One of my favorite plays in the spread offense is the Jailbreak Screen. It is an integral part of the offensive system that we run. To me, there is never a bad time to call this play. I believe the Jailbreak Screen is indicative of what the spread offense is all about - getting the ball into your athletes hands out in space with room to make a play after the catch.
One of the best attributes of the spread offense is that its formations limit the amount of defensive fronts by forcing them to walk out linebackers to cover receivers. This simplifies pass blocking, because there are only so many things the defense can do without leaving players unaccounted for. It also allows other aspects of the passing game to "assist" the linemen, such as a quick passing attack and easier "hot" reads.
In the majority of spread offenses at the collegiate level, the zone read is a cornerstone of the offense. What do you do if you don’t have the personnel to be successful with a zone run game? I have found that the tackle trap is a great alternative to the zone read in the shot-gun spread offense.
Congratulations to the Florida Gators ! If you watched the game last night, you saw a great play that Urban Meyer has used for some time now even before coming to Florida, but last night might have been the first time some of you may have seen it.If you ever read 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu, he mentions a very important point: "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer". If you want to be a great offensive spread coach, you need to know what the defensive coaches are thinking and planning to stop you (and vice versa).
The ability to breakdown film as a coach is a critical skill, not just your teams or your opponents, but what I call 'third party' film. Imagine in your head what you might call that 'third party' play based on your terminology and formations.
When I coached, I had a lot of 'specialty' plays that I stole from the likes of the Ol Ball Coach (Spurrier) and Bobby Bowden, plays like the Gator Counter and the Seminole Toss Pass.
I still have boxes of old VHS taped from the early 90's thru the early 00's that I just can't part from (my wife thinks I'm nuts) with game upon game that I recorded.
Get detailed on paper with notes if you see something you really like, what are the lineman's splits?, are there any influence blocks (or joker type techniques on the O-Line) taking place?, is the slot receiver acting out the bubble screen?, what's the play tempo like?, what's the down and distance?, where on the field is the ball?, what are the backfield splits?, etc.
Try not only praising the video, but be critical of plays when you evaluate 'third party' film. Is the quarterback carrying out his option fakes or carrying out the zone read bootleg fake on the hand-off? Is the tailback carrying out his fakes if he doesn't get the ball on the zone read? Are the X and Y receivers blocking aggressive enough on the bubble screen? Coach the other teams on the video as you would coach your team.
Besides video resources, another free option is to simply call a college or high school in your area that runs the spread offense and ask the coaches if they would clinic with you and your staff. Most staff's are very open to this, especially if you have some solid recruits that may be of interest to them in the future. Even if you don't and you're say a Pop Warner coach, most coaches will be glad to assist.
2) Pay For Resources
There are many good resources that you can pay for, many of these I have personally used and others I am going off references from other coaches.
By Greg Nejmeh, The College Of New Jersey:
We're probably all familiar with using a passing tree to describe the routes to be run on a given play. Often, in the spread offense, numbers aren't enough. An example of this would be if you wanted to run a follow pattern, in which the inside receiver runs a short in and the outside receiver runs a deep in; how would this differ from a follow switch pattern, in which the inside receiver runs the dig, and the outside receiver comes underneath on an in ... say your "4" pattern is a down-and-in route -- is a "44" a Follow or a Follow Switch? Is a 4 route a drag, dig, or square in?
Last week when West Virginia's Pat White broke the all-time NCAA QB rushing record against Louisville, I had mixed emotions. One part of me was so happy for Pat and his WVU teammates while the other part of me was sad that an era was coming to an end. With college football down to two more games for most teams (some only one), I would only get to see #5 in the old gold and blue twice more... man, that stinks!
This upcoming Saturday (December 6th at 8:00pm, televised on ESPN2), West Virginia plays the University of South Florida at West Virginia for Pat White's final home game as a Mountaineer. WVU is officially making it a Pat "White Out" event, meaning everyone in the stadium is being instructed to wear 'White' clothing in honor of #5.
An area of the spread offense that drives defensive coordinators crazy is the pre-snap motion that many offenses use to out-man or gain an advantage on the defensive alignment. This changes the strength of the offense, and the defense must react quickly to re-align. To view a recent article with diagrams on simplifying the pre-snap motion offense out of the spread, go to: http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/spread_offense_motion_plays
If you haven't seen The Golden Hurricane of Tulsa run the spread offense yet this year, do yourself a favor and watch them this Sunday night at 8:00pm ET (It's a Sunday night college special) vs. UCF (Central Florida) on ESPN.
Auburn University fired offensive coordinator and spread offense guru Tony Franklin on Wednesday just ten months into his tenure.
