Post by Coach Campbell on Dec 17, 2010 10:19:02 GMT
Taking The Option To The Next Level: Insert taken from my new manual "Taking The Opto To The Next Level"
The following information is designed to give you the necessary information for installing the option attack. There are numerous schemes and formations for installing an option attack and passing game but, for length and space we have narrowed it down to the following information. The information included in this manual gives you a system for installing an option attack. The great thing about the option game is that you can hide weaknesses which we will example in detail later in this manual. Another advantage about the option attack is what it does for the passing game.
The option game forces defenses to have to defend the entire field because of the offenses ability to get the ball out to the perimeter quickly. The option game keeps defenses from ganging up inside the box to defend the inside run. The option game limits coverage's and whole sell blitzing because, of the option responsibilities of your opponents defenders. Responsibility football usually will slow a defense down because of the assigned responsibilities for defending the inside dice, quarterback keep, and the pitch.
For coaches who have read and used my other manuals we have for the most part kept the terminology consist so you will find it easy to apply the terminology and concepts you have read in my other manuals.
As we install the option game we attempt to attack defenses with multiple formations using motion and formation shifts to force defenses to limit the way they can defend the option game. Motion, shifts and formations, are used to gain a numbers advantage always, keeping the defense outnumbered by one. Meaning one more option advantage then they have defenders to defense us. As you read this manual you will find I have dedicated a lot of time explaining how I give my quarterbacks the ability to change plays on the line of scrimmage and teaching them how to read outside linebackers for best option which we call "Option On Me", it's like having a 12th man on the field.
As you view your offense and consider formations that fit your offensive philosophy, remember, an offense is most flexible and at its toughest position with two running backs, two wide receivers, and a tight end in the game.
Any offense should be evaluated by its output and its ability to move the football and put points on the board so, an important fact consider when establishing a game plan for your offensive plays, will they work against your opponents top three defenses.
When installing the option game you should try and establish a game plan that allows you to run all your options out of all your formations and not just limit yourself to a few options with any given formation, this eliminates tendencies. Again, remember the option game forces defenses to play assignment football, a defense might carry out that assignment correctly one, two, and three times in a row but, its the fourth time one defender makes a mistake and its six points.
You must have patience early in the game with any option attack, your quarterback and backs must get comfortable with their reads and mesh points. Not all plays that you call will be long gainers or touchdowns so, keep in mind when running an option offense, you're always one play away from making the 85 yard touchdown run.
This manual will illustrate and explain how to install an option attack along with the mechanics and blocking schemes and techniques that goes along with it. The following pages will give you the history of the option game along with those names that have either invented or revolutionized the option attack.
Option Offense
The option offense is a generic term that is used to describe a wide variety of offensive systems
in American football. Option offenses are characterized as such due to the predominance of
option running plays employed in these schemes. Option offenses have traditionally relied
heavily upon running plays, though modern option offenses now incorporate a large quantity
of passing plays which will be illustrated later in this manual. Because option football is a
run-based offense, option offenses are very effective at managing the game clock. These
schemes rely on timing, deception, and split-second decision-making under pressure which,
in turn, requires flawless execution and discipline. When choosing your quarterback he doesn't
necessarily have to be the fastest athlete but, one that will compete and make good decisions
with the football (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Types of Option Offenses
An option offense is any football scheme that relies on option running plays that allows your
quarterback to make decisions based upon reactions by defenders as its cornerstone. There
are a variety of such option schemes. Some of the most popular versions include:
Wishbone
The classic wishbone formation and the backfield set that gives it its name Wishbone Option
Offense. The wishbone offense is named after its basic formation which includes a quarterback
with a fullback aligned four to five yards behind him. Two halfbacks are traditionally aligned
on each side of the fullback and a yard to two yards deeper. The result is a backfield alignment
that resembles the shape of a "wishbone." This formation and its variants provide extraordinary
platforms for running the veer. While the Wishbone's popularity reached its zenith in the 1970s
at all levels of college football, it remains popular at the high school and small college level but
is nearly extinct at major programs. Most attribute the offense's demise to its run-heavy schemes
and poor passing potential.
