Colt McCoy on a quarterback keeper vs Rice - 2006-09-16

A quarterback keeper or keeper in

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

is a designed play in which the

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

does not

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

or hand off the ball to another player and instead rushes forward with it in an effort to gain yardage. The play typically is run in instances where only a few yards are needed to gain a first down or

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

, due to the threat of injury to the quarterback and most quarterbacks' ineffectiveness at running the ball when compared with a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

or fullback; however, this play is called more often with

dual-threat quarterback In gridiron football, a dual-threat quarterback, also known as a running quarterback, is a quarterback (QB) who possesses the skills and physique to run with the ball if necessary. With the rise of several blitz heavy defensive schemes and increa ...

s. Variations include a

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

, quarterback sneak, quarterback sweep or quarterback "

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

". This play differs from a

quarterback scramble A quarterback scramble or scramble is an impromptu maneuver or run in gridiron football by a quarterback. If a quarterback is under pressure by an opposing team's defense, he may run forward, backward, or laterally in an attempt to avoid being tac ...

in that a scramble is an improvised play, while the keeper is a designed running play.

References

External links

Definition of a quarterback keeper
definitions of running plays
Youtube video of a successful quarterback keeper
{{Gridiron football plays American football terminology American football plays