After the first 5 weeks of the 2008 college football season, it's obvious that Missouri's spread offense lead by Chase Daniel is the most exciting and diverse in college football.
The spread offense in college has been sort of taking it on the chin the last few weeks, with the likes of Auburn and West Virginia having a difficult time getting their offenses in gear so far (Thank God for Missouri...what an offense that is!) this year.
Inside Slot Counter Trap #2 (off QB Sweep action)
Many spread offense's are pumping more and more rushing yards out of their athletic quarterback's (QB's). One of the simplest, yet effective plays out of the shot-gun is the QB Sweep (see diagram #1 above). This is also a great play to put in with your Tailback (TB) because it allows him to do what he is used to doing.
Pat White, the 4 year starting quarterback of the West Virginia Mountaineer's highly productive spread offense and a leading preseason Heisman candidate in 2008 broke another Mountaineer record on Saturday, this time not with his magic leg's, but with his arm.
College Football made some revisions this off-season to its 266 page rule book that will significantly help an already established offense that runs out of the no huddle spread offense in 2008 and beyond.
You can hear about it everyday from fans with even the most basic knowledge of the game of football. It is something that some spread offense coaches meticulously strive for, despite the fact that there are no points awarded for it, and some of the most successful coaches at any level completely disregard it. “It” is balance in play calling.
1) Coach, thanks for taking the time to speak with us at spreadoffense.com and congratulations on your second straight New Jersey state title (2006-2007)?
Thank you, this past season was a lot of fun. We had a great group of guys that really put the team ahead of their personal interests and it made for a great team in all phases of the game.
2) Tell us a little bit about the spread offense you run at Don Bosco Prep? (Run first philosophy? balanced attack philosophy (run/pass)? Tempo? No-Huddle? Gun vs. under the center? Etc…)
Our offense at Don Bosco Prep is predicated on 2 things, controlling the tempo and balance. The tempo is set by playing fast. We operate out of a no-huddle system on occasion, but we always want to play fast. The more experienced we are, the more likely we are to go no-huddle.
We will use no-huddle to give us a jumpstart or change the pace. We always want to fly in and out of the huddle if we do use one. We have a different thought about balance then many other teams. We never gameplan to be a 50/50 team. Rather, we want to be flexible enough to take what the defense gives us. On every play we have the ability to get into the play that best fits the look that the defense gives. We want to run the ball, but we never want to be too stubborn.
We are willing to throw the ball until the defense gives us the looks we want to run the ball successfully. That may be the greatest advantage of the spread. The formations create a threat to run and throw on every down. We do believe it essential to throw the ball well if you are in the spread. If you can’t take advantage of their attempts to stop the run you become one dimensional. We always want the threat of a balanced attack. This past season we were a predominantly gun team. In the past we have been mixed depending upon the QB.
3) Based on this philosophy, what do you and your fellow offensive coaches look for when preparing for an opponent every week?
We look for basic fronts and coverages. We want to know the other teams best stunts. We always ask, what do they believe in? A good team is not going to drastically overhaul their defense in one week.
If they do, they are not going to be able to make the necessary adjustments to beat us. We also look for physical match-ups. Who are their best and worst players. We want to keep it basic. We feel that our style of offense allows us a great deal of flexibility. We may throw it 35 times against one team and run it 40 times the next week. We love to throw, but devised a gameplan for the past 2 state championship games, in which we ran the ball almost 80% of the plays. To us that demonstrates our balance. We have the ability to take what the defense gives us.
4) What type of student-athlete do you guys get at Don Bosco Prep offensively? Does the type of athlete you guys have dictate the offensive philosophy?
We get a mixed bag of athletes at Don Bosco. Being a parochial school we draw from a wide variety of towns, providing an array of different athletes. Each year it varies in what type of athletes we will have. This past season we had 3 tremendous running backs on the varsity w/ some real strong guys behind them.
We tried to keep them all on the field as much as possible. Some years we have 6 or 7 WRs that rotate. We definitely change our scheme depending upon our players. We will not change our philosophy for anyone. In other words we will always believe in balance & tempo. We will always believe in being a tough physical team that can run the ball. What may change is, the actual scheme or choice of formations we use. We will not be too stubborn to run a scheme that we do not have the players to run, we will be flexible enough to adapt.
5) How long have you been running the spread offense (or a version of it) at DBP? And how has the spread offense evolved over that period at the high school level in NJ and nationally?
