Building a championship football team

by Paul W. Bryant

OUR OFFENSIVE STANCE

The offensive stance is very important. It is difficult enough trying to attain maximum results when they are lined up in their proper stance, but it puts your players at a distinct disadvantage and handicaps them greatly if you permit them to assume a stance that is improper and incorrect. Therefore, we put first things first, and try to coach our players always to take the proper stance.

Offensive Stance for Linemen

The stance for the linemen, with the exception of the center, is basically the same, with allowances being made for various physical characteristics, which vary from individual to individual. The inside foot is forward, the feet staggered in an arch to toe relationship. The tackles and ends exaggerate the stagger from heel to toe since they are further removed from the center and quarterback.

The feet should not be spread wider than the individual’s shoulders, with the weight of the body concentrated on the balls of the feet. The heels should be slightly in, with the cleats on the heel of the forward foot almost touching the ground. The ankles should be bent slightly. The knees should be bent slightly more than 90 degrees, and turned slightly in. The tail is even or a little higher than the shoulders, and splitting the forward and rear heels. The back is straight, shoulders square, neck relaxed, and eyes open keeping the defensive linebacker in line of sight. The hands are placed down slightly outside of the feet, elbows relaxed, and thumbs in and slightly forward of the shoulders.

Offensive Stance for Center

The center lines up in a left-handed stance with the feet even and slightly wider than the shoulders. The weight is on the balls of the feet, heels turned slightly in, with the cleats on the heels of the shoes almost touching the ground. The knees are slightly in and bent a little more than 90 degrees. The tail is slightly higher than the shoulders and about two inches in front of the heels. The center places his left hand inside his legs down from between his eye and ear almost directly under the forehead, with the fingers spread and the thumb turned slightly in. The shoulders are square, the back is straight, the neck is relaxed, and the eyes looking upward. His right hand grasps the football like a passer. He should reach out as far as possible without changing his stance. The center is coached to place the ball on his tail as quickly as possible with a natural turn of the arm. He should drive out over the ball with his head coming up and tail down, keeping his shoulders square as he makes his hand-back to the quarterback.

Quarterback’s Stance

The quarterback is coached to get into a football position with the feet slightly wider than the shoulders, weight on the balls of the feet, heels and knees turned slightly in, knees bent slightly, and a natural bend at the waist in order to be in a good position to receive the ball from the center as he snaps the ball on the hand-back. The elbows must be bent and in close to the body.

The quarterback’s right hand goes up in the center’s crotch. He turns it slightly to the right. At this spot he applies pressure with the hand to his center’s tail. The left hand must be in a comfortable position, making slight contact with the right hand, and it is used to trap the ball and to assist the right hand in taking the football from the center.