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AFM Magazine


Why The Spread? 11 Questions For A Coach To Consider

by: Jeff Hancock
Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach, Adrian College
by: Jay Osborne
Wide Receiver Coach, McMurry University, Abilene, TX
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One of the greatest joys for me as a football coach is having guys that I have coached get involved in coaching after they graduate. I have been fortunate to have more than one decide to take this career path in the 14 years that I have coached. The most recent addition to this list is Jay Osborne who was recently hired as the wide receiver coach at McMurry University. Jay played in a spread offense for me a few years ago and I as a coach got to watch him grow in his knowledge of the spread offense over the course of his playing career.

As he enters his first season as a coach he has posed some questions for me about the spread offense. The following are some of those questions that Coach Osborne has asked me since he has started in his new job that I have attempted to answer. I, in turn, had a few questions for Coach Osborne that I was curious about getting answers to.

1.) Why are so many teams running the spread offense?

I started running the spread in 2002 because we didn't really have the dominant offensive linemen needed to be a successful "power" offense. We did, however, have many gifted skill players that could operate at a high level in space. Therefore, we installed a four wide offense and started our journey as a "spread offense". Putting defenders out in space and taking advantage of mismatches is much easier in a spread offense, not to mention that it pulls people out of the "box." It also gives your linemen less people to block in the run game limiting the possible fronts that a defense can throw at you (if it is a true spread and use no TF). Having said all of that, you need to have an adequate "trigger guy" to effectively run a spread offense.

2.) What advantages does the spread have over other offenses?

In my mind, the advantages of a spread offense are:

-Less fronts to prepare for.
-Pre-snap coverage is easier to read.
-Putting defenders on an island that maybe don't play well there, i.e., OLB in space on a slot.
-Wide receiver when a defense wants to stay two-high
-Blitzes are usually harder to disguise.
-If operating out of a "gun" position with the QB, it allows him to see the field better.
-Running lanes are usually a bit wider and easier to get through.

3.) What is the most critical element to running a successful spread offense?

The most important element, as mentioned above is the QB. He must be an efficient clock manager, skilled at reading coverage's, understand where "windows" are in each coverage, be unafraid to pull the "trigger" on time, and have an adequate arm to make throws. Having said that, the most important thing you can do as a QB coach is to find out which throws your QB can't make and take out or limit those in your offense. That is, the two toughest throws for a QB to complete, in my mind, are the swing (or bubble) route and the corner route. Both of these routes put the receiver on an awkward angle out and away from the QB. The swing pass is a route that needs to be drilled everyday if it is one that you as a coach wish to utilize.

4.) Does the spread need certain types of personnel? Can it be successful with players of different abilities and sizes?

We have always believed in putting my taller, faster guys on the outside, while putting shorter, shiftier guys at the slot positions. The reason for this is to get the height/speed mismatch on the outside and getting the more skilled athlete on the slot/OLB match up. We once tried flipping this thought and putting the taller, faster guys at the slot positions and getting the shorter, shiftier guys on the outside. The problem we ran into was that we were never getting any vertical push on the outside and the defenses just sat in a 2-shell to cover the fast inside guys over the top.

As far as the offensive linemen are concerned, it would be nice to get the big, strong guys with quick feet, but you can gear your run and pass blocking to better suit the kids that are slower afoot.

As for your running back, take your fastest slot wide receiver-type and put him in the backfield. This allows you to empty out your formation when needed and also gives you that fast kid in the backfield for the run game. The one glaring problem with this theory though is that they probably aren't going to be very good at pass protection. When that has been the case for us, we have frequently just sent him on a route instead of protecting.

5.) Many teams like to run the ball in the "red zone.” What are some ways the spread can counter with short yardage pass plays?

The first thing that you need to determine is if the team that you are facing is a man or zone team in the red zone. If they are a man team against the spread you are best served by using one or all of the following:

-Motions.
-Crossing routes.
-Compressed formations incorporating one or both of the above (Bunch concepts work well here).
-Running the ball if you know where the pressure is coming from in man, running the WR's off and taking their defenders with them.

