Thursday, September 15, 2011

The EQualizer Offense Basic Principles, #1:

The EQualizer Offense Basic Principles, #1:

The EQualizer Offense was born out of necessity. I coached at a number of schools that were, for whatever reason and they were many, outmanned. So in a search for a scheme that would put our outmatched players and teams on the field in a position that would help them be successful or as successful as they could be, I sat down and thought, “What would a defensive coordinator not like to see?” And I came up with the following:

1. An unbalanced line: At the time, and even today, virtually no one ran an unbalanced line [Although today you see more of it sneaking into various schemes as a change up formation]. An unbalanced line means that the defense must adjust. It also means that the defenders will have to play ‘out of position.’ They will be playing in a spot that is not their regular position. Their keys, reaction and pursuit will not be the same, especially for the front 7. (Question: What was the last major college program to feature the unbalanced line as a regular set?)

Another reason for unbalanced was due to a lack of creditable linemen. We had perhaps three that could play. If we ran a ‘regular’ scheme, we would take one of our best blockers and put him on the left side of the line and run at him maybe a third of the time. What a waste. By taking our three best linemen and playing them in a “tandem” they would always be playing together. We flip flop them to one side or the other. That also meant that the Center, Weak Guard and TE also work as a team of their own.

As a DC, how would you adjust to an unbalanced line?

2 comments:

CoachFreeb said...

This from Jeremy Blackstock To me it would depend on what you are trying to accomplish with your ubl look.

CoachFreeb said...

Answer: Accomplish? We are trying to make first downs, move the ball down the field and score. Bill Walsh once said when inside the 10 yard line, give the ball to your best back running behind your best lineman. We just are not goin gto wait for the red zone. We starting doing that on the first play. With BFS we can generate fullbacks and the tandem in the wieghtroom - they just have to have a burning desire to play. Kids still want to play and be successful. The EQualizer puts them into position to be just that: Successful. Because the defense must play out of their regular position, while it is OUR regular formation, it gives our kids and edge.