Ball Control
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Bud Wilkinson may have introduced ball-control
offense with his Oklahoma Sooner teams of the 1950s, but
Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins turned it
into an art form, thanks to John Riggins and the
irrepressible "Hogs." Already 33 years old at
the start of the season, the 6'2" 235 pound Riggins
ran the ball 38 times for 166 yards against Miami in
Super Bowl XVII. Against Dallas, in the NFC Championship
game, Riggins pounded out 140 yards on 36 carries; and in
the preceding playoff game against Minnesota, he carried
the ball 37 times for 185 yards. In four post-season
games, Riggins piled up an incredible 610 yards. Although
Riggins' performances were spectacular, the Redskins'
offensive line cleared a wide path through opposing
defenses by controlling the trenches. Led by Jeff Bostic,
Joe Jacoby, Russ Grimm and Mark May, the Hogs allowed Joe
Gibbs to turn a powerful running game into a complete
ball-control offense. At quarterback, Joe Theisman was
the perfect complement to the running game. He led the
league in accuracy, completing 64% of his passes.
Although he threw for only 13 touchdowns, his high
percentage passes kept the Redskins moving relentlessly
down the field.
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Four years later, Gibbs won his second Super Bowl, dismantling
the Broncos 42-10. Bostic, May and Jacoby opened holes big enough
for rookie Tim Smith to run for over 200 yards. Adding to
Denver's misery was quarterback Doug Williams who passed for over
350 yards, including two touchdown bombs of 50 and 80 yards. By
stretching a defense that was already unable to stop the run,
Williams gave Washington an unfair advantage with his ability to
go deep. However, Theisman and Williams still had one weapon in
common - a power running game that delivered 3½ yards per carry,
over and over again.
In order to design an effective ball control offense you must
remain true to the basic concept for four quarters. The goal is
very simple: Run the ball three times for 10 yards, or
throw for 5 yards on two of three passing downs. The
ball control offense may not make the highlight films, but it is
hard to argue with a Super Bowl ring.
Although gaining 3½ yards per carry seems easy, it requires
the right plays and personnel to keep it up for 60 minutes. First
of all, fumbles are simply not allowed. If you aspire to build a
ball-control offense around a running back who cannot hang onto
the ball, you are doomed to failure. The 1982 Redskins recovered
their only fumble in post-season play, while the 1987 Super Bowl
champions lost the ball once during the entire playoff schedule.
Once you identify a dependable running back, you need to
design a play book with conservative running plays. Stick with
dives, power slants and counters; forget running wide. Your goal
is to run north and south, and burn up the clock. Use tight ends
and big blocking backs to help the guards and tackles.
If your first down running play fails to net 3½ yards, don't
panic. You only need two very short pass completions to get the
first down. You only need to clear out the first five yards past
the line of scrimmage. Send at least two receivers deep to clear
the area, and vary the direction of your swing routes. Remember,
you only need five yards per catch. If you must air it out, wait
until the defense tightens up to stop your running game. Watch
the opposing safeties. If they move up to the line of scrimmage
to support the run defense, it is time to go deep. When you
strike fear in their hearts with a 20-yard completion, go right
back to the ground game and resume the punishment.
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