By Darrin Sheffer
It's sexy, flashy, almost everyone is doing it; but is it the right thing for your team? It's 2017, a year when 7 on 7 passing camps are almost a Must Do for high school offenses. More kids are trying out for wide receiver or quarterback than ever before. Turn on your TV on Saturdays this fall to root for your favorite college team and you will see it. Go to any HS varsity football game in your area and you are likely to see at least one if not both teams doing it. What could Coach Sheffer be talking about? No Huddle, Up Tempo Spread Offenses.
Before I go any further I want to clear something up: I am not against the Spread. Yes, I am a Wing-T guy. Yes, many of my posts so far may have favored more traditional ball control offenses. I don't care what offense someone runs, be it Wing-T, Flexbone Option, Single Wing, Pro Style, Spread or anything in between. My philosophy is it doesn't matter what offense you run, if you are good at what you do you will win games, Period. My goal here is not to piss off any of my Spread Coaches, what I want to do is express my views on the No Huddle, Up Tempo Spread Offenses which are so popular today, and Why I Do Not Run It.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gerrydincher/9688076325
Let's start with why I DO like the No Huddle, Up Tempo Spread Offense:
Versatility
The most popular version of the Spread Offense would be the use of Twins (2X2) Trips (3X1) or Empty (3X2) sets. However, those are not the only way to attack defenses with the spread. Many coaches are being extremely creative with their formations to confuse defenses and get their best players the ball in space. Then, not only do coaches make up new formations, but they will also add elements of other offenses in the Spread. Some coaches will even take another offense, such as the Wing-T, and will convert it from the traditional under center ball control offense into a shotgun no huddle attack. Coaches are constantly coming up with new ways for the Spread to be deadly to defenses.
Difficult to Defend
As a coach, would you rather run against an 8 man box on defense, or a 5-6 man box? Many coaches would not hesitate in saying the fewer defenders in the box the better. It makes sense right? Force the defense to to cover 4 or more receivers spread across the field and they will have to take people out of the box. Then, if you are lucky you also have a duel threat QB which makes the run game even more potent. All that being said, the one thing that would scare me if I were a defensive guy is the threat of RPOs (Run Pass Options). Then, if the offense goes Up Tempo it's even more difficult to line up correctly and eventually tires out the defense which opens up the potential for even more big plays and scoring.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Valued_picture_candidates/July-2010
OK, those are great reasons to go to the Spread right? Well... I have some dislikes about the Spread as well.
Unintended Consequences
I attended a Varsity game last year (I coached Freshmen level) our high school team has run a No Huddle Spread Offense for the last three years. The varsity has won a grand total of three games in three years, so let's just say that the Spread Offense has not been great to us. The particular game I attended was against a cross town rival who has dominated football in the area for the last decade. This team had more players, had bigger guys and just plain out had more talent. Our varsity guys would have struggled to make their JV team, that is how outmatched we were. One thing really stood out to me about our team: we were inefficient on offense. One drive in particular we tried to throw the ball three times in a row and missed all three attempts. We went three and out and barely took 20 seconds off the clock. Because our coaches did not want to give up on the passing game and we were losing we kept throwing and missing. The unintended consequence of this: it gave the other team more opportunities on offense and they nearly scored every time they had the ball. That means the defense has to stay on the field longer. This also means that the games last longer too.
Personnel
I don't know how many times I have heard of coaches saying something like this: "We have smaller guys so we want to try and spread the field and get our guys in space". OK, in theory it makes sense. Let's say you have a smaller O-Line, a QB who can make decent consistent throws, and a ton of skilled guys who are good a catching passes and making things happen in the open field. By all means try the Spread. However, in my experience teams who are low in talent DO NOT do well when they "go to the Spread".
In my opinion, the Spread Offense is the most personnel specific offensive scheme being run today. Look at colleges who run the spread. Lots of smaller schools run the spread, but so do lots of bigger schools. Those bigger schools are usually able to fill in the specific personnel needs of the spread, where the smaller schools might not be able to do that. Even with this style of offense those smaller schools are still struggling to keep up with the bigger schools, the gap has not closed. Just look at Clemson last season: extreme talent at the skilled positions, a duel threat QB and MASSIVE linemen. If you do not have that, I would not recommend running this offense.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clemson_Tigers_football_running_down_the_hill.jpg
So the question becomes: should you go with a No Huddle, Up Tempo Spread Offense in High School? My answer: If you have the talent, the numbers, a two platoon team (no two way starters) and that is what you are good at, Go For It. Like I said earlier, I don't Hate the Spread, but I don't think it is for everyone. If you are a coach looking for an offensive system and you have any of these issues: low talent, low numbers, two way starters, small linemen; I would look at something like the Wing-T, Single Wing or Triple Option.
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