Spread Offense/Run and Shoot Fans...

[LongJim]

For fans of this offense, this is one of the best breakdowns/histories of this offense I've seen. Will probably bring back memories (some bad in my case).

Enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

Edited November 18, 2005 by LongJim

[Got5onIt]

That was a great read. I would love to see June Jone's OC at Hawaii run the NT offense.

The run n' shoot is making a comeback with all the "spread" offenses being used by many BCS & Non-BCS programs.

Edited November 17, 2005 by Got5onIt

[FirefightnRick]

Wow, this is some good stuff. The author writes about the negatives that have followed the Run and Shoot and he labels John Jenkins as the biggest source of it.

More than any other man, John Jenkins probably has caused the most problems for the

image of the Run and Shoot offense.  Jenkins first caught on to the scheme when he was special

teams coach for Jack Pardee's Houston Gamblers in 1984.    When Mouse Davis moved to

become the head coach of the Denver Gold in 1985, Jenkins took over the offense and did not

miss a beat.  Jenkins followed Pardee to the University of Houston where the Run and Shoot

was immediately installed.  From 1987 to 1990, the Cougars went 31-6-1 and produced a

Heisman winner in Andre Ware.  When Pardee moved on to the Houston Oilers in 1990  the

whole show belonged to Jenkins.  What followed was one of the most controversial displays of

football production ever seen.  Was this man a genius or a maniac?  His team, still on probation

from before he and Pardee had arrived, went 10-1 in 1990.  His second quarterback, David

Klingler, broke 33 NCAA records, including throwing for 716 yards in one game, yet he did not

win the Heisman Trophy and Jenkins became one of the most hated men in college football. The

reason: the manner in which he won games.  Jenkins constantly ran up the score on his

opponents, possibly the most unethical act to football coaches.  By keeping his starters in the

game and continuing to throw the football long after the game's outcome was decided, Jenkins

embarrassed schools by ridiculous margins such as 82-28, 95-21, 84-21, and 69-0.  His

quarterback once threw for eleven touchdown passes in a game against division 1- AA Eastern

Washington.  The scores were not the worst part.  He made no attempt to ever apologize for his

actions, and the manner in which he conducted himself made him unloved as well.  He refused to

share the secrets of his offense with high school coaches, prohibited others from watching his

practices, and shredded his offensive play books after his players had memorized them . As he

so lightly put it, "Do I.B.M. and Xerox share their policies so that some competitor can come in

and kick their butts?."  One rival coach put it best when he stated,

"We survive in the coaching business by helping one another.  Jenkins has shown an

inability to do this.  Everyone resents a guy who thinks he invented the game".  Jenkins quickly

was run out of town, his resignation coming after his record fell to 4-7 in back to back seasons

and following allegations that he had violated NCAA rules for exceeding practice time limits and

making payments to recruits.   Jenkin's blatant abuse of power left a bitter taste in the mouths of

most of the football world.   He provided an example of how powerful this system could be, but

also how it could be abused.

That explains a lot for me and I remember when this all happened.

Who does the bold printed statement below remind you of?

  Wherever the Run and Shoot has gone, it has been seen as a renegade offense.  An

offense that allowed players who weren't good enough to play the game to excel.   In Ellison's

book, he bases his theory on the fact that an average passer with average receivers can move

the football if they all follow a few simple rules.  Mouse Davis, the creator once said,

  "Kids can play in our offense who canÕt play anywhere else,".  At Portland State,

Jones relates that:

"We excelled with major college rejects playing against schools carrying 90 

scholarships. We were undersized, we were out-manned, and week after week

  we would physically get killed.  Yet they would win by scores of 93-7, 105-0,

  and 75-0.  

This idea also  existed at the University of Houston, with Jack Pardee laying out his mission

statement: 

"It would have taken the height of egotism to think the University of  

Houston would settle for a lot players that Texas and Texas A&M didn't 

want, run the same plays, use the the same system and beat them.  So,  

our approach was to go after a different kind of player, teach them a  

different kind of system, and teach them well".

 

Interesting closing:

The Run and Shoot is one of the most misunderstood topics in the history of the game of

American football.  However, the myths, media attacks, and image that have continually

degraded its existence are obviously unjust and refutable.  The Run and Shoot is a solid, well

balanced offense that can bring underdogs up to the next level, but with established players can

be unstoppable.  It is truly a crime that such a potent weapon is used so sparingly in the world of

football today.  The only consoling fact is that almost every team incorporates part of the Run

and Shoot philosophy into their packages, a tribute to the influence that Davis and his system

have had on the game.   However, there are many coaches out there with new and invigorating

ideas that deserve a chance to show their stuff.  Football, like life, is a competitive game.

