There is another variation of the Flexbone offense for the 8-man game. This one is lesser known still and run by few teams. That's not saying that it isn't a great offense, it's just hard to run and requires great timing and practice. Your players must know exactly when and where they must be in a certain place in a play or the play could be busted. The fact that few teams seem to like this offense is not saying it can't succeed. Many good teams run this offense to success. The problems arise when your players cannot fill the slots needed or are not right for the job. Like any option based offense, your players must be in the right roles. Your QB doesn't have to have the biggest arm, but he must be able to make quick reads. Without him thinking quickly, the offense will not work well at all. The Basic Set (Right) As you can easily see, the basic set is quite the oddity. It has a TE and an A Back both on the same side, with a fullback behind the QB and a WR split out the other way. This offense relies heavily on the use of motion and as my old coach used to say "Tom-foolery". Misdirection and deception are paramount when running this offense. The FB should be down in a 3-point stance, and so should all of the lineman, including the TE. The TE is really more of a blocker, however he can be used as a receiver as well. The two big playmakers will be the AB and the WR. They will get less carries than the FB, but when they do they should be larger gains. Now, don't start thinking 60 yards when I say big play. I mean like 10-15. This offense is designed to wear a defense down and hold onto the ball as long as possible. So, with that quick overview out of the way, let's do some basic plays! Triple Option Weak (Bread and Butter play) This particular play is one of the most used by this offense. It requires timing and smarts on the part of your QB, but can always gain you 5 yards if run correctly. The QB will be reading the man closest to him on the DL to read whether or not to hand to the FB. This man should be between the Right B to A Gaps. If there is not one there, then pretty much you can just pound your FB up the middle till eternity. The QB will read this defensive lineman to see where he commits. If he commits outside or sits, the QB should hand the ball off. If he crashes down on the FB, the QB should keep the ball and run the option with the AB. The AB has come in motion on the second sound in the cadence. He should be behind the Guard when the ball is snapped. He should aim his motion right at the back feet of the FB. Keeping pitch relationship, should the QB keep the ball, the AB should continue out staying slightly ahead of the QB. The next read the QB must make is the LB on this side of the field. The CB should be blocked, and a Lineman should be able to get the LB sealed. The QB should run straight down the line, ready to pitch or keep. Neither of the pitch reads should be blocked. I will include a list of some basic defenses and the read numbers at the end of this article. Triple Option Strong This play is essentially the same as the previous play, however the AB goes in reverse motion, meaning he goes in motion one way, but breaks out of it the other. There is not much to say about this play that hasn't been said in the other description. Leave the two read men free, and just run it the other way. Most defenses do not expect you to go the opposite way the motion began, and this play has the ability to catch them over-committing. Passing (Yay!) Passing in this offense is quite simple really. Normal 3 step drops from the QB and mostly short routes from the WR and AB. The TE can go out on routes, but he is mostly a blocker. Due to the run heavy nature of this offense, it is best if either the FB or TE is always home blocking. That 4th blocker really helps quell the run blitz when your QB is dropping back to throw.
Recap When I first saw this offense run, I was amazed. I thought, "How is this possible and who came up with it?". The answer to both of these questions was the weathered old coach on the sidelines. He clued me in to some of the secrets, and spoke of how his team grew to small to play 11-man, but he needed to retain the offense, a story that a lot of coaches are familiar with. This is a great offense for those who need an offense that can make the defense pause or for teams that don't necessarily have the best athletes. All it requires is practice, timing and thinking. Coach A Comments are closed.
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AuthorsEach article is written by knowledgeable writers who love the game, in all its forms.
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