Wing-T Offense.
The traditional "Wing-T" offense employs many of the concepts of the wishbone offense. It
often employs three running back formations, especially in the Bay City version of the offense.
The Wing-T helped changed the game of football in its formative years, and changed the
traditional role of the quarterback from a blocker much like a modern fullback in the classic
"single wing," to the primary distributor of the ball. As the triple-option became prominent, the
Wing-T quickly incorporated the veer into its arsenal. In conjunction, it tends to employ a significantly larger amount of misdirection running plays as the basis of its offense. The traps, crosses, fakes, pulls, sweeps and counters that characterize the Wing-T is often supplemented
by a heavy dose of option runs — most notably the veer triple option. The veer is well suited to the Wing-T offense, especially the Delaware version. The Delaware version of the Wing-T, with its predominance of two running back sets, gained significant prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s and most notably employed by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Parseghian era. It continues to be employed by high schools and small college teams.
Flexbone Option Offense
A variant of the wishbone offense, the flexbone came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. The
flexbone offense varies from the wishbone in a few fundamental ways. First, and most notably, the flexbone replaces the halfbacks that are aligned in the backfield of a wishbone with one or two "wingbacks" or "slot backs," that align off-tackle or off-end. These "hybrid" players are typically very quick and must be adept at running, blocking (particularly cut blocking) and receiving. Due to their positioning, they can more easily facilitate the passing game in the flexbone and serve to stretch the defensive alignment laterally prior to the snap. Teams that employ this scheme tend to amass consistently high rushing averages. The name "flexbone" is somewhat controversial and usually reflects the school of thought from which the offense was born. Some practitioners, such as Air Force's famed former head coach, Fisher DeBerry, welcomed the name flexbone because the offense was seen as a modification of the traditional wishbone. Still others, such as Paul Johnson reject the moniker, preferring instead to call their systems, the "spread offense." To these coaches, the offense is more related to spread schemes such as the run and shoot, and simply uses the triple-option as a foundation
instead of a dynamic passing game. The offense was actually born in the latter school of coaches, with its origins attributed to Paul Johnson while at Georgia Southern in the mid-80s. He brought the system briefly to Hawaii in the late '80s and then returned to Georgia Southern, which won a record six Division I-AA national titles and eight conference titles while using this offense. As traditional wishbone coaches sought to make their offenses more dynamic, they began to mimick the alignments of this "spread offense" and re-dubbed it the flexbone. The name has since stuck, most likely in order to prevent confusion with other spread offenses. Bythe late '90s, the flexbone was adapted by all three NCAA Division I-A military academies, where it provided
strong statistical results. After bringing Navy to its greatest run of success in decades, Johnson brought the offense with him to Georgia Tech, where it has achieved great success.
"I-Option" Offense. Also known as the "Nebraska I-offense." The offense derives its name from its extensive use of the I formation with its vertical alignment of quarterback, fullback, and tailback. Though balanced attacks from the "I" formation have been around for decades, the "I-Option" gained extraordinary popularity with its employment by Tom Osborne at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Using this offense, Osborne had outstanding success from the time of its introduction in 1980 until his retirement in 1997, including three national championships. His successor, Frank Solich, continued to have success with the offense until his departure in
2003. The I-Option offense offered a more traditional balanced attack. At its core, the offense relies on a devastating combination of power running, the option, and play-action passing, which are easily run from
the I-formation and its variations. The concept of a balanced offensive attack combined with the big play potential of the option enticed vast numbers of top-level college teams to include some components of the Nebraska I.
Spread Option Offense
The spread option offense is a variant of the more generic "spread offense." It has found unprecedented success and widespread employment in college and high school football. Essentially a hybrid of the traditionally pass-oriented spread offense, the spread option is based on the concept of defensive isolation. The offense "spreads" the defense by aligning in three-to-five receiver sets, using two or fewer running backs in the backfield and often setting the quarterback in shotgun. This "spread" forces the defense to defend more of the field and isolates its players in "space". To exploit this, the offense employs double or triple option plays which further mitigates the athleticism of the defense and forces it to play assignment football.
