For successful offensive coordinators, and for those football coaches who take pride in their creative play-calling ability, the phrase ‘attacking for balance’ is more akin to an enlightened state of being, rather than a desired goal for their team’s offense.
To the uninitiated, and for those folks who watch a lot of football on television, they usually consider the term ‘balanced offense’ as a matter of run-to-pass ratio – with the ultimate goal being a 50%-50% run-pass and seemingly unpredictable.
For a coach who is a dynamic offensive-coaching mind and enjoys the art of play calling, though, the phrase ‘attacking for balance’ means REAL offensive balance … achieved via a number of ways, including: spreading a defense wide through the use of a variety of formations, different pre-snap motions, multiple plays run out of the same formation, mixing up snap counts, overloading to a specific side of the field, relentlessly attacking mismatches and much more.
Along with those tactics, true offensive balance is also achieved by systematically attacking all areas of the field – wide side, short side and middle, as well as throwing to all depths (deep, medium and short) – while liberally using both the run and pass, going up-tempo or mixing tempo unexpectedly and targeting specific mismatches that keep defenders on their heels.
In addition, using no huddle and other techniques for going up-tempo, also means that the opposing defensive coordinator is unable to substitute to correct the mismatch and is forced to watch the whole situation unfold.
On top of all that, throwing in a myriad of other offensive tactics, such as a solid RPO game, a variety of screen packages (to all areas of the field), backside throws, Jet motion, quick-hitting crossing plays, draw plays, counters and even mixing in a conventional power run game as defenders back off the line of scrimmage (LOS) to react. Not to mention, throwing in trick plays and anything else a diabolical offensive coordinator can think of.
Put it all together and opposing defenses may find it impossible to predict what’s coming up next or match up with your offense on a down-by-down basis.
Rule The Line of Scrimmage, Rule The World
Despite all this talk about offensive domination via attacking for balance, it should be pointed out that despite the offensive evolution of the game, football games are still decided at the line of scrimmage. If an opposing defense is physically overmatching your offensive personnel at the LOS, allowing defensive personnel to blow up the play after the snap and disrupt your offensive rhythm — then your play calling and your innovative offensive approach can be rendered moot.
But if your offensive line can hold or win the LOS, then regardless of the system you use or the style of offense you run – successfully attacking for balance is sure to result in an explosive, high-scoring offense … which makes your team infinitely harder to scout and difficult for future opponents to prepare for you. How much practice time can an opponent devote to prepare for all those possibilities within a week’s time?
As you look to evolve your own offense this season, and as you strive to attain REAL offensive balance, the following video examples showcase eight football coaches who have earned a reputation for making life miserable for opposing defenses by utilizing a dynamic, tough-to-predict offensive systems featuring dynamic play-calling, a variety of offensive formations and all the aforementioned ‘tricks of the trade’ previously mentioned to attack defenses in a number of ways and spread them out.
Even though some of the featured coaches shown below utilize wildly different types of offenses, even ‘old school’ offensive systems — the common thread running through each example is the manner in which they attack defenses and utilize play calling that’s designed to keep defenses on roller skates and moving backward!
Each of the eight featured coaches have authored highly popular and in-demand football coaching videos that were produced and are available through Championship Productions. (Links to those videos accompany the video clips below.)
1. Adjustments, Tags & RPOs for the Wide Zone Run Game — By Nick Codutti
Nick Codutti, is the head football coach at Fulshear High School (TX) and is the former offensive coordinator at Tomball High School (TX) from 2015 to 2021.
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2. Analytical Game Planning for Offense – By Jason Burianek
Jason Burianek is the head football coach at Missouri Baptist University.
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3. Offensive Conversion Toolbox: A Systematic Approach to Offensive Play Calling By Patrick Donley
Patrick Donley is the Offensive Coordinator at the University of St. Francis, a part of the 2016 NAIA National Championship and 3x NAIA National Runner-Up (2004-06).
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4. Winning with the Wing-T: Game Planning and Play Calling By Paul Ingram
Paul Ingram is the former Head Football Coach at Gloucester (MA) High School. He won three Eastern Massachusetts Super Bowl titles and four Northeastern Conference titles.
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5. Multiple Wishbone Attack – Counter & Option Plays By Mike Rude
Mike Rude, the Head Football Coach at Vienna-Goreville (IL) High School, and a 7-time Coach of the Year, is also a Illinois High School Football Coachinf Hall of Fame Member (Class of 1995).
It’s not just the high flying spread teams that strive for true offensive balance. Coach Rude asks coaches to ponder WHY you run certain plays in certain situations – explaining that you’re not going to just ‘run a play for the sake of running a play’ or because you enjoy a play as a personal favorite.
The Illinois Hall of Famer shares the need for sound reasoning in play calling and explains that, even as a Wishbone team, his ultimate goal as an offensive play caller is to attack the defense and keep it off-balance by design. He also shares specific distinctions that serve as the primary driver for play-call selections in specific situations.
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6. Flexbone Passing Attack By Aaron Hafner.
Aaron Hafner is the Head Football Coach at Olathe Northwest (KS) High School.
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7. Pistol Offense: Putting Defenders in Conflict By Lambert Brown.
Lambert Brown is the former Head Football Coach at Chaska (MN) High School and led the school to the 2013 Missota Conference Champs and being named 2013 Missota Coach of the Year.
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8. Using Jet/Fly Plays for Multiple Formations in the Spread Offense By Ben Barkema
Ben Barkema is the Offensive Coordinator at Deer Park High School in Texas.
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