This doesn't always come up and is often overlooked, but one of the most interesting games within the game of football is the splits between the offensive linemen. If you don’t get this right before the snap your offense will fail long term. The result will be every spectator screaming for the OC’s head, “bad offense” or “bad play calling”. So the initial knee-jerk reaction is partly based on emotions the other part is knowledge. We’ll let them do a self-check on emotions. The rest of U will get a better understanding of why an otherwise successful play failed.
I know some people have a better understanding of protection schemes but if you don’t understand splits nothing offensively will work consistently. You can put your mom at LT if she’s lined up properly she’ll at least know which defender she needs to block. It starts first with football IQ. This is key; everything starts upfront!
To understand why splits matter, you need to understand how defensive fronts align.
Defensive Fronts:
Typically, most defenses are taught to align on the basis of where the offensive guys align, which makes sense because those defenders are trying to get through or around the blockers to get to the running back or quarterback. So defensive linemen and linebackers were told from the earliest days of football to align "on the inside eye of the guard," "heads up the center," or "on the outside eye of the tackle."
The linebackers had similar instructions, though they aligned behind the defensive line. Over time, defenses got better at mixing up these alignments, even before the snap. We've all seen linemen shift from the outside eye of the guard to the gap between the guard and center, or simply align late. All this is designed to confuse blocking schemes.
Defensive Line Numbering System (Techniques):
So as offenses became more complex, it became necessary to give linemen rules that would allow the run play to be blocked no matter what games the defense played, and to do that you needed a nomenclature that could be communicated via playbook as well as on the sideline (or at the line) in the heat of a game. This system became known as the assignment of defensive "techniques" to each defensive player. Credit to Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips in 1958. Below is an example of the numbering system.
Note that this is not the same as "hole numbering," because it is about where the defender aligns not where the run is designed to go. Although it looks a bit confusing, this system is used at literally every level of football, from pee wee football to the NFL. Below is another diagram with slightly different nomenclature, though it also specifies the "gaps."
So now that we know that defenses align based on where the offense aligns, and we know that offenses identify defenses based on the alignment, we can discuss splits. It's a bit of an over simplification, but the choice is basically between tight or wide splits. So let's go!
Wide Splits:
Some teams use a lot of wide splits, with as much as three to even six feet between linemen, while others keep it closer to roughly a foot, or even toe-to-toe.
Traditionally, the teams with the widest splits were option running teams. The reason is that they used a lot of man blocking rules (i.e. block your man, rather than zone an area). More importantly though, by splitting out, because the defense aligned on the basis of where the offensive linemen were, the guy the QB was reading was split out.
Tight Splits:
Tight splits are the most common. In fact, most people probably don't think of them as tight, but merely notice when they see "wide splits."
The advantage of tight splits are easy to see: Linemen are close to each other so you can get good teamwork between them; there are few or at least narrow gaps between them; and the line is constricted to keep defenders away from outside runs and quick outside throws.
The New Wide Splits Trend:
Traditionally passing teams took very narrow splits to stop inside penetration; Texas Tech used exceptionally large splits. Their rationale was a few-fold: (a) make the pass rushers come from farther away and enlarge the pocket, (b) open up throwing lanes for the quarterback, and (c) because they throw so much, all they need is a block or two to have an effective draw play -- the defensive ends aren't even really a factor. They could do this because they were almost exclusively a "man" pass protection team.
The obvious concerns are that if one guy gets beat in pass protection then there is no help, and also that there are wide gaps for linebackers to shoot through. For the latter, Tech felt like they could hurt that in other ways, through quick passes, screens, outside run plays, and traps. And they also felt that they could simply teach their linemen to be smart and reactive, and still stop that kind of penetration.
For the former problem though, the answer is simply that they have to have good blockers. They freely admitted that they put their linemen one on one a great deal of the time, but their philosophy was that if someone gets to the quarterback, everyone knows who got beat. More and more teams have been adopting this strategy.
Leach went to this trend after he got away from having a two-back formation as his primary one for passing downs. With a two-back offense you can stop a lot of overload passing threats to either side, but with a one-back formation -- as the primary version -- the wide splits were necessary to take those extra rushers out of the play.
So Which Split To Use In Your Scheme?
The choice of what splits a team uses will vary by play. Some will rely on teamwork and overwhelming force to overpower the defense, others will play games daring them to stop the play they have called, and others, like Texas Tech, build it into their philosophy.
The Challenge For Fans, Richt And Searels:
• Find out what is tipping off defenders to the play you’ve called.
> If you have built a tendency (like running inside whenever you go wide or tight splits), you simply self-scout, figure that out, and then confuse the defense by breaking your own tendency. Some of your biggest plays will come when you break your own tendencies.
• Scrapping the offense, playbook, QB, OL and OC is not “THE” answer when troubleshooting the offense. The same results will happen again if you ignore these little details that get overlooked.
> Every blocker must know how to line up; why they are there; who should be blocked if this or that happens.
The Keys To This Discussion:
• Understand why splits are keys to every plays chance of success or failure.
