3WR sets

[Redskins8588]

Originally Posted by saden1

Did you see what the Steelers did to the Colts? Sorry, I'll take a 2WR + TE/HB sets any day.

I wish I could find the article, but anyhow, Gibbs popularized three-receiver sets in the NFL. Ther was a really good article about that but I can not find it anywhere. Here is a excerpt from a SI article about 3WR sets, kind of giving Gibbs the credit of the 3WR set.

"In 1981, Joe Gibbs' Redskins switched to a one-running back set and their offense took off. Gibbs inverted traditional logic by softening the defense with the passing game to open up the running game, and later in the '80s he used three talented receivers -- Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders -- to do this. Dr. Z rattled off dozen nicknames for the Redskins' multi-receiver attack -- Trips, Spaghetti, Bunch, the Snake. (He was simultaneously discussing lunch with the Flaming Redhead, so perhaps I misunderstood some of the names). Whatever you called it, the 'Skins' single-back gameplan caught defenses off guard. With all those talented receivers running around, defenses had to lay back to guard the pass, which helped the running game."