This guide will help new those new to Pee-Wee, new to being an OC(offensive coordinator), or those who have struggled with the offense in Pee-Wee. This is only an entry level guide, so it will only cover the basics and won’t help you against Gold or upper level Silver teams as they should already know everything in this guide.
Unlike defense, you can’t create your own offensive plays, so your job as an OC is only to pick which CPU offensive plays to call and when, and also which players to use. Sounds simple, but it’s far from it. Yes you can setup a base offense and ride it all season. While that might get you to the playoffs, it won’t get you much past that. A good OC is also a good Scout because you have to scout the other team’s defense to know which plays will be the most effective against them and when to use those plays. Any good OC needs to understand the basics of Pee-Wee defenses, so if you are not good with them, I would suggest you read my Defensive Guide which should give you enough info to help you here.
Before you start to scout defenses, you need to know how to setup a basic offense. I am a fan of using packages with the O-AI(Offensive AI), so I will show you how to set that up. Packages are groups of different offensive CPU plays. Which plays you put into them and how often they are called are up to you. Packages can be setup in many different ways, and often setup using the same logic as your O-AI settings. So you can have packages set to call plays based on which down it is, how far until the 1st down, what the difference is in score, different types of plays, etc. The more advanced your O-AI gets, the more packages you will likely need, so it’s best to start simple. It’s hard to just tell you how to do things since there are so many ways to do it, so I will show you what I did when I first started and once you understand that, you can expand it on your own.
When I first started, I only had 3 packages with about 6-10 plays in each, those being Favorite Passes, Favorite Outside Runs, and Favorite Inside Runs. My O-AI also started simple, I punted on all 4th downs and called the different packages depending on how far I was from the 1st down, no matter what down it was. For example, if I had 10+ yards until the 1st down, I might call 40% passing package, 40% outside run package, and 20% inside run package. On the flip side, if I had less than 5 yards, I would probably call the inside run package 80% with the other two called 10% each. This setup required only 3 packages and a minimal number of entries in the O-AI, which was good as I was a rank beginner and thus would be a good start for those brand new to the offensive side of things.
When I scouted a team, I adjusted the plays I called within my packages and then adjusted the % that I called those packages from within the O-AI. For example, say I played a team that used a CPU defense; I would use a lot of QB Rollouts and HB Sweeps in my outside running package, and then would call that package a lot more often from within the O-AI. Then say I faced a team that always blitzed their FS/SS from the sides, which I know is done to stop outside runs. For this, I would setup my O-AI so it didn’t call the outside running package at all, and expand the plays for my passing and inside running packages.
That was my starting offense in Copper, but I soon discovered it wasn’t good enough to get me to the championship, so over my 1st season in Copper I slowed added to it. For example, I added options for down specific plays, going for it on 4th down, going for it when within FG range as time was running out on 1st-3rd down, airing it out if down, etc. The point here is to start simple and once you have a firm grasp on what you have in place, slowly expand it. Got to learn to walk before you can run!
Nothing says you have to setup your initial offense like I did. You can do many different things with both the packages and O-AI. You really don’t even need to use packages, but I would recommend it as you would have a lot of entries under the O-AI settings and that could get confusing. The important thing is to make sure you fully understand what you have in place and then start to expand it.
In Pee-Wee, rushing is king, so you want your team built well for rushing. That means a strong offensive line and a couple of different HB’s, and a good blocking FB & TE. However, you don’t want to rush 100% of the time because a defense would notice that and setup for as an anti-rushing defense against you. You want to keep defenses honest, so its’ important to mix things up. If you call the same couple plays over and over again, the DC’s on other teams will notice. Find a good core set of plays, but also find some good secondary plays that you call as well. To help you figure out which formations and rushing plays work best, below is an outline of the different formations and some of the more popular plays out of them.
Formations:
Strong-I = great formation as you have 3 of the more popular running plays, the Strong Slam, the Strong Off-Tackle, and the Strong Sweep. You also have several weak side runs so the defense doesn’t always see you running to the strong side. There are also QB runs, both inside and outside, as well as a wide variety of passes. This is a formation you want to use often. Grade A.
Weak-I = While some people like this formation, I don’t. You don’t have any QB or FB rushing plays, and only 5 total HB rushes. Plus you don’t have a lot of different passing plays. While I wouldn’t skip this formation, I wouldn’t use plays from it heavily as it’s easy for a defense to stack against it. Grade C.
