middle guard

plural middle guards

1. American footballA defensive player positioned in the middle of the pitch, opposite the offensive center and between the defensive tackles; the nose guard.

   It allows the middle guard of the defense to roam, and with the combined efforts of his teammates he will emerge your leading tackler game in and out.

   1956, Jack C. Mitchell, Bernard A. Taylor, Umbrella Defenses, W. C. Brown Company, page 17

   1 more example

   The middle guard faced off consistently against the offensive center, with one or occasionally both hands in the dirt. On running plays, he bore the traditional run-stuffing responsibilities.

   2022 April 25, George Bozeka, editor, The 1951 Los Angeles Rams: Profiles of the NFL's First West Coast Champions, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 285

2. rareball gamesThe guard.

   Synonyms: nose guard, nose tackle

3. rareOne between the new guard and the old guard.

   Hollywood's oldest restaurant and the darling of the old guard (Jack Nicholson has his namesake booth), the middle guard (Quentin Tarantino used it as a location in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood), and the new guard (it has become a destination for Netflix execs and producers).

   2022 January 23, Lesley M. M. Blume, “The L.A. Power Lunch is Alive and Well”, in Town & Country