I saw one thread that dealt with halfbacks and fullbacks but my question is what’s the difference between halfback, fullback, tailback, flanker, running back… Is it just different terminology for the same 2 backfield positions or are there inherent differences between someone listed as a RB vs TB or HB?
It all depends upon the type of formation used. If a team is using what is sometimes called “The Pro Set”, you have a quarterback who takes the snap, a fullback who has the primary job of blocking, and a halfback who is the primary ball carrier.
If the teams lines up in the I formation, then the halfback is called a tailback.
There are a plethora of other names used. Ace back is sometimes used for teams that only have one running back in the backfield.
Running back is the generic term.
Actually, in the traditional pro set, the fullback was a bruising runner who ran straight up the line and the halfback was faster and could run sweeps, and usually was a better receiver. The 68 New York Jets, for instance, had Mat Snell at fullback and Emerson Boozer at halfback. Snell charged into the line; Boozer ran around end.
There used to be two halfbacks, but someone (I’d guess it was Paul Brown) realized this was overkill and positioned a halfback wide to act as a reciever. The name “flanker” was coined to describe this position.
Tailback is the name for the I formation lineup.
Nowadays, running back is used because a lot of offenses use two flankers for a stronger passing attack. Sometimes you’ll also hear “set back.”
There is no concrete definition of all these terms. There is a generally accepted term used for players playing certain position in certain offensive systems, but these definitions are becoming more and more obsolete every year. In the early days of football offenses were much more static. When a team lined up in the wishbone, it generally stayed in the wishbone for the bulk fo the game. You could more accurately call each player in the backfield by one of this terms, a term with more implicit meaning than running back. Today however, virtually every team has the same formations in their play books (all 50+ of them), and they generally don’t move to the line of scrimmage in the same formation twice in a row.
The terms Halfback and Fullback are presumably tracable to the wishbone offense. The wishbone typically had a tight end, and a split end, a fullback, 2 halfbacks and a quaterback. The backfield would line up with the QB in the typical place under center, the fullback a couple steps (closer than you typically see now) directly behind him, and then the 2 half backs split symetrically behind the fullback, as wide as the guards.
In modern offenses the position of fullback is still the same general concept. Large back, typically a blocker or a runner between the tackles, lined up behind the QB. Everyone is usually pretty clear on who the Fullback is. I’d argue that nowadays the place you line up is not as meaningful in terms as it once was. Your position title is assigned more based on duty than on location, I doubt however this is how it began.
The other backs, halfback, tailback, I-back, H-back, wingback, scatback and probably a few others I have forgotten are much less uniform. All these terms generally apply to the primary ball carrier. Tailback and I-back generally imply a running back who lines up directly behind the QB, with a FB in front of him. A wingback lines up on the wing (off the line of scrimmage just outside the tackle/TE) almost always. Halfback is becoming pretty generic, basically describing a running back other than fullback. H-back typically would be one of a pair of running backs lined up symetrically split in the backfield, without a fullback. I’ve also heard H-back being a term applied to a player who lines up as a wide out, off the line of scrimmage, basically the same thing as a flanker.
In the past teams typically had 2 wide outs, and 3 running backs on the field at any time. In certain situations or formations one of those running backs would line up outside as a third reciever. Currently however, that 3rd wide out is almost always a WR, not a RB playing out of position for a play or two to create a mismatch. Just a change in offensive philosophy.
If I were to try and sum up the fairly unscientific method of doing things currently, and assign meanings to these terms, I’d do it like this.
There are 5 basic clasifications of players playing skill positions on a roster.
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Running Back: Primary ball carrier, typically lining up in the backfield.
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Full Back: Primary Blocker off the line of scrimmage, usually lines up in the backfield.
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Quarter Back: Obvious
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Wide Reciever: Primary ball catcher, typically lines up outside the tackles, on or off the line of scrimmage.
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Tight Ends: Obvious, although certain players tend to blur this like Shannon Sharpe with recievers.
Note these are types of players, not positions.
Lets assume the QB and TE are forgone conclusions on what positions they play. They are players who play one position, that position happens to have the same name as their roster title. Now, between RB, FB, and WR, they are able to fill a variety of positions in various formations. Sometimes the RBs will line up as H-backs, in the next play they might line up as tailbacks, and then on the following play line up as a flanker. In a different series, the team may happen to have 3 WR on the field, in that case the 3rd WR would be the flanker. Other times a team might put 4 WR and a FB on the field, the play called calls for the FB to assume the typical position of a RB as a tailback. Do you see the distinction I’m trying to make? That half the terms you’ve used are popularly describing players, the other half describing positions in a given formation.
I think this concept is accurate, and helpful, but keep in mind that there is no hard and fast definition laid out in the NFL rules on these topics. Its all fairly general. There’s very little garauntee that two coaches will call the same formation, or the same position by the same name. Chances are Mike Shanahan’s term for a flanker (3rd WR) is the same as whatever his high school football coach called it. In the long run it really doesn’t matter as long as everyone on the team gets on the same page about it.