When posed with the question, ‘are you a running team or a passing team?’ I always reply ‘both.’ It is my goal every season to be as balanced as possible. I say ‘as possible’ because every season we evaluate our offense’s strengths and weaknesses and some years that means that we will throw the ball better and other years that means that we will run the ball better. We believe that a balanced attack will give us the advantage in close games and allow us to ultimately win more football games. Sometimes this means coming back from a deficit and other times it means protecting a lead and running out the clock.

In 2007 we won our last eight football games to finish 8-2. It was a season in which we enjoyed great success offensively and broke many school records in the process. When we looked at our final season statistics we were amazed at how balanced we truly were. In averaging 440 yards a game and scoring 37 points a game, a few statistics really stood out. First, we had 25 rushing touchdowns and 25 passing touchdowns. Further examination revealed 104 first downs rushing the football and 105 first downs passing the ball.

From an overall yardage standpoint we rushed the ball for 2,000 (455 attempts) yards and threw the ball for 2,400 yards (163/254). Our ratio of run to pass was 66% run to 34% pass. Going into each season our goal is to be 60% run to 40% pass. Over the past seven years, 2001-2007, we have averaged 61% run to 39% pass. Additionally, over that time span we have averaged 2000 yards per year passing and 1,800 yards per year rushing.

The most important statistic for a football team is their winning percentage. We believe that being ‘balanced’ as an offense has helped us win 75% of our games over the past seven years in going 52 and 19. The pursuit of excellence in both phases of the game has allowed us to win four conference championships and play in three bowl games. However, statistics only tell part of the story. To be balanced means to be as good as we can be in both phases of the game with regard to our players and their talents. Each year only we can determine if we have achieved this.

The first component of our balanced attack is the ‘attack’ phase where we are the aggressor. We believe that this is best done through the use of a multiple formation offense. We incorporate different personnel groupings to go with our formations and we include motion and formation shifts in an effort to keep the defense off balance. How many groupings, formations and movements we use is determined by our personnel and also our experience. If we have a lot of junior and senior players we can do more things because of their experience.

We have found one of the best ways to incorporate this type of attack is through the scripting of plays. As we begin to put together a game plan for our upcoming opponent, we first develop an opening twenty-play script. In this script we include a balanced number of runs and passes as we unfold our mix of formations and movements for that week. We use this same technique as we develop our situational plays for the week. Whether it is in the red zone, third and medium, or on the goal line, we script good balance from a run-pass standpoint.

We also attack the defense by incorporating the element of surprise into our game plan. A simple way to do this is by passing in running situations and by running in passing situations. Being equally adept at both running and passing allows us to utilize this type of attack. In addition to scripting plays, we are big believers in the use of play action pass, misdirection plays, and ‘gadget’ plays like reverses or toss passes. Being skilled at running and throwing the ball makes us a dangerous play action team and slows the defense down. If we can make a defense more tentative we will be more effective as an offense.

The second component of our game plan is ‘reading’ the defense. We employ a combo/audible system that allows our quarterback to call the play at the line of scrimmage. We give our offense two or three run-pass combos for every opponent. Our quarterbacks are coached to either call a base run play or a base pass play, depending on the look we are given by the defense. These combos are then placed into the opening script for that week’s opponent. Our goal is to run our base offense into the look we desire and to give us the best chance to be successful.

Ultimately, we believe that to play winning offensive football we need to execute and play physical football. The scope of our offense is dictated by our ability to do these two things well. Execution implies playing mistake free football from an assignment, penalty and fundamental standpoint. For this reason we limit how many plays we can run each season. We select plays that can be run from all or most of the formations we employ. Additionally, as we install and teach our offense, we teach concepts rather than have our players memorize plays. For example, in the running game we employ a zone blocking scheme that allows us to run the same play into all different fronts from all of our formations.

