Pro-football trivia questions: (I really don't know the answers

[Redstone]

to these, so it's not a test.)

1) What's the diference betwen an offensive guard and a tackle? And why is the player called a tackle when (because he's an offenive lineman) his job is NOT to tackle anyone?

2) When, and by what team, was the "shotgun" formation first used?

3) Who was the last placekicker (and when did he play) who kicked straight ahead, rather than "soccer style?" (I think it was Tom Dempsey, but I'm not sure.)

4) What did they call it when the quarterback gets tackled, before it was called "sacking?" (I think it was called "dumping," but I'm not sure.)

Thanks for any answers.

Redstone

[TheMightyFavog]

1. 3. Mark Moseley,

2. The 49ers

[KamaAina]

2. 1. The guards play on either side of the center.

The tackles play outside them. The ends (nowadays either tight ends or wide receivers) play on either end of the line.

No idea why OTs are called tackles, except that they play opposite defensive tackles, who definitely do tackle people.

[Angleae]

4. Actually the play opposite defensive ends.

Defensive tackles play opposite the offensive guards.

[J-Lo Biafra]

13. I think guards also have the option of "pulling" on certain plays.

Moving out of their formation, for all you lay people out there. ;)

[GOPisEvil]

3. 2. Started by the 49ers in the early 60s, popularized by the Cowboys of the '70s.

From Wikipedia:

"The formation was named by the man who actually devised it, San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey, in 1960. John Brodie was the first NFL shotgun quarterback, beating out former starter Y. A. Tittle largely because he was mobile enough to effectively run the formation.

The shotgun was used by the New York Jets as they employed the formation during the latter part of the Joe Namath era, as documented in the 1971 Sporting News article "Joe and the Booyah Tribe", to give the bad-kneed, and often immobile quarterback more time to set up plays by placing him deeper in the backfield.

Starting with the 1975 season, the Dallas Cowboys used the shotgun frequently with Roger Staubach at quarterback. No other NFL teams used this formation during this time and it is assumed this formation was devised by Tom Landry; it became a "signature" formation for the Cowboys, especially during third down situations. Landry re-introduced the shotgun to give Staubach more time to pass as the Cowboys had a relatively young and inexperienced team that year - 12 rookies were on that 1975 team.

The Cowboy shotgun differed from the 49er shotgun as Staubach generally had a back next to him in the backfield (making runs possible) where Brodie was normally alone in the backfield. The shotgun was seldom used by teams during the 1980s, but became part of almost every team's offense in the pass-happy 1990s."

[Redstone]

5. I know I could count on you guys, thank you. 3 out of 4

answered; not bad at all.

Redstone

[pokerfan]

8. anticipating the next question

[gmoney]

10. You mean, why isn't the halfback BETWEEN the quarterback and the fullback?

And where the hell is the 3/4-back?

[pokerfan]

11. wiki to the rescue again

As the term "quarterback" gained acceptance in the 1930s, it originally referred to the player's position relative to other members of the offensive backfield. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, all members of the offensive backfield were legitimate threats to run or pass the ball, and most teams used four offensive backs on every play: a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a fullback. The quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. Now that most offensive formations have only one or two running backs, the original designations don't mean as much, as the fullback is now usually a lead blocker (technically a halfback), while the halfback or tailback (called such because he stands at the "tail" of the I) lines up behind the fullback.

[PVnRT]

6. 4. Simply called a tackle

Deacon Jones started using the term in the 1970s, as he thought that it brought up the image of a city being "sacked" by invaders. Before 1970, I believe it was just referred to as a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Such n00bish questions

1) Usually about 40-50 pounds. And they're called a "tackle" because the inventor of football was brain damaged as well as a Nazi sympathizer.

2) First used by the Montreal Expos in 1904.

3) Orin Hatch, 1951. Weird, but true. When his coach told him to kick at an angle, he refused, and became a senator. He was playing for the Arlington Johnnycakes at the time (which team became Newcastle United in 1927)

4) It was called "Having tea the ass-nipple way", a holdover from cricket players ripped on cheap sherry.

moran.

[PVnRT]

14. Wrong again, fuckwit

The shotgun was first used by the Rockford Bareknucklers in 1896, when they threw the newfangled "forward pass" three times for 37 yards in a game against the Beloit Greenstockings. Josephus Wisniewski, coach of the Greenstockins, said after the game, "It was like those ruffians used a shotgun to during the game. I shall be filing a formal complaint presently."

When he filed the complaint, Theodore Roosevelt (commissioner of the Upper Midwest Foot-Ball and Curling Alliance at the time) jammed a badger up his ass and slapped him repeatedly.

[pokerfan]

9. delete (dupe)

[trackfan]

12. On No. 4...

In the stats box in the sports section the day after the game there was a line like this:

Times thrown/yards lost attempting to pass - 3 / 16

I assumed "thrown" was short for "thrown for a loss", which is what announcers sometimes said before they used sacked.