Glossary

Backfield alignment

OffenseFormationRBFBQB

What it is

Where the back sets relative to the quarterback, which declares — or hides — the direction of the run.

Why it matters

From shotgun, a back offset to the right is running left on zone read and right on most gap schemes; the defense knows this and plays it. That is the entire argument for pistol and for late backfield motion. A coach's rule of thumb is that any alignment which answers a defensive question for free should be either changed or used deliberately as a lie.

Also called

Programs call this offset, strong set, weak set, dot or behind the QB. The Coach answers to any of them.

See it on the field

A seven-yard tailback with a running start who can go either direction. The alignment comes from the engine’s own front resolver against real offensive splits, so it is a picture the simulator genuinely produces — not a diagram drawn to make a point.

I formation — downhill, and it declares nothing

Related

This entry is authored, not generated. It is one of 205 in the index that the AI-ssistant Coach retrieves from, and that Film Study tags clips against.