A-11 Offense ??

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by TXMike

Yes, BUT>>>>> that deception is limited to a maximum of 5 potential receivers. Your concept makes 10 potential receivers. This is patently unfair.

Difficult to administer, sure. Patently unfair, absurd.

Over the years there have been times certain things about football have declared inviolate, saying not just that the rules are (at a given time) such-and-such, but that they must always remain so because to do otherwise would be unfair, against the spirit of the game, etc. And then they changed them.

During the time I've followed football, such has been the case with use of the hands & arms in blocking. At some point in the 19th Century, after interference had become an accepted part of the game, it was decided, well, that's OK, as long as they don't hold. And then in fairly short order it was decided that using the hands & arms to push was as bad as holding, and that's the way it stayed for generations. Statements were put into the rule book by Parke Davis and others saying not only that the rule was the rule, but that use of the hands might make for an interesting game, but not one to be called "football". In other words, the rule for that time on use of the hands & arms was taken to be a defining characteristic of football.

Anyway, for various considerations regarding safety, ease of administration, and desired balance between offense & defense (which of course is a matter of momentary taste), that all changed. From requiring the hands & arms to be kept close to the body and the palms facing away from the opponent, it's now been changed to legalize pushing. Still not holding or pulling, but pushing. What about all the old statements about that not being football any longer? Gee, I guess if we're playing football now, that must not have been football then!

And so on. The forward pass was "unfair" and "not football". Similarly free substitution. Similarly helmets. Similarly blocking. They even took the goals off the goal lines; the pros did so twice! (Yeah, yeah, juggler, we know.)

Where this A-11 is going, who knows. If I had to, I'd guess Fed will do away with it by bringing back the pullover numbers. But don't pretend there's something inherent about football that requires its removal.

Robert