Spread Offense

[bruin228]

This is probably the most underrated play in the game. I use it a few times a game in my Mazzone offense and it works really well against users. I hot route X to a slant and A to a hitch to create Stick. Users overreact completely to the orbit motion and it often opens up the passing lanes. Against Ram tonight, I called this and Ram took his safety and flew all the way to the LOS before the ball was even snapped. The slant broke the press and while I overthrew my WR because of 5 QBA, it should've been a TD on the 2nd play of the game.

It also opens up the Motion Triple Option stuff, since people begin to expect the pass. I ran it again in the 4th quarter and my QB had an untouched 25 yard TD run because Ram had Conservative on the option and took his safety to cover the backside throw.

 

[TXHusker05]

This is probably the most underrated play in the game. I use it a few times a game in my Mazzone offense and it works really well against users. I hot route X to a slant and A to a hitch to create Stick. Users overreact completely to the orbit motion and it often opens up the passing lanes. Against Ram tonight, I called this and Ram took his safety and flew all the way to the LOS before the ball was even snapped. The slant broke the press and while I overthrew my WR because of 5 QBA, it should've been a TD on the 2nd play of the game.

It also opens up the Motion Triple Option stuff, since people begin to expect the pass. I ran it again in the 4th quarter and my QB had an untouched 25 yard TD run because Ram had Conservative on the option and took his safety to cover the backside throw.

The Motion Option Pass in Spread Flex is equally good and has a nice corner route that you can either turn into Smash or Y Corner. In my Spread-I I would run the Motion Option Pass version a few times early just to get people thinking about it but I just don't throw enough or run motion option enough for it to make a difference.

If you want to go Empty, you can run that Load Option Pass play out of 5WR Trio as well Bruin. That one is really effective with the route combinations you get.

 

[LEGEND]

I really like Shotgun Normal w/TE Flexed, but not enough effective runs to make it a real run threat. Been trying to make my 11 personnel spread more of a dual threat.

With an athletic qb the qb wrap and qb power runs mixed with read and wr option can be big plays.. I just don't like exposing my qb that much! I seem to always lose my qb to injury.

In the powerhouse dyn I lost 2 of my 3 RB's and my qb is not much of a run threat. I have two safeties playing RB. One was a RB that converted to safety though.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I really like Shotgun Normal w/TE Flexed, but not enough effective runs to make it a real run threat. Been trying to make my 11 personnel spread more of a dual threat.

With an athletic qb the qb wrap and qb power runs mixed with read and wr option can be big plays.. I just don't like exposing my qb that much! I seem to always lose my qb to injury.

In the powerhouse dyn I lost 2 of my 3 RB's and my qb is not much of a run threat. I have two safeties playing RB. One was a RB that converted to safety though.

Do you have many of the formations with the TE lined up in the backfield as a "sniffer" back? And is there a universally understood name for those kinds of formations out of the gun?

 

[LEGEND]

I had them but the run seemed to get shut down more easily than it should. Too many times the TE ignored LB's and they' would run past and blow play up. If they didn't a DB would.

TE didn't block anyone most times or got in the way when whole opened up. I wasn't running no huddle then though.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I had them but the run seemed to get shut down more easily than it should. Too many times the TE ignored LB's and they' would run past and blow play up. If they didn't a DB would.

TE didn't block anyone most times or got in the way when whole opened up. I wasn't running no huddle then though.

There is no question that the blocks don't always get made, but it is no worse than in any other formations in the game.

I would add at least a couple or three to your playbook. Once you know how to use them well, they are extremely effective for running the ball. And I get a lot of my biggest pass plays out of them by going downfield against opponents who are cheating against the run.

 

[LEGEND]

There is no question that the blocks don't always get made, but it is no worse than in any other formations in the game.

I would add at least a couple or three to your playbook. Once you know how to use them well, they are extremely effective for running the ball. And I get a lot of my biggest pass plays out of them by going downfield against opponents who are cheating against the run.

I think the problem was tendencies... I tended to run more from those formations. I didn't have many passes I felt comfortable with in those formations. I've thought about adding them back as recent as yesterday actually.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I think the problem was tendencies... I tended to run more from those formations. I didn't have many passes I felt comfortable with in those formations. I've thought about adding them back as recent as yesterday actually.

I run a modified Auburn style offense where I base out of those formations and I run about 2/3 of the time from them. The key is to have audibles available to attack different parts of the defensive front. And also to be able to change into a pass if necessary.

