For college football history buffs: a multi-part documentary on the Wishbone offense

Watching it now.

My high school coach played at UF and then some time in the NFL. I asked him why we don't see the wishbone or option in the NFL. He said the guys are too fast, too good, and it would end up killing the QBs.

Is the wishbone something that can (or could) only work in college?

Lolve the wishbone but hated to play against it. I was a defensive end and was never so confused in my life. That and the Veer

Hated playing against teams that ram it, I was a DT but I was also an OT and whenever we would pull a play out of the old playbook and run a modified wishbone I liked the play.

GOAT wishbone QB

Who is that guy?

I believe that is Jamelle Hollieway.

quote:

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Is the wishbone something that can (or could) only work in college?

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1. It’s difficult to stress the defense vertically in the wishbone. In the flexbone, you can still run 4 verticals, which is why it’s the preferred way to run veer triple option in college now.

2. Defensive fronts are so strong and athletic nowadays that it’s very difficult to run between the tackles without creating angles with fullbacks/tight ends or spreading the defense out and running a zone scheme. It’s hard to get the ball-carriers in the wishbone to effectively block interior defensive players on non option runs. The speed of defenses and the rules against cutting on the perimeter make running the option in todays game much harder as well

3. Blocking techniques, quarterback play, and the evolution of the receiver make it hard to find the players for a wishbone offense. For it to come back, a bunch of teams would have to invest in it, which they won’t in modern football.

As another poster stated, offenses have evolved to include many wishbone principles and schemes, but it’s just not the best option in todays game.

To me it’s not that the wishbone stopped working, it’s that it got too easy for other offenses to put up points. Being able to control the clock does you no good if you’re down 28-0 inside of a quarter

You really need a whole team effort to win games like that and if you’re weak somewhere, explosive offenses give you the best chance to sneak a win

quote:

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1. It’s difficult to stress the defense vertically in the wishbone. In the flexbone, you can still run 4 verticals, which is why it’s the preferred way to run veer triple option in college now.

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Agreed.

My dad was a high school football coach, and he was die hard Split Back Veer. I was his QB for three years. I love option football.

There’s no doubt in my mind that a team with Georgia and Alabama talent could win a national title running the Flexbone with personnel recruited for it and someone like Paul Johnson as OC. The biggest negative isn’t the scheme but convincing top talent to play in an offense that doesn’t translate very well to the NFL. That even applies to defensive players, who don’t want to spend spring and fall practice tackling dive backs and running to a pitch man. They aren’t going to get the necessary development either.

But if they could still get those players, yes, they would win.