Chris Whalen’s Random Life

Ok, now we have all heard players, coaches, etc., talking about putting their systems in. What does this mean? Is it really that much different from last year? Don’t they just run, throw, tackle, etc.? Actually….NO! Let’s go through what putting a system in means to an offense, by position.

Quarterback. Ah yes, the lynch pin of them all, the one who touches the ball on every play. Makes the big money, makes the big plays…makes the big mistakes too! Easily the most important and at risk position on the team. What does this all mean to him?

Every year, whether or not there is a new offensive coordinator or not, there are changes to the offense. Wrinkles to keep them looking like last year’s team. Not to mention new personnel. While the terminology will remain at least similar (hey, how many different ways can you say 367 boot y x cross?), the decisions are different. For example, the NFL runs alot of what are called read routes. While a receiver has a pattern called for him, he has to adjust the pattern according to the defense. Each team has a different call. For example, if the defense is playing man coverage, and you have Randy Moss out there, you get him the ball either on a deep go or a slant to let him run. If you have Joe Blow Ham and Egger, well, look to another option, perhaps the tight end. This is why you see those passes occasionally picked off without a receiver anywhere near it. Quite simply, the Quarterback read one defense, such as man, and expected the receiver to do X, the receiver read another defense and did Y. Oops. Ball go far, other way! The only way to cure this is repetition. Receiver sees man coverage forcing the receiver inside, and throws a deep cross. Remember when Pittsburgh lost to Dallas in the Superbowl and that one DB had a pick where he was just standing there and Neil O’Donnell threw it to him. Looks like a misread to me! Quick clue: offenses run motion to help check out the defense. If a guy runs with the motion man, it is most likely man coverage. Quarterbacks also have the option of changing the play from run to pass, pass to run, etc. Depending on what he sees. He will read, in order, Cornerbacks, Safeties, Linebackers, Defensive End. Depending on how they line up. We will go over defense later. He reads this before the ball is snapped, and all 11 guys have to read the same thing. What they read and the assignments that go with the read are what is called the system, over and above the X’s and O’s of running the play. The real difference in systems is, when defense A is out there, one team may run a deep pass, another a run, all from the same formation. Everyone has to be on the same page.

Receiver. Pretty straightforward out here. Read where the corner back is playing you, where his help might come from (safety, linebacker, etc.) and you have an assigned route to go with it. E.g., Man Coverage, corner playing inside, go deep sideline. Hopefully the QB sees the same thing. They will try to disguise the defense after all. That’s why you see those corners moving around so much before the ball is snapped. You have to be right about man, zone, and 2 deep. It is a health issue. While in 2 deep, that means the safety is helping the corner deep, the difference between man and zone in general terms is this. In a man defense, a receiver can run across the field all day and just be chased by the man covering him. If it is a zone and runs across the field, he will run into somebody else’s zone and get smushed. Find a nice quiet pocket in the zone and stand there. This goes for tight ends or wide receivers. Tight ends just start with a linebacker instead of a corner and get popped off the line.

Running Back. More complex than you think. On a passing play, the RB needs to read the defense to see where the pass rush or blitz will come from. Whether it is a zone blitz or not. If he read the safety is blitzing, that is his guy to block. Or if he reads an outside linebacker, etc. It is HIS guy. Often the difference between getting the play off or not. Very few RB’s in the NFL have mastered this. Emmitt Smith might be the best. On certain plays as well this might mean the RB runs a dump route so the QB can just dump him the ball quickly. Runs are complicated as well. Not just hit the assigned hole, but know what blocking scheme the Offensive line is calling based on the defense, and therefore know where holes will open up or cutback lanes. A misread here is as painful to watch as the QB WR misread. A pile of bodies with the RB at the bottom. Coordination with the line is essential. Know who they will double team, and where they are trying to make a hole. A hole assignment is more of an area than anything else. Knowing the defense also helps if you know where the big hitters are coming from. Always know where Rodney Harrison or Troy Palomau are, avoid making their highlight film. Avoid them by knowing where they are coming from, and put them on yours!

Offensive line. The center runs the show here. Remember all the pointing you see them doing before the snap? They are making calls. Blocking assignments. Only one is real and several are fakes. Ignore the pointing. The center will make a call based on the defense alignment that will dictate who blocks who and where. Who gets double teamed, who gets the linebacker, etc. They have to know this to open the hole in the assigned place, or to avoid the Quarterback from getting killed. This is why lines get better the longer they play together. They start to know when a call is made who will do what, where their other lineman will be and what they are looking for. The better they are coordinated, the more successful the play. You do not have to overpower the defense, just get them out of the way for a second or two. The Denver Broncos never had a huge line, but they are one of the best because they work together, and make enough of a hole or protect well enough for the play to work. It is all in the angles they take to a defender to interfere with them making a play, and having all the defenders accounted for.

So when a team is “putting in a new system”, there is a TON of repetition involved. When all these areas work together perfectly, you attain the goal of the play. On a run…4 yards, on a pass…8 yards. You didn’t think all these plays were designed to score, did you? Move the ball, then score. No one designs a play that will score every time. Take these clues and look at how things develop during a game. Before you know it, you will be able to call what the offense is going to do when they line up! How cool will that be with your friends watching the game! It is all about avoiding third down and getting first downs, but that is for another week.