Greatest Offense

In his book, Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right, author Taylor Bell made his argument for the Wheaton Warrenville South team of 1998 as the best offense ever: "It was perhaps the most prolific offensive team in state history.  The Tigers swept through a 14-0 season by averaging 43.9 points per game...they had a running clock in seven games."  Just for fun here is a comparison between the Warrenville South offense of 1998 and the Dee-Mack offense of 2010.  Obviously, Warrenville South competes at a much larger classification and did go undefeated (Dee-Mack played one less game finishing 12-1), but still:

Points per game: Warrenville South 43.9; Dee-Mack 45.2
Touchdowns: Warrenville South 85; Dee-Mack 84
Total yards: Warrenville South 5,892; Dee-Mack 5,735
Running clocks: Warrenville South 7; Dee-Mack 6

Fullback Trap

Step by step, this is how we run our Fullback Trap play vs. a 5-2.  (For the sake of labeling, our fullback is the number four back and our hole numbering system is evens to the right and odds to the left.  We call this to the one hole even though in reality the fullback is cutting tight off the left guard, which is technically the three hole.  We label it to the one hole because the fullback's aiming point is straight ahead on the midline until he receives the handoff.)  We don't block anything outside the tight end. If we have a wingback aligned to the playside, he releases upfield to the safety. The left tight end releases inside to the first linebacker.  The left tackle also releases inside to the first linebacker.  Against a 5-2, we now have a double team on the inside linebacker.  You can clearly see this in the video clip.  The left guard is going to block down on the noseguard.  If the noseguard slants into the playside gap, we have him picked up.  If he slants away, we continue on our track to the backside linebacker.  In the video clip, the noseguard slants away and our left guard doesn't continue on his track to the backside linebacker like we would like him to.  However, we coach that guard that it would be better to stay with the noseguard too long then to leave too early, so we can live with that.  The center of course has the noseguard too, effectively creating a double team with the left guard.  We want him to step right, because he has help from the left.  Here, he picks up the slanting noseguard.  Before I continue, I should make a key point, and that is the technique of the backside linemen.  They are coached to take a quick six-inch step with their inside foot and to rip through the defensive lineman covering them with their opposite arm as they step through with their outside foot.  This "rip through," or "escape" technique should be drilled on a regular basis.

The defensive lineman that we want to trap is the first lineman from the B gap outside.  Against a 5-2, that would be the defensive tackle lined up over our left tackle in the video clip.  He is penetrating the C gap here. Our backside right guard is the trapper.  His technique is to take his inside foot and to step back gaining "depth and distance."  Depth to get around the center in case there is some penetration from the noseguard, and distance toward the defensive lineman he is trapping.  His next step, with his outside foot, is right back into the line of scrimmage.  We tell our trapping guard to make a "V" cut, not an "L-shaped" cut.  It is crucial that he attack the defender's inside shoulder with his head inside, which he does in the video clip.  The backside right tackle steps down to pick up any penetration for the vacating pulling guard.  The tight end heads across the field to pick off the safety.  

The quarterback opens opposite the playside, gives to the fullback on the first step, fakes to the wingback on the second step, and gets into his bootleg on his third step.

On this play, the defense has their corners rolled up with a two-safety look.  Sometimes the play cuts back so sharply that the fullback may have to break the tackle of the rolled up corner, who is unblocked.  We tell our fullback that it is the job of his teammates to block the linebackers and defensive linemen, but his job to break tackles in the secondary.  Our fullback is expected to be good enough to break the tackle of a defensive back much like a receiver would be expected to catch the ball if he is open and the pass is on target.

Dee-Mack's version of the Wing-T Part I

Dee-Mack (Deer Creek-Mackinaw) High School (enrollment 330) is located in central Illinois.  Last year, they established school records for points (588 in 13 games for a 45.2 per game average) and yardage (5,735 yards for 441.2 yards per game).  Both numbers rank in the top 30 all-time in Illinois football history, regardless of division.  Some people frown on the wing-T as a one-dimensional running offense, and while they did rush for just over 4,000 yards last season, their quarterback earned first team unanimous all-conference in throwing for over 1,600 yards and 24 touchdown passes.  Most of that yardage was amassed in the first half.  (Due to large second half leads most of the year, they didn't throw much in the second half.)  I'll address the passing game of the wing-T, which I believe to be very underrated, in a later blog.

