Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power
Series
Chris Brooks March 22, 2017
By
Hmmm, a single wing talk at the National Wing-T Clinic? I was intrigued for
sure. I first learned the ins and outs of the single wing when I read Dave
Cisarʼs Winning Youth Football which features a modified version
appropriate for youth football bobble heads. Thereʼs certainly a shared
heritage between the Wing-T and single wing. Iʼm sure single wing coaches
chuckle at wing-t coaches who decide to run “shotgun Wing-T with an
unbalanced line”. Hey, just allow direct snap to either the QB or TB and you
are now running a single wing!
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
Rick Darlington is the head coach at Apopka High School in Florida, and his
record there as 151–39. Iʼve never coached in Florida, but I suspect the
talent gaps can be huge there between different programs so having this
level of consistency reflects well on the quality of coaching. Rick said he
adopted the single wing as he entered a season without a QB – someone
said “you should run the single wing!” I guess he had to Google it to find out
what it was.
If you like what you see here, make sure you head over to Rickʼs site and
consider purchasing his materials. He has extensive videos along with
voiceovers showing more details of the play diagrams and line calls.
This first article is on Rickʼs power series which would be very easy to
incorporate into a Wing-T offense. Iʼll write one more article about his
spinner series, then another about how he has incorporated the run-pass
option (RPO) into the single wing.
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
Why Run the Single Wing?
Rick likes the single wing because:
He doesnʼt have to have a QB-type player. If he does, thatʼs a bonus.
The opposing defensive scheme doesnʼt matter – he always has an
answer
No QB means he has an extra blocker on every play
It is a physical, hard nosed offense. He likes having offensive linemen
that are in a 3-point stance and fire off to hit people. He does not like
seeing the OL in a 2-point stance, backing up at the snap, and playing
patty-cake with the defense.
He gets more numbers at the point of attack than there are defenders
It is difficult for opponents to simulate and prepare for
He has developed a feeder program with the youth and middle school
programs
He can control tempo
His linemen become specialists
Interesting – that list of bullets could almost substitute as a “why run the
Wing-T” list.
The Basics of Rickʼs Single Wing Power Series
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
Above you can see the basic strong right formation. Rick flips his line and
he believes this leads to better player specialization. Player specifics:
TE – the tight end will normally line up tight on the weak side.
QG – the quick guard is the weak-side guard
C – the center must be adept at the short, knuckle-ball snap to either
the FB or TB, though in most cases the snap will be directly backward
with the back responsible for getting himself in position to receive it.
PG – the power guard is the strong-side guard
IT – the inside tackle can be the weakest OL player
OT – the outside tackle must be able to down, on, and reach block
R – receiver
WB – the wing back is like a Wing-T wing back in that he must be a
good blocker in space plus be able to carry the ball in the counter
game
BB – the blocking back is a power-I FB type player, usually blocking and
often a kickout
FB – running back and blocker. Primary RB in the trap game. May also
be asked to throw the ball.
TB – the primary running back in this offense. Will need to be able to
throw the ball.
In Rickʼs offense he uses “Darter” for right, “Blue” for left.
Power Sweep – “8”
The first play is the power sweep play. If he wants to call power sweep to
the right, the call would be “Darter 8” followed by a tag that indicates the
blocking scheme or even a play variation like a naked boot.
Quick Diversion: Rickʼs Concept of Play Ownership
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
Rick has an interesting concept heʼs integrated into his series-based play
calling system. Every base play has an owner: a coach or an offensive
lineman who is in the best position to make a call to vary the blocking
scheme or even the point of attack. The power sweep (8) play is owned by
the coach because the play attacks the flank and, in his experience, the
coach is in the best position to make the adjustment. As youʼll see with the
next play (power, or “6”) an offensive lineman may be the play owner. Each
play will have just a single owner, and a given player (or coach) will own just
a single play. I like the simplicity and elegance of this approach. It also
forces an economy of plays in the system but allows for multiplicity with the
different blocking schemes.
