Your Ideal Offense

[PowerofRed25]

The thread about number of plays in an offensive playbook got me wondering about what type of offensive scheme everyone would run if given control of a team? Real life or NCAA 12 life.

Answer the question regardless of what does and doesn't work in the game but if you DO implement your preferred offense in NCAA 12, explain what your playbook is like and how you call your plays.

[cusefan74]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

My idea offense would be just a lot of formations and a mix of plays. Options, screens and a little bit of everything just to keep the defense guessing. I like to do the same thing in the game.

[PowerofRed25]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

My ideal offense is always from spread. If I were to take over a team right now, I would run spread but the type of spread would depend on personnel. I'm a big fan of option, but I prefer to run option in the way that Oregon does. Oregon teaches their QB's to give the ball to the back unless they absolutely cannot. So even if the end crashes on a zone, if he has a bad angle or isn't athletic enough to run James/Barner/Thomas down, give it anyway. I would teach it exactly like that, I love an athletic QB but I don't want him running it 10-20 times a game. For that reason I'd recruit a quarterback that is able to run, rather than a running back that is able to throw.

The base of the offense would be tailored to personnel, but I'm a big air raid and spread option guy, so I'd find a way to mesh the two. I'd dump the high cost plays like Mesh though. Mesh takes too much practice time to install and I want my guys going vertical. I'd basically take Dana Holgorsen's version of the Air Raid, a more power raid approach and then add inside/outside zone, power, triple option to it.

I'm not as big of a fan of full backs as Holgorsen, but the value of an H-Back FB/TE/WR hybrid would be limitless. That is one thing I hate about NCAA, I don't want a fullback but it constantly makes me recruit one. I end up recruiting TE's and moving one over but they don't develop receiving skills like I want at FB. I wish depth charts could get tailored to an offense.

I have a lot more in depth thoughts on how I'd organize an offense, but I want to see what some other people think.

[BHavenBlazer]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

My ideal offense is the one i played in my freshmen year of college. An air raid, with a qb who's accurate, maybe not ideal arm strength, but can make all the throws on slants, posts, outs, flags, 6 routes, and screens is all i need him to throw. He also needs to have decent legs to be able to run the read options. Qb draws. And speed options. A quick scat back that can catch the ball out of the back field as well as be able to pass block(cut) defenders. Taller wr's on the outside with smaller, quicker guys who can catch and run on screens and jet sweeps. A no huddle attack using basic play calling(for example, Open 62, backside QB Choice) which just means the Y is going to run a 6(go/seam/fade/whatever you wanna call it), the z is going to run a 2(square in, dig whatever you wanna call it) and the QB is gonna get to the line and read the coverage to determine what he wants the backside(X&H) to run by giving them a hand signal(fist for double go, tap hip for double slant, a hand and arm motion for a wheel route, and a flappin hand motion for a switch combo).. The same play to the other side would be Open Flip, 62, backside qb choice.

[DMil55]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

I honestly have to say that in the game I try to mimic the Oregon Ducks offense as closely as possible, as a huge fan of the team for the last 10+ years its an offense that I understand really well. In real life im still not sure what offense I would run, its something I am currently developing because when I get out of the Army I plan to start a career coaching.

[BHavenBlazer]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

PowerofRed, how can you ditch Mesh route combos? You can run an entire scheme from that switching the mesh guys from inside to outside receivers or any combo of the two. As far as installing, its really as simple as teaching your WR's to read the other guys man. Come as close as you can on the rub. If the other guys man is in hot pursuit, coming across the field behind him, its man coverage, keep going and gradually deepen. If not, its zone, stop and sit down in the holes of the zone. Its so simple, yet so effective.

Doesn't Holgs use it in his attack, except he has his wr'sgo vertical first to keep the linebackers and db's honest?

[PowerofRed25]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

I honestly have to say that in the game I try to mimic the Oregon Ducks offense as closely as possible, as a huge fan of the team for the last 10+ years its an offense that I understand really well. In real life im still not sure what offense I would run, its something I am currently developing because when I get out of the Army I plan to start a career coaching.

Do you use a default playbook for Oregon or a custom one? I've been trying to put together a custom one but I'm struggling figuring out how to organize it.

[PowerofRed25]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

PowerofRed, how can you ditch Mesh route combos? You can run an entire scheme from that switching the mesh guys from inside to outside receivers or any combo of the two. As far as installing, its really as simple as teaching your WR's to read the other guys man. Come as close as you can on the rub. If the other guys man is in hot pursuit, coming across the field behind him, its man coverage, keep going and gradually deepen. If not, its zone, stop and sit down in the holes of the zone. Its so simple, yet so effective.

