Talk:Quarterback

Brett farve

I dont think brett farve should be listed as a pocket QB like peyton or Brady. hes older but still gets out of the pocket and scrambles often. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.42.253.217 (talk) 01:01, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Importance?

Dumb question from a non-American: the quarterback is the most important (and usually best-paid) player on the team aren't they? --Robert Merkel 03:59 Oct 3, 2002 (UTC)

Yes, usually. -- Zoe

offensive line is the most important position as no form of offense can be executed without it —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.15.153.255 (talk) 23:19, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Origin of name

I'd like to know where the term quarterback came from. For that matter, what is the reason for the name of most of the positions. --Allen 03:51, Oct 11, 2004 (UTC)

Well I'm not an expert on these things, and this is just from my observations, but I always thought of it this way:

• the fullback is "all the way" back from the line of scrimmage.
• the halfback (i.e. running back) is roughly halfway from the fullback to the line.
• the quarterback is halfway from the halfback to the line...i.e. a quarter of the way back. Kirjtc2 22:49, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Yeah, that's how it originated. However, in modern formations, the fullback is usually positioned closer to the line than the halfback. --SodiumBenzoate 05:38, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

Why was "origin of term" removed? That's actually why I came to the quarterback entry of Wikipedia just now, to find out the origin of the word quarterback. I found the answer in Google cache, that's how I know it was removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.161.178.75 (talk) 05:59, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

Early rosters don't include "quarterbacks" but "blocking backs" instead.66.217.46.108 (talk) 21:49, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Please get a citation for the name before you change it. --  ShadowJester07  ►Talk  22:08, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

This should be true of every contribution to this article. As of my reinstatement of the mention of the term (see below), this article has a whopping two citations and a year-and-a-half-old tag stating that it needs citations. B.Wind (talk) 13:00, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Article in need of attention template

this article wreaks of POV issues and relevancy to its topic. Afew examples, in which I could ramble on for ages about regarding how and why are listed below.

• Regardless of these mediocre passing numbers, his rushing threat makes him the one of the most dynamic players in football, and an elite quarterback.

• In recent years, with the rising importance of offensive coordinators and their reliance on scripted game plans and the use of headsets, the quarterback now usually receives which play to call from the coach on the sidelines. One of the few quarterbacks in the NFL who routinely call their own plays is Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. In the 2004-2005 season he surpassed Dan Marino's record 48 touchdowns in a season with his 49. He also owns the record for the highest passer rating (121.1), a rating system based on a combination of touchdowns thrown, yards thrown, pass completion percentage, and interceptions thrown. (should just reference Passer rating

• In the modern game, quarterbacks are typically evaluated on their passing statistics, including total yardage, completion ratio, touchdowns, and the ability to avoid interceptions. Up through the 1990s, most (is this a history of players, or a article explaining the QB position?) of the prominent NFL quarterbacks were "drop back passers", who typically took between five and seven steps behind the line of scrimmage immediately after snapping the ball to look for an open passing receiver down field. (please don't just add afew mobile quarterbacks in that era to it, this article has enough irrelevant mentions of popular players already) Mithotyn 09:38, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

I've attended to some of the things you mentioned, and removed the attention template (generally, more specific cleanup templates are preffered). I think you are talking about two different issues--the random discussions of famous quarterbacks, which I've toned down, and the lack of a referenced history. The latter is definitely a problem, anyone who edits this page is strongly urged to cite your sources. The former is not--examples are examples, and can be easily edited so as to be NPOV. Chick Bowen 21:51, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

List of current QB's

I'd like to see a list of all the active QB's in the NFL. Can anyone do that. Just for informational purposes only. -- —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.88.253.128 (talk)

• Sure. The NFL can do that for you. It's at www.nfl.com/players/playerindex/POS_QB. --Dystopos 17:19, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

not hiting quarter backs

why is it that from the highschool level on up that the QB isn't suposed to be hit in practice? In a game the other team isn't not going to hit them just because they are a QB The QB should be prepared for anything shouldn't he? please help out a confused rugby player who doesn't get the finer mechanics of foot ball

