Pistol Offense

The Pistol offense came into being a few years ago. This is a very non-traditional offense. The Pistol is defined by having a running back line up behind the quarterback who is in a shotgun type snap. The plays that can be run out of this offense would be the same as any you would run out of a single back formation. The quarterback is usually lined up a little closer than you would see for a shotgun snap. The advantage that this offense brings is that you have your quarterback away from the center giving you an advantage on passing plays. Having the running back lined up behind the quarterback allows you to have normal hand offs and not having to adjust your under center plays to fit a shotgun snap. The disadvantage to this offense is that if you ran it with two backs, your full back would be mispositioned. I think that this can be an effective long term offense because it still utilizes tried and proven plays.