Saturday, May 16, 2020

The Single Wing

If you are a fan of Kingsford Football, you have seen the Single Wing formation. The Menominee Maroons still attempt to overpower their opponents with this formation that comes out of the early 1900s and coach Glen "Pop" Warner. I'm guessing that you have heard the name, "Pop Warner!"

The traditional Single Wing is recognizable by its unbalanced line (Four linemen on one side of the center and two on the other), a wing-back lined up outside of the Tight End, and the three running backs, none of which are under center like we think of football today. Most plays involve the center directly shaping the ball to either the full-back or the tail-back who in turn will either run, pass, or hand the ball off to another running back.

The name, "quarterback" originally comes from the Single Wing. In the formation above, you will see that the Full Back is about four yards behind the line of scrimmage. The quarterback is as tight to the line as he can get, attempting to be about one yard or one-quarter of the distance from the line of scrimmage as the full-back. In the single-wing offense, the quarterback is also referred to as a blocking back because of his duties to block for the other running backs, although in some plays he will carry the football or go out for a pass.
The Single Wing was the starting point for other formations and offensive systems such as the "Full House" or "Power T," the Double Wing, and the Wing-T. All of these variations were tweaks that were made as football progressed to take advantage of faster running backs, players that only played one side of the ball and more powerful passing attacks. 

Wing-T Offense - Plays, Strategies and Coaching Tips
https://www.football-tutorials.com/wing-t-offense/
The easiest way to see this transition is to look at a basic Wing-T formation. Note how the offensive line has balanced itself and placed a split end to the tailback (sometimes called "half-back") side. The quarterback has moved under center and is in a position to distribute the football via handoff or forward pass.

The Single Wing is sometimes used by college and NFL teams in what they call a "WILDCAT" package, where they are playing some form of direct snap football. Younger players and fans will get excited when they see their favorite team move into a "WILDCAT" formation. 

Old school coaches and fans who have been around the game awhile crack a smile because they know that football is coming back to its origin. 

You call it WILDCAT. I'll stick with Coach Warner's name: Single-Wing

No comments:

Post a Comment

Winning on the Field: More than the Scoreboard

Written by: Jordan Hoover  Photos by: Emily Hoover  September 29, 2023 Last night our family attended a JV football matchup between Kingsfor...