• Understand why the OL, TE, or FB needs to study opponents defensive fronts each week.
• Understand why it was said that football is hard.
Miami vs UNC Game Analysis:
Play call success rate was compromised before the snap.
Notice the splits on the first two series of the start of the game. We were in tight splits every time we ran the ball even when we passed you could assume the pass was either a pass to the RB or short pass to the flats. This sets the tone on what to key on the rest of the game.
First Half:
Keys: U didn't really have to pay attention to the formation to know what was coming. Splits gave it away in the first two series.
Pass: Tight splits pass to RB or short pass out to flats. Run: Tight splits
Result: U go 1 for 4 on possessions at the end of first half.
Points: 3
Second Half:
Adjustment: U adjusted now you run both Wide and Tight splits.
Keys: When you go long you have wide splits target WR and TE. Run: When U in tight splits still run but mix short passes a little more to WR and TE.
Result: U go 2 for 5 on possessions at the end of second half.
Points: 14
Here Is Why Splits Matter With Darling (OL):
Last series 4th qtr winning or tying drive:
Keys: DC picks up on what U are doing on the line. Some of this he saves when he needs a play, short yards, red zone, momentum change, etc..
First and Ten: 1:45 ball on Ur 20 yard line
U go wide splits between the G and T to protect against the rush from the outside when you want to throw long. However, you're still split tight inside with G and C to protect the rush up the middle.
Result: Darling struggles a little with the rush but holds up against the DE long enough for the play to have success.
First and Ten: 1:39 ball on Ur 31 yard line
U go tight splits outside and wide splits inside with C and G to allow the RB to run through the line more freely in his route across the middle against the MLB.
This is an obvious passing situation because you are working against the clock and you need 7 points to win or 3 to tie. So the DE improves his "angle" by stepping outside just a little more this time for the speed rush against the LT. Darling gets exploited because he has to reach on his second kick step because the pocket is too constricted in this situation and therefore leaves him working at a disadvantage against the DE. And doesn't allow him to put his hands on the DE to ride him around the QB.
Result: Kayaa getting tomahawked from the backside. Darling, Kayaa, OL and OC all look bad because the splits took the LT out of position to be successful. So the LT's talent is nullified by "techniques".
KABOOM!!! Expression @.012 Uh, Does Splits Matter? Don't Ever Let Anyone Tell U They Don't Because U Just Witnessed It!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SR4QKqanys
Oh, **** Yeah; Splits Matter!!! SMDH; That **** Moro Figured This Ish Out! I Don't Like'em But.... The Evidence Says It's So. Fug!!!
Blacksburg Becomes Sacksburg: Virginia Tech 8 Sacks vs Miami:
[video=youtube;HbnBUXfQSZ0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbnBUXfQSZ0[/video]
I know some people have a better understanding of protection schemes but if you don’t understand splits nothing offensively will work consistently. You can put your mom at LT if she’s lined up properly she’ll at least know which defender she needs to block. It starts first with football IQ. This is key; everything starts upfront!
To understand why splits matter, you need to understand how defensive fronts align.
Defensive Fronts:
Typically, most defenses are taught to align on the basis of where the offensive guys align, which makes sense because those defenders are trying to get through or around the blockers to get to the running back or quarterback. So defensive linemen and linebackers were told from the earliest days of football to align "on the inside eye of the guard," "heads up the center," or "on the outside eye of the tackle."
The linebackers had similar instructions, though they aligned behind the defensive line. Over time, defenses got better at mixing up these alignments, even before the snap. We've all seen linemen shift from the outside eye of the guard to the gap between the guard and center, or simply align late. All this is designed to confuse blocking schemes.
Defensive Line Numbering System (Techniques):
So as offenses became more complex, it became necessary to give linemen rules that would allow the run play to be blocked no matter what games the defense played, and to do that you needed a nomenclature that could be communicated via playbook as well as on the sideline (or at the line) in the heat of a game. This system became known as the assignment of defensive "techniques" to each defensive player. Credit to Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips in 1958. Below is an example of the numbering system.
Note that this is not the same as "hole numbering," because it is about where the defender aligns not where the run is designed to go. Although it looks a bit confusing, this system is used at literally every level of football, from pee wee football to the NFL. Below is another diagram with slightly different nomenclature, though it also specifies the "gaps."
So now that we know that defenses align based on where the offense aligns, and we know that offenses identify defenses based on the alignment, we can discuss splits. It's a bit of an over simplification, but the choice is basically between tight or wide splits. So let's go!
Wide Splits:
Some teams use a lot of wide splits, with as much as three to even six feet between linemen, while others keep it closer to roughly a foot, or even toe-to-toe.
Traditionally, the teams with the widest splits were option running teams. The reason is that they used a lot of man blocking rules (i.e. block your man, rather than zone an area). More importantly though, by splitting out, because the defense aligned on the basis of where the offensive linemen were, the guy the QB was reading was split out.
Tight Splits:
Tight splits are the most common. In fact, most people probably don't think of them as tight, but merely notice when they see "wide splits."
