The Plymouth Triple Spin Series
May 4th, 2009
By Coach Tom Lewis
I began to research and develop an unbalanced single wing offense over 10 years ago. I sought out all the masters – Keuffel, Caldwell, Warner, Crisler, but it was John Aldrich who influenced my offense the most. After a conversation and reading his book, I was hooked. I design much of my spin, power and buck lateral after his teams. However at the same time, I found a series most referred to as the Tulsa box. This was a deviation from Aldrich but I had to have it in my arsenal.
I decided that if my spinback could do the same footwork as the full spin it would be an easy addition. To complete the mesh, the halfback could simply turn in the opposite direction of the spinback, while the wingback ran between them. The result was more than I hoped for as the hand-off was completely concealed, adding even more deception to the offense.
The Playlist for the series is short. I chose to attack the strong side flank with the wingback- running the bootleg sweep, the strong side inside- trap with the spinback, and the off tackle weak with the halfback. Add to this, of course, the Blocking Back wedge and you have a neat little package that was very hard to prepare for.
Before we go any further, I need to take some time to explain some blocking rules that I use in all the series. First we are a 7 hole offense – 2 Sweeps, 2 Off tackles, 2 Traps and one wedge. We use a very unique hole and linemen combination which is a topic for another day. We are attacking four areas with the Triple Spin.
The Footwork and Paths of the Backs
The wingback aligns as a second blocking back just behind the weak side guard and will go into motion by standing and walking away from the line of scrimmage towards the area between the Halfback and Spinback. He will allow the ball to get to the halfback before entering the mesh and running the bootleg sweep to the strong side.
The Halfback will take a very short step towards the spinback and square up to face him while pivoting on his left foot all the way around and attacking the off tackle area on the weak side.
The spinback will take his centering step before the ball arrives and pivot on his right foot 360 degrees before attacking the inside of the strong side.
The blocking back will complete his blocking assignment per the play called unless it is the wedge where he will catch the short snap and go with the wedge up the middle while the other backs fake the series.
Pre Snap
Open Step
Ball Arrives
Triple Spin
Clearing the Mesh
The Plays
The Halfback Off-Tackle Weak
The Off tackle weak play is blocked by using the blocking back to kick out the end, while having the inside tackle pull and run the funnel through the hole. The rest of the line blocks their zone towards the pulling lineman. The wingback will go into motion just prior to the snap and mesh with the spinback and halfback. The ball will be snapped to the spinback who will quickly extend the ball across the mesh where it is taken by the halfback as he spins towards the off tackle. He is taught to secure the ball then snap his head around to find the blocking back who will kick out the defensive end. His path takes him right inside the kick out where he will jump in the hip pocket of the pulling tackle as he runs through. The spinback and wingback obviously execute their fakes selling that they have the ball to linebacker depth.
The Wingback Sweep
The Sweep is sometimes difficult to run versus a team that runs its ends up the field but can be deadly against reading teams. The line will block stretch to the strong side. The blocking back will hook the end and maintain the block for as long as possible. We also run a down scheme on sweeps where the line blocks down while the strong side guard pulls and funnels like the off tackle. The blocking back is responsible for the defensive end who he tries to hook but will kick out if he gets up field fast. The wingback will take the ball as he enters the mesh and try to hide it as he runs the path around the end. He can add to this by running great fakes on all other series plays. He needs to read the blocking backs block on the end and get o the perimeter as fast as possible.
The Spinback Trap
The spinback trap allows the spinback to take the snap and quickly spin before hitting the trap on the strong side. The line will allow the second defender from the outside to be trapped executing trap rules by blocking their zones towards the pulling lineman which is the weak side guard. The offensive linemen outside the trapped defend will block inside at the second level. This creates a great lane for the spinback to run through. The blocking back will false key for this play and usually block the end man on the strong side which in combination with the pulling guard creates a off tackle action. The Halfback and wingback sell their respective fakes.
The Blocking Back Wedge
One of the most effective plays out of the triple spin series is the blocking back wedge. The blocking back will take a short soft snap and bury himself up into the wall of wedge blocking offensive linemen. He will stay low and stay with the wedge until he sees it breakdown or he scores. The remaining backs all do their best fakes as they each execute their paths and sell the runs all the while the blocking back has the ball.
Adding Play Action Passing
We added a pass off the triple spin series. It was from the wingback sweep pass, who is running the bootleg sweep. The routes are: the Play side TE drives off the line and gets up to linebacker depth then cuts it out to a flag route while the backside TE crosses the middle and runs a drag route setting down in an open area.
Conclusion for the Triple Spin
I find that the triple spin really compliments my other single wing series because although it attacks the same areas as other series, it looks very different and will really cause havoc for linebackers who look in the backfield or try to stand and read the play. If you are looking for a new flavor to add to you offense, try the single wing.
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