by Bryan Knowles
If you're a football fan of a certain age, and you're asked to draw a basic offensive formation, you'll probably do what I still do, instinctively: you'll draw a pro set, or maybe some variation of an I-formation. Something with a fullback in the backfield, the way the game was played throughout the 20th century. If you do that, though, you're out of step with modern times. We hate sounding like a broken record, but for the sixth consecutive year, three-wideout formations saw an increase in 2016.
For our younger readers, a "record" was a large vinyl disc with grooves in it that, when played properly, produced music.