Deep Thoughts - Position Terminology

[Water Boy]

Alright, hear me out. I have a few questions and thoughts about football position terminology. I could google this but I thought I'd bring it to the forum first at the risk of serious mockery, which is fine.

1. Quarterback, halfback and fullback

I assumed that the quarter-, half- and full- qualifiers would pertain to where the back is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback makes sense being closest to the line of scrimmage. Halfback is typically the farthest back in the backfield, so why isn't that position referred to as fullback and why is the fullback who is typically closer to the line of scrimmage not referred to as the halfback?

2. Why are the outside offensive linemen referred to as "Tackles"? It's nowhere in their job description except on a turnover. "Center" makes sense and "Guard" makes sense so you'd think they might have referred to Guards as "Inside Guards" and Tackles as "Outside Guards" similar to inside and outside linebackers.

3. They used to refer to the Defensive Nose position as "Nose Guard" but now its more accurately referred to as "Nose Tackle". Why wouldn't the same logic apply to the offensive side of the ball?

4. Other offensive and defensive positions make sense based on their alignment - Tight end, Wide receiver, Linebacker, Cornerback and Safety. They probably invented the term "Safety" because Fullback was taken by the offensive back that would be more accurately described as the "Halfback."

5. Technically every position on the defense could be named Tackle, especially linebackers who generally make most of the Tackles. Cornerbacks and Safeties could also technically be referred to as guards, because part of their role is to guard receivers from catching passes.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Ring 6]

Alright, hear me out. I have a few questions and thoughts about football position terminology. I could google this but I thought I'd bring it to the forum first at the risk of serious mockery, which is fine.

1. Quarterback, halfback and fullback

I assumed that the quarter-, half- and full- qualifiers would pertain to where the back is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback makes sense being closest to the line of scrimmage. Halfback is typically the farthest back in the backfield, so why isn't that position referred to as fullback and why is the fullback who is typically closer to the line of scrimmage not referred to as the halfback?

2. Why are the outside offensive linemen referred to as "Tackles"? It's nowhere in their job description except on a turnover. "Center" makes sense and "Guard" makes sense so you'd think they might have referred to Guards as "Inside Guards" and Tackles as "Outside Guards" similar to inside and outside linebackers.

3. They used to refer to the Defensive Nose position as "Nose Guard" but now its more accurately referred to as "Nose Tackle". Why wouldn't the same logic apply to the offensive side of the ball?

4. Other offensive and defensive positions make sense based on their alignment - Tight end, Wide receiver, Linebacker, Cornerback and Safety. They probably invented the term "Safety" because Fullback was taken by the offensive back that would be more accurately described as the "Halfback."

5. Technically every position on the defense could be named Tackle, especially linebackers who generally make most of the Tackles. Cornerbacks and Safeties could also technically be referred to as guards, because part of their role is to guard receivers from catching passes.

Any thoughts on this?

None

 

[JayNM]

Alright, hear me out. I have a few questions and thoughts about football position terminology. I could google this but I thought I'd bring it to the forum first at the risk of serious mockery, which is fine.

1. Quarterback, halfback and fullback

I assumed that the quarter-, half- and full- qualifiers would pertain to where the back is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback makes sense being closest to the line of scrimmage. Halfback is typically the farthest back in the backfield, so why isn't that position referred to as fullback and why is the fullback who is typically closer to the line of scrimmage not referred to as the halfback?

uh uh i know this one, back then the half back would be closer to he QB (to his side), and the FB would actually be at end of it all, thus the name

2. Why are the outside offensive linemen referred to as "Tackles"? It's nowhere in their job description except on a turnover. "Center" makes sense and "Guard" makes sense so you'd think they might have referred to Guards as "Inside Guards" and Tackles as "Outside Guards" similar to inside and outside linebackers.

Never thought about it, but cool nevertheless. Maybe it's because they used to create space for the offense by tackling defenses, before guards become agile? No idea

3. They used to refer to the Defensive Nose position as "Nose Guard" but now its more accurately referred to as "Nose Tackle". Why wouldn't the same logic apply to the offensive side of the ball?

What's the opposite of nose anyway? I'm down for calling offensive tackles "Knights", now that's a cool name and a link to chess, which is not checkers

4. Other offensive and defensive positions make sense based on their alignment - Tight end, Wide receiver, Linebacker, Cornerback and Safety. They probably invented the term "Safety" because Fullback was taken by the offensive back that would be more accurately described as the "Halfback."

Safeties are pretty old, iirc. The "Free safety" position is more recently modern, i think. Plus backk then players would double duty, and it makes sense for a runner to be "last lane of defense"

5. Technically every position on the defense could be named Tackle, especially linebackers who generally make most of the Tackles. Cornerbacks and Safeties could also technically be referred to as guards, because part of their role is to guard receivers from catching passes.

Any thoughts on this?

eehhh here you lost me a bit, althought calling LB as TackleRs would be cool (Inside Tackler Bentley has a nice ring to it, idk)

 

[Pape]

Do flanker, end and split end next...

