Use Multiple Formations Not Pass Concepts
The age old debate about how much offense is too much as opposed to being to too simple and predictable will always be a huge topic in football meeting rooms across the country at all levels. If you’ve coached long enough you have surely erred on both sides of this argument. It holds true for 7on7 too. Using too many pass concepts is a common mistake of young offensive coordinators.
Many things that offensive coaches think is complex to defensive coaches is actually not that difficult at all. I have been fortunate to spend time on both sides of the ball. As an offensive coach, a lot of what I thought was confusing to defenses was just shrugged off as fluff. This was because the defense has their own way of categorizing concepts.
The irony is that the offense is normally spending time teaching new routes to their players. All this means is that their players are thinking too much and playing slow. Once this happens the defense is in total control. So what then? How do you find a way to mix it up enough to keep the defense from sitting on route concepts.
But That Doesn’t Mean Be A One Trick Pony…
Well, another thing that I have learned from my time on the defensive side is that the offense can run the same concept very effectively out of many different formations, shifts and motions. This is effective in a couple of different ways. First, your quarterback is normally going through the same read over and over. If your quarterback is playing fast and with confidence you have half of the battle won.
Try To Use Fewer Pass Concepts With More Formations
It is important for the Offensive Coordinator and position coaches to teach concepts and not just routes. This all becomes a lot easier when you reduce the number of pass plays you are running. Take the age old Snag concept you see in this blog. It’s a simple high low read with the Corner route down to the Flat vs Cover 2. It also includes a horizontal read of Flat to Snag vs Cover 3. The Corner route is a natural vs man coverage. The Snag route serves the same purpose if that player has a little wiggle. Your QB is doing the same thing over and over and that’s a good thing.
Related: Coach It So That Your Mom Can Understand it
Obviously, Snag is just one concept that could be part of your offensive playbook. It’s your job to find what your players do best and find ways to make sure they are doing that a lot more than they are a set of plays you are running just to trick the defense.
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