I ran across a few fading sheets of single wing plays, circa 1952, tucked away in an old scrapbook. It was a reminder of the unbalanced line formation - end, guard, center, guard, tackle, tackle and end up front; tailback behind center just a step deeper than the fullback, the blocking back (a glorified guard) behind a strong side guard or inside tackle, a wingback just outside the strong side end . . . All of them packed together tighter than sardines in a can. It was a power formation with little deception other than an occasional reverse or the ubiquitous buck-lateral play (fullback hands to the blocking back, who laterals to the wingback, or keeps and runs a Stone Age draw and similar variations). Pop Warner scrapped the blocking back and added a second wingback to his double wing. That was the offense Joe Paterno ran at Brooklyn Prep in 1944 and there were lots of reverses and double reverses. The only difference in that formation and what Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick will unleash when Andy Reid takes off the wraps is the wingbacks have spread out and are now called wideouts and a third wide receiver often replaces the weakside end. Looking at it through the fuzzy prism of 65 years, McNabb will play Joe Paterno and Vick will play brother George. Both future coaches passed and both ran. Just don't look for Don to do a lot of running - unless it is for his life. It will be fun until the defenses catch up. They always do.
Bill Conlin: Lee and Lefty bear a striking resemblance
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Just wondering: Was a team with as much power 1 through 8 ever backed by a more feeble bench than the current Phillies extra men? . . . Has any Phils player aged more rapidly than Raul Ibanez since his DL stay? . . . Good to see Brad Lidge in man-on-a-mission mode. What took him so long? . . . Point of order: Some readers got the false impression that I consider Shane Victorino the No. 1 centerfielder in Phillies history. The column I wrote involved defense only - including throwing arm. To suggest I would rank a Hall of Famer behind a player with less than two full seasons under his belt in centerfield is insulting to both Rich Ashburn and to me.
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