A-11 Offense Is Now Banned!!!

[ILS1]

Sad news to end the week: Everyone's favorite crazy gimmick offense, the "All-11," was effectively declared illegal today by the far-reaching National Federation of State High School Associations, which closed the "scrimmage kick" loophole the A-11 exploited for its existence. A moment, please, for innovation.

The goal of the A-11 is maximum unpredictability, achieved by putting 11 players wearing eligible receiving numbers on the field at once -- only legal with one player at least seven yards behind the line of scrimmage and no one under center, as on a punt or field goal -- then shifting them on or off the line of scrimmage at the last second. The result is an essentially random offense with endless combinations of possible receivers, leaving the defense with no idea which five or six players are eligible to go downfield for a pass until a moment before the ball is snapped and no time to react.

Unfortunately, it's equally confusing to officials, and that was deemed just plain "unsportsmanlike":

The NFHS changed the rule and said that on first, second and third down, there must be four players on the line with numbers 50-79. The snapper may have a number 1-49 or 80-89, but he is ineligible.
In essence, there can only be potentially six eligible receivers per down instead of 11 under the A-11.

"It was unethical for them to use a loophole in the rules to run this offense," said Mike Webb, the supervisor of football officials for the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission who is on the NFHS football rules committee. "This takes away the deception."

And what is wrong, I ask you, with deception? This is America! Damn regulators ...

At any rate, proponents of the A-11 (headed by nutty Californians, natch) vow to keep the dream alive in 2009, possibly under a special subdivision devoted to A-11 teams. In the meantime, you can pay your proper respects at the A-11 Web site, where you'll find highlight videos, the A-11 installation and advanced concepts manuals, articles in the national media, links to the four members of the A-11 Football Network and, of course, the A-11 YouTube channel.

Enjoy it, because it will be years before anyone thinks up something this defiantly, aggressively weird (and obviously doomed) again.



Story Link (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Weekend-Out-The-future-is-dead-R-I-P-A-11-?urn=ncaaf,141441)

[Additup]

I'm glad that TEXAS uses NCAA football rules for it's high schools.

[Additup]

Originally posted by Ernest T Bass
No cut blocking, official time outs for water breaks, and no returns of kicks, fumbles, or INTs out of the end zone. So, that 100 yard return in the Super Bowl would have never happened. Yeah, Federation rules suck!
Spoke at a clinic about downfield blocking...don't know how many out of state coaches told me they wished the could cut downfiled after the video cuts-ups.

[CenTexSports]

1) Texas does not play NCAA rules per say. They play selected NCAA rules with UIL exceptions and additions.
2) The National Federation is getting closer to UIL rules every year and I think eventually that the National Fed will more closely resemble Texas rules than the NCAA will.
3) As an official that has called both, the one rule that I wish they would add to Texas UIL is the half quarter water rule. At approximately 1/2 way through each quarter except where it would affect a deep drive, an official timeout is taken for players to get hydration (through September). This is a very good rule for small schools that have limited athletes and states that have less participation than in Texas. How bad can it be? It is for the safety of the players.

[VAMike]

I would say Texas DOES use NCAA rules with a few (very few) UIL exceptions. When you look at the NCAA rulebook in toto, what is in there and what is used in Texas is much much more than what is not used.

As for the water break, I have had one often even though there is nothing in the rules to permit it. It is pretty obvious when everyne needs a break (Kids and refs) and if conditions warrant, I will call an officials timeout for the water break.

[c-town_balla]

If you can't cut block or block downfield I would struggle to call it football.

[Additup]

Originally posted by c-town_balla
If you can't cut block or block downfield I would struggle to call it football.
Amen, brother!

[Aesculus gilmus]

Back in the old days, no one cared about hydration. That was for **ssies.

It takes some of the excitement out of the game knowing that it is no longer "life or death."

Just kidding. Everyone in Gilmer past a cetain age remembers when one of our players got killed during game, not from hydration problems but from a collision with a Mount Pleasant player.

[CenTexSports]

I know it is NCAA rules. I was just taking devils position to his comments about the NFHS rules.