If they are a zone team you need to know what type of zone they are playing because the areas of responsibility for defenders in the red zone are compressed and made smaller by location on field. In this situation we would look for a few pass plays that are good underneath (quick game), and a few "over the top" plays.

6.) It seems that on long 3rd down situations more 1st downs are converted in a spread offense.

Again, the coverage dictates which plays are likely to be successful in this situation. The answer to this question isn't earth shattering but here are the ones that have been most successful over the years for us:

-Cover 2.
-Cover 3.
-Cover 4 (Quarters).
-Cover 1/4, 1/4, 1/2: (See above, this coverage is just C-2 to one side and C-4 to the other)
-Cover 2-Man Under.

7.) What defense gives the spread offense the most trouble?

The defense that is a little tougher to pass protect against is the 3-4, open middle defense. The reason for this is that a defense can bring four, which isn't a blitz to them but to an offensive lineman bringing someone from depth will usually cause some confusion. This is why it is imperative to drill all possible blitzes you may see on any given week to make sure that the OL is prepared and can "click off" any pressure thrown at them. Coverage wise, showing a 2 high, open middle can create some confusion in the QB's mind because there are so many more scenarios in coverage that can be played from a 2-high as opposed to a 1 high, closed middle. And obviously, this can affect the QB more in his pre-snap reads as well as his read progressions when the ball is snapped. A good thing to do if you are getting a lot of pressure and disguised looks pre-snap is to run a "scan" (getting set, calling a cadence, then looking at the sideline to get a play). This can help to get a team to tip their pressure or show coverage that allows you to call the play best suited for what you are going to get.

8.) If you know a defense is focusing on player, is it best to hide him (move him around) or single him out and let the defense use 2 players on him?

First, you need to look at two possible scenarios; is this individual the only threat you have offensively, or you have other guys that are almost as good? In the first case of this player being the only real threat, you need to find ways to change personnel within your formations, i.e., motion people around to get a good match-up or to get the attention off of the player in question. Bunching people up, getting rubs with crossing routes, etc. will help in this case. If you have other skill players that are capable, put the skill kid getting all the attention on a single width side and let them double cover/bracket the heck out of him and go to work on the run or take advantage of the other side of the formation. We have always told our players that when in a 3x1 formation, divide the field into thirds; that is, the single WR side, the 3 WR side, and what you have in the "box". Take advantage of any mismatches you have numbers wise. If they are putting two defenders on the single WR side, you should have a good look on one of the other thirds of the field.

9.) Do the skill players need to be interchangeable?

In a perfect world the outside WR's would be interchangeable with each other as well as the slot WR's with each other. To take it a step further, if you have a RB that can be a good slot WR and slot WR's that can be good RB's, the possibilities are endless as to what you can do with motions and formations to create mismatches and cause confusion amongst the defense. Therefore, the more interchangeable your kids are the more you can do. But you do not need to have all of the above scenarios to run a successful spread offense.

Questions for Coach Osborne

10.) What are things that you have learned as a player in the spread offense that allow you to wholeheartedly sell this offense to your players as opposed to other offenses that you have played in?

I feel the spread offense is a high potential offense. Big plays are more likely to happen and more than one or two skill guys will get involved. The spread offense allows for skill position players to "showcase" their skills. Creating match-ups that benefit the offense and the player are easy to do with this type of offense. The bottom line is that players enjoy being in an environment where they will have success and feel that they are a part of the victory. The spread presents the opportunity for many players.

11.) What are the most important things that you feel you need to reach your WR's, having been one yourself in the spread offense?

WR's must learn to play without the football. In most games, a WR will touch the football less than 10% of the total snaps. Therefore, a WR must be able to run crisp routes knowing that he is not the first option on every pass combination. His route may be the key to springing another WR to come open. The other factor for a WR is blocking, both in the run and pass game. The WR's must understand how critical their effort is in being the difference between a 1st down and a touchdown. It is easy to lose focus in a play if the ball is not thrown in your direction. But sticking with a play until the end can reap rewards for the WR and the team.






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