We have been running some version of the spread for 7 seasons. 8 years ago we ran a lot of 1 back stuff w/ Ryan Grant at tailback (Green Bay Packers), but we were a predominantly power run offense. We have evolved a great deal. There are so many great ideas out there. We are constantly seeking out advice on better ways to do what we are doing. I watch a lot of football and try to find ways to adapt what other teams are using to improve our offense.
There are so many colleges running the spread that you can find new ideas everywhere. They are usually very accommodating to high school coaches. We tinker with what we do constantly. Mainly, so that others teams do not catch us. We do not want teams to out work us.
As far as the change in spread offenses, I think its been tremendous. I played QB for my father at Paramus Catholic. We ran a version of the Run-N-Shoot in the early and mid-90’s. We were 4 WRs every play. No one was running the spread then. We were one of the only teams even throwing the ball, now everyone is getting into it. That offense really helped my transition into coaching. Many of the principles we used still apply today. Its exciting, it gets a lot of players involved, and the use of the dual threat QB has really changed the game. Now a QB can be a runner and a passer.
People used to think that combo was impossible, now you see it everywhere. We did many of these things when I was in school, but we never got in the gun. It really has changed the game in HS football.
6) Based on this evolution you’ve seen, is it still safe to say that defenses are still playing ‘catch-up’ in trying to figure out this offense (scheme wise)? Especially when defending an offense that has a gifted ‘dual threat’ type quarterback?
Defenses are playing catch up, if the team has the balance we talked about earlier. The dual threat QB has leveled the field. Under center the game is played 11 on 10. The QB’s ability to run has made it an 11 on 11 game. The offense can account for extra defenders w/ options, reads, and hots.
Many teams see the spread and think pass, but its much more than that. We have run the ball more than thrown it every year except one in the past 7 seasons, but teams are still giving us 5 and 6 man boxes to attack. A talented QB forces the defense to make difficult decisions.
Honestly I do not envy the defense in that situation. Often they are in a difficult position either way. Our QB this past season, Brett Knief, was the best dual threat QB we’ve had. I say that knowing the the 3 previous guys were all Div. 1 QBs. Steve Levy (Cal), Mike Teel (Rutgers), & Matt Simms (Louisville) were tremendous players that got better everyday. Simms & Teel were incredible throwers and smart QBs that allowed us to do many things, but they had to surprise you with a big run.
We hope that they are both future pros, but the ability to run in HS is crippling. Brett was a threat to run on every down and he killed teams throwing the ball. That dual threat puts a lot of uncertainty in the defense.
7) Play a little devil’s advocate, what are the biggest weaknesses you see in the run oriented spread offense in college and high school football?
The run oriented spread offense is limited. If a team has great perimeter defenders the defense can load the box to force long yardage situations. This limits the play action game. I will stick w/ our notion of balance. It takes a great deal of work to throw the ball successfully. We believe it is worth the investment of time.
Many teams in the “run oriented” spread only throw when they need to or have huge play action opportunities. This will hurt you when you face a team that is as talented as your team. When you are a threat to throw on every down the defense can not commit to one facet of your offense.
I often feel that a lack of balance kills some spread teams in big games. Plus it is hard to find QBs with those talents. If your QB gets injured will the next guy be able to run the offense. Balance is essential.
8) When this run oriented spread offense first arrived on the national spotlight, a lot of critics called it a fade or ‘gimmick’ offense, what made you and your fellow coaches buy into it and eventually implement it at DBP?
We believe in the spread for a lot of reasons. First it is easier to see what the defense is doing when you spread the field. Second, you take defenders out of the box, which means there are less players to block on every play. It also can eliminate confusion for the linemen in blitz pick-up. Third, it allows you to distribute the ball to more players. This makes the game exciting and interesting. There are many other options for kids today. We try to make the game fun and keep everyone involved.
We feel that the QB is central to the success of any offense. With that said we want to make the QB as effective as possible. I mentioned earlier that I have a Run-N-Shoot background. Coach Toal was a big fan of the “I”. This provided an opportunity to combine the 2. We are now running power run stuff out of 1 back formations. The QBs ability to run provides a numbers advantage. It was simple math.
9) Look into your crystal ball and tell us what the state of the shot-gun, run orientated spread offense will be in high school, college, and professional football in five years?
While the game of football will continue to change or at least cycle itself, I believe this offense will continue to be a part of college and high school football for a long time to come. The opportunity to showcase your best athletes is too important, for the spread to disappear.
The development of athletic QBs will also continue to be an important element in HS & college football. This offense has found a way to combine the triple option w/ the Run-N-Shoot. Both of those offenses are essential parts of the HS & college game. Teams use these ideas to hide deficiencies in the line or elsewhere in their personnel. While I believe elements of the spread will be extracted for use in the pros, it will never be a major part of pro football.