However, it has been proven that there are ways to succeed without being the biggest, fastest,

or strongest.  With the league's opposition to the Run and Shoot, the N.F.L. is sticking to its

conservative guns, sending the message that  "might makes right", and spectacles like the Run

and Shoot  will not exist because, "that's not the way things have been done in the past,".  One

day the train will come to town, and educated, ethical, credible coaches will turn it around, giving

this weapon one more chance.

As some of those who were here in the 80's may remember, Corky ran a version of the Run and Shoot, but also ran several different variations of other systems too and it was freaking fantastic. Nelson mixed it up so well at times that in '88 Scott Davis threw for over 400 yards in one game against Texas. In 1990 he ran for over 200 yards in one game against SMU.

Thanks for the link to this site LongJim. Great read.

Rick

Edited November 18, 2005 by FirefightnRick

[Arkstfan]

Well the article is a little too glowing about the Run and Shoot.

It did APPEAR unstoppable at first (most innovations do) but George Allen of the Arizona Wranglers solved the Run and Shoot problem after sending film of the Gamblers to Al Davis they cooked up a scheme to shut it down. I don't remember the particulars but as I recall most teams had blitzed up the middle for fear of the QB rolling away and either throwing on the run or rushing the ball. As I recall the scheme they cooked up eliminated almost all middle blitzes instead choosing the flood a side to force the play to one side of the field and stacking things up and basically leaving the QB the option of throwing across the field to hit one of the uncovered receivers. The danger though was that the QB would generally have to set up to make that throw allowing the d-backs a chance to break back across to break up the play. If you hit it, home run but if you missed, it was a pick.

The Wranglers beat the Gamblers 17-16 less than half their normal scoring average. The word eventually spread and though it generally didn't help weaker teams, similar teams could stop hold back the run and shoot enough to have a shot at winning and better teams could beat them. Even at the height of the run and shoot Texas stopped Jenkins and Houston's unbeaten run with a 45-24 win. Pardee at hs two year peak lost to TAMU 30-16 and 17-13, Arkansas 26-21, and Washington State 24-22.

The Run Shoot allowed for easier routs against inferior teams and maybe won some extra games against comporable teams by jumping out to quick leads.

[FirefightnRick]

I'd take that chance at SOMEONE eventually stopping it, all the while being able to be ranked in the top 25 nationally as well as breaking countless records like Tech has been doing, over constantly getting destroyed by top 25 teams and thoroughly manhandled by the likes of La Tech, Tulsa, Southern Miss, Air Force etc....

I'd take Tech's offense over ours ANYDAY!.............A-N-Y.......D-A-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick

[risinggreen]

I'd take that chance at SOMEONE eventually stopping it, all the while being able to be ranked in the top 25 nationally as well as breaking countless records like Tech has been doing, over constantly getting destroyed by top 25 teams and thoroughly manhandled by the likes of La Tech, Tulsa, Southern Miss, Air Force etc....

I'd take Tech's offense over ours ANYDAY!.............A-N-Y.......D-A-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick

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A M E N !!!!

[Arkstfan]

I'd take that chance at SOMEONE eventually stopping it, all the while being able to be ranked in the top 25 nationally as well as breaking countless records like Tech has been doing, over constantly getting destroyed by top 25 teams and thoroughly manhandled by the likes of La Tech, Tulsa, Southern Miss, Air Force etc....

I'd take Tech's offense over ours ANYDAY!.............A-N-Y.......D-A-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick

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Considering that only Temple a worse total offense and only Temple, Buffalo and Miss. St. have worse scoring offenses, just who would you NOT swap offenses with?

From what I've seen the past few years, the UNT offense has basically been "we're gonna whip your tail at the line of scrimmage." Well that worked fine in a league where half the teams were either on the verge of firing unsuccessful coaches or adopting new systems under the coaches hired to replace the unsuccessful.

Other than being more entertaining you can't exactly say that Texas Tech is actually putting together great teams. They've won 8 games this year, but look at who they beat. The last place team in the Sun Belt. Two I-AA's one that is 3-6 and one that is 0-11. Kansas who is 5-5 but only 2-5 in the Big 12. Nebraska 6-3 but 3-4 in conference, Kansas State 4-6, 1-6 in conference, Baylor 4-6, 1-6 in conference, TAMU 5-5 and 3-4. They got routed by Texas and lost to Oklahoma State 4-5, 1-5 in conference. They've been routed by at least one quality team every year since Leach arrived and lost at least four games. Leach's winning percentage is a bit better than what Spike Dykes had but he's playing weaker non-conference games.