 

[LEGEND]

I run a modified Auburn style offense where I base out of those formations and I run about 2/3 of the time from them. The key is to have audibles available to attack different parts of the defensive front. And also to be able to change into a pass if necessary.

Yeah, I haven't set my audibles... I been so busy trying to get my formations right. I need to remove plays I don't use also. My pb is bloated because I just threw the entire formations in.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Yeah, I haven't set my audibles... I been so busy trying to get my formations right. I need to remove plays I don't use also. My pb is bloated because I just threw the entire formations in.

Got it. That is the way I get started too. Even after I trim back, I always have too much though.

 

[fonzilla]

Got it. That is the way I get started too. Even after I trim back, I always have too much though.

I always limit myself to a max of 20 formations. That way I can concentrate on what I'm trying to do in the game and I don't get to fancy.

 

[LEGEND]

I always limit myself to a max of 20 formations. That way I can concentrate on what I'm trying to do in the game and I don't get to fancy.

I never have more than 12-18 formations, but it's because I haven't removed any plays. If I removed plays I don't use I may get up to 20 or more!

 

[TXHusker05]

Came across some recent Football Study Hall articles, both of them referring to the "Spread-I".

http://www.footballstudyhall.com/20...ceiver-Baylor-Bears-Art-Briles-spread-offense

http://www.footballstudyhall.com/20...ats-the-difference-Florida-State-Oregon-Ducks

Pretty good articles that kind of illustrate my philosophy. Just take your typical two back "traditional" offense and blend it with your typical "spread" concepts like read option, bubble, QB runs, etc. I've transitioned into more Pistol to have a true "traditional" run game rather than be limited to inside zone/read/option but the philosophy is the same.

Both articles talk about how beneficial it is for teams to run typical "pro" formations from the Gun because it is easier for tweener players to be used as an H-Back/slot receiver rather than needing a more traditional TE and FB.

 

[KATOblaze]

Came across some recent Football Study Hall articles, both of them referring to the "Spread-I".

http://www.footballstudyhall.com/20...ceiver-Baylor-Bears-Art-Briles-spread-offense

http://www.footballstudyhall.com/20...ats-the-difference-Florida-State-Oregon-Ducks

Pretty good articles that kind of illustrate my philosophy. Just take your typical two back "traditional" offense and blend it with your typical "spread" concepts like read option, bubble, QB runs, etc. I've transitioned into more Pistol to have a true "traditional" run game rather than be limited to inside zone/read/option but the philosophy is the same.

Both articles talk about how beneficial it is for teams to run typical "pro" formations from the Gun because it is easier for tweener players to be used as an H-Back/slot receiver rather than needing a more traditional TE and FB.

Care to eloborate on what your doing, I recently just decided to go more west coast with my offenseoffense; there aren't too many pass concepts in two back pistol or gun though

 

[TXHusker05]

Care to eloborate on what your doing, I recently just decided to go more west coast with my offenseoffense; there aren't too many pass concepts in two back pistol or gun though

My offense in the Powerhouse OD this year transitioned from what was my full on Offset Gun Spread-I to almost entirely Pistol. I still go Offset Gun for some screens, traps and the spread pass game in two minute situations but I bet 75% of my snaps are from the Pistol. I'm mostly in 21/12 personnel, with either a 2nd HB, a 2nd TE or a FB on the field depending on the formation and situation.

I'm very, very run heavy this year, even more so than normal just because of personnel. I have Ameer Abdullah at I-Back and a really bad quarterback (73 THA) so I'm running the ball about 85% of the time. I'm calling plays very similar to how I did running my I-Formation Osborne offense, that's really my philosophy right now. There I was Zone Stretch, Inside Zone (Blast/Slam) and Counter Trey as my primary 3 runs, In Pistol, I'm running Pistol Zone Stretch, Pistol Counter Trey and then replacing Iso with Zone Read. I sprinkle in Power from time to time when I get people dicking around with reads or running weird fronts, but I'm mostly Stretch/Counter/Read. Lead Option out of Pistol Ace, Ace Twins, Twin TE Slot and Trips has replaced Jet as my primary perimeter play. That play is absolutely deadly vs just about any defense, especially when I'm getting aggressive option D. Those 4 plays plus Power and Draw are really the only 6 run plays I use and I have them in just about every formation.

