A screen pass is a type of play in American football. During a screen pass, a number of things happen concurrently in order to fool the defense into thinking a long pass is being thrown, when in fact the pass is merely a short one, just beyond the defensive linemen. Screens are usually deployed against aggressive defenses that rush the passer. Because screens invite the defense to rush the quarterback, they are designed to leave fewer defenders behind the rushers to stop the play.

A screen pass can be effective, but can also be risky in that it is rather easy for a defensive player, even a lineman, to intercept the pass if a defender gets between the quarterback and the intended receiver. If the pass is intercepted, there are often few offensive players in front of the intercepting player, thus making it much easier for the intercepting team to earn a large return or to score a touchdown.

Screens come in many forms. A screen to a running back to either the strong or short side of the field in the flats is often just called a screen. Screens to wide receivers come in four forms: the bubble screen, middle screen, slot screen, and slip screen.

The bubble screen was essentially created by Don Read when he was head coach of the Montana Grizzlies, and Lou Holtz, head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, brought the play into prominence after calling Read and asking for the play. The bubble screen involves a receiver taking a step forward, then darting toward the quarterback to receive the ball while the offensive linemen release to clear a path for the receiver. The benefit of the bubble screen is that it works against either zone or man-to-man coverage. A downside is that it is dependent on proper timing; a zone blitz or defensive end dropping into coverage can disrupt the timing, and may result in the quarterback being sacked.

The middle screen is similar to the bubble screen, except that the receiver continues his route to the middle of the field. The linemen release up the middle of the field in front of the receiver.

A screen pass is sometimes executed using a shovel pass throwing motion. To throw a shovel pass the quarterback palms the football, and "shovels" the pass directly forward to the receiver, usually with a backhand, underhand or pushing motion. When a designed play calls for the quarterback to use a shovel pass forward to a receiver it is, by definition, also a screen pass.

Offensive action during a screen pass play[link]

• The quarterback drops back as if he is going to pass the ball deep.
• The offensive line sets up in pass protection for usually one to two seconds, then releases and lets the defensive line go.
• The person receiving the screen pass will move behind the releasing linemen and wait for the ball.
• The outside receivers run clear-out routes in order to make a path for the screen coming behind them.

If run properly, the defensive backs will be run out of the play by the receivers, and the defensive line will penetrate too far to stop the short pass from being thrown. The only defenders left will be linebackers, which will be picked up by the "screen" of offensive linemen in front of the receiver—hence the name "screen pass".

Types of screen pass plays[link]

There are different types of screens that can be thrown, such as:

• The "conventional" screen to the running back the action described above. This type of play is something of a scripted checkdown.
• A tight end screen where the tight end takes the place of the running back in the above description.
• The wide receiver screen (or "jailbreak screen"), where the linemen sprint out in front of the wide receiver catching the screen pass. However, the blocking may be as simple as one receiver blocking ahead of another. A wide receiver screen thrown to a receiver moving towards the quarterback, behind one or more blocking receivers, is also commonly called a "tunnel screen".
• The "quarterback throwback" screen, where the quarterback will pitch to a running back or throw a short pass to a wide receiver, and run the opposite direction, with releasing linemen in front of him. The running back or wideout will then lateral, or "throw it back" to the quarterback, with offensive linemen leading him downfield. This is also known as a "Blitz Beater" or "Blitz" for short because it's almost always used against a blitz-heavy defense, also called that because when you can tell a blitz is coming, this is a common play called to counter it, and the overpursuing nature of the blitz leaves the running back, and then the quarterback wide open with the possibility of gaining huge chunks of yardage. The "quarterback throwback" has been known to force defenses to blitz less, because one successful play can turn into a quick touchdown with a mobile quarterback.
• The "middle screen", which has the same type of action as a "conventional" screen, but the linemen remain in the middle of the field rather than releasing to either side.

References[link]

Notes

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

Marcus Lattimore

South Carolina Gamecocks — No. 21
Running back	Sophomore
Major: Public Health
Date of birth: (1991-10-29) October 29, 1991 (age 20)
Place of birth: Duncan, South Carolina
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Weight: 232 lb (105 kg)
Career history
High school: Byrnes High School, Duncan, South Carolina
College(s): University of South Carolina (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
2010 All-America Second Team (Scout.com) 2009 High School All-American (USA Today) South Carolina's Mr. Football 2009 2008 ESPN RISE HS Junior of the Year
Stats at ESPN.com

Marcus Lattimore (born October 29, 1991) is an American football running back. He currently attends the University of South Carolina in his sophomore year. He is considered to be one of the top prospects of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Early years[link]

One of the most decorated prospects in South Carolina high school history, Lattimore was ESPN RISE National High School Junior Football Player of the Year in 2008. In his senior year, he earned USA Today All-American honors and was named South Carolina's Mr. Football. He chose South Carolina over Auburn on National Signing Day.^[1]

College career[link]

2010[link]

On September 11, 2010, in just his second career college football game, Lattimore broke 42 tackles on 37 carries, rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns against the Georgia Bulldogs.^[2] On October 9, 2010, against the then #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, Lattimore had 23 carries for 93 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and caught one receiving touchdown from quarterback Stephen Garcia.^[3][4] On October 16, 2010, Lattimore scored two touchdowns in a road loss to the Kentucky Wildcats before missing the rest of the game with an ankle injury.^[5] On October 30, 2010, against the Tennessee Volunteers, Lattimore had 29 carries for 184 yards and one rushing touchdown. On November 13, 2010 against the Florida Gators in Gainesville, Lattimore had 40 carries for 212 yards and three rushing touchdowns, to defeat the Gators and clinch the SEC East for the Gamecocks.

