Talk:Quarterback

Brett Favre

I dont think brett favreZuesChill (talk) 19:58, 11 April 2021 (UTC) 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)

Actually, the highest paid position in the NFL is the Left Tackle (if your QB is right handed), or Right Tackle (if your QB is Left Handed). P.S. I don't know how to make it like yall did. Mason L. — Preceding unsigned comment added by [[Special:Contributions/70.178.147.27|70.178.147.19:58, 11 April 2021 (UTC)ZuesChill (talk)27]] (talk) 20:01, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Please don't make stuff up. Although one could argue endlessly about relative "importance", and you make an excellent point about the importance of the offensive tackle who protects the quarterback's blind side (not "blind sight"), the fact is that the highest paid players are quarterbacks. As important as the left tackle may be, he does not get the respect or pay he deserves. The quarterbacks are also, without question, the most important players in the popular imagination -- the most glamorous. In truth, of course, inferiority at any of several positions could be disastrous -- in that sense, many positions are equally important although not equally glamorous. Paul (talk) 06:49, 28 April 2012 (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 hitting 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)

Historie

What QB's role before modern passing be (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)

The terms quarterback, halfback, and fullback were derived from their most common physical position(s) in the backfield at the beginning of a play. The position's names were not a reflection of their duties per-se, and certainly not their willingness to 'take a hit'. 2603:7081:3A40:12D:A10F:7F01:59F6:E217 (talk) 02:13, 9 September 2022 (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)

Years ago, the fullback indeed was positioned farther behind the line of scrimmage than any other player, with the halfbacks (in those days there were always two of them) halfway between the fullback and the line, and the quarterback halfway between the halfbacks and the line. Traditionally, the fullback was the biggest and strongest of these players, while the halfbacks were the fastest afoot, and this understanding persists today, so that the fullback is understood to be a big guy who blocks. The term "blocking back" today is synonymous with "fullback", so that the use of "blocking back" as an obsolete synonym for "quarterback" is quite confusing. Even in the old days, "blocking back" meant whichever back did most of the blocking.

The modern game makes the term "halfback" ridiculous, because halfbacks today are usually positioned behind the fullback and called "tailbacks", or else positioned a considerable distance to the right or left and called "flankers". The modern general term for a smaller, swifter back is "running back," although this term is also sometimes used to refer to both fullbacks and tailbacks collectively.b

It is worth noting that the rules of football draw a distinction between backs and linemen, but no distinction among the backs, be they "quarter", "half", "full", "tail", or whatever type of back, except that for some limited purposes the "quarterback" is whoever receives the snap from center. In that sense, a halfback who receives a direct snap (or, for that matter, a punter) becomes the quarterback temporarily.

Citing obsolete terminology is tricky and mostly confusing. Paul (talk) 06:40, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Football was a different game when the term "quarterback" was coined. Look up the single wing offense. The tailback or fullback took the snaps in a pistol/shotgun style, and the "quarterback" was a blocker that lined up just behind the linemen. He did call out snap counts due to his proximity to the line. The term "quarterback" has nothing to do with receiving snaps or throwing passes, just references the distance he traditionally lined up behind the scrimmage line.

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)

References

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)

No, a punt is not a trick play. A punt is not even really a play. A punt is just that: a punt. A faked punt, OTOH, would be a trick play. That is where the punting team goes out and gets in form formation like they are going to punt, but instead the ball is snapped to the quarterback and an attempt to convert on 4th down is made. If unsuccessful, then possession is turned over on downs to the other side. Firejuggler86 (talk) 19:42, 19 November 2020 (UTC)

Role

I noticed that there is nothing about the quarterback receiving the ball from the center or being responsible for passing the ball forward or handing off the ball to a runner. Someone not familiar with football already will still have no idea what the quarterback does after reading this article. Perhaps some basics should be added in. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.120.102.144 (talk) 21:05, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

Blocking back?

The lead at the moment says the QB was "initially called blocking back." I haven't found any evidence that this is true. In fact, it's quite clear from the record that the term quarterback dates to 1880. The citation on the "blocking back" in the lead now points to an encyclopedia of football, without any more specific reference. Anyone have anything on the quarterback actually being called "blocking back" at first? Obviously that's the primary role the quarterback played in early offenses, but from what I can see he was called the quarterback, not the blocking back. --Batard0 (talk) 06:26, 11 August 2013 (UTC)

• I did a search in the Google News Archive; there aren't any hits at all on "blocking back" between 1850 and 1920, but plenty of instances of "quarterback". --Batard0 (talk) 06:28, 11 August 2013 (UTC)

