So Your Spread Offense Quarterback Is Out... What Now?

It's every coaches nightmare, but even more so in a shot gun spread option offense with a very athletic dual-threat quarterback. It's the second play of the game, and your stud QB sprains an ankle, or even worse.... does something bone-headed like sticks a freshmen in a locker on the Wednesday before the big game and is suspended.

You call on your second string guy and he's inexperienced, lacks the proper rep's, and is not as physically gifted.

Here's 3 things we recommend you prepare for, just in case the above happens to you.

1) Have a WildCat type package ready with a Running Back at QB

A good way to keep your offense in 'spread mode' is to have a WildCat set ready with a good headed RB on your team taking the QB position. Obviously the throwing game will not be a big threat, but if you install the traditional WildCat sweep, power, and counter package with a RB at the single wing in the preseason and drill it during the season, it'll be an option for you until things stabilize. Herb Hand, OC at University of Tulsa actually mentioned they have this ready 'just in case'.

2) Have your #2 QB Ready - Pretty Simple

Sounds simple enough, but with limited practice time and new installs during the season, many #2 QB's lack the appropriate rep's. We recommend one practice a week for at least 12 plays with the first team, you yank the #1 QB out and pretend he's not available.... make it a heated session too, put some pressure on the offense and lay out some game situations that will make the whole unit think and support the new QB. I suggest doing this with your #1 center too....

3) Learn How To 'Quick Kick' Out Of The Shot-Gun

Sometimes the first few series with the #2 QB can be disastrous, the defense is feeding off the momentum of you losing one of your best players, and before you know it, you're in a 3rd and 27 at your own 20 yard line. I feel that putting in a 'quick kick' punt package out of the shot-gun with your 1st and 2nd string QB's is a nice way to regain some field position and put the game into your defenses hands until your offense settles down with the new QB. This needs to be practiced though against live reps in practice.... the last thing you want is a quick kick blocked, I've seen it happen. But executed correctly, I've seen field positions change 40 + yards as the defense has no one to field the punt.

Remember, having your personnel ready is the coaching staff's job, don't leave any rock unturned in your preparation.

Keep spreading u'm!

--Mark

Can The Spread Offense Emergence In The NFL Help Michael Vick?

The announcement came today that Michael Vick was released from prison after serving 19 months in jail on a dogfighting conviction in 2007.

Vick will be serve two months of home confinement until July 20th, then will be able to 'get a job' in society.

Being a fan of Big East football, I used to love watching Vick play for Virginia Tech with his athletic style of quarterback play.

Is there a spot for Michael Vick with the 'Wild Cat' making its way into the NFL? Are his skill sets still there that would allow him to get into a shot-gun formation and run some single-wing 'run-pass' option football for an NFL franchise?

Time will tell if this is the case, or if a team will take the chance on Vick and the negative publicity that will surround such a move.

But then again, the young man 'did his time' for a crime he admits committing, no matter how wrong it was.

By the way, I do see Martha Stewart back on the scene, doing well in the free market we call capitalism.

Keep Spreading U'm!

--Mark

Running The Spread Offense In The Red Zone

Many teams, whether planned or just psychologically tend to narrow things up within the red zone and get away from what got them down the field. In the below video, you'll see Chip Kelly will have none of that... he keeps the spread offense pedal to the metal even in the red zone.

This is some very nice looking zone read execution within the red zone - Great job Oregon's O-Line...those dogs get after it!





Keep Spreading U'm!

--Mark

WildCat Series for Madden NFL 10

I found this cool website link that shows how the EA Sports team, creators of the Madden NFL video games, recently created the 'WildCat' formation for the game.



They've created the jet sweep, power, and counter plays for the game out of the recently famous formation.

Here's what it looks like in real life:



To view the entire site and write-up, go to:
http://insideblog.easports.com/archive/2009/04/28/letting-the-quot-wildcat-quot-loose-in-madden-nfl-10.aspx

--Mark

The WildCat Series From An NFL Perspective

I found this interesting article with diagrams on the wildcat spread offense formation as it relates to the NFL, particularly the Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Seneca Wallace.

To view the article link, go to:
http://bal.scout.com/a.z?s=118&p=2&c=863498




--Mark

Spread Offense

Pat White's First Action With The Miami Dolphins

You can only wonder what David Lee is saying to Pat White in this picture at Miami's rookie mini-camp. Is it... "OK, here's the play, if you feel the desire to run, then RUN! LOL!"

Or, maybe the entire wrist coach Pat is reading off says in real big letters: DRIVE THE DEFENSE CRAZY - Wild-Cat, Wild-Pat, Go Wild!

I hope the other teams have great cornerback's, because if the safeties creep into the box, Pat can beat you on the pass!

Whatever the plans are down in Miami, I'm sure they'll be doing just that... driving defenses nuts with Pat White in the spread offense in the NFL.

Follow the link below for some video highlights of the Dolphins mini-camp: http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/aquavision/aquavision.asp?category=1&search=&mediaid=42434


Keep spreading u'm!


--Mark

Herb Hand Q&A Interview On The Spread Offense

Last year we did our first coaches Q&A with Herb Hand, Co-Offensive Coordinator at the University Of Tulsa Golden Hurricane. It's our pleasure to offer our second installment with Coach Hand, as he offers more insight on the team, and the spread offense in general.

Tulsa is coming off an 11-3 season in 2008, and their spread offense is one of the most dynamic, explosive, and creative in college football.

To view the complete Q&A interview with Coach Hand, go to:

http://www.spreadoffense.com/ssp/news?news_id=44

Keep spreading u'm!

