Football is a forever changing game. Almost everybody has access to film editing systems and computer scouting systems. We’re all trying to get an edge. Where does this edge come from?
Everybody scouts their opponents. We know as offensive coaches what our opponents’ favorite blitzes are and when they come. My question is: do we know enough about ourselves? I believe good teams have tendencies. I think if you are a good offensive football team, you need to sometimes say, “Here we come – stop us if you can.” I also believe that to be a good play caller, you have to keep your opponent off balance. Part of keeping people off balance lies not only in multiple formations and movements, but in calling the unexpected. Whether the play works or not does not necessarily matter. Just the fact that you called something that was different than what the chart said, potentially, made it an investment for the rest of the game.
I would imagine that, for the most part, we all know our run-to-pass ratios. We know what it usually works out to be over the course of an 11 or 12 game season. Usually it works out to be what your offensive philosophy is as a play caller and what you want to call as a play caller. I am sure that we know what we are calling on third down, we know what we are calling on third and short, third and medium, and third and long. I think that we sometimes stop short on all these accounts and we end up deceiving ourselves because we do not dig deep enough in these situations. Just because we know that on first down we run the ball, let’s say, 60% of the time, does not tell the whole story.
For example, what is your percentage coming off the goal line as opposed to the red zone? How often are you running the ball on the first down of a series as opposed to on a first down during a drive? We have made it a priority to know what we did last game and keep a running tally throughout the year of what we are calling offensively. I won’t go to the next opponent on Sunday until I know what we’ve done yesterday. These are some different things for you to think about and some of the things that we try to know about ourselves. This is how we break it up:
First and Ten:
• Run/Pass% – coming out -1 to -15. Start of a series and during a drive.
• Run/Pass% – field -16 to + 31 of the start of a series and during the course of a drive.
• Run/Pass% – Red Zone + 30 to goal line of the start of a series and during the course of a drive.
• Coming out (-1 to -15); Field (-16 to + 31) and Red Zone (+30 to Goal Line).
• Start of Drive – During a series I like to be as balanced as possible on first down. At the end of the year we are generally a few snaps from being 50/50 on a run pass ratio. I bet that you will find your numbers differ in some of the different categories, as seen above.
Second Down:
I think this down gets lost sometimes. I think most people will know what they are calling on second down but I think this is a down where we miss the boat. The key question becomes, ‘What have you done on first down?’ If you gain three yards or more on first down, you are more likely to run the ball on second down because now all you have to do is gain one yard and you are in a manageable third and medium situation. If you gain less than three yards you are much more likely to throw the ball to try to get that third and medium situation. Therefore, I try to know what I’m doing on second and seven or less and second and eight or more.
Field Zones-Coming Out/Field/Red Zone
• 2nd + 7 or less
• 2nd + 8 or more
Third down:
We will break our third downs into different yardage situations and also into the three different field zones:
• 3rd and 1: coming out/field/red zone
• 3rd and 2-3: coming out/field/red zone
• 3rd and 4-6: coming out/field/red zone
• 3rd and 7-8: coming out/field/red zone
• 3rd and 9-11: coming out/field/red zone
Field Zones – Coming Out/Field/Red Zone
• 3rd and 1
• 3rd and 2-3
• 3rd and 4-6
• 3rd and 9-11
• 3rd and 12 +
We obviously go into more detail in these categories with what the actual play is and the frequency of these plays in these different categories and situations.
I hope this article has provoked some thought and given you some insight as to what we look at when we break ourselves down. Over the years it has helped us become a more balanced offense and has helped us see how other people are seeing us as well. I truly think the better we know ourselves the better our opportunities for success.