 

[XLIX]

Alright, hear me out. I have a few questions and thoughts about football position terminology. I could google this but I thought I'd bring it to the forum first at the risk of serious mockery, which is fine.

1. Quarterback, halfback and fullback

I assumed that the quarter-, half- and full- qualifiers would pertain to where the back is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback makes sense being closest to the line of scrimmage. Halfback is typically the farthest back in the backfield, so why isn't that position referred to as fullback and why is the fullback who is typically closer to the line of scrimmage not referred to as the halfback?

I have had this thought too. I figure the naming goes back to the old days of i-formation, wing-t, single-wing, etc.... where the QB was always under center and there were 2 levels of backs behind him.

2. Why are the outside offensive linemen referred to as "Tackles"? It's nowhere in their job description except on a turnover. "Center" makes sense and "Guard" makes sense so you'd think they might have referred to Guards as "Inside Guards" and Tackles as "Outside Guards" similar to inside and outside linebackers.

"Inside Guard" and "Outside Guard" sure makes sense to me....

 

[jmt57]

Alright, hear me out. I have a few questions and thoughts about football position terminology. I could google this but I thought I'd bring it to the forum first at the risk of serious mockery, which is fine.

1. Quarterback, halfback and fullback

I assumed that the quarter-, half- and full- qualifiers would pertain to where the back is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback makes sense being closest to the line of scrimmage. Halfback is typically the farthest back in the backfield, so why isn't that position referred to as fullback and why is the fullback who is typically closer to the line of scrimmage not referred to as the halfback?

2. Why are the outside offensive linemen referred to as "Tackles"? It's nowhere in their job description except on a turnover. "Center" makes sense and "Guard" makes sense so you'd think they might have referred to Guards as "Inside Guards" and Tackles as "Outside Guards" similar to inside and outside linebackers.

3. They used to refer to the Defensive Nose position as "Nose Guard" but now its more accurately referred to as "Nose Tackle". Why wouldn't the same logic apply to the offensive side of the ball?

4. Other offensive and defensive positions make sense based on their alignment - Tight end, Wide receiver, Linebacker, Cornerback and Safety. They probably invented the term "Safety" because Fullback was taken by the offensive back that would be more accurately described as the "Halfback."

5. Technically every position on the defense could be named Tackle, especially linebackers who generally make most of the Tackles. Cornerbacks and Safeties could also technically be referred to as guards, because part of their role is to guard receivers from catching passes.

Any thoughts on this?

I believe most of the confusion goes back to the earliest days of football.
Some terms have been updated over the years, some have not.

As JayNM mentioned above, a fullback originally was furthest back. As years went by, the fullback (blocker) lined up closer to the line of scrimmage.

Go way back in time and you have wingbacks, and their blockers were simply 'blocking backs'. And then there is the overlap of a tailback.


If you like at rosters from about 1960 or earlier, the guys that caught the ball were simply 'ends'. I can remember football cards referring to players as 'defensive halfbacks'. Most of the positions on offense and defense had the same name: offensive end/defensive end, halfback and defensive halfback. When my father played football a million years ago the person who caught a pass was simply an 'end'.

Regarding the 'tackle' question, I presume the term was either going to be a DT (opposite OT) or DG (opposite OG), since DE and OE were already being used. (OE eventually transformed into end, then TE.) Apparently DT won out over DG.


Check out the 1960 Patriots Media Guide
The descriptions on the depth chart (page 12) and roster (page 13-14) often don't match up.
For some reason the depth chart has corners listed as 'LCM' and 'RCM' rather than LCB and RCB. M was .... ??? A typo? On the roster those players are listed as a DB, except for Ross O'Hanley as a safety. . . . and then the depth chart on page 28 uses the terms LHB, L-Safety, R-Safety and RHB. Not much uniformity, to add to the confusion.
In the backfield they list the QB, LHB (left halfback) and Fl.B (flanker back); the two tight ends are just 'ends'.

It seems as though 'DB' was used rather than 'S' because somebody wanted uniformity (two letter acronym) for positions, even using PK for kicker (place kicker). I guess they threw in the towel and punted when it came to P.


As for nose guard and nose tackle, I believe those are interchangeable. An 'under tackle' is a defensive tackle who plays a 3-technique, or '3-tech' which means that he lines up on the outside shoulder of the guard, as opposed to lining up directly in front of the center or directly in front of a guard.

This shows the "technique" (0-9) and gaps (A-D), but I'm getting way off topic now.





This is from a 2009 Football Outsiders article that answers Pape's question for you.
First, the terms: a split end is a receiver on the line of scrimmage several yards from the five interior linemen. A flanker is aligned one or two yards off the line of scrimmage and split wide. A slot receiver is aligned between the main formation and another receiver. If he is inside the split end, he is off the line of scrimmage. If he is aligned inside the flanker, he is often (but not always) on the line. A receiver can also be "flexed," placing him on the line of scrimmage and four to six yards wide of the offensive tackle. This is usually a tight end's position, but in modern offenses wide receivers are often flexed. See the figure for some default positions.