The advantage of tight splits are easy to see: Linemen are close to each other so you can get good teamwork between them; there are few or at least narrow gaps between them; and the line is constricted to keep defenders away from outside runs and quick outside throws.
The New Wide Splits Trend:
Traditionally passing teams took very narrow splits to stop inside penetration; Texas Tech used exceptionally large splits. Their rationale was a few-fold: (a) make the pass rushers come from farther away and enlarge the pocket, (b) open up throwing lanes for the quarterback, and (c) because they throw so much, all they need is a block or two to have an effective draw play -- the defensive ends aren't even really a factor. They could do this because they were almost exclusively a "man" pass protection team.
The obvious concerns are that if one guy gets beat in pass protection then there is no help, and also that there are wide gaps for linebackers to shoot through. For the latter, Tech felt like they could hurt that in other ways, through quick passes, screens, outside run plays, and traps. And they also felt that they could simply teach their linemen to be smart and reactive, and still stop that kind of penetration.
For the former problem though, the answer is simply that they have to have good blockers. They freely admitted that they put their linemen one on one a great deal of the time, but their philosophy was that if someone gets to the quarterback, everyone knows who got beat. More and more teams have been adopting this strategy.
Leach went to this trend after he got away from having a two-back formation as his primary one for passing downs. With a two-back offense you can stop a lot of overload passing threats to either side, but with a one-back formation -- as the primary version -- the wide splits were necessary to take those extra rushers out of the play.
So Which Split To Use In Your Scheme?
The choice of what splits a team uses will vary by play. Some will rely on teamwork and overwhelming force to overpower the defense, others will play games daring them to stop the play they have called, and others, like Texas Tech, build it into their philosophy.
The Challenge For Fans, Richt And Searels:
• Find out what is tipping off defenders to the play you’ve called.
> If you have built a tendency (like running inside whenever you go wide or tight splits), you simply self-scout, figure that out, and then confuse the defense by breaking your own tendency. Some of your biggest plays will come when you break your own tendencies.
• Scrapping the offense, playbook, QB, OL and OC is not “THE” answer when troubleshooting the offense. The same results will happen again if you ignore these little details that get overlooked.
> Every blocker must know how to line up; why they are there; who should be blocked if this or that happens.
The Keys To This Discussion:
• Understand why splits are keys to every plays chance of success or failure.
• Understand why the OL, TE, or FB needs to study opponents defensive fronts each week.
• Understand why it was said that football is hard.
Miami vs UNC Game Analysis:
Play call success rate was compromised before the snap.
Notice the splits on the first two series of the start of the game. We were in tight splits every time we ran the ball even when we passed you could assume the pass was either a pass to the RB or short pass to the flats. This sets the tone on what to key on the rest of the game.
First Half:
Keys: U didn't really have to pay attention to the formation to know what was coming. Splits gave it away in the first two series.
Pass: Tight splits pass to RB or short pass out to flats. Run: Tight splits
Result: U go 1 for 4 on possessions at the end of first half.
Points: 3
Second Half:
Adjustment: U adjusted now you run both Wide and Tight splits.
Keys: When you go long you have wide splits target WR and TE. Run: When U in tight splits still run but mix short passes a little more to WR and TE.
Result: U go 2 for 5 on possessions at the end of second half.
Points: 14
Here Is Why Splits Matter With Darling (OL):
Last series 4th qtr winning or tying drive:
Keys: DC picks up on what U are doing on the line. Some of this he saves when he needs a play, short yards, red zone, momentum change, etc..
First and Ten: 1:45 ball on Ur 20 yard line
U go wide splits between the G and T to protect against the rush from the outside when you want to throw long. However, you're still split tight inside with G and C to protect the rush up the middle.
Result: Darling struggles a little with the rush but holds up against the DE long enough for the play to have success.
First and Ten: 1:39 ball on Ur 31 yard line
U go tight splits outside and wide splits inside with C and G to allow the RB to run through the line more freely in his route across the middle against the MLB.
This is an obvious passing situation because you are working against the clock and you need 7 points to win or 3 to tie. So the DE improves his "angle" by stepping outside just a little more this time for the speed rush against the LT. Darling gets exploited because he has to reach on his second kick step because the pocket is too constricted in this situation and therefore leaves him working at a disadvantage against the DE. And doesn't allow him to put his hands on the DE to ride him around the QB.
Result: Kayaa getting tomahawked from the backside. Darling, Kayaa, OL and OC all look bad because the splits took the LT out of position to be successful. So the LT's talent is nullified by "techniques".
KABOOM!!! Expression @.012 Uh, Does Splits Matter? Don't Ever Let Anyone Tell U They Don't Because U Just Witnessed It!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SR4QKqanys
Oh, **** Yeah; Splits Matter!!! SMDH; That **** Moro Figured This Ish Out! I Don't Like'em But.... The Evidence Says It's So. Fug!!!
Blacksburg Becomes Sacksburg: Virginia Tech 8 Sacks vs Miami:
[video=youtube;HbnBUXfQSZ0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbnBUXfQSZ0[/video]
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