Chapter 4 - Offensive Gameplan

There’s a saying that defense wins championships, but we say offense looks more exciting! As any good defensive coach would say, an effective offense boils down to unpredictability and good play calling. You want to give your offense the best chance to move the ball against what your opponent has lined up on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

In NCAA Football 2004, teams have their own playbooks. The playbooks consist of several formations and each formation is made up of similar plays. This section covers the basics of offensive play calling and provides tips on improving your running game and passing attack.

Know Your Team’s Strengths...and Weaknesses

This should be a given to any football gaming veteran. A team like Florida has an overabundance of shotgun formations for a reason: it’s their strength. Sure they have a decent running back but they have the personnel (or at least they hope they do) for a wide open air attack.

Or take Kansas State for instance with a fast quarterback and a dominant running back. Don’t select the #5 ranked Wildcats and pass every single down if you hope to win consistently against tough opponents. As Keyshawn Johnson of the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Bucs once said (changed slightly), "Get your stars the dang ball!" If you’ve got a receiver rated 99, use him. And if you’re in an online game, make sure your opponent thinks you’re going to use him so you can open up big plays on the other side of the field.

Mix It Up

If you pass on every single down, your opponent is simply going to sit back in a nickel or dime defense and, likely, eventually pick one off. Your goal is to remain unpredictable. Don’t always run the ball on 1st and 10. Don’t always pass the ball on 3rd and long. Select a traditional running formation, like I Form, and select a pass play instead. Or choose a shotgun formation and run a quarterback draw or an option to the right or left.

A good offensive coach keeps the defense off balance with an unpredictable mix of runs and passes.

If you’re constantly dropping back and hurling deep balls, your opponent is going to catch on. It may take one 80-yard touchdown for your opponent to learn his lesson but it won’t be long before your receivers are covered like blankets or your quarterback is flat on his back with a linebacker on top of him. Never running the ball means your opponent needs no linebackers to hold the line.

Prepare Your Audibles and Hot Routes

Even if you’re mixing it up, your opponent may have called the perfect defense for your play selection. Know your audibles and call one that takes your opponent’s defensive call to task. Likewise, hot routes can be invaluable. Did you survey the defense and see a corner creeping up toward the line in preparation for a blitz? Call a hot route on that receiver to do a quick out or slant and hit him where the defender has vacated his position.

Trick Plays

NCAA Football 2004 includes a lot of opportunities for the trick play. Call a WR reverse pass and toss it back to the quarterback! He’s often open (though can also get injured easily from a crushing hit). Don’t neglect plays like WR sweeps, which aren’t trick plays but help mix up your offense and help keep it unpredictable. Then there’s of course the popular halfback option pass. Either run around the end on a sweep or toss the ball downfield.

You can also lateral the ball while you’re running down field. You just broke a run and are about to be tackled but there’s a linemen following your running back hoping to make a key block. You can lateral the ball to him! It’s a huge risk and isn’t recommended unless you need a game-breaking play to turn the game around.

The Onside Kick

You just scored a touchdown but still trail late in the game. Time to bust out the onside kick and hope your team manages to recover the ball. It’s definitely a crapshoot. There’s no perfect way to do the onside kick, but here are some pointers to increase your odds of making a successful recover. Obviously you must call the onside recover kickoff team. This puts a different squad on the field than the standard kickoff. In fact, you may want to customize it further. Do mass subs on the formation and put in your best catch, carry, speed, and acceleration players on the team if they aren’t already. Move the kick angle all the way down to the field then pull it up just a notch. Move it all the way to the left or right depending on where your onside kick squad is located then move it back the other way just slightly. For power, you can let it go all the way up and down, which will occasionally provide a good kick or try to stop it with low power.