A-11 Professional Football League (A-11FL)

The New Spring-Summer A-11 Football League (U.S. Patent-Pending) coming in the Spring of 2013 is a big part of FOOTBALL’S FUTURE…and here are some of the reasons why:

If you go back in Time and carefully look at the history of football and Pro Football, it quickly becomes VERY clear where our great game of Football is headed. For a moment, Imagine that you and a buddy were able to go back and visit the Year 1912, and the Two of you were attending a Championship Football game 100 years ago, and "sitting in the grandstands" during that contest. Respectfully to those brave football coaches and players using their best strategies and giving a total team effort before your very eyes 100 Years ago, that game would be a dramatic and very stark contrast to the type of Pro Football Game being played today.

Most of the strategic aspects of the GAME itself were incredibly COMPRESSED by design, featuring ultra-tight splits and a smash-mouth style of brutal play, and most of players in the Year 1912 were much smaller and slower. Actions and movements within the game were much slower. The Forward Pass had just been Legalized in the year 1906, and many people believed the Forward Pass was a Gimmick and would quickly fade away. Slowly but surely the advent of the Forward Pass began to open up the strategic aspects of football. If those players, coaches and fans of the year 1912 were transported to the year 2012, they would be Stunned by the incredible size, speed and wide open complexity of today's Pro Football game.

Now to the Present: As the game rapidly evolves, some very salient points rise to the surface about the future of Pro Football:

1. The game IS becoming Faster & More Spread out, and NOT slower & more condensed. In much of the football world, the A-11 has become a measuring stick for innovation and the evolution of the game, due to the efforts of many innovative and courageous football coaches and their players nationwide. As noted by highly respected foootball Historian, John Reed (Harvard & West Point alum), and Reed is also the author of the well regarded strategic book 'Football Clock Management' and many other football books, Reed explained about the A-11, "the game of 11-man tackle football can never become more than the A-11, it's impossible to go beyond it." Reed's many points in favor of the A-11 Offense as the Future of Football have been detailed in his articles, along with many other youth, high school, collegiate and pro football expert's observations about why the game of football is speeding into A-11 Football have been well documented on the A-11 Feedback site and in numerous articles and media features as well: http://a11feedback.blogspot.com

2. As we learn more about player safety – dramatic rule changes have affected the game’s strategies and further upcoming rule changes at the Youth & High School levels will drastically effect the style of game played very soon and Guide the game into the A-11 style of play

3. More and more youth, high school & NCAA Quarterbacks are taking the majority of their snaps from deep within a Shotgun set, than from under the Center. Therefore, every type of A-11 set or Spread or Pistol set automatically calls for the quarterback(s) to be aligned further away from the LOS and deep in the backfield. This translates (normally) into the quarterback taking fewer devastating hits from the defense. Also, the quarterback & running backs benefit from operating in a super-spread set due to the much wider OL splits, which equates to wider running and passing lanes.

4. In the A-11 Offense (normally) the Defense must spread out and account for Every POTENTIALLY eligible receiver or back, even though the Defense will not usually identify which exact receivers are eligible on a given play, until right before the football is snapped. When the Defense is super-spread out, the Quarterback’s reads are usually much easier to discern and identify quicker.

5. OL: in the A-11, the offensive linemen are usually more spread out, thereby further reducing their chances of sustaining brutal knee, ankle or hip injuries from horrific pile-ups and entanglements. If you watch a conventional pro football game or high-level NCAA game, take a look at how many OL are wearing bulky knee braces under their game pants and socks in case they are accidentally rolled-up on or hit from side, etc.

6. As super-spread offensive sets like the A-11 grab a larger piece of the strategic football marketplace, it will push the boundaries of football innovation beyond the norm and alter the conceptual landscape of how/where/when/why football coaches utilize certain schemes & concepts.

7. In super-spread A-11 type sets, the Job Description of the Offensive Tackle position has changed. Respectfully, no longer is an OT used to just pass block or run block. Super-spread offensive sets like the A-11 call for a NEW POSITION being created, which replaces the OT position, with a much more nimble & versatile athletic playmaker, a player able to block, run with the ball and catch it too. This position has been redefined at the Youth & High School levels since 2007 all across the country, and it’s called the ANCHOR. In A-11 football, the ANCHORS are aligned on each side of the field in the A-11 base set, Left & Right respectively, but they can align within any A-11 formation all over the field as needed.