--Mark

Why The Miami Dolphins Selected Pat White

After just watching the Miami Dolphins select Pat White with the 44th overall pick in the NFL draft, I decided to jump online and give my 6 reasons for the decision by Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells:

The Wild-Cat Offense - Just Scratching The Surface

I bet Ronnie Brown let out a sigh of relief with this pick... because now he and Ricky Williams can be in their comfort zone as running-backs with the wild-cat in 2009.

What Pat White will add in terms of a dual threat 'single-wing' quarterback will be the presence of the forward pass with his lightning speed and four years of reading defenses.

It must be hard for the offensive staff down in Miami to wipe the grins off their faces tonight.

Keep Pat White Away From New England and Bill Belichick

It's been known that the Patriots have been eyeing White for about a month now, and you can bet Bill Parcells knew this and didn't want the Patriots and his old buddy taking the wild-cat to the next level in 2009... especially when it was the Dolphins who kicked the door open with it against New England.

The Dolphins Coaching Staff 'Gets It'

I don't know how else to put it, but if anyone deserves the services of Pat White in the NFL to see how far this wild-cat/spread run offense can go, it's the Dolphins coaching staff. It's kind of like how Bill Walsh deserved to have Joe Montana back in 1979 when he drafted him to run his West Coast Offense.

Dan Henning, David Lee, George DeLeone, and the rest of the offensive staff will see how fast this wild-cat car can drive in 2009.... or, as head coach Tony Sparano put it: “There was an awful lot left on the bone that we didn't roll out there in the wild-cat".

Make Opponents Prepare For Another Offense

Coaches out there, think about your preparation week now for the Miami Dolphins offense. You have to get your rep's in for the Chad Pennington/Chad Henne conventional offense and now the Pat White/Ronnie Brown Wild-Cat/single wing offense.

Think about how this can actually extend the careers of all the QB's involved. Lets say in a specific game the conventional offense is productive, you stay with it until they stop it. The same with the Wild-Cat/Single Wing, run it for a change of pace or stay with it until they consistently stop it.

I always thought that a conventional 'sitting duck' quarterback getting sacked 6 or more times a game was more vulnerable to injury then a running QB on designed run plays.

Pat White is a Winner

Pat White was the starting QB for West Virginia University from 2005 through 2008. Every year during that span, the Mountaineer's went to a bowl game (2 games being BCS games vs. Georgia and Oklahoma) and they won every one of those 4 bowl games. White was also named MVP in 3 of the 4 bowl victories.

White has also been drafted 3 times by Major League Baseball (Anaheim Angels twice and the Cincinnati Reds once).

Lastly, Pat White graduated this past December with a bachelor's degree in general studies from WVU.

Pat White Can Throw The Football

White threw for 5,576 yards in 4 years... with 1,844 yards coming in his senior season. The all-time leading rusher for NCAA quarterback's has a very good arm.

Check out the link below of Pat White's Senior Bowl MVP performance:

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80e54d3c

Keep Spreading U'm!

--Mark

Vince Young and Pat White - Spread Offense Highlights

I found this video combining highlights from both Texas and West Virginia... highlighting Vince Young and Pat White. It still amazes me how easy Vince Young can 'flick' the football 40 yards down the field, it looks effortless. It baffles me how he's a 'back-up' QB now with the Titans.... he's way too talented to be on the sidelines.

With the NFL draft this upcoming weekend, Patrick White out of WVU is getting a lot of attention, I'm curious to see who picks him, and when.

Note: Pardon the F-bombs in the music and the S-bombs also... feel free to mute the sound on the video, I didn't produce it.




Keep Spreading U'm!

--Mark

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Wild Cat Spread Offense Video - Miami Dolphins 2008

Below is a video courtesy of ESPN Gameday discussing the wildcat spread offense the Miami Dolphins used this past NFL season. I'm excited to see how this evolves in the NFL this upcoming 2009 season, with the upcoming draft approaching, what teams will make offensive decisions based on the 'wildcat' factor? Patrick White, Percy Harvin, and Jeremy Maclin have all been discussed as wildcat influenced picks.

Gus Malzahn, now at Auburn University is featured in this video as the master-mind behind the wild-cat/wild-hog offense. We had also posted an article on SpreadOffense.com about another group who had influences on this now popular formation.

Enjoy the video...and keep spreading u'm.





--Mark

The Spread Offense - Not Just Between The 20 Yard Lines

One thing I love about the philosophy of the Florida Gators is they're going to run the shot-gun option from anywhere on the football field, and this video below shows just that.

Whether they're on their own 1 yard line or the opponents 1 yard line, they're going to line up in the gun and run the football. Notice the physical nature of the offense, with the down blocks, kick-out, and gut blocks (counters).

I love it, physical spread option offensive football!

Is This Spread Offense Too Spread Out?

I found a recent article on the A-11 Offense, a complex hybrid spread offense that takes
advantage of a loophole in the high school rule book.

Here's a video below if you've never seen the A-11 offense, decide for yourself, is this too spread out?



--Mark
Spread Offense

Spread Offense 101 Video

I found a very good video called: Spread Offense 101

Keep spreading U'm!

Tulsa Spread Offense Video Clips

The University of Tulsa has one of the best shot-gun spread offense option philosophies in college football. One of our most popular posts is still our Q&A session with Herb Hand from Tulsa.

Here's some great video clips of The Golden Hurricane offense in action:



--Mark
Spread Offense

Utah 2003 Video Clips - Zone Read Out Of The Spread Offense

Here's some good video clips on the Utah inside zone read from 2003, the Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen days at Utah.




--Mark
Spread Offense