Coaching the Empty Backfield Offense

Rating:
Summary: Everything old is NEW AGAIN.. New Concepts for the Offense
Review: Let's not kid ourselves here... there is nothing new in football.
Coach Gilliam has updated the concepts of famed TCU coach Dutch Meyer in writing about a concept that few coaches have dared to try full time since the 1930s.

That concept is a Shotgun offense with 5 receivers and NO RUNNINGBACKS! ALL THE TIME AND ALL OVER THE FIELD! Not just for a series,a quarter or at Midfield but what Coach Gilliam is endorsing is an all game every part of the field concept.

That's what makes this book great. I'm not a big fan of the author but he's done coaches a service by reintroducing this offense to the modern coach. The twist Coach Gilliam puts on it are quite original. This is not just a pass happy offense as one of the stated goals is 150 yards of rushing a game.

Coach Gilliam offers ideas for getting more ground yardage out of a no back offense that is sure to present defensive coordinators a few sleepless nights. Fly/Jet Sweeps,Zone running plays,Counters and Pption are all presented as part of the aresenal.

Coach Gilliam also doesn't overlook the passing game though. What is a relief here is he details the importance of pass protection and presents mulitiple ways for handling the blitz (the defensive coordinator's first choice when facing no back teams). He presents plenty of pass plays including screens and play action to compliment the running attack.

Drils for implementing this offense are included and Coach Gilliam also gives strategies for using this offense in every conceivable game situation (goaline,short yardage, long yardage). Further adding to this great book is that Coach Gilliam spends considerable time on pre-reading defenses before the snap. There is enough material here that any coach will find this book helpful or at least an interesting departure from their normal thinking.

On the downside, Coach Gilliam too often settles for brevity rather than enriching the reader into the details of the concepts he is presenting. If you are going to run a no back offense than you better discuss how your receivers are going to beat bump and run and receiver release techniques are not covered in this book. Coach Gilliam doesn't tell you where this concept has worked or that he himself has made it work other than as a part-time offense. There are programs who run no back offense full time and are successful, its too bad Coach Gilliam could not cite them as examples of this concepts effectiveness.

But that should not take away from the overall contribution this book makes to current offensive thinking. If you have time this summer before your season gets underway you definately want to pick up this book!!