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Why is the NFL so obsessed with the Wing T offense?

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Why is the NFL so obsessed with the Wing T offense?

No running, no fun. In 2024, the best offenses in the league will play with the ball. This statement may sound like it’s from the ’90s, but living in the air is a tough way to live as defenses prioritize stopping explosive passing plays. However, the best attacks aren’t just lining up in an I-formation and summoning iso and power over and over again. To be a good track team you need to be creative and deceptive. Offensive coaches are looking everywhere for ideas, and many teams have turned to one of the original offensive systems: the Wing T.

Wing T is a three-way offense. The original formation has two backs in the backfield and a wing lined up outside and behind the tight end. The winger acts as a third back who moves to receive transfers or fakes receiving transfers. Although formations and plays vary from iteration to iteration, the basic principles are deception, sleight of hand, and speed. The goal is to dislodge defenders with moves and fakes and quickly hit the defense by avoiding the fake.

Arizona Cardinals It is a stick defense with an offense that resembles a single wing offense, the original offense from which the Wing T evolved. Mike McDaniels Miami Dolphins The offense ranked first in yards per carry (5.1) last season by integrating Wing T principles, ideas and plays. Matt LaFleur won games by converting the game due to an injury to his starting quarterback. Green Bay Packers We are transforming the offense into the modern Wing T offense. Some of the league’s top play-callers — Andy Reid, Sean McVay, Ben Johnson and Kyle Shanahan — have sprinkled Wing T concepts onto their play sheets for years. Today we see Wing T playing all over the league.

Why is Wing T coming in? NFL?

The importance of the jet sweep, where the receiver takes action and runs to the perimeter and makes a direct pass, comes directly from the Wing T. During Jim Harbaugh’s first tenure as head coach. San Francisco 49ersTed Ginn Jr. He started doing fly sweeps with wide receivers for . Harbaugh said Sacred Heart Prep’s Pete Lavorato taught him the fly sweep after he attended a clinic on Lavorato’s offense, a version of the Wing T.

Every team’s offense now has a jet sweep. The game keeps the defense honest. Faking a jet sweep to receivers, then handing the ball off or throwing it to running backs displaces defenders. Misdirection causes them to look the wrong way and lean the wrong way, which is a key feature of any Wing T offense.

Runners and wide receivers as a variety of running game

Dan Casey built his reputation by posting interesting games on social media. He now consults for NFL teams and helps them add new ideas to their playbooks.

“There’s a need for more variety in the running game and being able to get touches from multiple guys,” Casey explained. “I think the days of being able to line up on one back and run wide are over. Defenses are buying into that.”

Casey talked about what Liam Coen did with his double backing sets: Rachaad White And Bucky Irving at the same time. Neither back is an expert at lead blocking, so you can’t have one of them block the other. No matter who is carrying the ball, you have to find ways to push defenses to create an advantage. Wing T games help you do this.

Shanahan started using Deebo Samuel as a running back with the 49ers years ago. Deadpool pack. This stressed defenses because they had to treat Samuel as a wide receiver and move the nickel (five defensive backs) personnel out when he was part of a three-receiver set, but San Francisco could still run two backs. area.

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“You just change a few players and any run looks good against the fronts you face,” Shanahan explained.

“In my conversations with a lot of NFL players… of course you’re a running back and every team wants a receiver they can turn the ball to. Not just on sweeps, but inside passes as well,” Casey said.

In the clip above Detroit Lions They pull off a rip-off straight from Wing T’s playbook: a basic concept called the “Sally” variant. The play needs to have an element of an outside running fake that is handed off to a player in front of the quarterback, typically with linemen either trap blocking or lead blocking. The Lions ran it Jared Goff pretending to take a step towards the runner before passing it to the opponent Amon-Ra Saint Brown He is in front of him, in the center and tackles the front block for him. Sally is the most prominent Wing T play you’ll see on NFL Sundays.

Bringing new looks to defenses and adding layers to games

“The defense has gotten really good at going with that, which is the basic version of their running game,” Casey said. “So you have to somehow change the mathematics or change the fit. The beauty of these Wing T concepts is that there is no defensive paradigm to go with it. They don’t see this in practice every day. A lot of times when I talk to NFL players they say, ‘I need something that people don’t see a lot because once they see it and represent it, they can crush it.’ ”

Of course, running a basic inside zone play will still work if you block correctly, but defenses have seen this so many times that they can instinctively play it and get to the right places. Whether they can hold their ground, throw blocks and tackles is a different story, but it gives the offense an advantage when defenses second-guess where they need to be or where their running alignment is. This is where the Wing T’s backfield actions come into play.

In this clip, Kansas City Chiefs they are just running a home zone game. Yet before Patrick Mahomes He handed the ball off to the running back, turning his back to the defender to perform a reverse fake to a wide receiver before completing his rotation and getting back into position to pass the ball to the running back. The Chiefs also added another layer of deception because often teams run inside the zone, away from the side where the back is balanced. So, if the back is to the quarterback’s left, they run the zone to the right. In the clip, the running back was lined up to Mahomes’ left but was running inside the left zone.

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Another key tenant of the Wing T is that the point guard turns his back to the defense and performs fakes. Many Wing T playbooks feature a series of plays called “spinners” that involve the quarterback turning to hide the ball from the defense. With the rise of shotgun formations across the league, quarterbacks often distribute the ball as the ball carrier arrives in front of them. By integrating their spinner concept into the shotgun, they even take the element of deception back from the gun.

Take it to the next level

The biggest lesson from the Wing T offense is not the game but the sequence. In every game there is a counter and another counter. If a defense plays too much outside, they can fake an outside play and hit you inside, or vice versa. McVay took the league by storm when he was first hired by the team. Los Angeles RamsHe creates his playbook with this philosophy in mind. McDaniel took the element of deception and layering to another level with the Dolphins. Ball imitations made with footwork and sleight of hand Tua Tagovailoa The techniques he applies are a higher level of the techniques created by Wing T.

Week 10, 12:09 Remaining in the first quarter, first and 10th.

On this play, Tagovailoa first faked an inside pass to run to his left before throwing the ball to the receiver. Malik Washington in the opposite direction. The tricky part of this play is to have the center and guard act as if they are blocking underneath before sneaking into the perimeter to block Washington.

Tagovailoa came back to fake a counterattack down the left. The right guard and tight end also moved incorrectly to the left to get defenders to step in that direction. After centering, Tagovailoa hid the ball before dumping it to Washington. He did a good job of facing the sideline, barely moving his body so the defense wouldn’t suspect he had the ball and would move as little as possible toward Washington.

This play is taken directly from Wing T’s playbook but includes some adjustments.

The quarterback turning his back on the defense and all the fake possibilities adds more layers of deception when teams look to pass the ball, leading to better play action.

Here’s the Packers Malik Willis He turned his back to the defense to fake a pass from the outside before setting a screen.

In today’s age of easy access to information, attackers are looking everywhere for inspiration and ways to defeat defenses. Naturally, they looked back to football’s origins for inspiration because attacking principles never go out of style. Deception and rapid-fire sorting are a deadly combination. Wing T attacks developed these elements into a near-perfect weapon decades ago. Modern crimes include taking notes and adding your own comments to them.

(Top photo of Tua Tagovailoa: Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)

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