Unbalanced Line?

[Paul Kian]

Hi fellow Coaches and Forumites,

I've been drawing up some interesting formations for my 7-man solitaire league, and it got me thinking about "converting" some of them for the 11-man game. In the 7-man formation, I'm making use of Unbalanced Lines, with the two Guards on the same side of the Center.

It got me thinking, have any of you experimented with any odd Offensive Line formations in Electric Football? I know I've seen a few guys keep their Tight Ends inline between the Split Ends as sort of defacto Sixth & Seventh Lineman, but what about "double-sided" Guards and Tackles? I can imagine the monsterous Sweeps, Counters, Traps, and even Bootleg Passes that would benefit from some Overloaded Beef up front. 😆

I've attached a couple of sample formations for illustration, so let me know if any of you have used something similar before and whether it seemed beneficial.

Thanks!

-PK

[Paul Kian]

I also couldn't forget about the Lonesome Polecat and Swinging Gate, now could I? 😁

[nefgm.org]

Yep!!. Single wing offenses often use right and left unbalanced line formations. I have used them in my Solitaire play. There is also an offensive attack called the A11. There was once a professional football league proposed around using this offense. Attached is a guide on this offensive system.

 a11flfanguide2014-7193.pdf   

[Paul Kian]

23 minutes ago, nefgm.org said:

Yep!!. Single wing offenses often use right and left unbalanced line formations. I have used them in my Solitaire play. There is also an offensive attack called the A11. There was once a professional football league proposed around using this offense. Attached is a guide on this offensive system.

  a11flfanguide2014-7193.pdf 2.76 MB · 0 downloads    

I remember this league- I was super excited to hear about a new Spring League with interesting rules, and then it just disappeared before ever playing a snap. I ended up getting into my local Indoor 8 man team shortly thereafter.

Interestingly, my state was one of the first to ban the A11 in High School play. When I was playing in HS, circa 2006-2008, I think we faced off against one school that used that Offense, but it could have actually been the Single or Double Wing the more I think about it- it was a pretty small school up in the mountains. (I don't remember any of my coaches specifically naming the formation, just that they ran a lot, had a lot of weird pre-snap shifts, and a lot of unbalanced set ups....and it should also be noted that I was the punter and kickoff specialist, so I wasn't exactly involved.) 😆

[WeeVikes]

I’ve been working on an offense, defense, formation, spreadsheet play generator I can use when playing solitaire and I’ve included unbalanced lines as a possible option.  
 

I also coached youth football for a long time and used them on O and prepared my teams for them on D.  I typically only shifted my OTs and referred to them as the “Super Tackle”. 

[RickLM30]

I played around with single wing (which as nefgm mentioned, uses an unbalanced line) back when I first started playing electric football.  It was fun, but eventually I tired of it and went with more conventional offenses.  I kind of feel like using an unbalalced line telegraphs where you are going to go and I don't want the defenses in my solitaire league to have an unfair advantage - Oh Wait! 😊

[Paul Kian]

Awesome, glad to see that I'm not alone in this thought process! Obviously I'm not planning to use this as a base formation or anything, but I'm always looking for wrinkles to keep in my playbook.

[zak99b5]

I had never heard of A11FL. It would’ve been interesting. 
 

unfortunately, I couldn’t use it in EF because I would never remember who were the interior linemen. I rely on the numbers and poses to know lol. 

[Paul Kian]

2 hours ago, zak99b5 said:

I had never heard of A11FL. It would’ve been interesting. 
 

unfortunately, I couldn’t use it in EF because I would never remember who were the interior linemen. I rely on the numbers and poses to know lol. 

Yeah, that's a good point. I think a proper EF version of the A11 would require the use of only Linebacker and All-purpose Figures, at least on Offense. The Linemen, Runners, and Sprinters would be too Specialized to really "fool" anyone and would probably have to be used on Defense only.

Then again, I'm just looking at aesthetics; there's no strict "rule" that says you can't send a Lineman fig downfield as a WR. In fact, I'm using Lineman figs as my Tight Ends and Fullbacks in my 7 man league.