It's a fun offense. It's entertaining but its not a cure-all.

[SilverEagle]

Considering that only Temple a worse total offense and only Temple, Buffalo and Miss. St. have worse scoring offenses, just who would you NOT swap offenses with?

From what I've seen the past few years, the UNT offense has basically been "we're gonna whip your tail at the line of scrimmage." Well that worked fine in a league where half the teams were either on the verge of firing unsuccessful coaches or adopting new systems under the coaches hired to replace the unsuccessful.

Other than being more entertaining you can't exactly say that Texas Tech is actually putting together great teams. They've won 8 games this year, but look at who they beat. The last place team in the Sun Belt. Two I-AA's one that is 3-6 and one that is 0-11. Kansas who is 5-5 but only 2-5 in the Big 12. Nebraska 6-3 but 3-4 in conference, Kansas State 4-6, 1-6 in conference, Baylor 4-6, 1-6 in conference, TAMU 5-5 and 3-4. They got routed by Texas and lost to Oklahoma State 4-5, 1-5 in conference. They've been routed by at least one quality team every year since Leach arrived and lost at least four games. Leach's winning percentage is a bit better than what Spike Dykes had but he's playing weaker non-conference games.

It's a fun offense. It's entertaining but its not a cure-all.

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Cure-all? Can you give me one example of a cure-all.......anywhere?

[LongJim]

Current info on John Jenkins--whose now working for Forrest Gregg (!) in the CFL:

HERE

[Stan R]

TT's offense is the cure for - guess what - our most important disease -attendance.

[Arkstfan]

John was my son's t-ball coach. Super nice guy and despite the win at all costs reputation he was the only one in the league sane enough to realize it was t-ball.

[FirefightnRick]

Considering that only Temple a worse total offense and only Temple, Buffalo and Miss. St. have worse scoring offenses, just who would you NOT swap offenses with?

From what I've seen the past few years, the UNT offense has basically been "we're gonna whip your tail at the line of scrimmage." Well that worked fine in a league where half the teams were either on the verge of firing unsuccessful coaches or adopting new systems under the coaches hired to replace the unsuccessful.

I agree with you there Arkstfan, but excuse me for using your post here for this. I just want one "GOOFBALL" fan who can't believe, nor remember the fact that other fans have actually disliked our offense, even when we were winning, to see that even an outsider, Arkstfan, has noticed our dislike of it too.

Other than being more entertaining you can't exactly say that Texas Tech is actually putting together great teams. They've won 8 games this year, but look at who they beat.

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Mark, did you forget there for a split second who you were referencing earlier before you posted that last part? In '02 we led Nichols St by a whole 10 points going into the 4th quarter, a game in which Andrew Smith was allowed to attempt something like 6 passes. I'd take whipping the $hit out of anyone over 23 point wins over 1-AA teams and 3 point losses to 1-A Kindergarten teams, any day.

Rick

[Arkstfan]

Run and Shoot has a price.

You play an inferior opponent and you can make the game a laugher very quickly.

The flip side is this, I cannot recall a R/S team that could milk the clock effectively. Against a comporable opponent when you cannot score at will and you need maybe two first downs to salt a game away, the typical R/S team will have to throw to get those first downs they will normally stop the clock for their opponent on nearly half of those plays.

La.Tech adopted a R/S variant after Houston routed them and I watched them encounter that problem. Mis-fired on 1st and 2nd down stopping the clock each time, 3rd down threw just short of a first down and forced to punt setting up the score that beat them. Houston had several games that way most notable was a game against Arkansas. Had the ball and the lead with about three and half minutes left, got one first down burned just a few seconds more than a minute. Arkansas scored for the win.

The R/S is the brother of the wishbone. Both require less of the offensive line because blocks need only be held for a short time. Both demand quick reads from the QB. Neither requires an especially strong armed QB or one with great size. Both rely on small fast backs (wishbone makes 'em halfbacks, R/S makes 'em receivers). Both attempt to force one on one match-ups where breakaway speed can shine. Both are possession offenses counting on getting yardage in small amounts unless there is the breakaway.

The difference is that wishbone can eat clock and hold a lead but is terrible for catching up as a general rule. The R/S can score quickly but is terrible for holding a lead in a close game.

[Arkstfan]

Forgot my final comment. The Utah spread is the most interesting offense out there because it blends the wishbone's option ground attack and the R/S option air attack.

Done correctly very hard offense for receivers to learn because they also function as halfbacks. Add a bruising tailback with breakaway speed and you can wildly capitalize on the offense's tendency to spread the defense from sideline to sideline.