interesting...

The team has been using a halfback in recent sessions and that's a big change from the past. Fullback Brad Hoover and backup tight end Kris Mangum have been used at that position. Offensive coordinator Dan Henning has made effective use of halfbacks in his previous stops. .

Ok Magnus, elaborate.

 

mags is out to dinner...

may i give this one a shot, 28?

 

You mean H-back, rather than Halfback. An H-back is just a position player with multiple uses. It all hinges on formation shifts, sometimes he'll line-up at FB or he'll shift out to the left or right or shift to TE or a slot.
Lots of motion for an H-back!
Smith and Foster would be catagorized as Halfbacks or more commonly Runningback.

 

Hoover a TE?

 

uhh...are you sure he didn't mean H-back? The difference between a halfback (akin to a tailback or I-back, feature back - it's all basically "running back" in this modern pro-multiple everyone uses) and an H-back is a pretty big one, and since he's talking about using fullbacks and TEs there, I think that's what's being said, to my best guess.

For those of you that aren't well versed in an H-, it's basically a second tight end that's not really a tight end (tight to formation, end to the line by the old rules)...instead it's a tight end position that starts out as a flanker tight to the formation or even lined up deeper in the backfield at times. The idea is that the H- moves around and causes mismatches by moving around in formation.

Since it generally happens from a pro formation (split end left, tight end right, flanker end right) with a tailback behind the QB, the H - back usually lines up left. At that point everything's balanced on both sides but the general call of strength is still strong to the TE side. Quick motion inside can cause an overload on that side, or motion outside can force a player outside the box in some situations. It works very well with the run and setting up short yardage mismatches, and works very well with a back who can carry the load without having to run from the I or with a lead blocker a good amount of the time.

Hoover works well at the H- because he's not a great in-line blocker but has size and height, and decent hands. Mangum's OK as one and the possibility of him being able to get out into space without having to work for it is enticing - he's neither physical nor fast, so if we can force him open, go for it.

Funny, Broughton's an h-back for all intents and purposes. And now we don't have him. Roberg would have fit better there.
But hey, that means we still keep Crawford and Heinrich and might find a use for Mangum after all.