Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007 | 7:02 a.m.
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS
Other popular football formations, some of which have stood the test of time and others that have been relegated to the leather helmet bin:
Single wing
The Philadelphia Eagles occasionally dust off the single wing as a novelty act, but for 50 years it was the major formation used in football. Rather than line up behind center, the quarterback would take the snap a few yards behind the running backs in back of an unbalanced line. Knute Rockne's "Notre Dame Box," which you might have seen Moe, Larry and Curly reprise in a "Three Stooges" short, is a famous variation of the single wing.
Wing T
A cross between the single wing and T formations, the Wing T was created by Delaware coach David Nelson and refined by his successor, Tubby Raymond. It had a lot more to do with the Blue Hens' success than the design of their helmets, which was borrowed from Michigan. A lot of high schools and small colleges, whose opponents aren't blessed with abundant defensive speed, still run it.
T
The University of Minnesota made this formation, with three running backs, famous in the 1930s and 1940s, and the Bears used it to defeat the Redskins, 73-0, in the 1940 NFL title game. The T formation is in mothballs since well-coached, physical defenses can stop the run and punish the quarterback.
I
The I formation draws its name from the vertical (as viewed from the opposing end zone) alignment of quarterback, fullback and running back. Tom Nugent of VMI is considered the father of the I formation , but USC's John McKay dotted it by dropping O.J. Simpson a full 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage in an upright stance. That made it easier to see where all those UCLA defenders who couldn't tackle him were coming from.
Wishbone
Although Texas coach Darrell Royal is given credit for masterminding the wishbone, it was actually Emory Bellard, then a Longhorns assistant, who transformed the old T formation into an explosive option-oriented attack featuring three running backs lined up in a row and a quarterback capable of running with the ball or pitching it to a trailing back. Alabama also ran an effective wishbone under Bear Bryant, but it was Billy Sims and Oklahoma that really made it fly. Alas, as with most newfangled offenses, teams eventually learned how to defend the option in its many variations, relegating the wishbone to aisle 4 at the Smith's.
Ace
This formation features just one running back and an additional wide receiver or tight end. Thus, it can be used as both a passing and rushing offense, making it hard to defend and very popular. At least, that is, if you don't play fullback.
Split backs
Also called the pro set, it operates with two running backs split behind the quarterback. Sid Gillman developed it for the AFL's Chargers in the 1960s. Bill Walsh used it, as the West Coast Offense, to power the San Francisco 49ers' dynasty in the 1980s. Timing and choreography, usually with short receiver routes, are its staples. It values chemistry over athleticism.
Shotgun
San Francisco, under coach Red Hickey, introduced the concept of the quarterback taking snaps about 7 yards behind center in the 1960s. But it was likened to the Double Wing-B formation that Pop Warner employed at Stanford about 30 years earlier. The shotgun usually tips off a pass play. Tom Landry refined it in Dallas and it is used by many teams today, most notably Peyton Manning's Colts in Indianapolis.
Empty backfield:
Five receivers, or a combination of receivers and tight ends, line up on the line of scrimmage in this pass formation that is designed to spread the field. It often sets up short inside routes or screens. If those receivers are covered, it is wise to have a quarterback who can scramble. The Patriots have used it in three Super Bowl victories.
Goal-line formation:
Remember "The Fridge"? Huge defensive tackle William Perry was a bulldozer in short-yardage situations for the Chicago Bears in the 1980s, even scoring in a Super Bowl. The Patriots have put their own twist on the tight formation, as linebacker Mike Vrabel has caught touchdown passes as a tight end in two recent Super Bowls.
Once considered another in a long line of gimmick offenses, the shotgun spread has become the offense du jour in high school, college and pro ranks.
Even the Air Force Academy is getting into the act. First-year head coach Troy Calhoun has scrapped the wishbone offense that his predecessor, Fisher DeBerry, ran for 23 years in favor of a variation of the shotgun spread.
Contrary to popular opinion, the shotgun spread was not born in Logan, Utah, four years ago when Alex Smith and company ran it almost to perfection for two seasons. Utes head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Mike Sanford merely improved on an existing offensive scheme by adding elements of the triple option to a shotgun formation.
When Air Force lines up against UNLV on Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo., traces of the wishbone will be evident - although fans likely won't recognize it.
"Actually, we utilize a lot of wishbone principles in the spread offense, but it doesn't look like a wishbone," Sanford, now UNLV's head coach, said. "A lot of our stuff has option reads involved in it. It just looks different because the ball is snapped to a shotgun quarterback."
Why run it?
The reason Sanford brought the shotgun spread offense to UNLV is simple: When executed effectively, it can be a great equalizer if an offense is overmatched by a more talented defense.
"When you spread (the defense) out, it's harder for them to disguise a variety of different blitzes because they have to tip their hat," Sanford said. "If you bring everybody in, you've got to have superior personnel to the people you're playing. When you spread them out, it creates more one-on-one matchups where people have to make tackles in the open space."
A case in point, Sanford said, was Appalachian State's stunning upset of Michigan earlier this season.
"Appalachian State has some good skill guys - a good quarterback and a couple of good receivers - but not even close to the same kind of linemen that Michigan has. But because they (Michigan) have to play on a bigger field in more space, it accentuates the strengths of a team that may have less talent."
Got players?
When Sanford was the offensive coordinator at Utah, the Utes were almost unstoppable behind the shotgun spread offense that Meyer brought to Utah from Bowling Green.
Part of the reason for the Utes' success under Meyer in 2003 and 2004 - when they were a combined 22-2 and became the first non-BCS team to play in a Bowl Championship Series game - did not begin and end with the offensive scheme, Sanford said.
"Like they say, it's not always the Xs and Os, it's the Jimmys and Joes - and we had pretty good Jimmys and Joes there," he said. "We had a really good quarterback, we had three really good receivers, we had two good running backs and we had a really good defense to go along with that."
Utah also caught many of its opponents off guard because it was one of the few teams in the country running an option offense out of a shotgun formation.
"I don't want to sound like we invented the offense," he said, "but we were on the cutting edge of incorporating the run game out of the spread, the pass game out of the spread and option football."
Not a passing fancy
The shotgun spread is the offense to be running these days, but Sanford said he thinks it's more than a fad and will not suffer the same fate as the single wing or the wishbone and fade into obscurity.
"Not going to happen," he said. "It's too much of an equalizer.
"It continues to evolve each year based on how people are defending it. Every year, people are making improvements and reactions to how people are defending it."
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