Wing-T Cadence problems…

 

Bryan Schaumloffel

Head Football Coach

McGann-Mercy High School, Riverhead, NY

Bucksweep.com

 

I think every Wing-T coach has thought of the cadence and how integral it is to the Wing-T offense.  Everything starts with the cadence as it sets up the timing of the various motions.

 

Since most Wing-T coaches are Delaware disciples here are the two Delaware cadences we were taught over the years.

 

  1. Old Delaware… This is the cadence that most Wing-Ters were taught and most likely still use today.    

  Set…Red-d-d…Set…Go

  1. New Delaware… When Delaware went with the triple option in the nineties they moved toward the QB giving an even or odd in their cadence.  

                    Set… Even(Odd)… Set …Go

 

One thing about the Wing-t I have found is the difficulty of changing the cadence because of the motions and defensive teams timing up blitzes and stunts based on the position of the motion man at the snap.

 

I have talked to several people and tried several things over the years.    I do not think there is one perfect solution that handles all situations, but below are some of the things I have tried and had success with.

 

Double Motion… William Paterson College, NJ… Coach Gerry Gallagher.   I was taught this by Coach Robb Disbennet from Salisbury State University.  When Salisbury was a Wing-T team in the 80’s, teams would game plan stunts and blitzes off of the motions set by the offense.  Teams would slant to the motion or away from motion depending on down, distance, etc (Fig.1).  Coach Gallagher came up with what was described to me as “Double Motion” to cross up the defense’s calls and slants. 

 

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For example… Red Formation… QB would begin cadence and LHB would leave in 3 Step Motion.  If teams where making adjustments off this motion the offense could have the LHB leave in 3 step Motion at full speed and plant and spin off his left foot into the dive back position.  The play could then call to be run with a dive back/wing look or the QB could motion the RHB into 3 Step Motion after the LHB is set for 1 second.  (Fig. 2) What this does is make the defense make a different call in a one second span.  This could cause havoc on the defensive lineman that are gearing up to go one way and in a split second have to change there assignment and lead to blown assignments.

 

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Cadence based on play…  I have used this cadence with a lot success.  I made it pretty simple but it could be made as complicated as the coach wants.  You could base it on any number of factors; formation, series, or point of attack.

 

For example… I used the cadence based on the Point of Attack.  If the POA was odd we went on ONE if the POA was even we went on TWO.  It is a great automatic Change-Up.  We still used the Old Delaware cadence but sent the HBs in 3 Step Motion on the Set instead of the Red when we went on two.   It worked great.  (We also used a hear click by the QB and used “Go” to snap the ball.

 

Count down cadence…  The QB will call the cadence on “2” in the huddle.  The QB will then call the cadence by counting backwards starting with 5.

 

For example…  Five… Four… Three…Two (ball Hiked!)

 

Freeze Count…  A real easy way to keep teams off guard with motion is a Freeze Count.  I am sure this is a pretty common tactic used by many teams but I got this from Florida State.  The QB will come up to the line and say any cadence they want, but nothing happens until the QB says “Check” then the normal count is given on ONE.

 

For example… Blue 19…Blue 19… Set…Go…Go… Go… “Check” Set…Go (Ball Hiked!)

 

But even with this I was still at a loss on how to counter act against teams timing up the snap based on the position of the motion man. (fig.3)

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 I used to love the old quick pitch to the HB with the crack by the SE and the pulling of the tackle. (Fig. 4)

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I thought I could produce the same effect as the quick pitch as well as mixing up my cadence/motion tendency by having the HB leave in 3 step motion and the QB giving a hard count (Go) when he reached the dive back position but instead of the ball being snapped the HB would continue full speed behind the FB and the QB would snap the ball on the second go and toss the ball to the HB running full speed to the outside. (Rocket Sweep!!!) (Fig. 5)  I never put this play into practice I thought we would have a hard time timing everything up.   My thought was it would be a  better play then quick pitch because of the extra blocker  and speed.  The play would also get us out of our cadence/motion tendency. Several years later this play has become a staple play for many Wing-T teams.

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