General Football Knowledge Thread

Monkeyfeng06 · Post #1 » by **Monkeyfeng06** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 7:08 pm

football is a complicated sports, there are still areas in it that i don't understand. so i will start by asking a quesiton.

why is quarterback called "quarter" back? similarly, why fullback or half back?

UrbanLegendMD · Post #2 » by **UrbanLegendMD** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 7:56 pm

I think it came from Rugby

$$D-Block$$ · Post #3 » by **$$D-Block$$** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 9:45 pm

Interesting question. I've always sorta wondered too.

Note that the difference between halfback and tailback is simply the position of the player in the team's offensive formation. The halfback lines up approximately half-way between the line of scrimmage and the fullback (similarly, quarterbacks line up a quarter of the distance between the line of scrimmage and the fullback). Because the halfback is usually the team's main ball carrier (while the fullback is primarily a blocker), many coaches see fit to position the halfback behind the fullback (at the "tail end" of the formation). In this case, the halfback becomes a tailback.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_back

Dirty Water · Post #4 » by **Dirty Water** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 11:33 pm

yeah you think about it if fullback and halfback names switched it would make complete sense

magicfan4life05 · Post #5 » by **magicfan4life05** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:47 pm

how come running backs are called half backs? for example, in madden when i only knew the term RB i could never find it in formations...

Post #6 » by **FNQ** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:09 pm

From what I remember about HS football....

The "full-back" has been retired... its a halfback now. But the name never really changed :lol:

The tail-back is the primary running back, and the halfback is the fullback...

Which makes a little sense, I suppose. I mean the positions evolved, right?

Well then why the :censored:

is Cooley called the "H-back"?!? Why is any TE that does some work at fullback called the H-back?

Post #7 » by **Rooster** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:27 pm

The names of the halfback and fullback never made much sense to me but hopefully this can help:
-"Halfback" and "tailback" are synonyms. In fact, you'll never see "TB" on a roster. ("RB" or occasionally "HB" for halfback)
-A fullback may or may not be primarily a blocker. This is where that categorizational slang comes into effect. A power back, which can be either a RB/HB or a FB, has a role, and so does a blocking back (who will obviously be a FB).

A perfect example of the different roles of backs is the SB Tampa team of a few years ago. Pittman was the halfback, a speedy guy who could take it outside and catch out of the backfield. Alstott was the FB in the power back mould, a guy who was great at running up the gut and could lock for the passer. Cook, a blocking back in the truest sense, could lead block for either of the other backs or block for the passer.

NoSkyy · Post #8 » by **NoSkyy** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:56 pm

510Reggae wrote:Well then why the is Cooley called the "H-back"?!? Why is any TE that does some work at fullback called the H-back?

In the spread offense, each WR is given a different name and I don't know if it's similar for all but my school did it X H to the boundary and X and Y to the field. Our fullback was are main H and in 2 RB formations we would take out the H and put him in the backfield, thus a H-Back? He was more of a TE that didn't line up as one. But of course I'm not completely sure.