I was recently asked by a friend how to make sense of utilizing multiple offensive personnel groupings and make it simple enough for all players to understand. Years ago I went from just one personnel group to multiple personnel groupings and was faced with the same question. I wasn’t a numbers guy so the tried and true system of using the 10, 11, 12, etc. (1st number = RBs and 2nd number = TEs) to distinguish the different groups seemed a little harder to remember than using a word or category to separate groupings and make it easier for the players to remember. The hard part was to figure out which category of objects or things I would use. I decided to go with military vehicles and I will explain below but you need to find what works best for your players to remember.
With the military vehicle theme I started with what most would think would be the fastest group or vehicle – 5 WR’s (00)= Stealth (as in Stealth Fighter Jet). Working our way to slower vehicles with the addition of more RBs, FBs and/or TEs into the groupings.
Personnel Groupings (with old way of numbering them):
*Stealth=5 WR’s (00)
*Jet=4 WR’s and 1 RB (10)
*Jeep=1 RB, 1 TE, and 3 WR’s (11)
*Hummer=1 RB, 2 TE’s, and 2 WR’s (12)
*Buffalo=1 RB, 3 TE’s, and 1 WR. (*This grouping was added later and I couldn’t think of a military vehicle that would fit between Hummer and Tank)
*Tank=1 RB, 1 FB, 1 TE, and 2 WR’s (21)
*Tank Biggins=2 FB’s, 1 TE, and 2 WR’s. (* Used for certain formations and QB run situations)
Around the time of installing these grouping names I found myself in a situation where I had a great player that could play all of the offensive skill positions. I wanted to create mismatch opportunities and get him to touch the ball in a variety of ways to keep the defense honest. So after some thought I tagged the personnel grouping with the position I wanted that player to play. For example – Hummer Q = that player was at QB in that personnel grouping or Jet T = that player was at the RB position in that grouping.
Installation:
I always start out with teaching personnel groupings before anything else. This is done so that as I install new formations I can also tell the players which personnel groupings will run those formations. I found this to be the easiest way to get the players to remember. As the season goes on and more is added to the play list, you can start giving formations to different personnel groupings such as a Jet group running a Hummer Formation like 2 x 2 Ace Formation and the 2 Slot WRs would line up like TEs. This is a great way to create some surprises for opposing defensive coordinators who get used to seeing certain personnel groups with certain formations and make calls accordingly.
Using the example above of 4 WRs (Jet), getting lined up in an Ace formation quickly after we get a healthy dose of a high safety and going 4 verticals with faster guys can catch the defensive coordinator off guard by snapping the ball quickly before he sees what personnel are out there.
In closing, once you find an easy way to get the different groups called and tagging to allow a special player to move around in that group, the sky is the limit as to what you can come up with!