How to Design Football Plays Using Word

Use word associations to simplify play calls, increase production

By Mike Kuchar | Posted 3/5/2015

"Shift to Slot Right Orbit, 34 Iso."

This was the verbiage of our most successful run play when I was in high school. It was a simple weak side lead play that attacked defenses that over-shifted to the tight end. Like many football plays in the '90s, it was as general as it gets. When it worked, it worked well. When it didn't work, it usually was because our sophomore quarterback couldn't get the entire play out of his mouth before choking on his retainer.

Flash forward two decades. That weak side iso concept is still around, but now coaches are just using one word to call it. X&O Labs recently conducted research on how offensive coordinators at various levels are expanding their playbooks while shortening their play calls. We found using word association – often ones that their own players devise – to package formations, motions and plays helps improve production. The reasoning is simple: Players spend less time thinking about the call and more time thinking about their assignments. This, in turn, allows them to play faster.

Here's some of what we found:

• Formations. Coaches who are operating out of spread formations use words that start with "Tr" for 3-by-1 or trips formations. Examples include Trio, Trey, Trips and Triad. Meanwhile, 2-by-2 or doubles formations start with "D" words such as Deuce, Dutch, Dos and Duo. Offenses that employ two-back, tight end formations use words that start with "R" to put the tight end right and words that start with "L" to put that position left.
• Motion. While we found most no-huddle coaches are not using motion – it can slow them down – the ones that do use letters to denote the player who is moving. For example, an A back (tailback) motion can be words that start with "A," such as Alley, Army, Arrow or Airborne, while a Z (flanker) motion can be words that start with "Z," such as Zip, Zorro, Zoom, Zig Zag or Zipper.
• Runs and passes. This was interesting. Coaches are now grouping their run game into three common families based on the type of blocking pattern: man blocking, zone blocking or gap blocking. Man blocking runs could be grouped into NFL teams, or zone blocking runs could be grouped into types of cars. Of course, you and your players can make up any groupings you want. This keeps it easier on the big guys up front on the line of scrimmage. They know instantly which type of blocking to employ. The same thing can be done with passing games and the protections they encompass.

To take it one step further, each of these one-word associations can be paired with a signal for those who really want to play fast. While the entire research report can be accessed here, this is just a small encapsulation of the interesting ways in which coaches are calling plays. We even had one coach say he used the pattern of a cell phone to signal in plays. How is that for tugging at the heart strings of pre-teens?

In any case, the best part about verbiage is that it can be adapted to fit any offensive system. As all coaches know, what you call things doesn't matter. It's how your players execute them. In this case, if the call is shorter, the chances of your players executing them may be better.

Mike Kuchar is co-founder and senior research manager at XandOLabs.com , a private research company specializing in coaching concepts and trends. Reach him at: mailto:mike@xandolabs.com  or follow him on Twitter @mikekkuchar .

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How to Design Football Plays Using Word

Source: https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/1148/use-word-associations-to-simplify-play-calls-increase-production

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