"It's been wonderful and amazing to receive all this support from coaches, administrators and football fans from around the country," Kurt Bryan, the Piedmont High (Calif.) coach who is a co-creator of the offense, told me by phone today. "This is standing up for the little guy."

In a meeting of the National Federation of State High School Associations in Indianapolis in January, the rules committee voted 46-2 to ban the A-11, that pass-friendly offense developed by San Francisco Bay Area coaches Bryan and Steve Humphries. The A-11 is a cross between the wildcat formation and Calvinball, in which punt formation rules are used to make six players eligible to catch a pass on any given play. The big problem for the defense is, they never know which six. The formation even employs two quarterbacks on some plays.

But now, on first, second and third downs, at least four players must wear numbers between 50 and 79, making them ineligible to catch a pass. Poor form, says America. An ESPN poll on the issue puts readers squarely in favor of the A-11, 75 percent to 25 percent.

"We are stunned; when you look at the breakdown of the poll, the A-11 won all 50 states," said Bryan, whose team — with only two traditional linemen on its roster — went 8-3 last season. "The most disgusting thing about this is that most of the people on the rules committee who are against the offense have never seen an A-11 game live. That's overwhelming negligence on their part.

"There is such an amazing disconnect between the people on the rules committee and the boots on the ground," Bryan said. "This offense terrifies football traditionalists. But you know what? I'm a football traditionalist. I grew up using the same rules and concepts they did. But I also recognize progress when I see it. This offense prevents injuries and gets more kids involved in the game, not to mention being exciting to watch. What's wrong with that?"

Piedmont has applied to the California Interscholastic Federation for a waiver to be able to use the A-11 in the upcoming season, and the CIF is putting together a panel and should make a ruling soon. Meanwhile, the local CBS TV affiliate, KPIX, is preparing a feature on the story that will run Sunday, to be picked up by several other affiliates nationwide.

Momentum for the A-11 is building. Will America trade in its big, lumbering offensive formations for a sleeker, more fuel efficient model? Stay tuned.

Piedmont Coach Develops A-11 Offense [ABC 7]
A-11 Official Site [A-11 Offense.com]
Banning The A-11 Offense Is A Bad Idea [ESPN]

Among changes in its January 24-25 board of directors meeting in Indianapolis:

Changes in Rules 7-2-5 and 2-14-2 clarify the numbering-exception rule from when it was originally approved in 1982.

"The definition of a scrimmage-kick formation was clarified to differentiate formations that have been used traditionally for attempting a field goal or kick try from those used for a punt," Colgate said. "In addition, the circumstances under which the numbering exception can be utilized have been changed to clarify what can be done on first, second, third and fourth downs."

The A-11, invented and developed by Kurt Bryan and Stan Humphries at Piedmont (Calif.) High in 2007, used the loophole in the rules that all 11 players were eligible to catch a pass if a team lined up in the scrimmage kick formation for every play. The rules committee has seemed to have closed that loophole.

So, a victory for slow, dim-witted linemen everywhere. Hey, I was one of those!

Of course, it remains to be seen how each state will interpret the rule change; some may ignore it completely, just as some had chosen to outlaw the A-11 before the new ruling ever came down. So we'll see.

Horse Collar Tackle To Be Penalized In High School Football [NFHS]

The A-11's base formation features a center, two tight ends, two quarterbacks and six split ends — three on each side of the center. All players wear numbers that make them eligible pass receivers (1-49 and 80-99) as long as they're positioned at the end of the line or in the backfield.

What makes the offense legal is putting at least one of the quarterbacks 7 yards or more behind the line of scrimmage. As long as no one is in position to receive a hand-to-hand snap from the center, the alignment qualifies as a scrimmage-kick formation and normal numbering rules (a minimum of five players wearing numbers 50 through 79 on the line of scrimmage) don't apply.

Below are some highlights of the offense in action. Piedmont went 7-2 with it last season, including seven straight wins (before losing in the playoffs). My initial concern with this is if you don't have two decent quarterbacks, you're screwed; and most high school teams have a tough enough time finding one. But on the positive side, if this ever made it to the NFL, it would put all the 360-pound lard loads out of business. And that's a good thing, right? At any rate, the AFL should be adopting it any day now.

Here's a site devoted to the A-11. And since the Highlanders play not far from me, I'll get out there soon and get a full report. Just think; this could finally be the answer to the Bears' quarterback dilemma.

A-11 Offense [A11offense.com]