Formations in a Pistol Offense?

[jbrew2411]

Quote: Originally Posted by conception

My last offense was primarily pistol based and I found that with a reasonably powerful running back I was able to mount a consistent run game without having stellar players. I'm currently running a power O, more dual TE based run game that is great for getting big gains and not always very good at consistently getting average gains. The pistol was good because it allowed me to spread a defense out while still able to maintain a downhill running game.

Offenses like the Pistol or a spread-shotgun were created to give teams with lesser talent a chance. It is really hard to line up and run a I-form offense with smaller lesser talented kids. So when you have undersized kids you have to do something different. The success of the spread or pistol is due to forcing the defense to lineup where size does not matter. Creating space and different looks puts pressure on a defense. That is how any offense has success.

[jello1717]

Quote: Originally Posted by jbrew2411

Offenses like the Pistol or a spread-shotgun were created to give teams with lesser talent a chance. It is really hard to line up and run a I-form offense with smaller lesser talented kids. So when you have undersized kids you have to do something different. The success of the spread or pistol is due to forcing the defense to lineup where size does not matter. Creating space and different looks puts pressure on a defense. That is how any offense has success.

And just look at what those offenses can do WITH talent! Just look @ Oregon over the years, Meyer's Florida, Auburn, Ohio this year, etc, etc.

[jbrew2411]

Quote: Originally Posted by jello1717

And just look at what those offenses can do WITH talent! Just look @ Oregon over the years, Meyer's Florida, Auburn, Ohio this year, etc, etc.

You can say that about any offensive system, the proper players make it work. With more high school programs running offenses like the pistol or spread kids are entering college with years of experience running that system. Go back 20 years and kids that had NFL potential out of high school wanted to go play in systems that could get them there. Meyer come up with his system while coaching wide blockers (receivers) at Notre Dame. He saw the potential of getting good athletes the ball in different ways. Those athletes 20 years ago were not used right in the offense they were in or learning to play a different way. Thinks to guys like Urban or Chip we have had this explosion of offensive systems in the last 10 years.

[Spartan Warrior]

You can really do anything you want. There are a ton of Pistol formations in the game. You can run a two back triple option (which is one of my favorite offenses). You can run singleback spread. You can run a read option-based offense. You can run a passing spread. The beauty is that you'll be able to run better out of it than you would out of the shotgun. It's a robust strategy.

[ALG]

Thanks for everyone's input, it has really helped a lot. Think I have decided to create a Pistol/Spread playbook, combining the two together. Just need to figure out the best way to combine the two. Been looking at SimSports - think that's the correct site name - so I'm getting an idea of what I want to create.

Again, thanks for all the help!