If you’re like me, you probably spent part of your Friday night watching “Varsity Blues” on VH-1. Staring Jon Voight, James Van Der Beek and Scott Caan, the movie tells the story of the West Canaan Coyotes high school football team. Vanderbeek plays Jonathan Moxon, the team’s backup quarterback. In one moment from early in the film Moxon brings the second-team offense onto the practice field and lines up with an empty formation, four receivers to the left and a single receiver to the right.
Head coach Bud Kilmer, a no-nonsense, old school football guy, loses his mind. When he confronts his backup quarterback about the formation, Moxon explains it as the “oopty oop. Overload the defense on one side, burn them one-on -one on the other.”
Kilmer might not have appreciated it, but perhaps Jay Gruden did:
.@DJChark82 hangs on for his 2nd touchdown and the @Jaguars make it an eight-point game. #DUUUVAL
📺: #JAXvsCIN on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/wvEEn0SFTV pic.twitter.com/HfOsO5Uzi7— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2020
On this play, Gardner Minshew aligns in the empty backfield with four receivers on the left, the “overload” that Moxon was referring to. What does Minshew do? Exactly what Moxon was going to do, burn them one-on-one on the backside. Minshew throws a slant route to D.J. Chark, who uses tremendous hand strength to hang on for the touchdown.
Jay Gruden: “Varsity Blues” fan?