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The Spin: The Greatest Offense You've Never

Heard Of
by: Mike Kuchar
© December 2006

The Strategy
Head coach Dale Weiner and his staff at Catholic HS in Baton Rouge (LA) began dreaming up the spin
offense five years ago during the 2001 season. Bored with the conventional pro “I” sets they had been
running, they looked for a different way to run their mis-direction schemes like counter and sweep. So
after breaking down the previous night’s game film on Saturday mornings, Weiner and his staff started to
lay down the blueprint of a brand-new innovative offense known as the “Spin.”

Weiner first unleashed the ‘Spin,’ named because the QB pivots on every snap, in the 2001 state
playoffs. The results have been tremendous. Catholic High has posted a 50-9 record, averaging 34.5 points
per game. They’ve made the playoffs every year and currently have won 29 straight district games.

While the X’s and O’s of the spin may be somewhat complicated, the strategy is quite simple. The “Spin”
offense prides itself on mis-direction schemes and similar pattern meshes between the QB and three
running backs. Much of it resembles the traditional Wing T scheme, but Weiner operates his out of a
double slot set which provides for equal balance on both sides of the ball.

“The offense is simple to teach yet it’s different, which I think is the key in coaching,” says Weiner. “All
we’ve really done is take a spread package, which everybody in football is doing today, and find a way to
mesh it in with the option and misdirection run plays like counter, power and sweep.”

Like most run-oriented offenses, the spin relies on an athletic and mobile QB – in Weiner’s offense the
QB will carry the ball more than 60% of the time. “For the most part, he’ll be our best athlete,” says Weiner.
Both wingbacks are traditional I back types, most likely the first and second team halfback, while the
fullback is a conventional fullback and the best blocker on the team.

The Run Game


Despite the original shotgun set, the run game of the spin offense resembles the buck series of the Wing
T. Weiner packages his plays by series, which is not unlike traditional Wing T, but he works mainly out of
“deuce” – Weiner’s shotgun double slot set (See Diagram 1).

Diagram 1. Shotgun Double Slot

Having a balanced set, without overloading one side like Wing T teams would use in traditional TE/Wing
sets, makes the defense stay balanced. Defenses cannot overplay one side of the formation because there
is no pre-snap read to indicate strength. Plus, according to Weiner, the shotgun set has a tendency to slow
defenses down, giving the illusion of a spread pass scheme. Weiner will interchange all three of his backs
(besides the QB) so no tendency is shown to run to a certain side.

Because of common pull and trap schemes in the spin offense, the offensive line will line up with two
foot splits and as deep off the ball as possible. “We try to make sure that once our center gets set, our
offensive lineman are so deep in their stances that their hats will usually break the plane of the center’s
belt,” says Weiner. “This is so we already have depth on our pull. We don’t worry about giving anything
away; people know what we are going to run. They just have to try and stop it.”

The QB is lined up with his heels five yards from the ball, while the fullback is offset exactly two feet in
front of him on either side (depending on the play). Both slot backs are 1.5 yards from the tackle with their
inside foot back. They’ll put their inside foot back so they can pivot off their outside foot and go in motion,
which they do on every snap. When a wing goes in motion, he’ll aim for the outside hip of the quarterback,
so the pattern of the motion resembles an arc. The receivers split will fluctuate, depending on the play they
are running. Anytime the receiver is asked to crack block inside on an outside backer, he will cut his split
down; otherwise traditionally he’s at 6 yards from the slot.

Weiner’s cadence is simple, “Down… set…hut…hut” so that the motion man could hear his cue, which
is when the QB calls “set.” Once ‘set’ is called, the slot comes back in arc motion full speed. “Once that
slot takes off on set it’s full throttle for him,” says Weiner. “By the time he gets to the QB’s hip he’s flying.”
On spin sweep, the staple run play of the offense, (See Diagram 2)
Diagram 2. The Spin Sweep

the slot away from the call side comes in full motion on “set” and on the snap, the QB will pivot off on the
play side foot and give an outside handoff to the motion man. “We’ll either zone block the front line if it’s a
stretch scheme or we’ll pull the front side guard who kicks out the first bad color he sees,” says Weiner.
The receiver to the call side will execute a push-crack technique, where he takes two steps like he’s
pushing up the field and come crack on the force player, usually an outside linebacker or strong safety.
The play side slot will arc to kick out the cornerback. If the defense is playing some type of man coverage,
Weiner will have the receivers run their man off to a depth of ten yards then stop and stalk block, while the
fullback will make an inside out seal block on the play side defensive end.

The counter sweep (See Diagram 3)

Diagram 3. Counter Sweep

is off the same backfield action, which provides for great misdirection. But this time it’s the opposite slot,
away from the motion, that’s getting the ball on counter. The QB pivots on a 360 degree turn faking the
spin sweep to the motion back and giving an outside handoff to the counter coming the other way. If the
defense is showing zone coverage, the play side receiver will crack inside on the force defender. The front
side of the line will gap block down, while the backside guard and tackle pull. The fullback will fill backside
C gap for the pulling tackle. It’s basically traditional counter run blocking, but Weiner will tweak
responsibilities if he sees teams loading up the box up with eight defenders to stop the run.

