ESPN AFL

"AFL Rules" will air on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Ray Bentley will be taking your questions during the Chicago Rush at the Kansas City Brigade live broadcast in an effort to teach viewers the rules of an AFL game. You can send in your question by clicking here. And in an effort help in the crash course on AFL, here's a list of terms you're likely to hear.

Positions

Jack linebacker (coverage linebacker)
Lines up on the TE side and cannot rush QB. He must stay within 5 yards of line and can roam wall to wall.

Mac linebacker (rush linebacker)
Lines up on the guard side and can blitz on either side of the center.

Field corner
Cornerback lined up on wide side of field. He's usually a bigger DB who is a physical tackler.

Boundary or wall corner
Cornerback lined up on short side of field. He's usually a faster DB with good coverage skills.

Safety
Defensive back who plays the middle of the field and usually covers the high-motion WR.

Guard
Offensive lineman and is ineligible for a pass.

Tight end
Offensive lineman who is eligible for a pass. He must raise hand before snap to identify himself.

Motion receiver
One WR may be moving forward when ball is snapped, but he cannot be past line of scrimmage.

Ironman
Refers to a player used on offense and defense.

Defensive terms

Shading (illegal formation)
Nose guard not aligned "helmet to helmet" with center.

Drifting (illegal defense)
Any defensive lineman who leaves the line of scrimmage to cover an offensive player downfield.

Hand in the dirt
All three defensive linemen must have at least one hand on the ground at snap.

Overextended (illegal formation)
Defensive end too wide and not lined up over part of the offensive linemen.

Illegal nose pick
Mac linebacker picks the center to allow the nose guard to loop around during pass rush.

Illegal twist
Defensive linemen loop or twist around each other during pass rush.

Outside rush (illegal defense)
Mac linebacker rushes outside of defensive ends.

Illegal blitz
Defensive backs or jack linebacker rush quarterback.

Mac stationary
Mac linebacker cannot move at time of snap.

Defensive coverages

Man press
Defensive backs play press coverage on all three wide receivers.

Sky coverage
Defensive backs play two-deep zone and safety covers strongside flats.

Cloud coverage
Defensive backs play two-deep zone with cornerback covering strongside flats.

Sluffing off
Cornerback drops back deep off his man to help on any routes coming in behind him.

Cover 3
Each defensive back is responsible for a third of the field. Used mostly on goal line.

Hi-lo
Combo coverage between cornerback and safety in which one takes deep route while the other has short route.

Gilligan coverage
Both cornerbacks press WR at line of scrimmage, leaving safety on an island to cover the motion WR.

Defensive stunts

Slant
Entire defensive line goes in same direction during pass rush.

Running the hoop
Defensive end runs a half circle to get around the edge during pass rush.

Nose pick
Mac linebacker hits the A gap and the nose guard loops around him during pass rush.

Greendog
Mac linebacker hesitates looking for run or screen pass, then rushes quarterback.

Straight
Mac linebacker rushes the gap directly in front of him and the nose guard rushes the opposite gap.

Over
Mac linebacker crosses over to the opposite A gap and the nose guard rushes the other A gap.

Offensive formations

Offensive alignment
A QB, FB, three WR (two stationary and one in motion) and three O-linemen.

Trips
All three wide receivers lined up on same side.

Right formation
Two WRs lined up on right side with one WR lined up on left side.

Left formation
Two wide receivers lined up on left side with one lined up on right side.

Rage
Trips formation in which two WRs are next to each other along the wall, giving motion WR room for his release.

Isolation motion
Trips formation into boundary with motion over to wide side of field.

Offensive protections

Slide protections
Offensive linemen all slide in one direction while the fullback blocks the opposite edge.

Man protection
Offensive linemen block defensive lineman opposite them while the fullback blocks the mac linebacker.

Zone protection
Fullback blocks one A gap while center takes the other. Guard and tight end block defensive lineman opposite them.

Plays and routes

Bubble screen
Quick pass or pitch to inside WR.

Quick screen
Quick pass to outside WR.

Pogo
Outside WR runs a go route and motion WR runs a post route.

