The Pistol Offense

Championship offenses are built from many things. Structure, scheme, and mentality are nearly all equally important to the success of the offensive unit, and its contribution to the success of the program. Three things that championship offenses all share is that they score with sustained drives, they score with big plays, and they score with the game on the line. In order to do this, the unit must wear their opponents out by working together as the most mentally tough unit on the field.

In order to develop this mental toughness, it is important to emphasize the necessary habits in our daily activities whether that is during off season workouts, in season practice, or game day. Individuals must be Committed, must be a Professional, must be Relentless, and must strive to control the things they can control while eliminating the distractions they cannot.

Schematically my offenses base out of a Multiple Pistol Offense that is versatile enough to emphasize and adapt to the strengths of our personnel year to year. Our goal will be to look as complicated as possible to a defense, while remaining as simple as possible for our players. We will strive to be balanced in our distribution of the ball from run pass standpoint, and from a personnel standpoint. We must emphasize the run game in order to develop a physicality across the board, while making sure we do not get one dimensional. We need to be able to execute in critical situations of a game when the defense knows what’s coming.

There are many advantages of The Pistol Offense, and that has been shown in the way elements have been incorporated across the game of football at all levels since its inception at the University of Nevada in 2005. Through my experience from the early days of this offense, these are the keys that make the original system unique, and have been advantageous in our Pistol Offense over the years.

• RB Alignment hides him from the Defense

• RB Alignment does not allow a defense to set strength or blitzes base on off-set strength

• Pistol provides a North/South run opportunity for the RB

• Pistol provides a Quick Hitting Perimeter Run Game for any offensive skill player

• Pistol allows for a more diverse run game than Under Center or Shotgun

• QB is in a position to be an all around threat to the defense

• Pass Drops happen faster, and can be deeper than Under Center

• Play Action Pass becomes an excellent tool due to run versatility

Offense Communication Structure

The language of the offense, and the structure of the communication are key to the way the players will learn the scheme. When the language is mastered, the thinking is minimized, and the versatility takes hold. There are two main tenets that guide the communication structure. First, structure the language in groups to minimize rote memorization. There is no way to eliminate it, but by categorizing as much as possible it allows everyone to think logically. Secondly, the coaches get paid to think, and the players get paid to play. Players cannot play fast if they don’t know what they’re doing. The language must be structured in a way that puts as much of the thinking on the coaching staff and their planning. While the players will have decisions to make in game, the knowledge and information needed to make those choices will have been simplified by the coaching staff in the game planning process.

Run Game Structure

I build the offense out of five base run concepts: Inside Zone, Outside Zone, Power, Counter, Pin Pull. Within these concepts we will have the ability to add Read/Option concepts and choices for our Quarterback. Pistol alignment aids these variations and formation versatility stresses the defense while keeping the base concepts simple for the Offensive Line. We will also have the ability to add miscellaneous runs such as Draws, Traps, etc… on an as needed basis.

Pass Game Structure

The base pass game can be grouped into four categories: Play Action, Quick, Dropback, and Screen. Play Action schemes will be married to the run game schemes. The Quick schemes will be split into true Slide Protection as well as RPO concepts. The Dropback schemes are designed to keep the Quarterback reads, and the receiver assignments consistent across a multitude of formations. The Screens are used to get dynamic players the ball and as a change up off of the Play Action and Dropback concepts.

Personnel and Formation Versatility

The ability to take advantage of our strengths hinges on our ability to put our players in the best position possible. One of the best ways to do this is to gain a number or leverage advantage on the defense by showing them unique pre-snap looks. Our ability to vary who is on the field, what position they play, and where they align unlocks the strength of the individual Line Schemes and Route Schemes that we teach.

In order to maximize the effect of this tool we have to show as many formations as possible, and introduce new alignments as the season progresses. By the end of a season there should be 25-30 unique formations in addition to various pre-snap movements to give the defense as many unique looks as possible. This not only minimizes the pre-snap indicators that we tip off, but it also forces the opponent to use valuable preparation time as a staff and team at practice.