“We usually see a high tendency of split 4-4 with two linebackers stacked on the guards to take away
any inside run. What we’ll do in that situation is make a “stay” call to the backside guard telling him to stay
home and not pull. We’ll wind up just pulling the tackle who will usually wind up kicking out a much
smaller cornerback,” says Weiner. “We know we can’t account for everybody in that look, but that’s the
way people will tend to play us so we have to make an adjustment.”

Weiner believes the key in running the counter sweep, which he has been running from an “I” backfield
set over the last twenty years, is to teach the pulling guard the difference between a kickout block and a
log block. He tells his guard that if he can get his hat in the hole of the play he should kick out that
defensive end by attacking his near hip and the play comes underneath him. But many teams will do such
a good job crashing that end, the guard has to work to get his hips around, aiming for his outside number
and seal or “log” the end inside in which the play would have to bounce outside.

According to Weiner, the most successful run scheme in the spin offense is the QB power (See Diagram
4).

Diagram 4. QB Power

Weiner likes to call this on the goal line because it is the most downhill aggressive run in his package. The
QB will send the wing away from the call side in motion on “set.” On the snap, he’ll pivot around faking the
outside handoff like spin sweep then take the ball right up through the B gap. The front side guard and
tackle will combo block the first down defender up through the first backside linebacker, while the fullback
kicks out the EMLOS (end man on line of scrimmage). The center blocks back for the pulling backside
guard who wraps around and leads up on the play side linebacker in a 4-4 look. The play side slot runs a
reverse away with a token fake and the play side receiver pushes his man vertical then runs directly at the
near safety, escorting the QB to the end zone. It’s Weiner’s favorite play in the offense.

“If you’re behind the defense watching this play unfold, all you see is the criss cross of the slot and
bada-bing; it’s a very deceptive play,” says Weiner. “It happens so quick on the goal line teams will usually
man us up and the slot motion takes defenders right out of the play.”

The Play-Action
It’s textbook play-calling at Catholic High. Once teams get a heavy dose of the spin sweep, Weiner will
dial up the spin pass right (See Diagram 5).

Diagram 5. Spin Pass Right

What’s unique about the play-action pass is that the backfield action is exactly the same as the run. The
backside slot will come in motion on the “set” count and after getting the snap from the gun, our QB will
reverse pivot faking the sweep and take a quick two step drop. The offensive line will zone protect to the
call side with the fullback filling the backside C gap like he would on counter sweep. The front side
receiver will run an influence crack (on the force defender) and head straight up the seam. This coupled
with a wheel route from the play side slot and the backside receiver running a fade proves to be the most
effective combination. “The wheel route is almost always there because the slot arcs like it’s a spin sweep
then gets right between the hash and the sideline on the wheel.”

When teams are getting upfield and getting in his quarterback’s face, Weiner has a change-up to the
spin pass by booting the front side guard to get him extra protection. “The back side of the play turn back
protects and the tackle comes down on the pulling guard’s man,” says Weiner. “For teams keying the
guard’s pull (on a run read) this is a killer.” Although Weiner only has one play-action pass, he has several
different route combinations off the same backfield action. Weiner might send the front side receiver on a
corner route with the slot running a flat. The backside receiver can run anything from a fade, dig, corner or
drag (See Diagram 6).

Diagram 6. Play Action Pass

Mis-direction/Screens
Being that the spin offense already has built-in misdirection schemes, Weiner will throw in additional big
play getters to keep defenses on their toes. One of which is the spin reverse. When running the reverse to
the left (See Diagram 7)

Diagram 7. Reverse (left)

the backfield action resembles a spin sweep to the right with the left slot coming in arc motion and faking
the sweep. After selling the sweep, the quarterback continues his spin and makes an inside handoff to the
opposite slot. Zone blocking the front is the safest bet, and the backside guard will pull and block the force
defender. The fullback will block the corner, while the corner will block “MDM” (the most dangerous man),
usually a cutoff block on the near safety. Regardless of the down, Weiner will go to the reverse when he
sees teams over-shifting their linebackers on the arc motion action.

Surprisingly, Catholic’s most successful pass play hasn’t been a play-action or drop back scheme;
rather it’s been the FB screen. Weiner will run the screen up to ten times a game, especially when defenses
are cheating on the spin sweep. After blocking backside C gap, like he would on spin counter, the fullback
sets up on the outside leg of the tackle. The play side tackle, guard and center will pass block for two
counts then release with the tackle blocking the corner support, the guard filling the alley and the center
pulls around and hinges picking up any backside pursuit (See Diagram 8).

Diagram 8. FB Screen

The receiver to the side of the screen will execute a crack block on the force defender while all other
receivers will run coverage off. The slot will delay to check for blitz, and then run a seam route. The QB
fakes the spin sweep, takes two drop steps and dumps the ball off.

This article is part 1 of a 3 part series.


