If there is a position on the American football field that is known even by those who don’t follow the sport, it is surely that of Quarterback. It is not only arguably the most important position in the sport, it is also the one that has transcended modern culture.
Although this will partially be thanks to the fact that many people will have watched films and TV shows in which a Quarterback is an important role, it is mostly because of the idea of the Quarterback being the team leader, which is something that people are able to make reference to in countless different areas of their lives.
What Is a Quarterback?
There are comparisons that can be made between the Quarterback and the captain of another sports team, on account of the fact that both roles ask the person fulfilling it to be the team’s leader. In gridiron football, the Quarterback is someone who makes up the offensive line and usually lines up directly behind it, leading the offence and being responsible for calling the play when in the huddle. They touch the ball more than any other player during an offensive play, tending to be called upon to make forward passes for the team that they’re playing on.
If the Quarterback gets tackled when behind the line of scrimmage, this is known as a ‘sack’. The position can be referred to as a ‘signal caller’ or a ‘field general’, given the fact that they tend to be asked to marshal their troops in order to take the fight to the opposition. Quarterbacks tend to be considered the most important position in a National Football League team, which in turn means that they are thought of as the most important player in an American team sport. A side’s success or failure can often come down to how good or otherwise a Quarterback is at the role that they’re asked to play.
A Glorified Position
The truth of the matter is that the position of Quarterback is the most scrutinised in the game. Because of this, the person who plays in the Quarterback position is likely to be one of, if not the, best-paid players in a team. In the NFL, the vast majority of the highest earners are Quarterbacks, thanks to the fact that the team’s success or failure lives or dies by the performance of the person who is in the Quarterback role. Given the fact that National Football League teams have to stay under a hard salary cap, a well-paid Quarterback can come at the detriment of the rest of the team.
A good example of the importance of a Quarterback being at the top of their game can be found in Tom Brady, who worked with Bill Belichick to dominate the game for a period with the New England Patriots, remaining at the club thanks to his willingness to take a pay cut on a regular basis. That, in turn, allowed the Patriots to put money into other positions on the field, giving them a strong unit that was incredibly difficult for other teams to beat. That paid off during the Brady-Belichick era, with the Patriots recording the first ever undefeated 16-game regular season in 2007.
The Role of the Quarterback
Precisely what the role is that the Quarterback is asked to carry out will depend on a team’s tactics for each play. Before getting the play started, a Quarterback will gather his team together and inform the rest of the team what they’re going to do whilst they’re in a huddle. If there isn’t a huge amount of time left on the clock, or if a team just wants to increase the game’s tempo, a Quarterback might choose to call the play outside of a huddle as the opposition team is getting itself lined up. In general, there will either be a passing play or a running play that they opt for.
If it is a running play that a team is going to try, a Quarterback will attempt to get the ball to a halfback or a fullback, whose job will be to run with the ball further up the pitch. If it is a passing play, that is where a Quarterback really comes into their own. They will look to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver, having to throw the ball so precisely that it avoids opposition defensive players but makes its way to the player on their team who can receive it and either run it downfield themselves or else look to score a touchdown; presuming the Quarterback doesn’t run with the ball themselves.
Different teams will opt for different schemes. If a team is using a Triple Option, for example, the Quarterback will pass the ball only a few times in a game, if they ever pass it. If there is a Spread Offence being opted for, however, the Quarterback will be asked to throw the ball on virtually every play. The Canadian Football League is one in which the passing game is more heavily emphasised than the NFL, largely because there are only three down there, rather than the four in the US. A Quarterback has to be able to offer different skills depending on what the system is that the offensive team opts for.
Leaders & Backups
The National Football League chose to introduce captains to the game in 2007, but before that the Quarterback was considered to be the de facto leader of the team that they played for. They usually take on roles outside of the game, including the coin toss and being the third person to pick up any trophy that has been won. In the Super Bowl, for example, the Vince Lombardi Trophy will be given to the team owner, then the head coach before the Quarterback then lifts it. The skill and ability of the Quarterback is often seen as being vital to the overall morale of a team during a season.
Such is the importance of a Quarterback that they also have a backup that usually gets significantly less playing time than other backups. The starting Quarterback of a team will usually be involved in every play, so it is not unheard of for a backup in the position to go an entire season without being involved in a single snap. Although they will often play a key role in practices, when it comes to actual games their main role will often be limited to the likes of being a punter or a holder on place kicks. There have been some well-known players whose careers began as backup Quarterbacks, like Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes.