Wishbone?

[stevew]

I'm just curious why the Wishbone or any other type of "Option" offense is never tried in the pros. I've watched a great deal of pro football, and i dont think i've ever seen it run. If i had to guess, it would be because the average speed of a pro linebacker/safety is much better than their college counterparts. But I would also think that the offensive linemen in the pros are far superior. I know you probably wouldnt want a 70 plus million dollar QB like Vick getting out there on the option, and taking hits. But if Hasselbeck got injured in Seattle, and they named Wallace the new starter, I'd think he'd be as good of a canidate as any to try it with. Do they run the option in Canadian Football?

[JPhillips]

Its all about speed. The weakside defenders can get to the play so quickly that it stretches toward the sideline and not upfield. Also its much more likely in the pros that a defender will bust the play and get into the backfield where they can disrupt a pitch and get a turnover.

The speed at the pro level would dominate a true wishbone offense. It may work very rarely as a surprise play, but if a pro defense had the time to gameplan a wishbone offense they'd crush it.

[General Mike]

The QB would die.

[WSUCougar]

The QB would die.
I think the discussion begins and ends with this, once you realize your QB would get levelled on every option play.

[WrongWay]

Pittsburgh used it with some success as a Goal line package early in Kordell's career.

I think the triple-option is the greatest Goal line play I have ever seen. Of course you run this package with your Goal Line QB, not your starter. But, how many starting QBs want to come out of the game when there team is inside the 5?

[flere-imsaho]

But, how many starting QBs want to come out of the game when there team is inside the 5?

Not Dean Houston, that's for sure.

[Fidatelo]

Do they run the option in Canadian Football?
Not that I'm aware of, although admittedly I'm not that familiar with the wishbone due to my lack of college football awareness.

The Bombers ran a 6-pack offense a couple years back that was pretty wild, 6 receivers on almost every passing down. Talk about spreading the field :)

[wade moore]

Not that I'm aware of, although admittedly I'm not that familiar with the wishbone due to my lack of college football awareness.

The Bombers ran a 6-pack offense a couple years back that was pretty wild, 6 receivers on almost every passing down. Talk about spreading the field :)
How many players do they have on the field at a time?

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Not that I'm aware of, although admittedly I'm not that familiar with the wishbone due to my lack of college football awareness.

The Bombers ran a 6-pack offense a couple years back that was pretty wild, 6 receivers on almost every passing down. Talk about spreading the field :)
Six recievers is NOT the wishbone.

[cartman]

Another reason for the wishbone not working in the pros is the placement of the hash marks. They are much closer to the sidelines in college, making blocking assignments easier, due to less real estate to cover. Add in the speed factor that is already mentioned, and that is why the wishbone isn't viable in the pros.

[stevew]

Another reason for the wishbone not working in the pros is the placement of the hash marks. They are much closer to the sidelines in college, making blocking assignments easier, due to less real estate to cover. Add in the speed factor that is already mentioned, and that is why the wishbone isn't viable in the pros.
Ah, okay, i thought that the Hashmarks were different, too, but wasnt sure.

[Butter]

How many players do they have on the field at a time?

37. Why? Because it's Canada.

[st.cronin]

While I agree the Wishbone probably wouldn't work in the pros, I have yet to be convinced that an option or spread offense wouldn't work. The few times I've seen it tried (as trickery) it has been reasonably succesful.

[wishbone]

I think the biggest issue with using the wishbone in the pros is that you end up packing everyone on the field into a much smaller area. Not only are backside defenders closer to the playside, but safeties can get closer to the line.

Even at lower levels, the option really depends on defensive breakdowns and/or outnumbering the defense on one side of the field as the play unfolds. In the pros, the defensive breakdowns (theoretically) will not happen as often and the offense will not outnumber the defense for as long. I don't think the QB issue is as strong as people think, but a pro team would need an option QB instead a roll-out or pocket QB. Right now option QBs convert to WR or S if they want a chance in the NFL and usually wash out in a couple years.

[QuikSand]

http://www.idefix.headroom.at/images/Filme/wishbone.jpg

...wishbone?

[VPI97]

I wanna see the single wing.



Short story...when I was in high school, we ran the wishbone and ended up facing a single wing team in the playoffs. There wasn't a lot of passing. The end.

[HomerJSimpson]

http://www.idefix.headroom.at/images/Filme/wishbone.jpg

...wishbone?


Wishbome could kick Lassies' ass!

[JeeberD]

http://www.idefix.headroom.at/images/Filme/wishbone.jpg

...wishbone?

