Defending The Wing T Offense

Defending the Wing -T Offense “ The Wash. U. Way” Washington University in St. Louis

Defensing the Delaware Wing - T 1. Self Scout learn from your previous games / know what types of plays your opponent likes to run (Runs / Passes) 2. Know what to defend: - Formations - Plays - Package (Is it a true Wing-T) - All Wing-T Packages are different / most are tailored to emphasize what their personnel do best. 3. Adjust your Defensive Keys: Coach what you know / do what you do, adjust. - Tweak your keys / reads (i.e. more emphasis on the Offensive Guards) 4. Coach up your scout team. - You must be able to time up the offense (Motions / Shifts / Trades) 5. Blocking Scheme Drills focusing on the under key (Offensive lineman) (Focus on Offensive Guards) 6. Utilize your base defense with a few adjustments, do not try and do too much. You must match: - All of their Formations - All of their Motions - All of their Shifts - All of their Trades - All of their Unbalanced 7. Have the ability to Force from the outside – DO not lose outside leverage (Wing side or SE side)

Strengths of the Wing - T 1. Familiarity, depending on where you are coaching you may only see it once a year. This causes defenses to utilize adjustments that they normally do not use. 2. Can get by with smaller players because of the schemes employed. Wing-T scheme is based on trapping, angle or down blocking, pulling and the double team. 3. Wing set gives you an extra gap on the offensive line. 4. Wing set presents the defense with the immediate threat of 3 quick receivers: Wing, TE and SE. The nearness of the wing to the TE can create switching problems for man to man secondary coverage when they run crossing patterns. (Waggle / Boot) 5. Slot set establishes in essence a double tight end formation and gives the offense the ability to run off tackle to both sides.

Strengths of the Wing -T 6. The Slot set also establishes 3 quick receivers: SE, Slot and the TE. 7. The Wing -T employs 3 running backs that may be used with equal frequency. This is similar to the old Wishbone offenses. In theory they are all expected to have the same abilities at blocking, receiving, and rushing. Depending on the versatility of the backs this gives the offense the flexibility to use multiple backfield sets, as well as multiple formations. 8. Series Offense: The Wing T uses several different series, each having a base play accompanied by companion plays. (Sweep, FB gut, Trap, I Trap) When you take away one play they have a counter to what you are doing. 9. Misdirection game. 10. Play action-passing game.

Weakness of the Wing - T 1. Strong Formation Tendencies . The Wing-T Offense uses many pre-snap looks but at the time the ball is snapped there are only 6 basic formations + unbalanced. From each of those formations they only run certain plays. The plays from the 6 basic formations make up the large percentage of their offense. (Diagram #1) 2. There are 2 basic formations : The Wing and the Slot, when you add in the different motions and shifts you still end up in Wing or Slot most of the time. (Diagram #2) 3. Need to have athletic offensive lineman , along with versatile backs . Ideally they would all perform their assignments equally well. The reality is that all backs are not equal. One of the backs will run the ball better than the other or have more carries. Both of the Guards will not be equal, someone will be a better trapper or puller. These are all Tendencies that will help you game plan.

My Perceptions of the Wing - T 1. It is all EYE WASH!!! it is a deceptive way to mirror or hide what they do. Look over here while we run over there. - They present multiple formations with motions / All of their motions put them back into a formation that you have already seen - They present multiple shifts / All of their shifts put them back into a formation that you have already seen - All of this multiplicity boils down to 6 formations excluding unbalanced. 2. Must be somewhat balanced in your front so that you can handle TE trades, formation change of strength. Stay simple with your defensive front. If you must adjust, handle it on the back end. (They have more time for recognition and adjusting) 3. The 3 BACK ATTACK / if they had one good back they would be in the “I”.

My Perceptions of the Wing - T 4. Inevitably you must stop the Fullback – it is the same as when you play on option team. Their offense will go as their FB goes. Take away the inside runs (Trap) – they usually will not beat you running sweep. 5. In my experience we shut down the sweep game strong and we force the offense into their Belly series or weak side running game. Now it becomes one dimensional attack. This will not happen if you do not take the Fullback out of the game. 6. Ultimately it does not matter what defense you run. You must believe in what you are doing and get your kids to believe. Have a simple plan and a change up or two. Use your defense and tweak your reads, don’t try and insert a new scheme just for the Wing – T. If you know you want to run a certain front vs. Wing-T, use it vs. other opponents so that you can build up repetitions as you go through the season. 7. Your players must be comfortable and they must see what you tell them to see. They must have a progression that they can follow. Start small and expand your vision. If you start big it becomes paralysis by analysis.

Diagram #1 (Formations w/Motions)

Basic Defensive Alignments: Vs. Wing -T

Defending the Wing – T: “In a Nut – Shell” 1. We Soft-Sell the Wing-T , We convince our players that the offense is not complicated. - We need to understand what plays are run out of each formation. - Each formation is divided into ½’s, depending on the side of the formation that you are on you anticipate certain plays. - We need to understand what plays are run out of the Different motions. - “Red” or Arc motion =‘s certain plays whether it occurs in the Wing formation or Slot formation. - Motion to you =‘s / Motion away from you =‘s *know the difference. 2. We Statistically Break Down their Plays and come up with a frequency chart. This chart includes their base formations as well as any formations with motion. - We separate the No-Motion formations from the Motion formations. - We then go back and Break down the MOTIONS and or SHIFTS exclusive of the formation. We put %’s on all of this information. - At this point we make decisions as to how and when we present the information to our players. - Once we have the %’s or frequency of their plays we practice those plays according to the Numbers. If they run trap 20% of the time, we will “rep” the trap the same % in our practice scripts.

