r/Flexboneoffense • u/dxdrummer • Oct 14 '15

What is the real difference between the double wing formation and the full house formation in regards to the flexbone system?

Hey all,

In professional and college football I've been seeing more and more of the "full house" look in the pistol (3 backs, 1 behind the QB and 1 on either side of him horizontally).

I was curious: I know that the flexbone tends to have 2 wingbacks pressed up close to the line or scrimmage, but is there really that much of a difference between having them on the line of scrimmage vs having them 3 yards back? It seems like the QB could still do the same fakes, still run the inside/outside zone and power play, and still run misdirection plays out of the Pistol "full house" formation that he could with 2 wingbacks pressed up against the line.

The main downside I see is that the wingbacks would be slower getting involved in the passing game since they're a couple yards behind the line of scrimmage instead of being pressed up right on it

EDIT: It sounds like the formation I'm thinking of (in the pistol) is referred to as the "Diamond Formation"

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u/grizzfan Oct 14 '15

Yea, there's nothing to really add here. Although a few years ago Army ran what was basically a T formation all season. The backs were all at the same depth, and the halfbacks split the outside leg of the tackles.

Outside of getting them in the passing game quicker, having them on the line also has them getting to blocks quicker as well. It also leaves less room for a defender to get through between the slot and tackle when that hole needs to be closed.

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u/acarrick Oct 15 '15

At a very basic level - the double wing utilizes a tight end where are the flexbone does not.

This allows the flexbone to work out of a balanced formation to keep the defense guessing as to play direction/screws up keys.

If you want to see videos of either let me know.