Why is Spread Offense Football so popular?

During the past few seasons, the Shotgun Spread has grown to dominate football so completely that it actually has no competition. From Youth Football to College Division I, it is difficult to find school teams that produce championships that do not run the Spread.

The Spread Offense scores points, it is exciting to watch, difficult to defend, fun to play, wins championships! What’s not to like about the Spread?

The Shotgun set, quarterback set 4-5 yards behind the Center, has been around since the 1960s, when Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys used the Formation in obvious passing situations. Since the 60s, the Formation has undergone dramatic changes into what has today evolved into the dominant high school, college and professional Formation -- the Shotgun Spread is not a fad.

The latest version of the Shotgun Spread dominates because of the ability of the Quarterback to read Defenses at the line of scrimmage and put the ball where the strength of the Defense is not. If the defense sets-up to stop the run, the QB calls a pass. If the defense sets-up to defend the pass, the QB calls a run play. On pass plays the ball is not as much thrown to Receivers, as it is thrown away from Defenders; the same is true of the run plays, the play goes where the defenders are not.

Because the Spread Formation has five Receivers spread from sideline to sideline, it takes six Defenders to adequately cover the available Receivers, leaving only five Defenders inside to cover the run. When the Defense tries to cover the run with 5-in-the-box they are weak against the run. If they try to cover the Receivers with less than 6 in pass coverage, the defense will be weak against the pass.

The Spread Formation numerically out-numbers Defenders 7 to 5 between the tackles. On option plays, the numeric advantage grows to 8 to 5.

New Coaching techniques such as Quarterback Reads, Zone Blocking, Double Team Blocking, Combo Blocking and high percentage Short Passes keep the ball moving down the field. These simple techniques make the Spread Offense easy to teach and easy to learn for youth football teams.

The evolution of the Offense in the game of football has made the Shotgun Spread Option the greatest Offense in history!

The Shotgun Spread limits the locations where Defenders can be placed and creates numerous wide running lanes, forces man-to-man pass coverage and forces Defenders to make bad decisions. At the Youth Football when defenders are forced to make choices, the offense gains a tremendous advantage.

Simple read rules help the Quarterback maximize early performance from the run game and the receiver corp.

The goals of youth football Offense playing under the restraint of 8 minute quarters have always been the same:

Goals of the Spread Offense

1. Average 4 yards per carry.

2. Break two 25 yard runs per game.

3. Make one scoring drive of 50 yards or more per game.

4. On 1^st down make 4+ yards 75% of the time.

5. Convert 3^rd Downs to 1^st Downs 60% of the time.

6. Make all short yardage conversions on 3^rd down.

7. Average 5 yards gained per throw and 10 yards per catch.

8. No tackles in the backfield.

9. No ball carrier goes down on the first hit.

10. No turnovers.

11. Three touchdowns per game.

The methods of attaining these goals are different for every Offense and Offenses evolve over time. Football is a chess game in the classic tradition of Offense versus Defense and it changes every year. For a time, Defense will dominate Offense and Offense will respond with a new wrinkle to dominate Defenses for awhile.

Currently, 2010, the hot Offense is the Shotgun Spread Triple Option which spreads the Defense and allows balance between running and passing the football. Most of the schools in the BCS Bowl Championship Series arrived using the Spread in one form or another.

The ability of the Spread to dominate a team with superior talent has been demonstrated in the Boise State defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl a few years back and by an unranked Appalachian State defeating #5 Michigan last year. Both of the “giant killers” were using the Spread Triple Option.

Why run the Shotgun Triple Option Offense?

First, it is an awesome Offense that can be run successfully by inexperienced players and does not require great athletes! The Zone Blocking method is simple to teach and provides opportunities for double-team blocking on every play. Two against one is almost always a good bet in any fight.

Zone Blocking is always the same no matter what Defensive Formation you are facing. If the Defense loads the middle, you run them to death with the Outside Option or the Passing game. If they load the edges, you knock the devil out of their reduced interior.

The Shotgun Spread Triple Option forces the Defense to cover the entire field on every play and allows the Offense to dictate where Defensive players are stationed.

On paper the Shotgun Spread Triple Option Offense is the perfect Offense for this time. Giving a Spread look, it concentrates running power at the Center of the Offense. With only a few basic running plays and a few high-percentage passing plays, the Spread is fairly simple to teach, easy to learn and requires fewer skilled players.

The Spread Offense is here to stay!