Why does qb lift leg

The innovation of the spread game has forced defenses to cover the entire field. It came from football legend John Heisman, who started shouting it while playing for the University of Pennsylvania during the season. He did it to avoid being tricked. As a center responsible for snapping the ball to the quarterback to begin the play, he usually got scratched on his leg as a signal…. Before the quarterback receives the snap, he can often be seen lifting his leg up and down on the ground.

Quarterbacks will lift their legs in the air to signal to their center to snap the football. This is often called a leg cadence, as no verbal words are spoken. The most obvious use case is the quarterback lifting his leg before the snap is to signal to the center that he wants the football. The quarterback can often be seen lifting his front foot and then putting it back on the ground.

Looking between his legs, the center will see the foot go up and down and snap the football. The leg lift is a great indicator for spread-out teams, especially in 10 personnel playing in a loud stadium. Verbal cadences do not travel well; sometimes, they can hardly be heard by the offensive lineman feet away from the quarterback. Using a simple leg lift will activate the center to snap the football.

Wide receivers and running backs will react off the ball snap when the leg lift cadence is used. It essentially means that the quarterback is trying to fake the snap of the ball and forces the defense to show their coverage or blitz if there is one. The innovation of the spread game has forced defenses to cover the entire field. Teams will often show one look, then roll to another look. Have a question about the NFL?

Ask Times NFL writer Sam Farmer, and he will answer as many as he can online and in the Sunday editions of the newspaper throughout the season. Email questions to: sam. Why, when the NFL fines players for indiscretions, are the amounts in such odd amounts, e. Farmer: We see it all the time, especially with the traffic cop who wears No. We wait, and we do it on the second time.

Some teams have a center look between his legs and then they go off the foot. Ask Farmer: How long until sensors are used to track first downs and TDs?