Why your Grandfather's offense still rules

November 3, 2009 Comments { 6 }

by
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Adam Bird | Grand Rapids Press

As Muskegon’s Kevonta Keyes (above) will attest, field conditions have been the unbiased twenty-third man in the 2009 high school football playoffs.  Thing is, a muddy, rain-soaked field is often very, very biased.

Depending on a team’s playing style, a muddy field can either be a blessing or a curse.  Offenses predicated on speed depend on the ability to plant and cut quickly and precisely, which becomes less and less possible as the field progressively deteriorates.  For offenses built around the pass, like so many of the spread systems that have recently come into vogue, driving rain is a killer as it forces them to the ground.

While football has leaned more and more on the passing game in recent years, sometimes to the point of making your Bo Schembechler-type grind-it-out offenses look prehistoric (particularly in domed stadiums), the 2009 playoffs have served as a timely reminder of exactly why the wing-T has survived the test of time at the high school level.

The games are played outdoors.  In Michigan.  In November.

Editors note: This all goes out the window once a team makes it to Ford Field, of course.  The playoffs therefore become a test of a team’s ability to persevere in all conditions, which is as it should be.

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  • okpokee

    Great photo!

  • swmichfan

    Why the Wing-T is a good offense in High school. Nice article, but I think the MAIN reason so many run it was left out. In order to run an offense like the spread, you NEED to have some pretty great athletes. They also need to execute, but you still need to have an exceptional quarterback to really make it work. With the wing T, you can make up for a lack of standout athletes with execution. IF you get everyone to do their job, it will be successful (for the most part). How often do you see a GOOD wing T team that relies on one or two people for all of their offense? It usually get spread around to 3, 4 or 5 different running backs. By spreading the wealth, they are able to stop defenses from keying on one or two ‘star’ players. The wing T also relies on a defense to ‘over pursue’ creating the big plays, so, if the defense is as disciplined as the offense, it can be shut down.

  • rangerat

    The Wing-T will always stand the test of time. It is based on deception and mis-direction. It is easy to be succesfull with the wing T in high school. Especially when you have at least 2 players with good quickness and speed. Grandpa should be proud. Does anyone remember the West Coast offense ??

  • http://www.westmiallstar.com/ Ryan Vaughn

    Yeah, the Wing-t is indeed one of the classics, but what about some of the other grandpa-offenses that have stood the test of time?

    • allins

      Power I, Specifically iso and zone out of it.

  • Jeff

    Ara Parseghian boiled this down and said there are basically 3 effective ways to move the ball; Power, Misdirection, and Option Reads. Obviously, the Wing-t takes the Misdirection approach with a little bit of power as many of those teams will run some form of off-tackle with power or a QB follow. It seems to me that our spread junkies out there are adding a 4th category though…athletic superiority! As a coach, I just can’t rely on that year in and year out, and if you have exceptional athletes, they will still be productive in 1 of the 3 categories that Parseghian described. I’d rather rely on the two basic fundamentals for success…BLOCKING AND TACKLING! Oh by the way, my Grandpa’s offense was the single wing…seems to be working for Menominee and the few other schools throughout the state who actually have the coaches with the “set” to run those offenses.