I think the way it works is that one of the two QBs needs to be at least 7 yards behind the LOS. This makes the formation a punt formation, which throws half of the LOS rules out. Florida tried a similar play on us this past year. It blew up on them, because Tebow tried to scramble instead of throwing a screen. He was not 7 yards back, so the "linemen," even the ones who were wide out to the right, stayed back because they were not eligible receivers.
That play was awesome. Tebow rolls out, spins back to the inside to evade Pittman, and then Dorsey pounces on him for the sack. Great call by Urban Meyer. 35 second clip of the play here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3MmVF9xao8
Ha, I was just thinking about how CUM, if anyone, would try an offense like this. I completely forgot about that play from last year.
Every receiver on the bottom of the screen was open. I am all for innovation. All the people here saying "oh, this will never work, the QB would get killed, etc..." are the same folks who said the shotgun would never work, so it's cool.
So what? Florida was stuck with one on one blocking and it wouldn't have mattered if the entire secondary sat down. Tebow had NO time. That might work against Kentucky or Vandy but not against the likes of the Tiger's DL.
Clair, every now and then you remind me just how little time you've watched this here game. :wink: Why was the wishbone so successful in high school, but ran its course quickly in college and never made it to the NFL at all? Because the quarterback took too many hits and couldn't stand the pounding for long. There are a lot of gimmicky high school offenses that never made in at higher levels because of glaring weaknesses that the average high school team can't exploit, but college and pros can. Sometimes in high school, a Terry Bradshaw or a Jamarcus Russell comes along that is a man among boys at that level and and make fantastic plays, but all that changes at the higher levels where everybody is good. Big, fast, unblocked defensive ends are going to make A-11 quarterbacks get rid of the ball very quickly while running and then they are still going to get hit on every play. Or they can tuck it and sprint out and they will still get hit on every play. Few teams in Division I have quarterbacks durable enough to take that pounding and none have the depth to survive the injuries that are risked. And by-the-way, the shotgun isn't new, it has swung in and out of favor every two decade or so for the last 100 years.
Just a few drives, as a surprise to the defense. But they didn't use it for a regular pro offense. Quarterbacks are too valuable and hard to replace.
Correct me if I am wrong as I may well might be because I do not have nearly the vast knowledge and experience around "this game" as you do, but wasn't the shotgun made in the 1960s and then primarily used in the 70s? I could be wrong and it could have been used earlier by other teams and could have been tinkered with by others, but my point is that even if this A-11 doesn't work in its current form, someone will tinker and make a new version, then someone will tinker with that version and so-on.
Let me clarify, I was imprecise. The name "shotgun" came from the 60's, but having the ball snapped to a deep quarterback has been around for a lot longer, just with other names in other offenses. Before the T-formation began to dominate offenses in the 1940's with a quarterback who lined up under the center, most offenses involved a deep snap. The old Single-Wing formation was the other dominant offense in the 20th century and it involved a direct snap to a deep back and it could be the quarterback, halfback or fullback. Offenses come along, defenses adjust and offenses change again, and defenses adjust. Some features, like having the QB take a deep snap or snap from under center, come and go in popularity over the years.
