| Sack | A tackle of the QB behind the LOS on a pass play |
| Safety | When an offensive team is tackled in their own end zone. The defense is rewarded two points and receivers the following kickoff. |
| Safety Valve | A RB or receiver that is put in a position to receiver a pass from the QB if the QB is unable to identify any other open receivers down field |
| SAM | Strongside Linebacker |
| Scat | A five-man pass protection in which the RB immediately releases into a route. |
| Scoop Block | A block by an OL which seals a pursuing LB to the backside of the play |
| Scramble | The act of a QB running after not finding someone to pass the ball to on a pass play. Not part of the original play design such as a rollout pass |
| Scrape | Lateral movement by a LB in pursuit of a running play |
| Scrape exchange | A play in which a defense exchanges assignments by allowing a defensive linemen to be responsible for an inside gap, and a LB scraping over the top to take over the DL responsibility |
| Screen Pass | A pass play in which the offensive line allows the defense to get penetration and move past them (as if through a screen) before the ball is thrown over top of them with the blockers now moving down field. Can be thrown to any eligible receiver |
| SDE | Strongside Defensive End |
| SE | Split End, WR aligned on the LOS away from the linemen |
| Seal | The act of a blocker maintaining a defender on the intended side of the play |
| Seal Block | A RB block in which he goes in the opposite direction of the play and seals the first, unblocked defender to the backside. |
| Seam | The area of the field for the defense within the "seams" of a defensive coverage, or the area splitting two defenders |
| Seam route | An offensive route that attacks the "seams" of the defense's coverage |
| Second Level | The level of the defense aligned behind the LOS |
| Secondary | The defensive backs |
| Separation | The distance between an offensive player and a defensive player intending to defend him |
| Settle Technique | A technique by a DB in which he waits for the receiver to approach before jamming him to disrupt his route |
| Seven-Man Front | Any defense having 4 players in the secondary |
| Shade | An alignment by a defender in which is is slightly favoring one side of an adjacent offensive player |
| Shift | A change in alignment by any offensive player pre-snap |
| Short Side | The side of the offensive formation closest to the sideline |
| Short Trap | A trap play in which an OL trap blocks a defender 2-3 gaps away. |
| Shotgun formation | An offensive formation in which the QB is aligned further behind the center when he receives the snap. Typically between 4-6 yards behind the center. |
| Shovel pass | A passing motion in which the QB "pushes" the ball toward a receiver rather than over-hand throwing it. Typically the shovel pass is to a receiver behind the LOS |
| Side Judge | An official lined up on the same side as the head linesmen, essentially similar to the back judge |
| Sight Adjustment | A post-snap adjustment in which a receiver alters his route/path based on the defense |
| Single-Wing | An offensive formation invented by Pop Warner in which the FB and TB are split behind the center and will receiver the snap directly. The QB in this case is primarily a blocker aligned behind an offensive tackle (often called a Blocking Back) and there is a single wing player aligned outside an End |
| Six-Man Front | Any defense having 5 players in the defensive secondary |
| Sky Force | When a safety is responsible for maintaining "force" or outside leverage |
| Slant | A route in which the receiver initially works for 3 steps before breaking at a 45 degree angle inside |
| Slant | A DL stunt in which the DL moves one gap to the strong side post-snap |
| SLB | Strongside Linebacker |
| Slide Protection | A pass protection scheme in which all blockers slide one direction and are responsible for a zone |
| Slip Block | A front side combination block in which a blocker first blocks the first level defender before "slipping" to the second level LB when the other blocker takes over. |
| Slot | The position of the field between the receiver slit off the formation and the end of the formation |
| Slot fade | A fade route coming from the slot receiver |
| Slot Receiver | The receiver aligned between the split end and the end of the formation |
| Slow Screen | A screen pass that takes longer to develop in order to pull the defenders further upfield |
| Sluggo | A route in which you initially run what looks like a slant before going downfield |
| Snap | The transfer of the ball from the center to the QB, punter, or kicker |
| Snap Count | The number of calls before the ball is snapped |
