When it comes to an NFL player list, players normally have the roles of either playing offense or defense in the game. The quarterback’s job is to pass the ball to the running back, run with it himself or he can throw it to a receiver. The quarterback leads the offense and calls the plays that are given to him. The offensive line has five players that protect the passer and block the defense. The center is the lineman in the middle and outside the center is where the guards are and then there are the tackles. The running backs line up around the quarterback and run with the ball. They can catch passes, block and on occasion may pass the ball to other players. When the team has two running backs one of them may be the full back that may block and the other will be the halfback who may run with the ball. All the wide receivers line up close to the sidelines. They block when players are running and catch passes. These are just some of the players that consist in an NFL players list. Tight ends are players that stand outside the offensive line.  They can catch passes or protect the quarterback and also make spaces for runners.  When an offensive play takes place seven players line up on the line of scrimmage, while other players will line up somewhere behind the line.

When it comes to the defense there are no specified movements, starting positions and coverage zones for defensive players. The rules do say that the defense players need to be in the defensive zone for each play of the game. Responsibilities, movements and positions are given by the team for coverage’s and patterns of placing and assigning responsibilities to the players. There are three to six players in a defensive line that line up across from the offense. Their job is to free up the linebackers and tackle the running back. They are called the first line of defense. There are linebackers that are behind the defensive line. They line up along the defensive line and the defensive backs and can rush the quarterback and cover receivers. Their first job is to make sure that they cover the run up the middle. There is also a secondary line of defense that helps to cover receivers and try and stop completed passes from happening. Sometimes they will rush the quarterback, if a blitz play is called.

Further along our discussion of NFL player lists are the “special teams” unit, who are responsible for carrying out both offensive and defensive kicking plays. Special teams consist of the punter who punts, the kicker who kicks the kick-off and also tries for field goals, the player called the “long snapper” who snaps the ball during these plays. There are also punt and kick-off returners that return the ball for as many yards as possible after a kicking play from the opposing team. Returners are usually small and quick compared to most other players on the team. Sometimes a kick-returner will be the offensive running back or a receiver. Players usually stick to playing either defense or offense, not both, but some may play special teams as well. All of these players are very important in the game of football and every position is important for playing the game.