The QB is too valuable in the NFL to expose him to as many hits as he takes in the spread. While I love the offense its growth is hurting the development of college QBs for the NFL. It seems many are less prepared for the nuances of a pro offense.
10) Coach, what would be your advice to a High School or Pop Warner coach looking to install and implement the shot-gun, spread offense for the first time?
There is a lot that goes into it. We started by tailoring the formations around our existing offense. We were already big proponents of inside & outside zone. They are still the basis of our run offense. We do a lot now, but when we started we were simple. Less is more sometimes. Too many people want to do everything they see on TV every week. I say find out what fits your team and work at it religiously. Once you master it then add some more. We get better at coaching it every year, through trial & error. We had to take a long hard look at our terminology. We changed a lot of our language to streamline our playcalling and allow for the no-huddle.
We also spent a great deal of time on the snap. Our first attempt at the spread in 2001 was scrapped because we had trouble with the snap. The next year the same center had only one bad snap the entire season. We just stuck with it. Now it is not an option to scrap it. The shotgun has become too integral in what we do to scrap it. We make sure to work on it every day. This game still comes down to fundamentals. If you run the spread it is not a magic solution that allows you to stop working on the little things. Take the stuff you believe and tweak it.
11) How can High School or Pop Warner coaches get in touch with the staff at Don Bosco Prep?
The two best ways would be email or phone. The phone number in the football office is (201) 327-8003 x 155. The number in the athletic director’s office is (201) 327-4704 x 120 that is my direct line. My email is: ncampanile@donboscoprep.com
Our head coach is Greg Toal and our offensive line coach is Chuck Granatell. We would all be glad to share the little bit that we know, since many people have helped us throughout our time at Don Bosco and before.
12) Tell us how some Don Bosco prep alumni are doing at the college level? And a little about your tough schedule ahead in 2008?
Currently, Mike Teel is the QB at Rutgers University. Brian Toal will be back on the field at Boston College along with Ryan Lindsey & newcomer Alexander DiSanzo. Corey Wootten is playing at Northwestern University, Michael Ray Garvin is playing at Florida State. Matt Simms, Brian Roche, & Darius Mann are playing at Louisville. Matt will hopefully step into the QB role there in the coming years. Marquise Liverpool is playing WR at Temple. Justin Trottau is playing at the University of Florida and Sam Griffin is at the University of Cincinnati. There are a few that I am leaving out and I apologize, but we are very proud of the success that our guys are having at the next level. They are almost all contributing greatly to their programs’ success.
Next season the Ironmen will be hitting the road in the early part of the season. We travel to St. Xavier in Cincinnati, OH. We than play Valley Forge Military Academy at home. Our third game is at De La Salle High School in Concord, CA. St. X and De La Salle are two of the most decorated high school football teams in the country. We follow that by playing some of the best teams in New Jersey including; Bergen Catholic, St. Joe’s Montvale, Montclair, & Ridgewood. We feel that this is probably the most ambitious schedule in the history of New Jersey high school football. We only have that opportunity because of the guys mentioned in the previous paragraph and their teammates. We’re truly honored to be involved in such great games this upcoming season.
13) Coach, final question. You have one game to play to save planet earth vs. the University of Mars and the President of The United States has chosen you to run the offense. You need to pick a dual threat quarterback to lead your spread offense to victory. You have 4 weeks to prepare for this game in the coliseum in LA, and the only rule is you can’t choose a quarterback that you currently coach… who’s in the gun for you for this game?
That is a really difficult question. I tend to favor a great passer that can run. There are many great guys out there, but the dual threat makes it interesting. If it were a current player, I would choose Tim Tebow from Florida. He is not the most accurate passer but he manages the game real well. More importantly he has all the intangibles that it takes to lead a team. I have had the pleasure to meet his high school & college head coaches. Both men raved about his toughness, discipline, dedication, and athletic ability. I want the QB to be the toughest guy on the team. Tebow probably fits that description the best.
About Nunzio Campanile:
Nunzio Campanile is the first year athletic director at Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, NJ. He has been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Don Bosco for the last eight seasons. In that period, the Ironmen have played in seven New Jersey state championship games, winning four. The Ironmen have finished ranked in the USA Today four times in the last eight seasons, finishing as high as #2 in the nation in 2003. The 2007 season had the Ironmen ranked #3 in the nation on Maxpreps. In those eight seasons, the Ironmen have averaged over 40 points per game and have compiled a record of 88-5. Nunzio Campanile played quarterback at Paramus Catholic High School in NJ and at Amherst College. He graduated from Montclair State University in NJ.