No, Wish-Bone!

http://www.foodservicedirect.com/productimages/OT234706s.jpg

[QuikSand]

oh, my mistake then.

[jackyl]

I think the speed option might be a viable offense, but anything where the QB is faking handoffs to the FB like the triple or stack option wouldn't work. It would take too long and there'd be too much pressure in the backfield to ever get the play rolling.

If a team used an unbalanced line in conjunction with the option, in some sort of one-back/two-TE/FL and WR motion set, it might work. Sort of like a bunch offense with blockers instead of receivers. If the motion man was used as a second option threat where the other reciever, lined up closer to the formation than a usual NFL WR, works to funnel the blocker, it might be a little more viable.

The hash marks have a lot more to do with why it would work rather than the relative speed of the defensive players. NFL offensive players have more speed than their NCAA counterparts, too. Option blocking is an artsy thing with a combination of straight ahead blocking and crackbacks that I'm sure the average NFL lineman could grab onto.

The other thing mentioned earlier working against this is the prototypical NFL QB. In this day and age if a coach decided to install the option in the NFL the starting QB would be screaming "Trade Me!" immediately. The option guys are either riding a desk or trying to play safety after college. You'd be better off getting a tailback that can throw, a guy that can take a little punishment, rather than seeing how fast Seneca Wallace can move.

[st.cronin]

If I were in charge of the 49ers, I would be seriously considering installing some form of the spread option.

[Airhog]

The wishbone is dead. Speed has become too much of an issue. That is why very few teams run a wishbone type offense in college. And I would imagine that in another 25 years, there won't be any teams that run the wishbone, or even an option running game.

[Galaxy]

Do you think an Urban Myer-Utah/Bowling Green type offense would work?

[st.cronin]

Do you think an Urban Myer-Utah/Bowling Green type offense would work?

I think in the NFL you need a versatile offense, but I think a 'spread option' or the old Warren Moon 'run and gun' offense absolutely could work in the nfl today. You would still need to have the personnel on hand to convert a 3rd and 1 - that's the weakness of the offense.

[dawgfan]

Do you think an Urban Myer-Utah/Bowling Green type offense would work?

The issue would still be the extent to which the QB is involved in running, and thus risking taking big hits from the defense.

You have multiple factors at work here:

First, QB's in the NFL command the highest salaries. Given the economics, there is a greater incentive in the NFL than in college to keep the QB healthy.

Second, there are a lot of QB's in the NFL that aren't good enough runners to play this offense, and some that are might not be willing to subject themselves to this kind of potential punishment.

Third, it would take a very gutsy GM to trade for/draft a QB specifically for this kind of offense even if the coach did install it - if the offense doesn't work out, then you might be stuck with an expensive QB that isn't as well-suited for a more "traditional" pro offense.

[dawgfan]

Dola -

That said, if you have a suitable QB on hand already, I can see installing a limited version of that playbook for use in certain situations. The problem there though is that a coach might feel like he's spending too much of his valuable practice time and film study to teach a complicated offense that he might not use very often.

[cartman]

The wishbone is dead. Speed has become too much of an issue. That is why very few teams run a wishbone type offense in college. And I would imagine that in another 25 years, there won't be any teams that run the wishbone, or even an option running game.

I don't think it's dead, you just have to have the right personnel to run it. If the admins at Nebraska didn't have a brain fart and get rid of Solich after a 9-3 season, they would still be running for 400 to 500 yards per game. The option running game will always exist in one form or another. Texas now runs a form of the option out of the shotgun, which didn't really exist before Va. Tech started using it with Michael Vick.

[Airhog]

I don't think it's dead, you just have to have the right personnel to run it. If the admins at Nebraska didn't have a brain fart and get rid of Solich after a 9-3 season, they would still be running for 400 to 500 yards per game. The option running game will always exist in one form or another. Texas now runs a form of the option out of the shotgun, which didn't really exist before Va. Tech started using it with Michael Vick.


Yeah, but texas doesn't strictly run an option. What I meant to say was, you won't see any teams that run an option only. I mean teams like OU in the 80's, when they hardly threw the ball at all. As long as there are fast QB's you will see some option plays. I just think the age of a team's whole offense being option oriented is coming to an end.

[MikeVic]

http://www.ffbooks.co.uk/images/n5/n29113.jpg

[Glengoyne]

The QB would die.
There is no option in the NFL. You simply hit the QB.

The QB would go down whether he pitched the ball or not. Pretty soon, no more QB.