1972 Rams "Formation Zero"

[Bryan]

Against the Niners in 1972, the Rams used something Tommy Prothro called "Formation Zero"...kind of a variation of the old Rams "Settlement and Outpost" formation as far as I can tell. Couldn't find much about it on the internet, like how the formation came about, how often the Rams actually used it, etc. From what I can see on film, its a three man interior line with a "QB" taking a shotgun snap with a large cluster of players set wide to the left, and a small cluster of players set wide to the right. On the play, Jack Snow goes in motion from left to right, Bertlesen takes the snap, fakes an end around to Rentzel who is coming wide from the left, and keeps the ball around left end for a 10-yard gain.

[BD Sullivan]

It was noted as a gimmick play to only be used once in a tight situations, In that SF game, the Rams wanted to score first in order to force the Niners to abandon their game plan. Prothro said that he had first seen it in a Memphis high school game in 1946 and noted, "We run it every three or four years."