Race section

An IP user, 108.49.60.149, has repeatedly deleted the section of this article on race. I believe that this is relevant, verifiable content discussed by reliable sources that belongs in the article. The IP user disagrees, writing that "'Race' has no bearing on an athletes skill, and shouldn't be part of this article." Regardless of this user's personal opinion on whether race has a bearing on skill, the fact is that notable media sources have discussed this issue, and this is the criterion for whether content should be included in Wikipedia. Furthermore, the section does not address whether race has a bearing on skill; it is rather about whether African American athletes are underrepresented and/or face discrimination. The proper way to resolve this dispute is to engage in a discussion and reach consensus here, not through edit warring. --Albany NY (talk) 16:30, 22 July 2016 (UTC)

i agree. I'm restoring the content again. Note that the statistical ref is now dead and needs to be archived or replaced. Meters (talk) 23:07, 23 July 2016 (UTC)

With all due respect gentlemen, the article IS not, AND SHOULD NOT BE, about the representation of race - or lack thereof - in ONE league that happens to play the game. It's quite specifically about a position in the game of football called Quarterback and a description of said positron...color of skin bears no relevance to the position at all. At very best, that section belongs on the NFL page and not here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:387:0:80D:0:0:0:A6 (talk) 01:01, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

What exactly does a perceived racial bias in ONE professional football league have to do with the POSITION of quarterback as it relates to the game of football? Even if it were true (and maybe it is), is the article a referendum on racial disparity in the NFL or is it about a player position? What does that say to a kid in the youngest leagues in the game? Grade school? High school? College? - At very best, the whole subsection seems like it belongs on the NFL page and NOT on the Quarterback page. Being black or white or Latino or Chinese.....these things don't have a single thing to do with playing that position. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 100.0.165.202 (talk) 01:26, 25 July 2016 (UTC) This IP appears to be the same user as 2600:387:0:80D:0:0:0:A6 and 108.49.60.149 Meters (talk) 06:44, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

The section in question discusses racial issues involving quarterbacks, so it's reasonable and appropriate to have it as part of the Quarterback article. The NFL is the world's most popular American football league. Many other parts of this article are about the NFL, so having this section discuss the NFL is entirely consistent with the rest of the article. Of course, the race section need not be only about the NFL; if there are similar issues in other leagues, they can be added to the section. And if there are racial issues involving other positions, they can be discussed in the articles for those positions. --Albany NY (talk) 03:45, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

I don't see a problem with the material being in this article. It's clear there is racial disparity in several positions in the NFL and in the NFL overall. Some positions are predominantly African American, while others are predominantly White. (See Black players in American professional football.) Quarterback happens to be one position that is skewed to the White side in the NFL, and I think mentioning the info is useful and warranted. It might be worth contrasting the information with the equivalent information from the CFL, the other major professional football league, where African American quarterbacks have had a substantial presence for a long time. Some played in Canada because they could not in the US, and some proved themselves in Canada before being accepted in the NFL (Warren Moon for example). Meters (talk) 06:39, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

This article is not about the NFL. It's about a player position. I think you've both lost sight of that. Nobody is disputing the accuracy of the information. But how can you sit there, call yourself an objective editor, and allow a reference to a blatantly inflammatory racial bias? That entire section serves no other purpose than to evoke a misguided sense of "white guilt". It has NO BEARING WHATSOEVER on the mechanics of the position. All other references you point to with NFL player examples are designed with the specific purpose of explaining tactics, strategy, formation, etc....but the so called "race" section has no such information contained inside. It simply points to the NFL and figuratively says, "by the way, it's been said that this company discriminates". There's no value added there. There's NOTHING in that subsection that is actually related to the game other than the player's mentioned. Yes, there is racism. We're not blind. But it no more applies to the actual position of quarterback than color shoe's the player's wear. You can back it up with all the article's you want...it's still irrelevant to the position of quarterback in the game of football and it always will be. It's ONLY relevant if we're talking about the NFL. Wikipedia is not a magazine...it's an encyclopedia - or at least it's supposed to be. Leaving sensationalist and blatantly white shaming racist nonsense like this in the article only serves to drag down the entire institution and idea of Wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 100.0.165.202 (talk) 21:04, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Please WP:AGF. Calling our objectivity into question is not appropriate. And please indent your responses and sign them.

We've already pointed out why we think it does apply to this article and why it should be included. More than two-thirds of the players in the NFL are Black, according to our own articles, but the Quarterback position is predominantly held by Whites. Reliable sources have commented on this disparity and we're reporting what has been said. We get it. You don't like the material being included, but there's no need to shout or to keep repeating yourself. Meters (talk) 21:23, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

'colloquially knowncas the signal caller'

The quarter back is not 'colloquially known as the signal caller.' The quarterback IS the signal caller! The one that calls signals. This is nothing more than a description of their role, not some colloquial title for their position. Firejuggler86 (talk) 19:47, 19 November 2020 (UTC)

References