Whether you are a seasoned offensive coordinator, or it is your first year leading the offense, there is something important you can and should do every single week when you are game planning. We found this one thing was really good against everyone we played, but especially when we played someone who was very talented.
When you build your game plan you are are always going to look for leverage, numbers, and green grass. You are going to find the formations you think will give you a numerical advantage. You are looking for great angles for your offensive line. You want to find green grass for your skill guys, because green grass gives you explosive opportunities. You are always going to look at personnel, and today we are going to drill down to one thing within personnel that can give you an advantage.
One thing that is often overlooked is finding their 11th guy. Every single team has an 11th guy. That is their 11th best guy. Everyone, no matter how good they are, has an 11th best guy. Even teams you play that are loaded with 4 and 5 star recruits have an 11th best.
Most teams you play have at least one guy they are hiding. They have one guy they are protecting because he isn't as talented as their other players. Some teams might have two or three of these guys. When you play someone who is really good, or even someone who isn't as talented, spend time looking for the 11th best guy.
If the 11th best guy is a defensive end, figure out how you can attack him with your identity concept. If their 11th guy is a corner, find ways to match your best receiver up with that guy. If he is a safety and your best skill guy is an outside receiver, how can you adjust a formation to match up your receiver with that safety? Just because a guy plays outside receiver doesn't mean you can't move him around to match him up on a linebacker or a safety.
One example of this was when we were playing a top ranked team who was very, very good. They ran the 4-3 and played 2 high. They played base most snaps because they could. They had a dominant defensive line and their secondary and outside backers were really good. The Mike was really good, but he was their slowest defender. He was a guy who was very physical, but he didn't run well. We wanted to get him in coverage situations.