Basic Wide Receiver Positions

I use these terms when explaining playbook diagrams, but they are really out of date. The terms are holdovers from T-formation offenses, in which the flanker was often one of the backs who reached the flanker position via presnap motion. Modern offenses use letter names for receivers: X and Z for the starting receivers, Y for the tight end, letters like F, H, or W for third, fourth, or fifth wideouts. Different systems have different preferences. In one system, the X receiver is typically on the left, Z on the right. In others, X is usually on the line of scrimmage, Z off. As offenses become more complex, even those in-system generalities get blurred.

Instead of explaining the difference between an X and a Z receiver, which is nearly impossible, let's go over the advantages and disadvantages of each position. A receiver on the line of scrimmage can release immediately into his route, and he is in good position to block his defender at the line. On the downside, he can be jammed easily. A receiver a yard or two in the backfield has extra space to beat a jam, which is why smaller receivers are often "flankers."

The wider a receiver's split, the more space he has in which to isolate and beat his defender. However, a receiver split wide of the field numbers has little room for running out-routes and other patterns that work the sidelines. Wide spacing also creates longer throws for the quarterback, which can be dangerous. Slot or flex receivers have space to work to the inside or out, can catch shorter, safer passes, and have a better chance of getting mismatched against a linebacker, safety, or nickelback in coverage. On the downside, they are working in tighter space; a slot receiver running a crossing route quickly moves from one defender's zone to another, making it hard for him to get open.

 

[maust]

 

[stinkypete]

Any thoughts on this?

What dispensary do you go to? That seems like good stuff!

 

[Patsfan1645]

Do flanker, end and split end next...

 

[PP2]

Alright, hear me out. I have a few questions and thoughts about football position terminology. I could google this but I thought I'd bring it to the forum first at the risk of serious mockery, which is fine.

1. Quarterback, halfback and fullback

I assumed that the quarter-, half- and full- qualifiers would pertain to where the back is positioned behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback makes sense being closest to the line of scrimmage. Halfback is typically the farthest back in the backfield, so why isn't that position referred to as fullback and why is the fullback who is typically closer to the line of scrimmage not referred to as the halfback?

2. Why are the outside offensive linemen referred to as "Tackles"? It's nowhere in their job description except on a turnover. "Center" makes sense and "Guard" makes sense so you'd think they might have referred to Guards as "Inside Guards" and Tackles as "Outside Guards" similar to inside and outside linebackers.

3. They used to refer to the Defensive Nose position as "Nose Guard" but now its more accurately referred to as "Nose Tackle". Why wouldn't the same logic apply to the offensive side of the ball?

4. Other offensive and defensive positions make sense based on their alignment - Tight end, Wide receiver, Linebacker, Cornerback and Safety. They probably invented the term "Safety" because Fullback was taken by the offensive back that would be more accurately described as the "Halfback."

5. Technically every position on the defense could be named Tackle, especially linebackers who generally make most of the Tackles. Cornerbacks and Safeties could also technically be referred to as guards, because part of their role is to guard receivers from catching passes.

Any thoughts on this?

Might as well start with the name of this sport: "football."

 

[Water Boy]

Do flanker, end and split end next...

Flanker = offensive cornerback

Splint End= Untight End

 

[Pape]

Flanker = offensive cornerback

Splint End= Untight End

lmao

 

[JayNM]

Might as well start with the name of this sport: "football."

I legitmetaly cringe irl everytime I write soccer

 

[JohnJH]

At one time, I was curious as to what the different RB designations meant. And, after reading multiple explanations, they all came to the same conclusions: HB/FB/TB (Tail Back) were all RB's. It just depended on what each particular offense used for terms regarding each. FB's are primarily lead blockers, but can also be ball carriers, receivers, and pass protectors. The same goes for HB's (which is what most RB's are), but they are primarily ball carriers who can also be receivers and pass protectors.

In conclusion, each offensive scheme will define who in their RB Corps does what (based on strength's and weaknesses) and the schemes an offense runs as it pertains to the running game in specific, and when RB's are involved in the passing game. 20 years ago and beyond, RB positions were more well defined. Even so, many RB's that we'd consider to be HB's, were called FB's back then. Even though they were known for their abilities to run the ball. I imagine the same applies to other positions on both offense and defense.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

I think the naming just stuck over the years. Just remember that the QB didn’t even pass the ball when the game was created and was used to block. Could you see that today? See Kermit go out to block a 340lb DT and get blown up would be awesome! Why they were named half, full, quarter, COULD be do to where they lined up, or even related to rugby or something else, but I’m not sure.

 

[Tunescribe]

Some position terminology from recent years bugs me as being trite or maybe just lazy. These days, "edge" is being used in place of defensive end or outside linebacker. Apparently it references both or either, but IMO they're not synonymous. I also hate "move tight end," as if it's a different position from tight end.

 

[Steve102]

Beat me to it, brother.

 

[manxman2601]

Might as well start with the name of this sport: "football."

As a Brit, this is the one that resonates.