Point-Counterpoint: The Spread Offense vs. The 3-3 Stack Defense

by: David Purdum
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South Panola is the only team in its region not using the spread offense. Head coach Ricky Woods says the soggy Mississippi weather is the reason he prefers a power running attack out of the I-formation. But he is well aware of how potent a versatile spread attack can be. “If somebody has a really good running quarterback and a really good running back, it isolates you,” Woods said. “One mistake can cost you a touchdown.”

    Coach Woods, meet Slidell (LA) offensive coordinator Art Liuzza, a longtime spread believer with a mobile quarterback and powerful running back.

    These two successful Gulf Coast coaches recently discussed the benefits of the spread offense and how to slow it down in certain game situations.

Point-Counter Point:
Artie Liuzza Slidell (La.) High School Offensive Coordinator Spread out of the gun, with a 2-by-2 or 3-by-1 receiver set, no tight end; no huddle. Hailing from Slidell, La., this former Tulane defensive back has utilized the spread offense to make the Tigers perennial playoff contenders.	Coaches Schools Scheme Experience	Ricky Woods South Panola (MS) Head Coach Base 4-man front, but will give multiple looks; Against a spread team, prefers a 3-3 stack with a man-free and a cover 3.  Pressure, pressure, pressure. Hailing from South Panola, Woods entered the 2006 season having won 45 straight games.

The Zone Read
    The zone read is a staple of Liuzza’s offense. He’ll run it out of his base one-back set and also use a quarterback misdirection play off of the zone read. When he goes to a two-back set, he’ll use a quicker, scat back and run an inside shovel pass. Woods would prefer to stay in his three-man front but if the zone read and other running plays are hurting him, he’ll go to a four-man front.

Liuzza: We double down and wrap our guard around. If it’s a four-man front, we’ll usually run into a 3 technique. We’ll double the tackle and then the center blocks back and the center whips around. The quarterback has to do a good job of coming flat, not like a speed option but on a little different angle. He’s got to read that end. If the end comes up the field, then he’s got to shovel it inside. If the end just kind of slow plays it and kind of squeezes it down, then he’s got to take it to the next level and try to read the linebacker and if that guy is coming, try to pitch off of him. If we catch people, what normally happens is that end comes up the field and we’re usually shoveling inside. That usually works pretty well, because if we get a good double team we have the backside guard pulling around for the linebacker. We’ve got a little guy that we shovel to, he’s about 5-5 and they can’t see them.

Woods: It’s a difficult play to defend. We’re going squeeze down and take away the shovel pass and try to make the QB run it. Of course if they have to run it, it stretches the play and we hope that we can push them to the sideline and try to stop it. It’s a good play because you’re thinking pass. You really have to work against the shovel pass to let the end know that if the back is coming underneath them they have to close.

    If you do it out of a four, of course, your outside linebacker has take pitch responsibility and your end has a slow read and takes the quarterback. If he doesn’t come down, he’s going to give it. On the play side, we’re going to squeeze and try to bounce the tailback outside.

    If we’re in a three-man front, we’re going to have to leave our backside end and backside backer. That’s why we like to play with ends so our tackle can run and tackle the quarterback. And we’ll squeeze a little bit, put our eyes on QB and our outside end or backer, depending what set we’re in. He’s got to stay there for the pitch if he comes around.

    If he doesn’t have a pitch man, you follow the lead one, but if he has a pitch man, a lot of times they’ll put two in the backfield and bring one around. Whoever has this guy man-to-man – if they just have one back in the backfield – backs up further for the pitchman. It also limits your stunts when they can do things like that.

Third-and-Long
    The score is tied early in third quarter. Slidell drives the ball to midfield but is facing a 3rd-and-12. Liuzza comes out in its one-back, shotgun set.

Woods: We’re going to be in our 30-base. We’ll go man and send the outside linebackers. Our mike linebacker is going to take his back, and then our free safety is going to be free. We’re bringing five, two off the corners. We actually have outside backers in for our ends. We’ve got one guy that can play both, and we have to send in an extra defensive back and take out a tackle and move the end inside. So we’ve got pretty good athletes bringing pressure.

Liuzza: A lot of times when we see man coverage, we like to run crossing routes, mesh routes in the middle. The pressure is the big key, being able to block their guys. If they’ve got somebody coming off the edge and our tackle’s not quick enough to get the outside linebacker that’s coming, then that’s going to cause us problems.

Woods: Pressure is the key. I don’t care how good the D-back is if you give them enough time, they’re going to get open. We try to at least make them throw in three seconds. When you’re bumpin’ and runnin’ then you’re trying to knock off them off the their routes, but if you give them any more time than that it’s usually going to hurt you.

    We can bring the middle linebacker too, a little cross charge, and we’ll pop our outside linebackers back. But really our best one, with our speed on the corners, is bringing our outside guys and try to flush them up inside. Of course, you got your three rushers coming up inside and you’ve got your Mike [linebacker] left. So even if his back swings, we’ll pick him up with our outside backer and leave our mike linebacker inside to contain the quarterback.

Luizza: We’d probably keep our back in. That’s a read for him. He checks one to two, inside to outside and if he sees someone, he aborts his route. Normally, he’s staying in and he’s got to step up. It’s tough when you’ve got a back trying to block a linebacker that’s got a head of steam coming. They usually win that battle. The only thing we can do is protect with six, and hopefully, we can get rid of the ball quick.

Two-Minute Drill
    Down seven with two minutes to play, Slidell takes over on its own 35 and comes out in an empty backfield with a 3-by-2-receiver set.

Liuzza: We like to work the sidelines with little short hitches and outs.

Woods: We’re going to stay in our 30-man front and lock up man free. We’ll send the outside linebacker to put a lot of pressure. Then, we’d drop back and play zone. With the time being a factor, we’re looking to let them catch the ball underneath then try to knock the ball loose. If it looks like we can get to the quarterback, then we’re usually going to bring six, come off the edge and come after him.

Liuzza: If they’re bringing six, we’ll always have a short receiver that’s hot. We’ll try to work the sidelines, try to nickel-and-dime it until we felt that we were in a situation where we could take a shot or have to take a shot depending on the down and distance.

Backed Up
    At the beginning of the second quarter, South Panola downs a punt inside the Slidell 3 yard line. It’s early, but Slidell’s down 10 points. A drive would be nice, but a turnover would be deadly.

We’re going to bring the outside linebackers off the corners. If they run the option, they [outside linebackers] still have pitch. If they flare the backs, the [outside backers] still pick up a man-to-man. And then we've got everyone else covered man-to-man with the free safety and two corners.

    Liuzza elects to stay in max protection with a two-man route. His focus shifts to finding the best possible matchup for his best wide receiver. Play-action out of his goal line set is also a consideration. Woods’ outside linebackers are responsible for covering play-action passes.

Liuzza: Against man coverage, we’ll try to throw the ball on the outside, something like a comeback route. If we get in a third-down situation against man, we’ll again try to get our best receiver in a good matchup and try to go vertical down the sideline. Or, if they’re in a zone, we’ll look to throw something underneath. If we’re in our two tight end set [and want to run play-action], we’ll fake our little inside drive and use a two-receiver route with max protection. Our tight end will  probably go vertical and with our back to that side going out in the flat. We’ll roll out off our play-action off the inside dive play. Then, we’ll see what happens.

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