In pro-style formations, a fullback might be added to the equation. Parallel to the quarterback a few yards to his right or left (if the quarterback is in shotgun).Directly behind the quarterback about five yards back (if the quarterback is under center).In the most traditional offensive alignments, there will be one running back on the field, and he will line up either… No matter what the situation is though, running backs will almost always line up in the backfield. The quarterback is tasked with not only reading defenses before the ball is snapped, but also after it's snapped to see how they react, and where the opportunities are.ĭepending on the level of football, the style of offense, and the formation that's being run, there could be no running backs on the field for the offense or as many as four on any one play. While his key responsibilities are simple, they are not always easy to do. The quarterback has two or three main responsibilities on any given play: It's becoming more popular today for quarterbacks to start a play in a shotgun position, which means they line up about five yards behind the center.Īgain, though, while this alignment is popular at higher levels of football, it isn't seen too much in the youth football game. The traditional position for him on the field would be under the center, crouched down to take the snap of the ball directly from center. The quarterback lines up in the backfield on every play. In the lower levels of youth football, quarterbacks don't throw the ball that often, as they simply aren't big and strong enough to do so yet.Įven still, they are responsible for running the offense - calling plays and making sure handoffs are completed successfully. Look no further than the NFL and Baltimore Ravens young star quarterback Lamar Jackson for proof. In upper levels of today's game, more and more quarterbacks also have the ability to run the football well, in addition to throwing it. The quarterback often has a good arm to throw the football, is a smart player who understands the game well, and is a good leader on and off the field. He is the one responsible for calling plays in the huddle, for making adjustments at the line of scrimmage based on what he sees with the defense, and for ultimately driving the play in a certain direction. The best way to truly understand all the various football positions, where they line up, and what their responsibilities are is to break it down unit-by-unit, "level-by-level."Īs mentioned, the quarterback is the captain of the offensive unit. Unlike baseball, where there is a first baseman on every play, for example, there may be a free safety for one play in football, and then no free safety on the next. In addition to that, not every play will feature the same personnel for each unit. There is more depth to each position in football than there is in a sport like baseball, for example.Įach position has a primary responsibility, of course, but some positions could also have one responsibility on one play, and then a completely different responsibility on another play. What makes understanding football positions even more challenging is that even though some positions look the same throughout all three units, the responsibility of that position often changes from one unit to the next, if ever so slightly.įootball positions also just can't be explained quickly. This means that there are 33 different football positions - or slight variations of positions - throughout a game. While there are only 11 players on each team on the field at any one time, there are three distinct "units" for each football team: Unlike a lot of other sports, it’s rather difficult to understand all the various football positions on a team.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |