Offensive Positions

What is a 'skill position'?

Well, the skill positions are your quarter backs, receivers and running backs. Those are what you can consider your athletes, because those are guys that make up a lot of plays for you running the ball or catching the ball. Also your quarter backs who throw the ball. So your skill guys are guys that handle the ball a lot.

What is a 'quarterback'?

He is the man. I mean everybody knows that. He is the one that has the ball in his hand on every single play. He controls the offense. He is usually your team leader and he may not be a vocal leader but he will definitely be a leader by example. And those are the qualities that I look for in a quarterback. Someone who is blue collar, shows up every day, is consistent, and knows his assignments. He is someone that you count on every Saturday or every Sunday.

What is a 'halfback'?

He is the workhorse. He is the guy you give the ball to on a consistent basis. Give him 25 to 30 touches a game. Let him get into a rhythm and he is the one that makes the offense go. You give him the ball and especially when you got a special player back there he can wreck havoc on defenses.

What is a 'fullback'?

He's your blue collar guy, work horse, always is in there doing the dirty work, hitting guys in the mouth on every play, not getting any of the glory but always leading up for the tailback or the halfback, making the holes for him to run through, and he's the guy that, on a consistent basis, play in and play out, is going to hit someone in the mouth.

What does the 'offensive line' do?

The Offensive Line is, they're the cornerstone of any offense. They line up in the line of scrimmage, there's usually five or, five guys on there, a center, two guards, to tackles, they do a lot the dirty work in the trenches. They open holes for the halfback, they protect the quarterback, they definitely on every play are doing something physical and they're the reason why teams are successful on offense is the Offensive Line.

What is a 'center'?

The center is equivalent to the quarterback on the offensive line. He has the ball in his hands every single play, so it's his responsibility to not only get the snap, no protections, know which play is going to be run, know where the ball's being run, but also to make checks at the line. If you ever notice in a game, you see a lot of centers pointing out who's where. What he's doing is identifying where the middle linebacker is, so we can get protection and also run the plays. So the center is definitely the most important lineman on the field.

What is a 'guard'?

Guard is another offensive lineman, either to the left or to the right of the center. His job is definitely to open holes for the running back. He's usually pulling on certain plays where he's pulling around and getting through the hole. He's protecting the quarterback on every passing play. He's a vital part of the offensive line and makes the running game and passing game go.

What is an 'offensive tackle'?

Offensive tackle, these guys are your big boys on the line. They protect their quarterback on every play. The left tackle is considered the big time position, especially if you have a right handed quarterback. His job is to protect the quarterback's blind side. And if you notice in the NFL, usually the left tackle they talk about more than the right tackle because he is the one usually making the most money on the offensive line. He's the one protecting the quarterback on a consistent basis.

What is a 'tight end'?

A tight end, depending on which offence you're in can be a run tight end or also a passing tight end. A lot of people have noticed Antonio Gates from the San Diego Chargers catches a lot of passes and he is more of a passing tight end. He'll do his run blocking and he lines up next to the offensive tackles and their offence, he's more of a pass catcher. In other offences they'll be just like a smaller offensive lineman, they line up next to the tackles, they're vital in the run game, they're able to pin the defensive end in order to get the running back outside. So tight ends are definitely a vital part of the offence as well.

What is a 'wide receiver'?

They're the play makers. They're the guys that make plays day in and day out on Saturday's and Sunday's. When coaching receivers at my school I always tell them, and especially being a former receiver I know this, if you guys make plays we win games. If you don't, we lose. Offense is going to do their job, offensive line's going to do their job, running back's going to do their job and the quarterback's going to do his job, but if we don't make plays we don't win. So I always call the receivers core play makers.

What are the different kinds of receiver?

Different kinds of receivers are, you've got a flanker, you've got a split end, and you've got a slot receiver, depending if you're in a three receiver set. The split end is always on the ball, because you have to seven people on the line of scrimmage. The slot receiver is always off, and your flanker is usually off. So, the reason why you have to have the split end on is because you have to have seven men on the line of scrimmage at all times. If you don't, you get a penalty. So that's the reason why you see some receivers on and some receivers off.

What makes a great offensive player?

There's a lot of different qualities that make up a great offensive player. One is blue collar. Blue collar means that he shows up every day and that he does his job. He's consistent, you know what you're going to get out of that guy on a consistent basis. Number two is character. I think that guys with high character, you can count on them. No matter what the situation. If it's fourth down and five and we need to complete a pass to our receiver or have a running back get a first down, you know what you're going to get out of that guy. Three, I think hard worker. A guy that does his job, comes in, knows his offensive plays. And then four is a play maker. Does he have that special play making ability that shows up on a consistent basis. So I think there's some different things you can attribute to that.