Football is the most popular sport here in the United States. Part of its appeal is that it can be enjoyed by casual supporters as well as fanatics. There are no barriers to watching and enjoying a game of football, anyone can do it.
But, if you do want to get more from your football viewing experience, you can by learning a little bit about the tactical side of the game. Understanding strategies and simple tactics can make you feel more involved and give you a greater insight into the game.
So whether you’re simply looking to learn a bit more about football to impress your friends, or you want to try and understand the game in a bid to better your college football lines picks, read on to find out about some of the most common deployed offensive strategies in American football.
Table of Contents
The Spread Offense
In recent years football has become more of a passing game than ever before, and the best way to utilise the supreme passing range of top quarterbacks is to open up the field as much as possible. That’s exactly what the aptly named Spread Offensive aims to do.
Typically this formation puts the quarterback in the “shotgun” position with the defense horizontally spread, using three or four receiver sets; often times, when chasing a game, teams can even employ five receiver sets.
In this setup the wide receivers are typically placed as far out wide as possible to stretch the opposition defense and open up space on the inside. Rusty Russell is the man credited with coming up with the Spread Offense back in the 1920s, but the tactic is still used to this day by professional and amateur sides alike.
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(More of a visual learner? Watch this YouTube breakdown on the Spread Offense.)
The I-Formation
Sometimes game state calls for a different approach and when teams have to abandon the long, passing game, they often opt for the so-called I-Formation. This formation sees the running back, full back and quarter back standing in a vertical column, with 6 players horizontally placed above them.
Two wide receivers then stand as far out wide as possible, and it’s their job to hold the width and draw defensive support out from central areas. Here the role of the 6 players ahead of the column is one of shielding, with the full back and running back alternating between playing decoy and blocking, or running with the ball.
Typically you will see this formation employed when a team has ditched the long passing route and instead opted for short-yardage gains.
The Wildcat
This offensive formation dispenses with the quarterback altogether and instead relies on heavy personnel in the centre of the field. A running back and full back stand diagonally from one another at the base, whilst two tight ends, two tackles, two guards and a center fill up the middle space with two inverted wide receivers.
The snap from center then goes directly to a running back or wide receiver, just 5 yards or so back, instead of two or three times that distance to a quarterback. This strategy, without a quarterback, allows for an extra blocker and thus increases the chances of successfully gaining territory.
This strategy was first popularised in the 1990s but rose to prominence in 2006 when University of Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn used it to get the best out of running back Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. The excitment has been same across the custom tennis court windscreens.
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(Gus Malzahn’s Wildcat offense broke college football in 2006 before breaking NFL football in 2008.)
In Summary
There are way more offensive strategies than the ones cited in this article, and plenty of variations within those strategies too. For example, the tighter, more congested offensive plans of the San Francisco 49ers last season that took on a number of aspects from the Wildcat and I-Formation.
Then of course there are the Kansas City Chiefs, who played a much more relaxed offensive game last season, but that’s perhaps a luxury that only a team with the passing range and talent of Patrick Mahomes could make.
If you’re interested in learning more about football tactics and strategies, be sure to read some of the deep dive articles on The Athletic website and search YouTube for tactical breakdowns of games you’ve watched.