When your strength is weak(side)

Coaches are constantly searching for ways to maximize the abilities of their players. Football players, being humans, are not perfect. Each individual has strengths and weaknesses. A sign of good coach is utilizing strengths while minimizing weaknesses.

Let's look at the way a successful FCS team, the Montana Grizzlies, does this. Montana, while little known nationally, have an excellent program out in the country. The Grizzlies made it to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs this year before losing to Sam Houston State. They have benefit from having several FBS transfers over the years, including former Washington tight end Kavario Middleton and former Oregon quarterback Justin Roper.

Montana also has a lot of connections to Eugene and the University of Oregon. Starting QB Jordan Johnson went to Sheldon HS, which is a three-minute walk from where I live. (Former) head coach Robin Pflugrad coached wide receivers at the University of Oregon before accepting the head job at Montana, and his son Aaron Pflugrad played for the Ducks before transferring to Arizona State.

Anyway, with that context, let's look at this unique formation and how the Grizzlies block it.

The formation

I call this Ace Wing, with the Y on the line and an H slightly off, in the wing position. It is a formation that says "run" and that is what they want to do. I studied Northern Iowa vs. Montana, and this how Northern Iowa lines up to it.

Northern Iowa has to honor the double tight strength, so they bring up the corner just outside the wing. It seems they want to keep two high safeties, perhaps out of respect for the passing game. They move the Will linebacker out to the Z, most and stack the linebackers in 20s across the guards. The rover has to creep up five yards closer than the free safety to protect the gaping C gap, which gives the H and Y excellent angles to attack their defenders.

The Play

This play is not anything revolutionary. It is a basic inside zone read option, going away from the strength, or the H and Y. But the players, and a slight tweak in scheme, make it work.

The Grizzlies' QB, Jordan Johnson, makes all the right reads. He is a typical gym rat, a guy who is not spectacularly fast, doesn't have a cannon for an arm, and isn't very tall. But he makes excellent reads, is an accurate passer, and runs the offense well. He has good vision as a ball carrier

Now, Montana has three backs it likes to rotate in Dan Moore, Jordan Canada and Peter Nguyen. All three run this play out of this formation.

And we can't overlook the offensive linemen. Tackle Jon Opperud was named Big Sky 1st team all-conference, and center Stephen Sabin and tackle Charles Burton were named honorable mention. Their ability to climb to the linebackers frees up the feature backs

The H, ##85 Greg Hardy, was first team all-conference, but I was never impressed with his blocking ability, and we will see that come into play later.

 Read key is circled

Notice the fold blocking scheme here between the H and Y. The Y goes first, followed by the H. As a result, they both have great angles on players they should overwhelm with their size and athleticism. And Montana is still able to climb to the Mike and Sam with its offensive linemen. The only disadvantage here is the Z needs to dive in on the Will, despite giving up some size.

Here's a result of this formation and play in action, with Nguyen in particular being the beneficiary. Fast forward to 1:22.

Now if you watch it closely, you notice Hardy never gets a block. He gives a half-hearted effort, and finally, when he sees the run could be big, he goes about 3/4 speed, never really getting a block. This makes me think the H and Y are less than stellar blockers.

Why line up this way? To maximize abilities

It's possible defenses haven't found a good way to line up to it, and the Grizzlies defeat teams simply by alignment. But here's what's more likely: Their tight ends, otherwise known as H and Y in the diagram, can't block. Kavario Middleton, #85, is a highly touted transfer from Washington and an athletic nightmare for linebackers and safeties. The Grizzlies will sometimes split Middleton out wide and throw the slant, where he can use his body. Check it out here

However, his blocking was suspect for the Huskies. But the H and Y seem to be decent athletes, and certainly have an advantage over corners and safeties. They don't have to block a linebacker or defensive lineman, which they may struggle with. It all goes back to putting your athletes in the best position to succeed. This fold scheme does that best.

Keeping with the constraint theory of football, the Grizzlies have several different changeups from this formation to keep defenses honest. They run what West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen would call his "Quick Game" (h/t Bruce Feldman), a tap of the ball into the hands of a receiver running full speed across the formation.You can read more about that on the link, and watch Montana run it here.

They run play action off it.

They also run a sweet flea flicker here against Central Arkansas for a touchdown.

This is all off this Ace Wing formation. This is a critical element of Montana's offense and it is fun to study.

You can watch the entire clips below. These are fan videos, but they have the wide angle that often you can't find on YouTube.

Here are clips from the Northern Iowa game.

And here is the game against Central Arkansas.

Now, this isn't reinventing the wheel here. Other teams have probably done something similar. But Montana is tailoring its offense to its talent, something every team should do.

Follow me on twitter at Coach_JPhillips for more insights. God bless and have a great day!