Football Plays and Playbooks that have been Proven to Work...

The I formation is one of the most popular and effective formations used at the youth level today.

Tom Nugent is credited with creating the I formation to replace the single wing in 1954 while coaching the Virginia Military Institute.

While being a very balanced formation the I formation is more useful as a rushing attack than a passing offense.

The Pro formation is one of the most dangerous rushing offenses used at the youth level today.

Because of the split backfield opposing defenses take longer to read the gap than a traditional I formation.  Became popular in the Bill Walsh "West Coast Offense."

Can be a versatile offense for both rushing and passing by replacing the tight end for a third wide receiver in the slot.

Also know as the "Wing-I Formation" the Wing Formation is a combination of the I Formation and the popular "flexbone" formation.

The wing formation is very popular at the youth level and works very well in combination with the I Formation as well as the Wing-T as most terminology is the same.

The major difference in the wing formation and the traditional I formation is the close split between the flanker and tight end, allowing the flanker to be a running back or wide receiver.

A very powerful formation for a hard-nosed rushing attack is the Tandem Formation. This formation could also be considered a "Power I" formation, however the split end is out wide, not in a tight end position.

We utilize the term "Tandem" to help young players understand the difference in this formation and the I formation, we have found that the more similiar a formation sounds, the more confusing things can be to a young player, so we treat them seperatly.

A major advantage of the Tandem formation over the Power I formation is the wide split end still forces the weak side defense to spread out and cover the whole field, creating cutback lanes for the offense.

The Straight T Formation or "T Formation" is considered by most to the the precusor to most modern football formations.

This formation was made famous in the 1930s - 1940s by the University of Minnesota, who used it to win 5 national titles.

When the Chicago Bears used the T-Formation in the 1940 NFL championship it marked the end of the single-wing formation at all levels.

By taking advantage of the three running backs an offense can run a variety of straight ahead runs, outside lead plays and multiple mis-direction plays.

While similar to the flexbone formation the Wing-T Formation was created by long time University of Delaware head coach David Nelson

Orginally created to be a mix between the single-wing and T-formation it took the motion and run power of the single-wing and the QB under center from the T-Formation.

The modern version of the Wing-T uses two wing backs and only one halfback to provide a very balanced rushing and passing offense.

The singleback formation or "Ace" formation is primarily a pass first, run second type of offense. It is built off of the I formation and replaces the fullback with an extra wide receiver or another tight end.

If your team has alot of speed the singleback formation could be for you, as you can spread the field with receivers and still have a powerful rushing attack if you have a speedy running back.

Teams that are not overal very fast or cannot pass should not run this offense.

The Broken I Formation or Offset I formation is a great offensive formation to use at the youth level.

Its a great fit for many teams because it is very balanced, and most teams have the player personel to run this offense.

One of it's advantages over a traditional I formation is the fullback offset allows for better lead blocking and misdirection plays.

The TIER formation is something Coach Wamer came up with in the late 90s. Whether or not it was used before is unknown, but he termed the phrase "tier" because of the unique alignment.

This formation was created because that year we did not have a "feature" running back, we had 3-4 equal backs, so we used this formation as a power running formation.

The rushing options are unlimited, dives, sweeps, misdirection, reverses, etc.. Passing is rather limited though.

Probably the most used and well known defensive scheme of all time.

Four defensive linemen, three linebackers and 4 defensive backs.

A very easy to learn, effective defense, and easy to teach.

A close relative to the 4-3 defense, except only three down linemen and 4 linebackers.

We have used the 3-4 at times when we had more solid defenders at the linebacker position than on the defensive line.

Also a good fit if your opponent likes to spread the field as the extra linebacker really helps.

By far the most popular defense at the youth level.

Designed to be very effective against the run with the 8-man front.

Short range passing is also difficult against the 5-3, however spread passing attacks can expose the 3-man secondary.

If you really want to stack the line and bring defensive pressure up front, this is your defense.

The 6-2 makes offenses try to beat it outside by getting outside very quickly or by quick running plays right up the middle since there are only two linebackers.

Biggest con against the 6-2 in our opinion is if an offensive player breaks free into the open field it could be a big play

Gaining Popularity at the youth level is the 5-2 defense.

The five defensive linemen give you a good push at the line, and linebackers are there to fill in the gaps.

The fourth defensive back gives you a better shot at covering the entire field over the 5-3, however a bit weaker up the middle.

Started by Buddy Ryan with the Chicago Bears in the 1980s, and was named after one of his players.

The 46 is one of those defenses where you will either live by the blitz or die by it.

If you have a bunch of aggressive, quick and sure tackling linebackers you could be a terror to opposing offenses, however if you don't have the personel you could give up tons of yardage.

the 4-4 Defense is the most truly balanced defensive formation available, with 4 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers, your defense can really stuff the run.

With smart, athletic linebackers most passing attacks will fail, however a truly organized effective passing attack could terrorize your three defensive backs, but that happens rarely at the youth level.