The Spread Offense of the Cowboys vs. Texas Tech

[Reginald Rutledge]

I was up one night at about 3 am surfing stations and ran across the college football station. They were talking about Texas Tech and the Spread Offense. I was fascinated when I heard the "teaser" about "Wide splits".

I thought to myself, "This should be interesting" because I run wide splits in the DFW. In Texas, the name of the game use to be 3 yards and a cloud of dust but somewhere back in the mid 80's, the game of football went from pure power football to aerial assaults.

Texas Tech, a member of the Big 12, has cornered the market on that type of scheme. But those schemes can easily be traced back to Sid Gillman and later Don Coryell, then Mouse Davis with the "Run and Shoot" and so on. Nevertheless, it essentially made it's mark in the DFW many years ago.

But listening to the philosophies of Coach Mike Leach from Texas Tech, it mirrors much of what we do in the DFW. Texas Tech's Grant Harrell is throwing the ball about 50-60 times per game. It essentially spreads the other team out to adjust to players in space.

Last night, I had a practice session showing some of the coaches in the DFW League, the effectiveness of the spread. Most coaches would not attempt this because of the wide splits but having the right athletes and knowing your blocking schemes at the start of every play, gives you a decided advantage over the opposition.

In the DFW, with the audible in play and a 3-1 movement, the defense has to already "guess" and know where to plug the hole or you've got an exploited advantage over the opposition. This is a high-risk manuever offense but the rewards are tremendous.

Some guys in this league will tell you they run wide splits and lateral but most guys will run it one or two plays and revert back to straight ahead power football. Most guys run simply Prolines straight bases on their linemen but my experience has shown me, in the Shootout system, if you do more of a lateral and finesse/zone blocking philosophy, you can run sweeps, draws, and counters which the opposition will not see coming.

Hearing Mike Leach explain why he has wide split lines is the exact same reasons I do it. It makes it very difficult for the linebackers to get to the QB because of the distance travel.

In the Shootout Leagues, a great team is not simply power run team or passing juggernaut but year-end and year-out, those teams get exposed during the playoffs. They are one-dimensional. The teams that win championships have been the ones who can run and pass equally well.

Guys will stack up to stop the run once the dust is settled and guys will control your receivers in the passing game if you think passing is simply the way to a championship. My approach has always been quick-strike, wide-split, creative plays, and exploitation of weak area offense. If a guy is not defending the passing lanes, I will throw the ball 50 times. But if a guy is giving up 5 yards per carry, I am not opposed to giving my back the ball 25-30 carries.

Most guys want to macho up and stop the run and that's why the wide splits "West Coast" Offense works.

Shown below is the actual splits that I do for my "West Coast" system. It is without a doubt, the easiest way I have been able to score in a system that thrives on scoring. I've shown this system to others but few have been able to grasp the concept. But it works and it is easy!

Reg

[NEW CASTLE HiTMEN]

Reg,

Great post. Even though I do not like the Cowboys I love those uniforms.

[childslovegame]

Reg,

I've been watching the Texas Tech Offense for the pass 2 years. I've brought playbooks and DVD's off of E-bay to learn this offensive system. I think it's great for the multi-stop system. With out question we are seeing its influnce on the pro game. In the pros they call it the Wildecat Offense. It is very difficult to stop with a running QB. Miami Dolphins uses it with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. More pro teams are implementing it into their offense. Its the new trend in the NFL, "The Hybird Running Back." Now teams are beginning to run the true Spread Offense. Up until now, teams like the Colts, Patriots, Bengals, etc. ran a variation of the spread.

But how do you slow down a wide-split spread offense in miniature football? Here's what I do.

