Spread Offense

A GREAT COACH ONCE SAID, \"Good football teams either do something different or they do it better.\" At Rhode Island, we try to do both. The offense we run is a combination of the run and shoot. We call our formation the spread and have found that it allows us to use alignment to stretch a defense both horizontally and vertically. It stretches a defense horizontally with the option and vertically with four quick receivers at the line of scrimmage. This approach, we think, keeps defenses from ganging up on the running game. Diagram 1 Here\'s how it works: The two wide receivers (X and Z on the diagram) line up in the proximity of the numbers, depending on where the ball is. The A-Back lines up with his inside foot three feet from the tackle and one foot off the tackle\'s hip. He uses a staggered two-point stance with his inside foot back.The B-back uses a three-point stance lined