Evening star., 1951-10-19

about what's going on than the
ANNOUNCER does!
T-Formation.
Characteristics - /. Balanced
line (three linemen placed on each
side Of the center.
2. The quarterback placed di.
rectly behind the center. close
enough to take the ball as 1t il
pushed into his hands.
3. The two halfbacks and the
fullback placed in a parallel posi-.
tion. from two to four yards be.
hind the quarterback.
The entire alignment, linemen
quarterback, halfbacks and full.
back. form a T.
Strength-This formation is ar
laid to deception, with the quar-.
terback the fountainhead, il
strong in attacking between thu
defensive tackles, and capitalize.
on quick opening plays. >. The
quarterback taking to one or two
carriers, before handing the bal
of to the ultimate runner. Coco
taking" is essential.
Weakness-The T, playet
tight" is not particular,
adapted to wide plays, aimed out.
side the end. Hard-smashing de.
fensive ends and tackles reduc,
its effectiveness. This eventuall,
led to the (X) wing-T and split.
IT offenses, adaptations which
were designed to gain strikin,
power outside the ends.
Key player-the quarterback
He must be a clever ball-handler
able to deceive the defense by ap
Iparently tucking the ball in on,
halfback'S arms, while actual,
giving 1t 10 another player. TIL,
quarterback in the T will throw
at least 80 per cent of his team
forward passes. thus must also b
an expert passer.
X) the wing-T. most popula
o1ensive formation today. differ
from the regulation formation il
that one Of the halfbacks vii
race out to a position on eithe
flank before the ball is passe,
from center. He thus spreads
the defense to meet this threa;
flor he Immediately becomes
potential and dangerous pass re
Iceiver.
George Halas, coach of the Chi
lcago Bears professional team
IpopulariZed this system.
| Split-T Formation.
Characteristics-1. It derives 1t
name Of split" "a coachin
idiom) from the fact that tn
seven linemen take their position
with daylight showing between
them. The distance may var
from two to as much as four fee
between each player. (The theor
behind 1t Is to spread the defensive
players and to gain better block
ing angles. The line is usual,
balanced" (three men to one sid
of center. three on the other side)
2.-The quarterback becomes
ball-carrying threat, which is no
true of the straight T or wing
formations. although his initia
position behind the center is iden
ltical.
Strength In addition t.
spreading" the defensive line t.
meet the wider spacing of tn
split-T linemen. this variation O
the T offense places an emphasi
on the quarterback's ability no
only to hand of and throw of
the ball. and to forward-pass it
but also to carry it.
Because of the spacing of tn
llinemen. he will frequently rae
along behind and parallel to then
after he receives the ball from tn
center. His companion backs ar
Ideployed out ahead of him in posi-
tion to receive a "pitch-out" Gun
derhand lateral pass).
The split-T play reaches wha
coaches call the give-or-keep stag
of development. The quarterback
has the option of keeping the bal
and cutting back up the field, /
the defense has massed agains
the threat of the backs runnin,
out ahead of his or he may sucl
the defense toward himself, an,
pitch the ball laterally to anothe
back. who is three or four step
closer to the sideline.
i Weakness-Personnel. As on
coach SO graphically remarked
"the Good Lord alone can max
Ia Hope diamond, the Grand Can
Iyon and a split-T quarterback"
Key player-guess who?
i Single-Wing Formation.
characteristics. Unbalance
Iline (two linemen on one side O
the center. four on the other side)
either to the left or to the right