Pig
One WR runs a post route, one runs a dig route.

Post corner
WR fakes to the post and runs to the corner.

Whip or smash route
WR starts across field, but stops and whips back outside.

Bench route
WR runs up field 12 to 14 yards, then breaks off route quickly toward wall or bench area.

Scissors route
The two wide receivers lined up on opposite sides of the ball cross each other.

Deceptives
Any play that uses the tight end or fullback as a primary pass receiver.

Sail route
Motion WR runs a corner route and the stationary WR runs a delay.

Double move
WR fakes a short route and goes deep.

Sluggo
WR runs a slant and go route.

Option or read route
WR and QB read the coverage to find an open area.

Big or fat package
Used on goal-line situations where the linemen play WR positions to fortify running game.

Quick motion
Motion WR starts back and quickly attacks the line.

Stationary
Offensive formation in which no WR goes in motion prior to snap (this also can refer to any WR not in motion).

Post-stop
WR runs post route, but stops and comes back to QB.

Hot hitch
QB sees slot receiver uncovered and quickly throws to him (also called a sight adjustment).

Souvenir
Slang for when QB throws ball away into stands.

One-foot inbounds rule
One foot must be inbounds for completion unless forced out by defender (it's a completion if official rules player was forced out).

Kickoffs

Net recovery
Kickoff bounces off net and recovered by kicking team (they can advance ball).

Mirror man
Up return man on kickoff return. He protects returner and fields kicks off iron.

Kick catch interference
Kicking team penetrates return team's 5-yard line before ball is touched by return team or hits the ground.

Drawing iron
Kickoff that hits the iron frame of the net apparatus and caroms onto field of play.

Slack net
Soft netting between the goalposts. Judgment call by officials whether kick can be returned.

Returner out of bounds
Return man can return a kickoff even though he is out of bounds if official deems him out of harm's way.

Kickoff rules

Ball placement
Unable to advance out of end zone; 2½-yard line.
Into slack net (blown dead): 5-yard line.
Over nets: 20-yard line.
Over sideboards (on fly): 20-yard line.
Into overhead structure: 20-yard line.
Into field of play, then exits: Where the ball exited field.

Rules

Linebacker box
The boundaries of the offensive and mac defensive box are defined as follows:

• If ball placement is on one of the pro hashmarks, then the boundaries for the width of the box are the other pro hashmark on one side and the nearest college hashmark on the other side.

• If ball placement is on one of the college hashmarks, then the boundaries for the width of the box are the nearest pro hashmark on one side and the edge of the yard-line numbers closest to the ball on the other side.

Fan Interference
Fan reaches over walls and comes in contact with the ball. Down is replayed unless WR makes catch.

Dropkick
Player drops ball to ground before kick. A dropkick field goal is worth four points and a dropkick PAT is worth two points.

College hashmarks
Wider set of hashmarks for placement on balls out of bounds.

Pro hashmarks
Inside hashmarks used when ball is downed in the middle of field and for field goals.

Sideline barriers
They are in play unless the ball carrier is forced into them. Passes off walls are live and kicks off walls are blown dead.

Time back on clock
In final minute of halves, offense has option to put time back on clock if defense is called for holding or pass interference.

No punting
Offense must go for first down, TD or FG on fourth down.

Offensive alignment
One WR may go in forward motion before the snap.

One-minute timing rule
Clock stops for incomplete passes, penalties, out-of-bounds plays and touchdowns. Also, offense must gain positive yardage or clock stops (in fourth quarter only).

One-minute warning strategies

Factor: Want to be last team to score. Tactic: Ground down the clock.
Factor: Who receives ball to start second half. Tactic: Take deep shots.
Factor: Timeouts remaining. Tactic: Onside kicks.
Factor: Field position. Tactic: Let other team score.

A few other things to know

Rosters
Twenty players on the active roster with eight players on field per team.

Goalside rebound nets
Extend outward from each upright along the end lines. Balls off nets are always in play.

Sideline barriers
High-density foam wall that surrounds playing field. They are in play unless ball carrier forced into them.