The Spin Offense: The Running Game (Part II)
The greatest offense you've never heard of...
by: Mike Kuchar
© January 2007

When Dale Weiner and his staff at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge (LA) developed the “spin offense”
as their primary offense in 2001, there were three aspects that they felt needed to be accomplished in
order to be successful: develop a base run package with complimentary play-action off of it; keep the
defense on its toes by using misdirection and motion; and keep it simple enough so that the players and
coaches can make adjustments on the fly.

Although the system is quite simple, because of complex appearance of the spin, Catholic high typically
will have a defense of the week set up for them every time they take the field. “We haven’t seen the same
type of defense two weeks in a row for the last four years. So keeping our concepts simple makes the
most sense,” says Weiner.

The basis of the run game, according to Weiner, is find a way to incorporate zone and man blocking
principles to his offensive line to eliminate confusion. While most teams either commit to running a
gap/zone scheme or a man blocking scheme, like you would see from a Wing T, Weiner finds a way to
implement both. Weiner does this by spending the majority of his spring practices and his summer
workouts with his offensive line just walking through their blocking assignments against a 4-4, 4-3, 5-2 and
3-3 front. His zone schemes rely on the covered/uncovered principle; that is, if a lineman is covered on the
snap of the ball, he will be responsible for handling the defensive lineman in front of him by attacking the
outside number of the defender. If a lineman is uncovered at the snap of the ball, he will take a zone
(lateral) step playside to prevent from any stunting toward him, then work up to linebacker level.

In the spin offense, every offensive lineman must learn to pull, including the TE in counter schemes, so
Weiner and his staff will teach them what he calls the basics of pulling: working up field, using your
playside shoulder and forearm to make the kickout block, and keeping your hat in the hole to avoid anyone
crossing you face.

Game Planning the Run Game

When you’ve been coaching as long as Weiner has, having tutored the likes of Warrick Dunn, Travis Minor
and Major Applewhite, you develop a natural instinct for play-calling which is why Weiner, also the
offensive coordinator at Catholic HS, shies away from scripting plays. “I’ll have our base plays on
wristbands that I’ll give them out to every one of our skill players. That way when I need to get a play in a
hurry, I could just tell our QB the number of the play. For example, 2R could be spin sweep right or 1L
could be spin blast left. I could get a general feel from the sideline for what defenses are trying to do to us
by watching how they react to our plays,” he says. Weiner will go into the game with five runs out of the
spin. He breaks them down into off-tackle schemes such as counter, power and blast and perimeter plays
such as sweep and option. He’ll try to show all of them in the first couple of possessions just to see how
defenses are making the adjustments.

“We want to know what teams are doing in the box. We start out in our traditional double slot set (See
Diagram 1) which is an even set, so we have to see if they are overloading a particular side. Because we’re
pretty balanced, most teams will adjust to the side the fullback is lined up on. In that case we will go
opposite him,” says Weiner. The slot backs are 1.5 yards off the offensive tackle, so against a 4-4 defense,
Weiner will check to see how those outside linebackers are aligned.

Diagram 1: Basic Set

DIAGRAM 8. SPIN SWEEP ZONE

OUTSIDE RUN GAME

IF WEINER FEELS THAT HE HAS A SPEED ADVANTAGE AGAINST HIS


OPPONENT, HE’LL RUN MORE OF HIS OUTSIDE SCHEMES SUCH AS SPIN
SWEEP AND SPIN OPTION. THE SPIN SWEEP IS THE STAPLE OF THE
OFFENSE, AND RESEMBLES WHAT WING T TEAMS REFER TO AS JET
SWEEP WITH THE SLOT GETTING THE BALL IN FULL MOTION AROUND THE
CORNER. THE DIFFERENCE IS THE SLOT NEVER CROSSES THE QB’S FACE
TO AVOID PROBLEMS WITH THE MESH. INSTEAD, HIS AIMING POINT IS THE
OUTSIDE HIP SO HE GETS THE BALL AT TOP SPEED. THE OFFENSIVE LINE
WILL USE THEIR ZONE BLOCK PRINCIPLES EXCEPT FOR THE PLAYSIDE
GUARD, WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FORCE DEFENDER WITH THE
FULLBACK (USUALLY AN OUTSIDE LINEBACKER OR STRONG SAFETY). THE
PLAYSIDE RECEIVER WILL USE A PUSH CRACK TECHNIQUE AT THE MIDDLE
SAFETY LEAVING THE FULLBACK TO BLOCK THE STRONG CORNERBACK
(SEE DIAGRAM 7). IN ORDER TO PREVENT RUN-THROUGH FROM THE
LINEBACKERS, WEINER WON’T PULL ANYONE AND WILL JUST CALL “SPIN
SWEEP ZONE” WITH THE ENTIRE OFFENSIVE LINE BLOCKING THEIR ZONE
SCHEME (SEE DIAGRAM 8).

