Football Positions

By South Shield Travis

Offense

Typical Offensive Formation

       Line of Scrimmage----------WR      TE  OT  OF  C  OF  OT        WR

    QB

    FB

    RB

QB – (JaMarcus Russell) The Quarterback is the field general on the field. He is the one getting the play from the coach so he can put the rest of the offense in the huddle and let the rest of the offense know what they will be running. After he tells the team what play they will be running he will line up under center to hike the ball.

The Quarterback has 3 options.

·         He can either throw the ball to the Wide Receivers, Tight End, or Running Back.

·         Hand the ball off to the Running Back or Full Back

·         Run with the ball himself

RB – (Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden, and Michael Bush) The Running Back is usually the main person who rushes with the football. The Quarterback will hand him the ball and his job is to run with the ball for the first down.

On passing plays the running back can either stay behind the line of scrimmage and block the defenders getting after the Quarterback or can run a route like a Wide Receiver and catch the ball.

FB – (Oren O’Neal) The Fullback is also lined up in the backfield with the RB and QB. His main job is to block for the running back on rushing plays or to block the oncoming defenders on passing plays.

The Fullback on occasions can also rush the ball himself or run a route and catch a pass.

WR – (Johnnie Lee Higgins, Chaz Schillens, Javon Walker, Arman Shields, and Todd Watkins) The Wide Receivers are lined up on the line of scrimmage and are the closest to the sidelines. These are the cheetahs of the team, very skinny and very fast.

Their main job is to run routes and catch the ball from the Quarterback. However, on running plays they will block for the Running back as well.

TE – (Zach Miller, Tony Stewart) The Tight End is a combination position. They lineup next to the Offensive Tackle and can either be used as an extra blocker on the line or can run routes like a Wide Receiver and catch the ball. Some plays they are an Offensive Tackle and some plays they are a Wide Receiver.

Offensive Line – (Mario Henderson OT, Robert Gallery OG, Samson Satele C, Cooper Carlisle OG, Khalif Barnes OT) The Offensive Line is like a wall that protects the QB from the defense and opens up running holes for the Running Back to run through. The Center is also the person who hikes the ball to the QB to officially start the play.

These football players are the biggest, toughest, and meanest players on the field. They don’t get much glory but are a very important part of the offense.

Defense

Typical Defensive Formation

                                                SS                              FS

                                SLB                         MLB                       WLB

    CB                                              DE  DT  DT  DE                                       CB----------Line of Scrimmage

Linebackers

Linebackers play in the middle of the field and can be asked to blitz the QB on passing plays or drop back in coverage. On running plays they help the Defensive Line fill the holes and tackle the Running Back.

MLB – (Kirk Morrison) The Middle Linebacker is the QB of the Defense. He usually gets the defensive play call from a coach and tells the Defense what play they are doing in their huddle. The middle linebacker's job is to stop runs between the tackles and watch the entire field to see the play develop. On passing plays the MLB stays in the middle of the field and guards his area for anyone coming into it and will either tackle the player or break up the pass if the receiver is trying to catch the ball in his area.

SLB – (Ricky Brown) The Strong side Linebacker is lined up over the Tight End. On passing plays the SLB is the one usually covering the Tight End making sure he doesn’t catch the pass or tackles him. The SLB is also responsible for tackling the RB when the RB runs outside the Offensive Tackles where the Tight End is positioned.

WLB – (Thomas Howard)  - The Weak side Linebacker is usually the fastest Linebacker as his responsibility is mostly in pass plays. He will also cover the Running Back on most pass plays. He adds support to the MLB and SLB on running plays.

Defensive Backs

The Defensive Backs consist of the Cornerbacks, Free Safety, and Strong Safety.  They are the primary people who try and stop the passing plays.

CB – (Nnamdi Asomugha, Chris Johnson) The Cornerbacks lineup directly with each Wide Receiver. They make sure that the Receiver cannot get open so the Quarterback can’t throw them the ball.

FS – (Michael Huff) The Free Safety sits back and watches the play develop and is the last one to act. The Free Safety doesn’t have a person that he covers, he is more support. Once the FS sees what play develops he will either help out a CB on a pass play or will run to the line and help the linebacker stop the run.

SS – (Tyvon Branch) The Strong Safety is just like the Free Safety, but he is usually covering a RB or a TE on pass plays or plays closer to the line of scrimmage on running plays.

Defensive Line – (Derrick Burgess DE, Gerard Warren DT, Tommy Kelly DT, and Trevor Scott DE) The Defensive Line is the group that tries to break down that wall that the Offensive Line creates. They try to get to the QB for a sack or stop the RB in the backfield for a loss of yards. Their main job is to stop the run.