THE MAGIC BULLET

THE DOUBLE WING OFFENSE

by Steve Calande

PART ONE
Since 1999 I have been absolutely in love with the double wing offense. Its what I know,
Its what I love, Its what I do!
Why? What is it that makes me so passionate ( obsessed) about a silly looking formation
that has no line splits, a hidden sniffer of a fullback and a pair of wingbacks and a
blocking quarterback? What is it about this offense, so unusual and different that it will
NEVER be seen on Monday Night football?
Some say there is no such thing as a "Magic Bullet" offense. That may or may not be the
case FOR THEM, however FOR ME personally, I do strongly believe that the Double
Wing offense gives me the best chance to win games with the kinds of kids I expect to
coach each year.
I love smashmouth power football, a meat grinder of an offense that presents an attitude,
swagger and never say die approach to running the football.
What I like about the double wing offense can be explained by first examining the
formation itself.
I love the 10 gaps that we give the defense to defend. I love the threat of four immediate
receivers and something I really like is BALANCE and that balance includes TWO
FLANKS. The two flanks (two wings) and complete balance is what separates the double
wing from the single wing and creates my passion for the double wing offense. I love
single wing football however the double wing has that balance and the extra flank giving
it the final nod when it comes to my personal choice of a favorite offense.
Another thing I really like about the double wing is the team approach, its not the
quarterback and 10 other guys, nor is it a tailback and 10 other guys...its a true 11 man
TEAM offense where everyone has a big role and every player is important to our
success.
I feel strongly that this offensive package more than any other can be executed by very
average athletes because its got more to do with the sum of the players than individual
talent. I love the fact that we can put four runners, 4 blockers, 4 fakers and even 4 passers
in the offense. I love the fact that I dont have to deal with the NFL ego types that play
wide receiver. I enjoy seeing unselfish players win championships!

I really like the playbook I have put together as well. I have a very strong, well conceived
rushing attack that can attack any of 10 gaps with brute force, great angles and superior
numbers. I love the fact that I can get there "first with the most" and i can get there with
"ankle breaking" misdirection and deception. "Trickeration" isnt gimmicky or grab
bagging in my offense, its built right into my core tool box of plays.
PART 2
...Back to the playbook or "Tool box" as I like to refer to it ...Its imporatant to actually be
able to execute the plays in the playbook! I personally feel that too many guys rely on
clinic speak and rely too much on what LSU and the Colts do when they design their own
playbooks. I dont recruit or coach Division I athletes and I dont get to draft and trade like
the Colts. I design my offense according to what I really believe high school and youth
players can do! I design it knowing full well what youth and high school players can be
expected to defend as well.
Now, I know that my double wing system is different from some of the others, That is
simply because any coach that designs an offense will put his own spin on things. Its an
art form every bit as much as it is a science. Our own personal "taste" and playing and
coaching experience shape our vision for our offense. My offense hasnt changed "much"
since 2005 however I would say that in the last three years that I am more open to a few
things that were not in my original 2005 system. I have expanded my study in pass
protection, the run and shoot passing game and put a much greater emphasis on using
"log" tag and/or option off of the counter play to put defenses in a bind (particularly at
the high school level)- I am also now a much bigger fan of the screen game then I was
back in the early part of the decade. One thing I have never lost sight of is the concept of
STICKING TO THE CORE and always remembering that the players knowledge and
ability to carry the tools (execute the plays) is what is most important- way more
important that having a huge playbook !!!
now, that said...
Its great to know that every time I design a play that I am actually designing TWO
PLAYS if we choose to run it to both sides of our balanced formation! That ability to
attack each side of the defense, forcing them to balance up is really a huge part of what I
love about the basic double tight double wing set.
Its great knowing too that when I draw a block I know full well that my kids can
ACTUALLY MAKE THAT BLOCK because my splits are not wide and the defense is
already aware of how difficult it is to blitz our set successfully.
speaking of the line splits... I take advantage of the defense being bunched and maximize
their frustration with our cramped formation! I think the absense of line splits is a HUGE
ADVANTAGE for the offense when it comes to preventing penetration, sealing the line
of scrimmage therfore trapping backers and blitzers. I also find it to be a huge advantage

for the offense in that our pulls are so short even if the linebackers successfully "READ
THE GUARDS" they are walled off so much faster than if it was a long pull for our
linemen. Lets not forget that every play we run we can more than likely get a double team
SOMEWHERE due to those tight splits! What I find is that teams are going away from
loading the line of scrimmage (primarily due to being sealed off so fast on the powers or
burnt so bad on traps) and going to more 4 man lines...this only facilitates our ability to
create more double teams. We can often get our "double double" on the playside when
we run our powers vs a "fourty" front. The double teams are a great equalizer for us, if
our kids are not overpowering drive blockers, big strong and bad...then the double teams
give us two average kids against their player creating one super block at the point of
attack! This of course is the very reason the GOOD GOD blocking system was
conceived. I simply wanted to ensure that I would get that desired double team at the
point of attack and secondly I wanted to be sure that I could pin point WHO was in the
double team as well as WHO we were double teaming and trapping! The system wasnt
developed in a matter of hours but in a matter of years!!! In 2003 I used the GOOD rule
only on counters...then over time and with some angst I finally decided to change my
hole numbering system to allow the complete GOOD GOD SYSTEM to take form in
2005. Since that time I think my double wing system and playbook has really gone to
another level. I am even more passionate about it today than i was in 2005 when I shared
it with the world.
PART 3
...In the future at the high school level I can see the use of four different types of motion..
ray and lee, that quick two step arc motion
rocket and lazer- the one step flat sprint motion to set up the split flow series
roar and loud- orbit motion for orbit sweeps(Mensing is talking me into it) and puts us in
trips!
bruiser and blister- to help the fb and qb run game
but for now I am convinced that the core full flow and split flow plays are perfect!
I feel strongly that the double wing offense can put all eleven defenders in conflict like no
other offense. I am sure the spread guys, the wing t guys, the option guys and the multiple
I guys or west coast guys or run and shoot or air raid guys, power t, single wing guys etc
all say that same thing. I would like to give some examples of how I can put guys in
conflict very quicky with just my full flow muscle plays and my split flow series. I really
feel that this is a complete attack that any high school can master and certainly many
youth teams that have good coaching.
lets examine for a moment the full flow plays of the double wing versus a 6-1 cover two
defense. (some might refer to it as a 63).
-----S---------------S
C-----------M---------C

---E--T---G---G- T--E
------O-O-O-X-O-O-O
--O---------O---------O
-------------O
The defense shown has defensive guards aligned head up on our guards, perhaps they
sltant to motion, pinch or even cross some downs. perhaps sometimes they go to the b
gaps with the mike attacking the center. No matter, they are aligned head up on our
guards in "2 techs". The defensive tackles are aligned from loose 5 techs to 7 techs or in
the C gaps (you really cant expect youth and high schoolers to align in the exact spot
every down even when they are instructed to!) - the defensive ends are aligned on the
outside shoulder of our tightends initially but My guess is that before we are done here
they will be outside or head up on our wings. Lets just say they are going to vary their
alignment depending on the assignment (contain vs squeeze and spill for example), the
corners are 2 yards outside of our wings and playing the flats and will also be in contain
unless stunting. They may vary their depth from on the los to 5 yards off the ball, we
expect that. The safety on each side aligns roughly over the tes 8 yards deep up to 12
yards deep depending on down and distance. The mike backer typically aligns 3-4 yards
off the ball over the center and will stunt to motion or blitz the A gaps or simply scrape
and flow. We will put him in a bind just like any other player.
We will start our assault on this defense (like any other) with an attack off tackle running
our "Ray 34 Power" and "Lee 25 Power" plays.
The power off tackle play of our double wing attack brings more punch than any other
offense known. We are going to get a double team on the inside edge, a great kickout on
the defensive end and a seal block on the mike backer- and then three lead blockers thru
the hole to either side. The single wing offense simply cant do it that way with the same
kind of conflict for the defense because it has only one wing. The single wing is poetry in
motion, our offense is ROCK AND ROLL in motion! Ill take rock and roll over poetry
any day. :) No offense to my single wing brothers but lets face it, the ability to threaten
the defense with this play, the hub of the offense is a real selling point of the double
wing. The "riding the wave" image of our wings catching the toss and being led thru the
off tackle power alley by those three lead blockers (backside guard, tackle and
QUARTERBACK) is artwork in action for sure.
So, right away, we have the defense seeing quick two step motion...right, then right
again, left and back to the right, left again, and again...over and over again, ...4 yards, 8
yards, 8 more...2, then 6 then 19...they cant stop the bleeding. The defense begins to
cheat...the defensive tackle is being hammered and driven into the Mike backers path
every time. The tackle becomes weary and tired of being on skates ...he puts his head
down and begins to fight and claw and scratch the earth to hold his ground...The coaching
staff and defensive captains are yelling at the defensive tackles (who yell back out of
frustration over being cut blocked or double teamed repeatedly) and defensive ends for
allowing the gashing of the defense at the C gap. The safety on each sides begin to chase
motion like a kitten chases string and they begin to crash the c gap when it comes to
them...The defensive end, tired of having his ribs bruised and battered will begin to

hesitate at the line of scrimmage...the defensive guards, completely out of the action
begin to play lighter on their hands hoping to stand up more quickly and pursue with
more effect...
Part 4
We have created conflict without even running anything other than the powers left and
right. The quick motion is what I call an "alarm" for the linebackers, corners and
safeties...they see the motion and without a doubt that "holy crap here it comes again!"
alarm goes off in their heads. The younger the kids, the more likely that they have NO
CHANCE of shutting off that alarm and they will be reacting to it faster and with more
wreckless abandon.
the kids mean well, afterall they simply want to please their coaches and show that they
have heart and guts. In the end, we will use this against them. Lets explore just one way
to take advantage of the conflict caused by the repeated pounding, embarassing butt
kicking from the off tackle toss power plays. The trap...Uh oh, that same defensive tackle
who is being screamed at by his coaches and teammates for being driven into the
secondary is fighting harder than ever to hold his ground and split the double team (just
as he is coached to do!) Suddenly we exploit that effort and use it against him. These
tackles might be Hercules out there and really are able to hold their ground versus a
double team...but can they do that and also react quickly enough to squeeze the trap? We
are going to find out. My focus remains on the off tackle area on the playside. lets just
say that we are running "Ray 42 quick trap" now and what that does to this defense is a)
puts a double team on the defensive guard that started to play light on his hands so he
could chase the powers b) fakes the double team and traps the hard charding studly
defensive tackle...worse, allows him to use his own low hard charge to fall flat on his face
in our backfield as we run right under him where he once was. c) continues to stimulate
that alarm but muddy the picture for the backer and safety and defensive end and corner.
yes, here it comes again but not to the same spot! Now the fast flow is too fast and can
lead to the safety and linebacker running right by the ball carrier. The way the Calande
system traps are designed allows us to attack the CORNER with the trapping guard if the
dt falls on his face. we teach that READ for our pulling guard. he simply continues to the
second level. In addition, we do the same thing with the pulling tackle. So, as I look at
this defense, I am getting a double team on the dg, into mikes path, he cant come under or
the guard simply plugs his path, he can try to go over but is rudely greeted by my
playside tackle and tight end who are both blocking "FBI" as he is the first backer inside.
the playside wing attacks BS and "blinds" the playside safety with a high block,
momentarily causing him to lose sight of the ball. he in fact has no clue that it was EVER
HANDED OFF to the hidden fullback...just like the backside safety whos "alarm" had
him on his horse running to help stop the power toss play...I think this play scores early
and often if we block it well. On the backside the center has an angle on the dg, the
backside dt is once again frustrated with yet another cut block by our tightend. he is
purely disgusted and asks to be replaced for a down. how can he be asked to charge hard
and low to penetrate a double team and also be asked to be harshly cut down this way. He
feels wasted and out of the defense altogther when we run traps and powers the other

