THE SINGLE WING OFFENSE

Why The Single Wing Offense Will Succeed In Youth Football

Why The Single Wing Offense Will Succeed In Youth Football

The spread offense is an offensive scheme in American and Canadian football that is used at every level of the game including professional (NFL? CFL)? college (NCAA? NAIA? CIS)? and high school programs across America and Canada. The spread offense begins with a no-huddle approach with the quarterback in the shotgun formation much of the time (Warner? 2007? 194-199). The fundamental nature of the spread offense involves spreading the field horizontally using 3? 4? and even 5-receiver sets (some implementations of the spread also feature wide splits between the offensive linemen). The object of the spread offense is to open up multiple vertical seams for both the running and passing game to exploit? as the defense is forced to spread itself thin across the field (a "horizontal stretch") to cover everyone (Warner? 2007? 194-199).

There are many forms of the spread system (Warner? 2007? 136-170). One of the extremes is the "Air Raid" pass-oriented version typified by Kevin Sumlin's Houston Cougars? Ruffin McNeill's East Carolina Pirates? Todd Dodge's North Texas Mean Green? Gary Pinkel's Missouri Tigers? and Todd Graham's Tulsa Golden Hurricane (Dent? 2007). This version employs multiple spread sets and is heavily reliant on the quarterback and coaches being able to call the appropriate play at the line of scrimmage based on how the defense sets up (Warner? 2007? 194-199). Mike Stoops' Arizona Wildcats (under offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes? who coached under Mike Leach at Texas Tech) also uses a variation of the pass-oriented spread system which makes slightly more use of the tight end and the running backs (Warner? 2007? 136-170).

The other extreme version is the spread option? consisting of the slot receiver and tail back as well as a speedy quarterback? used by Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia and now Michigan? Chip Kelly at Oregon and Jerry Moore at Appalachian State. Despite the multi-receiver sets? the spread option is a run-first scheme which requires a quarterback that is comfortable carrying the ball? a mobile offensive line that can pull and trap effectively? and receivers that can hold their blocks. The essence of the spread option is misdirection. Effectively? this is the old triple option except that it utilizes spread sets (Warner? 2007? 172-185). In particular? the quarterback must be able to read the defensive end and determine whether he is collapsing down the line or playing upfield contain (Dent? 2007). A third version of the spread offense is the Pistol Offense which is used by Chris Ault's Nevada Wolf Pack and some high schools across the nation (Warner? 2007? 136-170). The Pistol Offense focuses on using the run with various offensive players? and calls for the quarterback to line up about three yards behind the center and take a short shotgun snap at the start of each play.

History

NFL

High School

References

External links

History

Under Kevin Sumlin? the Houston Cougars are known for using the spread ...