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Why I like... The Wedge Play

By,
Darrin Sheffer
7/8/2017

Another coach on Twitter replied to my last blog (Why I like the I formation) and made a very good point: it's more important to invest your offense in plays, formations come second.  Of course I did not write about the I formation because I felt that formations are more important than sound plays.  So to make sure that I give both plays and formations their day in the sun I plan on writing about both in the future. 

I grew up watching The Mighty Ducks on VHS (proud 90's kid) seeing the "Flying V".  Now that I am grown up and involved in coaching football I wondered if there was a play that produce similar results on the football field like the "Flying V" did on the ice.  Guess what, there is: The Wedge Play.  
Image result for wedge play football
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_history_of_American_football

It's old school, but it doesn't have to be...

If you are a coach who likes ball control offenses you will probably like this play.  However, I don't believe that this play is only for old school guys.  If you are creative, I think that this play could potentially be incorporated into Spread offenses.  Those coaches who like using the QB in their spread running game (QB power is my favorite of those) I could imagine that you could work the wedge into your playbook somehow.

You don't need big lineman to execute the Wedge

Most teams utilize this concept even if the don't know it: Goal-line QB sneak.  I can imagine many of you reading this might be thinking that you need some big hefty boys to make this work.  That is actually not the case.  In fact, this play is used commonly in youth football where big lineman are hard to find.  The main concept in the wedge is to outnumber the defense at the point of attack which can help weaker and smaller linemen.  

It's not just a youth football play

I know that this play is most commonly used at the youth level, but I don't believe that it can be successful only there.  If used correctly and meshed into a series of plays it could work well at the High School level and even in College.  If you are smart and love gutsy plays, I recommend adding the wedge to your playbook.  

 Image result for wedge play football
https://coachparker.org/2013/01/18/double-wing-40-fb-gut-wedge-youth-football-play/

There are a few plays out there that I have convinced myself that I am going to use no matter what offensive system I'm using, the Wedge is one of them.  I feel like this play is the ultimate "gut check" play.  If you can't get at least 2-3 yards off of the wedge then you are in trouble.  

Of course I won't pretend like I'm some expert, I like to do research.  If you are interested in this play I have found a few good resources for you to check out:


Please comment below if you have any thoughts or suggestions, always love to talk ball.

Stay Obsessed

Comments

  1. Seoleu FootballJuly 13, 2017 at 5:52 PM

    I will never completely remove going under center from my playbook because of this play. Anything inside 3yds, I love going with a 10/11 wedge on silent count. QB pushes up on the center to snap it and puts his head down to get the yards. I like doing this with a full backfield so the backs can try to peel guys off the pile (AKA push the pile). I've run this from youth through high school.

    Great post coach!

    ReplyDelete

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