The Satellite Express

Jerry Rice finished his career at Mississippi Valley State with 301 catches for 4,693 yards & 50 TD playing for Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley.

The "Satellite Express" was a 5-Wide, No Huddle Offense that would often align in Empty 4x1 to create isolation opportunities for Rice.

This past off-season I did a Deep Dive on 4x1 Route Concepts from Andy Reid to Mike Leach etc.

The more I dug, the more I realized how important Archie Cooley was to the development of the Modern Spread Passing Attack. He was doing this in 1984!

When you watch the Kansas City Chiefs flood zones with 4x1 Route Concepts you're seeing the same Numbers, Spacing & Isolation tactics that the Satellite Express was using in their Empty 4x1 Stacked Formation!

That being said... I believe a big step in eliminating inequality in coaching (only 3 Black Head Coaches in the NFL) is understanding the history of Offensive & Defensive Innovation in Football & how brilliant men like Archie Cooley have moved the game forward.

Archie “Gunslinger” Cooley

Not only did Archie Cooley orchestrate a Record Setting Offense that averaged over 51 points per game, but he was able to win 17 of 21 games with a recruiting budget of $3,500 a year.

Why don't we have a 30 for 30 about The Satellite Express?

Willie “Satellite” Totten & Jerry Rice

Every play we call on Gameday has a Life & History of it's own.

If we learn the history of the plays we call, we'll realize that Great Concepts come from All Walks of Life & All Levels of Ball.

Learning that history will make us a better football coaches & better people.

Diamond Wide Zone Lead

I don’t know if there is a better coaching duo in the Country for Wide Zone than Scott Satterfield and Dwayne Ledford. They were able to transform Louisville’s offense in 2019 and Wide Zone was a staple play. Unlike most Stretch, Outside Zone or Wide Zone Schemes — you will consistently see Louisville run to the two-man surface (away from the TE). But, they are still able to create additional gaps with H-Backs and Fullbacks.

• Diamond Formation

• Wide Zone to the Field

• LT is responsible for the C-Gap (Work to the 5 Technique, but keep moving to the Overhang Defender if the DE spikes to the B-Gap)

• H-Back is responsible for the Frontside B-Gap

• LG & C Work Double to Climb from the 2i Nose Up to the Sam LB

• Backside Cutoff

• Fullback Protects vs. Hard Bend by the 9 Technique

The Left Tackle and H-Back are working together to handle C & B-Gaps. The H-Back reads the block of the LT, the RB will read the path of the H-Back. Great play to run to an open B-Gap!

TE Shovel Pass

When you’re playing with Tempo, one of the best things you can do is use Formation into the Boundary (FIB). When you combine FIB with Tempo the defense will struggle with pre-snap alignment. Bowling Green lined up in Trey (TE Trips) to the Boundary and ran Toss Power Read Back to the Field, but instead of having the QB run Power, they pulled the TE and used a Power Shovel Pass.

• Trey into the Boundary

• Toss Power Read to the Field

• Tackle Climbs up to Backside LB

• Guard Pulls and Wraps for Frontside LB

• QB Reads the Field 5 Technique for Toss or Shovel

Most Shovel Passes go to an H-Back who is off the line of scrimmage, but I love the idea of pulling a TE. I think it creates problems for the defense because they aren’t able to identify that TE as a “Sniffer” and roll they safeties accordingly. Toss Power Read + Shovel is a great way to keep your QB out of between the tackles run schemes.

QB Super Power

One of the best ways to handle 3-Down Fronts (Tite, Mint, etc.) is to create 3-Man Surfaces with a TE. In addition, running the QB is an easy way to gain the numbers advantage in the run game. You can use the QB in Zone or Gap Schemes with the RB leading. Oklahoma lines up in Double TE (creating multiple 3-Man Surfaces) to run QB GT Counter.

• GT Counter to the Jet Motion

• Backside TE Cuts Off the 5 Technique

• RB Kicks out Playside Edge Defender

• Both Guard & Tackle Wrap to Lead QB

• QB takes a drop step to run the GT Counter Track

I call this “Super Power” because the way it hits feels more like Power with a double Wrap from the Guard and Tackle than a true Counter. It’s a great way to rush numbers to the point of attack and get your QB Downhill vs. a 3-Down Front.

Split Zone Insert Iso

Power Spread Offenses are designed around 11 Personnel Y-Off (H-Back) Sets that give access to a complex run game while forcing the defense to defend from sideline to sideline. Many Power Spread schemes have utilized Split Zone and Insert Iso to add an extra gap on run plays. Most Split Zone plays are designed for the Offensive Line to leave an edge player unblocked for the H-Back to cut off the C-Gap Defender, but back in 2017 Oklahoma State made the H-Back responsible for the B-Gap Defender. It’s a great way to create an unexpected extra gap post-snap.

• Backside Tackle Locks on the DE (C-Gap)

• Split Zone with the H-Back Responsible for the B-Gap Defender

  • H-Back going to the Shaded Nose - Iso Up to the LB

  • H-Back going away from the Shaded Nose - Wham the 3 Technique

• RB takes the Wide Zone Track, but Winds Back Off the H-Back

The goal is to create an extra gap in an unexpected way. Shifting the Gap Responsibility of the H-Back from C-Gap (True Split Zone) to the B-Gap (Insert Iso) can disrupt the flow of the Linebackers.

Power RPO

Over the past few years RPO’s have popped up in every level of football, but the recent nuances added by Offensive Coordinators has given new power to the scheme. Condensed Formations increase run game threats, but they can be hard to run RPO’s out of because the Glance Window is smaller. Alabama has found a solution by using a leverage release to create separation and open up the Glance Window from a Condensed Formation.

• Motion from 3x1 Nub TE to 2x2 (TE/Wing with a WR)

• Same Side Power to the TE/Wing Side

• TE Base Blocks 7 Technique

• RT & RG Double the 3 Technique - Climb to Mike LB

• C Blocks Back on the 2i Nose

• LG Pulls (Wrap for Will LB)

• LT Protects B-Gap out to the DE

• Same Side Power

• QB Reads the Will LB

• Wing (WR) Runs a “Spray” Release Glance Route

The Goal is to get the Defense in a Single High Safety so the obvious read for the QB would be the Will LB instead of a Quarters Safety. The “Spray” Release is intended to gain depth & width simultaneously. This gives the QB the same Glance Window as a normal WR Split. The TE/Wing look gives the Offense access to more run game options.