Law and Order

Nine on-field crimes that will make you unpopular in any NFL locker room.

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Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin gets hit by Jets safety Eric Smith after being hung out to dry by QB Kurt Warner.

Never talk about another player's contract. Or publicly knock teammates. Or use injuries as an excuse. Break any of these rules in an NFL locker room, and you'd better make amends to your teammates—and fast. But the faux pas don't end there. Every position has its own secret code to live by. And over the next few pages, we'll reveal them all.

1. QUARTERBACK — Hanging Receivers out to Dry
A QB should never throw a high pass when a defender has a free shot at the target. Arizona's Kurt Warner violated that rule in a Sept. 28 loss to the Jets, when he threw high on a deep post to a blanketed Anquan Boldin. Jets safety Eric Smith hit the leaping receiver helmet to helmet, leaving him with a sinus fracture and a concussion. (Boldin missed two games.) Afterward, Warner reportedly sent a text to his wife, saying, "This is it. I can't do this anymore." The vet didn't retire, but it's on him to make sure there's no next time.

2. RUNNING BACK — Covering Up
Nothing sends a running back to the doghouse faster than fumbling. Except maybe coming up short in the toughness department. Which is why you'll never see one wear long sleeves, even when it's stingingly cold out. Besides being wimpy, locker-room sentiment goes, sleeves are slippery, thereby increasing the likelihood of a miscue. "It's disturbing that we're expected not to wear them," says Baltimore's Willis McGahee, who has fumbled twice in four career below-freezing games. "Sleeves just keep you warm. That's it."

3. WIDE RECEIVER — Major Mental Malfunctions
It's a weekly ritual in most NFL locker rooms: The wideouts get together for kangaroo court to rule on the past game's transgressions. Holding penalties are a $5 fine. Loafing on a route runs you $10. Dropped passes, $20. But a mental error costs the most: $25. That's the amount Buffalo's Lee Evans was docked after he missed a block against the Jaguars on Sept. 14 and collided with tailback Fred Jackson. Evans didn't fight the fine; he knew he deserved it. "Nothing," says Evans, "hurts a team more than a mental error."

4. TIGHT END — Rising Early
On any given play, a tight end has to either get a quick beat off the line or get in the way of a speed rusher—and oh, by the way, he can't see the ball or hear the QB because he's got 600 pounds of linemen between him and the center. Given that disadvantage, you'd be surprised about what's unforgivable. Beat by a bull rush? It happens. Drop a pass? No worries, catch the next one. But jump the snap count? In the eyes of your 'mates, you might as well be playing for the other team.

5. OFFENSIVE LINE — Negating Six
Every lineman holds, even if they say they don't. But for all that is holy, they'd better not get caught, especially if they're blocking on the back side—miles away from the ballcarrier—and the play goes for six. "When you get back in that huddle," says Ravens center Jason Brown, "you get lots of dirty looks."

6. DEFENSIVE LINE — Losing Contain
On Oct. 12 against Indy, Ravens defensive end Trevor Pryce sold out on the pass and charged toward Peyton Manning, shirking his containment responsibility in the process. "Thought I had me a sack," says Pryce. Instead, he had a great view of Manning giving a delayed handoff to Dominic Rhodes, who rumbled left side—where Pryce was supposed to be—for 38 yards. If the huge run was the injury, the next day's film session was the insult. "The guys don't let you forget it," says Pryce.

7. LINEBACKER — Underselling the Blitz
The Jets have a blitz where middle linebacker David Bowens rushes to the offensive guard before dropping into zone coverage. The key is that he, as NFL types call it, mugs the guard—hitting him so the guard can't scoot over to help block a blitzing outside linebacker. In training camp, Bowens didn't mug the guard and Brett Favre beat the defense for a long TD. The 10-year veteran was dressed down on the field by his coaches. "I didn't understand the importance of it then," says Bowens. "Now I do."

8. DEFENSIVE BACK — Exposing Your Intentions
This is how a Redskins safety ends up angering cornerback Fred Smoot: He prematurely drifts toward the line of scrimmage before the snap—a dead giveaway for a QB that Smoot is in man-to-man. "Nothing is worse than that," says Smoot. It's that way on most teams. The Jets even have a slogan to remind their safeties to stay away from the line of scrimmage: GTFB, an acronym for "Get the f— back."

9. SPECIAL TEAMS — Unlocking the Wing
Imagine you're on the kick- blocking unit. You're one of the dudes behind the line who jumps straight up. Harmless, right? Unless your corner rusher loafs, which frees up the offense's wing-blocker—usually a hulking TE—to deal you a crushing blow right under the chin while you're all stretched out. Thanks, corner. I'll talk to you after the game.

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