Doesn't Holgs use it in his attack, except he has his wr'sgo vertical first to keep the linebackers and db's honest?

Holgo doesn't run Mesh in the Leach sense where you're getting that rub, sitting down into zone, breaking off upfield vs man. The times I've seen the mesh concept run by Holgorsen had the WR's gain a lot more depth, almost Y Cross with a trailer under it. All of his routes have that initial 3-5 step vertical take off which seems like it would wreck the timing on mesh.

I love Mesh and if I was a full on air raid team, I'd absolutely install it. But Mesh and option are two things you have to practice over and over to get right and if I had to pick one to spend the practice time on, I think I get more bang for the buck running option.

[amoore0192]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

I'm a big spread option guy, more of a Meyer, Mullen, Malzahn type though. I put alot of focus on the running game and motions. I like a big strong QB, but if I can't have the total package I want someone who is smart with adequte feet and a solid arm. As far as my RB's I want atleast two scat back types and one who is a little bit taller I can put in the slot and use him on motion options, jet sweeps ect. We'll call him the slot back (SB), outside recievers I want tall athletic kids who can go up and get the ball. I want a traditional TE and also a TE/FB hybrid (Hernendez, Burton types) who can be used as mation blockers and set the edge in the running game.

My passing concepts would be focused on quick passes and bubble screens to the inside guys and utilizing the outside guys for deep routes to free up the little guys underneath. I'm fairly agressive with my passing game and I use a lot of out/vert, mesh, slant/vert, combos (especially from a bunch formation).

The running game is fairly simple. Power, counter, and zone read pretty well makes up 90% of my ground game. Like I stated earlier I use my SB alot to get the corner on sweeps or slot options. I attack the edges wether its with pulling lineman or reading a defender and if the inside is open I audible to take advantage of a concerned defense.

[Broncos86]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

I like a west coast offense that uses quick passes and YAC. Use my running back to set up play-action and utilize my tight end on seam routes to create mismatches with linebackers.

[NoDakHusker]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

I use Wisconsin's PB as a base, then I throw in some Flexbone formations and more option plays. Mostly under center formations, I use the Shotgun sparingly. I like old school, pound it on the ground football, going back to the days of Tom Osborne.

There was nothing more exciting than watching that option attack, IMO.

[Kcordloh]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

Personally I am a defensive guy. My offensive beliefs are the only time the ball should be in the air is when it's an option pitch. Run it down their throats, twin halfbacks with a mobile quarterback.

But that's why one of my best friends is the offense mind and I am the defense mind. I am going to be assistant coach this fall for a fairly large high school (defense), and I can't wait.

[PowerofRed25]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

I use Wisconsin's PB as a base, then I throw in some Flexbone formations and more option plays. Mostly under center formations, I use the Shotgun sparingly. I like old school, pound it on the ground football, going back to the days of Tom Osborne.

There was nothing more exciting than watching that option attack, IMO.

One of the most interesting things I've read from a coach recently was actually from our own Scott Frost, who is coaching at Oregon. He talked about how what Oregon does is fundamentally the same as what he did at Nebraska, smash mouth, blow you off the ball with the power game.

Then he mentioned how if he got the reigns as an offensive coordinator somewhere, he wanted to mesh a lot of the concepts they do at Nebraska with what we did at Nebraska in the 90's. I'm not sure how he'd go about that but think about the best of both of those worlds and you have a pretty filthy offensive scheme.

That is something I tried installing in NCAA 12, a hybrid option, but I ended up swaying one way or the other and it didn't get used.

[BigDuke]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

I like an offense that resemble's Norv's 90s Cowboys.

[Juce734]

Re: Your Ideal Offense

IRL I am a pro style power football kind of guy. Probably because I grew up on Big Ten Football. Run the ball and stop the run to win kind of thing. I didn't learn much about the option until Rich Rod became coach and still am not really a fan even though Denard Robinson is a good running back (bad qb). So in real life I'd run a power football game. Look for a quick back that is big ideal people would be a Jerome Bettis, Ron Dayne, Tyrone Wheatley, and TJ Ducket type. Mix in the speed for the occasional pitch plays, and draws on 3rd and long to catch the defenses off guard. A pure speed slot receiver. My 2 wr to be a possession type. My #1 wr to be a jump ball guy. Big physical tight ends who have sure hands but aren't speed guys.

In video games I like the spread mixed with some power running plays such as the I-tackle over, Maryland I (most runs here work), and I-Tight. I love to mix things up between the 2.