Theoretical Football

“Theoretical football is the notion that American football is an exceedingly complex sport that requires a branch of learning. Its goal is to accentuate the cerebral, academic, and quantifiable

aspects of American football.” - Denauld William Brown

Contact Twitter: @theofootball Email: theoreticalfootball@gmail.com

Defending The Best Offensive Minds

Topic: Kliff Klingsbury

Head Football Coach Texas Tech University

By Denauld William Brown

This is a continued series on how to read and defend offensive formations pre-snap. We will discuss the pre-snap formations run by

then offensive coordinator of Texas A&M Kliff Kingsbury. We are taking a detailed look some of the formations that lead Kliff

Klingsbury to be one of the most successful football coaches in 2012. This is an assessment of a few formations from the first

series vs. Alabama that solidified the Heisman Campaign by Johnny Manziel. We will also give an in-depth look at some of these

formations intent that defines this master architect.

Next Topic: Todd Dodge

Head Football Coach

Marble Falls HS, TX

X

Many good offensive coordinators

are very similar to each other when

it comes to structuring formations.

Previous coaches like Noel

Mazzone, and Dana Holgorsen,

have used this same exact

formation and motion in this

“Defending in the best offensive

minds” series. So the question that

needs to be asked is what makes

Kliff Kingsbury different than these

other master architects? In order to

answer that question there needs to

be another element added that will

extract the true intent of this play

caller. That element would be

situational football. This formation

as part of a greater call sequence

was used versus Alabama on

national television with a freshman

quarterback. Typically there is no

need to add situational football

into these raw, pre-snap, formation

assessments. This approach keeps

bias out and makes it only about

the formation. However it will help

set Kliff Kingsbury apart from the

other master architects. At this

point in the season Texas A&M

was averaging 44.7 points a game

and had scored on every 1st

possession in there previous

contest. When #2, or in this case,

the “Y” is on the ball you need to

be sensitive to it being a run play.

This gives to a natural

understanding of formations

themselves. The question to ask is

why would #2 on the line of

scrimmage acquiesce to such a

statement? Formations take on a

personality of their own once the

coordinator has arranged them and

put them into play. This process is

called “detached formation

temperament” or (DFT). DFT

conceptually brings to light that

formations independent of the play

caller have a nature and a

disposition to “want” to either run

of pass the ball. When you study

formations proficiently you will

likely come to the same conclusion.

Kliff Kingsbury is an very good

play caller and his background as

a quarterback in a Mike Leach

system is apparent.

Pro

Number of running backs: 2

Number of receivers: 3

Number of Tight ends: 0

Formation Type: Male

Formation demeanor: Run

1

X

How many times has the #1, or in

this case, the “Z” receiver ever been

thrown the ball in a “4 strong”

formation? That is a very important

question to ask going forward. The

reality is that #1 getting the

football is not likely. He is just

simply to far from the quarterback.

Another reason the likelihood of

the “Z” not being thrown the ball is

that the defense will shift or adjust

to this formation to take away deep

threats. Immediate threats to

receive the football on a passing

play should be defined by two

equally but important factors.

Proximity to the quarterback is the

first factor and being “on” or “off”

the line of scrimmage is the other.

The chances of #3, or in this case,

the “Y” getting the ball is very high.

The process of elimination is the

key to coming to this conclusion. It

just makes sense! The further a

receiver is away from the

quarterback the less likely he is to

receive the ball. Lets take a look at

this formation and why it is a good

one to be used on the college hash

marks? A running quarterback like

Johnny Manziel adds that 6th threat

that really stresses a defense. The

width of #1, or the “Z” in this case,

defines a standard relationship

between both #1 and the

quarterback. The wider #1 is the

more likely the quarterback is to

keep the ball on a scramble or for a

run play to be designed for him.

