Quote:What does "the Mike" mean, anyway?

 

 

Quote: 

Linebackers in the NFL:

 

• Mike - middle linebacker, responsible for calling plays, jack-of-all-trades
  
• Sam - outside strong-side linebacker, blitzes most often, needs strength
  
• Will - outside weak-side linebacker, drops into pass coverage most often, needs speed
  
• Jack - middle linebacker used in a 3-4 on the weak-side of the Mike, another jack-of-all trades type
  

 

 

That's what it means to the Defense, but to a team that uses Zone Blocking, the Mike indicates where the players start their count so they can determine whom to block.

 

For the O-Line, each player is designated to block a "numbered" defender and that numbering starts at the Mike who the Offense then numbers as zero. The typical assignment for that blocking scheme is that the Center blocks zero, the Guard blocks one, the Tackle two, and so on. When the QB or even the Center names a player as "the Mike", that helps the rest of the blockers identify who they are blocking.

 

As for the Ted comment that you made, a lot of teams will come up with different terminology for a lot of their positions. You'll probably come across references to the Jack as CSTBlank wrote, the Bandit, Moe for a weakside Inside Linebacker, and lots of others. Teams do this so that the opposition can't discern the formation as quickly.

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