The Play
Letʼs get back to 8. The base call is Blood, so the full call for power sweep
to the right would be “Darter 8 Blood”. The rules for each player are:
TE – cutoff
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
QG – travel for LB 2, look for penetration
C – A gap DL
PG – pull for safety
IT – base reach if covered / fill for pulling guard if uncovered
OT – double with the WB
WB – double with the OT, hope to bump to LB 1.
R – blood LB 1. Blood is a crack block to the first linebacker inside the
force player.
BB – reach force player, stretching flat for three steps then getting his
head outside the force player.
FB – read BB for corner back
TB – ball carrier, follow FB. His path at the snap takes him directly
behind the center to receive the ball
The OT and WB looks like a zone / reach step, and they work on stepping
together to ensure they stop the DE. If the OT is successful in his reach, the
WB can climb to the second level.
Coach Darlington uses the rule chase, which is a backside rule that usually
involves a fake or influence and has that player then turn back to playside at
second level to give chase and be a screen or downfield blocker.
Rick numbers his linebackers LB 1, 2, etc. LB 1 is first LB inside force, 2 is
second, etc.
Another term to learn: travel means that a puller crosses the center. Rick
has the traveler / puller take a pre-snap look to find the number of the
player he will block.
They teach the BB to maintain his reach the whole way by putting his head
outside and continuing to strive for reach position with his hips outside. In
Rickʼs opinion, the force player is usually taught to keep his outside
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
arm/shoulder free to fight this reach, and the BB can use this against him by
reach-stretching the player to the sideline. This is why the FB will read the
BB block: if he sees the BB stretching the reach outside, the BB will cut up
inside for his block on the corner.
Power Sweep 8 Variations
Here are some variations Rick talked about. Remember the above base play
is “8 Blood”.
Darter 8 Bang – The BB and PG go opposite the play (he calls this
“travel weak”) to give a false key to the defense. The weak pull makes
it look like counter, so this is a sucker pull. Run this early in the game as
a key breaker. Also, backside guard will just reach.
Darter 8 Lightning – Lightning is a “weather” term, and Rick teaches
the concept of a “weather block” which is a crack block on the force
player by the R. Contrast this with the Blood call where the R goes to
the first linebacker inside force, requiring the BB to reach the force
player. The rest of the line (not the PG) reaches to play side. The WB
now has a reach / log block on LB 1, the BB goes to corner, and the FB
goes to safety. Rick claimed that this is his best sweep play, and he
loves running this at the goal-line.
Darter 8 WAR – WAR stands for “WB And Receiver”, so WAR indicates
that the WB and R will double-team the force player.
You may have noticed that Rickʼs rules call out a specific player (safety,
corner, etc.). This is exactly how he teaches his blocking rules (and
reinforces against scout defense): he names position players and doesnʼt
use language like “first threat outside DE”. Food for thought, as this is
certainly not how Iʼve taught blocking rules in the past.
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
Power – “6”
The “6” play is the classic Power. The coach calls the play (e.g. “Darter 6”)
but the owning player calls the variation. For Power, the owning player is the
OT. The base call is “Tight”, when the IT is covered and there are 2
defenders outside this DL. So the diagram below is for “Darter 6 Tight”.
Before I show the rules, hereʼs a word Rick uses for Gap/Down/Backer:
Railroad. The players visualize being on railroad tracks. If they donʼt find a
DL in first three steps, go to second level.
TE – Tag out – I think this is just blocking back on the weak DE
QG – Skip pull LB 1
C – Back
PG – Railroad
IT – Railroad
OT – Railroad – goal is that either the inside or outside tackle will get to
a backside LB.
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
WB – Attack force
R – Stab – stalk the safety. We will not block the corner.
BB – Kick out DE, step at inside foot of the OT.
FB – Lead inside BB to LB 1
TB – ball carrier, slide (keep shoulders square to LOS), follow FB
Rick teaches the QG and FB to “hold hands through the hole” which helps
them maintain perfect relative position (QG is inside) and avoids blocking
conflict. My guess in the diagram above is that the FB would end up going
to safety while the QG turns in on the LB and possibly help with the OT.