The quarterback leads the offense on the field. The coach doesn't want the QBs to get hurt in situations that he can control; ie. practice. It's meant to reduce the risk of injury to the QB so that he can be in tip-top shape during a game. Tim 22:00, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Also, I don't know that it is universally true that quarterbacks are always practicing under no-contact rules. I think it depends on the practice and the coach. Johntex\^talk 02:38, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Not universal, but nearly. You don't want to hit the quarterback because he is often the most important player on the team. Many coaches go as far as to say the backup quarterback is the second most important player on the team. Moreover, whereas other players are ready to be hit, when a quarterback stands back in the pocket, he can very easily be blindsighted.49giantsharks (talk) 19:51, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

Receptions

Are there historical quarterbacks who were exceptionally good at receiving passes? Xunflash 03:27, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

• Usually, QB's don't Receive Passed, however back in '85 Walter Payton would sometimes take a hand off, fake the run, and throw it off the QB Jim McMahon. --ShadowJester07 03:45, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

POV/Sources for Truth section of article

Something needs to be done with this section to clean it into a more directed account of the QB position's role in the game. Right now it reads like an apology letter to the fans for why someone's QB didn't win them the game. ju66l3r 22:29, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Honestly, the whole thing is extremely relative. I strongly agree with you and complement you for actually doing away with the whole "Notable QB" section. I suggest getting rid of the "Great QB" section, as similar sections for other football positions have been deleted. The sources are subjective too, as many of the top ranking Sports Analysts and Commentators are biased. --ShadowJester07 00:47, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

Can anyone tell me what the point of the Truths and Misconceptions part of the article is. It appears to be bizarrely subjective. Cardigan3000 10:53, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

I added a an WP:OR tag to the section. I tried using Google to find some sources to justify the section's claim, but none came up. --  ShadowJester07  ►Talk  21:10, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

The quote "Tremendous emphasis is placed on a quarterback's win-loss record..." should be removed. I dare anyone, even the most versed college/NFL football fan, to name ANY quarterback's win-loss record off the top of their head. The only time a QB's W-L record even becomes remotely mentioned is with respect to wins (or lack thereof) in the playoffs.

Can the word 'Often" in the sentence "Often in the NFL and college football, a team is undecided on which quarterback to start a game..." be removed? Seriously, how many teams in the NFL and NCAA are 'often' undecided on who their starting quarterback will be? Presently in the NFL, I can think of one team, maybe two (Cleveland and Detroit) who may start a different QB from one week to the next. And that is just in the early part of the season. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.169.188.226 (talk) 16:21, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

A better picture?

The fact that this article has a Navy (which is known for it's running game) quarterback as a primary picture is a shame for the quartebacks in general. Could anyone come up with a more deserving image? teevee

There's no other Fair-Use Image which depicts a quarterback actually setting up to throw. The Two main images of quarterbacks are used to show a quarterback's role, not to illustrate the NFLs/CFL's flavor of the week --ShadowJester07 00:31, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Well that is not entirely true. Have you looked at the commons? For instance, there is this one and this one. I think the Navy one is higher quality though. We could rotate them if anyone cares to bother. We definitely need more pictures of quarterbacks though. If any one has any good ones (must be legally willing/able to upload them under a free license) please add them to the commons. Johntex\^talk 02:45, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Source on origin of name

Does anyone have a reliable source for the "has its origin in Scottish Rugby" account of the QB terminology? I'll grant you it would be a fairly logical name for the scrum-half, who is evidently less far "back" than the fly-half, and less convoluted than the half/five-eighths scheme for distinguishing between the two (plus the three-quarters x4+full-back). Alai 04:19, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Calling Plays

I find no mention of a Quarterback calling the offensive play in the huddle. Maybe an explanation of what a huddle is (The offensive players gathered in a circle or sometimes in row(s) some distance behind the line of scrimmage). The play is called in a huddle prior to the start of each offensive play, or something similar to give the reader an idea of what a quarterback does instead of just taking the ball and handing it off or throwing it.

Also, the "down, set, hut" verbage is not used to signal the offensive team to snap the ball. Maybe in sandlot, or playground games this is used however in any organized team setting there are a wide variety of signals used to initiate the snap (Silent snap counts, cadences, "on three", etc.).