When used in combination with a consistent passing game, the spread option offense can yield strong results. The means by which option plays are run from the spread option offense vary greatly. The most popular running play employed in the spread is the read option. This play is also known as the zone-read, QB Choice, or QB Wrap. A type of double option, the read option is relatively simple play during which the quarterback makes a single read (usually of the backside defensive end or linebacker) and decides whether or not to hand the ball to a running back on a dive or slant track. Others have found even more innovative ways to run the option from spread formations. Creative use of motioning schemes have enabled wide receivers and even tight ends to become ball carriers as evidenced by Wake Forest's version of the spread employed during the mid-2000s. Urban Meyer helped to innovate the option attack out of the shotgun formation. Other pioneers include University of Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, Kansas State University Coach Bill Snyder, Oregon Coach Chip Kelly and others.
Option plays
At the heart of all option offenses is the option run. This relatively complicated running play may take on many forms. All option runs, however, rely on two common principles: Whereas the traditional running play typically designates the ball carrier prior to the snap, the ball carrier in a true option running play is determined by reading the defensive alignment or the actions of defensive players. This may occur at the line of scrimmage or after the ball is snapped. The second principle of the option run is that it must include two or more potential ball carriers.
These individuals each perform a predetermined path, or "track" that pose a unique threat to a ball carriers. These individuals each perform a predetermined path, or "track" that pose a unique threat to a defense. By threatening to attack the defense in multiple ways during the play based on the defense's own actions/alignment, the option run forces the opponent to maintain extraordinary discipline. Defenders must focus on their assignments, which stresses the defense and often mitigates its speed, size and aggressiveness. Consequently, option offenses are excellent for undersized teams.
Option Runs
Option running plays are as numerous as the schemes that employ them. However, nearly all option runningplays can be characterized as either a double or triple option. This is determined by the number of choices available during the play.
Triple Option
In these highly complex running plays, three potential ball carriers are available. The triple
option typically features three components: a "dive" track, a "keep" track and "pitch" track. In its most generic version, the inside/outside veer, the dive track is typically carried out by the fullback. At the snap of the ball, this player attacks the line of scrimmage somewhere between the offensive tackles (or end in the outside veer) as designated by the type of triple option play. This player is often the first choice in the triple option. His goal is to quickly attack the defensive interior in order to either pick up yardage or freeze the defense and prevent their pursuit to the outside. This quick surge into the interior of the defense is traditionally called a "dive." The quarterback determines whether to hand the ball to the fullback by reading a "dive key" - usually a defensive end. If the dive key does not try to tackle the running back then the quarterback will hand the ball off to him. Alternatively, if the defender attempts to tackle the running back, the quarterback will keep the ball himself. This decision usually takes place while both the dive back and the quarterback are holding the football in an intricate exchange called the "mesh." On the keep track, the quarterback may run upfield for yardage or pitch the ball to another ball carrier on the "pitch" track. This player is called the "pitch back" and the quarterback determines whether or not to pitch the ball by reading the "pitch key" - usually a linebacker or defensive back.
Double Option
The double option is an effective cousin of the triple option. As the name indicates, the double
option only provides two potential ball carriers instead of three. Yet it often relies on speed, or misdirection to compensate for the loss. A very popular type of double option is the read option. It is typically run out of the shotgun formation. The quarterback reads the defensive end on the side in which the play is designed to take the running back. If the defensive end is playing inside the tackle after the snap of the ball, the quarterback hands the ball off to the running back. If the defensive end is playing outside of the tackle after the snap, the quarterback keeps the ball and runs counter to the blocking scheme. This scheme has been successfully utilized by former Texas Longhorn quarterback Vince Young, Chase Daniel of Missouri, Juice Williams and Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators, West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Patrick White and running back Steve Slaton, as well as the Oregon Ducks' Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart
The following information is designed to give you the necessary information for installing the option attack. There are numerous schemes and formations for installing an option attack and passing game but, for length and space we have narrowed it down to the following information. The information included in this manual gives you a system for installing an option attack. The great thing about the option game is that you can hide weaknesses which we will example in detail later in this manual. Another advantage about the option attack is what it does for the passing game.
