Offensive Rut

I agree with Coach Mountjoy with the drastic changes comment. As far as bandaids for now, do you run any overload formations that can give you some numbers advantages vs blitzes? Also, if you have a wedge dive in your playbook, it can wear out a 33 if you can run it well. I've been in the situations where it looks like you have no answers, and sometimes, you simply don't. You have to have the athletes to run the scheme before the scheme will work. Doesn't matter if it's spread, power, wing-t, or option, if your athletes are not anywhere near theirs, you have problems that are beyond X's and O's.

One more thing to think about...the one place that you can get creative on a whim, so to speak, might be special teams. Be aggressive there. Run a couple of fakes, work your kick block game, work your on-sides kick, etc. If the situation presents itself, you can throw a wrench into the game that way.

Play action and screens can help keep the blitz off and is usually a little easier read for your qb if he can throw on the run. Counter is a nice play from the I if you are getting a fast flowing defense, but if they are getting a bunch of penetration you'll have trouble pulling. I can tell you from personal experience try to avoid adding a bunch of plays because you will just be not very good at a lot of different things. We have certainly had the years where we didn't have much on the field and tried to make up for it with 50 different plays and we just ran 50 different plays that all looked like crap. If you have any option plays that you can use the DE as a read it can take him out of the game and take care of a lot of that blitzing too. As far as the 3-5 the most success we've had is to run right at it. Good luck, I've been there.

Option vs a 3-3-5 is a tough play unless you block it right. It's a little different than working vs a 4 or 5-front. Veer is a great play to run if you are a veer team...it is not something you can install in a week, though...especially if you want to read it. Also, I don't think option is ever a great play unless you are using it as it is meant to be. If you want to run speed option, run speed option, but don't run an option meant to look like a triple if it is not a triple. You are only slowing yourself down.