Incorporating Gunslinger (American football)

I see no reason why "gunslinger" needs it's own article. That article doesn't seem encyclopedic enough to warrant a unique article. I would suggest merging relevant content into this article. Juan Miguel Fangio| ►Chat  05:19, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

The article is incomplete, but the topic is certainly worthy of an article. Still, though, there is no reason not to merge them and if at some point in the future, someone wants to write a good article about gunslingers, there's nothing stopping them. --B 23:18, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

It's nothing official, it's just a term people use. It does NOT deserve its own article.►Chris Nelson 03:47, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

This the writer of that crappy article! Don't ask why it is written so poorly, I have no god damn clue. Maybe I was drunk or something. If you want to merge it in, my feelings won't be hurt. I just ask that I may help the person who merges it. The reason I added a "Gunslinger" article was that it annoyed me when I clicked on the term gunslinger, and it would lead me to Old West Gunslingers. I think there needs to be something mentioned about gunslingers because it has become so notoriously used with strong armed quarterbacks. I will admit, I really didn't have too much information to use out there. That was my bad!-->User:lakersnbulls91

I agree that "Gunslinger" should not be its own article, and since no one has really objected, have gone ahead and redirected it here. lakersnbulls91, go ahead and merge whatever content that you see fit from the page history page history. You may also want to mention the term at Glossary of American football. ×Meegs 10:24, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Is it ok if I can incorporate the chart of the top 20 QB's with the longest throwing distance? <-- lakersnbulls91

Dual threat

The article makes is seem that the idea of a quarterback running the ball is a new innovation. In reality, it's as old as the game itself.--RLent 22:30, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

History

What was the QB's role before the modern passing game came into being (i.e before Rockne). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.32.244.191 (talk) 23:18, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Dubious

Given the actual etymology of the Quarter/half/fullback position names, this explanation from the lead strikes me as dubious:

The term quarterback is meant to distinguish the position from those of halfback and fullback. The first part of each name is a nod to how willing the individual in that position is willing to take a hit from a member of the opposing team. I.e., fullbacks are fully willing to be hit, halfbacks less so, and quarterbacks only when it is absolutely unavoidable (they are generally considered the most fragile and impact-averse members of any given football team.)

-- Powers ^T 15:52, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

What?!

Whoever thought this up is a total and complete moron! the term "Quarterback" was used to identify where he stood in behind the line; for example, a fullback stood at maximun distance behind the line, while the halfback stood half way, and the quarterback in between the halfback and the line making it a "quarter" of the distance. Also remember that in the early days of Football ALL of the "Backs" ran and carried the football (forward passing wasn't as popular back then) and EVERY player got the teeth knocked outta them. As the Quarterback position evolved from a running/handoff back to a forward passer, so did the idea of this position not getting hit as much. I am completely 100% certain this is the case, however I am finding it rather difficult to obtain solid evidence that would warrant a page edit.

~Odinson82~ 6:15 30 Sept 2008 (UTC-8)

Precisely why I tagged it. The explanation I quoted seems to be either a folk etymology or a mnemonic of sorts. Powers ^T 22:29, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

I agree it's a ridiculous etymology, but, regarding what the correct etymology is, if it's how far back the players stand from the line, why is it that the halfback actually stands behind the fullback? A tailback is a halfback. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.251.70.93 (talk) 21:54, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Blocking back

Prior to the 1930s there was no such thing as quarterbacks - they were often listed as blocking backs, as shown in contemporaneous newspaper articles. I have restored this to the lede. B.Wind (talk) 12:49, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Section on quarterback styles

Once someone finds the references, there should also be a section of quarterback styles, such as option quarterback, gunslinger (American football), system quarterback (this undefined term seems to have gained traction in the past 20 years or so - see WP:Requested articles), and so forth. B.Wind (talk) 13:08, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Is a punt a trick play?

Article sez

Every play starts with a "snap", an action where the offense's center gives the ball to the quarterback, or as a trick play to another offensive player such as a wide receiver.

Clearly not all plays where the ball is snapped to someone other than the QB are "trick plays". Punts, FG tries when the QB is not the holder, are obvious examples, but I get the impression from the wildcat formation article that a snap to the halfback for a team running the wildcat is somewhat expected and hardly a "trick". Someone who has more detailed knowledge of these points should reword. --Trovatore (talk) 02:06, 19 February 2011 (UTC)