The option game forces defenses to have to defend the entire field because of the offenses ability to get the ball out to the perimeter quickly. The option game keeps defenses from ganging up inside the box to defend the inside run. The option game limits coverage's and whole sell blitzing because, of the option responsibilities of your opponents defenders. Responsibility football usually will slow a defense down because of the assigned responsibilities for defending the inside dice, quarterback keep, and the pitch.
For coaches who have read and used my other manuals we have for the most part kept the terminology consist so you will find it easy to apply the terminology and concepts you have read in my other manuals.
As we install the option game we attempt to attack defenses with multiple formations using motion and formation shifts to force defenses to limit the way they can defend the option game. Motion, shifts and formations, are used to gain a numbers advantage always, keeping the defense outnumbered by one. Meaning one more option advantage then they have defenders to defense us. As you read this manual you will find I have dedicated a lot of time explaining how I give my quarterbacks the ability to change plays on the line of scrimmage and teaching them how to read outside linebackers for best option which we call "Option On Me", it's like having a 12th man on the field.
As you view your offense and consider formations that fit your offensive philosophy, remember, an offense is most flexible and at its toughest position with two running backs, two wide receivers, and a tight end in the game.
Any offense should be evaluated by its output and its ability to move the football and put points on the board so, an important fact consider when establishing a game plan for your offensive plays, will they work against your opponents top three defenses.
When installing the option game you should try and establish a game plan that allows you to run all your options out of all your formations and not just limit yourself to a few options with any given formation, this eliminates tendencies. Again, remember the option game forces defenses to play assignment football, a defense might carry out that assignment correctly one, two, and three times in a row but, its the fourth time one defender makes a mistake and its six points.
You must have patience early in the game with any option attack, your quarterback and backs must get comfortable with their reads and mesh points. Not all plays that you call will be long gainers or touchdowns so, keep in mind when running an option offense, you're always one play away from making the 85 yard touchdown run.
This manual will illustrate and explain how to install an option attack along with the mechanics and blocking schemes and techniques that goes along with it. The following pages will give you the history of the option game along with those names that have either invented or revolutionized the option attack.
Option Offense
The option offense is a generic term that is used to describe a wide variety of offensive systems
in American football. Option offenses are characterized as such due to the predominance of
option running plays employed in these schemes. Option offenses have traditionally relied
heavily upon running plays, though modern option offenses now incorporate a large quantity
of passing plays which will be illustrated later in this manual. Because option football is a
run-based offense, option offenses are very effective at managing the game clock. These
schemes rely on timing, deception, and split-second decision-making under pressure which,
in turn, requires flawless execution and discipline. When choosing your quarterback he doesn't
necessarily have to be the fastest athlete but, one that will compete and make good decisions
with the football (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Types of Option Offenses
An option offense is any football scheme that relies on option running plays that allows your
quarterback to make decisions based upon reactions by defenders as its cornerstone. There
are a variety of such option schemes. Some of the most popular versions include:
Wishbone
The classic wishbone formation and the backfield set that gives it its name Wishbone Option
Offense. The wishbone offense is named after its basic formation which includes a quarterback
with a fullback aligned four to five yards behind him. Two halfbacks are traditionally aligned
on each side of the fullback and a yard to two yards deeper. The result is a backfield alignment
that resembles the shape of a "wishbone." This formation and its variants provide extraordinary
platforms for running the veer. While the Wishbone's popularity reached its zenith in the 1970s
at all levels of college football, it remains popular at the high school and small college level but
is nearly extinct at major programs. Most attribute the offense's demise to its run-heavy schemes
and poor passing potential.
