Jan 30, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh addresses the media at a press conference in preparation for Super Bowl XLVII between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens at the Marriott New Orleans. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
We’ve seen the NFL shift to a different kind of offense this season and really embrace the mobile quarterback. Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks and Robert Griffin III with the Washington Redskins both led their teams to the playoffs. Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers has been successful, and the NFL has embraced the zone read offense.
But the San Francisco 49ers do something slightly different, the pistol formation. And head coach Jim Harbaugh credits this football genius to his offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
“I think Greg Roman has done a job that is revolutionary in football,” Harbaugh said in a press conference Wednesday morning, via ProFootballTalk.com. “I think the way he has mixed the trap, the power, the wham plays, into the pistol offense and into our conventional offense has been revolutionary in many ways.”
While it has certainly worked getting the 49ers to the Super Bowl, they weren’t exactly ineffective last year in their normal offense. But remember the Wild Cat formation, and how that was going to revolutionize the game? Well that faded away quickly, so is this pistol formation here to stay?
“It’s possible that it is here to stay. I won’t make any predictions on that,” Harbaugh said. “I think that it’s been successful for us because of the players we have executing it. I think they’re extremely good at it.”
Trent Dilfer says that the pistol formation makes handoffs easier and the running game better because the quarterback isn’t having to run and put the ball in the back’s hands. This second or fractions of a second it saves can give a running back an edge.
If the 49ers win a Super Bowl with this offense you’d have to think it’d be cemented into the minds of NFL franchises, owners and general managers. Especially when teams desperate for success are looking to find a new quarterback. Geno Smith’s draft stock is certainly rising as mobile quarterbacks and these new offenses thrive in the NFL.
Do you think the pistol formation is here to stay?