formations

That's a good question. It seems like a lot of people are running a variety of formations around here. I think it is nice to have different formations if it gives you an advantage. Like you said, if you stay the same, you know what you are going to see. If you like what you see, that is fine.
We like to run our running plays out of a 2 back set, ant then out of a 1 back set. To me as a D-coordinator, this is a lot different and puts a lot of pressure on us if we have to respect the pass and run from the QB.
If a different formation can change the defense's normal alignments and / or techniques, it can be a major advantage for the offense. If not, it can still put the defense under pressure or give you an advantage.
When we're defending the option, we have to be very aware of the formation we are facing as it can mess up our responsibiliites.
I guess what I'm saying is that if you know how to control your opponent with formation, it is good to change. Otherwise it's a waste of time.
I'm at school and have to go. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense. Interesting topic.

Optionfootball,

Coming from a defensive mindset, and sitting in with my DC and gameplanning on the weekends, if we see a team that plays a couple of formations a majority of the time, we get excited because we can spend more time on reppin and less on showing all the formations, what to be aware of, what to check and so forth. But if you got a good, solid squad, then it may be to your advantage because you as a OC can rep the hell of of your package and you got the horses to do the job. Florida State comes to mind, espeically during their dominance. They were the easiest team to prepare for in regards of knowing all the checks, the tendencies and so forth because they would run I-pro, slot, and a touch of spread (3 WR)when they needed the yards. However, play a team like Wake Forest, it was a headache because every play was a different formation with all types of motions and what not. Now FSU dominated the ACC and Wake had a hard time cracking the middle of the pack. However, I do not know how Wake would do if they ran a simple I-pro offense like FSU did. They may not have been able to do that in the ACC. All in all, IMO, you should look at your squad compared to your opponents (physically and mentally) and decide what needs to be done and if your players can handle what is going to be done. Keep up the great work!

As a defensive coordinator, I do not like multiple formations either, but only if they don't have any real tendencies to run specific plays out of them. Usually in high school they do.