On December 4, 2010 in the 2010 SEC Championship Game, Lattimore had 16 carries for 84 yards for the Gamecocks in the 56-17 loss to the Auburn Tigers.^[6] In December 2010, Lattimore was named the NCAA Freshman of the Year, headlining the All-Freshman Team, by The Sporting News.^[7] On December 31, 2010, in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl, Lattimore had one carry that went for a one yard loss and caught three passes for 48 yards, before being injured in the first quarter on a pass reception in which he lost a fumble in a 26-17 loss to Florida State.^[8]

2011[link]

South Carolina began their 2011 season at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on September 3, 2011 against East Carolina.^[9] He rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries and added three touchdowns as the Gamecocks battled back to win 56-37.^[10] Lattimore also caught three passes for 33 yards.^[11]

The Gamecocks traveled to Athens on September 10 to play SEC East rivals Georgia.^[12] Lattimore carried the ball on 27 occasions for 176 yards and one touchdown.^[13]

South Carolina then played a home game against the Naval Academy, and in a 24-21 game Lattimore set a new school record for 246 yards, more than Heisman Trophy winner and former Gamecock George Rogers ever ran for, and also scored three touchdowns in the game.^[14] The following weekend, South Carolina played host to SEC East foe Vanderbilt. Lattimore had his first sub-100 yard rushing game of the season, running for just 77 yards on 20 carries but was able to add a 22 yard touchdown.^[15] He also caught three passes for 73 yards, scoring on a 52-yard reception, leading his team to a 21-3 win and a 4-0 start.^[16] He tore a knee ligament on October 15 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and it was announced that Lattimore would miss the remainder of the 2011 season due to the injury.

Statistics[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• South Carolina Gamecocks bio

DeMarco Murray (born February 12, 1988) is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys who played high school football for Bishop Gorman and college football for the Oklahoma Sooners.

High school career[link]

DeMarco Murray attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was an all-conference pick three consecutive years. At Gorman, he was a teammate of fellow OU Sooner Ryan Reynolds. During his time at Gorman, his team was 3-time Conference Champions. As a senior in 2005, he rushed for 1,947 yards and 27 touchdowns and also caught 22 passes for 624 yards and 7 touchdowns, earning him all-state honors and the 2005 Sunset Region Offensive Player of the Year award. Murray played in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Considered one of the top running backs of his class alongside Chris Wells, C. J. Spiller and Michael Goodson, Murray drew offers from Miami (Fl.), Penn State and Texas A&M among others. He chose Oklahoma over Southern California at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.^[1]

College career[link]

Murray redshirted the 2006 NCAA football season. In his first game for the Oklahoma Sooners on September 1, 2007 vs. University of North Texas, Murray rushed for 201 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first player to score four touchdowns in a half in his Sooner debut.^[2] On September 15, 2007 against Utah State University, Murray entered the Oklahoma football record book when he had a touchdown run of 92 yards, which is the third longest in Oklahoma football history.^[3]

Murray tied Adrian Peterson's freshman touchdown record in 2007 with 15.

He logged a 4.42 (team best) 40 time^[4] and a 36.5-inch vertical jump^[4] during the 2007 winter testing.

On October 16, 2010 Murray passed Steve Owens as the all-time touchdown leader at the University of Oklahoma with 58 touchdowns. He ended his college career with 65 touchdowns, becoming only the fifth player in Big 12 conference history to score at least 60 career touchdowns.

Murray had 3,685 career rushing yards (4.86 avg.) with 50 touchdowns, 157 career catches with 13 touchdowns, and 1,462 kickoff return yards with 2 touchdowns.

Career Records at University of Oklahoma[link]

• All-Time Leader in Points Scored (390)
• All-Time Leader in Touchdowns (65)
• All-Time Leader in All Purpose Yards (6,718)
• All-Time Leader in Receiving Yards for a Running Back (1,571)
• All-Time Leader in kickoff return average (27.58)

Statistics[link]

source: espn.com

Professional career[link]

2011 NFL Draft[link]

Murray was drafted in the third round (71st overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.^[5] Murray was the sixth running back chosen in the draft after Mark Ingram (1st round, 28th overall by New Orleans Saints), Ryan Williams (2nd round, 38th overall by Arizona Cardinals), Shane Vereen (2nd round, 56th overall by New England Patriots), Mikel Leshoure (2nd round, 57th overall by Detroit Lions) and Daniel Thomas (2nd round, 62nd overall by Miami Dolphins).

