Spread offense

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The Spread Offense is an offensive American football scheme that is used at every level of the game including the NFL, CFL, NCAA, NAIA, and high schools across America. The spread offense begins with a no-huddle approach with the quarterback in the shotgun a high percentage of the time. The fundamental nature of the spread offense involes spreading the field horizontally using 3, 4, and even 5-receiver sets, as well as wide splits between the offensive linemen. This opens up multiple vertical gaps for both the running and passing game to exploit, as the defense is forced to spread itself thin across the field to cover everyone.

There are two basic forms of the spread system. The first is the pass-oriented version typified by Mike Leach's Texas Tech Red Raiders. This version employs multiple spread sets and is heavily reliant on the quarterback and coaches being able to call the appropriate play at the line of scrimmage based on how the defense sets up. The other version is the Spread Option, currently being run by Rich Rodriguez' West Virginia Mountaineers. Despite the multi-receiver sets, the spread option is a run-first scheme which requires a quarterback that is comfortable carrying the ball, a mobile offensive line that can pull and trap effectively, and receivers that can hold their blocks. The essence of the spread option is misdirection. Effectively, this is the old triple option except that it utilizes spread sets. In particular, the quarterback must be able to read the defensive end and determine whether he is collapsing down the line or playing upfield contain.

A third, rare version of the spread offense is the Pistol Offense which is used by Nevada and some high schools across the nation. The Pistol Offense focuses on using the run with various offensive players, and calls for the quarterback to line up about three yards behind the center and take a short shotgun snap at the start of each play.

[edit] History of the Spread Offense

Mouse Davis is the father of the spread offense. His version is known as the Run & Shoot offense; however, the scheme has evolved over the past twenty years into a much more complex scheme. Today coaches like June Jones (University of Hawaii), Steve Spurrier (University of South Carolina), Urban Meyer (University of Florida, former head coach at Utah), Guy Morriss (Baylor University) and Mike Bellotti (University of Oregon) have taken the spread offense to a new level. High School coaches across the nation have adapted some version of this scheme with great success. Several college programs have used some version of the spread offense including (but not limited to)

Professional teams have also used various versions of this scheme beginning with the former Houston Oilers and San Diego Charges (1980s) and the various WEST COAST schemes developed by Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers (1980s).