R&D Labwork: Zone Series/Package from Traditional Wing-T

I recently joined back up with the football program at the school I teach at (Delphos Jefferson). There is a new coach who took over this last year and led them to a very successful season of 8-3 (made playoff appearance). One change this coach made is he changed the offense from a spread run-n-gun offense to a Wing-T offense. Wing-T offense is something I have never ran in it's traditional form. I have done some of the belly series plays with some programs and I was part of a program that ran the jet/rocket version of Wing-T from a double wing formation. This has been an interesting learning experience to learn the little details needed to learn the more traditional form of Wing-T offense.

As you will learn as I write about more ideas, once I gain an understanding of a scheme, I go all "mad scientist" on the scheme. I start imagining what new little wrinkles could be developed to make something more deceptive or dangerous for an offense or defense. In this example, I was a spread, inside/outside zone guy coming to a Wing-T program. I knew they didn't want any Spread Wing-T, but I kept going back to the zone blocking I had been running the last couple of years. I love zone blocking due to the flexibility of the schemes and the ease of installing it. So what did my inner "mad scientist" decide to do...make a series or package of zone-blocked plays that can be run from an under -center, traditional Wing-T formation. I didn't create some new, fancy offense...I just took two, well established, offensive schemes and merged them. Check it out and see what you think!


Inside Zone (FB Run)

The first play I have in the series/package is Inside Zone with the fullback. I know some zone folks are already screaming at me about the depth of a fullback and that he will not be able to read the line fast enough to cut backside if need ( a real advantage in a more traditional use of zone runs).  My response to that is go watch USC, Ohio State, and other schools back in 70's when a lot of schools ran I and T offenses. You will see the fullback run inside zone, successfully see a cutback and gain more yards...I know it's not as effective as in shotgun or having the back 7 yards deep, but I feel this can be a yard gainer when run with it complementary plays.

Now for the logistics to get the play to work. First, the line is running a standard inside zone blocking scheme to the split end side of the formation (I will post about zone blocking in later posts). I like this because the entire backside is being blocked with no one there to close down and take away the backside (Remember: there is a TE and a wing that is stepping zone as well, so the backside is REALLY sealed off). The fullback's aiming point is the butt of the guard to the side the play is being run to. I feel this is the best AP because the play hits a little wider than the start of the trap play and has a feel of veer/belly. It also gives the fullback a great read of the blocking because the guard will tell you if you can slam it right through the hole or if you have to bend to the backside a little. This series of plays is designed to look a lot like the trap/bucksweep series, but even more challenging to due to the wide angle of the fullback on IZ and the unpredictability of the later OZ play run by the halfback. As stated, the HB is the back doing the OZ play, so he will be carrying out his OZ fake (which is really just like a bucksweep fake). The QB will open up to the fullback, hand it off as deep as he can, fake the HB OZ play, then will turn open like a drop back pass fake. A waggle like fake can also be done, as there is a waggle like play I will share later.

Here is a diagram of the Inside Zone being run against a 4-3 defense:

Outside Zone (HB Run)

The next play is the complementary play that is run simultaneously with the IZ run of the fullback, giving the look the trap/bucksweep action of a traditional Wing-T offense...the Outside Zone by the halfback. I feel that is also a great advantage for a Wing-T offense because of the flexibility of where this play will hit and that the line can get to the second level fairly quickly versus pulling and meeting the defense outside. The thing that people have to keep in mind with the location of the halfback in a  Wing-T offense: it is basically the same location of a halfback in a shotgun offense! So if you are familiar with running OZ from the gun, then the logistics of the play is the same.

First off, the line will be running a standard OZ blocking scheme. That also includes the TE and wing (whose block can be game planned depending on what defense you see that week). If everyone is stepping to the TE side, that means we have one or two defenders to the backside that will be unblocked. That is where the fullback comes in...he will be running his IZ fake, so he should distract the end and possible backer to that side. He can then throw a block on one of those two, depending on the situation. The QB will execute the same set of steps as the IZ play, with either dropping back or booting out like a waggle after the handoff to the HB. The HB will take the handoff and his aiming point is the TE's butt. He needs to read the TE's and wing's blocks to get a good idea of where to go...if the wing can seal the edge, then go outside; if the wing and TE have to widen out their block then cut it up. It's this flexibility that makes this play so dangerous...defenses can over run or fit up wrong to the play and the back can make them wrong every time!

Here is a diagram of the Outside Zone being run against a 4-3 defense:

Play Action Passes (Middle Pass and Naked Boot)

As with any series of plays in a Wing-T playbook, there are typically PAPs to take advantage of an aggressive, run-supporting secondary. I have two different types of PAPs available, depending on your style of play or personnel.

The first I took from my new team's playbook. The Middle pass was a variation of PAP based on the backfield action of the trap/bucksweep plays (which is the look of zone series...see where I'm going!). We have slide protection to the TE side, with the backside blocking man (BST for sure, BSG possibly, FB inserts to clean up any blitz/stunt). The goal of the play is to get a switching route combo between the TE and wing. The TE will run a 10 yd out, the wing with run a post, and the backside WR will just run a streak/vertical route. The HB can either flare out as a dump off or he can throttle down after fake and block the edge of the TE side.

Here is a diagram of the Middle Pass being run against a 4-3 defense:

The other PAP is just a variation of the Waggle Pass, just with no pulling. It is basically just a naked bootleg that the QB can boot out and have all the options that a waggle play can typically offer. The fullback would try to chip the end as he releases or he can stay in and block.

Well, that is my thoughts of integrating the zone blocking scheme into a Wing-T offense. I feel that the zone blocking adds another dimension to the already tricky Wing-T offense. I could see the defense struggling to decipher between is the play being blocked with zone or gap schemes, which would dramatically alter what way the LBs are suppose to flow. If you see a TE stepping down, is it the bucksweep or is it the inside zone play on the other side of the formation? I think you are going to mess with the defense's processing and slow them down (which is deadly versus a Wing-T offense). Also, zone blocking is good against blitzing/stunting, so if a team is playing your Wing-T by blitzing or stunting, this could be a solid adjustment against their D.

I would like to hear your thoughts or critiques of this idea of integrating zone blocking into the Wing-T. Leave a comment or shoot me an email to tell me what you think!