DIAGRAM 7. SPIN SWEEP

DIAGRAM 6. SPIN ZONE COUNTER

THE SPIN COUNTER RELIES ON THE MOVEMENT OF THE PLAYSIDE SLOT


COMING IN MOTION, RESULTING IN A USUAL SHIFT OF LINEBACKERS FOR
FEAR OF THE SPIN SWEEP. WHEN WEINER STARTS RUNNING THE SWEEP
PLAY ENOUGH AND STARTS TO SEE THE LINEBACKERS CHEATING, HE’LL
COME BACK WITH THE SPIN COUNTER. OFFENSIVE LINEMAN TO THE
PLAYSIDE WILL WORK THEIR GAP/ZONE SCHEME JUST LIKE BLAST, WHILE
THE BACKSIDE GUARD PULLS TO KICKOUT THE EMLOS. THE BACKSIDE
TACKLE WALLS UP INSIDE THE KICKOUT BLOCK LOOKING FOR THE FIRST
BAD COLOR INSIDE (SEE DIAGRAM 5). THIS SOUNDS LIKE TRADITIONAL
COUNTER BLOCKING SCHEMES, BUT WEINER WILL CHANGE UP
ASSIGNMENTS BY WHAT HE SEES ON THE FIELD. “TYPICALLY WE LIKE TO
PULL BOTH THE BACKSIDE GUARD AND TACKLE ON COUNTER. BUT
DEPENDING ON HOW QUICK THEIR DEFENSIVE LINE IS OFF THE BALL, WE
MAY HAVE TO PULL JUST THE GUARD OR THE TACKLE. IT’S SIMPLE FOR
OUR KIDS, THEY HEAR THE WORD COUNTER, AND IT COULD BE TAGGED
WITH A ‘STAY’ CALL THAT JUST TELLS THE FB TO TAKE THE PLACE OF
THE BACKSIDE TACKLE. WHEN WE PLAY REALLY QUICK TEAMS THAT
REALLY GO WITH FULL FLOW, WE WILL CALL ‘SPIN COUNTER ZONE’ AND
JUST ZONE THE FRONT OPPOSITE THE CALL WITH THE FULLBACK KICKING
OUT THE EMLOS” (SEE DIAGRAM 6).

DIAGRAM 5. SPIN COUNTER

Weiner likes to run this play against a seven-man box,


or a 4-3. When he sees that teams will start to bring
eight players in the box to stop the run, he will simply
make an adjustment by tagging the word “wham” onto
the call. “Because it becomes impossible to block the
backside linebacker in a four-linebacker set, you can’t
block eight with seven, the backside guard will not pull.
Instead, the offensive line will man block the front and
the fullback will isolation block the frontside
linebacker, with the QB taking the ball through the B
gap” (See Diagram 4). The motion from the backside
slot will hold the frontside linebacker from coming into
the tackle box as an extra defender.

Diagram 4. Spin Wham Blast

Inside Run Game

The spin offense inside run game revolves around two


plays – the blast and the counter. Both plays are similar
in nature because you will always have players that
pull at the point of attack. But determining who pulls is
the secret behind the scheme of the offense. For
example, in the traditional spin blast, all of the
offensive lineman, except for the backside guard, are
working a gap/zone scheme; they are responsible for
backside gap to backside linebacker. The backside
guard pulls and hugs the double team at the B gap and
walls off the first bad color he sees. The fullback kicks
out the EMLOS (end man on line of scrimmage). The
QB is the ballcarrier, taking the ball up through the B
gap (See Diagram 3).

Diagram 3. Spin Blast/Regular Blocking

Sometimes it could be as simple as picking your poison. “If I feel that the slots have outside leverage on
the outside backers, we’ll run spin sweep all day because we can get a hook block on that kid. If they
widen with the slot because we’re having success with the sweep then we’ll go to our inside run game,”
says Weiner. Oftentimes, if teams play them balanced with no particular strength, Weiner will leave it up to
his QB to call the sweep to the left or right at the line of scrimmage based on how many players they have
on each side of the center.

Checking the depth of outside linebackers isn’t all that Weiner and his staff will look at when preparing
their players. Since they face so many different defenses, he’ll often break from his double slot set and
incorporate a tight end in the game to find out exactly how defenses will adjust. “The tight end always
dictates the front of the defense. Defensively you can do whatever you want if a team doesn’t use one
because it’s a balanced front. So we’ll use one in situations to see how they react,” says Weiner. When he
goes to a tight end, he’ll be in a wing-slot set (See Diagram 2) similar to a traditional Wing T set. If the
defense tends to overload the wing-slot side, he’ll run mis-direction such as a counter back to the tight
end. Once the defense starts to make the adjustment to the tight end, he’ll stay with his base inside run
package such as wham, which is an isolation play to the weakside.

Diagram 2. Wing-Slot Set

The spin option scheme is also used with the same zone blocking schemes as the sweep; the only
difference is that Weiner prefers to option off of the first threat that shows defensively- usually the force
defender. The playside wide receiver will execute the same push crack technique at the middle safety
(versus cover two it is the half-field safety) while the playside slot still attacks the inside shoulder of the
corner. The fullback works with the playside tackle in sealing the frontside defensive end as the
quarterback carries a double option read with the backside slot who comes in arc motion (See Diagram 9).

