Football Basics: The Spread Formation

Stretch Them Out

What It Is

The Spread Formation/Offense is generally run in 3 or 4 receiver sets. The example shown above is a 4-receiver set because there are two receivers split out wide (X & Z) and two receivers positioned as slots (Receivers that are positioned halfway between the last man on the line of scrimmage and the X or Z). It is also the base (the formation every team teaches first during camp) formation of the offense). Some teams have variants where the QB is in the Pistol (QB is 3 yds behind the center, TB is 2 yds behind QB), or when the QB is in the Shotgun (QB is 4 yds behind the center, TB is offset to the right or, as shown above, the left) The reason this is done is because the defense has to be forced to adjust their defensive backs to either reveal what coverage they're in or simply just spread them out to cover all the eligible receivers, hence the word "Spread". 

What it Does

The Spread formation predisposes itself to the passing game because of the number and arrangement of the wide receivers. 4-player routes are not uncommon. Plus, with a Tailback in the backfield, the QB has the option of keeping him in to beef up his protection to 6 men up front- more than enough to pick up your average 6-man, Cover 0 Blitz.

That doesn't mean to say that there isn't a run game either though. Since we only have 5 linemen up front, we have to make up for this imbalance either by fooling the defense- that is why many spread teams run trick plays, option, or zone run plays.

What is Run

• Passes
• Combination Routes
• Two routes run together on each side of the formation with the purpose of confusing defenders in their coverage.
• Flood Routes
• Routes in which the QB boots (breaks outside the pocket), and receivers run semi-horizontally in the same direction the QB is booting. The QB's running to the boundary gives him extra time to pick which one of the flood routes is open and throw it. If not, he can either scramble (run as a QB) or throw the ball out of bounds. 
• Quick Routes
• Pass plays that are thrown quickly as soon as the QB receives the snap. These usually consist of hitches and slants.
• Runs
• Option
• The last defensive man on the line of scrimmage in the direction the play is going to is the "Read" key. The QB receives the snap, sticks the ball in the TB's stomach, and automatically looks at the read key to decide what to do. There are two different basic types of read options we will cover here.
• Read option
• The QB reads the a specific man on the line of scrimmage on the same side as where the TB is offset to. If the read chases after the TB, who is diving into the line, the QB pulls the ball and attacks the area where the read just came from. If the read sits still, the QB hands it off to the TB.
• Zone Option
• The entire offensive line takes Zone (lateral) steps to, for example, the right. The TB, who is offset to the left of the QB, crosses the QB's face and follows the line's movement. The QB keeps the ball in the TB's stomach and reads the read key, who is sitting on the line unblocked away from where the play appears to be going. If the Read chases the TB, the QB pulls the ball and attacks where the read came from. If the Read sits or attacks the QB, the QB hands the ball off. From there, the TB looks for holes that the offensive line has opened up to the side the play is going to and tries to hit them.
• Zones
• Inside Zone
• All Offensive linemen take a short, 45 degree step to the side the play is going to and block whichever player ends up showing up in that gap. The QB hands the ball off directly to the TB, and the TB looks for any gaps that may open up in the interior of the line.
• Outside Zone
• All offensive linemen run semi-laterally for two steps to the playside direction, then block whoever surfaces in the immediate area. The TB runs wide with the linemen and keeps running laterally until he sees a hole open up- upon this happening, he hits it fast.
• Trick Plays
• Reverse, Draw, Toss Pass, End-Around, etc.
• A reverse is when the H (Or Y) goes in motion across the formation. As he is about to cross the midline (the imaginary line running from the middle of the QB's butt straight backward), the QB snaps the ball and hands it to the H/Y. Once the ball is snapped, the WR on the opposite side of where the motion came from starts running toward the outside shoulder of the ballcarrier. The ballcarrier hands the ball off to the WR running in the opposite direction.
• A draw is when the QB gets the snap, pretends he's passing the ball, and then at the last second either runs it or gives it to the Tailback, who is pretending to pass protect. When the QB runs the ball, it is called a QB draw. When he hands it off to the TB, it is simply called Draw. The purpose of this play is to get the defensive linemen to rush upfield on a pass rush and, by doing so, create escape lanes for the QB to run through, or gaps TB to run through.
• A toss pass is any play in which an offensive player receives a toss from the QB, and then passes it to a receiver downfield.
• End-Around plays are similar to reverses in that a receiver gets the handoff from the QB, but instead of handing it to another receiver coming back in the opposite direction, he just keeps it.

Who Runs It

1. Pro Teams 
2. College Teams
3. Some High School Teams
1. HS Teams must be fast at their skill positions, and strong up front to run this offense the way it's supposed to be run.

Have a good one!

J