Pass game is incredibly generic right now, mostly because I don't trust my QB to throw much. QB Accuracy set at 5 and two QBs who are 73 and 69 THA is a disaster. I bet 9 out of every 10 passes I throw are some form of screen. I love Bubble out of Weak Twins and Weak Slot but I still throw my double and triple screens from both Pistol and Gun. I recently figured out how to run my triple screen out of Pistol Full House which I'm pretty excited to use in a game. My passing game is really just calls at the line of scrimmage. I still have some tweaking to do on my quick audibles but most of them are where I like them.

The playbook is very bloated right now, just because this was a trial and error year and I wanted to see what I used and what I didn't use as games went on. Next year, I imagine I will streamline it quite a bit. One area I will need to improve is short yardage/goal line, Pistol hits too slow for those situations and users fly through to make plays. I might install one or two under center formations like I did in my Spread-I to help solve that riddle.

I've found that Pistol really solves the problems I encountered in my Spread-I. My Spread-I really only attacked the middle of the defense, all the runs were tight inside zone or read/option off of inside zone. If people played games with the reads or used aggressive option defense, I was funneled into a wall. With Pistol, I can attack every gap with ease and without tipping off direction or needing read/option for it to work. I can't totally ditch Offset Gun, but it has become more of a change-up rather than my base.

 

[LEGEND]

I really wish counter from shotgun worked half as good in gm as it did IRL last night for tOSU! I'm not a Myer or OSU fan but really enjoyed watching them run it.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

I really wish counter from shotgun worked half as good in gm as it did IRL last night for tOSU! I'm not a Myer or OSU fan but really enjoyed watching them run it.

It is great out of some sets and garbage out of others.

 

[TXHusker05]

I really wish counter from shotgun worked half as good in gm as it did IRL last night for tOSU! I'm not a Myer or OSU fan but really enjoyed watching them run it.

Counter out of Pistol works really well and is blocked very similar to the Counter that OSU was running. It isn't perfect and is pretty slow to get going but if you have a quick enough back, it's great. I've been running it a ton at Nebraska. I've been running it paired with Power O, but I think I am going to start pairing it with Slam, which I had previously taken out of all my Pistol formations in place of Dive.

Dive is a really nice play and you get double teams everywhere just like a typical IZ play, but it hits pretty slow and the mesh animation looks nothing like any other run so your opponent will know it is Dive or Read Option and nothing else. I really wanted to pair HB Counter up with something that looks similar but hits the interior and Slam is perfect for that. The QB opens away from the run on counter so if you pair it with Slam and then flip slam, you can get both plays to open to the same side and look identical down to the HB's initial step. Except one has a G-T pull away and one is an A-Gap to cut/bounce play. That should do a decent job of freezing users a beat and help things out. I had used Draw for that purpose this year, but it isn't ideal.

The worst thing about Slam is that it is essentially man blocking across the board so if it is a loaded box, someone is probably coming free but it hits quick enough that you're going to at least get back to the LOS. It isn't perfect, but after running a whole season with Counter-Dive-Power (or Stretch), I think I will get more use out of Slam when it comes to an interior run game.

 

[JAR201166]

Anybody wanna play some games this weekend? I'm trying out a new 3 back attack offense basing out of the spread option play book.

 

[bruin228]

Anybody wanna play some games this weekend? I'm trying out a new 3 back attack offense basing out of the spread option play book.

I can play

 

[TXHusker05]

I'm looking at "bulking" up my Pistol Spread-I. My personnel at Nebraska is fairly unique, for me anyway. I have a good running QB, more Tebow than Denard but runs really well. I have one scatback type HB and one massive power back plus a really good blocking FB. Then I have 4 very good TEs, 3 more blocker types and 1 a very athletic pass catcher. Pretty good offensive line as well.

I've been doing a bunch of 2 TE Pistol in this offense, mostly Twin TE/Twin TE Slot/Wing Over but also some Ace/Ace Twins. I'll go Pistol Slot/Y Trips/Trips when I'm looking for more of a pass game and I have some two and three back sets as well. Complimented with some Offset Gun. What I really want to do is run a Pistol/Gun version of a typical power offense like Stanford/49ers under Harbaugh or Wisconsin. Multiple TEs and/or FBs, extra OL and a decent west coast passing game meshed with power run and a tiny bit of option. Varying tempo as necessary.

