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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Spreading the Bone

by: H. Neal Hamrick
by: Todd Allen
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We had learned the spread passing game from spending time at one of the best air-attack schools in the country, Trinity University (San Antonio), and yet we knew that something, something absolutely vital, was still missing. The question we faced was the same question college and high school coaches have faced nationwide: how do we utilize a powerful and versatile running game out of the Spread? The answer, we felt, was the offensive philosophy we dubbed the SpreadBone, which utilizes the spread passing game combined with a Wing-T inspired running attack. This offense is the subject of the forthcoming book, 'Coaching Football’s SpreadBone Offense: Spread the Field.’

The base formation of the SpreadBone (but certainly not its only formation!) is comparable to a double-slot look; unlike other teams that show a Flexbone formation, however, the SpreadBone does not rely on a triple option attack and pre-snap motion as its primary weapon (although, again, the triple option can certainly be run out of the SpreadBone). A SpreadBone offensive line is, ideally, a quick and mean group of individuals; the guards play in a two-point stance to maximize their speed and their ability to pull with utmost power and quickness, while the two tackles remain in three-point stances to retain their strength and leverage. The line splits are wider than average: four foot splits, forcing the defense to either weaken its front line by widening in response or take a chance on giving up the quick outside run by stacking the defense. The slot backs (in our terminology, the H and Z backs) are lined up wider than normal slots, and slightly deeper. The quarterback takes his snap from directly under center; unlike most spread-teams, we like the quarterback to have his eyes on his reads immediately following the snap, not on the oncoming football from a shotgun snap.

One of the key series out of the SpreadBone is our Short Trap series; the three base plays that we run out of the Short Trap series give a good overall look at the SpreadBone offense as a whole. Let’s take a look at the basic Short Trap. In any given double slot formation (our Silver formation), this play can go to either slot back, depending on the call (for instance, the “20” series goes to the Z, while the “30” series refers to the H). Our Short Trap to the H back, (See Diagram 1)

as you can see, an adjustment can be made to accommodate player speed by running the play as a long trap in which the guard would kick out or log the defensive end rather than trap the defensive tackle. Likewise, against an odd front this would be the norm.

The back paths, however, are somewhat unique, and offer the SpreadBone its special charm. The quarterback reverses out at the snap and fakes a pitch to the tailback, which has taken a hard counter step and then proceeded on a power sweep path away from the call. The tailback proceeds to throw up his hands as if he’s received the quarterback’s pitch and should continue around the offside end, truly selling the fake. The quarterback, his pitch fake complete, should finish his reversal and ride the football to the approaching H-back, who has cut across the formation following the trap block of his offside guard up the middle of the field. He eventually makes his cut decisions based on the play of the linebackers and approaching safety. The handoff is a mesh-ride given on the inside, between the quarterback and the offensive line, similar in execution to a Wing-T Belly Option. In addition the aforementioned Long Trap variation would cause the back path to change only slightly, the hole naturally progressing one gap over.

A natural off-shoot of the Short Trap, especially given these back paths, is the Trap-Option (See Diagram 2).

The Trap-Option is a solid variation on an already good play. No doubt the defense has had its fill of the Short Trap; the playside defenders will ideally charge hard inside upon seeing the slot back dart in to get the ball and – they think – run the Trap one more time. This complimentary play requires the defense, specifically the playside outside linebacker, to stay at home; our quarterback’s read obviously becomes the playside outside linebacker.

Up until the actual trap fake, backfield movements and paths are exactly the same as in the Short Trap (for the purposes of this article, all plays are from the “30” series). The quarterback, instead of giving the ball to the incoming H back, will instead pull the ball and attack the outside edge of the line of scrimmage. The tailback who originally was faking a toss sweep continues on his path and becomes the pitch back. The read options, of course, remain the same as in an option: if the outside backer crashes down hard, the quarterback pitches to the tailback; if not, the quarterback will tuck the ball away and sprint through the crease.

Remember, the option that is drawn out wide is the option that fails! Unique is the line play, which remains the same as on the short trap, including the same trap block on the defensive tackle. The only exception is the playside tackle, who will take a playside zone step looking to log or at least gain outside leverage on the defensive end. The linebackers will get absolutely no look at-the-snap read on this play: for all intents and purposes, they will see a normal trap, and will hopefully stream towards the center of the line. Some coaches may also wish to incorporate a trap sweep using this system, and flip the ball out to the tailback on a quick pitch following the trap fake or by using motion from the opposite slot back (utilizing a slightly different blocking scheme).

The last play we wish to discuss is our Load Trap Option (See Diagram 3) in which we incorporate motion from the opposite slot back.

This is a play that has developed since the submission of our book manuscript and is being seen for the first and only time in this article. The Load Trap Option follows the same rules as the rest of the Trap series; the change comes in the tailbacks back path and assignment, as well as the motion of the Z back. The tailback will become our load blocker and take a path just wider than the playside tackle as he looks to attack the playside outside line backer. The Z-back, put in motion before the snap, will drift to just behind the weak side guard at five to six yard depth, and become our pitch man. All other elements of the Trap series remain the same as the Trap-Option discussed earlier, including the line blocking. The difference comes, of course, with the successful load-block on the playside linebacker and the creation of a two-on-one situation against the safety.

The Short Trap series is by no means limited to the four plays discussed, and the three plays diagrammed, in these pages. The appeal of the SpreadBone is that it is limitless; it offers the appeal and explosive potential of a spread passing game with the power and, most importantly, the versatility of a Wing-T running game.





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