The Pistol Offense

[slvr&blck760]

What's up guys. I just listened to Romo in an interview and I came to the realization he is completely insane. But he did mention something interesting, and something I knew nothing about: "The Pistol Offense". I did some research on the topic from a very reliable source-Wikipedia As crazy as Romo is, bringing in fresh concepts and ideas could play to the Raiders advantage. In its simplicity, the Pistol offense mixes Shotgun and single back offenses. The QB is closer to the line of Scrimmage. In the Pistol offense, the scheme relies on an athletic QB, while being combined with a power blocking scheme. It's a concept started in 2004 by (Chris Ault) the former University of Nevada head coach. Ault is currently considered a hot commodity as team such as the Carolina Panthers (Cam Newton) and The Washington Redskins (Robert Griffin III) have adopted his Pistol Offense schematics. Again, I'll readily admit the Pistol offense is new to me. I'm curious if the rest of Raider fans are interested in it, and what their thoughts are on Chris Ault being a possible OC candidate. Maybe Romo knows something the rest of us don't.

[NC_RaiderFan5]

Ault retired, and he as been at Nevada a very long time, so I doubt he takes another job. Terrelle Pryor would theoretically be a good fit, but we would need to find a lot of talent to put around him.

[bigjunior559]

Lol i just posted few a times in a couple of other threads about the same thing, the pistol offense is here to stay and Ault would be the guy you want implementing his system since he "created" it...and to NCRaider5, he's been quoted multiple times saying he does not want to retire and that he is open to new opportunities, even going as far as shooting down rumors that he would never take his talents to the NFL level. I don't have the link but you can google him if you'd like...

[Prov0]

I Coach Pop Warner Football 11-14 year olds and i must say the pistol offense is a success its a Offense that is hard to stop especialy with a mobile QB.
QB lines up 3.5 yards behind the center and 3 yards behind him is your back.

I would love to see the Raiders use TP in this formation.

[KobeOwnSU]

It wont work in the NFL.

[Prov0]

I agree to a point. I wouldnt use the Pistol in the NFL as your base Offense . But only as a package of plays for Pryor. Thats it .

[slvr&blck760]

It wont work in the NFL.

Why won't it work in the NFL?

[slvr&blck760]

I agree to a point. I wouldnt use the Pistol in the NFL as your base Offense . But only as a package of plays for Pryor. Thats it .

Why couldn't it be used as a base offense if you have the personnel to run it? You can run the spread, 3 wide, 2 tight end sets, and still havr a rb or fb at your disposal. It seems as though many teams are adapting to this style. Russell Wilson and the seahawks seem to be on board.

[Shred003]

Why won't it work in the NFL?

I'll give you my opinions, though I wasn't specifically asked.

ANY scheme will work at the NFL level if a team has the personnel to operate it. When it comes to the Pistol Offense, though, a QB's mobility is a huge component of its success.

I should be clear - the Pistol formation (QB in a shotgun formation, RB lined up behind him) is not the same as the 'Pistol Offense' - one denotes a formation, the other denotes an offensive system / philosophy.

The reason I don't think the Pistol Offense will work in the NFL is simple - QB's will take too many hits and get hurt too often. It's far too difficult to find a good QB to start with - taking that good QB and exposing him to more hits then necessary is not a good idea, IMO.

A particularly sturdy QB - Tim Tebow springs to mind - could theoretically function for 16 games taking the same kind of hits RB's take. The difference is, though, a RB can come out of the game when he gets drilled and get his sea-legs back; a QB has to stay on the field, even if he's nicked up after a particularly violent hit.

That is, IMO, the first and most pressing issue that comes up. Consider the contingencies the mobile QB creates - constant need of quality backups, constant need to swap out QB's due to injuries, and the problems that causes in the huddle, cadence, center/QB snap, etc...

That's just the START of the issues, BTW, not the end.

[stephkyle7]

Colin Kapernick was the first true success in the pistol. The following year (2010) UCLA adopted it as well.

