Audibles, code words and dummy calls: In the NFL, the game within the game happens before the snap

Andrew Luck takes his place under center and proceeds to spit out a series of seemingly nonsensical words.

“Mexico! Mexico! Blue 80! Set, hut!”

With that, the poetry is set in motion, 11 men embarking on 11 separate responsibilities while, simultaneously, working in concert.

The sequence of terms uttered by the Indianapolis Colts quarterback at the line of scrimmage dictated much of the actions those 11 men would take after the snap. Or, quite possibly, they meant nothing at all.

It’s almost impossible to tell. Which is exactly the way Luck prefers it.

Welcome to the world of NFL code words, where a never-ending game within the game plays out between quarterbacks, offensive play callers and savvy defensive coaches and players.

The verbiage can run the gamut. From the “Omaha” call Peyton Manning made famous in Denver to the “Halle Berry” audible recently used by Rams quarterback Jared Goff (which drew a Twitter response from the award-winning actress), the words can range from outright funny to downright boring.

But whether they’re interesting is very much beside the point. What’s more important is that they are effective and protected.

If you’re curious about the substance of all this terminology, try talking to defensive players. A tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring that defenders can never decipher what the quarterback and his offensive teammates are discussing, even though they’re mere feet away from the conversation.

“Some words might mean something,” Luck said, “and some might mean absolutely nothing.”

Colts backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett explained it thusly: “It could (represent) the formation, play call, protection call. It could be anything, really. And if you’re not huddling, you have to say everything at the line of scrimmage. Sometimes we’ll have one word that can mean everything or we might have a whole bunch of words just to make it sound like we’re saying stuff.”

There are many layers to this story. There is, first of all, the need to communicate at the line of scrimmage. This occurs either when a team is using the no-huddle offense or when a defensive tactic — an apparent blitz, an unexpected coverage, etc. — is observed by the quarterback, requiring an audible. Then, there’s the reality that the defense is within earshot of all of this, with experienced players constantly on the lookout for the slightest clues or cues.

Finally, there is the viewer, sitting comfortably at home watching on a 4K television with surround sound. To improve the viewing experience, networks have convinced the NFL to allow the placement of microphones all over the field. There are sophisticated handheld parabolic mics on each sideline that pick up most of what you overhear on a broadcast. Additionally, the offensive guards are typically mic’d too, though that audio is not usually heard during the live broadcast (NFL Films uses it for a range of purposes).

This has added significant complexity to the game-planning process. The challenge is as follows: How can a team effectively use sensitive words whose meanings only it can know when, now, the whole world can hear them?

“If I’m watching Monday Night Football, I’ll listen if it’s a team we’re going to play,” Colts defensive tackle Al Woods said. “And if I hear a word, I might pause it and rewind it to see what the blocking scheme was. You definitely do a little extra homework.”

Unwilling to yield their advantage, offensive coaches have adapted.

“We have people assigned to go back and watch every TV copy of every game to keep track and chart every word that is heard over the television and every signal that’s given on film,” Colts coach Frank Reich said.

“We keep a running total of it and then we make sure we are accounting for that every week. Teams are just watching everything that you do.”

These efforts must be balanced with trying to limit the number of terms used, so as to not overwhelm offensive players. But offenses must have enough mystery that defenders can’t begin diagnosing the plays before the snap.

“We’ve always had generic stuff,” Brissett said. “But you hear stuff from other teams like the Rams using ‘Frank Sinatra’ and stuff like that. That’s too much, man. I need something fast and easy. Get it out of your mouth.”

“Generic” should not be interpreted as “simple.” Nothing about this is elementary.

“We protect all of our stuff and do a great job making sure certain words aren’t overused and that we have multiple meanings for everything,” center Ryan Kelly said. “It’d be hard to really get a jump on what we do. If you use ‘kill,’ people are going to know that it’s either killing (the original call) to a run or a pass. But that could be a dummy, too. You never know.”

Added left tackle Anthony Castonzo: “We make sure the defense has no idea what we’re about to do. When we come up to the line, they don’t know. The TV copies are pretty useless for teams that we play against.”

Dummy calls are an ever-present danger for defenders who think they have a bead on the offense. This is at the core of this chess match that plays out during every NFL game.

“By the playoffs, you kind of have a sense,” defensive end Jabaal Sheard said. “But early in the season, it’s pretty hard. I remember the whole ‘Omaha’ thing with Peyton. (At first), that wasn’t a real call. It was a dummy check.

“But then he would get into calling the real play. But it took people until the playoffs to really know that. He was fooling guys with it the whole season. And then throughout the year, teams change their words, too. I obviously want to know, but if you can’t figure it out, you just have to roll with it.”

“If you guess wrong, it’s gonna be offsides.”

Brissett pointed to a scenario last season that was caught by on-field microphones in which Green Bay’s Clay Matthews believed he’d decoded a term used by Carolina quarterback Cam Newton. Before the snap, Matthews began jumping up and down, yelling to teammates, ‘It’s that wheel route!’ ”

Newton, ever the comedian, heard Matthews and replied, “You’ve been watching film, huh? That’s cool. Watch this.”

Rather than Christian McCaffery running a wheel route, which would have taken him wide toward the sideline, McCaffery came out of the backfield, initially headed toward the perimeter, but quickly pivoted and broke his route to the inside. Newton easily connected with him for a 7-yard touchdown over the middle.

It’s not impossible for the defense to get the drop on an offense. Familiarity with an opponent’s code words coupled with old fashioned film study can provide hints of what’s coming. It’s not unprecedented for a quarterback to see the defense adjust and wonder if trouble is looming.

Much like what Matthews said to Newton, defensive players, according to Brissett, “say stuff like that on every play. It’s just a matter of whether they’re right or not. They always think they know. I don’t react to it.

“But there are times when a player might say something, and in your head, you’re like, ‘Damn, this play ain’t gonna work.’ But you can’t let them see that. And they still have to stop it, too. But the good ones, they stop that shit.”

In the end, though, the guessing game won’t get teams far. Defenders generally wind up having to play straight up. Meanwhile, offensive coaches will continue to innovate their vocabularies and stay a step ahead in this ultimate word game.

But rest assured, the Colts won’t be using the likes of “Halle Berry” or “Ric Flair,” the latter also part of the Rams’ pre-snap lingo, anytime soon.

“We don’t put much effort into coming up with clever words,” Luck said, “whether they mean something or not.”

Then, Luck flashed a villainous grin and walked away.

(Photo of Andrew Luck: Brian Spurlock / USA Today Sports)