I-Formation = another great formation like the Strong-I, but even better as it’s very balanced in the plays it calls. By that I mean a lot of the rushing plays mirror themselves to both the strong and weak side, which makes it harder for a defense to stack against one side. This formation has their version of the 3 popular plays that Strong-I does, which are the Strong Slam, Strong Off-Tackle, and Strong Sweep. Though these are not quite as good as the Strong-I versions, the fact that you have several good weak side runs means less of a chance the defense stacks the strong side like the so often do against the Strong-I formation, so these plays often do just as well. Like the Strong-I, this formation has several QB runs and has some of the best passing plays as well. Grade A.
Pro-Set = this is an OK formation. It has the best sweep play of all, but most of its plays are for a speedback as it has next to no power inside rushing attack. It has no QB runs and only a couple FB runs. Passes are average at best. Like the Weak-I, I wouldn’t skip this formation, but I wouldn’t use a lot of plays form it. Grade C.
Singleback = like the I-Form, this is a very balanced formation, even more so than the I-Form. Almost every rushing play has both a strong side and weak side version. Only problem is you have no lead blocker, so once your rusher is by the LoS(line of scrimmage), the first defender will likely bring you down. Thus as a rushing formation, I think it’s decent. Passing is where it’s at here as there are a lot of passes and you also have QB runs. Grade B.
Shotgun-3WR = this is a good passing formation, but a poor rushing formation as most of the rushing plays are poorly designed and often result in negative yardage. It does have a lot of nice passing plays, but expect a defense to be in a passing defense when you use it. Grade C.
Shotgun-5WR = same as the 3WR version, but with better passing and lesser rushing. It does have some QB runs which make it decent in the rushing area, but generally expect defenses to be in a pure passing defense with a QB Spy. Grade C.
Goal Line = this is a great option because most teams use a CPU defense for this. If you do your scouting and notice this, I would use the plays from this at times. Just remember that there are only 3 total rushing plays and no passes out of this formation, so a good defense can stack against those plays. Grade B .
Most popular rushing plays by formation:
Strong-I:
HB Slam = This is the bread and butter play of many better teams. Even if you stack against it, this play will still likely net a 2-3 YPC(yards per carry) average.
HB Off Tackle = If you have a good blocking TE, will likely perform the same as the Slam. Another bread and butter plays for many teams.
HB Sweep Strong = 2nd best sweep in the game. If you catch the defense in a pass defense, this could easily go the distance.
QB Rollout Weak = Probably the most popular QB Rollout play because most defenses stack against the strong side leaving the weak side exposed. It sometimes even works when there is a blitzing FS/CB from the weak side.
Weak-I:
Weak I HB Slam = Same as the Strong-I slam, just to the weak side. Another bread and butter play for many teams.
HB Sweep Weak = 3rd best sweep in the game. Has fewer defenders because it goes to the weak side, so has the highest potential to go the distance of any sweep.
I-Form:
HB Slam(either direction) = A very good Slam play that can go either direction. Not as effective as the SI or WI slam plays, but very effective because it can go to either side.
Off Tackle = If you have a good blocking TE, will likely perform the same as the Slam.
HB Sweep Strong = 4th best sweep in the game. The other sweeps are stronger, but considering that you often face a more balanced defense in this formation, that means this sweep often out performs the other sweeps in average YPC.
QB Sneak Left = Best QB run period. Will always gain positive yardage, but only 1-2 YPC against a stacked inside defense. However, I have seen teams pound this play and it does break a big one every once in a while. This play has won many a game for good teams because most defenses don’t respect it as much as a HB run. This is a great 1st & 10 play because worst case scenario is you are faced with 2nd & 9. Just remember to use a rushing QB for this, regular passing QB’s won’t be fast enough to gain more than a yard.
Pro-Set:
HB Sweep = Best sweep in the game based on YPC, but least likely to break a big one as this is really the only big play out of this formation, so teams will be stacked against it.
Singleback:
HB Dive(either direction) = Using your speedback for this, you can often get by the LoS and if you face a slow MLB, you have a chance of getting around them and going for the distance. Decent YPC, but good potential for a TD run pending on the defense.
HB Outside Handoff = This is the SB’s version of the Off Tackle, but it likes to bounce outside of the TE. If a team is stacked against the wide outside runs and inside runs, there is often a gap here for this near outside run and it’s burned many a team for a TD, including me. Remember to use your speedback here.
QB Rollout Rush(either direction) = Great option if you can catch the defense in a pass defense, which happens often as the Singleback formation is known as more of a passing formation.
Shotgun-3WR:
HB Handoff = This is really the only decent rushing play out of this formation and if you can catch the defense in a passing defense, you can get a good YPC if you use your speedback.
Shotgun-5WR:
QB Rollout Rush(either direction) = Since this is a pure passing formation, it often pays off to rush your QB as the other team is often in a pure passing defense.
Goal Line:
HB Sting = This is just a basic Slam out of the Goal Line defense. Reason this works well is because you have so many blockers, so your YPC is decent.
HB Off Tackle = If you use your speedback, you have a chance of going the distance because most teams just use the CPU Goal Line defense and if you can get into the backfield, you sometimes can go the distance.
General tips(some repeated from above):
1. While rushing is king in Pee-Wee, you need to keep defenses honest, so pass at least 20% of the time, but no more than 40%.
2. Make sure at least 20% of your runs are opposite direction runs. By that I mean run to the weak side in the Strong-I form, strong side in the Weak-I, etc. This helps stop defenses from stacking one side.
3. Create a Catch-All entry at the bottom of your O-AI in the general area so if for any reason your logic has errors and your O-AI entries are skipped, this one will trigger. Best to use your inside rushing packages here.
4. Speedbacks rush just as well inside as powerbacks if they have a good leading blocker, but the opposite isn’t true until later in the season when your powerbacks get some speed.
5. Always go for it on 4th & 1 because if you have a good OL(offensive line) and a good powerback, you should be able to pick that up every time using one of the better Slam plays(WI-Slam, SI-Slam, GL-Sting).
6. Punting isn’t that great in Pee-Wee, especially early on, so I would go for it on 4th & Short-Medium if you are at least at mid field.
7. A quick scouting trick is to use the scouting tool and see what other teams have done against the defense you are about to face and use the plays with the highest YPC average. Watching game film is much better as the scouting tool can give you deceiving results, so use at your own risk.
8. Pair up your HB’s with the proper blockers. A strength based FB is NOT a good lead blocker for a speedback on a sweep. You generally want a strength based FB & TE in when you use your powerback and a speed based FB & TE when you use your speedback.
9. If you have a rushing QB, don’t only rush with them, throw some shorter passes with them so teams can’t tag them and only call rushing plays when they are in.
10. If you face a CPU defense, just hit them with sweeps and QB Rollouts all day, they can’t stop those.
I am sure a lot of people will chime in here as I only scratched the surface of setting up a good Pee-Wee offense. Some also might not agree with me on some of my formation comments or think I left out some of the better plays in a specific formation, so please, by all means, post those below.
Unlike defense, you can’t create your own offensive plays, so your job as an OC is only to pick which CPU offensive plays to call and when, and also which players to use. Sounds simple, but it’s far from it. Yes you can setup a base offense and ride it all season. While that might get you to the playoffs, it won’t get you much past that. A good OC is also a good Scout because you have to scout the other team’s defense to know which plays will be the most effective against them and when to use those plays. Any good OC needs to understand the basics of Pee-Wee defenses, so if you are not good with them, I would suggest you read my Defensive Guide which should give you enough info to help you here.
Before you start to scout defenses, you need to know how to setup a basic offense. I am a fan of using packages with the O-AI(Offensive AI), so I will show you how to set that up. Packages are groups of different offensive CPU plays. Which plays you put into them and how often they are called are up to you. Packages can be setup in many different ways, and often setup using the same logic as your O-AI settings. So you can have packages set to call plays based on which down it is, how far until the 1st down, what the difference is in score, different types of plays, etc. The more advanced your O-AI gets, the more packages you will likely need, so it’s best to start simple. It’s hard to just tell you how to do things since there are so many ways to do it, so I will show you what I did when I first started and once you understand that, you can expand it on your own.
When I first started, I only had 3 packages with about 6-10 plays in each, those being Favorite Passes, Favorite Outside Runs, and Favorite Inside Runs. My O-AI also started simple, I punted on all 4th downs and called the different packages depending on how far I was from the 1st down, no matter what down it was. For example, if I had 10+ yards until the 1st down, I might call 40% passing package, 40% outside run package, and 20% inside run package. On the flip side, if I had less than 5 yards, I would probably call the inside run package 80% with the other two called 10% each. This setup required only 3 packages and a minimal number of entries in the O-AI, which was good as I was a rank beginner and thus would be a good start for those brand new to the offensive side of things.
When I scouted a team, I adjusted the plays I called within my packages and then adjusted the % that I called those packages from within the O-AI. For example, say I played a team that used a CPU defense; I would use a lot of QB Rollouts and HB Sweeps in my outside running package, and then would call that package a lot more often from within the O-AI. Then say I faced a team that always blitzed their FS/SS from the sides, which I know is done to stop outside runs. For this, I would setup my O-AI so it didn’t call the outside running package at all, and expand the plays for my passing and inside running packages.
