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The Importance of Formation Recognition

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By Ryan Ruschhaupt, Assistant Coach
Monterey Peninsula College

   Football is an ever evolving game where some of the most creative and intelligent coaches in sports find ways to defeat you merely by the alignment of players in a formation. Offensive coordinators search for alignment weaknesses in order to outflank a defense, while defenses utilize disguise in order to deceive and confuse an offense. Long gone are the days when we faced a team that stays in a pro-set offense or a base 4-3 the entire game. Offensive formations can be wide, tight or even unbalanced in just one series or even a set of downs. Modern American football dictates that we must have players in the proper position to make the play; there are too many liabilities for having misaligned players. 

   At Monterey Peninsula College our head coach Mike Rasmussen understands and emphasizes the importance of alignment throughout the year.  The Central Coast Conference in Northern California is comprised of a number of talented coaches who use many different offensive systems.  Our opponents force us to be concerned about defensive alignment throughout the season.

   As a defensive coach, I will be presenting the different aspects as they relate to our defensive system. However, the drill is just as important for an offense to go through because the players must know the calls, hustle to the line of scrimmage, and align properly. Formation recognition is the foundation of what we teach defensively at MPC.  Alignment is the first step towards putting a player in the right position to make the play. Too often I see coaches relying on a player’s talent and athleticism to make a play rather than on good stance, alignment, reads and proper pursuit angles.

   We often start our practice with a formation recognition drill because of the immediate challenge it creates. The drill does a great job of setting the tone for the day’s practice. We also create an atmosphere of intensity and focus while we go through formation recognition by quickening the pace of the offensive huddle, quick play calling, and a crisp break.  Competition breeds success so we work hard to maintain a competitive, intense and focused environment throughout the drill. We always expect our players to be perfect in their effort, stance and alignment. Anything less than perfection is unacceptable. Assistant coaches make immediate corrections on the run.    We test our players each rep for the speed at which they see each formation and how quickly they adjust; there is no substitute for live bullets on the field.  Playbooks and the whiteboard may be a great place to start or review, but ultimately it's their performance on the field that truly counts. 

   Each spring we start our teaching progression using a base formation for the first few weeks. We do this in order to build confidence for each player in all of the position groups.  We often return to base recognition days in order to maintain that confidence through further implementation. As we begin to install more fronts, coverage’s, stunts and blitzes, we incorporate them into the drill, but we’re very conscious of what the players comprehend and needs repeating.  We go through this process again in the summer program as well as in August, but at an accelerated pace. Once the season starts, we use the scouting report to dictate what formations we utilize for the drill.  We always include any stemming, prowling, disguised coverage’s and blitzes so that players perform what is being taught and re-enforced throughout the season. 

   Our acronym of instruction is S.A.F.E: Stance, Alignment, Feet, and Eyes.  These four words are the key points all coaches should be teaching, monitoring and correcting. The following questions frame the mindset of our coaching staff while we teach formation recognition.

S: Do players have the proper stance for the play? Example: a cornerback in bracket coverage should be in a good position to shuffle and maintain leverage on the receiver, open if need be.

A: Is the front seven aligned properly for the play prior to the snap? Example: the tackles should be in a strong side 2I and weak side 3 technique in our stack defense.  How timely is the pre-snap communication of strength, formation and adjustment calls? Example: In our cover 3, we often have the free safety roll late against a two receiver set or any motion to the weak side of the formation so he always needs to make the right check to the cornerback, informing him that he has the deep outside third. 

F: Do the players take their proper read steps or drops after diagnosing the play? Once the ball is snapped, every player takes a proper read/drop step in the direction of their assignment for that play. Example: cornerbacks backpedal or roll up, linebacker’s read-step, and defensive linemen angle, slant or base and replace.

E: Does every player have their eyes on their focal key point in order to establish a run/pass key or read the play? Example: I teach the outside linebacker’s an eye progression that starts with the outside foot of the tackle to the TE (play action) to the backfield. Eye placement is always the key to diagnosing a play so if the defensive player isn't looking at his focal point in order to read, then it takes him more time to make a play.  A second of thought is a five-yard gain on the field. In college football, the smallest details make the biggest difference.

   Most coaches do some sort of huddle and alignment drill early in the year because as we all know it's one of the most basic parts of the teaching progression for team defense. I believe that not only is it a basic part, but a crucial and often overlooked aspect of the game so revisiting formation recognition at game speed will help place your players in the right position to make a play.  I hope you found this information useful and if you have any questions please contact me at whatarusch@hotmail.com.






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