way. When he sees the motion quickly going away this sets up an alarm in his head "Ill
just wait for the cut block then hop over it, or Ill just play light on my hands and pursue
the play"...conflict is developing...that simply little motion and the use of the cut and
double team have him frustrated early on.
The coaching staff didnt do a good job of preparing him or the other dt for the abuse they
are taking. they simply didnt explain that "chasing the pullers" wasnt enough coaching to
get it done this week and the scout offense certainly didnt cut or double team any where
near the way our offense does. The enemy simply could not duplicate our attack. Not
even the basic toss and trap.
Now, lets talk about the Mike backer for a moment. He is "learning" that our center will
block back on the toss and traps. He is in fantastic position to read this block and can
quickly pick up on the pulling guard and tackle. Here however is his delema. How far
does he scrape? How fast? He might scrape hard and fast and have the fullback run the
trap right up the gut where he vacated, he might scrape too slow and get a shoulder pad in
his ribs from the wing on a power or the tackle on a trap. He simply must be protected by
the 6 men up front or he is ineffective. We will further cloud the picture for him later
with the false key provided by our playside center blocks on the sprint sweep and shock
and awe sweep. At the high school level we might even toss in a "wrong way" pull by
one of our guards. (not really my style but Im always entertained by it)...
more...
Part 5
...already you can sense my confidence (its not arrogance, its confidence) in my offense. I
am CONVINCED that I can block this or any other front with very average kids. What I
need to do well is BE ANALITICAL when things dont go well. I need to quickly
diagnose where the defense is being successful and find out what they are doing quickly.
If I am sharp with my eyes and can tune out all of the random play call suggestions that
the typical assistant throws out there ( "coach they got 9 in the box you gotta loosen em
up") ("coach, we got to get outside") then I can make a decision to run the next play
knowing exactly what I am trying to accomplish (other than score)- who are we putting
into conflict and why? IF I am running anything other than my "ray 34 power" and "lee
25 power" plays then I had better have a darned good reason as to why! Why would I run
anything less than my very best play at the defense??? Are they stopping it? if so, how?
I firmly believe this...and perhaps this will lead to me being the most hated online
personality in the history of the internet...I firmly believe that this offense cannot be
"stopped" when its coached correctly AND (dont forget this part) play calling is accurate
based on what his happening on the field. I completely get that the offense can stop
itself...ie fumbles, penalties, missed blocks, poor execution..thats true of any offense, any
team, anywhere and any level.
What I am trying to say is that with roughly even talent (even if we are a bit slower) we

should score on every posession. I feel that if we dont shoot ourselves in the foot we
score. Sure, sometimes theres competing with the clock. That can be a problem. I have
faced that many times in my coaching career, long drives...suddenly we are at the 25 yard
line and theres only a minute and thirty on the clock...the attack has to change or we arent
going to score. Not sure where to put that in the "getting stopped" file? Maybe I should
say that I firmly believe that this offense can always move the chains.
Ill bet all coaches feel that way? I am not sure but I think that double wingers are just
wired differently though when it comes down to play calling, clock management, and
down and distance especially. For example, third and seven just means I only have to get
3.5 yards on each of my next two plays...not seven on my next. Know what I mean? I
wake up in four down territory baby!
anyhow, back to the trap for a moment. Even our trap plays put a hurting on the defense.
The fullback is a bull in a china shop with the big ol guard and tackle leading the way
thru the alley now. hes got the advantage of deception too created by his hidden sniffer
alignment and the assistance provided to him by that quick two step "alarming" motion.
now, to really drive a nail in the coffin we have added a bit of razzle dazzel to our trap
play in that we teach and coach the fullback to PITCH THE BALL TO THE MOTION
WING later on!! We teach it and I cant wait to see it actually happen. (Kids did it all of
the time in practice but hang on to that ball like it was their baby in a game)...its about as
crazy as I get with the football.
Part 6
I said earlier that the DGs might begin to play lighter on their hands in an effort to chase
the powers (or, for example, a dg might wish to cross face when the center blocks back
on him) an thats when they become ripe for the double team on the wider trap play (42
and 43 quick trap and counter trap)...when they get double teamed a few times from our
choice of running the wider trap they have fight back or they too are put on skates and
blown into the secondary or into the MIKE backers lap.
I havent even talked about running Wedge on them to add to their pain and suffering.
That certainly would be the choice if the dgs AND the dts are lighter on their hands or
doing lots of looping and stunting for example.
The point is that we can place the DG under duress as well with double teams, traps and
wedges and even frustrate him further with cut blocks from the center ( ie our center
cutting playside on the sprint sweep and shock and awe sweeps)- Lets keep in mind that
as we pick on the DGs we continue to pick on the des and the secondary as well.
The dts continue to experience the frustration associated with being cut when they are on
the backside of the play or left unblocked to fall on their face playside.
I really like attacking a six man line with the wedge, short trap (40 and 41) and the longer

