.

Pick six: One of many phrases whose origin is uncertain, but it’s definition is not. When a defensive player intercepts a pass and returns it for a touchdown, what else would you want to call it?

Pigskin: No, the football isn’t made from pig skins. However, when it originally was created, the bladder of a pig often was used inside to help inflate the ball. We would not suggest trying it on the barbecue, though.

Play action: Sounds like what goes on in a casino. It’s actually the act of a quarterback faking a handoff or pitchout as he drops back to pass, then throws the ball. It’s designed to slow the rush of defenders who have to protect against the run. Philip Rivers has fooled defenses for years with play-action passes.

Red zone: The area of the field inside the opponent’s 20-yard line when the offense is expected to come away with points, though it often depends on the quality of a team’s kicker. There’s also less room to operate, particularly in the passing game. Some teams call it the green zone. Others should call it the dead zone because they can’t score down there.

RPO (run-pass option): A more recent development and another tactic borrowed from the college game. A run play often is the first choice, but when the quarterback sees the defensive line or linebackers in position to thwart it, he has the option to fake the handoff and then throw. Receivers are taught to never assume the running play will be, well, run.

Shotgun: An offensive formation when the quarterback stands roughly six to seven yards behind the center to receive the snap.

Scoop and score: When a ball carrier loses the football, most sane people would simply dive on it to get or keep possession. But the show-offs want to scoop it up and run the fumble into the end zone. That would give them a scoop and score.

Sweep: Vince Lombardi didn’t invent this run to the outside, but his Green Bay Packers made an art out of it. QB Bart Starr would hand off or pitch to a running back, often Paul Hornung, whose blockers already had pulled in that direction, providing a convoy. All of them are in the Hall of Fame. A current version is the jet sweep, which usually involves a wide receiver coming in motion toward the quarterback and taking a forward handoff or pitch, using his speed to outpace defenders to the outside.