The I Formation

The I-Formation: Offensive Bread and Butter By Michael David Smith Offensive formations are rapidly evolving, with three-receiver sets, four-receiver sets, and multipurpose backs who can line up anywhere and catch the ball as well as they run it. But the way Pro Bowl rosters and media depth charts show each team's starting lineup hasn't changed in decades. Every team is still shown with two receivers, a fullback and a running b ack, the formation that became standard thanks to the development of the I-formation. The I-formation has been the dominant offensive formation in the NFL and has stayed effective for decades because of the way it balances the running and passing attack. We'll get into just how that balance is achieved, bu t first a little bit of history. Origins To cap the 1940 season, Chicago Bears coach George Halas used the T-formation (with the fullback directly behind the quarterback and the two halfbacks on either side of the fullback) to beat the Redskins 73-0 in the NFL championship game. Before long other teams saw that the T was more versatile than its predecessor, the single wing, and they adopted the T for themselves. By 1952, the Steelers (the last ho ldouts) switched to the T, and the single wing was out of pro football. But around the same time, Tom Nugent, the football coach at Virginia Military Institute, had a new idea. Instead of having halfbacks on each side of the fullback, he thought it made more sense to line up the halfbacks behind the fullback. With the offensive backfield in a straight line, they looked more like an 'I' than a 'T', and a new formation was named. After five years at VMI, Nugent brought the I to Florida State in 1954, and it began to spread, most notably to John McKay, who used the formation to win the national championship at USC in 1962. Before long, NFL teams took notice, and the I became the most common set in pro football. Coaches who frequently run the I-formation often extol its virtues with statements like, "We just want to line up and come right at 'em." But there's nothing inherently tougher about the I than there is about any other formation. What set the I apart from the T and man y of the other formations of the early days of football is that it lent itself to a versatile offensive attack. That versatility is still valuable in the modern game. The Playbook A typical bread-and-butter play from the I-formation might have a name like "I right 32 iso". That means an I formation with the right side being the strong side -- the tight e nd and the

The I Formation

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