trap (42/43) ...We are absolutely working over the defensive line in this defense. NOw,
lets talk for a second about the use of our WIDER POWER as it relates to those defensive
linemen. When we call our wider power the GOOD GOD blocking up front allows us to
get our DOUBLE DOUBLE on those down guys. I like to bracket the dg with the
playside guard and playside tackle, driving him quickly into the mike backer while
securing any threat of an A gap run through. I like too how my "designated post blocker"
concept tells my tightend (6 man) that he will post that dt and the wing will provide the
pivot portion of that double team as we run that man off the ball vertically into the
linebacker and backside safety path. To manipulate the alignment of the defensive end
and to facilitate a better/quicker double team from the wingback we will step him up into
his "wing on" alignment on the line of scrimmage. This removes the defensive end from
the tes shoulder to the wings outside shoulder (typically) and extends the flank. Now,
with "ray 36" and "lee 27" powers we have two playside double teams and completely
solidified gap protection along the line of scrimmage since each of the inside men on the
double teams keeps his "eyes inside" to prevent blitz or run thrus by the defenders.
Now, when we step up the wing on the line of scrimmage the defense will begin to be
conditioned to that alarm thing again..."uh oh, here it comes again!" and again, we have
to begin looking at how we can cause conflict. We can of course run the short and long
traps with the wing on the los and it will only help stimulate the desired reckless response
from the playside tackle who fears the double team. We can even get crazy and start
thinking about running counters and counter cutback soon since we have the defense
conditioned to the alarms.
First lets examine the simple wing counter and its application here. The two safeties and
Mike backer are stimulated by the quick two step motion, the Mike is in somewhat better
position to read the center and guards however he is in a somewhat worse position to get
around the hump caused by our double team blocks. (this is a huge benefit to running a
system like GOOD GOD that uses double teams rather than using some sort of track
blocking scheme) - now, The defensive coach has probably already screamed "watch the
counter" all week in practice, and several times early in the game. Just as kids become
conditioned with a stimulus such as our two step motion, they can become immune to a
stimus such as "watch the counter"...everyone in the stadium knows its coming and its
still going to break for a touchdown at some point in the game. Its up to the defensive
coach to give his kids far more coaching than " this way!!!" ( we heard that alot) as its
probably way too late for his kids If he is telling them that. What he has to do is give
them some good solid keys. Maybe a good key against SOME double wing offenses is to
simply cross key the wings. ie, if the safety sees the wing come his way he stays home.
Well, I make sure to cause some conflict for that key by running a bunch of plays where
the wing comes back but never has the ball, the fb or qb keeps it. This causes some of
that DECONDITIONING or immunity to the alarm that I spoke of earlier.
Part 7
I suppose another somewhat reliable key is looking at the te. IF hes cutting the safety can
MOST LIKELY chase that action to the other side. - I of course built in another one of

those "ok, great, now I cant trust that key either" play into the offense by adding the
counter keeper/option play. Even worse, my tightend cuts playside on the shock and awe
sweep! oh boy. Now, the regular wing counter doesnt have as much power as my counter
cutback play ...which is one of my favorite plays btw, but it does have enough deception
and enough power to be relied upon as either a speedy trickeration play or a muscle play
to pick up two yards when you need it.
The reason my version has enough power is two fold, first, the good god blocking system
gets us that double team..even on a seven tech. My designated post blocker rule is going
to have the tackle post that sucker and the te is going to double his outside half and we
are going to double him off the ball. ( the point is that some dwers would have the tackle
down block on the covered guard- and we might if the linebacker is really coming thru
the a and b gaps on us) but we are more than likely going to blow that sumnof*gun into
the lbers lap, lead with the fb and the backside tackle too.
Thats two lead blockers on an off tackle play WITH MISDIRECTION. Now, think
logicially for a moment. Lots of I formation guys in this country will tell you that their
"26 power O" is their number one running play...its their tailback off tackle with the
backside guard leading. No misdirection at all and one less blocker than we have. Which
play do you think is superior??? See my point? This play simply rocks and its always one
of the top scoring plays in my offense. So, now any defender who was reacting to that
two step motion like a kitten chasing string is in deep doo doo in trying to reposition
himself to make a play against our counter play. Add to the fact that we can run that
wicked counter to EITHER SIDE and again Ill say we have tactical superiority over a
single wing team.
Once again, in disgussing conflict we can OUTSMART a defense that is LEARNING to
recognize our counters by running a few variations of it. While the standard wing counter
does what it is meant to do, eventually a defense recognizes the backfield action and can
recover sometimes limiting the counter to 6-7 yards as it loses its game breaking effect.
When we feel that we have lost that home run threat we then will change the counter that
we use. ILL go back to the counter cutback next...Ray 35 counter cutback lets my best
back carry the ball WITH MISDIRECTION and MORE POWER than his other counter
plays...think about this for a moment...whats every I formation coach going to tell you he
uses for misdirection? The good ol counter trey right?...ok, now think counter trey x 5.
This play packs a wallop with just enough misdirection to destimulate the defense to that
alarm...???what??? ok, so now they see the left wing go in motion...its either a) power b)
trap or c) counter.....right? wrong...now its a freaking train wreck coming right back at
you! What happens on the counter cutback belive it or not is a direct result of my
experience running the balanced line single wing and putting in a kick arse "weak side"
power play. Now, our blocking scheme is identical to the counter so it takes NO NEW
TEACHING for our linemen at all, also, because we feel that the cutback play is slower
developing then our regular wing counters we are going to bring more power...we are
going to have the qb toss to the motion wing then plant and double team the de with the
trapping guard. That rips open a hole in the defense and certainly puts a hurting on the
defensive end. An added bonus is that if the de were to squeeze down with the tes inside

release we can easily log him with the guard and the play easily turns into a cutback
sweep of sort with the qb and fb and bst and wing leading the way. That creates certain
uneasiness for any DC and his DES and corners. Now, back to the blocking...double on
the dt, single the de, cut backside dt with the te again of course, pull the guard and tackle,
guard kicks out with the qb and the tackle leads and wraps inside while the fb jabs as if
kicking out on a power, plants and cuts back under the qb, thru the off tackle hole,
running hip to hip with the tackle, looks for a second level kickout...now, heres a real key
coaching point...with the fb kicking out second level and the tackle wrapping...youd be
one block short if you dont have your non motion wing running right behind those two
pushing on their backs...he splits them and the ball carrier is riding his back, and the non
motion wing (pulling all of the way across the formation) makes this play a show stopper
as he runs over the false stepping safety. that wings block is the TOUCHDOWN BLOCK
on that cut back play. Now, if you have your wings in a two point stance your cutback
play wont be quite as deceptive as mine. I have my wingbacks hidden in three point
stances so that when I run cutbacks and counters they cant be cross keyed so easily. I
dont want that safety and corner to see his "pull" ...until its too late.
Part 8
Alright as I mentioned, the defense will begin to recognize a counter play and so will the
coaches and players on the sideline...so here comes variation number three and with NO
CHANGE IN THE BLOCKING at all. Now we are going to melt their little minds by
running a counter criss cross (xx) ...In the Calande system these are three digit plays...ie
Ray 325 counter xx...that means simply that the left wing goes in Ray motion, he (three
back) gets the toss (mine is a toss for obvious reasons) who then gives to the two back
who runs the counter to the five hole. Now, before I get too far past this...I want to cover
something unique about my system. Lets say that the dt was FIGHTING OUTSIDE when
we went to double team him on those counter plays. Well its as easy as changing the hole
number..for example, against the sixty front where the dt was denying the angle by the te
Id call the xx one hole tighter...Ray 323 counter xx gets the job done as we now place the
double team on the dg and actually kick out the fighter in the C gap and his chum the de.
We can do the same thing with the regular counter as well.
Now back to the mind bender criss cross...the defense SEES THE MOTION MAN WITH
THE FOOTBALL which really is an alarm for anyone who has ever played football
before...get the guy with the freaking ball!!! For Petes sake we sent him in motion and we
gave him the ball...he must be running it?...nope. guess again. He hands it off and it goes
off tackle yet again with two lead blockers...shall we compare it to the I formation
counter trey or the power O again? I think not...magic bullet anyone? lol. Once again,
both sides of the defense have to be prepared to face our powers , traps, three variations
to the off tackle counter...how in the world do they do that in 3 days of practice and hope
to be any good at it??? now, keep in mind that NOT EVERY DOUBLE WING SYSTEM
has these plays in the arsenal. I do and most "Calandites" do as well. Those three off
tackle counters all have the same blocking for the oline. All they hear is the hole called
and the word "counter" and they know whats up. The backs get to practice this stuff on
air for long periods, not even wearing shoulder pads while the oline is driving a sled or

working double teams...if you have ever seen my practice tapes you are familiar with me
saying "sissies" to my backs as they walk by ...its all in good fun.
Now,...so the defense realizes that they have to "sit and squeeze" at the off tackle hole.
They want to take away some of my favorite plays ie our home run counter and our
slobberknocker bone rattling counter cutback play...ooops DIDNT YOUR MAMA TELL
YOU TO WATCH THE REVERSE!!!!! ???? Thats right, my double wing offense doesnt
just hit you off tackle with brute force but we send a huge posse around the bend on a
reverse when you start squeezing down. Something I have to say quickly is that Coach
Don Markham uses the terminology "reverse" to describe his counter criss cross play. I
believe Coach Tim Murphy uses the terminology "reverse" to describe his regular wing
counter play. I believe I have pretty good terminology here in describing my plays. A
reverse for us is an OUTSIDE HANDOFF and has blocking different from our counter
play that facilitates turning the corner with STUDENT BODY lead blocking. Having this
play in the arsenal causes tremendous conflict for a defensive end who is repeatedly
taught to squeeze down and wrong shoulder kickout blocks on the counter play...and
heres why. Our playside tightend will block DOWN on a reverse. This is a key breaker as
the de thinks "ok, motion from my side, down block on my side...squeeze and
spill"...wrong Batman, you just got logged by our playside guard and now my qb has
tossed to the motion wing and is aiming to log your corner who is also squeezing down.
Just because its fun Im bringing my fullback, backside guard and tackle to the party just
as "ray 329 reverse" gets rolling with the right wing being lead around the corner by 4
lead blockers. (want to compare this reverse to a reverse in any other offense? Even the
single wing cant run this reverse to BOTH SIDES )- I have never seen a reverse
engineered like this in any other offense other than the double wing. Can it be done?maybe. To many coaches a "reverse" is one of those "trick plays" while for me its a
standard part of the package to create conflict and manipulate defenders. We simply
refuse to allow them to defend us the way they hope to.
Now, heres something fun a guy can do. I can run a NAKED REVERSE ...this is another
key breaker. Just run "ray 34 power" but have the tag "naked 29 reverse" and now we
again do that outside handoff with the two man running naked wide and deep to the
outside. Have I ever done it? no. But the reality is that we COULD because it wouldnt
take any additional teaching other than "hey guys, if I call naked 29 reverse...."...get the
picture? that would punish a team for keying the cutting te, the pullers, the motion, the fb
etc etc etc.
So if we called that play at the right time...i think itd work.
Part 9
Alrighty then!!! So now the defense becomes aware that we can bring the ball back away
from motion a few ways and will hit off tackle or even bounce it outside with the reverse
(and we havent even touched on the boot yet)...but wait...one of my biggest home run
plays...a play that was made "famous" by my 2003 fullback who rushed for a mind
bending 302 yards and 5 tds in one half (a good chunk of it on this play)...Ray 43 counter

trap...and Lee 42 counter trap...amazingly effective misdirection play against these even
fronts. ( Id call 40 and 41 counter traps against odd fronts most likely)
- anyhow, back to the play and why its a great part of MY DOUBLE WING SYSTEM.
Why every double winger doesnt run this play is beyond me...its killer. Now, the play
looks exactly like a power for the first two steps ...The hidden fullback and qb will
however mesh on their second step with the fb planting off his foot and taking the trap
back against the initial flow created by the motion.
The two wings will actually create added misdirection by faking a counter criss cross (or
reverse depending on what we have been running more of) and that freezes defenders
allowing the fb to burst into the secondary with the lead blocking tackle escorting him. Its
just your standard fb counter trey type play (Remember how so many teams had
difficulty stopping Riggins back in the day?) yet we tend to hit it a bit tighter kicking the
first man past the B gap...we could take it offf tackle if we REALLY FELT THE NEED
TO GIVE THE BALL TO THE FB ...but that seems silly to me because if we wanted to
run it off tackle wed lose that fb as the blocker !? duh.
Anyhow, the counter trap is a suuuweeet play. The two wings cross as I said but heres a
final tweak to make this play have that "we need to score right now" effect. The NON
MOTION WING becomes the pitch man for the fullback.
IF we run the play right the fb and non motion wing will be in relationship about 6 yards
downfield. Unstoppable. A counter trey option play with the wings breaking ankles with
their reverse fake. Rediculous to think that many defenses have had the opportunity to
practice recognizing and defending this play TO BOTH SIDES in a weeks practice.
Now, i relate this play strongly to the single wing spinner where the spinning fb keeps the
ball. That was my inspiration for creating the play in the first place. (NO, I am sure I am
not the first person to run a counter trap, Im not that arrogant, however, I am the one who
put the xx and option downfield with it to make it what it is for me today. ) (patting
myself on the back because all those years of playing "electric football" really amounted
to some creativity ha ha. )
Ok Ok, enough about that...the point is that the defense has serious conflict when it
comes to 'watch the counter!!!" because they had better pick their poison...we are going
to run some type of counter to the power play. They cant stop all of them and still hope to
stop the powers can they? no way. Magic Bullet.
Oh, did I mention that I have a reverse pass and a counter keep pass in the playbook or
we all should anyhow. Not as gimmick or gadget plays but as plays that we commit to as
part of SERIES FOOTBALL. I was holding off on preaching series football until Id built
up some examples of it. I would say I have done a good job of showing how these plays
all compliment each other and can be considered part of the series that goes with the
power play. ...and we arent done yet.

More than likely the defensive coaches are going to scheme hard to take away the powers
and counters and trap too. They will recognize that the counter is averaging around 20
yards a carry and the power is probably clicking around 8-12 yards per...they will see the
silly scoring percentage that the fullback carries with him. Again, they are going to have
to pick their poison and its my job to give it to them. Lets talk about the next dose of
poison for a second...the mighty wedge. We can wedge on first sound and just knock the
living snottles out of the defense when they are bouncing around trying to stem fronts.
They dont want to do that too often I can promise you. We not only run wedge as a mucle
/attitude /swagger play but also as a home run hitting hidden ball misdirection play that
resembles the counter trap. We run the wedge with that same xx action behind it and
again it dulls the alarms (motion and cross keying) and its great too for catching a mike
backer trying to quickly figure out why the center didnt block back and he didnt see any
guards pull??? high hat flat back syndrome. Hilarious.
Part 10
Now, lets get to some conflict for the defensive ends for a moment- I already mentioned
the use of the reverse to create a false read (te blocks down, squeezing down by the de is
treated harshly by the logging guard)- Lets talk about the defensive end and his ability to
cope with both the power (kickout by the fullback) and the seal block by the wing (and a
double team by the te and wing in a 5 man line) when we run sweeps.
More than likely the average DC is going to have his defensive end on the outside
shoulder of the te and have him chuck the te to prevent a clean release. The problem for
the defense becomes our TOSS SWEEP. "ray 38 sweep" and "lee 29 sweep" are every bit
as deadly to the defense as our off tackle toss. IN fact, based on my experiences I think
most teams prefer that we stick to our off tackle play. Once they see the awesome student
body right effect of our 38 sweep, they often move the de a bit wider so that the wing
cant slobber knock him inside.
Now, we can run 3 sweeps, each with minor blocking changes but Ray 38 sweep is by far
our most commonly run sweep and it gives us both guards, the fb, qb and ball carrier all
coming around the corner outside of that squeezing defensive end. The fb kicks the
corner (or logs him and seals him inside giving us a touchdown alley betweeen that block
and the sideline) and the wing reads that block. The two guards pull wide and deep
looking back to the inside to man up on the linebackers. The qb tosses and pulls around
the wings block looking to take on the alley defender (the near safety in this defense).
Shall we compare this to a typical I toss sweep?...again, not only do we have more power,
we can run this to EITHER SIDE so I do not have to worry about that "overhanging
monster" player that typically stacks to the strong side of an I formation teams set.
Now, the sweep of course has a half back pass off of it, or we can simply have the qb and
motion wing change jobs...we always release the backside te across the field so on the
halfback pass off of this look the defense is often conditioned to ignore the te.
What happens when we run a few of these toss sweeps is that we often create that "alarm"

again that we are going east west with great power...the defense begins to fast flow
setting up the counters but also setting up the power alley attack once again. I build in a
companion to my toss sweep in my play "ray 44 dog"...when the first two steps of a pair
of plays look identical it causes quite a bit of conflict for defenders. we pull both guards
on sweep...we pull both guards on dog, we have our fb step laterally on sweep...we have
him step latterally on dog...the wings in motion and the qb action is identical on both
plays... Now however if the de widens with the action (often influenced by the fbs first
step) he is KICKED OUT BY OUR PLAYSIDE GUARD. - crud!!! shoulder in the hip
and ribs. gotta hurt. the fullback slices off tackle now with the backside guard leading the
way while the playside corner and safety over run the alley trying to help vs the sweep.
this is a simple two play series that can really bother a defense. I love the dog play down
near the goal line as often the defense never sees the qb give the ball to the fb. (note,
never have the qb show the ball faking the toss...useless)
Now, if your qb is a fine runner you can also run a dog follow where the qb tucks and has
TWO LEAD BLOCKERS in the bsg and fullback leading him off tackle. Nice lil play for
a hard running qb. Of course at the high school level you will want to run option off of
that dog play , log the de with the playside guard, then option the corner ...you have the
qb, bsg, and motion wing running to the edge...
...You might also choose to put in a dog keep pass. (ie belly keep pass) - for more
information on belly g option football see if you can get ahold of some syracuse
playbooks from the late 90s? (I think)
Speaking of running quarterbacks, one of my very favorite plays for a kid with some
wheels is our "ray 10 gut xx" We are going to use the ray motion to again get that flow
going, the qb simply spins all of the way around in two steps, the fb again steps laterally
as if going to the right, plants staying square and leads thru the A gap along with the left
guard who "guts" around the center (fold block, very short pull) and the gutting guard and
fb take out the linebacker (the mike in this defense is going to get smashed) - meanwhile
the two wings cross again faking reverse or xx in the backfield...still want to cross key
our wings??? doubtful. Now, one of the blocking tweaks I love on this play is to cross
block my two tes downfield on the pair of safeties. can you envision this? Mike gets run
over by the fb and guard, the center pries open the hole by driving the dt away from the A
gap, the right guard is one on one with a dg who is fighting to the B gap anyhow due to
the motion and initial action...the dts are turned out or simply cut down right now by the
ots and the two tes release...the corners and safeties see the te release and also the wings
crossing...THEY HAVE NO CLUE THAT THE QB STILL HAS THE FOOTBALL!
Magic Bullet offense! Did the Dc even have a chance to cover this play with his defense
during the course of the week? Did he even teach his kids that MY DOUBLE WING will
bring some isos at them thru the A, B or even C gaps? Did they prepare at all for a
running qb? Maybe. Calling this play at the right time can mean converting a 3rd and
long or busting loose for a long td run. Its got more power than a pro I iso and much more
deception and better down field blocking. Want to compare isos? This is why I cant stand
hearing that the xs and os dont matter...bull! They matter, coaching matters and the play

calling matters. A slow footed qb can still run this play for a 10 yard gain before anyone
even knows he has the rock.
Btw, you can run that same play as a counter trap too to change the effect on the
linebacker and dts.
So far this is a pretty convincing rushing attack isnt it? We have yet to cover the
Rocket/Lazer motion series including sprint sweep, boot and trap/wedge/truck off of that
split flow action.
Part 11
Just to show that more simple conflict is created quickly and easily with two simple play
action pass plays from our power series, - lets take a short look at the "power pass" - and
we are only going to send out to recievers. Now this is a cover two defense and we are
overworking both the corner and the safety with our repeated off tackle and sweep plays.
I mentioned earlier that the safety would often fly up to support the off tackle area and
perhaps even begin to align at only 6 yards depth (making the 6-1) look more like a 65.
Chances are that once this happens the defense has essentially sold out to stop the run and
has begun to abandon their pass/run reads in favor of playing flow to stuff the run more
quickly. In any case, with the power pass off of ray motion, our fb and tb will be the 7th
and 8th blockers while the oline is in full slide away to the backside protecting the qb
nicely. The te and wing will be sent out to attack the corner and the flats. Even for youth
qbs this is a pretty simple read of just looking at the cornerback. If he comes up throw it
to the corner! If he drops the flat should be open. 99% of the time Ill bet that the deep ball
is there. and similarly the flat route will likely be open as well. Now, if you motion the
left wing flat enough he can actually take the de by himself and you can send the wing on
a deeper out while you slip the fb under the de to the flat...now you have a three layered
flood. (7 man protection) which isnt that difficult once teams start squeezing instead of
penetrating with their des. In any case, Im not pretending to be some kind of "Air
Calande" passing wizard but this simple play is a mainstay of just about any double wing
offense. You need to include the power pass.
My second pass off of this series of " uh oh here comes the power again" is our counter
keep pass. To me, this is a throw to score pass play and I would like it very much vs any
cover two look. In its simplest form we are going to fake the power and counter and
throw the ball deep. We are even going to pull the guard to kick out the de to help sell it
more as a counter play. the back that fakes the counter should continue his course and run
a deep route, the two tes should run deep routes adjusting them on the run to hit the
seems. We should end up with three deep receivers against a two deep secondary...all the
while done with two run fakes, a hidden ball and false key on the oline. I like our chances
to throw and score off of this. We still have 7 man protection against a 6 man rush.
so far:

powers at the 4, 5, 6 and 7 holes

counters at the 4, 5, and even 2 and 3 holes
traps at the 0,1,2 and 3 holes
counter traps at the same holes
reverse at 8 and 9
dog at the 4, 5 hole
power sweep at the 8 and 9 hole
flood pass off of the power
sweep pass
reverse pass
counter keep pass
qb gut
wedges
theres a bunch of stuff for the defense to cope with. All of it is logical and sensible to
recognize as TOOLS in the tool box, its series football. Each play compliments another.
Now, the defense might decide to morph into a 62. perhaps they want to put penetrators
in the A gaps and linebackers over the B gaps and change to cover 3...
They will continue to do what they do, perhaps even try to rotate to motion into a cover
two look. No matter, it just doesnt matter to me. one area we havent discussed much is a
potential assault on the B gaps and this kind of bubbled defense (same with a 52 okie
btw) is ripe for some ICE and BLAST plays that many double wingers neglect to install.
Look, isolation or lead plays are some of the simplest yet most effective plays in all
levels of football. Why a double wing coach would refuse to install lead plays is beyond
me.
I give you a couple of choices in my playbook and I like to use them both, certainly at the
high school level I am going to get both installed because the blocking rules are the same
on the playside anyhow.
now, lets examine my "blast" tag. Those of you that have read DWI 2 and followed my
presentation on my BEAST attack understand what blast means and how it can be done
(with some reps) in the double wing attack. Blast tells my linemen that we are going to
part the seas with big on big/back on backer blocking. On the playside we want to tear a
hole in the defense right at the bubble and steam roll the linebacker by sending the house
and kitchen sink thru the hole. Want to compare my blast to that of a power I team? thatd
be silly. A power I team or wishbone team sends TWO lead blockers thru the hole...guess
what? When I call a blast play Im sending: fullback, playside wing, qb, bst and bsg thru
teh hole...thats five men wedging into the hole. Want to talk about "accidental double
teams?" In short the defense is going to have to make a pile. This is a true mass
momentum play that exploits the B gap. Teams that have their dts, safety, lbers, de all
consumed with stopping the toss at the C gap now have to contend with our toss play
over the guard. We can also trap this if the OT cant handle the DT by himself. ie we can

run it the exact same in the backfield but call "ray 32 power trap" instead of "ray 32
blast" for example. In both cases we are hitting that toss play very tight, vertical now with
great power. If the dt wants to read we will hit that blast play, if he wants to dive then the
power trap is coming at him. (we might just call it 32 power and send the guard thru the
hole instead of trapping with him)
now, we can also use the blast tag at the 4 and even 6 holes if we so choose. I THINK
that would be similar to what many double wingers refer to as a TUNNEL call. (?) Ie, lets
say we wanted to run "36 blast" at that 61 defense. now, we are bob blocking the playside
and the wing on the line of scrimmage would turn out on the defensive end. That allows
us to lead with the fb thru the hole. You get the idea, we can block the toss play several
ways and that only continues to add conflict for defenders who are trying to recognize the
blocking in front of them.
Part 12
ICE is similar to blast however it is designed to compliment DOG and sweep in that the
the fullback attacks the B gap with two lead blockers (again, want to compare this to a
power I or wishbone fb game?) ... the concept of the play is to part the seas, let the
playside wing and backside guard just run over the playside backer at the B gap while the
fb carries the ball and the rest of the defense thinks that the motion wing is getting a
toss.....suckers...
this is EXACTLY WHY they double wing is indeed the "magic bullet" offense. What
other offense do you know of that gives the fullback TWO LEAD BLOCKERS on a
"dive" play. In fact, we dont even have "dive" in our terminology because the play is
FREAKING WEAK. yes, id rather run some sort of lead (aka ice) play for my fb than a
dive. Now,...that said I could also call a VEER and have my fb run a dive play where my
oline blocked EXACTLY LIKE TRAP on the playside but the fb "dives" and hit fast and
hard...no read by the qb , just a called give...
ie, center blocks moma
rg blocks gap on outside gap down
rt blocks gdb
rte blocks fbi
and we have 42 veer...no pull needed as the C gap defender is TOO LATE to close down
on the B gap veer...get the point?
midline for us would be " 40 veer"...never tried it but certainly could at the high school
level.
center man on man away
rg- gap down backer
rte- fbi
rw- backer to safety (bs)

the defense will chase the alarm created by motion (here comes the power/sweep yet
again!) while half of them sit on "here comes the counter/cutback/xx/reverse/ yet again...
MAGIC BULLET!!!!!!!
theres just so much you can do....what can you coach?
NOW!!! lets get into the split flow series....ie our rocket and lazer motion...
now we are going to send the fb to one point of attack, the motion wing to another and
the qb to yet another....
First of all, the prefix "rocket" tells our left wing that he is in one step motion to either
take the ball or fake at the right A gap, the qb will boot left and the qb will attack the
midline over the centers right butt cheek....doesnt matter who has the ball that much is
consistent in the series.
Part 13
Ok, lets examine the split flow attack
This stuff is huge, especially if you have a qb that can throw on the run. Its even more
important if you have small fast wings that can turn the corner after running east west...
Ok, we are going to run basically 4-5 plays off of the series....
we are going to run:
rocket- 38 sprint
rocket- 40 quick trap
rocket- 19 boot
rocket- sprint pass
and then we are going to run
Lazer 29 sprint sweep
Lazer 18 boot
Lazer 41 quick trap
Lazer - sprint pass
we might also run "truck' or "wedge" with the fullback carrying depending on what is
happening up front.
In any case, the split flow series certainly punishes a defense for keying either the fb or
the qb. Typically on our powers and power sweeps our fb and qb take you to the ball, on

the split flow series they do not take you to the ball.
Lets start with the sprint sweep....the sprint sweep is different from the power sweep in
that we do not seek to kick the corner out, we seek to log and hook him right now with
our pulling tackle. We expect that the sprint sweep will GET US OUT OF THE PHONE
BOOTH and have us running wide and deep to the sideline, stretching the field
horizontally as we run away from the squeezing de and squeezing corner and filling
safety. I feel strongly that this play compliments our power attack. I feel strongly that it
creates a sense of conflict for the corner, lbers, de and safety on the playside.
The timing of the play can vary according to the speed of the wings in motion. WE teach
one step motion, that is I want the defense to SEE that the wing is in motion but its really
only one step....and not necessarily full speed depending on the speed of that wing.
Anyhow the basic idea is that now the defense must respect three possible points of
attack. Both flanks and the midline are threatened by the rocket/lazer action.
This is quite different from Ray/Lee motion but can the defense recognize it????
doubtful...again, they have a week to practice and a week to try and recreate this with
their scout offense. I maintain that they have little to no hope of actually recreating all of
things we threaten them with.
Now, we can run our sprint sweep in such a way that it punishes corners who want to be
active versus the powers. Ie, if the corner wants to attack the qbs second level kick out he
will squeeze down RIGHT NOW when he sees motion...thats not going to work vs the
sprint sweep because we PULL THE PLAYSIDE TACKLE TO LOG HIM ...ok, imagine
if you will, the tackle and both guards pull, the defense is committing to squeezing down
on the powers...the de is bent on wrong arming our power play...hes hooked right away
by the wing, the corner gets logged by the tackle, both guards pull wide and deep....they
meet safeties, the mike is bothered by the threat of the fb trap and frozen to the
midline....we are going to turn the corner repeatedly. Sooner or later we will also run our
sprint sweep pass where our motion wing throws over the top of the corner and safety
who fly up to stuff the sprint sweep. ....now, the trap and truck and wedge plays...all off
of sprint action accompanied by the qb boot action will slice thru the heart of the defense.
The defense is simply divided into THIRDS in an attempt to defend the entire series.
Can they stop the spring sweep and trap and or wedge/truck and stil hope to be sound
versus the boot pass??? I seriously doubt it. If a team is crashing and wrong arming and
showing quick support with their corners then we can probably run our boot every single
down if we decide to do that....
Bottom line is this, the Double wing offense, with its 10 gaps and tight splits, hidden
fullback, quick motion and multiple double teams in its blocking schemes, its a great
equalizer....it is in fact THAT MAGIC BULLET, THE GREAT SMOKING GUN of an
offense...it does what no other offense can do.
I firmly believe that average players can look good.

poor players can look average

good players can look great
great players can look like all pros....
Y0u have to coach it, you have to know it, you have to live it....but its fantastic!
Is the double wing offense so great that I think its "the best offense?"- yes
ist it actually a magic bullet offense?" - well, I guess thats a personal question, I think it
gives us the best chance to win with kids who arent otherwise likely to be quite so
successful.
Can it be stopped? sure , any offense can be stopped but I think its more difficult to stop a
well run double wing offense than any other offense I know of.
is my system different from others? I think so. However I have learned a few things from
the other systems and plan to use some of what I have learned to make my own attack
better than ever.