NFL Nicknames
This all time great defensive line dominated for the Minnesota Vikings in the 1960’s and 1970’s, leading the team to 4 super bowls in their time together
Purple People Eaters (Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and Gary Larsen)
This Diva Hall of Fame WR has the third most receiving yards in NFL history, his initials also signify something I coach might want to consider in the final minutes of a game.
TO (Terrell Owens)
When a running back uses their ”sturdy” extended arm to shield a defender from tackling them, they have used “this” technique?
Stiff Arm
Despite having the most sacks in NFL history (200), going to 4 super bowls with the Bills in the 90’s, and a iconic bull rush move, this HOF defensive end who played from 1985-2003 is not considered among the other Edge players as best of all time.
Bruce Smith
This term refers to a defensive player whose responsibility it is to make the ball carrier turn a run back inside. It’s also the main concept described in Newton’s 2nd law of motion, ___ = mass x acceleration.
Force
This bruising running back of the KC Chiefs in the 1980’s and 1990’s stood a massive 6’ 5’’ and 245 lbs, thus leading to the nickname the “Nigerian Nightmare”
Christian Okoye
This Hall of Fame running back won two super bowls in the late 1990’s as both a prolific runner and receiver out of the backfield. In fact, he won one of his super bowls while being mostly blinded due to severe migraines in the 1997 super bowl.
TD (Terrell Davis)
When the offense successfully blocks all the defenders on a running play, it results in the running back running through a wide open “hole”. Commentators may also use this phrase.
“Busting One” / “Gashing the Defense”
This former NFL QB who played from 1994-2006 is often underrated and forgotten despite winning a MVP in 1999, advancing to the playoffs 8 times, and defeating Dan Marino in a playoff game 62-7.
Mark Brunell
This term applies to both a type of turnover in football, as well as representing the variable “b” in this common mathematical formula, y = mx + b
Intercept
The Denver Broncos’ defense of the late 1970’s and 1980’s was given this nickname, later reused by the Edmonton Oilers in the late 2010’s
Orange Crush
These two former NFL players share lots in common. They are both HOF’s, they both won MVP’s despite neither being a QB, and both were known by the same Initials, who are they?
LT (Lawrence Taylor & LaDainian Tomlinson)
When a defender gets past the offensive lineman and “undresses” the football from the Quarterback, football commentators use this sexy term.
Strip / Stripping the QB
These two Kansas City Chiefs defenders are often lost in memory due to the fact that neither reached a super bowl in their respective eras. However both of these “Derrick’s” were dominant with one Derrick winning DPOY multiple times throughout the 90’s and the other amassing more than 1,000 tackles from 2005-2018.
(Derrick Thomas, EDGE) (Derrick Johnson, MLB)
This term refers to pre-snap movement by an offensive player in football. In physics, Newton’s 1st law declares that objects already doing “this” will remain doing “this” until acted upon.
Motion
This nickname belonged to the iconic defensive line of the LA Rams of the 1970’s, led by Hall of Famer David “Deacon” Jones. It’s also a nickname that might apply for two scary couples looking for a good time.
The Fearsome Foursome (Merlin Olson, Deacon Jones, Roses Grier, Lamar Lundy)
This “thick” former NFL running back (2006-2014) was first team All-Pro three times between 2011 and 2013 playing for just one team all but his last year in 2014. Despite his success, his team only made the playoffs one time in his time there.
Maurice Jones-Drew
This term is used to describe an offensive strategy in football in which the offense uses a pass-heavy attack, specifically using wide formations and speedy players to stretch the defense out.
Spread Offense
This running back played for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the majority of his career from 1998-2008, he is largely forgotten because he was the running back before Maurice Jones-Drew.
Fred Taylor
This is another name for a “pitch” or “toss” in football. It’s also used in anatomy, meaning “to the side” or “away from the middle”.
Lateral
Hall of Fame QB Kenny Stabler earned this nickname after scrambling for a 45yd TD in a divisional playoff game vs the “Steel Curtain Defense” in 1975, all the while being legally intoxicated (BAC of 1.2) hours before the game?
“Snake” (for his slithered and unpredictable scrambling style)
This HOF running back is considered one of the best in the history of the game and he wasn’t afraid to tell tell you he was gonna beat you the ”from sun up to sun down”. He is also one of the only players known by initials that don’t actually match his last name.
AD “All Day” Adrian Peterson
When the offense attempts to run the ball but the defense stops them quickly and decisively, we use this suggestive term.
Stuffed
This Kansas City Chiefs running back is largely forgotten because he played after HOF Priest Holmes and before Jamaal Charles. However, between 2005 & 2009 he topped 2,000 scrimmage yards three times and earned first team All-Pro in both 2005 & 2006.
Larry Johnson
This name refers to the esteemed section of the Raiders faithful at their home games, as well as the primary study of Stephen Hawkings physics career?
Black Hole