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I remember a couple years ago watching a recruiting video of current Jackrabbit backup quarterback Jordan Thomas and saw that his juco team ran the pistol offense. The first thought that popped in my head was: “Wow, I’m glad we don’t run that craptastic offense”.
Apparently the coaches didn’t share my view on this formation, because the buzz coming out of this year’s SDSU fall camp was that the offense would be using “the pistol” a lot in the upcoming season. Obviously I was not enthused to hear this, but I eased my concern with the thought of “maybe the coaches know something I don’t”. Well, we're now 8 games into the season and the current Jackrabbit squad is the worst rushing team I’ve ever witnessed in over a decade of watching SDSU football, as all my fears have now become reality.
Here is my reasoning to why the pistol offense has killed the Jackrabbit running game and why it needs to be put of its misery:
WHAT IS THE PISTOL OFFENSE?
The Pistol offense is essentially trying to incorporate a power running game into the shotgun formation. In a traditional shotgun offense, the quarterback lines up roughly 7 yards behind center with a running back directly beside him. In the pistol offense, the quarterback is lined up only 4 yards behind center with a running back lined up 3 yards directly behind the quarterback.
The theory behind the formation is that the quarterback has the view of the defense the shotgun provides, while the running back receives the handoff 3 yards closer to the line of scrimmage than the tradition shotgun formation along with a running start during the exchange (much like the dive play in the triple option). Many teams that use the pistol formation will actually run the speed option or the triple option out of it, and consider it more pass friendly than the veer/flexbone formations.
WHY HAS IT KILLED THE JACKS‘ RUNNING GAME?
The key word is “options” when describing how this formation has stunted the Jacks running game.
First off, the running back’s options are heavily limited due to what run plays can be called out of this formation. He is either going to be running a dive or a toss/sweep, because the short shotgun snap doesn’t allow the quarterback to meet the running back (ie from under center, the QB can make his drop at a 45 degree angle instead of straight back, meeting the running back around the tackle/tight end area instead of just the center/guard area), therefore the running back has to come to the quarterback or the quarterback has to toss the ball to the runner. Due to being close to full speed when taking the hand off and going head on at the defenders, the running back has little choice but to go straight ahead and hope the offensive line opened up a hole in the spot he is heading, because momentum and time allow little room to change direction. Compare this with a traditional shotgun handoff, which gets the ball to running back quickly at the start of his acceleration, allowing him the ability to read blocks and decide which area to run to based on where a hole is likely to develop instead of a predetermined spot. Vision is such an important trait of a good running back, but sadly with the pistol, our running backs barely get to use it.
So if the running back doesn’t have a say in where he gets to run the ball, then the only way to prevent an unproductive dive play is for the quarterback to read that the hole will be filled and not hand it off to the running back… but then what? Well, the quarterback then has to run the ball himself, but that requires a running quarterback to make this work. Maybe the most mind boggling thing about SDSU running this formation is that it was put together with Thomas O’Brien in mind as quarterback, who was one of the most immobile quarterbacks I have seen at any level. Now, even with Sumner, this quarterback run option isn’t viable because he is not running quarterback, but rather a mobile quarterback. A mobile quarterback allows roll outs, bootlegs, and the occasional draw when the defense isn’t accounting for him, but a running quarterback is someone who can beat defenders to the corner or make them miss in space, a kind of quarterback Sumner is not. Most teams will even run the triple option out of this formation to make it viable, yet SDSU runs only one option and prays it works (and it usually doesn’t).
BUT DOESN’T THE PISTOL IMPROVE THE OFFENSIVE’S ABILITY TO PASS?
There is no doubt that being in the shotgun helps the quarterback make pre-snap reads, as it’s easier to scan the defense when not directly under center, but this short snap, in my opinion, does little for post-snap reads. The ball comes on the quarterback quick, making mishandled snaps more likely and forcing the quarterback to focus on the ball instead of down field (honestly, how many high/mishandled snaps have we seen this year?!). There is a reason why passing offenses like the spread put the quarterback 7 yards behind center instead of 4 yards, and as I eluded to earlier, unless you are running a speed/triple option out of the pistol, there aren’t any real advantages to run game out of the short snap.
There is also a pass protection deficiency as a result of the pistol, as the running back is out of position to pick up free blitzers. The reason is that, being lined up behind the quarterback, the running back has to go around the QB to get between him and the defender, wasting valuable time that is normally not afforded when there is a free defender. Also, the QB blocks the RB’s view pre-snap, making it harder to identify where the blitz is coming from.
CONCLUSION?
SDSU is currently running a majority of their offense out of a formation that is no conducive to their personnel or game plan in which they are trying to execute. It’s hard to understand why the Jacks are trying do traditional runs and heavy passing out of a formation that is really only viable when executing a speed/triple option attack. Because of this, our running backs and linemen have not been put in a position to succeed and hence, or running game has been in shambles nearly all season long.
