Shotgun
What it is
The quarterback aligns about five yards behind the centre and receives the snap in the air.
Why it matters
Shotgun trades the disguise of under centre for vision and time: the quarterback starts at his throwing depth, can survey the whole defense before the snap, and is already looking downfield when the ball arrives. The cost is that the run game becomes lateral before it becomes vertical, and that the fake is visible — a linebacker can see the mesh from the shotgun in a way he cannot when the quarterback's back is turned. It is also what makes the zone read possible at all, because both the back and the quarterback are behind the line together.
Also called
Programs call this gun, shotgun or spread the ball. The Coach answers to any of them.
See it on the field
A formation that asks the defense no question about strength and every question about matchups. 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.
Doubles — balanced, so nothing declaresRelated
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.