Diagram 9. Spin Option vs. 4-3

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Diagram 1. Spin pass right

Since the effectiveness of the spin sweep is based on the crack block of the wide receiver on a linebacker,
Weiner keeps this action the same on the snap. The only difference is, on spin pass the receiver will “fan”
on the backer and run a skinny post drawing the attention of the middle or near safety. It’s this action of
the crack block that is the key element to make the play go. “We crack so much, I love to watch that play
side cornerback come inside right away expecting the run,” says Weiner. “Once my coach up top gives me
that tendency we go right for the jugular.”

The jugular is a wheel route by the play side slot attacking the area vacated by the corner. If by chance, the
corner does not get sucked in by the crack block, the slot will convert his route to a comeback route at 15
yards. “If we’re seeing a two deep shell, the QB will read the near safety. If he stays on the hash, he’ll
throw the wheel route immediately,” says Weiner. “If he jumps the wheel, we have the skinny behind him.”
The backside receiver will mainly run a 15 yard dig, but his route can be tagged with a fade or 8 yard drag
route as well. Once the QB pivots and fakes the sweep, he pulls up into the “B” gap and reads inside out –
skinny post, wheel and the dig.

The Spin Bootleg


Just as the spin pass is predicated on the action of the spin sweep, the spin bootleg is what Weiner calls a
“key breaker” off of the spin counter. Much of the spin bootleg resembles the traditional Waggle Pass that
all Wing T teams have in their package. It’s the offensive line that again, has to sell the run action of the
spin counter. If the huddle call is “Spin Bootleg Left,” (See Diagram 2) the offensive line will gap protect
away from the call of the play, with the backside guard pulling just as if it were spin counter. The right slot
will go in full motion and get downhill quickly to seal the edge to the side of the play, similar to the spin
pass. The left slot, or play side slot will execute his counter steps- drop step, cross over and fake the
counter right. He will wind up protecting the backside of the QB along with the pulling guard while the FB
will head directly into the flat.

Diagram 2. Spin bootleg left

Again, the spin bootleg is essentially a three man route with the play side receiver running what Weiner
calls a crack corner route at 15 yards to the sideline and the back side receiver running a deep drag just as
he did on the spin pass. After faking the counter, the QB gains depth of about five yards to carry out the
naked bootleg. He’ll check the corner quick, but most times will feed the ball directly to the fullback in the
flat. Because there is no front side protection to the bootleg, the success of the play relies on an excellent
counter fake and pulling lineman. Depending on how the defense reacts to the counter play, Weiner may
wind up pulling both the guard and tackle away from the play. “Since we pull both linemen on counter,
we’ll watch how that weak side end plays the counter. If he really starts to chase the play down the line of
scrimmage, we’ll run bootleg at him all day. Chances are we won’t have to block him; he’ll take himself
right out of the play.”
The Spin Screen
No run-oriented offense is successful without a complimentary screen play, and Weiner’s spin offense
uses the spin screen (See Diagram 3) up to five times a game. The spin screen is in the same package as
the spin pass and spin sweep. By design, it is a screen to the fullback using the exact same backfield
action of the spin pass and sweep. In “Spin Screen Left,” the offensive line will initially zone block to the
side of the sweep fake like they did in spin pass. The left tackle, left guard and center will pause for a
count of “thousand one, thousand two” then release flat down the line of scrimmage. The tackle will be
responsible for the widest defender (usually the corner) and the guard picks up the alley player (a free
safety in cover three). After releasing, the center will turn back toward the backfield to pick up any rusher
who has “sniffed out” the screen.

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Diagram 3: Spin Counter

The Spin Bootleg

To complement the Spin Counter, we utilize the Spin Bootleg (See Diagram 4). This play is a “key breaker”
off of the Spin Counter. It will utilize the same routes as the waggle out of the Wing-T. On the Spin Bootleg
left, the right slot will go in motion and then get down hill quickly to help seal the edge. The left slot will
execute his drop step cross over and fake the counter right. He protects the backside.

Diagram 4: Spin Bootleg

The FB will fake the fill block and head into the left flat. He usually becomes our primary target. We pull the
playside guard to the backside to sell the counter. The playside tackle blocks down on the guard’s man,
which also gives a flow read to the backside. Remember that some teams are really going to key the
guard’s pull to read the direction of the play.

The left WR will run a “crack corner” route. The right WR, who compressed his split a little bit, will run a
drag. The QB pivots to fake the counter, then gains depth to carry out the bootleg. He checks the corner
quickly, but will usually throw to the FB in the flat. His third option is the drag. We tell the QB that if his
first two options are closed, the drag is always open. The backside linemen will reach playside. We have
great backside protection due to the counter fake and pulling linemen.

Both the Spin Counter and Spin Bootleg give the Spin offense a perfect misdirection complement to the
outside running game.
The Spin Offense: The Weakside Attack
by: Barry Gibson
Offensive Coordinator, Citronelle HS (AL)
© October 2007

Six years ago, I was the offensive coordinator at St. Andrews Episcopal High School in Ridgeland, MS. I
was at a point in my career where I wanted to design an offense that would not only be different but would
also help a team with average talent to compete against much stronger and more talented teams. With 23
years of coaching experience under my belt, I had run just about every kind of offense you could imagine.