| Sniffer back | A RB aligned tight to the LOS immediately behind the LOS between the tackles |
| Soft Edge | A defensive alignment that does not have a defender directly outside on the LOS from the offensive EMOL |
| Spike | A move by a DE initially aligned outside to move inside one gap post-snap |
| Spill | Forcing the football from its intended direction to the outside |
| Spin | A change in assignments between two safeties |
| Spin Series | A series of plays from the single wing in which the player that receives the ball spins around and gives or fakes to another backfield player |
| Spike | A DL technique in which you start in a gap pre-snap and attack one gap further inside. |
| Split backs | An offensive formation in which there are two RBs that are split behind the QB |
| Split Flow | An offensive play where two backs go in opposite directions |
| Splits | The distance between receivers or between receivers and the formation |
| Split-T Offense | An offensive formation that was a variation of the T-Formation in which the offense is more spread out |
| Spot | The location the ball is placed down at the end of a play |
| Spread | An offensive concept in which offensive players are spread out along the width of the field |
| Sprint Draw | An offensive run play that initially looks like a sprint out pass before a handoff to a RB going back the other direction |
| Sprint Out Pass | A pass play in which the QB sprints out of the pocket immediately at the snap. Typically not paired with play action |
| Spy | A defender that is responsible for keeping an eye on the QB and preventing him from scrambling for yards |
| Square | The act of maintaining your shoulder parallel to a surface. Typically, square to the LOS or square to an opponent |
| Square In | A pass route in the receiver starts vertically before breaking in to the middle of the field at 90 degrees |
| Squat | Act of playing flat footed and forward, typically in a zone coverage, allowing you to break on everything in front of you quickly. |
| Squat Alignment | An alignment position in coverage with about 4 yards of cushion and on the outside shoulder. Typically used in zone coverage (such as Cover 2) to allow the defender to see the receiver and QB. Also used to bluff zone coverage |
| Squib kick | A kickoff that is intentionally kicked along the ground short of the deep returners in an effort to prevent a long return |
| Squeeze | The closing and playing a gap with the opponents body, i.e. squeezing a gap by pushing a blocker into an adjacent blocker |
| SS | Strong Safety |
| Stack | Multiple WRs aligned one behind the other |
| Stack | A LB aligned right behind a DL |
| Stalk Block | Open field, above-the-waist block by WRs |
| STAR | Safety/LB Hybrid Player |
| Statue of Liberty Play | A play in which the QB acts as if he is going to pass the ball, goes through the passing motion, but rather than releasing the ball to pass, then hands the ball back to a RB who runs. |
| Stem | The path a receiver takes immediately after the snap to get into his route or the movement of the defense from an initial position to a different position immediately pre-snap |
| Stiff Arm | A move by a ball carrier in which he sticks his arm out into a tackling defender in an effort to prevent him from making the tackle |
| Stretch Block | A lead block on a stretch run play in which the lead blocker is blocking the first defender that flashes in the 2nd or 3rd level. |
| Stretch play | A type of run play with zone blocking that works like outside zone |
| Strong Side | The side of the offensive formation that has more players. The run strength of the play typically is to the side where the TE is located and only counts the players near the OL; the passing strength counts the number of eligible receivers |
| Stunt | A designed defensive play in which two or more defenders purposefully alter rush assignemnts, typically by twisting around each other or moving to a location away from their initial alignment, in order to confuse blocking assignments |
| Sweep | A type of run play that attempts to get to the edge of the defense before getting vertical |
| Sweep | A running play where the ball carrier attempts to get toward the sideline and outside the primary run defenders |
| Swim Move | A move by a defensive player to get off a block, typically by moving the arm over a defender and pulling his opposite shoulder to get him off balance |
| Swing Pass | A route by a RB in which he "swings" out of the backfield to catch a pass outside the pocket |
| Switch Release | A concept in which two receiver switch there pre-snap position upon their release |
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