Offensive X’s and O’s

With this weeks X’s and O’s I wanted to step away from the defensive side of the ball and talk about how difficult it can be for the offense to pick-up a blitz. There is so much communication involved in insuring the success of a play. A lot of that communication falls on the quarterbacks shoulders, but more times than not communication from the center, running backs and receivers makes a play a success.

As a fan sitting in our Lazy Boyz you notice a lot of pointing and waiting as the offense gets ready to start an offensive play. All of those signals have specific meanings and they all add to the complexities of the game -which I love. When picking up a blitz there are four players that need to be on-top of their game every week. The two guards, center and quarterback all have to communicate to each other and the rest of the offense how the offense will proceed with the play -blocking schemes, routes, etc.- or audible to a different play.

The guards and center are important because they are the three players closest to the ball. The majority of “stunts”-defensive action during the play- take place between and in front of these three players. These three offensive players have to be able to recognize defensive alignments and than use coded verbal communication to tell each other what to do. The center is the quarterback of the line and will yell out how the guards and he will work together to pick-up the blitz. That’s why you see them asking for silence in key situations. If someone doesn’t get the blocking scheme call the who play could fall apart.

The two tackles are normally left on their own -that’s why they need to be good individual blockers. The only time they work with the players next to them is if the defensive end dives down inside, which would result in him switching responsibilities with a guard; or if multiple players rush from the outside position. If a tackles side is overloaded and they have multiple players coming from the outside he will work with the running back that is hopefully on his side. An offense can also help out their tackles with different formations, specifically two back sets. Offenses use two back sets because it offers maximum blocking coverage for the quarterback.

On passing plays the running backs also play a significant role in the success of the completion. He needs to communicate to the line and quarterback which side of the line he will be helping. The RB will hopefully be able to recognize where he will be needed, but if he doesn’t and the defense overload’s the opposite side of the line the RB has to recognize the blitz and offer help where needed. All of these decisions needed to be made in a split second to insure the over all success of the offensive play.

If the defense shows blitz and then backs off and plays coverage. The RB will check coverage and release on a planned route. Sometimes this takes a second. Other times it is better to stick around for a few seconds to insure no defenders are on a delayed blitz.

The Quarterback has the most visible and difficult job. He needs to anticipate coverage’s, blitzes while remembering where his receivers will end up in order to exploit the defensive coverage. I expect that most fans have noticed the quarterback pointing at one or two defensive players on or near the line. What the quarterback is doing is communicating to the receivers that if that/those guys rush we will be running the “hot play”. -Normally the hot player is the inside receiver, but in some formations the route combinations at every offensive position change-. A “hot route” is a short route that will allow for a quick pass completion and negate the blitz. If the defense does a good job of disguising their blitzes it can make it hard on a quarterbacks decision making process, which disrupts the offenses timing.

During an offensive play there are a lot of complex things going on. It is the job of the offense to communicate so everyone is on the same page. It is no wonder why the quarterback is the leader of the offense and it’s no wonder why so much criticism and scrutiny accompanies the quarterback’s play.

A good defender will pay attention to every detail of the offense. Defenses that pick-up of signals, verbal communication, pointing and what goes on after the communication; can put themselves in positions to make more plays. This aspect and the physicality of the game is what I loved about football. Every game was a test to see if you where smarter and tougher then your opponent.

I love football.