It was at that time I created the 'Spin Offense.' By combining some ideas from the 'old school' single wing
offense I had been running with a 'new age' spread offensive look, I had just what I was looking for with
the Spin. Spreading the field with this formation is what makes this offense so unique and somewhat
different from the tight unbalanced formations of the single wing era.

After reading an article I had written on my new offense, Coach Dale Weiner from Catholic High School in
Baton Rouge, LA called me along with many other coaches across the country and asked about the
offense. I was calling it the 'Combo Offense' at the time. Hats off to Coach Weiner and his staff! After
incorporating the 'Spin Offense' (I like the new name even better) into their already successful schemes,
Catholic High School has experienced tremendous success the past six years. Like any successful coach
will do, Coach Weiner has taken this offense and tweaked it to fit the talents of his personnel.

Many readers have become somewhat familiar with the Spin Offense now because of American Football
Monthly and Dale Weiner’s videos. Outside of the spin counter, the fullback screen left and the spin
reverse, most of the plays that have been discussed have been strongside plays. What I would like to do in
this article is to share with you some ways to attack the weakside which in this offense is away from where
the fullback lines up.

Spin Blast Weak

First, let’s look at spin blast weak, without a doubt my favorite weakside play in the entire arsenal (See
Diagram 1). After the left slot back comes in fast motion, the quarterback will spin as usual, faking the spin
sweep. But this time he needs to make a full 360 degree spin or with his left foot aiming towards the
weakside of the formation. The technique involved in getting the quarterback headed in the right direction
is teaching him to place his right foot in front and slightly past his left foot after receiving the snap. After
he makes his full spin, his left foot will be pointing directly towards the weakside off-tackle hole, exactly
where he needs to go. The right slot back carries out his fake off of the quarterback’s spin. He then
continues outside of the defense and into a pitch relationship upfield with the quarterback. It’s very
important that you coach him to get into that pitch relationship and not give up after the fake. Many times
running this play, our quarterback has made the pitch downfield to the right slot back for an easy
touchdown when the free safety came up to stop the QB. The offensive line’s blocking scheme is identical
to the spin blast with the exception of the play going to the weakside. This play is deadly to over-pursuing
linebackers trying to stop the base play of the offense, the spin sweep.

Diargram1: Spin blast weakside

Spin Trap

When we see an eight-man front, particularly some type of split-4 defense with the tackles in a 2 or 3
technique, I will immediately run the spin trap (See Diagram 2). This is a misdirection trap play to the
weakside which is extremely effective after establishing the spin sweep and the spin reverse. With the left
and right slot backs faking the spin reverse, the center will direct snap the ball to the fullback. A typical
trap-blocking scheme is incorporated here with the center blocking backside for the pulling right guard. He
will trap the playside 2 or 3 technique tackle. The left guard and left tackle will block down. The X receiver
will block the first threat downfield in the secondary. The key to the success of this play is the faking of the
slot backs, keeping the outside linebackers entertained and guessing whether or not who has the football.

Diagram 2: Spin trap


Spin Shovel Pass

Another great misdirection play to the weakside and a complementary play to the spin sweep is the spin
shovel pass (See Diagram 3). The play starts with the left slot coming in fast motion, faking the spin
sweep. The QB will spin and give the appearance of running the spin option, another proven play of the
offense. However, instead of running the ball or pitching to the left slot on the option, he will shovel pass
to the right slot.

Diagram 3: Spin shovel pass

On the snap, the right slot will take a crossover counter step, turn his back to the line of scrimmage and
plant off his left foot. He will immediately look for the pitch from the QB and cut off the kick-out block from
the right guard. The fullback also takes a counter step but his is an open step instead of a crossover step.
He pulls through the hole looking to block the outside LB or the first unfriendly jersey he sees. The left
guard and tackle will block first man inside or use a combo block to the Mike linebacker. The right tackle
must do a great job of cutting off the defensive end; his block will be helped by the threat of the option
coming right at him. The Sam linebacker must respect the QB running the ball on the option or the option
pitch to the left slot. If he does not, we will be running that play at him all night long.

Spin Jump Pass

When you want to bring a tight end into the game and still run the spin sweep and most of the offense, you
can do so by running out of what I call our ‘Eagle Formation’ (See Diagram 4). In the eagle formation, we
simply align the left slot back in his normal alignment and stance outside of the tight end. This is one yard
outside and one and a half yards deep. I bring the right split end down to a ‘nasty’ split of about four yards
outside of the right tackle. The right slot back will line up in his normal position from the right tackle as
usual. A favorite play of mine out of this formation is the spin jump pass (See Diagram 5). This is a staple
play from the old single wing days. It is just as devastating today out of the spin offense because it is
rarely seen. The play is so effective because the QB has been spinning almost every play and either giving
the ball to one of the slot backs or keeping the ball himself.

