Trickeration Times 11!!

UPDATE: Here is another article about the A-11. Click on the link to read an ESPN Page 2 take on the offense.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=weinreb/080811

Good morning/ evening, and welcome to the newest entry to my blog, sponsored by insomnia, an oppressive cough, and any other ailment keeping me up at the moment. Regardless, this will be an interesting entry, so I suggest you take notes.

While up at school tutoring today, I came across an extremely interesting article link to Rivals.com via Yahoo! Sports. Turns out that a high school in California has installed an offense referred to as the "A-11" that actively seeks to get all 11 men eligible in the offense! Here is the base offensive set-up as quoted by the article:

The base offense is one in which a center and two tight ends surround the football, three receivers are split right, three more split left and two quarterbacks stand behind in a shotgun, one of whom has to be at least 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage.


On www.a11offense.com, the offense is being described as a blend of the spread offense, west coast offense and run and shoot. And about getting all 11 men eligible- how is that even possible according to the rules of the game?

Yes, per the rules of the game, only five players are eligible to catch a pass during a particular play and seven players have to set up on the line of scrimmage. But in the minds of Bryan and Humphries, you can develop an infinite number of plays with an infinite number of formations.

Talk about confusing a defense.

"It presents a different set of challenges for defenses because they have to account for which guys go out or might go out," Bryan said. "Those guys who are ineligible to go down the field and catch a pass, they can take a reverse pitch or a negative screen or a hitch behind the line of scrimmage.

"We've opened up the game to the extreme with the rules already in place."

The rules themselves were a tricky subject, as coaches consulted rulebooks, high school coaches, officials and referees to make sure the offense would be considered acceptable according to football rules. And, once that was approved, getting the offense installed was no picnic, either. However, after finishing the season 7-4 and making the playoffs, the learning curve was overcome and the season was deemed a success. Now, coaches from all over the country at a variety of levels are consulting with the developers of the A-11 (formerly known as the "Pluto" offense,) and you can already see certain elements at places like the University of Florida, San Jose State and Rutgers.

So, feel free to check out the site www.a11offense.com, as well as the Rivals.com page that this article/ information comes from at: http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=825031 There you'll be able to find information, and video of the offense in action!

Here's what I want to hear from you, though. Does this sound like an innovative offense that represents football of the future? Or, does this seem more of a quirky fad that will run its course and quickly fade away? Do you see this as a brilliant device created to neutralize strong defenses and more talented teams, or is it a mechanism of bending rules and taking away from how football is meant to be played? Like it or not, it abides by the rules. But that doesn't always mean something still adheres to the spirit of the game. To me, whether I see long-term success in it or not, I appreciate and respect coaches coming up with new ways to counter the ever-increasing speed and strength of defensive schemes. And if it follows the rules of football, then I have no problem with them using the offense. Though God help us all when I have to try to defend that crap on NCAA Football 2020....

Let me know what you think, and check out those sites!