Perfect, arcane material for the off season Mark. Do you know how the play gets relayed to the QB in game? I'm guessing the OC relays the call in the exact same way that the QB then says it in the huddle. I'm always amazed something doesn't get lost in translation, especially if thee's crowd noise. Is the wristband a mechanism so the coach can just relay something short , "Play 1A", and that has the whole call on the wrist band?
It’s exactly that. The play-caller will have a call sheet that is split into sections. Things like 1st down runs, 2nd & 8+ passes, 3rd & short plays etc. Those will include different formations and concepts that they’ve game-planned and practiced throughout the week. So the players will have a rough idea of things to perhaps expect throughout the game. They might have emphasized during the week, for example, that on 2nd and 7 from midfield, the opposing defense always plays quarters, so if we get to 2nd and 7 from midfield, we’re going to run our favorite quarters beating concept that we’ve practiced a few times during the week in preparation.
In terms of how it’s communicated, the play-caller will just call what play he wants into the headset of the QB, who then relays that call to the team. There definitely are times when things get messed up, but generally the QB should be smart enough to recognize when something is off and correct it. Maybe he calls the wrong formation, for example, and realizes that the concept they’ve called is for a 3-man route concept but they only have 2 receivers on that side of the field, so he can then correct himself.
The team can use a wristband to help speed up the process or help ensure the QB gets the right play if they’re in a loud stadium and can’t hear things properly. The wristband will have numbers and corresponding plays, but the QB will have to get the direction of things right. For example, that 67 Slant run I talked about would be listed as 66/67 Slant on the wristband and the QB would have to call it the right way himself. The play-caller will either go “play 3, right”, to let him know which play and direction he wants, or he might read out the entire play to the QB and then follow up with “play 3, right” to ensure he gets it correctly.
Indicates a certain basic level of intelligence is needed across the board- mostly by the Qb. And the days of, “you mutts keeps those A h***s off my back because I’m gonna chuck long. Go git it, Hoss!” are long gone😁
Haha, yes, I think even when you hear stories of older players explaining things like that, I think it’s largely exaggerated. There has always been a language barrier to the NFL, even if guys like Brett Favre claim things like he didn’t know what a nickel defense was. You look back at old playbooks even from the 70s and there’s a fair bit of complexity with the terminology and play calls. If anything, it has gotten simpler and streamlined in recent years. That “Double Right” formation I mentioned in part of the basic play call at the start of this post, back in Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos playbooks, it’s called “Double Wing Right” but in the last decade or two that has shortened to just “Double Right” to help streamline things.
Perfect, arcane material for the off season Mark. Do you know how the play gets relayed to the QB in game? I'm guessing the OC relays the call in the exact same way that the QB then says it in the huddle. I'm always amazed something doesn't get lost in translation, especially if thee's crowd noise. Is the wristband a mechanism so the coach can just relay something short , "Play 1A", and that has the whole call on the wrist band?
It’s exactly that. The play-caller will have a call sheet that is split into sections. Things like 1st down runs, 2nd & 8+ passes, 3rd & short plays etc. Those will include different formations and concepts that they’ve game-planned and practiced throughout the week. So the players will have a rough idea of things to perhaps expect throughout the game. They might have emphasized during the week, for example, that on 2nd and 7 from midfield, the opposing defense always plays quarters, so if we get to 2nd and 7 from midfield, we’re going to run our favorite quarters beating concept that we’ve practiced a few times during the week in preparation.
In terms of how it’s communicated, the play-caller will just call what play he wants into the headset of the QB, who then relays that call to the team. There definitely are times when things get messed up, but generally the QB should be smart enough to recognize when something is off and correct it. Maybe he calls the wrong formation, for example, and realizes that the concept they’ve called is for a 3-man route concept but they only have 2 receivers on that side of the field, so he can then correct himself.
The team can use a wristband to help speed up the process or help ensure the QB gets the right play if they’re in a loud stadium and can’t hear things properly. The wristband will have numbers and corresponding plays, but the QB will have to get the direction of things right. For example, that 67 Slant run I talked about would be listed as 66/67 Slant on the wristband and the QB would have to call it the right way himself. The play-caller will either go “play 3, right”, to let him know which play and direction he wants, or he might read out the entire play to the QB and then follow up with “play 3, right” to ensure he gets it correctly.
Indicates a certain basic level of intelligence is needed across the board- mostly by the Qb. And the days of, “you mutts keeps those A h***s off my back because I’m gonna chuck long. Go git it, Hoss!” are long gone😁
Haha, yes, I think even when you hear stories of older players explaining things like that, I think it’s largely exaggerated. There has always been a language barrier to the NFL, even if guys like Brett Favre claim things like he didn’t know what a nickel defense was. You look back at old playbooks even from the 70s and there’s a fair bit of complexity with the terminology and play calls. If anything, it has gotten simpler and streamlined in recent years. That “Double Right” formation I mentioned in part of the basic play call at the start of this post, back in Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos playbooks, it’s called “Double Wing Right” but in the last decade or two that has shortened to just “Double Right” to help streamline things.