Lateral – A lateral is a type of pass that does not move forward. The quarterback can throw a lateral behind him or directly to his left or right as long as it does not move forward. Laterals can be thrown as many times as needed or necessary. If a wide receiver receives a lateral from the quarterback, while behind the line of scrimmage, he can throw a forward pass down field to another wide receiver. Only one of these is allowed per play. As long as the laterals are legal, not going forward, a team can use as many of them as they need. Players can run forward after receiving a lateral but their starting point must be behind the player throwing the lateral. If the lateral goes forward the play is stopped by the officials and a penalty is assessed. Using laterals teams run a high risk of fumbling the football. Laterals are used much more in college football than in the NFL, but there have been some famous NFL games using laterals. Three such famous games from college and the NFL were Stanford vs. Cal, the Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints vs. Jacksonville Jaguars.

Linebacker – the defenders behind the defensive linemen and in front of the “Defensive Backs”

Line Judge – One of the officials on the field during a football game. He is identified on the field by the L or LJ on his referee shirt. He has many jobs during plays that do vary depending on what play is called. His first job is to watch the players as they line up at the line of scrimmage such as offsides or encroachment. From there he has to check players feet near the sidelines during the play to make sure their feet stay in bounds. He also has to watch for laterals to make sure they are thrown legally. He also has to look to see if a field goal is made from behind the line of scrimmage, in addition to the two officials who watch the ball from the uprights. In the NFL and college football the Line Judge serves as he backup time keeper should something go wrong with the scoreboard clock. For lower level football, such as minor leagues or high school where there are only four officials the Line Judge serves as the official time keeper.

Lineman – a player – offensive or defensive – who lines up on the “Line of Scrimmage” at the beginning of the play

Line of Scrimmage – The line of scrimmage is the spot on the football field where the play begins. The ball is placed around the center of the field on the yard mark where the last play finished. A play beginning on the 35 yard line would see that mark (35 yard line) as the line of scrimmage. No player can cross the line of scrimmage until the ball is hiked. If a player on offense or defense crosses the line of scrimmage before the ball is hiked that team is assessed a penalty. The offensive team lines up just behind the line of scrimmage and the Center holds the ball firmly in place on the line until the Quarterback calls the play and is ready for the ball to be hiked. Football video games have had visual color markers for the line of scrimmage during game play in the “Madden” , N"FL 2K” and “NCAA Football” franchises for different game systems. In recent years on television, stations have highlighted the line of scrimmage, usually blue, so that the viewers at watching can more clearly see where the play starts and how far the team has to go for a first down.

Line to Gain – The line to gain is a feature added to football games through television and is invisible to players and fans in attendance. Fans watching the game from home or at a restaurant or bar are shown how far the team needs to go for a first down. Another name for this line is called the Necessity Line, referring to the necessary number of yards needed for the first down. For Downs 1-3 the line is either blue or yellow, depending on the network, but may get changed to red on 4th Down, also depending on the network. In addition to the identifying the yard line needed for the 1st Down, networks have also added a highlighted identification mark for the line of scrimmage. The combination of both highlighted lines box off the exact yards necessary for a 1st down making the game easier to watch and see those controversial 4th and Inches calls where the referees bring out the chain to measure whether or not the team earned the 1st Down.

Linebacker – A Linebacker is a position on the defensive side of the football. Depending on the defensive system used by the team there are either three or four on the field. Line Backers play behind the defensive line. Their roles vary depending on the play that is called. The three variations on the Linebacker position are the Weakside Linebacker, Middle/Inside Linebacker, and Strongside Linebacker. Strongside Linebackers move in for the blitz and match up with the offensive team's Tight End. He is the strongest of the linebackers with the best ability to overcome the blocking of the tightend when he has to go after the running back. The Weakside linebacker is usually called upon to cover wide receivers on passing plays. For this reason the Weakside linebacker is the fastest of the linebackers. The Middle linebacker serves as the captain, usually, and he communicates the plays from the coach to the defensive team. In defenses where there are four linebackers the Middle linebackers are referred to as the Left inside and right inside linebackers. In short, linebackers have a lot of responsibilities, and can serve in multiple capacities on the defensive side.

Lineman – A football player set up on the line of scrimmage before every play. He must stay within five yards from where the play started and cannot touch the ball. He is the first line of attack. The success or failure of the play begins with him. On offense he is one of five who work together to protect the quarterback from contact by the other team to promote a successful throwing game. They also create openings for the running back in order to have a running game. On defense, a lineman’s duty is to get to the opposing quarterback to disrupt his ability to make a play, or stop the backs from making a big running play and forcing a turnover.

Live Ball – In football, a ball is said to be live when it is in play while the play is in progress. The football becomes live the moment it is snapped, or else the moment it is free-kicked (for instance, in a kickoff). Live ball is the opposite of a dead ball. The term live ball is normally used by commentators, coaches or referees to inform people who might otherwise think that the ball is dead that, in fact, it is still live, and therefore, it is legal for a player to act upon the ball (picking it up, carrying it, etc.). For instance, if the quarterback passes a ball to a player who then fumbles the ball, the ball is still live and may be picked up by any player on either team and carried toward their respective goal post. The ball would only be declared dead if the player had been declared down prior to the ball slipping from his hands.

Long Snapper – In football, the long snapper is the center/offensive lineman who snaps or hands off the ball at the beginning of each play. At the line of scrimmage, the snap or handoff is typically to the quarterback who is directly behind the center in position to receive the snap and run, hand it off to the running back or pass it to a receiver. However, the center also may snap to a holder for a placekick or a punt. After hiking the ball, the long snapper/center acts to block defensive linemen. Many teams use the term “deep snapper” to refer to the snapper found in a team's punt formation (This is especially true in college football). Whereas scholarships for good long snappers were once quite rare, they're now much more common as colleges recognize how important they are to the team.

Loose Ball – In football, a loose ball is one which is not currently possessed by either team at a time when the ball is considered live. Some examples would be a ball which is lying on the field or one which is rolling on the ground following a fumble. Typically a ball becomes a loose ball when a player fumbles the ball. This could be the quarterback who drops the ball before throwing it, the recipient of the ball, to whom the quarterback throws it, or in some cases, a member of the opposing team, who picks up a loose ball, might also fumble it, making it loose again. Any time a ball is said to be loose (but live), any player from either team may pick it up and legally run it toward their respective goal / end zone. In short, a loose ball is typically the result of a botched play, for on which the opposite team might capitalize.