Run & Shoot

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The Run & Shoot is a type of offense in American Football. It is predicated on using multiple wide receiver sets, and as many formation adjustments as are needed to adapt to the opposing defense's tactics.

The scheme was pioneered by coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison in the late 1950s and popularized by Mouse Davis in the 1970s at Portland State University, in the early 1980s in the CFL and in the mid-1980s in the USFL. The offense has evolved over the years into the fast-paced passing game common to football today. While it enjoyed a brief resurgence with some National Football League teams in the 1980s and 1990s, today it is primarily employed at the high school and college levels.

Examples of successful Run & Shoot offenses include the Warren Moon-quarterbacked Houston Oilers (n.k.a., Tennessee Titans) of the 1990s (coached by Jerry Glanville and then Jack Pardee), the Toronto Argonauts of the early 1980s, and the present-day offense of the University of Hawaii, formerly quarterbacked by Colt Brennan and coached by June Jones. Quarterbacks in a Run & Shoot system usually have comparatively high performance stats (e.g., around 50 pass attempts per game). Because of this, the numbers put up by Run & Shoot quarterbacks are often discounted as being a "by-product of the system", rather than the result of that QB's personal ability. Critics are often affirmed when QBs who succeeded with this set in college, flounder without it in the NFL, often saddling them with the derogatory descriptor "system quarterback". Prime examples are 1989 Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware[1] (University of Houston), fellow Houston alumnus David Klingler[2] and former University of Hawaii QB Timmy Chang.

Despite regular-season successes, the Run & Shoot ultimately fell out of favor in the NFL; its marginal running game was strongly linked with its teams' early playoff exits. The legacy of the Run & Shoot lives on, though, in the offenses it has inspired: Jerry Glanville's no-huddle Redgun Offense, the Super Fastball of Missouri's Gary Pinkel (where the ball is intended to be snapped in only 10 seconds) and the Air Raid offense of Texas Tech's Mike Leach.

Another criticism of the run & shoot is that with no tight ends in the formation on the offensive line and maybe only one running back in the backfield to pick up linebackers or safeties on a blitz, the quarterback is subject to being hit several times (and injured) during a game[3]. Former Philadelphia Eagles coach Buddy Ryan blasted it, calling it the "Chuck N' Duck" offense[4].

Contents

[edit] Formations and motion

The Run & Shoot uses a one-running back, two slot, two receiver formation, typically featuring at least two wide receivers, but sometimes four. Motion (i.e., having a receiver suddenly change position by running left or right, parallel to the line of scrimmage, just prior to the ball being snapped) is used extensively—both to create advantageous mismatches with the opposing defensive players, and to help reveal what coverage the defense is actually employing.

The basic idea behind the Run & Shoot is a multiple-adjusting offense; the receivers are free to adjust their routes as they are running them, in a dizzying number of options, in response to reading the defensive coverage employed. The quarterback, as a result, also has to read—on the run—the defensive coverage, hopefully with the same result as the receiver's efforts.

In the purest form of the offense, the proper complement would consist of two wide receivers in the outside positions on the line, and two "slotbacks," running-back types who could catch as well as run (eg. Ricky Sanders and Richard Johnson for the USFL's Houston Gamblers, both RBs in college), manning the inside receiver positions (just outside and behind the two offensive tackles). The NFL teams that used the Run & Shoot in the early 1990s used true wide receivers.

A typical set includes (along with the four receivers) one halfback/running back and the five offensive linemen (one center, the left- and right-guards, and the left- and right-tackles). The types of running backs vary from smaller, pass-catching-type backs to big, bruising, power-type backs. The frequent passing formations spread out the defense's players, causing them to expect that the subsequent plays will also be passes. If the repeated pass plays work, the defense is spread thinly across the field; running the ball between the offensive tackles, or just off-tackle, is now possible, and preferred.

Running backs who thrive in the system tend to be smaller, shifty runners who do not require lead blockers. Sanders and Erric Pegram, who reached 1,000 yards with the Atlanta Falcons, fit that description; however, Lorenzo White and Gary Brown were much larger power-style runners.