The Pistol is nothing more then a wildcat variant.
It relies on providing the same offensive motion play after play,and allows for an option read.
This creates in decision for a defense becasue there are no "tells" as to what the play will be.,with the cross formation route by the reciever(every play) you have end around ,wR screen,with the Rb, you have lead draw,circle routes,....you get the point.
It CAN be effective but as Shred and others mentioned, you need a highly mobile QB, ann exceptional RB, and true recieving threats other wise, teams key in on players and ignore the misdirection.

Any offense that is so heavily reliant on misdirection,is open to a lot of nuetral and negative yardage plays. The pistol is a college offense for a reason.

adding a "couple" of pistol formations,is different then running the offense.
The offense is rigid in its consistency.
I would prefer the types of offenses that we have seen produce real results.
Our personell is Dallas Cowboys, 1990s, Rams 99, etc...Air coryle.thats what we need to run IMO.

[BlackHoleSon]

At this point, why not bring his name into the mix? He's only had 3 losing seasons in his entire coaching career. I may as well throw another name in... Tom Osbourne, former Nebraska Head Coach. He's never had a losing season.

[Shred003]

At this point, why not bring his name into the mix? He's only had 3 losing seasons in his entire coaching career. I may as well throw another name in... Tom Osbourne, former Nebraska Head Coach. He's never had a losing season.

Huh?! Tom "Triple Option" Osbourne...?!

First - why would he quit being the AD of Nebraska? He enjoys needling Bo Pelini too much.

Secondly... and this is the important point, really... what does he bring to the table, realistically? Nebraska survived as a program thanks to a massive walk-on program.

Oh, and steroids. Tons of 'em.

[BlackHoleSon]

Huh?! Tom "Triple Option" Osbourne...?!

First - why would he quit being the AD of Nebraska? He enjoys needling Bo Pelini too much.

Secondly... and this is the important point, really... what does he bring to the table, realistically? Nebraska survived as a program thanks to a massive walk-on program.

Oh, and steroids. Tons of 'em.

Hey those Peter brothers were never juicing. LOL

[bigjunior559]

I'll give you my opinions, though I wasn't specifically asked.

ANY scheme will work at the NFL level if a team has the personnel to operate it. When it comes to the Pistol Offense, though, a QB's mobility is a huge component of its success.

I should be clear - the Pistol formation (QB in a shotgun formation, RB lined up behind him) is not the same as the 'Pistol Offense' - one denotes a formation, the other denotes an offensive system / philosophy.

The reason I don't think the Pistol Offense will work in the NFL is simple - QB's will take too many hits and get hurt too often. It's far too difficult to find a good QB to start with - taking that good QB and exposing him to more hits then necessary is not a good idea, IMO.

A particularly sturdy QB - Tim Tebow springs to mind - could theoretically function for 16 games taking the same kind of hits RB's take. The difference is, though, a RB can come out of the game when he gets drilled and get his sea-legs back; a QB has to stay on the field, even if he's nicked up after a particularly violent hit.

That is, IMO, the first and most pressing issue that comes up. Consider the contingencies the mobile QB creates - constant need of quality backups, constant need to swap out QB's due to injuries, and the problems that causes in the huddle, cadence, center/QB snap, etc...

That's just the START of the issues, BTW, not the end.

Exactly! and i know everyone thinks Romo is crazy but Tebow and TP would be a nightmare for opposing DC's, if RM were to make a crazy bold move like that, i would be astonished but i honestly could see us winning at least 7 or 8 games NEXT YEAR (maybe more depending on what happens in the offseason) if that was the case...[just a thought, not necessarily advocating for the move] I would much rather stick with the tradition PBS scheme myself, for the record...

[HILLBILLYBLACK]

Exactly! and i know everyone thinks Romo is crazy but Tebow and TP would be a nightmare for opposing DC's, if RM were to make a crazy bold move like that, i would be astonished but i honestly could see us winning at least 7 or 8 games NEXT YEAR (maybe more depending on what happens in the offseason) if that was the case...[just a thought, not necessarily advocating for the move] I would much rather stick with the tradition PBS scheme myself, for the record...

NFL fuddy-duddies all claim this scenario can never and will never happen in the NFL.

I say it's DESTINED to happen, and when it does, football will #1, never be the same again, and #2 become even more exciting to play and watch.