With wide splits, the offensive coach wants the defense to play the gaps thinking he has a free run into the offensive backfield. With angle blocks, it is very easy to creat huge holes for running lanes. I play some DL 2-3 yards off the ball over top of the OL. When the ball is snapped, the OL move laterally which allows the DL to get penetration into the backfield. OL run into each other knocking RB's off of their routes. The offensive coach is playing a chess game up front with his OL, therefore I too play a chess game up front with my DL. Instead of playing in the gaps, sometimes I might angle a DL into a gap. Sometimes I'll play the gap, but angle a DL. The LB'ers and secondary are for another discussion.

And by the way, D-Coordinators are going to be looking very closely at the Pros' Wildcat offensive in the off season. They'll come up with something to counter, they always do!

Smitty

[Reginald Rutledge]

and some of the defensive techniques you speak of is how teams have tried to stop my team.

They often line up 3 yards off the ball and let the O-linemen do their zone blocking and then the D-Linemen come to the ball. I was very interested to see this strategy against me last night.

In the SO style, because you only get 35 seconds to set up on offense, you have to study the defensive schemes early. When I saw this employed against us, I changed the course of the dials under the prong to go straight ahead. Because the splits are so wide, the defensive line gives up 3 yards at the point of attack and we can put the two backs right behind the linemen or even in a gap. And because we are a 3-1 audible system, the defense only can make that 1 adjustment and the other back remains free and clear.

If you are a pinpoint passer or understand the audible schemes well, you can do major damage. I think the other team only had 1 sack on us because it's difficult for the linebackers to get to the QB in this system. And throwing in hurry-up offense in this system, it makes for a most exciting style.

The possibilities are endless because of the type of blocking schemes that you can have using wide splits. There's a multitude of things that can be ran, including power sweeps, sandwich blocks, rollouts, etc. It's just on such a higher level when it comes to cerebral blocking schemes in miniature football.

Reg

[Michigan Joe]

Hey Reg! Long time no talk.

Beautiful team and thanks for bringing to life MF's version of the spread offense with zone blocking. Out of curiosity, were you able to run this scheme against the Packers in the DFW this year? I saw you abandon the zone blocking against them last year, were you able to maintain your spread offense against them this year and still protect the passer? I know that last year's game against the Packers was on a smaller filed (620), how does the small board affect your style of play? Please share with us how that rematch went.
Joe

[Reginald Rutledge]

Last year, you saw me lose a tough playoff game to the Packers. That was probably the most humiliating loss of my career, 35-7. You saw as about 40 people packed into this apartment, that an interesting phenomena was taking place with the 620 boards, the traditional Fab 5 and what was under them. As scientist, you know as well as I do, that what was placed under the players (packed) created a stronger force unlike any other. Many laughed as I was unmercifully hammered. Heck, I even chuckled as he had a record 16 sacks on my Cowboys. But I wanted that ARSE whuppin' to be one for the ages because I knew, this year I would have the pleasure of exacting revenge on this coach, playing on the Footballfigure.net 308 Gameboard in Footballfigure.net Stadium.

We had initially scheduled to play about 2 weeks ago on a Monday Night. About 2 hours before game time, I heard he had retired! What a bummer! Could not play him. So I took a forfeit win of 7-0. I then hear, he's back in the league and want to finish. So, I quickly had Raidernation reschedule again with the assurance that he would show for the Monday night matchup. There was a big crowd at Footballfigure.net Stadium as about 15 people had came out to watch this rivalry game. AGAIN, without any type of telephone call or excuse, he did not show. We were here waiting for 3 hours for this guy? What gives? All this summer, my leaguemates have been busting my chops about the dominating performance of the Packers and now, I had no way to prove my point because he would not show? So my league administrators put up a FAKE score of 27-6. I am still trying to understand how he EARNED any points. Suffice to say, I am not certain what his excuse was not to play me and it frustrated me. However, we moved on.