Dallas Cowboys[link]

Murray signed a four-year contract with the Cowboys worth $2.97 million including a signing bonus worth $622,000 on July 29, 2011.^[6][7]

Rookie Season[link]

This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (December 2011)

DeMarco Murray started the year as the 3rd string running back on the team behind starter Felix Jones and 2nd string running back Tashard Choice.

Murray had 14 carries for 39 rushing yards (2.78 avg) and added 3 receptions for 16 receiving yards in Weeks 1 - Week 4 of the 2011 NFL Season.

For game 5 (week 6) of the 2011 season the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots. In this game, starter Felix Jones went down with a high-ankle sprain, which increased the amount of opportunities for Murray. Murray finished the day with 11 carries for 34 yards and added 1 reception for 7 yards.^[8][9]

With the Cowboys owning a record of 2-3, the Cowboys faced the St. Louis Rams in Week 7. Starter Felix Jones was declared out for the game due to the high ankle sprain injury sustained the week before. The team declared Tashard Choice the starter for the game and Murray as the 2nd string running back. Murray ran for 253 yards on 25 carries against the St. Louis Rams at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, breaking Emmitt Smith's single game rushing record for a Cowboys running back of 237 yards (set at Philadelphia against the Eagles on October 31, 1993).^[10] The record total included a first-quarter 91-yard touchdown run that is second longest in Cowboys history, after a NFL-record 99-yard run by Tony Dorsett in January 1983.^[11] Among the other records he set during this game were:

• Rookie rushing record for a game in club history, previously held by Tony Dorsett (206 yards in 1977).
• His 10.1 yards-per-carry is the highest rushing average with 20-or-more attempts for a game in club history, previously held by Tony Dorsett (8.96 in 1977).
• The 10th most rushing yards in a game in league history.
• The second-most rushing yards in a game by a rookie in league history.
• Second-longest touchdown run on a player’s first career rushing touchdown in league history
• The most rushing yards by a running back in one game, ever allowed by the Rams in club history (Los Angeles and Saint Louis).

Murray earned the Rookie of the week award and FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for his game against the Rams. After the St. Louis Rams' game, Tashard Choice was released leaving the team with only two healthy running backs, rookie Phillip Tanner and rookie DeMarco Murray with Felix Jones still sidelined with an injury.^[12] Murray followed his record-breaking game against the St. Louis Rams by getting the first start of his career against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9. In Week 8 & 9, Murray totaled 30 carries for 213 rushing yards (7.1 avg) and 5 receptions for 45 yards.^{[13][14][15][16]} With his second 100+ yard rushing game of the season, Murray became the first Cowboy since Julius Jones in 2004 to post multiple 100+ yard rushing games as a rookie.^[17] With 466 rushing yards over the last three games, Murray tied Eric Dickerson for the fifth-highest total all-time by an NFL rookie during a three-game span. The record is 577 set by Mike Anderson of the Denver Broncos in 2000. The 466 rushing yards in the three game span is the most ever by any Cowboys player, surpassing 446 yards by Emmitt Smith during his MVP season of 1993.^[17]

From week 10 - week 13 Murray had a total of 79 carries for 333 rushing yards (4.21 rushing average) and added 16 receptions for 109 receiving yards and 1 rushing touchdown as the Cowboys went 3-1 during this stretch.^{[18][19][20][21]} In week 10, at Dallas Stadium against the Buffalo Bills, Murray fumbled the ball for the first time in his professional career, although the fumble was recovered by Murray himself.

In week 14 vs the New York Giants, Murray carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards and added one reception for 6 yards before suffering a fractured right ankle and high ankle sprain that ended his rookie season.^[22][23] Murray was named NFL rookie of the month for the month of November 2011.^[24]

At the end of the 2011 season, Murray led all NFL rookie players (with 40 or more carries) in average per carry (5.5 per carry), yards per game (69.0 yards) and rushing yards (897 yards) on 164 carries (second most among rookie players, Daniel Thomas had 165 carries). Murray tied for third among rookie players for rushing touchdowns with 2; Carolina Panthers' quarterback and 2011 rookie of the year Cam Newton led all rookie players with 14 rushing touchdowns. Murray also was 14th in receptions among all rookie players and 2nd among rookie running backs with 26 receptions. He was also 4th in receiving yards among rookie running backs with 183. Among all NFL running backs, Murray with 6 starts in 12 games, tied for the second highest average per carry for a running back with 80 or more carries trailing only Darren Sproles' 6.9 yards per carry on 63 attempts. Murray's 897 rushing yards ranked 22nd among all NFL running backs and 9th in the NFC.^[25]

The Cowboys went 5-0 for the season when Murray received 20+ touches in the game and 2-5 when he did not. In the 5 games where Murray got 20 or more touches, starting quarterback Tony Romo averaged a passer rating of 112.10, 246.60 yards per game, along with 12 combined touchdown passes with 2 interceptions and a 66.99% pass completion rate.

See also[link]

• List of Division I FBS rushing touchdown leaders

References[link]

External links[link]

• DeMarco Murray's Official Website
• Oklahoma Sooners bio
• Dallas Cowboys bio
• DeMarco Murray on Twitter
• DeMarco Murray on Facebook