[RickLM30]

1 hour ago, Paul Kian said:

Yeah, that's a good point. I think a proper EF version of the A11 would require the use of only Linebacker and All-purpose Figures, at least on Offense. The Linemen, Runners, and Sprinters would be too Specialized to really "fool" anyone and would probably have to be used on Defense only.

Then again, I'm just looking at aesthetics; there's no strict "rule" that says you can't send a Lineman fig downfield as a WR. In fact, I'm using Lineman figs as my Tight Ends and Fullbacks in my 7 man league.

Yup, you can use any figure at any position, really.  My third string tight ends are actually linemen figures, because I have so many of them.  I also used the all-purpose figures for linebackers and fullbacks at times (due to a lack of running back figures).  Whatever floats your boat will work. 

[Paul Kian]

3 minutes ago, RickLM30 said:

Yup, you can use any figure at any position, really.  My third string tight ends are actually linemen figures, because I have so many of them.  I also used the all-purpose figures for linebackers and fullbacks at times (due to a lack of running back figures).  Whatever floats your boat will work. 

Good points. I've ever considered using one of my broken legged TTQBs as a Tight End or Defensive Lineman- with a little heat-shaping and/or "Green Stuff" to make him less Quarterback-y, he'd be great for modeling those 6'8"+ monsters, like Mike Fox, Too Tall Jones, Levine Toilolo, Donald Parham, etc. (In a Big Man figure league of course.... otherwise he'd be around 7'6"). 😆

[zak99b5]

I use the all purpose player as the OTs. Spread-arm backer guy as QB and TE. 

seems they now recommend the backer as the OTs  

it may be a little unorthodox, but all my teams are configured this way.  Actually, the 1964 Tudor rule book calls the all purpose the tackle, and the backer a defensive back. 

[Paul Kian]

30 minutes ago, zak99b5 said:

I use the all purpose player as the OTs. Spread-arm backer guy as QB and TE. 

seems they now recommend the backer as the OTs  

it may be a little unorthodox, but all my teams are configured this way.  Actually, the 1964 Tudor rule book calls the all purpose the tackle, and the backer a defensive back. 

I have been wondering about that- to me, the All-Purp fig does look more like a Tackle in a slanted 2 point stance getting ready to drop back, and the Backer figure looks more like a Defensive Back or Coverage LB than a Blitzing Backer or OT/TE.

I guess strategically the wide arms help with encumbering Loopers and blitzing DBs, but my OCD still doesn't like it. 😆

Edited November 25, 2020 by Paul Kian

[RickLM30]

I tried using the all purpose figure as a tackle but I ended up not liking them in that position.  I had a lot of extra offensive linemen, so started using offensive linemen for all five offensive line positions.  That enabled me to move the all purpose figures to defensive ends and tackles.  I liked them there because their pose made it difficult for offensive guys to "snag" them as the play developed.  That's also why I never used the backer figures at linebacker and tight end. The original rule book I had from the 60s suggested they be used as defensive backs, so that's what i did.  I did try them later as tight ends and linebackers, but didn't like them there. They had a hard time getting into their pass routes, and as linebackers had problems when blitzing.  The backers looked more like defensive backs to me anyway, so I continued using them as corners and safeties - with their arms extended it makes it harder to pass against them.  Tight ends, flankers, and split ends have always been the sprinter figures for me. Just the way I do it, no right or wrong method.  As many have said in this forum, it doesn't matter how you do it as long as you are having fun doing it. 😊

[zak99b5]

Did anyone see the play the Giants ran on 4th and Goal, where the punter threw the ball to the center?  Basically an A11 play. 

[Paul Kian]

4 hours ago, zak99b5 said:

Did anyone see the play the Giants ran on 4th and Goal, where the punter threw the ball to the center?  Basically an A11 play. 

I caught a clip of it on YouTube. It was kind of an odd hybrid of the A11 and the classic Swinging Gate lol. I hope to see more, but successful this time. 😆