Teams that succeed at offense in FBPro are teams that attack with a plan. Some coaches may prefer to pass first while others want to establish the running game, but their first choice will not be fully effective without a complimentary secondary strategy. Used correctly, a few choice running plays can take advantage of a defense geared to stop the pass, while good passing plays will help open up holes for the ground game by forcing a defense to account for the pass.

In this tutorial, I will lay out the basic factors to consider when creating an offense and some ideas for setting up secondary offensive strategies that work as effective compliments to primary strategies.

There are two key ways to set up an attack in FBPro: by area of attack and by personnel. Let’s look at these one at a time.

Area of attack focuses on the place on the field where the offensive play is designed to get the ball. On the defensive side of the ball, read- and zone-based defenses primarily guard areas of the field. Offenses counter by trying to target places where the defense will not be. For running plays, area of attack is a relatively simple question. The choices of where to attack basically fall on a lateral line along the line of scrimmage, since you cannot know whether your ball carrier is going to break the LOS. You have choices like wide sweeps going to the sidelines, off-tackle plays, or plunges into the line, but while you may draw a route that has your running back speeding through the defense on his way to the end zone, the fact is that he may never get out of the backfield. Passing plays target both the width and length of the field, and check receiver passes can target more than one area. Your offense should force the defense to account for a variety of areas on the field.

Personnel refers to the players who could potentially carry the ball: the five eligible receivers and the QB (who will only be considered for our purposes when acting as a runner). Man-to-man defenses–the only defenses that take personnel into account over position--view the five eligible receivers in terms of where they line up and how they compare statistically to the other receivers. The more players you involve in your offense as viable threats, the more your opponent is likely to play a defense with 5 players in man-to-man, tying them up from doing other things like blitzing, defending the run or playing zones.

Most defensive play books take both area of attack and personnel into account to one degree or another, so most offenses will want to consider both factors to whatever extent the individual coach feels is appropriate. But if your best plays focus on a few spots on the field or go to just one or two players, your secondary strategy will be essential to keep defenses from keying on very few players and/or parts of the field.

A Note On Area of Attack vs. Personnel

One thing to keep in mind when trying to make your opponent defend all five potential ball carriers and a good portion of the field: If you run your only pass plays to the TE to an area of the field that’s likely to be defended anyway, you remove the need for an opposing defense to defend the TE. Remember that the strategies are not exclusive of one another.

Passing in a Running Offense

The last thing you want to do if you’re trying to use your ground game as your main offensive weapon is to have the passing game losing field position through sacks or stopping the clock with incompletions. Running the ball is designed to minimize long-yardage situations and control the clock. Because of the slow pace of a ground attack, running the ball is generally considered to be a difficult way to try and come back from a big deficit, so keeping the game close is also important (though effectively controlling the clock helps achieve this).

Efficiency in the passing game is key when passing is your secondary strategy. High-percentage passing serves the interest of controlling the clock. If you have a high percentage of incompletions, the clock will stop often, undermining your running attack’s efforts to win the time-of-possession battle.

Passes that attack downfield force defenses to defend deeper into the secondary than they would otherwise. Deep passes are generally not high-percentage passes, so you take into consideration a loss of efficiency balanced against the potential for the big gain and the room opened up for running when the defenders are lined up deep. Deep passes are also often vulnerable to a heavy pass rush and can put your running game in long-yardage situations. If your profile isn’t up to snuff, sacks may even take you out of your ground game and turn you into a passing team!

If you are using a ground attack concentrating on outside runs, you force the defense to commit valuable personnel away from your main areas of attack by throwing over the middle. If you’re running up the gut, pass to the outside to clear some defenders out of the middle. Use an attack that forces the defense to defend as much of the field as possible, especially if your opponent favors zone or read defenses. If your ground game is focused on a specific area of the field, make sure the passing attack forces the defense to think about the other areas.

Running in a Passing Offense

A powerful passing offense can put big numbers up on the scoreboard quickly. But the passing game often leads to short possessions, and time of possession can become a significant factor, especially on the road. Plus, if defenses don’t respect your running game, they will clamp down on your passing game with an array of effective pass defenses.

The first function of the running game in a pass-first offense is to take players out of coverage and put them in a run-first defense. You do this with a limited number of quality run plays that can gain substantial amounts of yardage if not defended well.

Secondly, running eats time off the clock. Having a ground game that can grind out a few first downs can help secure a lead late in a game. If you’re up by 2 with 2:45 on the clock, you don’t want to throw three incompletions and give the ball back to your opponent with 2:15 to play. Running the ball at least forces your opponent to use up any remaining time outs and at most will get you a key first down or two and allow you to run out the clock.

Finally, as with passing in a running offense, the ground game can target areas of the field that the first line of attack doesn’t adequately test. If the passes tend to attack at the sidelines, some quick-hitters up the middle can quickly take the starch out of a defense that doesn’t allocate enough players to stop the run.

Putting it All Together

Of course, the first consideration is building your attack around plays that work well for your team. There’s no magic formula that fits all teams, so it’s up to each individual coach to decide how to get the most from their offense. However, the general principles outlined above can help you figure out how to flesh out an attack that has some punch but that lacks depth. Targeting a defense’s weaknesses can’t make bad plays good, but it can create opportunities for decent plays to make significant contributions to your success.