That was my starting offense in Copper, but I soon discovered it wasn’t good enough to get me to the championship, so over my 1st season in Copper I slowed added to it. For example, I added options for down specific plays, going for it on 4th down, going for it when within FG range as time was running out on 1st-3rd down, airing it out if down, etc. The point here is to start simple and once you have a firm grasp on what you have in place, slowly expand it. Got to learn to walk before you can run!
Nothing says you have to setup your initial offense like I did. You can do many different things with both the packages and O-AI. You really don’t even need to use packages, but I would recommend it as you would have a lot of entries under the O-AI settings and that could get confusing. The important thing is to make sure you fully understand what you have in place and then start to expand it.
In Pee-Wee, rushing is king, so you want your team built well for rushing. That means a strong offensive line and a couple of different HB’s, and a good blocking FB & TE. However, you don’t want to rush 100% of the time because a defense would notice that and setup for as an anti-rushing defense against you. You want to keep defenses honest, so its’ important to mix things up. If you call the same couple plays over and over again, the DC’s on other teams will notice. Find a good core set of plays, but also find some good secondary plays that you call as well. To help you figure out which formations and rushing plays work best, below is an outline of the different formations and some of the more popular plays out of them.
Formations:
Strong-I = great formation as you have 3 of the more popular running plays, the Strong Slam, the Strong Off-Tackle, and the Strong Sweep. You also have several weak side runs so the defense doesn’t always see you running to the strong side. There are also QB runs, both inside and outside, as well as a wide variety of passes. This is a formation you want to use often. Grade A.
Weak-I = While some people like this formation, I don’t. You don’t have any QB or FB rushing plays, and only 5 total HB rushes. Plus you don’t have a lot of different passing plays. While I wouldn’t skip this formation, I wouldn’t use plays from it heavily as it’s easy for a defense to stack against it. Grade C.
I-Formation = another great formation like the Strong-I, but even better as it’s very balanced in the plays it calls. By that I mean a lot of the rushing plays mirror themselves to both the strong and weak side, which makes it harder for a defense to stack against one side. This formation has their version of the 3 popular plays that Strong-I does, which are the Strong Slam, Strong Off-Tackle, and Strong Sweep. Though these are not quite as good as the Strong-I versions, the fact that you have several good weak side runs means less of a chance the defense stacks the strong side like the so often do against the Strong-I formation, so these plays often do just as well. Like the Strong-I, this formation has several QB runs and has some of the best passing plays as well. Grade A.
Pro-Set = this is an OK formation. It has the best sweep play of all, but most of its plays are for a speedback as it has next to no power inside rushing attack. It has no QB runs and only a couple FB runs. Passes are average at best. Like the Weak-I, I wouldn’t skip this formation, but I wouldn’t use a lot of plays form it. Grade C.
Singleback = like the I-Form, this is a very balanced formation, even more so than the I-Form. Almost every rushing play has both a strong side and weak side version. Only problem is you have no lead blocker, so once your rusher is by the LoS(line of scrimmage), the first defender will likely bring you down. Thus as a rushing formation, I think it’s decent. Passing is where it’s at here as there are a lot of passes and you also have QB runs. Grade B.
Shotgun-3WR = this is a good passing formation, but a poor rushing formation as most of the rushing plays are poorly designed and often result in negative yardage. It does have a lot of nice passing plays, but expect a defense to be in a passing defense when you use it. Grade C.
Shotgun-5WR = same as the 3WR version, but with better passing and lesser rushing. It does have some QB runs which make it decent in the rushing area, but generally expect defenses to be in a pure passing defense with a QB Spy. Grade C.
Goal Line = this is a great option because most teams use a CPU defense for this. If you do your scouting and notice this, I would use the plays from this at times. Just remember that there are only 3 total rushing plays and no passes out of this formation, so a good defense can stack against those plays. Grade B .
Most popular rushing plays by formation:
Strong-I:
HB Slam = This is the bread and butter play of many better teams. Even if you stack against it, this play will still likely net a 2-3 YPC(yards per carry) average.
HB Off Tackle = If you have a good blocking TE, will likely perform the same as the Slam. Another bread and butter plays for many teams.
HB Sweep Strong = 2nd best sweep in the game. If you catch the defense in a pass defense, this could easily go the distance.
QB Rollout Weak = Probably the most popular QB Rollout play because most defenses stack against the strong side leaving the weak side exposed. It sometimes even works when there is a blitzing FS/CB from the weak side.
