IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION?

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 3, 2006 | by JAKE SCHALLER THE GAZETTE

When Air Force struggles, its triple-option offense makes for an easy target.

So after losing three of four games, including two straight, heading into tonight's game at Army (6 p.m., ESPN2), the old-school scheme again has drawn the ire of some fans and message board posters.

They want to put the offense in a football museum, next to the

single-wing and

leather helmets -- especially after it was juxtaposed with BYU's highpowered aerial attack in last week's 33-14 loss to the Cougars.

But Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry chuckled sarcastically this week when he was asked what he would say to those who blame his offensive scheme for the Falcons' recent slide and for their 13-21 record in their past 34 games.

He thinks the offense is just fine, and he's not alone.

According to coaches at Air Force and elsewhere, current and former players and analysts contacted for this article, the triple- option offense is the best fit for the academy.

"There's nothing wrong with the offense," said Navy coach Paul Johnson, whose team also uses it. "Nothing's happened the last two, three years that all of a sudden somebody's figured this thing out."

'SOMETHING DIFFERENT'

Air Force was introduced to the option by coach Ken Hatfield, under whom DeBerry served as an assistant before he took over as head coach in 1984.

"Kenny Hatfield's vision was, to be successful, you have to do something different than what most everybody else is doing," DeBerry said. "So that's the reason he went to the option."

The triple option gets its name because the quarterback has three choices on most plays -- hand the ball to the fullback up the middle, keep the ball and run or pitch the ball to a trailing halfback. Air Force initially ran it out of the wishbone formation but in 1996 moved its halfbacks from behind the fullback to just off the line.

"All we've done is sort of continue and tweaked," DeBerry said of the scheme. "You don't ever want to stay stagnant."

IT WORKS

DeBerry noted his team consistently ranks near the top of the nation in rushing. He also pointed to problems other service academies have had when they have scrapped the option.

When Jim Young took over at Army in 1983, he tried to implement the offense he had at Arizona and Purdue. That season, his leading passer threw the ball 142 times, and the Black Knights went 2-9. So he installed the option the next year, and while his leading passer attempted just 56 passes, his team led the nation in rushing and went 8-3-1. Army went 41-27 the next six years.

Navy went 0-10 in 2001 with an offense that employed some run- and-shoot. Johnson took over in 2002, re-implemented the option and the next season won the first of three straight Commander-in- Chief's trophies.

The triple option forces defending players to stick to their assignments and not overreact to fakes. Because Air Force and Navy are the only Division I-A teams that use the triple option, teams aren't used to seeing it and often have trouble adjusting to it.

"It takes a lot of preparation in a short period of time," Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick said.

"I've got circles under my eyes and stayed up late," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said the week before his Cougars played Air Force.

WHY IS IT SO RARE?

The question is, if the offense works, why don't more teams use it?

Johnson and DeBerry said more teams are using the spread option - - a variation of the attack that puts the quarterback in shotgun formation and spreads multiple receivers wide -- and that offense employs basically the same principles. Utah used that philosophy under Urban Meyer to go unbeaten in 2004 and win the Fiesta Bowl.

But Johnson said a lot of coaches don't want to be "labeled" as option coaches because they believe it puts a ceiling on their job prospects.

"Because the perception is that the offense is 3 yards and a cloud of dust and you can't throw," Johnson said. "People that watch it know that's not really true, but perception is reality. And if it's perceived that way, and if you're a coach and you're worried about your next job, you want to run what's glamorous, the flavor of the month."

ESPN analyst Rod Gilmore, who will provide commentary for tonight's game, said using the option makes it harder to recruit top players who have professional aspirations because the option isn't used in the NFL.

That, of course, typically doesn't scare off players interested in coming to Air Force.

'HAND-IN-GLOVE'

DeBerry and others said the triple option fits teams at service academies because of the players' attributes.

"Discipline," Air Force offensive coordinator Chuck Petersen said. "A mental and physical toughness."

"This offense requires that," said Jemal Singleton, Air Force's halfbacks coach, who played the position at the academy in the late 1990s. "It requires that you're disciplined and requires that you're taking good steps and those types of things."

The military influence also helps, Singleton said. "When you're in a structured lifestyle like that, it definitely does add to your discipline level on the football field."