The basic elements of defensive

football is not just understanding

defense and all of its adjustments

but to look at your own defense

from an offensive lens. Bud

Wilkinson said it best. “It is my

feeling that any discussion of

offensive football is meaningless

unless defensive football in all it

basic elements is well understood.”

If you contrast this formation with

the previous as part of a greater

call sequence you will notice that

this formation is the same as the

previous without the motion. Kliff

Kingsbury has a very purposeful

plan to score during this first series.

Pro

Number of running backs: 1

Number of receivers: 4

Number of Tight ends: 0

Formation Type: Female

Formation demeanor: Pass

2

X

Discovering patters with good

offensive play callers is difficult to

do. What makes it even more

challenging as a defensive coach is

that you need to create a game

plan of your own that has to be

executed. The best way to both

save time and prepare for a master

play caller like Kliff Kingsbury is to

know formations like you know

your own defense. Good play

callers will always stress a defense

with patterned based formations

and play calls. This is a 2 x 2

formation with the “R” slightly

lower than the quarterback. If that

is not a “tell tell” sign of something

then let us take a look at the

formation itself. The hash marks

may play a factor later on as they

usually do when you further study

these master architects. This

formation debuts the first time

during this series that you see the

“R” next to a receiver who is off

the ball. Its important to never wait

as a defensive coach beyond the 3rd

play of a contest to start to look

and discover patterns in formations.

This will give you more information

to discovering the run pass ratio

and tendencies rather than down &

distance and personnel groups

only. This formation is simple in

nature and complex in intent. The

“Y” is on the ball and the “F” is off.

The “Z” is off the ball and the “X”

is on the ball. So the question is

why is this so important? Opposite

contrast like these are meant to

distract the defense. When you see

formations like this then its time to

focus on “MO.” “MO” is always #3

or the “M”iddle “O”f the 5

offensive eligible players. He will

likely take you to the core concept

of the play. Studying the first series

of each game by this Texas A&M

offense will both give you Kliff

Kingsbury’s bread and butter plays

and his genius all at the same time.

If it does not reveal these two

things then you need to dig a little

deeper into the mind of this master

architect.

Pro

Number of running backs: 1

Number of receivers: 4

Number of Tight ends: 0

Formation Type: Female

Formation demeanor: Pass

3

X

Motion seems unfair at times when

defending an offense. To this point

you can see slight patters starting

to reveal themselves as you further

look at these very well designed

formations. The “F” and the “R”

have a relationship that is apparent

in Kliff Kingsbury’s formation

sequences. It is this specific

relationship that would need to be

explored further by any opponent

of Texas Tech for this coming 2013

season. For this study it is just

smoke that will lead to an eventual

fire. Defending gaps for a defense

is easier to do when you better

define the relationships between

the 5 offensive eligible players,

rather than which players are

located on the line of scrimmage

pre-snap. The post-snap

distribution of players will lead to

a false expectation that tendencies

are the only way to figure out what

the offense will do rather than

what they might do. In other words

it is entirely possible to know what

your opponent will do

schematically if you know

formations well enough to

eliminate scenarios rather than

only rely on tendencies. In the

Dictionary of American football

terms by John T. Reed you will see

the term “Awsonimity.” “A term

invented by Leo Hand, author

of Attacking Football Defenses With

Radar Blocking to describe “the

period between the end of one

play and the snap for the next.”

“Hand feels this is an extremely

important and difficult time for the

defense if the offense takes

advantage of it and gives the

defense as little time as possible to

see what formation they will be

in.” Kliff Kingsbury does a very

nice job of scoring points. But even

better he does a very nice job of

creating formations pre-snap that

lend for an unique distribution of

the 5 offensive eligible players

across the field post-snap. Johnny

Manziel winning the Heisman was

not a fluke as his success is directly

tied to Kliff Kingsburys formation

sequences.

Pro

Number of running backs: 2

Number of receivers: 3

Number of Tight ends: 0

Formation Type: Female

Formation demeanor: Pass

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