Possible Stances for Running Backs in Football

By Howie Long and John Czarnecki from Football For Dummies, 4th US Edition

The running backs in an American football team’s offense use established stances, depending on the play being run. A running back can use two stances:

The up stance: He has his hands resting on his thighs, a few inches above his knees. This stance is also called the two-point stance.
The down stance: He puts his right hand on the ground like a lineman. It’s also called the three-point stance because one hand and both feet are on the ground.

Runners can use the two-point stance when they’re in the split-back formation, with one back aligned to the left and one to the right of the quarterback. However, most coaches prefer for their runners to use the three-point stance in this alignment because they believe it provides the runner with a faster start than the two-point stance — much like a sprinter bursting from his blocks.

In the I formation, so named because the center, quarterback, fullback, and halfback line up behind one another to form a letter I, the deep back is always in a two-point stance. The fullback in the I formation is in front of the tailback. He can be in either a two-point or a three-point stance because he’s blocking on 95 percent of the plays:

Two-point stance: Better on passing downs because it enables the running back to see the defensive alignment better — meaning he can see whether a linebacker may be blitzing, especially if he must block this defender.
Three-point stance: Better for blocking because the running back can exert his force upward and into the defender’s chest and upper body.