It isn’t very common that in the 10th year as the head coach at a school, you completely change up the style of your offense. Especially if you’re an offensive coach. But that’s what Army head coach Jeff Monken has done at West Point. He has transitioned away from the flexbone triple-option offense this past offseason.
A big reason Monken moved away from the traditional flexbone is the rule change on blocking below the waist. Army’s slot backs used to be able to block below the waist against the opposition secondaries however that isn’t allowed anymore. Now, only blocks below the waist are allowed inside the tackle box.
This low blocking led to a ton of penalties in the first place, but with the rule changes it was now impossible for Monken to continue to have the offensive success he wanted. So, he changed to putting his quarterback in the shotgun.
However, it still isn’t your traditional shotgun offense. Army will throw the ball a little more than they used to. However, last year the Black Knights had a bottom 20 passing offense so it isn’t hard to throw the ball more. What Army will do on most plays is have quarterback Bryson Dailey take the shotgun snap then immediately rush forward. His go-to running back Hayden Reed will be next to him. Then, depending on the defense, Dailey will either keep it himself or hand the ball off to Reed.
On a majority of plays, one of Army’s wide receivers will be in motion to whatever side the Black Knights run to, to have an extra blocker.
When Army does decide to throw the ball, in most cases it is play-action and long developing plays. The Syracuse defense has been dominant this season, so if the Mob continues to play how it has, the Orange shouldn’t have any issues against the Black Knights