Wing-T Offense.
The traditional "Wing-T" offense employs many of the concepts of the wishbone offense. It
often employs three running back formations, especially in the Bay City version of the offense.
The Wing-T helped changed the game of football in its formative years, and changed the
traditional role of the quarterback from a blocker much like a modern fullback in the classic
"single wing," to the primary distributor of the ball. As the triple-option became prominent, the
Wing-T quickly incorporated the veer into its arsenal. In conjunction, it tends to employ a significantly larger amount of misdirection running plays as the basis of its offense. The traps, crosses, fakes, pulls, sweeps and counters that characterize the Wing-T is often supplemented
by a heavy dose of option runs — most notably the veer triple option. The veer is well suited to the Wing-T offense, especially the Delaware version. The Delaware version of the Wing-T, with its predominance of two running back sets, gained significant prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s and most notably employed by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Parseghian era. It continues to be employed by high schools and small college teams.
Flexbone Option Offense
A variant of the wishbone offense, the flexbone came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s. The
flexbone offense varies from the wishbone in a few fundamental ways. First, and most notably, the flexbone replaces the halfbacks that are aligned in the backfield of a wishbone with one or two "wingbacks" or "slot backs," that align off-tackle or off-end. These "hybrid" players are typically very quick and must be adept at running, blocking (particularly cut blocking) and receiving. Due to their positioning, they can more easily facilitate the passing game in the flexbone and serve to stretch the defensive alignment laterally prior to the snap. Teams that employ this scheme tend to amass consistently high rushing averages. The name "flexbone" is somewhat controversial and usually reflects the school of thought from which the offense was born. Some practitioners, such as Air Force's famed former head coach, Fisher DeBerry, welcomed the name flexbone because the offense was seen as a modification of the traditional wishbone. Still others, such as Paul Johnson reject the moniker, preferring instead to call their systems, the "spread offense." To these coaches, the offense is more related to spread schemes such as the run and shoot, and simply uses the triple-option as a foundation
instead of a dynamic passing game. The offense was actually born in the latter school of coaches, with its origins attributed to Paul Johnson while at Georgia Southern in the mid-80s. He brought the system briefly to Hawaii in the late '80s and then returned to Georgia Southern, which won a record six Division I-AA national titles and eight conference titles while using this offense. As traditional wishbone coaches sought to make their offenses more dynamic, they began to mimick the alignments of this "spread offense" and re-dubbed it the flexbone. The name has since stuck, most likely in order to prevent confusion with other spread offenses. Bythe late '90s, the flexbone was adapted by all three NCAA Division I-A military academies, where it provided
strong statistical results. After bringing Navy to its greatest run of success in decades, Johnson brought the offense with him to Georgia Tech, where it has achieved great success.
"I-Option" Offense. Also known as the "Nebraska I-offense." The offense derives its name from its extensive use of the I formation with its vertical alignment of quarterback, fullback, and tailback. Though balanced attacks from the "I" formation have been around for decades, the "I-Option" gained extraordinary popularity with its employment by Tom Osborne at the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Using this offense, Osborne had outstanding success from the time of its introduction in 1980 until his retirement in 1997, including three national championships. His successor, Frank Solich, continued to have success with the offense until his departure in
2003. The I-Option offense offered a more traditional balanced attack. At its core, the offense relies on a devastating combination of power running, the option, and play-action passing, which are easily run from
the I-formation and its variations. The concept of a balanced offensive attack combined with the big play potential of the option enticed vast numbers of top-level college teams to include some components of the Nebraska I.
Spread Option Offense
The spread option offense is a variant of the more generic "spread offense." It has found unprecedented success and widespread employment in college and high school football. Essentially a hybrid of the traditionally pass-oriented spread offense, the spread option is based on the concept of defensive isolation. The offense "spreads" the defense by aligning in three-to-five receiver sets, using two or fewer running backs in the backfield and often setting the quarterback in shotgun. This "spread" forces the defense to defend more of the field and isolates its players in "space". To exploit this, the offense employs double or triple option plays which further mitigates the athleticism of the defense and forces it to play assignment football.
