Run & Shoot

The run and shoot offense is an offensive system for American football which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers' routes in response to different defenses. It was conceived by former Middletown, Ohio, High School football coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison and refined and popularized by former Portland State Offensive Coordinator Darell "Mouse" Davis.

The Run & Shoot system uses a formation consisting of one running back and usually four wide receivers, although some variants have substituted an athletic and bigger tight end to help block for the running game. This system makes extensive use of receiver motion (having a receiver suddenly change position by running left or right, parallel to the line of scrimmage, just before the ball is snapped), both to create advantageous mismatches with the opposing defensive players and to help reveal what coverage the defense is using.

The basic idea behind the Run & Shoot is a flexible offense that adjusts "on the fly," as the receivers are free to adjust their routes as they are running them in response to the defensive coverage employed. The quarterback, as a result, also has to read and react to the defense's coverages in a more improvised manner than with other offensive systems. As a result of the diagnosing of coverages, the system can be considered rather complex and usually requires highly intelligent players.

In the purest form of the offense, the proper complement would consist of two wide receivers lined up on the outside edges of the formation and two "slotbacks" (wide receivers who line up one step back from the line of scrimmage so as not to be considered "covered" and thus ineligible) lined up just outside and behind the two offensive tackles.

Many of the National Football League teams that used the Run & Shoot in the early 1990s used true wide receivers in all four receiving positions. The type of running back used varied from a smaller back who could catch passes to a big, bruising running back who could run with power. The frequent passing plays run out of this formation tend to spread out the defense's players. If repeated pass plays work, the defense is not as prepared for running plays; running the ball between the offensive tackles, or just off-tackle, is now possible and more likely to succeed.

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