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HTTR24-7; A Crash Course In The Pistol Formation, West Coast Offense, and RG3 as a Passer

KCClybun

By KCClybun
in The Stadium

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KCClybun

KCClybun

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NY-CA654_SPRTS__G_20121127203337.jpg

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Washington Redskins fans may be crazy, but they are not (always) dumb. Robert Griffin III’s 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns with 5 interceptions proved that he is for real. You don’t have those kind of stats by accident, and that takes into account he actually missed a full game.

However, we are a fretful bunch. One of the those things that have crept up; Robert Griffin III becoming a “pocket passer”, and learning how to play “under center”. What that means, is playing what’s typically described as a traditional style as quarterback, in the vein of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers and the like. 3 and 5 step drops, from under center. The NFL has created the “myth” of the pocket passer, the guy who stands in there with chaos all around him taking all the shots and performing accurately from the pocket.

And with that there has been a certain degree of worry that the Redskins’ use of the pistol formation will stunt his growth. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about what the pistol is, how it works, and whether or not it hampers the growth of quarterbacks. So I think it’s time for a crash course, to better inform people of it’s use and what it means for Robert Griffin III going forward.

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ArmchairRedskin

ArmchairRedskin

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I heard earlier that Chris Ault was hired as a consultant for the Chiefs. I reckon Alex Smith will be in the pistol a bunch this year. Fat Andy liked what he saw last year.

Oh and I think the confusion with the Pistol/Option is due to the fact that it's been thrown around wrong on TV and in print. People calling it the Pistol Offense all over the place. I mean,nobody calls it the shotgun offense, so why is it so hard to call it the Pistol Formation?

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KDawg

KDawg

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The Pistol Formation is NOT the zone-read offense.

The Pistol FORMATION is not the Pistol OFFENSE

Thank you. I never hear people talk about the "under center offense" :ols:

As you probably have noticed here, that was bothering me for awhile :)

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KCClybun

KCClybun

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Thank you. I never hear people talk about the "under center offense" :ols:

As you probably have noticed here, that was bothering me for awhile :)

I had this article done for a few days, but I was watching NFL AM and they were talking about Chris Ault joining the Kansas City Chiefs staff, and whether or not Alex Smith could run the Pistol offense. So naturally I had to add that part because it pissed me off so bad, lol.

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Darth Tater

Darth Tater

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Funny thing is that the pistol variations were developed so that you don't need to be that talented to have a decent offense, just be willing to put in the work and have good mental acuity (at least as far as football). Now, you throw in an uber talent like RG3...

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KCClybun

KCClybun

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NFL Network ‏@nflnetwork 6m

Chiefs QB Alex Smith to run 'pistol offense' http://on.nfl.com/10FQEY0

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

edit..Probably the wrong place for this but I just read that on twitter and busted out laughing.

Dude, I already said I added a whole section to this article today after seeing the talk about the same thing on NFL AM.

Trust me, you put it in the right place, :-)

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DogofWar1

DogofWar1

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Great article NLC! ESPN and NFLN do a very poor job explaining the differences between things like formations and offenses, so this article should help inform our fanbase a bit more.

The pistol formation will probably be used fairly widely in the few years, the strengthening of the running game it allows with the combination of being able to read defenses like from the shotgun is something OCs would probably love to experiment with.

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hoskins

hoskins

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Really great article, thank you.

So the pistol formation seems to offer some real advantages. What are the disadvantages or challenges it presents to an offense? In other words, why wouldn't we see all 32 offenses lining up this way?

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KCClybun

KCClybun

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Really great article, thank you.

So the pistol formation seems to offer some real advantages. What are the disadvantages or challenges it presents to an offense? In other words, why wouldn't we see all 32 offenses lining up this way?

Probably the same reason that, despite the advantages the shotgun provided, it's usage has only really exploded in recent years.

The pistol has ony been around (or widely known) since 2005-ish. It's still a new animal. Hell, most college offenses don't run it that much.

Disadvantage wise? It's actually hard to say. In some ways it can negatively effect timing routes, but we really didn't have that problem much, if at all last season, as far as Robert being in rhythm. The other problem is supposed to be that it makes play action less effective, but again, we didn't really see that either. Robert's play fakes were some of the best in the league.

Really it's just a matter of younger coaches playing with it and the right talent to run it. Robert, Russell Wilson, and Kap were all the perfect kinds of quarterback to run it. The more success it has, the more it'll be run. Seems like I've read stories about every team in the league trying to run some element of the pistol formation.

---------- Post added May-14th-2013 at 11:44 PM ----------

Great article. I was surprised to read P. Manning and Brady were under center less than RGIII.

The Patriots offense has been trending towards the shotgun since their Super Bowl run in 2007. They ran it about 60% of the time, then with Matt Cassel it got closer to 70%. Now it's pretty much their base formation.

You really only see Brady and Manning under center for hand offs and play action passes. They can, of course, still do the drop back passing thing, but both of them do far more from shotgun than under center.

It's why the ubiquitous idea that you HAVE to learn how to be a standard drop back passer to have success in the NFL is ridiculous. Hard to make that argument when Brady and Manning have pretty well adopted the spread and the shotgun formation completely and guys like Cam Newton and Andy Dalton had huge success their rookie seasons operating mainly out of the gun.

But 90% of media analysis is ex-players regurgitating the same old stuff they've always been taught.

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Lavarleap56

Lavarleap56

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Good stuff NLC.. Bugs me when people call the pistol a offense when it's a formation. Have been working on something similar that will go apong good with this article.

I know a small group beats the "drop back" drum but they do so not seeing Rob is doing that & more.The pistol takes our normal plays that Shanny has always run but adds serius juice.