When used in combination with a consistent passing game, the spread option offense can yield strong results. The means by which option plays are run from the spread option offense vary greatly. The most popular running play employed in the spread is the read option. This play is also known as the zone-read, QB Choice, or QB Wrap. A type of double option, the read option is relatively simple play during which the quarterback makes a single read (usually of the backside defensive end or linebacker) and decides whether or not to hand the ball to a running back on a dive or slant track. Others have found even more innovative ways to run the option from spread formations. Creative use of motioning schemes have enabled wide receivers and even tight ends to become ball carriers as evidenced by Wake Forest's version of the spread employed during the mid-2000s. Urban Meyer helped to innovate the option attack out of the shotgun formation. Other pioneers include University of Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, Kansas State University Coach Bill Snyder, Oregon Coach Chip Kelly and others.
Option plays
At the heart of all option offenses is the option run. This relatively complicated running play may take on many forms. All option runs, however, rely on two common principles: Whereas the traditional running play typically designates the ball carrier prior to the snap, the ball carrier in a true option running play is determined by reading the defensive alignment or the actions of defensive players. This may occur at the line of scrimmage or after the ball is snapped. The second principle of the option run is that it must include two or more potential ball carriers.
These individuals each perform a predetermined path, or "track" that pose a unique threat to a ball carriers. These individuals each perform a predetermined path, or "track" that pose a unique threat to a defense. By threatening to attack the defense in multiple ways during the play based on the defense's own actions/alignment, the option run forces the opponent to maintain extraordinary discipline. Defenders must focus on their assignments, which stresses the defense and often mitigates its speed, size and aggressiveness. Consequently, option offenses are excellent for undersized teams.
Option Runs
Option running plays are as numerous as the schemes that employ them. However, nearly all option runningplays can be characterized as either a double or triple option. This is determined by the number of choices available during the play.
Triple Option
In these highly complex running plays, three potential ball carriers are available. The triple
option typically features three components: a "dive" track, a "keep" track and "pitch" track. In its most generic version, the inside/outside veer, the dive track is typically carried out by the fullback. At the snap of the ball, this player attacks the line of scrimmage somewhere between the offensive tackles (or end in the outside veer) as designated by the type of triple option play. This player is often the first choice in the triple option. His goal is to quickly attack the defensive interior in order to either pick up yardage or freeze the defense and prevent their pursuit to the outside. This quick surge into the interior of the defense is traditionally called a "dive." The quarterback determines whether to hand the ball to the fullback by reading a "dive key" - usually a defensive end. If the dive key does not try to tackle the running back then the quarterback will hand the ball off to him. Alternatively, if the defender attempts to tackle the running back, the quarterback will keep the ball himself. This decision usually takes place while both the dive back and the quarterback are holding the football in an intricate exchange called the "mesh." On the keep track, the quarterback may run upfield for yardage or pitch the ball to another ball carrier on the "pitch" track. This player is called the "pitch back" and the quarterback determines whether or not to pitch the ball by reading the "pitch key" - usually a linebacker or defensive back.
Double Option
The double option is an effective cousin of the triple option. As the name indicates, the double
option only provides two potential ball carriers instead of three. Yet it often relies on speed, or misdirection to compensate for the loss. A very popular type of double option is the read option. It is typically run out of the shotgun formation. The quarterback reads the defensive end on the side in which the play is designed to take the running back. If the defensive end is playing inside the tackle after the snap of the ball, the quarterback hands the ball off to the running back. If the defensive end is playing outside of the tackle after the snap, the quarterback keeps the ball and runs counter to the blocking scheme. This scheme has been successfully utilized by former Texas Longhorn quarterback Vince Young, Chase Daniel of Missouri, Juice Williams and Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators, West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Patrick White and running back Steve Slaton, as well as the Oregon Ducks' Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart