Editing Quarterback (section)

==History==
[[File:Spalding's how to play foot ball; (1902) (14597024517).jpg|thumb|An illustration of a quarterback and center in ''Spalding's How to Play Foot Ball'', published in 1902]]
[[File:McMillinFeatures.png|thumb|Bo McMillin tossing a pass]]
[[File:Steve Spurrier vs. Georgia.png|thumb|[[Steve Spurrier]] under center]]
[[File:Single wing formation vs5 diagram.gif|thumb|An image of the [[single-wing formation]], a popular formation and offensive scheme created in the early 1900s.<ref name="Coaches find success in single wing">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/high-school/football/story/_/id/3707657/coaches-find-success-single-wing/|title=Coaches find success in single wing|last=Dorsey|first=Pat|date=November 18, 2008|work=[[ESPN.com]]|access-date=August 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803220514/http://espn.go.com/high-school/football/story/_/id/3707657/coaches-find-success-single-wing/|archive-date=August 3, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Like many early formations, the quarterback did not receive the ball from center, and instead served as a blocking back.<ref name="Football for Dummies">{{cite book|first1=Howie |last1=Long|first2=John |last2=Czarnecki|title=Football for Dummies|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons|Wiley Publishing]]|year=2007|edition=3|page=110|chapter=2|isbn=978-0-470-12536-6|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pbduM8Jyc34C&q=%22quarterback%22+%22blocking+back%22&pg=PA110|access-date=August 2, 2013}}</ref> In modern football, the single-wing is only used as a primary offense by a small number of [[high school football|high school]] teams.<ref name="Coaches find success in single wing" />]]
The quarterback position dates to the late 1800s, when American [[Ivy League]] schools playing a form of [[rugby union]] imported from the [[United Kingdom]] began to put their own spin on the game.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby">{{cite web|title=Yale's Walter Camp and 1870s Rugby|url=http://www.ivyrugby.com/news/yales-walter-camp-and-1870s-rugby|publisher=Ivy Rugby Conference|access-date=August 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005161825/http://www.ivyrugby.com/news/yales-walter-camp-and-1870s-rugby|url-status=live|archive-date=October 5, 2013}}</ref> [[Walter Camp]], a prominent athlete and rugby player at [[Yale University]], pushed through a change in rules at a meeting in 1880 that established a [[line of scrimmage]] and allowed for the football to be [[snap (American and Canadian football)|snapped]] to a quarterback.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> The change was meant to allow for teams to strategize their play more thoroughly and retain possession more easily than was possible in the chaos of a [[scrum (rugby)|scrummage]] in rugby.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> In Camp's formulation, the "quarter-back" was the person who received a ball snapped back with another player's foot. Originally he was not allowed to run forward of the line of scrimmage:

{{Blockquote|text=A scrimmage takes place when the holder of the ball puts it on the ground before him and puts it in play while on-side either by kicking the ball or by snapping it back with his foot. The man who first receives the ball from the snap-back shall be called the quarter-back and shall not rush forward with the ball under penalty of foul.|sign=[[Walter Camp]]|source=rule adopted at [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] Intercollegiate Football Association convention, 1880{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=18}} }}

In the primary formation of Camp's time, there were four "back" positions, with the tailback playing furthest back, followed by the fullback, the halfback, and the quarterback closest to the line.  As the quarterback was not allowed to run past the line of scrimmage, and the [[forward pass]] had not yet been invented, their primary role was to receive the snap from the center, and immediately hand or toss the ball backwards to the fullback or halfback to run.  By the early 1900s, their role had been further reduced, as teams began to employ longer, direct snaps to one of the other backs (who by rule ''were'' allowed to run) and the quarterback became the primary "blocking back", leading the way through the defense but rarely carrying the ball themselves.  This was the primary strategy of the [[single wing offense]] which was popular during the early decades of the 20th century.  After the growth of the forward pass, the role of the quarterback changed again.  The quarterback would later be returned to his role as the primary receiver of the snap after the advent of the [[T-formation]] offense, especially under the success of former single wing tailback, and later T-formation quarterback, [[Sammy Baugh]].

The requirement to stay behind the line of scrimmage was soon rescinded, but it was later reimposed in [[six-man football]]. The exchange between the person snapping the ball, typically the [[Center (gridiron football)|center]], and the quarterback was initially an awkward one because it involved a kick.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> At first, centers gave the ball a small boot, and then picked it up and handed it to the quarterback.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> By 1889, Yale center Bert Hanson was bouncing the ball on the ground to the quarterback between his legs.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> The following year, a rule change officially made snapping the ball using the hands between the legs legal.{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=18}} Several years later, [[Amos Alonzo Stagg]] at the [[Chicago Maroons football|University of Chicago]] invented the lift-up snap: the center passed the ball off the ground and between his legs to a standing quarterback.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> A similar set of changes were later adopted in [[Canadian football]] as part of the [[Burnside rules]], a set of rules proposed by John Meldrum "Thrift" Burnside, the captain of the [[Toronto Varsity Blues#Football|University of Toronto's football team]].<ref name="Football History 101: Why Canadians Have Only Three Downs">{{cite web|url=http://www.aolnews.com/2006/11/17/football-history-101-why-canadians-have-only-three-downs/|title=Football History 101: Why Canadians Have Only Three Downs|last=Warner|first=David J.|date=November 17, 2006|publisher=[[AOL News]]|access-date=August 17, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104212541/http://www.aolnews.com/2006/11/17/football-history-101-why-canadians-have-only-three-downs/|archive-date=November 4, 2013}}</ref>

The change from a scrummage to a scrimmage made it easier for teams to decide what plays they would run before the snap.{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=20}} At first, the captains of college teams were put in charge of play calling, indicating with shouted codes which players would run with the ball and how the men on the line were supposed to [[Blocking (American football)|block]].{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=20}} Yale later used visual signals, including adjustments of the captain's knit hat, to call plays.{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=20}} Centers could also signal plays based on the alignment of the ball before the snap.{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=20}} In 1888, however, [[Princeton Tigers football|Princeton University]] began to have its quarterback call plays using number signals.{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=21}} That system caught on and quarterbacks began to act as directors and organizers of offensive play.{{sfn|Bernstein|2001|p=21}}

Early on, quarterbacks were used in a variety of formations. Harvard's team put seven men on the line of scrimmage, with three [[halfback (American football)|halfback]]s who alternated at quarterback and a lone [[fullback (American football)|fullback]].<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> Princeton put six men on the line and had one designated quarterback, while Yale used seven linemen, one quarterback and two halfbacks who lined up on either side of the fullback.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" /> This was the origin of the [[T-formation]], an offensive set that remained in use for many decades afterward and gained popularity in professional football starting in the 1930s.<ref name="Walter Camp and rugby" />

In 1906, the forward pass was legalized in American football; Canadian football did not adopt the forward pass until 1929.<ref name="Football History 101: Why Canadians Have Only Three Downs" /> Despite the legalization of the forward pass, the most popular formations of the early 20th century focused mostly on the rushing game. The [[single-wing formation]], a run-oriented offensive set, was invented by football coach [[Pop Warner|Glenn "Pop" Warner]] around the year 1908.{{sfn|Long & Czarnecki|2011|p=110}} In the single-wing, the quarterback was positioned behind the line of scrimmage and was flanked by a [[Halfback (American football)|tailback]], [[fullback (American football)|fullback]] and [[wingback (American football)|wingback]].{{sfn|Long & Czarnecki|2011|p=110}} He served largely as a [[Blocking (American football)|blocking]] back; the tailback typically took the snap, either running forward with the ball or making a lateral pass to one of the other players in the backfield.{{sfn|Long & Czarnecki|2011|p=110}} The quarterback's job was usually to make blocks upfield to help the tailback or fullback gain yards.{{sfn|Long & Czarnecki|2011|p=110}} Passing plays were rare in the single-wing, an unbalanced power formation where four linemen lined up to one side of the center and two lined up to the other.{{sfn|Long & Czarnecki|2011|p=110}} The tailback was the focus of the offense, and was often a [[triple-threat man]] who would either pass, run or kick the ball.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=71}}