One issue I'm having is trying to get formations where I can get extra OL on the field. The best "heavy" formations in the game are under center and I'm really trying to avoid going under center outside of one or two special formations. I would love to run a formation that looked like this; 7 OL, TE, FB with a QB and HB in the Pistol.

Pistol Jumbo Z gets me close in terms of Pistol, as does Train and Wing Over. I can get 6 or 7 OL on the field in each of those. I know I could probably get close in traditional Gun with things like Twin TE Slot QB Power and Jet but I don't know if that is worth it. Wildcat is another option for QB runs. Right now I am just Pistol and Offset Gun which I like quite a bit since Offset Gun gets me something hard hitting downhill for my slower power back if/when it is necessary.

Ironically, I would love to have a big armed pocket passer in this offense so that I could run a legit pro-style power offense out of "spread" formations. I can't get too fancy with my passing game. Mostly screens and quicks. The playbook right now is:

Pistol: Train, Full House, Weak Slot, Weak Twins, Ace, Ace Twins, Twin TE, Twin TE Slot, Wing Over, Slot, Y Trips, Trips.
Gun: Split Big, Split Y Offset, Split Offset, Normal Offset, Normal Offset Wk, Wing Trips Offset, Wing Trips Offset Wk, Y Trips Offset, Trio Offset, Trio Unbalanced, Spread Offset, Spread Flex, Trio 4WR, Trio 4WR Str, Empty Wing Trio.

Pretty hefty playbook, but it gets the job done. If I were to add more "heavy" stuff or under center, I'd have to make sacrifices somewhere. I've wanted to do a really heavy pro-style power run offense just out of the Pistol/Gun for a while, I'm just not sure if it is doable within the constraints of the game. The lack of really heavy formations in Pistol/Gun is unfortunate.

 

[TXHusker05]

Adjusted my playbook to be all Pistol, plus a handful of under center formations and Gun Spread Flex for my game last night and had a ton of success with it. 48 rushes for 240 yards 10 of 14 passing for 168 yards. 62 offensive snaps, I would guess 45 were Pistol. I went under center for 4 plays including a touchdown pass and I went Gun Spread Flex for 12 or 13 snaps. I had a few two minute situations at the end of both halves that necessitated more 2x2 Gun Spread.

This version of my Pistol Spread-I had Slam replace Dive in most formations which was very helpful. Dive hit way too slow for my 230 pound power back but Slam got him north-south in a hurry. I added a bunch of Pistol formations including Jumbo Z, Strong Slot, Strong, H Twins and Weak. I didn't think I would use those 5 formations as much as I did. I used Weak a ton because it has that awesome Zone Wk play, I also used Jumbo Z 4 or 5 times with 7 OL on the field. I'll probably remove Strong Slot and add Gun Split Offset instead though, Strong Slot is nearly useless unless you're throwing and there aren't any weak side runs.

Big part of the offense is audibles. I'm using my Weak Slot to Full House audible series a lot that creates a pseudo-Jet series and adding H Twins allowed me to do Twin TE Slot (3 WR) to H Twins Triple Option which is deadly, especially if someone has Aggressive Option D. That wing player, now a WR, just takes a quick motion into the backfield to be the dive back. I also have Pistol Wing Trips to Pistol Weak Twins Lead Option and one of my under center formations as an audible. I really wish there were more short-shift audibles that I would get me a second ball carrier in the backfield.

One short-shift audible I discovered in practice mode is Jumbo Z to Train. It is a seamless audible, the backside TE just steps back into the backfield. Right now that is a 7 OL formation for me, but I'm thinking about putting a FB or WR there to get a really quick dive back.

So far, so good. Have a little tweaking to do. There are 31 formations in the playbook including 8 under center (all with 3 plays max) plus one Gun, one Wildcat and GL Heavy. Still under 300 plays though. I would like to add a few more Gun formations but I'll have to sacrifice some under center or Pistol to do it.

 

[bruin228]

Anyone know how to fix the custom book glitch where your QB doesn't hand off on run plays and just stands there like a statue? I just played an offline dynasty game with my Mazzone book and it happened on a bunch of running plays. I can't even run out of Trey Open Offset now. Do I just take the plays out and put them back in?

 

[TXHusker05]

Anyone know how to fix the custom book glitch where your QB doesn't hand off on run plays and just stands there like a statue? I just played an offline dynasty game with my Mazzone book and it happened on a bunch of running plays. I can't even run out of Trey Open Offset now. Do I just take the plays out and put them back in?