Weak-I:
Weak I HB Slam = Same as the Strong-I slam, just to the weak side. Another bread and butter play for many teams.
HB Sweep Weak = 3rd best sweep in the game. Has fewer defenders because it goes to the weak side, so has the highest potential to go the distance of any sweep.
I-Form:
HB Slam(either direction) = A very good Slam play that can go either direction. Not as effective as the SI or WI slam plays, but very effective because it can go to either side.
Off Tackle = If you have a good blocking TE, will likely perform the same as the Slam.
HB Sweep Strong = 4th best sweep in the game. The other sweeps are stronger, but considering that you often face a more balanced defense in this formation, that means this sweep often out performs the other sweeps in average YPC.
QB Sneak Left = Best QB run period. Will always gain positive yardage, but only 1-2 YPC against a stacked inside defense. However, I have seen teams pound this play and it does break a big one every once in a while. This play has won many a game for good teams because most defenses don’t respect it as much as a HB run. This is a great 1st & 10 play because worst case scenario is you are faced with 2nd & 9. Just remember to use a rushing QB for this, regular passing QB’s won’t be fast enough to gain more than a yard.
Pro-Set:
HB Sweep = Best sweep in the game based on YPC, but least likely to break a big one as this is really the only big play out of this formation, so teams will be stacked against it.
Singleback:
HB Dive(either direction) = Using your speedback for this, you can often get by the LoS and if you face a slow MLB, you have a chance of getting around them and going for the distance. Decent YPC, but good potential for a TD run pending on the defense.
HB Outside Handoff = This is the SB’s version of the Off Tackle, but it likes to bounce outside of the TE. If a team is stacked against the wide outside runs and inside runs, there is often a gap here for this near outside run and it’s burned many a team for a TD, including me. Remember to use your speedback here.
QB Rollout Rush(either direction) = Great option if you can catch the defense in a pass defense, which happens often as the Singleback formation is known as more of a passing formation.
Shotgun-3WR:
HB Handoff = This is really the only decent rushing play out of this formation and if you can catch the defense in a passing defense, you can get a good YPC if you use your speedback.
Shotgun-5WR:
QB Rollout Rush(either direction) = Since this is a pure passing formation, it often pays off to rush your QB as the other team is often in a pure passing defense.
Goal Line:
HB Sting = This is just a basic Slam out of the Goal Line defense. Reason this works well is because you have so many blockers, so your YPC is decent.
HB Off Tackle = If you use your speedback, you have a chance of going the distance because most teams just use the CPU Goal Line defense and if you can get into the backfield, you sometimes can go the distance.
General tips(some repeated from above):
1. While rushing is king in Pee-Wee, you need to keep defenses honest, so pass at least 20% of the time, but no more than 40%.
2. Make sure at least 20% of your runs are opposite direction runs. By that I mean run to the weak side in the Strong-I form, strong side in the Weak-I, etc. This helps stop defenses from stacking one side.
3. Create a Catch-All entry at the bottom of your O-AI in the general area so if for any reason your logic has errors and your O-AI entries are skipped, this one will trigger. Best to use your inside rushing packages here.
4. Speedbacks rush just as well inside as powerbacks if they have a good leading blocker, but the opposite isn’t true until later in the season when your powerbacks get some speed.
5. Always go for it on 4th & 1 because if you have a good OL(offensive line) and a good powerback, you should be able to pick that up every time using one of the better Slam plays(WI-Slam, SI-Slam, GL-Sting).
6. Punting isn’t that great in Pee-Wee, especially early on, so I would go for it on 4th & Short-Medium if you are at least at mid field.
7. A quick scouting trick is to use the scouting tool and see what other teams have done against the defense you are about to face and use the plays with the highest YPC average. Watching game film is much better as the scouting tool can give you deceiving results, so use at your own risk.
8. Pair up your HB’s with the proper blockers. A strength based FB is NOT a good lead blocker for a speedback on a sweep. You generally want a strength based FB & TE in when you use your powerback and a speed based FB & TE when you use your speedback.
9. If you have a rushing QB, don’t only rush with them, throw some shorter passes with them so teams can’t tag them and only call rushing plays when they are in.
10. If you face a CPU defense, just hit them with sweeps and QB Rollouts all day, they can’t stop those.
I am sure a lot of people will chime in here as I only scratched the surface of setting up a good Pee-Wee offense. Some also might not agree with me on some of my formation comments or think I left out some of the better plays in a specific formation, so please, by all means, post those below.
Edited by Gerr on Jan 28, 2010 14:25:35
Edited by Gerr on Jan 28, 2010 13:27:48
