Offense
Rushing, on offense, means running with the ball when starting from behind the line of scrimmage. While this usually means a running play, any offensive play that does not involve a forward pass is a rush - also called a run. It is usually done by the running back after a handoff from the quarterback, although quarterbacks and wide receivers can also rush. The quarterback will usually run when a passing play has broken down - such as when there is no receiver open to catch the ball - and there is room to run down the field. A team with a quarterback who is fast and skilled at running may regularly call intentional running plays for that quarterback, but this is rare due to the increased risk of injury. A wide receiver can act as a rusher on several kinds of plays, such as on a reverse, on an end-around, or on a lateral pass behind the line of scrimmage, which is a type of screen pass. However, a wide receiver screen play is usually intended to be a forward pass so that if the receiver drops the ball it is an incomplete pass instead of a fumble.
A rushing attempt may also be referred to as a carry, with any yards gained referred to as rushing yards, as in "the running back had 20 carries for 100 rushing yards."
Read more about this topic: Rush (gridiron Football)
Famous quotes containing the word offense:
“Comparatively, we can excuse any offense against the heart, but not against the imagination. The imagination knows—nothing escapes its glance from out its eyry—and it controls the breast.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t,
A brother’s murder. Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will;
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,
And like a man to double business bound
I stand in pause where I shall first begin,
And both neglect. What if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother’s blood,
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Crude men who feel themselves insulted tend to assess the degree of insult as high as possible, and talk about the offense in greatly exaggerated language, only so they can revel to their heart’s content in the aroused feelings of hatred and revenge.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)