The Future is Here: The NFL and the Pistol Offense

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by Lotus

1) Several teams still use the wildcat from time to time. You may have read a story this week about Tebow refusing to wildcat for the Jets last weekend.

2) Miami NEVER used the wildcat the way we use the pistol. In its greatest heyday the Fins wildcatted about 4 plays a game at most. On the other hand, we have used the pistol as our standard formation for the entirety of several games.

Miami Dolphins are successful running Wildcat offense - Dave Hyde - SI.com

See link: Dolphins used it about 10 times per game, though I'm not sure if that was the peak because I remember Williams/Brown doing it nearly every other play for awhile.

And again, where is it effective today? I don't care what the Jets do, but are teams winning with it?

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Miami Dolphins are successful running Wildcat offense - Dave Hyde - SI.com

See link: Dolphins used it about 10 times per game, though I'm not sure if that was the peak because I remember Williams/Brown doing it nearly every other play for awhile.

And again, where is it effective today? I don't care what the Jets do, but are teams winning with it?

You continue to COMPLETELY miss my point. Let me try one last time:

1) Using the wildcat for a handful of plays is not the same as running the pistol virtually all game long. The Dolphins offense was never designed around the wildcat. Even at its fullest use the wildcat was still a Dolphin accessory. Even your own link shows this: if teams typically run 60 plays a game, and at its most the wildcat was used for 10 plays, what do you think was happening for the other 50 plays? 10/60 is a sidebar, not a centerpiece.

In contrast, our offense is built around the pistol - or at least it has been for several games. We sometimes have been in the pistol almost all game long. This makes the pistol a centerpiece.

This point is not difficult to grasp.

2) Where did the words "success" and "effective" get smuggled into things? I never even hinted at those words. My argument remains, whether the offensive schemes are successful or not.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Yeppers, and the entire premise is based on the threat of the QB keeping the pigskin X% of the time, right?

I don't think that's accurate

[MTK]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Yeppers, and the entire premise is based on the threat of the QB keeping the pigskin X% of the time, right?

I'd say its the threat of the QB being able to run period.

As the season has gone on Griffin has run less and less, but the offense still works.

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Yes the pistol Offense look very nice.

Are those their retro uni's?
....look good

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Yeppers, and the entire premise is based on the threat of the QB keeping the pigskin X% of the time, right?

No. The pistol is a formation, not a play. There is no premise that the QB will keep the ball. You can run the pistol without the QB's EVER keeping the ball. You can run the pistol without EVER running a read option.

You seem not to be able to differentiate the pistol (a formation) from the read option (which is a play).

[RGIII]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Yes the pistol Offense look very nice.

I'd always work from under center...

[NC_Skins]

Very good read, but I disagree with his assessment that the pistol or read option will be the future of the NFL. This one portion of article sums up why it will never be a mainstay as a offense.

Critics argue that these attacks create an increased risk of injury to quarterbacks. That is a real concern, and if anything can short circuit these changes to the NFL game, it is this.

It's not that defenses will catch up to this, but the fact the read option opens up your QB to be hit on every play. If teams can get a free shot in on your franchise QB, they will and I don't blame them.

I do however think this will be used from time to time during games as a change of pace, or to catch a defense off guard.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

Very good read, but I disagree with his assessment that the pistol or read option will be the future of the NFL. This one portion of article sums up why it will never be a mainstay as a offense.





It's not that defenses will catch up to this, but the fact the read option opens up your QB to be hit on every play. If teams can get a free shot in on your franchise QB, they will and I don't blame them.

I do however think this will be used from time to time during games as a change of pace, or to catch a defense off guard.

Yeah but the article also points out that pocket passers aren't immune to injuries or big hits. That's football.

[NC_Skins]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Yeah but the article also points out that pocket passers aren't immune to injuries or big hits. That's football.

Nobody is saying that pocket passers are immune to injuries.

Of course they aren't immune to injuries, but they are also untouchable (for the most part) once they release that ball. Not in the read option. The QB is still fair game because he's a runner. We saw this in the Bengals game. They lit him up at every chance, and quite frankly they should have.

It's one thing to incur injuries in the normal flow of the game, it's another to put your most important person in a position to get hurt even more. Much like that ill advised pass to RGIII? Same thing with option plays. Sure he can get hurt in the pocket, but it's much smarter not to even subject him to those unnecessary hits when you don't have to.

[skinsfaninok]

Most old school fans hate the new pistol formation stuff just the way it is.

Sent from my Next7P12-8G using Tapatalk 2

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by skinsfaninok

Most old school fans hate the new pistol formation stuff just the way it is.

Sent from my Next7P12-8G using Tapatalk 2

Damn newfangled formations are ruining a good game of football.

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by skinsfaninok

Most old school fans hate the new pistol formation stuff just the way it is.

Sent from my Next7P12-8G using Tapatalk 2

I think that's probably complete BS......
Just....Win Baby! Pistol....Rifle....Grenade launcher...Just Win!

Sent from my Oldschooldude BS detecting morse codeatalk 2

[CRedskinsRule]

Any Redskins fans around from when the Cowboys started using the shotgun, and Gibbs wouldn't use it. I just think this is a very close facsimile of that, except in reverse.

There are a bunch of Cowboys fans on their board that says this will never work. The problem with that is, the whole premise of the pistol blends the best part of a pro-style running game - north south hard hitting running, with the best part of a shotgun formation, the qb's ability to survey the d while standing and receiving the ball in a position that he can release it quickly. It also removes the inherent weakness of the qb lining up under center - which means he has his head down, and is immediately moving backwards at the snap, and the weakness of the shotgun which forces the running game to be much more east west, and less effective.

[Defensewins]

Watching Baylor running the pistol against UCLA in the Holiday Bowl on ESPN right now. RB Martin IV looks good. Big, strong, hard running RB that would look good in the burgundy and gold. Just saying.