Correcting myself. In a 4-3 interior linemen do not line up across from the off. tackles, that would be a huge freaking whole. They are inside the tackles.
If we’re going to name a standard-bearer for the originals – i.e., cannon-armed and immobile – let’s at least name one that played in the NFL for more than 10 minutes!
I nominate Drew Bledsoe.
On a fumble or an interception, anybody can carry the ball.
The eligible receivers on offense consist of:
- the two guys on each end of the offensive line. Usually one of these is lined up close to the blocking linemen and referred to as the tight end. The other end is usually lined up wide and called a split end or wide out.
- the four guys in the backfield. One of these is the quarterback who takes the snap from center. There will usually be at least one running back, sometimes two. And then there is another player who usually lines up wide as a receiver, but just off the line.
Don’t forget that in certain situations, linemen can report as eligible receivers before the play.
I didn’t want to make the issue any more complicated…
Of course in the NFL, quarterbacks aren’t eligible receivevers if they line up directly under center.
I think I can explain it – it sounds like you might be from outside the U.S.
The big blob of players on both sides of the ball is essentially a rugby scrum – their main job is to push and shove each other away from the place where the ball rests at the start of each play – i.e., the line of scrimmage, which is where the ten yards each team must get within four tries starts from (on the first try, of course).
One side, the offense, starts out in possession of the ball – the guy in the middle of the scrum, the “center” gets to grab the ball and pass it (or “hike” it) back to the guy behind him (the quarterback.) Nobody is allowed to cross the line of scrimmage on either side until the center hikes the ball. Once the ball is moved, the scrum can begin.
The quarterback typically runs backward several yards as soon as he gets the ball, so he can’t be tackled by a defending player who managers to break through the scrum very quickly. From that position, he can either throw the ball to another player, or hand it off to another player. So long as he remains behind the line of scrimmage he is free to throw the ball to anyone, as can anyone he throws the ball to.
The offensive players who line up a little ways to either side of the scrum are wide receivers whose job it is to run rapidly down the field and get clear of any defensive players so the quarterback can throw (“pass”) the ball to them. The offensive players who line up behind the quarterback also serve as pass receivers, generally for shorter passes. They also serve as running backs when the quarterback simply hands them the ball and they try to run to one side of the scrum or through it.
The defenders at the center of the scrum have two job: prevent the backs from running through the scrum … or to either side of it … and if it’s a passing play, to get past the offensive linemen who are, parodixically, defending the quarterback from the “defensive linemen.”
The players who line up immediately behind the defensive line are “linebackers” and their job is to cover against short passes and to knock down any running backs who get through or around the scrum. (Sometimes these players are sent in to rush the passer when it’s obviously a passing situation, this is called a “blitz.”).
The players who line up on either side of the scrum opposite the wide receivers are there to prevent the wide receivers from catching the ball. And at the very back of the defensive formation there are generally one or two players known as “safeties” whose job it is to prevent long passes from being completed and to tackle any runners who get past the scrum and the linebackers.
That’s about all there is to football.
It’s the first one: a 3-1-7. Madden notwithstanding, it really isn’t a real football formation, in that you won’t see a team coming out in quarter on like a second and 10. It’s basically only used to defend against Hail Mary situations.
In 1979 when the LA Rams made their only Super Bowl trip, they upset the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs using a 3-1-7 formation most of the game in passing situations.
Roger Staubach was really bothered by it.
I don’t know. Is the Ivory Tower located outside the U.S.?
I was about to correct you, but realized that you are technically correct, since the Rams had become the St. Louis Rams before reaching (and winning) the Super Bowl a few years ago.
Actually, there’s much more to it than that. For instance, the clash of defensive and offensive linemen is more complicated than just a rugby scrum. Depending on the play, the linemen on both sides of the ball have particular assignments and tasks. It looks like little more than a bunch of big guys slamming into each other, but there’s plenty of complexity in the chaos.
Offensive linemen usually get noticed only if:
- they commit a penalty
- they miss an assignment and the quarterback gets sacked
Defensive linemen get noticed most of the time for sacks, but they have so much more to do.
And the success of a defensive lineman is not based solely on strength. There is speed and technique involved.
Of course it does help to be really big.
Can anyone explain briefly what the single wing was, and why it was abandoned?
My high school played the single wing back in the 70’s, and I know it confused the hell out of most schools that hadn’t played us before, but I’ve never really understood how it was different, other than that there is no quarterback.
Nope. The original quarterbacks were primarily blockers. That’s all Ryan Leaf was good for.
Pure passers and scramblers developed at the same time and have coexisted ever since. There’s also the hybrid - an excellent pocket passer who on very special occasion shows up with some running ability; John Elway was the best example of this.
Ok, so the standard form goes
R T G C G T E R
Q
F
H
The single wing goes
E T G C G T R
Q
H
F
B
R-receiver
E-tight end
T-tackle
G-guard
C-center
Q-quarterback
H-halfback
F-fullback
B-tailback
The reason the single wing was effective was that the quarterback and halfback could block exactly where they were needed, and had enough momentum to knock guys down. It also allowed plenty of runs to the left side, what with all six offensive linemen being there.
The problem was that when quarterbacks became the primary passers, they were left unprotected. In addition, the formation only had one wideout.
And, although nobody on the line except the ends can receive the ball, the offensive center is entitled to take the ball to begin the play. And he is, technically, entitled to retain the ball – though that is usually a good formula for getting the center sacked and no yardage gain. But 20 years or so ago the Chicago Bears ran a few plays with William “the Refrigerator” Perry, their enormous center, carrying the ball through the opposing line.
William Perry was a defensive lineman who sometimes lined up on offense as a fullback. He was usually in to block, but a few times he was given the ball in short yardage situations.
The center (or whoever is snapping the ball) CANNOT keep the ball. He must pass it backwards. He can pass it back to the QB (about 99% of the time), but he can also directly snap it to other players in the backfield.
The only plays that do not start with a player snapping the ball backwards to someone (QB, holder, punter, other back) is on a kickoff or free kick. And in the NFL, also on a fair catch free kick.
I know how tough it is to get the formatting right, but here is a site that has examples of single wing offenses:
Even that’s giving him a lot of credit!