As a final note, here is a video of a team running the pistol formation the way it was intended:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-mn94kksvw
Do you recall seeing any of these plays throughout this year of watching Jackrabbit football?
Apparently the coaches didn’t share my view on this formation, because the buzz coming out of this year’s SDSU fall camp was that the offense would be using “the pistol” a lot in the upcoming season. Obviously I was not enthused to hear this, but I eased my concern with the thought of “maybe the coaches know something I don’t”. Well, we're now 8 games into the season and the current Jackrabbit squad is the worst rushing team I’ve ever witnessed in over a decade of watching SDSU football, as all my fears have now become reality.
Here is my reasoning to why the pistol offense has killed the Jackrabbit running game and why it needs to be put of its misery:
WHAT IS THE PISTOL OFFENSE?
The Pistol offense is essentially trying to incorporate a power running game into the shotgun formation. In a traditional shotgun offense, the quarterback lines up roughly 7 yards behind center with a running back directly beside him. In the pistol offense, the quarterback is lined up only 4 yards behind center with a running back lined up 3 yards directly behind the quarterback.
The theory behind the formation is that the quarterback has the view of the defense the shotgun provides, while the running back receives the handoff 3 yards closer to the line of scrimmage than the tradition shotgun formation along with a running start during the exchange (much like the dive play in the triple option). Many teams that use the pistol formation will actually run the speed option or the triple option out of it, and consider it more pass friendly than the veer/flexbone formations.
WHY HAS IT KILLED THE JACKS‘ RUNNING GAME?
The key word is “options” when describing how this formation has stunted the Jacks running game.
First off, the running back’s options are heavily limited due to what run plays can be called out of this formation. He is either going to be running a dive or a toss/sweep, because the short shotgun snap doesn’t allow the quarterback to meet the running back (ie from under center, the QB can make his drop at a 45 degree angle instead of straight back, meeting the running back around the tackle/tight end area instead of just the center/guard area), therefore the running back has to come to the quarterback or the quarterback has to toss the ball to the runner. Due to being close to full speed when taking the hand off and going head on at the defenders, the running back has little choice but to go straight ahead and hope the offensive line opened up a hole in the spot he is heading, because momentum and time allow little room to change direction. Compare this with a traditional shotgun handoff, which gets the ball to running back quickly at the start of his acceleration, allowing him the ability to read blocks and decide which area to run to based on where a hole is likely to develop instead of a predetermined spot. Vision is such an important trait of a good running back, but sadly with the pistol, our running backs barely get to use it.
So if the running back doesn’t have a say in where he gets to run the ball, then the only way to prevent an unproductive dive play is for the quarterback to read that the hole will be filled and not hand it off to the running back… but then what? Well, the quarterback then has to run the ball himself, but that requires a running quarterback to make this work. Maybe the most mind boggling thing about SDSU running this formation is that it was put together with Thomas O’Brien in mind as quarterback, who was one of the most immobile quarterbacks I have seen at any level. Now, even with Sumner, this quarterback run option isn’t viable because he is not running quarterback, but rather a mobile quarterback. A mobile quarterback allows roll outs, bootlegs, and the occasional draw when the defense isn’t accounting for him, but a running quarterback is someone who can beat defenders to the corner or make them miss in space, a kind of quarterback Sumner is not. Most teams will even run the triple option out of this formation to make it viable, yet SDSU runs only one option and prays it works (and it usually doesn’t).
BUT DOESN’T THE PISTOL IMPROVE THE OFFENSIVE’S ABILITY TO PASS?
There is no doubt that being in the shotgun helps the quarterback make pre-snap reads, as it’s easier to scan the defense when not directly under center, but this short snap, in my opinion, does little for post-snap reads. The ball comes on the quarterback quick, making mishandled snaps more likely and forcing the quarterback to focus on the ball instead of down field (honestly, how many high/mishandled snaps have we seen this year?!). There is a reason why passing offenses like the spread put the quarterback 7 yards behind center instead of 4 yards, and as I eluded to earlier, unless you are running a speed/triple option out of the pistol, there aren’t any real advantages to run game out of the short snap.
There is also a pass protection deficiency as a result of the pistol, as the running back is out of position to pick up free blitzers. The reason is that, being lined up behind the quarterback, the running back has to go around the QB to get between him and the defender, wasting valuable time that is normally not afforded when there is a free defender. Also, the QB blocks the RB’s view pre-snap, making it harder to identify where the blitz is coming from.
CONCLUSION?
SDSU is currently running a majority of their offense out of a formation that is no conducive to their personnel or game plan in which they are trying to execute. It’s hard to understand why the Jacks are trying do traditional runs and heavy passing out of a formation that is really only viable when executing a speed/triple option attack. Because of this, our running backs and linemen have not been put in a position to succeed and hence, or running game has been in shambles nearly all season long.
As a final note, here is a video of a team running the pistol formation the way it was intended:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-mn94kksvw
Do you recall seeing any of these plays throughout this year of watching Jackrabbit football?
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