To play physical football, our players must be confident in what they are doing and how they are supposed to do it. For this reason we must spend ample time each practice working on the skills needed to be successful. As we begin to develop our practices we need to allocate enough time for both the running game and the passing game. We have also found that in order to be excellent in both phases of the game we must actually practice the passing game more. From a practical standpoint this dictates how many actual running and passing plays we can effectively execute. We usually have four to six running concepts with play action pass plays from most of them.

Our passing game consists of quick passes, drop back passes, sprint out passes, play action passes and screens. The challenge each year is to effectively practice all of the different routes effectively. We believe that we need repetition in the passing game to insure good timing and execution. If we are not getting enough quality repetitions each week, we are doing too much and must scale back somewhere. The quarterback’s skill set determines how many passing plays we have in each category. If we have a quarterback that throws from the pocket better than on the run, we will have more drop back passes than sprint out passes.

From a practical standpoint, implementing a balanced attack begins in our coaches’ meetings. We put together a plan that begins with installation during training camp and culminates in our weekly practice sessions. We begin by looking at the players that are returning and by analyzing their strengths. Based upon this, we determine our base personnel groupings and formations. We usually involve around twenty players in three to five personnel groupings. This approach also gives us additional depth to deal with injury situations that may present themselves in the fall.

Once we have our play list complete for the season, we turn to practice plans. We plan our installation practices and develop a template for a typical week’s practice. As I mentioned earlier, we must be able to practice everything well or we are doing too much. We believe we must progress in practice from fundamental skills to small group work to full team where we can make it as game-like as possible. For this reason, each day of the week has a specific focus and set of skills for us to practice. In the charts listed you will find a typical week’s schedule along with examples of a Thursday situational practice and a Saturday game day script.

We have found that by being relentless in our scripting it has helped us practice better and play better. On Saturdays our players know what to expect in certain situations because we have practiced those situations. We want every component of our practice to prepare our players in some way for the upcoming game. Relentless scripting has also forced us to have an upbeat practice tempo. As we go quickly from drill to drill, we are able to create a game like atmosphere for most of our practice. We will rarely run the same play over if it is not executed correctly. Not only does running the same play over kill tempo but it is not a game-like condition.

Balance will mean something different to every coach. At Northwestern College, it usually means approximately 60% run and 40% pass. Having this philosophy gives us a cornerstone from which to begin. From this foundation we have developed a system that has allowed us to achieve our goals of excellence and, in the process, win a lot of football games. Practices are fun and upbeat and players are challenged physically and mentally. Are we a running or passing team? The answer is both…


Bryan Johnson is the Assistant Head Coach at Northwestern College (MN). He can be reached at BryanJohnson@GridironStrategies.com

WHAT IF?

Q1. What if, as a coach, you believe in a balanced attack but you’re in a situation with a quarterback that has a below average arm?

I believe, in that situation, you have to play within the quarterback’s skill set. But I would stay with a basic philosophy of a balanced offense and not change personnel or formations. You have to play within his strengths. Simplify the pass game. Maybe he’s better as a sprint out passer. It’s important to simplify the number of plays so he can remain in control.

Q2. What if there’s an obvious weak link in your offensive line? You know it and your opponent probably knows it after studying game tape.

I would play into your line’s strength whether it be the left or right side. Protection is everything so I would simplify the process and use slide protections to counter a weak player at one position. A few years ago we had one great offensive lineman so we had him go one-on-one most of the year and used slide protection with the rest of the offensive line.

Q3. What if you’re in a situation where you’re comfortable with a balanced attack but your tailback, who carries the ball most of the time, goes down with an injury?

You have to game plan and make contingencies for that. While staying with an overall philosophy, I would change up formations to put pressure on the defense. We play about 20 players in our offense so you may be able to use different personnel groupings. You may be able to take advantage of your fullback and use him more on screens. I think you have to be creative. If you lose 20 touches a game without your tailback, you can still keep some balance. I would make a contingency plan and make it as simple as possible.