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In American football, a quarterback kneel, also called taking a knee, genuflect offense, or victory formation occurs when the quarterback immediately kneels to the ground, ending the play on contact, after receiving the snap. It is primarily used to run the clock down, either at the end of the first half or the game itself, in order to preserve a lead or a win. Although it generally results in a loss of a yard and uses up a down, it minimizes the risk of a fumble, which would give the other team a chance at recovering the ball. Especially when the outcome of the game has been well decided, defenses will often give little resistance to the play as a matter of sportsmanship as well as to reduce injury risk on what is a relatively simple play. The quarterback is generally not touched and the act of intentionally taking the knee results in the play being over in all variations of the sport. The formation offers maximum protection against a fumble; should the center-quarterback exchange result in a fumble, a running back is lined up on either side of the quarterback, both to recover any fumble and protect the vulnerable kneeling player from being injured by defensive players who get through the line. Also, a player is lined up directly behind the quarterback, often much farther than a typical tailback would line up. This player's responsibility is to tackle any defensive player who may recover a fumble and attempt to advance it. Because of this essentially "defensive" responsibility, the tailback in this formation may actually be a free safety or other defensive player who is adept at making tackles in the open field. Even though the play itself takes very little time, the rules of American football dictate that it does not stop the game clock (as with any play where the ball carrier is tackled in bounds). With the 40-second play clock in the NFL and NCAA, a team can run off over two minutes with three consecutive kneel-downs if the defensive team has no more timeouts. The play is often known as a "victory formation," as it is most often run by a winning team late in the game in order to preserve a victory. In the case of a close game, the winning team would be trying to avoid a turnover which might be the result of a more complex play; in the case of a more lopsided contest, the play can be run as a matter of sportsmanship and to avoid further injury. In terms of statistics, a kneel by the quarterback is typically recorded as a rushing attempt for –1 or –2 yards. ==Strategy== The quarterback kneel may also be used at the end of the first half by a team which feels they have little chance of scoring before halftime due to poor field position. Similarly, the play could also be run at the end of the second half of a tie game if a team is content with sending the game into overtime. The play could perhaps also be run at the end of the game by a losing team which is hopelessly behind and wishes to avoid further injury, but is unwilling to cut the game short as a forfeit. In rare instances, a team will use the quarterback kneel to avoid running up the score in a lopsided contest, even though there may be significant time remaining on the clock. This occurred in the 2011 edition of the Magnolia Bowl between the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels. With five minutes remaining and LSU leading 52–3, Tigers coach Les Miles ordered third-string quarterback Zach Mettenberger to take a knee on first and goal from the Ole Miss one-yard line, and to kneel on the next three plays. Miles felt another touchdown would further embarrass Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, who announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season, 12 days before the Rebels hosted first-ranked LSU. The Tigers had already secured the largest margin of victory in series history. In Canadian football or arena football, which use slightly different rules, taking a knee with time left is not necessarily a viable strategy. In the CFL, a quarter must end with a play, and in arena football, teams must gain yardage in the final minute to keep the clock running. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「quarterback kneel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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