The shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in American and Canadian football. A formation in American football refers to the position players line up in before the start of a down. In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with In accordance with the Manual of Style (see) Canadian English is used throughout this article (see Canadian_English#Spelling) This formation is used by many teams in obvious passing situations, although other teams do use this as their base formation. In the shotgun, instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrimmage, he stands at least 5 yards back. Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. A snap (colloquially called a "hike" "snapback" or "pass from center" starts each American football and Canadian football Center ( C) is a position in American football and Canadian football ( spelled centre in Canadian English) In American and Canadian football a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line crossing the football field across its narrower dimension beyond Sometimes the quarterback will have a back on one or both sides before the snap, while other times he will be the lone player in the backfield with everyone spread out as receivers. One of the advantages of the shotgun formation is that the passer has more time to set up in the pocket which gives him a second or two to locate open receivers. The passing pocket is a term used in American football to describe the area in the backfield that is created on a passing play where the Offensive line forms a wall Another advantage is that standing further back from the line before the snap gives the quarterback a better "look" at the defensive alignment. The disadvantages are that the defense knows a pass is more than likely coming up (although some running plays can be run effectively from the shotgun) and there is a higher risk of a botched snap than in a simple center/quarterback exchange.
The formation was named by the man who actually devised the formation, San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey, in 1960. The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay Wisconsin. The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey. The 2007 season of the National Football League (NFL was the 88th season played by the major professional American football league in the United The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team Howard Wayne "Red" Hickey ( February 14 1917 — March 30 2006) was an American football player and coach who Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. John Brodie was the first NFL Shotgun quarterback, who beat out former starter Y. A. Tittle largely because he was mobile enough to effectively run the shotgun. This article is about an American Football player For the English football (soccer player of the same name see here. Yelberton Abraham Tittle (born October 24, 1926 in Marshall Texas) better known as Y Combining elements of the short punt and spread formations ("spread" in that it had receivers spread widely instead of close to or behind the interior line players), it was said to be like a "shotgun" in spraying receivers around the field. A punt in some codes of football especially American football and Rugby football, is performed when the ball is (The alignment of the players also suggests the shape of an actual shotgun). Formations similar or identical to the shotgun used decades previously would be called names such as "spread double wing". Short punt formations (so called because the distance between the snapper and the ostensible punter is shorter than in long punt formation) do not usually have as much emphasis on wide receivers. The shotgun was utilized by New York Jets as they employed the formation during the latter part of the Joe Namath era, to give the bad-kneed, and often immobile quarterback more time to set up plays by placing him deeper in the backfield. The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. Joseph William Namath (born May 31 1943, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania) also known as Broadway Joe or Joe Willie, is a former
Starting with the 1975 season, the Dallas Cowboys used the shotgun frequently with Roger Staubach at quarterback. The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC in the National Roger Thomas Staubach, also known as Roger the Dodger, Captain Comeback, and Captain America, (born February 5, 1942 in Cincinnati No other NFL teams utilized this formation during this time and it is assumed this formation was devised by Tom Landry; it became a "signature" formation for the Cowboys, especially during third down situations. Thomas Wade Landry ( September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American football player and coach Landry re-introduced the shotgun to give Staubach more time to pass as the Cowboys had a relatively young and inexperienced team that year - 12 rookies made that 1975 team. The Cowboy shotgun differed from the 49er shotgun as Staubach normally had a back next to him in the backfield (making runs possible) where Brodie was normally alone in the backfield. The shotgun was seldom used by teams during the 80's but became part of almost every team's offense in the pass-happy 90's.
In recent years, fewer and fewer teams use the shotgun since the two-deep (or Tampa) zones allow effective defense against offenses that don't or can't run the ball. Most NFL teams only use the shotgun on obvious passing downs or when they are behind and need to pass almost every down to catch up. Many college quarterbacks, such as Vince Young (now with the Tennessee Titans) who almost exclusively used the shotgun at Texas, have difficulty adapting to NFL offenses where most snaps are taken under center. Vincent Paul Young Jr (born May 18 1983 in Houston Texas) commonly Vince Young, or " VY " is an award-winning American football The Texas Longhorns football team is the interscholastic football team at The University of Texas in Austin Texas. The shotgun formation is often run during 2nd-and-long or 3rd-and-long situations to give the quarterback enough time before the receivers run deep routes. However, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts often audibles to plays that use this formation to take advantage of the fast receivers like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne to gain handsome yardage in a single play. Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24 1976 is an American football Quarterback who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis Indiana. Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. Marvin Daniel Harrison (born August 25, 1972, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American football Wide receiver who currently plays Reginald DeVincey Wayne (born November 17, 1978 in New Orleans Louisiana) is an American football Wide receiver who currently plays In 2007, the New England Patriots used the shotgun with great effectiveness as a base formation for one of the most potent offenses in the history of the NFL. The New England Patriots, commonly called the " Pats " by sports writers and fans are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston
Though the shotgun is a pass-dominated formation, a cleverly designed halfback draw play can put defenses off-guard and a fast halfback can get good yardage until the defense recovers from their mistake. A draw is a type of American football play The draw appears to be a passing play but is actually a running play in this way it can be considered the opposite of the A further development of the play is an halfback option pass, with the quarterback being one of the eligible receivers. The halfback option play is an unorthodox play in American football. Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. Roger Staubach's backup and successor, Danny White, once caught such a pass for a touchdown. Roger Thomas Staubach, also known as Roger the Dodger, Captain Comeback, and Captain America, (born February 5, 1942 in Cincinnati Wilford Daniel "Danny" White (born February 9, 1952 in Mesa Arizona) is an American football coach in the Arena Football It was noted at the time that he was only eligible because of the shotgun formation (an NFL quarterback who takes a snap from underneath the center was and still is an ineligible receiver, a rule not found in any amateur level of American football).
At times the formation has been more common in Canadian football, which allows only three downs to move ten yards downfield instead of the American game's four. In accordance with the Manual of Style (see) Canadian English is used throughout this article (see Canadian_English#Spelling) Canadian teams are therefore more likely to find themselves with long yardage to make on the penultimate down, and therefore more likely to line up in the shotgun to increase their opportunities for a large gain. Teams such as the Saskatchewan Roughriders utilize the shotgun for a vast majority of their plays. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan, founded in 1910.
The Nevada Wolf Pack currently employs a formation called the "pistol," in which the running back, instead of lining up next to the quarterback, lines up behind the quarterback, who in turn has lined up two to three yards behind the center. The University of Nevada Reno ( Nevada) is a University located in Reno Nevada, USA and is known for its programs in agricultural research journalism
Urban Meyer has added elements of the option offense to the shotgun offense he employed as coach at Bowling Green State University, the University of Utah, and University of Florida. Urban Meyer (born July 10, 1964 in Ashtabula Ohio) is currently the head football coach at the University of Florida. The option offense is a generic term that is used to describe a wide variety of offensive systems in American football. Bowling Green State University (BGSU is a public four-year institution located in Bowling Green Ohio, USA, about 20 miles south of Toledo Ohio on The University of Utah (referred to locally as ' The U' or ' the U of U') is a publicly funded Research university in Salt Lake The University of Florida ( Florida or UF) is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major Research This "speed option" or "spread option" offense is also used by the Missouri Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Ohio State Buckeyes, and other college teams with quarterbacks who can run as well as throw effectively. “Spread offense” may also refer to the Four corners offense developed by Dean Smith.