ESPN.com told us about the “A-11″ offense at Piedmont (Calif.) High School. Michael Weinreb reports:

“The A-11 is the spread offense, evolved to its most advanced stage. On film, the A-11 often resembles a hybrid of the spread and an elementary-school fire drill gone wrong.

“Here’s how it works: On every play in the A-11, there are two quarterbacks in the backfield at one time, both set up seven yards behind the line of scrimmage. Every man on the field wears a number that potentially makes him an eligible receiver. Potential receivers set up in ‘pods’ at each end of the field. The line, in the base set, consists of two tight ends and a center. Once the ball is snapped, up to six players (including both quarterbacks) become eligible receivers. All of this is legal because technically, according to the rules of high-school football, the Piedmont players are lined up in what is known as a ’scrimmage kick’ formation (hence, the quarterbacks placed seven yards behind the line, so as to comply with the rules), and therefore, normal eligibility issues do not apply.”

Urban Meyer must be jealous. See for yourself:

AARON RODGERS DOESN’T STINK

Carson Palmer can only imagine what Aaron Rodgers is going through. The Packers made him the heir apparent to Brett Favre.

When Favre decided to un-retire, the Packers encouraged the living legend to move on down the trail. The team traded him to the Jets, thus leaving Rodgers to replace Favre under tough circumstances.

The kid handled his first preseason start well. He completed nine of 15 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown. He also suffered a deflection interception on a pass that caromed off his intended target.

“I can pretty confidently say that no other quarterback in the league has ever stepped into a situation that he’s stepped into,” Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer observed. “But he’s handled it tremendously, he played extremely well tonight and you could tell the organization . . . you can tell why they have confidence in him.”

So far, Rodgers hasn’t come unglued.

“It’s been an interesting last month, but I think our team has gotten pretty tight,” Rodgers told the Associated Press. “The support from our teammates throughout the day today was definitely encouraging.”

By the way, former Rams quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick played very well after tagging in for Palmer. He still has the wheels to run for first downs and he threw the ball around as well.