Offensive play calling continued to focus on [[rush (gridiron football)|rushing]] up through the 1920s, when professional leagues began to challenge the popularity of college football.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=79}} In the early days of the professional [[National Football League]] (NFL), which was founded in 1920, games were largely low-scoring affairs. Two-thirds of all games in the 1920s were shutouts, and quarterbacks/tailbacks usually passed only out of desperation.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=79}} In addition to a reluctance to risk turnovers by passing, various rules existed that limited the effectiveness of the forward pass: passers were required to drop back five yards behind the line of scrimmage before they could attempt a pass, and incomplete passes in the [[end zone]] resulted in a change of possession and a [[touchback]].{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=79}} Additionally, the rules required the ball to be snapped from the location on the field where it was ruled dead; if a play ended with a player going out of bounds, the center had to snap the ball from the sideline, an awkward place to start a play.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=79}}

Despite these constraints, player-coach [[Curly Lambeau]] of the [[Green Bay Packers]], along with several other NFL figures of his era, was a consistent proponent of the forward pass.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=79}} The Packers found success in the 1920s and 1930s using variations on the single-wing that emphasized the passing game.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=80}} Packers quarterback [[Red Dunn]] and [[New York Giants]] and [[Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)|Brooklyn Dodgers]] quarterback [[Benny Friedman]] were the leading passers of their era, but passing remained a relative rarity among other teams; between 1920 and 1932, there were three times as many running plays as there were passing plays.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=80}}

Early NFL quarterbacks typically were responsible for calling the team's offensive plays with signals before the snap.{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=72}} The use of the [[huddle]] to call plays originated with Stagg in 1896, but only began to be used regularly in college games in 1921.{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=72}} In the NFL, players were typically assigned numbers, as were the gaps between offensive linemen.{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=72}} One player, usually the quarterback, would call signals indicating which player was to run the ball and which gap he would run toward.{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=73}} Playcalling (or any other kind of coaching from the sidelines) was not permitted during this period, leaving the quarterback to devise the offensive strategy (often, the quarterback doubled as head coach during this era).{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=73}} Substitutions were limited and quarterbacks often played on both offense and defense.{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=73}}

Between 1933 and 1945, numerous changes for the quarterback position were applied.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|pp=89–90}} The rule requiring a quarterback/tailback to be five yards behind the line of scrimmage to pass was abolished,{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} and [[hash marks]] were added to the field that established a limited zone between which the ball was placed before snaps, making offensive formations more flexible.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} Additionally, incomplete passes in the end zone were no longer counted as turnovers and touchbacks.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}}

The single-wing continued to be in wide use throughout this, and a number of forward-passing tailbacks became stars, including [[Sammy Baugh]] of the [[Washington Redskins]].{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} In 1939, [[Chicago Maroons football|University of Chicago]] head football coach [[Clark Shaughnessy]] made modifications to the T-formation, a formation that put the quarterback behind the center and had him receive the snap directly.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} Shaughnessy altered the formation by having the linemen be spaced further apart, and he began having players go in motion behind the line of scrimmage before the snap to confuse defenses.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} These changes were picked up by [[Chicago Bears]] coach [[George Halas]], a close friend of Shaughnessy, and they quickly caught on in the professional ranks.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} Utilizing the T-formation and led by quarterback [[Sid Luckman]], the Bears reached the [[1940 NFL Championship Game|NFL championship game]] in 1940 and beat the Redskins by a score of 73–0.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} The blowout led other teams across the league to adopt variations on the T-formation, including the [[Philadelphia Eagles]], [[Cleveland Rams]] and [[Detroit Lions]].{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} Baugh and the Redskins converted to the T-formation and continued to succeed.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}}