Were the failed hand-offs on up-tempo/no-huddle plays? No-huddle plays screw up the hand-off quite a bit in certain formations.

You can try removing them and putting them back in, but some plays are just broken no matter what. I've never had any issues with Trey Open Offset, but I also haven't run it very often.

 

[bruin228]

Were the failed hand-offs on up-tempo/no-huddle plays? No-huddle plays screw up the hand-off quite a bit in certain formations.

You can try removing them and putting them back in, but some plays are just broken no matter what. I've never had any issues with Trey Open Offset, but I also haven't run it very often.

They were a few times, but there was another time I tried to run Wide Trap out of Trey Open Offset out of the huddle and it still did it to me.

I hadn't either, I've used that formation in virtually every spread book I've ever made. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[TXHusker05]

They were a few times, but there was another time I tried to run Wide Trap out of Trey Open Offset out of the huddle and it still did it to me.

I hadn't either, I've used that formation in virtually every spread book I've ever made. Doesn't make sense to me.

I had it happen to me in Weak I Normal running Y Over Fly Sweep in a user game a few weeks ago in Powerhouse. I've never had that happen before with that play out of the huddle but my QB just blanked on the hand-off. I did manage to get control of my QB in time for a few yards but it took me by surprise. Feels like it is pretty random.

 

[NavyHog]

Anyone know how to fix the custom book glitch where your QB doesn't hand off on run plays and just stands there like a statue? I just played an offline dynasty game with my Mazzone book and it happened on a bunch of running plays. I can't even run out of Trey Open Offset now. Do I just take the plays out and put them back in?

Don't know the fix. But this happens a lot with the Flexbone and I don't know when or why it happens. Typically it's if you try and go no-huddle, but I have also had it happen on WB Toss plays when I'm going at a normal pace.

 

[bluejay13]

I had it happen to me in Weak I Normal running Y Over Fly Sweep in a user game a few weeks ago in Powerhouse. I've never had that happen before with that play out of the huddle but my QB just blanked on the hand-off. I did manage to get control of my QB in time for a few yards but it took me by surprise. Feels like it is pretty random.

I think the problem is you are hitting the turbo button(right trigger) too fast before the motion can run across and that causes the QB to go into "O shit" mode like he is bailing from a play action fake

 

[bluejay13]

I suffer from this same problem

 

[bruin228]

Anyone know how to fix the custom book glitch where your QB doesn't hand off on run plays and just stands there like a statue? I just played an offline dynasty game with my Mazzone book and it happened on a bunch of running plays. I can't even run out of Trey Open Offset now. Do I just take the plays out and put them back in?

I figured this out. I initially deleted my custom Mazzone book because I thought it was glitched but then I noticed I couldn't run out of Trey Open Offset in UCLA's book either. So then I tried about a billion things, speed threshold, RB Ability, even if my QB was left or right handed, none of them worked. Finally, I was cycling through QBs to see if that was the problem and I noticed my third string QB, who has 77 speed, could hand it off while my other two QBs, who are in the 50s, couldn't. So I upped both their speed to 70 and now they can hand it off. This game is so stupid.

 

[NavyHog]

I figured this out. I initially deleted my custom Mazzone book because I thought it was glitched but then I noticed I couldn't run out of Trey Open Offset in UCLA's book either. So then I tried about a billion things, speed threshold, RB Ability, even if my QB was left or right handed, none of them worked. Finally, I was cycling through QBs to see if that was the problem and I noticed my third string QB, who has 77 speed, could hand it off while my other two QBs, who are in the 50s, couldn't. So I upped both their speed to 70 and now they can hand it off. This game is so stupid.

LOL that is some top notch detective work. SMH so stupid.

 

[LEGEND]

Has anyone tried running a Mike Martz Stl Rams style offense? I'm thinking about doing this... Trying to exploit a LB on RB match up. The type he ran with Marshall Faulk.

Just something different...

 

[LEGEND]

Has anyone tried running a Mike Martz Stl Rams style offense? I'm thinking about doing this... Trying to exploit a LB on RB match up. The type he ran with Marshall Faulk.

Just something different...

So far I'm really liking this focus on getting my HB more involved in the passing game. In a cpl od's my receiving corps aren't that great. This helps open them up a bit more while giving the defense more to try to stop.

In cpu action so far... My HB had ovr 200 rushing and receiving in the 1st game. My TE also got in on the fun. I use my TE's more than Martz uses them.

