Football 101: Scheme (1 Viewer)

[vandelyons]

I enjoy football - I watch it, I read about it, I talk about it - but I don't KNOW football. I really only have a cursory knowledge of how the game is played at its highest level. I'm not familiar with the nuance, the detail and the strategy involved.

So, I was hoping to use this off season to learn more.

Here is what I propose: each week, we discuss a different element of the game. I'll throw out the topics, the board will discuss until we have a better collective understanding.

This week: SCHEME

I hear the word scheme used during broadcasts and player interviews, but I really don't understand what it is. That may be because the word seems to be used differently in different contexts.

So, tell me about scheme. What is it? How does it differ from strategy? How does play calling and formation relate to scheme? How does player personnel govern / limit scheme? Does scheme change throughout a game, or does it change from week-to-week? Is it possible to watch a broadcast and tell what scheme(s) are being employed?

 

[dutch]

I like the toipic, vandelyons, and hope there'll be more to the series.

Scheme is the over laying theme the coach and general manager believe will make their organization/team succesful. Players are drafted, signed in fa, traded for based on scheme.

An example is this years Seahawks. The last decade has seen passing numbers inflate to incredible levels thanks in large part to rules changes and enforcement which prohibit secondaries from roughing up receivers. This led to teams taking advantage of the rules/enforcement and passing there way to Championships.

Seattle went a different direction. They went with speed and size in the secondary which allowed them to keep tight coverage on athletic wr's going all over the field without getting flagged which allowed them to gain valuable time for their front to get tot he qb and make him make mistakes. That is scheme.

 

[Xue]

Scheme, system, and formation go hand in hand and are words that can be used interchangeably, for example: "zone scheme" can mean Zone Blocking System for Offense or Zone Defense depending on the context.

Strategy is how and what parts of your scheme to use on a weekly basis.

This is a great site to learn X/Os of football: http://smartfootball.com

 

[vandelyons]

I like the toipic, vandelyons, and hope there'll be more to the series.

Scheme is the over laying theme the coach and general manager believe will make their organization/team succesful. Players are drafted, signed in fa, traded for based on scheme.

An example is this years Seahawks. The last decade has seen passing numbers inflate to incredible levels thanks in large part to rules changes and enforcement which prohibit secondaries from roughing up receivers. This led to teams taking advantage of the rules/enforcement and passing there way to Championships.

Seattle went a different direction. They went with speed and size in the secondary which allowed them to keep tight coverage on athletic wr's going all over the field without getting flagged which allowed them to gain valuable time for their front to get tot he qb and make him make mistakes. That is scheme.

I think part of my (and other fans') confusion lays in the multiple uses of the term. The above descriptions sounds like overall organizational strategy - how to gain competitive advantage / leveraging core competences.

But then I hear a color commentator like Aikmen or Gruden say "that's a great scheme" in reference to a single play. Or a coach will say we were "out-schemed in the second half."

This seems to suggest that scheme changes from week to week, series to series or maybe even play to play.