Playcalling in football refers to the selection of which plays are going to be used throughout the game. Both the offense and defense will call a play on each down. Playcalling duties are usually done by the head coach, offensive coordinator, or defensive coordinator.

Like everything in life, when you break it down into chunks, it’s more manageable to understand and remember. Here’s how to break down and understand an NFL play call. An NFL and college play call often goes in this order: formation, play type, offensive line protection scheme and cadence.

An NFL play call is often called in the order of formation, play type, offensive line protection scheme, and cadence. Each coach may have their own system of verbiage, but NFL play calls will have these 4 details in the play.

NFL play calls are a combination of jargon, codes, and signals used by coaches and quarterbacks to communicate the desired play to the rest of the team. Here we’ll look at various NFL play call examples, decipher the jargon, and provide insights into the strategies behind them.