Defending the Wing – T: “In a Nut – Shell” (Cont.) 3 . Present the information in different ways and give your players a progression that they need to follow, both Pre-snap and Post-Snap - Pre-Snap – Formation Recognition, what plays will they run based on which side of the formation I am aligned on. How does Down and Distance affect these tendency’s. With MOTION how does my thought process change. ** As a general rule with motion the plays flip sides . If the waggle was to be run to the SE side once the Wing goes in Red motion the Waggle now bumps to the TE side. If the sweep was to be run to the Wing side / with wing Red motion the sweep is now to be run to the SE side. 4. Developing a specific thought process that our players can follow. The Emphasis is SPECIFIC. We teach the Big picture first (formation). We then isolate each player at his position and have him focus on specific reads (blocking scheme). We start with small details and follow a progression until we get to the big picture (pursuing the football and getting to the ball carrier). ** Our players get in trouble when they see too much and don’t narrow their vision. It becomes paralysis by analysis. They can’t process all of the things going on around them (this is what the Wing –T people count on). Our players need to see what we tell them to see in the order we tell them to see it. This requires discipline and repetitions. We will demand the discipline and we will give them the REPS.

Defensive Progression Based on Tech. (No Motion) 1. OLB/DE/SAM (9 tech.) - Have a pre-snap read based on formation – know what their main plays are to your side. - Vs. Base block, play the block, squeeze (ball inside) - Vs. Outside Release, play release of TE, eyes inside to the ball. If pass play your assignment. - Vs. Veer, play release of TE, eyes inside to FB. (FB away = sweep / to you =power) 2. DT (5 tech.) (To TE) - Have a pre-snap read based on formation – know what their main plays are to your side. - Read Key is OT - Vs. Base block, play the block, squeeze (ball inside) - Vs. Veer release (see OG) if also down = Trap (spill) - Vs. Veer release / OG outside / TE down / squeeze OT until OG crosses face then work back outside, attack TE (hold ground) = Sweep - Vs. Veer release / OG outside / NO Down by TE. Squeeze OT until OG crosses face, no pressure by TE turn down (inside) play trap.

Defensive Progression Based on Tech. (No Motion) 3. NG (Shade) - Must know where TE is, more times than not the Double will come from the TE side - Single block with no motion = waggle get up the field and get to the QB (single block – be a factor) - Trap / Pwr = Double comes from the OC/OG – Sweep = Double comes from OT/OC. Who is blocking you. - Exception would be NO MOTION belly = Double from split end side. 4. DT (3 tech./4i) *usually away from TE - Cut off block on most plays - Reach block usually = waggle (Play action pass) 5. Ghost 6 (5 tech.) *usually away from TE - Read near back to near OG to far Wing / Slot - Near back to you, play course of ball. - OG Pulls inside execute your tech. 6. ILB’er (TE side) - Read OG to Backs - Down Block by OG step out and up (Trap / Iso)*Play trap outside in, 5 tech. must spill to Mike. - OG pulls outside / step out, buzz feet, anticipate sweep – eyes to FB, Read mesh if QB puts ball in work back to ball (inf. Trap) If QB pulls the ball, play sweep inside out, must beat backside offensive guards block.

Defensive Progression Based on Tech. (No Motion) 6. ILB’er (TE side) cont. - OG down step out and up, eyes to FB, if outside, play power. Only other play on Veer is Trap if FB inside. - OG pulls inside or away from TE = Waggle, open hips and wall TE. 7. ILB’er (SE side) - Read OG to backs - OG pulls inside, play downhill to the Trap then sweep or Pwr. - Play downhill to Trap / No Trap flatten out to Sweep. OG to FB to the ball. - OG pulls outside = waggle (widen to get a piece of the FB) - OG veers = no motion BELLY, play like ISO, step out and up.

Progression with Wing Red Motion: Sweep goes with or to motion / Waggle where motion left from 1. ILB’er (TE side) - OG pulls w/motion = Trap / Sweep / Power. Same read as the backside LB’er had without motion. - Read FB in Mid-Line / ball given = Trap / Qb pulls ball flatten out inside out to sweep. - OG pulls opposite motion = waggle, widen and pick up FB 2. ILB’er (SE side) - OG pulls w/motion = Sweep to trap / get width eyes to FB. Read Qb mesh. - OG pulls opposite motion = waggle, pick up crossing receiver - OG turns out / must see OT pull behind the OG. Treat as a Trap Read / just like OG pulling 3. SAM/DE (9 tech.) - Base block = play block and squeeze. (ball inside) - Cut-off block = play block and squeeze - Veer release with NO MOTION read FB - Veer release with RED MOTION read QB / if you see Qb’s face / play waggle – contain / If you see Qb’s back = Pwr / Close and spill

Progression with Wing Red Motion: Sweep goes with or to motion / Waggle where motion left from 4. DT (5 tech.) (To TE) - Vs. Base block, Play block and squeeze. (Ball inside) - Vs. Cut-off block, play block and squeeze. (Ball away) - Vs. Veer release T-Trap - Red call tells the DT – NO inf. Trap your way / NO Sweep your way. 5. NG (Shade) - Single reach block to TE side = Waggle (be a factor get up the field) - Red call tells NG that the Double now coming away from TE. 6. DT (3 tech. / 4i) - Wing Red call = anticipate ball your way. (Sweep / Belly)

Shap Boyd Defensive Coordinator Washington Univ. in St. Louis Campus Box 1067 One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130 314-935-4710

Defending The Wing T Offense

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Defending The Wing T Offense