Diagram 4: Eagle formation

Diagram 5: Spin jump pass

After the QB spins and fakes the sweep to the left slot back, he attacks the LOS towards the right, off-
tackle hole. Just before he gets there he jumps straight up as if he were about to shoot a jump shot in a
basketball game. He then delivers a quick pass to the tight end who has run a delay route in behind the
linebackers anywhere between seven and nine yards deep. The right split end runs through the safety to
draw him out of the middle of the field and the right slot back runs a wheel route. The fullback blocks the
edge to the play side and the offensive line blocks big-on-big aggressively. You may have seen Urban
Meyer and the Florida Gators run the play this past season. They run it out of a different formation with a
slight twist to it, using Tim Tebow at QB. The difference is that Meyer chose not to spin the quarterback off
of motion. Instead he ran the QB straight to the LOS and then had him jump up to make the pass to the
tight end. Bottom line and anyway you look at it, it’s still the jump pass! I believe using fast motion and
spinning the quarterback gives this play even more deception and incredible results.

Spin Pass / X Slant

Anytime you have the success we’ve had running the football from the spin offense, the defense will try to
make adjustments and do some things to try to stop all the misdirection and confusion that this offense
brings to the table. When they do those things, some defenses will gamble and leave other spin plays wide
open. For instance, if we see a defense blitzing the backside linebacker, trying to chase the spin sweep or
blow up the spin counter play, I won’t hesitate to call the spin pass / x slant (See Diagram 6). This pass
play will expose the open void area to the weakside left by the blitzing Will linebacker. The play begins in
normal fashion with the left slot coming in fast motion. Once again, like so many other spin plays, the first
part of the play looks identical to the defense. This approach does not give the ‘bad guys’ a clue as to what
is about to happen next. After the fake, the left slot will turn up and protect the edge. The fullback will
block the backside edge and look for the most dangerous threat to get to the QB.
Diagram 6: Spin pass/X slant

I like a zone protection scheme with the offensive line because occasionally we will use a zone scheme
when running the spin sweep. The quarterback will execute his spin, take one drop-step straight back and
throw the ball to the X receiver, running a three-step slant route. In case the slant area is not open for any
reason, the quarterback immediately looks for the right slot on a swing route. This route has proven to be
open many times since most Sam linebackers will attack the LOS aggressively trying to stop the spin
sweep. The right split end runs a ‘slant and go’ to give us a deep threat if we need it.

In running the Spin Offense, as in any offense, you must attack both the strongside and weakside areas of
the defense to be effective. I hope these ideas will help you in becoming a more complete offense as well
as increasing your scoring potential.Diagram 1: Spin blast into slot side

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Diagram 3: Spin blast into wing

When we see the coverage is balanced, we can go either way with our Spin Pass. If the coverage declares
a side, we can attack the opposite side (See Diagram 4). It must be noted that we work hard on the QB
using audibles to call the best play.
Diagram 4: Spin pass away from inverted safety

Based on our game plan, we may go into a game with the idea of running the double wing. I get a lot of
questions about the Spin Offense from Double Wing coaches. I think this is a great formation to operate
this offense. Like the Double Slot, the Double Wing is a balanced formation. It forces the defense to
balance up and defend both sides of the formation equally. Again, sometimes the defense declares a side
before the snap. We will go the other way.

The Spin Offense provides a great power game from the Double Wing. In addition to the Spin Blast, which
is a mainstay of the offense, the Spin Wham (Iso) is another great inside power play (Diagram 5).

Diagram 5: Spin wham (iso)

Due to the fact that the Double Wing is a balanced formation, we often see rolled up corners and twin
safeties. The Spin Pass is a great play action pass against this coverage. The play side end will inside
release, just as he does on many run plays. Then he breaks for the deep corner. The wing releases into the
flat. This creates a high-low situation for the QB’s read. Meanwhile, we will run the backside tight end on a
drag that splits the difference.

The line zones playside as the FB protects our backside. This is an excellent red zone play!

The final set we will examine is our Double ‘Nasty’ Slot (Diagram 6). The Nasty Slot, of course, is a
compressed end to the slot side. We can call a nasty to one side or both. I prefer a double nasty look.
Again, this has the advantage of being balanced. We like the nasty slot to get great ‘down’ blocks on the
end man on the line of scrimmage. Obviously, this is great for the spin sweep and reverse (See Diagrams 7
and 8).

Diagram 6: Double 'nasty' slot

Diagram 7: Spin sweep-zone blocking

Diagram 8: spin reverse

While there are any number of formations from which to operate the Spin Offense, these are among our
favorites.
AFM Subscribers Ask...
with Dale Weiner
© March 2007

Catholic High School Coach (Baton Rouge, LA) Dale Weiner has been a coach for 32 years with the last 21
as the head man at CHS. During that time, his teams have a 201-48 overall record with 13 district titles and
have been either a state finalist or semi-finalist a total of 7 times. CHS has a current playoff streak, as well,
of 19 consecutive years. He has coached, among other outstanding athletes, Warrick Dunn, Major
Applewhite and Travis Minor. During the 2001 season Weiner and his staff began putting together the
‘Spin’ offense. Unveiled during the 2001 playoffs, the “Spin” derives its name because the QB pivots on
every snap. Since its inception, the results have been nothing short of incredible: a 50-9 overall record and
an average of nearly 35 ppg. Coach Weiner answers your specific questions about this offense...