[edit] Formation History

The original inventor of the Run & Shoot, Tiger Ellison first started out with a formation that overloaded the left side for his scrambling quarterback. He called it The Lonesome Polecat.

A year later, he came back with a more balanced formation that is reminiscent of the formation below. Again, the quarterback would be under center but the left wide receiver would be closer to the left slotback/superback.

WR........................LT.LG.C.RG.RT...........WR

          SB      QB      SB
                   FB

[edit] Names

While the formations often rely on a single back, 4 wide formation the names of the positions are also important. The wide receivers from left to right are often labeled as: X, W (Wing), Y, and Z with the running back being called an S-Back (Superback). In the below formation, the quarterback would be lined up under center in a single back formation but variations can be done in shotgun formation with the superback offset to the right or left of the quarterback.

Example

X................T..G..C...G...T.............Z

   W       QB      Y



           SB

[edit] Basic Concepts and Defensive Formations

The following concepts are key to understanding the Run & Shoot.

  • Throw to the open receiver. It's fairly obvious but if the receiver is open, the quarterback must recognize the coverage and find him.
  • 5 or less in the box? Run the football. This means that traditionally defensive formations use a 3-4 defense meaning that there are 3 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers (5 in the box) or a 4-3 defense alignment meaning there are 4 defensive linemen and 3 linebackers (5 in the box). The box is the area from the offensive tackles up. That means the defensive lineman, 3 or 4, and the linebackers which can be anywhere from 1-3 depending on the coverage.

The 3-4 defense often has 3 linemen and 2 linebackers (the inside) in the box with a linebacker on the outside of the tackles (one on the right and one on the left).

The 4-3 defense often has 4 linemen and 1 linebacker (the middle) in the box with a linebacker on the outside of the tackles (one of the right and one on the left).

Other defensive formations include Nickel and Dime often displaying a 4-3 defense except 1 or 2 linebackers are taken out to be replaced by defensive backs.

  • Use motion and formations to spread the defense out and change the look. If one uses motion and the defensive back follows the motioning receiver, they are probably playing man coverage or blitzing. If no defensive back follows the motion receiver, then they are probably playing zone defense.

[edit] Motion Names

The following motions are used with those starting with R being to the right and L to the left.

  • X = Lil and Rob.
  • W(ing) = Liz and Rip. This is the most commonly found motion in the Run & Shoot.
  • SB = Lion and Ram.
  • Y = Load and Rose. Another commonly found motion.
  • Z = Lark and Rook.

[edit] Route concepts

The Choice Route is probably the most recognizable and continued concept of the Run & Shoot that remains in the NFL.

Other recognizable routes are: Slide, Go, Hook, and Streak. The Slide route often employs motion from the W receiver or the Y receiver to form a Trips formation, where one side of the offense has 3 wide receivers on one side of the field.

The Switch Route allows for the receivers on the weakside or backside of the quarterback to switch their routes.

The Read Route is simply when the quarterback audibles away from the coverage that he sees, often the free safety.

[edit] Playbook Designations

Many playbooks that utilized the Run & Shoot often had the above formations tied in with certain passing series.

  • The 60 Series featured the Go, Hook, and Choice.
  • The 90 Series featured the Streak, Switch, and Read.

The 60 Series often featured Rip or Load motion whereas the 90 Series often featured the rollout where the quarterback would run to the left or right and sit, waiting for the play to develop.

[edit] Teams Using the Run & Shoot

The following colleges and teams used the Run & Shoot as their football formation for at least a little while. Some had more success than others.

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Goldstein, Jody. "Houston's Ware: All Work At Play", The New York Times, 1989-10-13. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. 
  2. ^ W. Smith, Timothy. "PRO FOOTBALL: NOTEBOOK; Klingler May Lose His Stripes", The New York Times, 1994-10-04. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. 
  3. ^ George, Thomas. "N.F.L. '90; See How They Run and Shoot", The New York Times, 1990-09-02. Retrieved on 2008-05-04. 
  4. ^ Litsky, Frank. "FOOTBALL: NOTEBOOK; Run-and-Shoot Offense Is Now Shooting Pardee", The New York Times, 1993-10-03. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.