> unless its the damn Patriots of 2010 I heart Gronk and Hernandez! > If they are in line, in front of the QB then you can safely assume a pass or trick play.

> unless its the damn Patriots of 2010 I heart Gronk and Hernandez! > If they are in line, in front of the QB then you can safely assume a pass or trick play. Not really, since defenses can see the same thing and know a team's tendencies from scouting. A better indication of pass vs. run is how far the tailback lines up behind scrimmage. For run plays, the RB tends to line up about 6-7 yards behind scrimmage to they can get up a head of steam as they go through the line. For pass and play-action the tailbacks line up closer (around 5 yards) so they can sneak through the line for pass routes or quickly block blitzers. It's harder for defenses on the field to see if a RB is lining up 5 yards deep vs 7 yards deep.