Thanks in part to the emergence of the T-formation and changes in the rulebooks to liberalize the passing game, passing from the quarterback position became more common in the 1940s and as teams switched to the T-formation, passing tailbacks, such as Sammy Baugh, would line up as quarterbacks instead.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} Over the course of the decade, passing yards began to exceed rushing yards for the first time in the history of football.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=90}} The [[Cleveland Browns]] of the late 1940s in the [[All-America Football Conference]] (AAFC), a professional league created to challenge the NFL, were one of the teams of that era that relied most on passing.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=102}} Quarterback [[Otto Graham]] helped the Browns win four AAFC championships in the late 1940s in head coach [[Paul Brown]]'s T-formation offense, which emphasized precision timing passes.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=102}} Cleveland, along with several other AAFC teams, was absorbed by the NFL in 1950 after the dissolution of the AAFC that same year.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=102}} By the end of the 1940s, all NFL teams aside from the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] used the T-formation as their primary offensive formation.{{sfn|Maxymuk|2007|p=102}}

As late as the 1960s, running plays occurred more frequently than passes. NFL quarterback [[Milt Plum]] later stated that during his career (1957–1969) passes typically only occurred on third downs and sometimes on first downs.<ref name="niesen20131002">{{cite news | url=http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_24219239/milt-plum-surprised-he-holds-record-peyton-manning | title=Milt Plum surprised he holds record Peyton Manning has tied | work=Denver Post | date=October 2, 2013 | access-date=October 2, 2013 | last=Niesen|first=Joan | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005020157/http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_24219239/milt-plum-surprised-he-holds-record-peyton-manning | archive-date=October 5, 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref> Quarterbacks only increased in importance as rules changed to favor passing and higher scoring and as football gained popularity on television after the [[1958 NFL Championship Game]], often referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played".{{sfn|Peterson|1997|pp=205–206}} Early modern offenses evolved around the quarterback as a passing threat, boosted by rules changes in 1978 and 1979 that made it a penalty for defensive backs to interfere with receivers downfield and allowed offensive linemen to pass-block using their arms and open hands; the rules had limited them to blocking with their hands held to their chests.{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=207}} Average passing yards per game rose from 283.3 in 1977 to 408.7 in 1979.{{sfn|Peterson|1997|p=207}}

[[File:Bob Griese 1966.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Bob Griese]]]]
The NFL continues to be a pass-heavy league, in part due to further rule changes that prescribed harsher penalties for hitting the quarterback and for hitting defenseless receivers as they awaited passes.<ref name="Wyche on passing">{{cite web|last=Wyche|first=Steve|title=Passing league: Explaining the NFL's aerial evolution|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/passing-league-explaining-the-nfl-s-aerial-evolution-09000d5d82a44e69|work=NFL.com|access-date=August 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731044713/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a44e69/article/passing-league-explaining-the-nfls-aerial-evolution|archive-date=July 31, 2013|url-status=live|date=July 5, 2012}}</ref> Passing in wide-open offenses has also been an emphasis at the high school and college levels, and professional coaches have devised schemes to fit the talents of new generations of quarterbacks.<ref name="Wyche on passing" />

While quarterbacks and team captains usually called plays in football's early years, today coaches often decide which plays the offense will run. Some teams use an [[offensive coordinator]], an assistant coach whose duties include offensive game-planning and often play-calling. In the NFL, coaches are allowed to communicate with quarterbacks and call plays using audio equipment built into the player's helmet. Quarterbacks are allowed to hear, but not talk to, their coaches until there are fifteen seconds left on the play clock.<ref>Mayer, Larry, [http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalkStory.asp?story_id=3710 When does radio communication get cut off?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102705/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalkStory.asp?story_id=3710 |date=September 29, 2007 }} (August 15, 2007), chicagobears.com. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.</ref> Once the quarterback receives the call, he may relay it to other players via signals or in a [[huddle]].

Dallas Cowboys head coach [[Tom Landry]] was an early advocate of taking play calling out of the quarterback's hands. Although this remained a common practice in the NFL through the 1970s, fewer QBs were doing it by the 1980s and even Hall of Famers like [[Joe Montana]] did not call their own plays. [[Buffalo Bills]] QB [[Jim Kelly]] was one of the last to regularly call plays. [[Peyton Manning]], formerly of the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, was the best modern example of a quarterback who called his own plays, primary using an uptempo, no-huddle-based attack. Manning had almost complete control over the offense. Former Baltimore Ravens quarterback [[Joe Flacco]] retained a high degree of control over the offense as well, particularly when running a no-huddle scheme, as did [[Ben Roethlisberger]] of the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]].