Let me first say that Dee-Mack was loaded with speed and athletic ability last year.  Talent is always the most important part of the equation, but it's not the only part of the equation.  Offensive design is about maximizing that talent.  Dee-Mack began the season unranked and ended it losing to a 14-0 Sterling Newman team in the state semi-finals.  They were picked to finish third in the conference in the coaches poll and went 8-0 winning all conference games by at least three touchdowns.  

There is nothing new about Dee-Mack's version of the Wing-T.  At its core, its based on the Buck Series, but with a few wrinkles.

1. 

Many wing-T teams employ a multitude of formations, including shotgun formations.  Not Dee-Mack.  The quarterback is always under center.  Shotgun snaps take a lot of valuable practice time, and that's practice that has to be mastered before any plays can be run.  Shotgun teams are asking a lot of their centers to accurately make that snap and block at the same time.  The next time you watch a small high school team run an offense out of shotgun, watch for the number of bad snaps.  Odds are, you will see at least two bad snaps that will either be on the ground or sail over the quarterback's head.  Even from good teams that work that skill everyday in practice.  So for Dee-Mack, all plays begin with the quarterback taking the snap from under center and then turning his back to the defense as he begins his gives/fakes in the backfield.  The defense loses sight of the ball for a split second.  As a former linebacker, I can tell you that this drives defenders nuts.  That is why I believe the wing -T is the ultimate misdirection offense.  You can't tackle the ball until you find it.  Option coaches like to talk about making defenders play responsibility defense, but it is still easy to locate the ball and get into good position quickly.  Like the option, the wing-T also forces defenses to play responsibility defense, but without the benefit of finding the ball as quickly.  Also, the option forces half the defense to play their responsibility after the ball is snapped.  With the wing-T's flank-to-flank attack, all defenders have to play responsibility defense.  

2.

Dee-Mack always aligns in double tight formation.  There are no wide receivers.  Double tight formations forces defenses to balance up.  Most defenses are built around a strong side/weak side philosophy.  If the defense runs a 5-2 with a monster/strong safety, where does he line up against a balanced double tight formation that attacks each side equally well?  To the wide side?  The wing-T features an off-tackle game that repetitively be run to the short side of the field.  And if the strong safety is a good player, the offense can run away from him to boot.  For obvious reasons, pro-I offenses that feature one tight end tend to run to that side the majority of the time.  Defenses can align their best players to the tight end gaining a personnel advantage.  Of course the best reason for running double tight is that all plays can be run to both sides knowing that the defense will look the same either way.  You don't have to worry about reduced defenses to the weak side.  Lastly, more time can be spent executing plays and techniques instead of getting lined up in the correct formation.  As noted by the title of this blog, Dee-Mack is also a hurry-up, no-huddle offense, with the idea of getting the ball snapped as quickly as possible to keep constant pressure on the defense.  Getting lined up in different formations costs a hurry-up, no-huddle offense precious seconds.  More on that later.

Introduction

I decided to create this blog for a few reasons.  One, I wanted to share my appreciation of this time-tested offense with all other wing-T enthusiasts out there.

Secondly, I wanted to share with those who may be interested, how we run the wing-T at Dee-Mack High School.  You can't describe an offense as simply being "wing-T" with an understanding of exactly what plays that offense employs.  Some wing-T offenses make heavy use of the inside belly, or double dive series.  Others don't use that series at all.  Some wing-T offenses use quite a bit of playaction, while others go entire games without throwing the ball at all.  Still other wing-T offenses run the Jet Sweep out of shotgun.  As a football junkie, I enjoy going to clinics and listening to other coaches talk about their offenses.  Consider this an online version of a clinic talk that can expand beyond the usual 50-minute time constraint.

Finally, I'm hoping that this blog can start an online discussion about the wing-T.  It is my hope that other wing-T coaches who stumble upon this blog can add their comments and opinions so I can learn from their experiences as well.