Do the numbers quarterbacks say mean anything?

@noelleptc is right. They say colours and other shit too sometimes, that’s just to throw off the potential idiot on the other side trying to figure out what it means.

Some of the gibberish is for small changes in the current play some is for audibles to new plays and some is complete shit that is used to throw the defense off the trail of the snap count and/or confuse them about the current offensive play.

I know that when i was in high school, different plays were coded with different colors. red for running, blue for passing. on a running play, each shoulder of an offensive lineman was labeled with a different number. Something like odd numbers were the left side of the line, even were the right. In a passing play each route that could be run was assigned a number, which could be combined, and each formation was given a name as well. Confusing sometimes, but I lived. Barely.

these of course, are simple examples, and should in no way be misconstrued as evidence of me being a reliable expert. =p

If I were an NFL quarterback (and that would be a BIG stretch), I would probably call out funny shit to try and make the defense laugh and then snap while they’re laughing.

“14, 23, 53, OH GOD I THINK MY CENTER JUST SHIT HIS PANTS!!! [ball snaps].”

Yes.They are instructions to the offense.I don’t know why i know that ;)

And of course, much of the time they mean nothing as well. The play is usually called in the huddle, the numbers may or may not point out holes in coverage, potential blitzes, etc. Sometimes they just serve to confuse the defense.

In a no huddle offense, the numbers are the way the plays are communicated, but more often they are used to identify pass rush threats or audible to another play based on the look of the coverage.

And @gorillapaws, I have to think somebody’s done that. Seems like the kind of thing Dan Marino would have done…

@crazyivan I could see him doing that too lol. I wonder if they could hit you with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (it probably would depend on how far you were willing to push the line)?

these days they have microphones picking up anything said on the field, so antics like that would be rebroadcast and dissected instantly.

I think I might just do it to see what the Ref said when he called the penalty.

“Unsportsman like conduct, number 11, detailed description of the Nose Tackle’s mother’s anatomy… fifteen yards, still second down.”