Friday, August 24, 2007

Single back option offense without a running QB

One of the difficulties of running a run-n-shoot or spread offense was the lack of a true option game out of a four wide receiver set. Yes, you could run speed option with the QB and RB, or even a triple option using the RB as the dive player and a motioning WR as the pitch man, but you then lost the advantage of having four WRs in a pattern.
The solution to this problem was the creation of the Dart series, which gave the offensive line the advantage of zone-blocked double teams on the playside, while leaving the backside DE, the read man, unblocked. The QB read the unblocked DE, and either gave the ball to the RB, who attacked the playside 1-tech, or he kept, and ran a sweep outside the crashing DE. You could run inside and outsize zone, as well as traps, in the Dart series.
The problem then became what to do when you didn't have an incredibly mobile QB. Defenses could tell their Ends to crash every time, forcing the Take read by the QB, and giving their LBs a free shot at a lumbering QB.
Using Orbit motion, I think I may have found a solution to this problem.

One of the wide receivers will go in motion as the QB calls the plays; when the ball is snapped, the orbiting receiver speeds back and around into the backfield in a half-circle motion, like a planet in orbit, gaining depth and speed. The QB fakes the hand-off to the RB, who crosses in front of him to sell the fake and runs behind the trap block of the backside guard, as the line blocks this play the same as they would a Dart Trap. The playside DE now has a decision; he can crash down to stop the trap, or he can come upfield and attack the QB. Both decisions are wrong. As the orbiting receiver hits the outside of his arc to playside, the QB simply tosses the ball to the receiver, like a normal sweep play. The orbiting back is far enough outside the DE that he can't reach hm as he speeds past the line of scrimmage, and into the secondary.


The A-receiver goes in orbit motion around the backfield, receives the toss, and sweeps upfield

The advantage of this play is that it doesn't require a read by the QB, you can just use a Give (for the Trap) or Pitch playcall, so you don't have to teach a read. The QB doesn't have to learn the footwork or the technique to run option, nor does he have to attack the DE, putting himself in jeopardy. This play also takes advantage of a speed burner at WR, and allows every single one of your WRs to become a possible ballcarrier in the running game.
With a Trap option for the RB, Toss for any of the four WRs, and a Keep option if you do have a mobile QB, you have a nice robust series of 6 plays off of that one motion. And we haven't even looked at using counter motion to cut back and use the trap blocking backside.

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