Setting Up Air Raid Positions

[Gamecock14]

I have decided to run an Air Raid offense and was wondering what is the best way to set up the receiver positions of the AR. For example, I want a shiftier guy as my H receiver and a big play threat as my X. I know I could do formation subs, but is there an easier way? Also with formation subs, what would be the best way to set those up. Thanks

[Dr Death]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gamecock14

I have decided to run an Air Raid offense and was wondering what is the best way to set up the receiver positions of the AR. For example, I want a shiftier guy as my H receiver and a big play threat as my X. I know I could do formation subs, but is there an easier way? Also with formation subs, what would be the best way to set those up. Thanks

I know this won't answer your questions, but here's how I run it and I tend to follow Mike Leach's way and Leach has been pretty darn successful with the Air Raid.

As far as the two outside receivers, I look for bigger guys. Think Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech. He's 6'1 210, so he's not really big, but if you find receivers that are 6'1 to 6'4 as your outside guys, that should do.

As far as the inside guys, you want smaller, faster guys. Think Wes Welker. All of your receivers should be excellent at catching the ball.

As far as formation subs, I always have 11-12 WR's on my team, so I have my starting four, and they're in about half my formations. Then I have the guys who are 5-8 in formations and then 9-11 or 9-12 in maybe two formations.

One thing Leach is a big believer in is keeping the passes equal or as equal as possible. Sure, he'd have guys like Crabtree who were just stars, but he always looks at the stats at halftime and sees how divided up the receptions are. He believes that if your four starters all have 4-5 receptions each at half, and the backups all 2-3, then it makes it harder to defend because the defense can't key on one or two guys.

Now you'll have games where one guy will just be open more often, so he might have 10 or 11 receptions where everyone else is between 4 to 7. And that's fine. But you want to strive for balance there.

If you're playing on-line, that will really benefit you. If you're playing off-line, it's not that big of a deal because the CPU isn't smart enough to figure out that you're going to one or two guys a lot more than the others.

Anyway, that's how I do it and that comes directly from Mike Leach himself. Good luck with the offense. There's a lot of good Air Raid plays in the game, although the names aren't correct. If you study the Air Raid you will learn what each play is called. Anyway, best of luck!

[SilverBullet19]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dr Death

I know this won't answer your questions, but here's how I run it and I tend to follow Mike Leach's way and Leach has been pretty darn successful with the Air Raid. As far as the two outside receivers, I look for bigger guys. Think Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech. He's 6'1 210, so he's not really big, but if you find receivers that are 6'1 to 6'4 as your outside guys, that should do. As far as the inside guys, you want smaller, faster guys. Think Wes Welker. All of your receivers should be excellent at catching the ball. As far as formation subs, I always have 11-12 WR's on my team, so I have my starting four, and they're in about half my formations. Then I have the guys who are 5-8 in formations and then 9-11 or 9-12 in maybe two formations. One thing Leach is a big believer in is keeping the passes equal or as equal as possible. Sure, he'd have guys like Crabtree who were just stars, but he always looks at the stats at halftime and sees how divided up the receptions are. He believes that if your four starters all have 4-5 receptions each at half, and the backups all 2-3, then it makes it harder to defend because the defense can't key on one or two guys. Now you'll have games where one guy will just be open more often, so he might have 10 or 11 receptions where everyone else is between 4 to 7. And that's fine. But you want to strive for balance there. If you're playing on-line, that will really benefit you. If you're playing off-line, it's not that big of a deal because the CPU isn't smart enough to figure out that you're going to one or two guys a lot more than the others. Anyway, that's how I do it and that comes directly from Mike Leach himself. Good luck with the offense. There's a lot of good Air Raid plays in the game, although the names aren't correct. If you study the Air Raid you will learn what each play is called. Anyway, best of luck!

Great advice when it comes to spreading it out and how to set up the WR's.

I don't run air raid but follow that principal. 3 WR one TE one RB with the slot man being a speed guy. Equal receptions are key. My best passing games are when I have 6-8 guys with multiple catches and the starters WR and TE all have 5-6

[Gamecock14]

So do you not differentiate between X or Y and Z or H? Just inside and outside receivers?

Quote: Originally Posted by Dr Death

I know this won't answer your questions, but here's how I run it and I tend to follow Mike Leach's way and Leach has been pretty darn successful with the Air Raid. As far as the two outside receivers, I look for bigger guys. Think Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech. He's 6'1 210, so he's not really big, but if you find receivers that are 6'1 to 6'4 as your outside guys, that should do. As far as the inside guys, you want smaller, faster guys. Think Wes Welker. All of your receivers should be excellent at catching the ball. As far as formation subs, I always have 11-12 WR's on my team, so I have my starting four, and they're in about half my formations. Then I have the guys who are 5-8 in formations and then 9-11 or 9-12 in maybe two formations. One thing Leach is a big believer in is keeping the passes equal or as equal as possible. Sure, he'd have guys like Crabtree who were just stars, but he always looks at the stats at halftime and sees how divided up the receptions are. He believes that if your four starters all have 4-5 receptions each at half, and the backups all 2-3, then it makes it harder to defend because the defense can't key on one or two guys. Now you'll have games where one guy will just be open more often, so he might have 10 or 11 receptions where everyone else is between 4 to 7. And that's fine. But you want to strive for balance there. If you're playing on-line, that will really benefit you. If you're playing off-line, it's not that big of a deal because the CPU isn't smart enough to figure out that you're going to one or two guys a lot more than the others. Anyway, that's how I do it and that comes directly from Mike Leach himself. Good luck with the offense. There's a lot of good Air Raid plays in the game, although the names aren't correct. If you study the Air Raid you will learn what each play is called. Anyway, best of luck!

[Dr Death]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gamecock14

So do you not differentiate between X or Y and Z or H? Just inside and outside receivers?

I try to post in a way that anyone can understand. Sometimes, using terminology can confuse people. But for you, I would look for bigger receivers for X and Z and smaller, faster ones for Y and H.

[ChirpyMango01]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gamecock14

I have decided to run an Air Raid offense and was wondering what is the best way to set up the receiver positions of the AR. For example, I want a shiftier guy as my H receiver and a big play threat as my X. I know I could do formation subs, but is there an easier way? Also with formation subs, what would be the best way to set those up. Thanks

As for formation subs, this is how I usually do it:

I set up my receiver depth chart so that my backup X and backup Z are in the 1 and 2 spots. My starting slot receivers are put in the 3 and 4 spots, and their backups go in the 5 and 6 spots. Then, I formation sub my starting X and Z into their spots in each formation. This way, I not only have starters in the right spots, but I also have backups for each position ready to go if someone goes down.

[erickstreelman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gamecock14

I have decided to run an Air Raid offense and was wondering what is the best way to set up the receiver positions of the AR. For example, I want a shiftier guy as my H receiver and a big play threat as my X. I know I could do formation subs, but is there an easier way? Also with formation subs, what would be the best way to set those up. Thanks

I refer an Air Raid video and playbooks available at Win With The Pass. They are nice and very helpful for the football coaches.