7 Man League- 3 or 4 WRs?

[Paul Kian]

Hi fellow Coaches and Forumites,

I'm sure at this point you have all read about me blathering about my 7 man EF Solitaire League(s) that I'm hoping to have up and running by the end of the year, so I'll cut to the chase. In short, I have a minor dilemma that I was hoping you guys could give me some feedback about. 😁

When I was initially thinking of 7 man football, I had 7-on-7 Special Teams drills in mind: A Center, a Blocking Fullback, a Punter (or in this case, a Quarterback), and 4 WRs. Since there are 5 Eligible Receivers, this would theoretically open the field up for more passing, but reduce the Running Game to mostly End-Arounds, Jet-Sweeps, Reverses, FB Dives, and QB keepers.

Here are some basic rules of the "4 WR style":

* The Offense can have up to 3 Pass Blockers- the Center, Fullback, and a WR. 

* Only the C, FB, and QB can lineup between the hashmarks ("the Alley"); the WRs have to line up outside of the Alley.

* All players are Eligible Receivers except for the C and QB. 

* 3 Players must line up on the Line of Scrimmage - 2 WRs and the C; or 1 WR, the C and the FB.

* All players in the backfield can go in motion, as long as they do not Leave/Stop in the Alley, respective to their position.

* Offensive Alley Players can stack (i.e. Ace formation). WRs cannot stack.

* The Offense can have up to 3 WRs on the same side of the field.

 

However, if I were to go more true to an Indoor Football set up, there should be 2 Linemen, 1 Tight End/Fullback (herein, "Flexback"), 1 QB, and 3 WRs who can double as Running Backs. It would reduce the passing game to just 4 Eligible Receivers, but would allow more pass blocking protection, more options for the running game, and reduce the effectiveness of the Overload Blitz.

Here are some rules of the "3 WR style":

* The Offense must line up 3 players on the line- the 2 Linemen and either the Flexback or 1 WR (i.e. a Split End)

* The 3 WRs and the Flexback are the only Eligible Receivers.

* All players in the backfield can go in motion, including the Flexback if he is off-line.

* Only the Center, QB, and one additional Player can stack (i.e. the Ace formation or the Offset I-formation). The additional Player can be the Flexback or one of the WRs.

* WRs can line up however they wish as long as all other rules are followed.

 

The rules for the Defense would be the same regardless:

* The Defense has to line up 3 players in the Alley- they can do 1, 2, or 3 Linemen; and 1 or 2 Linebackers as desired.

* The Defense can rush up to 3 blitzers (any player, not just the "Alley" Players), but would run the risk of a quick dump pass, of getting burned on 1-on-1 Coverage, etc. 

* The Defense can cover with up to 6 players, but would run the risk of opening them up for the Running Game.

 

Any thoughts or preferences? I'm all ears. 😁

Thanks,

-PK

Edited September 13, 2020 by Paul Kian

[NO Dave]

I had a 7-man league for a while, had some fun with it. It featured all the teams from the movies, like the Miami Sharks, Washington Sentinels, and the Mean Machine. 

My rules for lineups were very similar to yours above. 4 eligible receivers on each play, and I added the stipulation that only one player (either LB or DB) could blitz per play, similar to Arena rules.

 

[Paul Kian]

5 hours ago, NO Dave said:

I had a 7-man league for a while, had some fun with it. It featured all the teams from the movies, like the Miami Sharks, Washington Sentinels, and the Mean Machine. 

My rules for lineups were very similar to yours above. 4 eligible receivers on each play, and I added the stipulation that only one player (either LB or DB) could blitz per play, similar to Arena rules.

 

Man, I haven't heard some of those names in awhile. I could use a good football movie night, so I might have to find a DVD of the Replacements on eBay. 😆

The biggest thing I want to do different than the AFL (R.I.P.) is to offer some variety in formations. I like how in the 11 man game you can do 4-3, 3-4, 5-2, I-formation, Emptyback, 3 TEs, etc with associated risks and benefits to each.

However, in most indoor leagues, the Defense is forced to only use the 3-2-3 and the Offense only gets to chose between 3 formations. To me, that restricts a lot of the creativity- not to mention kills any chance of cool trick plays and gadget formations (like the Swinging Gate or Tackle-Spread).

The more I look at it, the more I'm kind of leaning towards the 3 WR + 1 TE route, mainly because it would use more Fab 5 Linemen figures and fewer Sprinter/Runner figs on field per play. 🤔