Offense Terminology
All offenses in football use a set of terms to convey the plays to the players. Our offense uses some terminology that will be familiar and some that will be a little different. In this article we'll take a look at that terminology and also try to explain our reasoning behind any unusual terminology we choose.
Play-calling
Like most teams our plays are called with a standard formula. Our formula takes this form:
Formation + Adjustments + Play/Action [Routes if pass]
For example:
I Right Chad 6 Power
I Right is the formation. I backs with the TE and Flanker ("Zack") to the right. Chad 6 Power is the play. TB following the FB to the 6 hole while everybody blocks down.
Strong Slot Right Zack Right Adam 8 Sweep
Strong Slot Right is the formation, TE to the right, slot receivers to the left, Bob (FB) behind the QB ("Abe") and Chad (TB) behind the strong guard. Zack Right is a formation adjustment, the Zack (FL) motions out of the slot, across the formation to the right in order to become an extra blocker. Adam 8 Sweep says that the QB ("Abe") is going to keep the football on a sweep to the 8 hole (wide right) following the Bob and Chad backs.
Base Left Bob 1 Freeze Pass Max Swing 651
Base Left is the formation; our base formation is I Bone Right; Left tell us to flip it. TE to the left side, Zack in the backfield behind the strong guard, Bob and Chad in the I. Bob 1 Freeze is the play action; a freeze option to the 1 hole. Pass Max Swing 651 tells us that this is a pass play off that action. We order our route instructions like so: ABCXYZ. Abe, Bob, Chad, X, Y, Zack. In this case Abe=Pass (he's the QB), Bob does the Max (block), Chad runs a swing, X runs a 6 (post), Y runs a 5 (Corner) and Zack runs a 1 (5 yard out).
Calling the Formations
One thing we do to help reduce the amount of verbiage in our huddle is that we have a base formation. Usually it's "I Bone Right." In the huddle if we don't specify any formation the players assume we want I Bone Right. If we only give the adjustment, such as "Left" then we want I Bone Left. We can omit the formation from the play call to save time in the huddle.
We also have a base play which may vary from week to week. In the huddle we can simply call "Base" and the players know which play we want to run. To reduce confusion we try to keep our base play the same from week to week, or at least to not have a dozen different base plays over the course of the season.
The Numbering System
All offenses number their holes for calling run plays. Some offenses number the gaps between players and others number the actual players. We number the gaps; like so:
As you can see, odd numbers are to the left, and even numbers are to the right. Anything wider than the TE position (whether we have a TE on that side or not) is either 7 or 8 (left or right). 0 (Zero) is right up the middle. Once the RB has his hands on the football he is supposed to run to daylight, so sometimes a play called to one hole will actually bend the play back over to a different hole to take advantage of the blocking and pursuit.
The Positions
Each of our skill positions has a designation. This is essential in our play-calling scheme. By combining a position with a hole (or a route or action) we can create a system that allows us to be very multiple. In fact, if the players understand the system we can even call plays in a game that we've never drawn up before (not that we'd want to do that very often). The players know that "Bob 5" means the Bob gets the football and runs to the 5 hole and so they can figure out what the play is suppose to be without ever having seen it. We've alluded to our designations above, let's lay them out here.
Abe - Our quarterback is designated as "Abe."
Bob - Our fullback, typically aligned behind the QB at 3 yards depth, is designated as "Bob."
Chad - Our tailback, typically aligned at 5 yards behind the QB, is designated as "Chad."
X - Like most teams we designate our split end as "X". We haven't thought of a good, short, name for X yet so we just use "X".
Y - We also follow convention in naming our TE "Y". As above, we haven't figured out a good short name for Y yet so we just use "Y".
Zack - Our flanker, or "Z" is designated as "Zack." He has to be a very versatile athlete; needs to run well, be able to block and catch. He may line up in the backfield or split as a receiver.
Our interests here are to keep the names short. In our play-calling we want to convey as much information as possible in as few syllables as possible. It's also important that the names sound sufficiently distinct so that they are easily understood in the noise and confusion of the game. You wouldn't want to use "Brad" and "Chad" for instance because it would be too easy for the players to misunderstand them.
Conveying Pass Blocking
I'll lay out our pass routes in a different article shortly, but one of the dilemmas coaches face in creating their play-callling scheme is how to convey the pass blocking scheme to their offensive line. Many of them resort to using "series" for example:
"Our 30 series is a 5 step drop, our 50 series is a 7 step drop, our 60 series is a rollout to the left..."
I've opted for a somewhat simpler method: Let the QB tell them in the huddle. After he calls the play....
"I right pass flare flat 616"
...let him just tell the O-line what his action is going to be.
"It's a 5-step drop guys."
or
"Half-roll to the right, fellas."
The o-linemen will learn the common ones soon enough and this provides an easy reminder. The players don't need to memorize another scheme ("Is '40' a roll left or a roll right?"). The QB already knows what he's going to do on the play so it's easy enough for him to just tell the line. Most teams let the receivers leave the huddle a moment or two early and they don't need to hear what the protection scheme is anyhow.
More to come, keep checking in...