I may be on the road and laptopping my to Key Largo, but I still have time to answer the questions that have been on your mind. Thanks for the submissions and let’s see what you’ve been wanting to know.

 

Dear Larry,

What is there such an importance placed on playing from under center in the NFL as opposed to the shotgun? I guess what I’m trying to ask is—is playing from under center better than from playing in the Shotgun or Pistol? And if yes then why don’t all teams play from under center? I guess this would be obvious to anyone who played the game so I apologize in advance for my ignorance.

Puneet K from far away.

 

Dear Puneet,

They call it a pro style offense for a reason! It’s the standard offensive style preferred by most teams.

Now the real question you ask is why? The reason is simple, timing and protection.

When a quarterback is under center the defense cannot say what the play is going to be with certainty. Of course they can still hand off in the shotgun, but it’s a read that can be made quicker by the defense if it is.

The pros like to see their quarterbacks take a three or four step drop back into a “pocket” that is formed by blockers. That pocket should form like the one on your shirt, oblong. That means to get to get the quarterback, a defender would have to run around the pocket and get him from the side or from behind.

In those few seconds that takes, the ball should be gone.

In a shotgun formation there is usually not a pocket and gaps in the coverage can be exploited leaving that team’s multi-million man open for a deadly shot. What team wants to risk that every play?

In the shotgun the QB must unload quickly or be killed in most cases.

The three step drop allows the offensive line to give some ground with him, but just keep the pocket intact while keeping him close enough to protect, and as every quarterback coach will tell you, he wants the ball gone after three seconds.

So under center, you have more protection from all out full speed sacks, you have more options to carry out to keep the defense guessing and you create a sense of timing that helps the QB from being sacked.

There are other reasons of course, but these are the main ones.

 

Dear Larry,

Do you think the University and Tuscaloosa will ever try and get a bowl game in T-Town, seeing as how we have one of the best stadiums in all football?

Don M.

 

Dear Don,

I brought this up to my buddies who cover the games at ESPN and they said it will never happen for a reason few think of, LOGISTICS.

Bowls bring in lots of people and those people won’t be within driving distance to go back home in most cases as Alabama fans can after a game.

There simply is TERRIBLE logistics for Bryant Denny to host such an event. There is no airport and the ESPN crew says it’s one of their most unliked places because of that and the acute hotel shortage. They have to fly into either Atlanta or Birmingham, rent cars and then drive and then drive back to Birmingham for a hotel.

They hate coming to Tuscaloosa.

Can you imagine a town with too few rooms for a  Mississippi State vs Alabama showdown when both fan bases live within driving distance hosting a Michigan vs Miami team? It would be chaos.

Hope that gives you a new understanding of the dynamics of a bowl game.

 

Dear Larry,

Hey Larry! Loved the read! I do have a question, though.

Do you think that we’ll see Jalston Fowler tote the rock more this year? The few times that he did play, he was very impressive. The kid’s huge!

Thanks,

Sufferin’ in S’boro

 

Dear Sufferin’,

Interesting thing about Fowler, that was just an experiment and it worked out well. He was supposed to be defensive person, but when Huber graduated, we didn’t really have a strong fullback type and asked Fowler if he would do that.

Jalston is the kind of guy who’d run through a brick wall if you asked him to, so he’ll do anything that will put him on the field. I have it on good authority that they’ll let him do this again this year. With Ingram gone, who knows, we may see more of him than last year, and since he led the team in yards per carry, (though in limited play), he could be the third and short guy we need to tote the rock.

I’m all for it and I think Nick is too.

 

Well, that’s all for this week. Thanks for the submissions and well keep this ball rolling as long as there’s interest in people reading it.

If you missed last weeks questions, you can see them HERE.

Read more College Football news on BleacherReport.com