American football formation
Standard I formation
The
I formation
is one of the most common offensive
formations
in
American football
. The I formation draws its name from the vertical (as viewed from the opposing
endzone
) alignment of
quarterback
,
fullback
, and
running back
, particularly when contrasted with the same players' alignments in the
T formation
.
The formation begins with the usual 5
offensive linemen
(2
offensive tackles
, 2
guards
, and a
center
), the quarterback under center, and two
backs
in-line behind the quarterback. The base variant adds a
tight end
to one side of the line and two
wide receivers
, one at each end of the line.
This is an example of an I formation in an NFL game. The Pittsburgh Steelers (black and yellow) are set in the I formation with one tight end and two wide receivers. The New York Jets (white and green) are lined up in a 4-3 defensive formation.
History
[
edit
]
The exact origin of the I formation is unclear.
[1]
Charles M. Hollister
of
Northwestern
in 1900 is one source, as is
Bob Zuppke
in 1914.
[2]
Tom Nugent
is credited with developing the I formation at
Virginia Military Institute
in
1950
as a replacement for the
single-wing
and an alternative to the
T formation
.
[3]
Don Coryell
, before popularizing
Air Coryell
, was also a pioneer of the I and used it as a high school coach in Hawaii, at
Wenatchee Valley College
in 1955, and at
Whittier College
in 1957?1959.
[1]
[4]
In
1960
, Coryell was an assistant coach under
John McKay
for the
USC Trojans
. By
1962
, McKay's Trojans won the
national title
with an offense built on the I.
[5]
John Madden
recalled going to an I formation clinic led by McKay.
[6]
"We'd go to these clinics, and afterward, everyone would run up to talk to McKay", said Madden. "Coryell was there because he introduced [McKay]. I was thinking, 'If [McKay] learned from him, I'll go talk to [Coryell].'"
[6]
Tom Osborne
, head coach at
Nebraska
for a quarter century, further popularized the formation in the early 1970s as
offensive coordinator
(under head coach
Bob Devaney
) with consecutive national titles in
1970
and
1971
. He incorporated the
option
into his I formation scheme beginning in
1980
, forming the base of the Nebraska offense for over twenty years, and won three national championships in the 1990s.
[7]
NFL
teams followed the success of the I at the college level and adopted it as well.
Typical roles
[
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]
Texas Longhorns
in the I formation. From top to bottom: tailback, fullback, quarterback, center
The I formation is typically employed in running situations. In the I formation, the tailback starts six to eight yards behind the scrimmage from an upright position, where he can survey the defense. The formation gives the tailback more opportunities for finding weak points in the defense to run into.
The fullback typically fills a blocking, rather than rushing or receiving, role in the modern game. With the fullback in the backfield as a blocker, runs can be made to either side of the line with his additional blocking support. This is contrasted with the use of tight ends as blockers who, being set up at the end of the line, are able to support runs to one side of the line only. The fullback can also be used as a feint—since the defense can spot him more easily than the running back, they may be drawn in his direction while the running back takes the ball the opposite way.
Despite the emphasis on the running game, the I formation remains an effective base for a passing attack. The formation supports up to three wide receivers and many running backs serve as an additional receiving threat. While the fullback is rarely a pass receiver, he serves as a capable additional pass blocker protecting the quarterback before the pass. The running threat posed by the formation also lends itself to the
play-action pass
. The flexible nature of the formation also helps prevent defenses from focusing their attention on either the run or pass.
Common variations
[
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]
Big I formation variation
Many subtypes of the I formation exist, generally emphasizing the running or passing strengths of the base version.
- The
Big I
places a tight end on each side of the offensive line (removing a wide receiver). Coupled with the fullback's blocking, this allows two additional blockers for a run in either direction. This is a running-emphasis variant.
- The
Power I
replaces one wide receiver with a third back (fullback or running back) in the backfield, set up to one side of the fullback. This is a running-emphasis variant.
- The
Jumbo
or
Goal-line
formation further extends the Power I or Big I, adding a second tight end and/or third tackle to the line, respectively. This variant has no wide receivers and is all but exclusively a running formation intended to reliably gain minimal yardage, most commonly two yards or less.
- The
Three-wide I
replaces the tight end with a third wide receiver. This is a passing-emphasis variant.
- The
Maryland I
(also known as the
Stack I
or
Golden I
) is similar to the Power I except that instead of placing the third back to one side of the fullback, the fullback, third back, and tailback line up directly in front of each other (hence the term "Stack"). Obviously, this is a running-emphasis variant made popular by the
Maryland Terrapins football
team of the 1950s under Tom Nugent.
- The
Tight I
is similar to the Maryland I except that the extra back (who happens to be the tight end) is aligned between the quarterback and fullback in the alignment. The split end and the player who normally lines up as flanker are both aligned on the line of scrimmage split away from the end man on the line of scrimmage. This formation was used by the
Kansas City Chiefs
in
Super Bowl IV
against the
Minnesota Vikings
so as to create confusion in the Minnesota defense's lining up against the Chiefs offense.
- The
I-Bone
is a variation of the Power-I in which the third back is lined up between the fullback and tailback, rather than lateral to the fullback. This allows the third back to run the dive or pitch on the triple option, go into motion as a pass receiver, or block for the pitch to the tailback or keeper by the quarterback. This formation was used by
Colorado
coach
Bill McCartney
and offensive coordinator
Gerry DiNardo
with great results. The Buffaloes went undefeated in the
1989 regular season
and winning the Associated Press national championship in
1990
.
The I formation, in any variant, can also be modified as
Strong
or
Weak
. This formation is commonly called an
Offset I
. In either case, the fullback lines up roughly a yard laterally to his usual position.
Strong
refers to a move towards the TE side of the formation (Primary TE, or flanker's side when in a "big" 2TE set),
weak
in the opposite direction. These modifications have little effect on expected play call. However, the
Offset I
allows a fullback to more easily avoid blockers and get out of the backfield to become a receiver.
In the
NFL
, the I formation is less frequently used than in
college
, as the use of the
fullback
as a blocker has given way to formations with additional
tight ends
and
wide receivers
, who may be called on to block during running plays. The increasingly common
ace formation
replaces the fullback with an additional receiver, who lines up along the line of scrimmage. The I will typically be used in short-yardage and goal line situations. College football now has a spread football system, which in turn gets rid of the fullback. What spread formation can do is in a way "spread" the defense to cover the entire field.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Layden, Tim.
"Don Coryell 1924--2010"
. SI.com
. Retrieved
2010-07-07
.
- ^
Nelson, David M. (1994).
The Anatomy of a Game: Football, the Rules, and the Men who Made the Game
.
ISBN
9780874134551
.
- ^
Tom Nugent obituary, USA Today
- ^
Center, Bill.
"Don Coryell, ex-Chargers, Aztecs coach dies at 85"
. San Diego Union-Tribune
. Retrieved
2010-07-07
.
- ^
"
The I Formation: Offensive Bread and Butter
, footballoutsiders.com"
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-04-03
. Retrieved
2007-11-14
.
- ^
a
b
Inman, Cam (4 July 2010).
"For Don Coryell, to air was divine"
.
San Jose Mercury News
. Retrieved
2010-07-07
.
- ^
Tom Osborne biography, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Archived
2007-12-06 at the
Wayback Machine