Right now my offense is 11 and 12 personnel. Now, not to try and do too much! This is where I usually get into trouble.

 

[bruin228]

@bluejay13 you want to play sometime this week? I'm home so we should be able to connect. I'd love to see what you're doing on defense.

 

[bluejay13]

@bluejay13 you want to play sometime this week? I'm home so we should be able to connect. I'd love to see what you're doing on defense.

Just hit me up! I can even get on my mic to explain what I see pre-snap and talk about my philosophy. I believe that competition breeds success so I'm always willing to learn and share ideas.


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[CoachTuck]

Anyone making use of the SE/FL screens I can never find the right time to make use of em and I want to bolster my screen game

 

[LEGEND]

Anyone have an Idea what formations have some good plays to isolate the TE?

Example would be like Ace slot has a nice TE screen. I'm looking to take advantage of good TE's. I'm looking for plays that aren't necessarily attacking the seams. I'm not good at making seam throws to TE's.... I have trouble making that ovr the head/shoulder throw.

 

[TXHusker05]

Anyone have an Idea what formations have some good plays to isolate the TE?

Example would be like Ace slot has a nice TE screen. I'm looking to take advantage of good TE's. I'm looking for plays that aren't necessarily attacking the seams. I'm not good at making seam throws to TE's.... I have trouble making that ovr the head/shoulder throw.

If you have an especially talented/athletic TE, why not just flex him out to receiver? Any time I have had an exceptionally good pass catcher at TE, I would line him up as the solo receiver away from trips and run slants to him ala Gronk. Quite a few formations have a Solo TE package where you can move him out there without a formation sub, but you could always make him WR3 on your depth chart and use various formation packages to move him around.

My favorite thing to do is split out and isolate a TE. Any closed formation is nice as well, where the TE is the end man on the line to one side of your formation. You usually get a mismatch that way. I really like Twin TE Slot formations because you have a run strength to one side and a passing strength to the other side, but you can also motion out a TE and isolate him.

 

[CoachTuck]

Anyone still alive and making use of the Flash/SE screens ? I wanna start using them but for some reason the damn Corner only gets touched half the time


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[bruin228]

They're not very good against man. You pretty much need off 3, 4, or 2 Sink.

 

[CoachTuck]

The only time I ever feel comfortable calling them is when it's 2 over 3 on trips especially if they're in nickel but even then it's hit or miss I really wanna expand my screen game past the bubble


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[bruin228]

What type of spread do you run?

 

[CoachTuck]

A lot of 3x1 10 personnel more Oregon like then anything making use of screens when users don't respect the 3x1


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[bruin228]

I like the mid screen out of 4WR Trey a lot, I had a guy rack up 1500+ yards and half of that was probably that play. The mid screen out of Trey Open Offset is solid as well. I like to put my back in both those plays on a wheel so I have a bailout option if I need it. Another good screen option out of the same formation is that Motion WR Screen or whatever it's called. Hot route the back to a swing and the motion guy to a go. It's a good way to run a quick HB screen with blockers in front.

If you start using more 2x2, the mid screens in there are good as well. The flanker screens can be okay, but I don't touch them vs. press. One thing you can try is making that fire screen that was really effective in 13. Hot route the screen WR to a go and the back to a swing. If the WR beats press, hit him, otherwise get the back with blockers in front. It's more hit or miss in 14 but I hit one for a TD out of Y-Trips the other day so it can work, you just have to find the right formations.

Whenever @TXHusker05 gets off work, he can probably expand. I stole that Trey Open Offset screen from him. He's always had a good screen game and is more versed in formations outside of 4 wide stuff.

 

[TXHusker05]

I like the mid screen out of 4WR Trey a lot, I had a guy rack up 1500+ yards and half of that was probably that play. The mid screen out of Trey Open Offset is solid as well. I like to put my back in both those plays on a wheel so I have a bailout option if I need it. Another good screen option out of the same formation is that Motion WR Screen or whatever it's called. Hot route the back to a swing and the motion guy to a go. It's a good way to run a quick HB screen with blockers in front.

If you start using more 2x2, the mid screens in there are good as well. The flanker screens can be okay, but I don't touch them vs. press. One thing you can try is making that fire screen that was really effective in 13. Hot route the screen WR to a go and the back to a swing. If the WR beats press, hit him, otherwise get the back with blockers in front. It's more hit or miss in 14 but I hit one for a TD out of Y-Trips the other day so it can work, you just have to find the right formations.