But since then, you know I am on the Redemption tour, right? This Road Warrior weekend, it has been painfully obvious that I have been more than focused. I have played good competition in 3 games and they have been stopped in the 3rd Quarter. Games suspended at that point is sometimes frustrating but there is no need to continue the barrage. That's when the other coach and I take the time to learn what I know. Scores have been like 45-10, 44-9, and 40-6. The point is, with the motivational intangibles being very focused, I want to prove I've still got game.

At the center of this ability to score at such a rapid pace is the ability to spread the line and read the defensive schemes quickly. As you know, in the Shootout Style, gap control by the linemen is very important and the ability to audible from a sure disaster into a potential game changing runner slide off tackle is crucial. Knowing your key zone reads are so important.

On the metal 620s, space is so limited but that still should not have stopped me from doing things. If we could make sure our plays were ran to the hash, it still would have allowed us to run zone blocking schemes toward the other side. But there was magnetic forces out of my control working and nothing could be done! I have played many people on the 620s who I have beaten so it was more than meets the eye.

But the 308s give you more real estate to spread things out. Unfortunately for many, they are scared to do that and will still pack things in close. That definitely cuts down on their opportunities to make plays.

But from a strategical standpoint, guys love to put plays in the gaps to come at me. I saw one of my protege's lose to Norbert "The Great" because he runs a "hybrid" West Coast offense with his RG, LG, and C on Proline rookie bases. I have always told him that if you are gonna do it, run it all the way! End of the game, with Norbert playing like a champion and my protege' playing great, he has to make one big play. His splits are psuedo-wide and he allows Norbert speed rushers to take the inside charge. Of course, they either sack or hurry him to throw the pass. Changes the complexion of the game! He ends up losing on the last play because he did not feel comfortable throwing a pass so he tried a handoff off tackle to a brilliant timed inside rush by Norbert's Chiefs. That's why Norbert is who he is. Great game and great coaching by both coaches but to me, it came down to one coach not running a system to its fullest extent.

This weekend, it has been my experience that the West Coast wide splits work brilliantly. Not many will even take the time to study, learn it, and master it because it SEEMS to be high risk. But honestly, it's as low risk and quick scoring offense as it is! With the ability to use hurry up offense in the DFW, you can take a team 80 yards in 2-5 plays on numerous occasions. But the key thing is, you've got to be a dead;y accurate passer, even in tight coverage. Some people think I just build stadiums for a craft, but playing in the Shootout system is another craft that I do okay. Knowing the reads and having the ability to transfer plays from my head onto the wooden gridiron gives me something that separates me from others ib this style of play.

This weekend, I am the number one ranked team with a 7-0 record, scoring at about 35 points/game and yielding about 10. I have had 2 games stopped at halftime and two stopped midway through the 3rd quarter. Today, I play Norbert "The Great". This should be a great challenge for me because he brings energy, knowledge, and great players to this game. This should be a classic battle of power versus finesse. One thing I must say about my leaguemates from the Great Lakes League. First, I have always admired what they do up there in Michigan. These guys are just as passionate as the DFW. Jim Davis and Norbert Revels were great additions to the DFW because they bring knowledge, competitive energy, and just general fun to what we do. With the arrival of one of my best friends and protege of the West Coast Offense, Greg "LL Cool J" Hardmon, coming in next year, it will make for more competition because he is definitely a cerebral coach. We love those guys as they are our brothers. So it was worth our time to have them in the Road Warrior program because they have opened up eyes that I could not open for 14 years. They know what I am talking about.

In closing Michigan Joe, it was nothing wrong with my system when you saw me play. Trust me, if things were fair, I would have mopped the floor with that guy. The system works and in my opinion, the most dangerous system there is. It is fast-break offense on wood. But the key is being able to pass with great skill. Because with the pass comes outstanding runs. My backs have had 100 yard rushers in each game. So it's devastating and take a few years to learn it. The wonderful thing is I rarely have to open up the entire playbook.

I really did not mean to write this much but trust me, I could write a book on the Spread, West Coast Offense, and wide splits. Yes, it does work on the miniature level.

Reg