Power 6 Variations
Remember, the OT is the owner of this play so will make these calls based
on what he sees. The first thing he does is look inside – is there a man on
the inside tackle? If so, look from head up on him to ouside on the line. If
there are two men, make a tight call. If just one, make a loose call.
Darter 6 Loose – In this case, force player becomes the kick out for
the BB, the WB goes to corner. This obviously moves the point of
attack outside 1–2 gaps.
Darter 6 Tunnel – If thereʼs nobody in the C gap, but somebody in the
B and D gap, they will call Tunnel (usually 4–3 defense). With the
tunnel call, the BB and OT switch assignments and the OT kicks out the
DE with the BB going inside to backer.
Counter – “7”
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
The Counter play off Power is “7”, so “Darter 7” will be a counter run to the
weak side (left). The TE (who is in a traditional weak tackle position) is the
owner of this play.
TE – Whale / Bo. If thereʼs an uncovered QG and a 5-tech that is
squeezing, the Whale call has him block out the overhang player,
usually the corner. Dolphin is a down block. Remember the TE owns
the play so he makes the call. The BO call is a combo with the QG,
which tells the BB that he will have to go to the overhang player.
QG – Down
C – Base to Back
PG – Trap TE area
IT – Base to Chase
OT – Travel to LB 1
WB – Open, receive inside hand-off and find hole just past center
R – Cutoff
BB – Travel to overhang
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
FB – Chase
TB – Take snap with same footwork as power, inside hand-off to WB
Counter 7 Variations
Darter 7 Wrong – The BB, instead of pulling, will chase from the
backside to give a stronger Power read. I think Rick said he would
script this early to see how the LBs are reacting. Are they keying the
BB? Then influence plays like this will be effective. The FB, instead of
chasing, will jab like he is leading on Power, then turn to travel and
block the overhang player
Darter 7 Plus – This is like the base counter play, but the FB will jab
step like he does on Wrong then lead up the funnel with the OT. Rick
says this is his favorite variant of 7 – four pullers!
ISO – “4”
This is a traditional ISO play to the strong side, with the IT owning the play.
The BB is leading for the FB who take a direct snap, while the TB runs fake
Power Sweep action. Rick didnʼt talk much about this play but Iʼll try to
piece together the calls and rules for it. The base version of this is Bama.
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
TE – Backside corner back
QG – Base
C – Ace (Reach)
PG – Ace to LB 2
IT – Base Out
OT – Base Out
WB – Attack Force
R – Stab
BB – Insert for LB 1 – should be in B gap between C and IT
FB – Take direct snap and follow BB
TB – Fake Power Sweep
ISO 4 Variants
Rick only had a single variant:
Darter 4 Charlie – The IT, instead of blocking his Base Out rule, climbs
to LB 2. The PG also climbs with a reach technique. The C base blocks.
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Rick Darlingtonʼs Single Wing Power Series – Wing-T Youth Football Coach 1/8/19, 12(44 PM
Iʼm not sure about the read for the IT on this, but my gues would be if
that if he has a man outside shade to C gap, he will call Bama and block
out. If thereʼs a man inside that the PG can base or reach, he will call
Charlie.
Closing Thoughts
Thatʼs it for the Power Series. As a Wing-T coach, what can you take from
this? Iʼve got a few ideas:
Consider applying the concept of “someone owns the call for each
play” to your own core series plays. I could see this working for Buck
and Belly series, for example. TE owns Down, QT owns Down Counter,
WB owns Buck Sweep, C owns Buck Trap, QG owns weak-side Belly,
coach owns Belly Sweep. If you like to run fewer plays with multiple
blocking variants, this might be a nice tweak to your system and
streamline your calls and instill ownership and accountability.
If you are running pistol or shotgun Wing-T and have a QB that can run
the ball, I think it would be easy to motion your way into a formation
that opens up this series for you. When we run with an end-over
formation, we flip the TE and QT anyway to make sure we donʼt have an
overweight player in an uncovered position. Shuffle motion your weak
WB to the BB position from a shotgun Wing-T double-wing formation
and you look just like an unbalanced single wing.
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