Whenever @TXHusker05 gets off work, he can probably expand. I stole that Trey Open Offset screen from him. He's always had a good screen game and is more versed in formations outside of 4 wide stuff.

The screen game is tough in this game, most users always seem to play press coverage and so things like bubble and quick flash screens to perimeter receivers are just not there. Even against a soft corner I'm very hesitant to throw FL/SE screens because I've had corners fly up the field untouched and pick it off from time to time.

I'm in Pistol the majority of the game now and I have a few really good screens out of that. I modified the Pistol Full House Double Screen to essentially be a triple screen. A swing screen one way, a swing screen the other way and a mid screen. When I had Pistol Strong Slot in my playbook, I did the same thing. I have the occasional bubble screen quick audible I can get to if a user just doesn't even try to cover the slot receiver.

My favorite screens in the game were my modified swing screens out of Gun Wing Trips Offset Wk and Normal Offset Wk. Hot route the auto-motion guy to a streak and the HB to a wheel, you end up with 2-3 guys out in front for that wheel/swing screen. It was basically a glorified toss sweep for me because it was impossible for users to defend the receiver, they just had to hope to slip between the blocks.

The best FL/SE screen I have is in Pistol Ace Twins as a quick audible. I can usually get the ball out quick vs soft coverage and the inside slot receiver actually blocks someone, which is always nice. I've been using a lot more things like quick slants and quick hitches to take the place of my screen game, I feel like it is a lot more reliable. I've had one too many picks go the other way trying to force a perimeter screen.

 

[CoachTuck]

I face a lot of standard nickel and 4-2-5 and I emphasize on the run so much that guys usually audible to man blitz leaving 2 over 3 on the trips side and the bubble works fine but lord is that Flash Screen a scary bitch to throw


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[bruin228]

@TXHusker05 what would you look for for the H-Back in a Meyer-type spread? Would you recruit FB, TE, or ATH?

 

[TXHusker05]

@TXHusker05 what would you look for for the H-Back in a Meyer-type spread? Would you recruit FB, TE, or ATH?

If given a choice, I would prefer a FB just because they typically have better block ratings coming in and FBs increase in RBK/IBL at a quicker rate in the off-season. Unfortunately, it is so hard to recruit FBs that I end up with mostly TEs. The good news is that slower (mid-70s speed) blocking TEs tend to get looked over by other users and even the CPU so you can typically find a decent FB-type TE or two in the class.

The only time I've ever used an ATH at the position is when I happened to find one of those bigger ATHs whose primary position was WR but they were too slow to really play the position for me. It was great in the passing game because I could motion him all over the place and also split him wide as a slower blocking WR (the original "Y" position in my offense) but the interior blocking by those players is atrocious so I try to avoid it.If you really want to run a Meyer type spread where you're running a bit more than throwing, your best bet is to target the slower TEs no one else does. If you want to throw a bit more, which I have been out of the Pistol in Powerhouse because I have athletic TEs, I might swap out H-Back Wing formations for two back Pistol/Gun and line that guy up as the "FB". You take a hit with blocking and as a secondary ball carrier but the different routes available in those split gun or two/three back pistol sets are second to none.

 

[bruin228]

Yeah, I'm still kind of deciding which type I want to run: the Florida or Ohio State version. Obviously, if I pick the OSU one, there will be a much bigger focus on Pistol so I can use more of those sets you're talking about.

 

[TXHusker05]

Yeah, I'm still kind of deciding which type I want to run: the Florida or Ohio State version. Obviously, if I pick the OSU one, there will be a much bigger focus on Pistol so I can use more of those sets you're talking about.

I toyed with Pistol for really the last three years of NCAA before really finding a groove with it and now I'm probably 90% Pistol. Couldn't stand it early on in NCAA 13 and it wasn't doing what I wanted early in NCAA 14, but this time through I finally committed to it once I got out of the "option" mindset. Focused on a more pro-style power/counter/play action/quick WCO passing game and it has done wonders.

Pistol solved all the weaknesses my original Spread-I encountered, mainly people playing games with my reads (in part because they could see which side my back was aligned) and the inability to have a really developed passing attack.

I still go Gun here and there, especially for 4WR stuff since I get no use out of Pistol 4WR Trips or Spread/Flex and I'll go under center here and there as well but for the most part it is Pistol. You can tailor personnel to it fairly easily, although multiple solid TEs helps quite a bit.