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MartinC

MartinC

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Really great article, thank you.

So the pistol formation seems to offer some real advantages. What are the disadvantages or challenges it presents to an offense? In other words, why wouldn't we see all 32 offenses lining up this way?

Most NFL passing games are based around timing. Timings have for years been based around the steps in a QBs drop back - 3,5,7 steps. Even in shotgun you will see the QB often take 1 or 3 steps back after getting the snap, that's again about timing so when your back foot hits the top of your drop you get the ball out of your hands in rhythm and the route depths are designed so as you throw the receivers are coming out of their breaks. The pistol changes the timing and you have to tweak your routes to fit and/or the QBs footwork out of the pistol.

NFL teams did this though with the rise in popularity of the shotgun which is now the primary passing formation in the NFL. Over time this will happen with the pistol and probably faster as it allows you to so more things in terms of the run game than the shotgun.

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NoCalMike

NoCalMike

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Great article, it should be used as a reference for folks who don't watch the 'Skins outside of highlight reels, enough to grasp the offense

One thing I would have also added to the article was the myth that RGIII kept getting hurt on read option designed runs. It is annoying to have to argue with almost everyone who thinks "The Shanahan's got RGIII killed during the season with all that designed running" when in fact RGIII was injured both times on scrambles during broken plays, not designed runs.

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KDawg

KDawg

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NFL Network ‏@nflnetwork 6m

Chiefs QB Alex Smith to run 'pistol offense' http://on.nfl.com/10FQEY0

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

edit..Probably the wrong place for this but I just read that on twitter and busted out laughing.

I gotta be honest, this point of view rubs me the wrong way, especially considering the thread it's posted under.

A few key tidbits as to why:

1) Chris Ault. Do you honestly believe he would have signed on to help if the necessary pieces weren't in place?

2) This is ten times more important than #1. The pistol is a FORMATION. NOT an offense. If you're envisioning Alex Smith running around the field like he's RG3, think again. That won't be it's utilization.

One of the major strong points of the pistol is that the alignment of the running back behind the quarterback can help to hide him. That slows linebacker reads a bit. Especially considering that Jamaal Charles is 5-11 and Alex Smith is 6-4. You won't be able to see Charles from a MIKE/ILB perspective. A back with a burst like Charles would benefit big time from the ability to hide, even for a split second. Linebackers would need to trust other reads, such as where the QB opens to figure out where they're going. And then the playaction threat thrives.

Not to mention, they have a ton of weapons that could make the play fakes a lot more dangerous. Dexter McCluster will certainly benefit. As will Dwayne Bowe. Don't forget they added Donnie Avery and they still have the 6-4 WR Jon Baldwin. They have two bookend tackles in Brandon Albert and Eric Fisher which will absolutely help Alex Smith's set up as well on the pass plays. And most importantly, with Ault and Reid you know the short passing game will be prevelant and the backs (McCluster, Charles and maybe even rookie Knile Davis) will be prominently featured in the pass game. They will use the pistol FORMATION to get the ball to their playmakers in space. It's actually genius.

Oh and by the way, while not exactly "fast", Alex Smith ran a 4.71 40 at the combine in '05 and a 2.77 20 yard dash with a 32" vertical and over a 9' broad jump. He's a somewhat athletic player that can move and provide a decent threat in the zone read series. Oh and by the way, even though the wonderlic is a poor indicator, he got a 40/50 on that. He's no dummy.

EDIT: And, remember, they treaded Javier Arenas for FB Anthony Sherman. Here's some tidbits on Sherman:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/685592-anthony-sherman-to-the-arizona-cardinals-2011-nfl-draft-scouting-report

Sherman may not be an elite fullback but he blocks effectively and catches the ball effectively. He should be a pretty solid lead blocker in the NFL and will catch the ball well out of the backfield and can get yards after the catch. The problem is that he isn’t effective running the ball out of the backfield which hurts his value because he isn’t as well rounded as a couple other fullbacks in this class.

http://tommeltonscouting.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/anthony-sherman-fb-connecticut-scouting-report/

Positives: Good size and athletic ability. Shows good initial pop as a blocker. Adjusts well in space and moves well to pick up blockers on the move. Is physical and likes contact, not afraid to take on a larger defender as a blocker or ball carrier. Catches the ball very smoothly out of the backfield and has some ability to gain yardage after the catch thanks to his running style and leg drive.

Negatives: Offers very little as a runner and doesn’t have much burst or vision to find running room when he gets a hand off.

Sounds like a slightly lesser version of Darrel Young, huh?

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LD0506

LD0506

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Great article and some outstanding followup here as well. It is just these kind of offerings here that make ES such a useful source for fans that want to understand the game, the whole game, better.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my take is that the Pistol is a response to the evolution of attacking defenses that read and concentrate pre-snap to take away whatever, easiest, highest %, most effective weapons or plays, in effect forcing offenses to make do with 3rd/4th options behind or beyond the D. Running everything out of this base set over and over, giving nothing away pre-snap as far as tendencies based on personnel or alignment and sets the D back to reacting post-snap, allowing a savvy QB a la Robert to opt with whatever gives him the best opportunity. In some ways it is more demanding on the O, they have to give the exact same look every time, fakes must be executed perfectly and blitz pickups have to be there, but when you focus on doing the essential basics again and again and hone them to a fine edge, instead of just looking to throw in unexpected "gimmick" plays occasionally, you take some of the advantage away from DCs, even to the extent of dictating personnel in that they now need faster/more athletic players to respond as opposed to brutes that simply do one thing well.

Or I could just be kidding myself that I grasp this and haven't had enough coffee yet :ols:

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