8. No-Huddle Offense & New Complex Concepts: Many Youth, High School and NCAA football teams operate using a hurry-up No Huddle Offense. In the A-11 Offense, every player is a versatile and in-shape athletic player, and they are all interchangeable. This type of ultra-fast high tempo and wide open A-11 Football is exciting for the players and the fans really enjoy it. The youth, High School and NCAA teams have already proven they can quickly grasp A-11 football concepts and run with them full speed ahead. IMAGINE what is going to happen when FULL TIME professional A-11 football coaches and players go full tilt on A-11 concepts, it will be a Thing of Beauty to watch for everybody involved!

9. A-11 Experiment: In 2007 when we launched the A-11 Offense, we had little idea it was going to go bananas nationwide like it did in 2008 after only one-year of success. We were thrilled at Piedmont that the A-11 gave us a better chance of being successful, and then when we started doing public and private coaching clinics around the country, and we kept hearing the same things from coaches and players, “you guys need to take the A-11 to the pros.” Finally, the football OFFICIALS were the key, they proved it nationwide and WITHOUT the use of Instant Replay, that they were fully capable of properly officiating A-11 games.

THE FANS love watching A-11 Football! As the game evolves to become more spread out and wide open, the FAN'S appetite and their EXPECTATIONS change too. FANS want to Watch and enjoy UNPREDICTABLE football, and the inherent aspects and design of the A-11 are the game's most random version of 11-man tackle football played at its Mathematical Limits.

** Entertainment & Action: Using (11) Fast & INTERCHANGEABLE Game Breakers in the A-11 Football League is the future of Spring Pro football.

Step back for a moment and compare USING Eleven INTERCHANGEABLE great athletes in the A-11 Offense (A-11FL) to other pro sports leagues, and wonder how restricted and limited it would be if those other Pro Sports could not use EVERY athlete on the field or court to help their team Score and Win, and WHAT IF in these other sports examples, IF in...

Basketball: only 3 out of 5 players could handle the ball & score?

Soccer: only 6 out of 11 players could touch the ball & score?

Baseball: only 5 out of 9 players could step up to the plate & swing the bat?

Hockey: only 3 out of 6 players could shoot the puck & score?

Lacrosse: only 6 out of 10 players could handle the ball & score?

These pro sports leagues are examples that would be badly limited and hampered, if the above similar type of restrictions were applied to the rules of their own sport that greatly LIMITED how many POTENTIAL players per Offense could possibly score. And, these examples demonstrate by comparison how much more the A-11 Offense OPENS up the game of football like never before, so the Offensive Teams in A-11 Spring Pro Football can use 11 great Interchangeable players on the field at once, giving football fans, players and coaches Thousands of more thrilling options!

10. The ATHLETES are much better now than even 25-years ago, and there are a LOT more of them ready to showcase their amazing talents in A-11 Pro Football. These Athletes are able to learn, process, implement and successfully use Much More Football information than previous generations, respectfully, and that's true in most every industry and it holds true for football. Plus, the A-11 allows for EVERY player on the Offensive team to be a scoring threat and really highlights their true broader range of skills as an incredible athlete, able to function at numerous positions without substitution. Now moving ahead into the very near future, and since it’s been proven nationwide at the amateur levels by the coaches, athletes and referees, that A-11 is even more exciting and very workable by the Refs, the game has changed forever and it’s never going backwards.

The game's players, coaches, officials and fans should do what most of the Founding Fathers of Football did before us...we should honor them, respect them, love them and learn from football's glorious past, while embracing the future of football with open arms. The possibilities are amazing.

Fast Forward to the Year 2112...One-Hundred Years from now, what will the game of Pro Football look like? One thing is certain, the game will NOT be slower and more methodical, that's impossible. In the year 2112, there will be unforseen innovations and dramatic rule changes that impact the Futuristic style of Pro Football being played.

If you have any doubts about the rapid changes taking place in the game of Pro Football, and how much different the game will be in the near future and 100 years from now...just take a moment and remember that Visit you and your buddy took back to the year 1912, and the truth becomes self-evident.

*The A-11 Offense in the new Spring-Summer A-11 Professional Football League (A-11FL) is a very exciting future indeed, and I will provide key updates on the A-11FL "launch" process every few weeks