Quote:
Originally Posted by SammyG
There needs to be a minimum of 5 men on the line, yes, but you can also include a Tight End or two on the sides too.
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There needs to be 7 men on the line of scrimmage. The offensive tackles have to be "covered", either by a tight end or wide receiver.
What that means, Fallen Angel, is that you have your five offensive lineman. You have the center (the player who snaps the ball to the quarterback), two guards, one to each side of the center, and two offensive tackles, one to each side of the center. That is 5 men that will always be on the line of scrimmage. However, the two tackles, the outermost offensive line players, must be "covered" by another player to their outside shoulder. This could be a tight end or wide receiver. These players will line up at the line of scrimmage, on the line, to "cover" the tackle. Basically, the offensive tackle cannot be the farthest player to the outside in an offensive formation. There must be a tight end or wide receiver on each side that lines up on the line of scrimmage.
There can't be more than 7 players on the line either. For example, if two wide receivers line up on the right side of a formation, one of those players must be on the line of scrimmage, and the other will generally line up exactly 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage.