SOURCE: Dresow, Keegan. Offensive Football Systems: Expanded Edition (Gridiron Cup, Trilogy Book 4) (p. 78)
Basic alignment:
Shotgun, spread receivers, usually at least one running back.
Brief description:
There are several variants of the hurry up spread. Some teams use wing T schemes out of the spread (Gus Malzahn). Others combine zone running with option elements (Chip Kelly/ Oregon, Rich Rodriguez, etc). Others are pass first, Air Raid offenses that seek varying levels of balance in the run game (Dana Holgorsen/ West Virginia, Kevin Sumlin/ Texas A& M, Mike Gundy/ Oklahoma State, Art Briles/ Baylor, Sonny Dykes/ the Tony Franklin system/ Louisiana Tech/ Cal, etc). The common thread among these offenses is that tempo is as important as scheme. By snapping the ball as fast as possible, the offense prevents the defense from substituting or making defensive adjustments from play to play. This leads to simplistic defensive schemes, mental breakdowns, and fatigue, in turn leading to big plays and touchdowns for the offense.
Hurry up spread offenses are usually simple, running basic run and pass plays over and over and over again. This leads to great execution. The pace of the offense, and the limitations it places on the defense, leads to simple and clear reads for the quarterback. It allows the offense to run more plays than the typical offense, spreading the ball to more skill players. The benefits extend to the practice field, where the pace of the offense means more practice repetitions, further boosting execution. To many coaches, the hurry up spread is the wave of the future.
Good for:
A well conditioned team is a must.
The quarterback needs to be a good thrower if you are to run the Air Raid variation of the hurry up spread, but if you are running the spread option variation, he can be a good athlete with a decent arm.
Teams with speed in space will thrive. Athletes who can win in space will allow the offense to take advantage of the breakdowns that the hurry up spread will cause. Size is not important.
Athletic linemen who can block in space are required.
Teams with depth at the skill positions will keep many players happy while putting extra pressure on the defense with fresh players.
If you have enough talent to execute the offense, it can help you beat more talented teams.
Bad for:
If your team is out of shape, you can't run the hurry up spread.
Your team must at least have decent talent. A subpar team running the spread will lose faster, by more points.
Slow teams should look to a different offense.
Advantages:
More repetitions in practice. An overlooked but advantageous element of the hurry up spread is the ability to run more plays in practice, especially if you have the ability to film practice and review it with your team. The pace of the offense means that you can run more plays than a typical offense, and you can do your coaching through film review. Combining the hurry up pace with the simplicity of the spread means you will get hundreds more reps of your base plays than a team that practices at a traditional pace, which should give you a comparative execution advantage.
If you practice at the proper pace, your players will be conditioned without needing to use practice time on traditional conditioning.
Will keep your skill players happy.
Gets speed in space.
Big play, quick strike, big scoring offense that is never out of a game.
Most players love this offense.
Takes advantage of athletes.
If you have enough talent to execute the basic elements of the spread, the hurry up can help you defeat teams with more talent. It forces the defense to play your game, at your pace, and you’ll be well conditioned and have great mastery of your playbook.
You force the defense to align as soon as soon as the ball is placed, but you don't have to run the play immediately. You can control the clock and prevent substitutions in this way.
Drawbacks:
If you don't have the talent to execute the spread, you will give the ball back to the opposition quickly, which will put more pressure on your defense and lead to blowouts in games that you might have kept close with a traditional pace.
If you care about winning the time of possession, look elsewhere.
Because you will often lose time of possession, your defense will be on the field longer. If you care about defensive statistics, the hurry up spread is not for you.
You must fully commit. Don't try to combine the hurry up spread with a traditionally paced I formation. You'll get nothing out of either one. If you can't commit to running a simple offense with a strong identity at a sprinter's pace, you won’t get the execution benefits in practice that make the offense great.
Your defense won't practice much against "traditional" offenses; therefore they may suffer when facing them.
Where it will work:
Everywhere. Whether it can work in the NFL is a current debate, but the results have been positive from the few teams that have incorporated it. Forms of the hurry up offense led the Bengals and Bills to Super Bowls in the late 80s/ early 90s (although each was more complex than the modern hurry up spread). The offense is only now reemerging in the NFL.
Where it won't work:
The simple forms can be run at all levels.
Defenses that it will beat:
Poorly conditioned, undisciplined, or slow defenses will die against the hurry up spread.
Defenses that it will struggle against:
Conditioned, disciplined, and fast defenses will hurt the spread. Size is not a requirement.
Final Word:
If you choose the hurry up spread, you must fully commit. This means a strong commitment to conditioning in the offseason, developing a no huddle communication system that is easy for your players to understand but hard for your opponents to decipher, and to executing a simple offense from day one. The offense won't beat defenses by scheme or complexity; it will beat them by execution and pace. It can work at all levels of football - the plays are simple enough for youth players, while the Patriots and Tom Brady have utilized aspects of the no huddle spread to take advantage of a versatile roster and to provide Brady with easy reads. If you have a group of players who want to work hard to become the best conditioned team in your league, this offense will take advantage of their efforts. Be aware, however: if you don't have the talent or conditioning required to run the hurry up spread, you will lose by more in this offense.
Hurry up spread offense
Basic alignment:
Shotgun, spread receivers, usually at least one running back.
Brief description:
There are several variants of the hurry up spread. Some teams use wing T schemes out of the spread (Gus Malzahn). Others combine zone running with option elements (Chip Kelly/ Oregon, Rich Rodriguez, etc). Others are pass first, Air Raid offenses that seek varying levels of balance in the run game (Dana Holgorsen/ West Virginia, Kevin Sumlin/ Texas A& M, Mike Gundy/ Oklahoma State, Art Briles/ Baylor, Sonny Dykes/ the Tony Franklin system/ Louisiana Tech/ Cal, etc). The common thread among these offenses is that tempo is as important as scheme. By snapping the ball as fast as possible, the offense prevents the defense from substituting or making defensive adjustments from play to play. This leads to simplistic defensive schemes, mental breakdowns, and fatigue, in turn leading to big plays and touchdowns for the offense.
Hurry up spread offenses are usually simple, running basic run and pass plays over and over and over again. This leads to great execution. The pace of the offense, and the limitations it places on the defense, leads to simple and clear reads for the quarterback. It allows the offense to run more plays than the typical offense, spreading the ball to more skill players. The benefits extend to the practice field, where the pace of the offense means more practice repetitions, further boosting execution. To many coaches, the hurry up spread is the wave of the future.
Good for:
A well conditioned team is a must.
The quarterback needs to be a good thrower if you are to run the Air Raid variation of the hurry up spread, but if you are running the spread option variation, he can be a good athlete with a decent arm.
Teams with speed in space will thrive. Athletes who can win in space will allow the offense to take advantage of the breakdowns that the hurry up spread will cause. Size is not important.
Athletic linemen who can block in space are required.
Teams with depth at the skill positions will keep many players happy while putting extra pressure on the defense with fresh players.
If you have enough talent to execute the offense, it can help you beat more talented teams.
Bad for:
If your team is out of shape, you can't run the hurry up spread.
Your team must at least have decent talent. A subpar team running the spread will lose faster, by more points.
Slow teams should look to a different offense.
Advantages:
More repetitions in practice. An overlooked but advantageous element of the hurry up spread is the ability to run more plays in practice, especially if you have the ability to film practice and review it with your team. The pace of the offense means that you can run more plays than a typical offense, and you can do your coaching through film review. Combining the hurry up pace with the simplicity of the spread means you will get hundreds more reps of your base plays than a team that practices at a traditional pace, which should give you a comparative execution advantage.
If you practice at the proper pace, your players will be conditioned without needing to use practice time on traditional conditioning.
Will keep your skill players happy.
Gets speed in space.
Big play, quick strike, big scoring offense that is never out of a game.
Most players love this offense.
Takes advantage of athletes.
If you have enough talent to execute the basic elements of the spread, the hurry up can help you defeat teams with more talent. It forces the defense to play your game, at your pace, and you’ll be well conditioned and have great mastery of your playbook.
You force the defense to align as soon as soon as the ball is placed, but you don't have to run the play immediately. You can control the clock and prevent substitutions in this way.
Drawbacks:
If you don't have the talent to execute the spread, you will give the ball back to the opposition quickly, which will put more pressure on your defense and lead to blowouts in games that you might have kept close with a traditional pace.
If you care about winning the time of possession, look elsewhere.
Because you will often lose time of possession, your defense will be on the field longer. If you care about defensive statistics, the hurry up spread is not for you.
You must fully commit. Don't try to combine the hurry up spread with a traditionally paced I formation. You'll get nothing out of either one. If you can't commit to running a simple offense with a strong identity at a sprinter's pace, you won’t get the execution benefits in practice that make the offense great.
Your defense won't practice much against "traditional" offenses; therefore they may suffer when facing them.
Where it will work:
Everywhere. Whether it can work in the NFL is a current debate, but the results have been positive from the few teams that have incorporated it. Forms of the hurry up offense led the Bengals and Bills to Super Bowls in the late 80s/ early 90s (although each was more complex than the modern hurry up spread). The offense is only now reemerging in the NFL.
Where it won't work:
The simple forms can be run at all levels.
Defenses that it will beat:
Poorly conditioned, undisciplined, or slow defenses will die against the hurry up spread.
Defenses that it will struggle against:
Conditioned, disciplined, and fast defenses will hurt the spread. Size is not a requirement.
Final Word:
If you choose the hurry up spread, you must fully commit. This means a strong commitment to conditioning in the offseason, developing a no huddle communication system that is easy for your players to understand but hard for your opponents to decipher, and to executing a simple offense from day one. The offense won't beat defenses by scheme or complexity; it will beat them by execution and pace. It can work at all levels of football - the plays are simple enough for youth players, while the Patriots and Tom Brady have utilized aspects of the no huddle spread to take advantage of a versatile roster and to provide Brady with easy reads. If you have a group of players who want to work hard to become the best conditioned team in your league, this offense will take advantage of their efforts. Be aware, however: if you don't have the talent or conditioning required to run the hurry up spread, you will lose by more in this offense.
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