Q. When introducing a new style of offense to your players, what bumps or obstacles did you have to
overcome to gain the trust and respect of your athletes to assure them this brand of offense would thrive?
Aaron Hancock, Assistant Coach, Wyoming High School (OH). AFM subscriber since 2005.

We really don’t have much of a problem on our team because our players have come to expect new things.
That's just us. However, I think if the team has confidence in the coach, they will have confidence in what
he is trying to do with them. It's always important to make them understand that you are not doing
something out of desperation, but to take advantage of their strengths.

Q. What, essentially, is the ‘Spin’ offense and what do you feel are its greatest advantages? John
Potemkin, Assistant Coach, Chatsworth High School (DE). AFM subscriber since 2003.

The Spin offense is a combination of the Spread Shotgun, Wing T, and Single Wing offenses. It involves a
QB pivoting his back to the defense in order to hand the ball off or keep it as he executes each play. This
offense’s prinmary strength is its deception. Any player in the backfield can wind up with the football. A
team can run sweeps, dives, off-tackle power, counters, reverses, options and iso plays. There are also
play action passing, screens, and bootlegs.

I think there are three distinct advantages of the Spin:


A. It’s different and therefore causes defenses extra preparation.
B. It takes advantage of speedy backs.
C. It is very deceptive.

Q. With your offense, when you game plan what do you first look at in the defense you see and how do the
defenses change to your offense? Nick Marchy, Offensive Coordinator, Patterson High School (CA). AFM
subscriber since 2006.

We first try to determine what front the defense is going to give us. This, of course helps us to make the
blocking adjustments that we need. Next, we want to see how the secondary is going to play, both in their
adjustment to motion and who will be the force defenders. This helps us to choose how to block our
perimeter game and which route tags to use.

Q. With all of your backfield action in the Spin offense, how much do you rely on your fullback to carry the
football? Also, is the major portion of your passing game play action, sprint, or drop back? Please
describe what benefit you see with the passing game you use. Joe Pearson, Head coach, Solanco High
School (PA). AFM subscriber since 2004.

Our fullback does not get the ball as often as the other backs in the backfield, but we do use him on the
base dives and in our screen and bootleg. All of our passes in the Spin offense are of a play action nature.
These passes take full advantage of over pursuit in the secondary.

Q. How would the blocking change against a 5-2, Cover 2 defense? Also, what are the blocking rules for
the fullback? Kevin Waters, JV Head Coach, Lakeside High School, Evans, GA. AFM subscriber since
2006.

The 5-2 blocking does not really change. However, we would probably change the formation a little and get
a tight end or two involved. It must be remembered that we can always adjust the blocking to pull one
guard, a guard and a tackle, or a guard and the fullback, or pull no one and simply zone. We do this with
any defense we see. The wide-outs typically crack on the near safety on most of our spin plays vs the
Cover 2. This sets up the Spin pass very well.
Q. In trying to get the most out of the ‘Spin’ offense, what types of athletes do you need to make it work?
Do the skill players – QB, tailback, and receivers – all have to have great athleticism. Also, what do you
look for in your linemen for this offense? Steve Bogard, Assistant Coach, Northwest High School (KS).
AFM subscriber since 2004.

Without a doubt, the Spin takes advantage of speed athletes. I don’t think you can get the most out of this
offense with plodding type players. Due to the emphasis on the perimeter game, complemented by
misdirection, the backs that can really run are the one's that will be most beneficial. Hopefully, you would
have linemen that can pull on the sweeps, reverses, and counters. One last thing – I believe to fully take
advantage of all the possibilities of the Spin offense, you must have a QB that can run and carry out fakes.
He doesn’t have to be fast, but fearless.

Multiple Formations in the Spin Offense


by: Dale Weiner
Head Coach, Catholic High School, Baton Rouge (LA)
© November 2007

Offensive coaches have long recognized the benefit of running a group of plays from a variety of
formations. While the adjustments for the offense are usually minimal, the defense often times must apply
significant switching of responsibilities. This can result in defensive confusion and breakdowns.

The Spin Offense is no different. While previous articles in American Football Monthly’s series on the Spin
have focused on the base formation – the double slot, we do use several sets. We are looking for a way to
out flank the defense, and in the process, gain an advantage at the point of attack.

We will examine a few of the formations that have been successful for us over the past several seasons.

One such variation is the Wing-Slot. We will either insert a tight end into the game, or simply designate
one of our wide outs to align himself tight. Typically, our tight end will have a three foot split with the
tackle. This will provide us an additional blocker when we want to seal off the tackle area. It also forces the
defense to make a decision as to what area they are more concerned with. Do they rotate the secondary to
our strong side, that is the tight end-wing, or do they concentrate on the open slot side? Once we
determine what the defensive strategy is, we can then exploit what’s our best attack.

We really like this set, as it gives us a quick access to the outside running game and play action passing to
the slot. It also gives us the benefit of the tight end’s blocking on the wing side. However, we have had
much success turning the corner to the wing, as well as a surprisingly good play-action passing game to
the same side. When we see teams off-setting the front to the wing, we can go with our spin blast and
counter to the slot side (See Diagrams 1 and 2).

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