Coach -

Creating and maintaining an edge over the defense is a constant challenge in modern football. One innovative approach that has proven effective is "formation distortion." 

This technique presents unique pre-snap looks to the defense, gathers valuable information, and then exploits the discovered vulnerabilities.

Coach Corrill’s offenses excelled in his tenure as offensive coordinator at Mount St. Joseph, producing an average of 460 yards per game and 41.45 points per game. He has moved on and is now the offensive coordinator at NAIA Georgetown College. 

The Core Concept

Formation distortion involves making base offensive schemes appear different to the defense while retaining their fundamental principles. As Coach Corrill emphasizes, the goal is to keep the offense's basic teaching principles intact while creating the illusion of complexity for the defense. This approach allows an offense to stretch and layer its core concepts, making them versatile and difficult to predict.

 Principles of Formation Distortion

1. Present Unique Pictures to the Defense

One of the primary objectives of formation distortion is to present unique and varied formations to the defense. By doing so, the offense can gather pre-snap information critical for making more informed play-calling decisions. This tactic helps identify the defense's intentions and alignments, allowing the offense to adjust accordingly.

2. Blend Run and Pass Concepts

Coach Corrill highlights the importance of blending run and pass concepts to make them look similar to the defense. This blending confuses the defense, making distinguishing between a run or pass play based on the formation alone harder. For example, an offense might use similar motions and alignments for both run and pass plays, keeping the defense guessing and off-balance.

3. Utilize Tags Within Pass Concepts

Tagging within pass concepts is a powerful tool in formation distortion. Adding tags to familiar pass plays allows the offense to extend and vary these concepts without changing their core principles. However, it is crucial to maintain the integrity of the original concept. Once the progression in a pass concept changes significantly, it becomes a new play, requiring additional practice time and coaching.

4. Dictate the Tempo

Formation distortion also controls the tempo of the game. While high-tempo offenses can catch defenses off guard, altering formations can achieve a similar effect without always needing to play at a breakneck speed. By distorting formations, the offense regains the advantage before the snap, dictating the "rules of engagement" and creating a more calculated pace.

Coach Corrill introduces his philosophy of formation distortion in this video:

Video: Formation Distortion

Practical Applications

The above graphic lists the many tools that can be utilized in formation distortion. Let’s look at how Empty is used as one of those tools.

Empty Formations with Varying Personnel

One effective use of formation distortion is deploying empty formations with different personnel groupings. Traditionally, empty formations might involve five wide receivers, but offenses can use any personnel group to achieve the same effect. This approach forces the defense to reveal whether they intend to blitz or cover, providing the offense with crucial information to exploit mismatches and isolate favorable matchups.

The Juke Concept

A classic example of formation distortion in action is the Juke concept. In this scenario, the offense isolates the middle linebacker (Mike) by creating space for a receiver to run a jerk route. By distorting the formation, such as using stacked or bunched sets, the offense forces the Mike Linebacker into a coverage situation where he is less comfortable. This creates an advantageous isolation that the offense can exploit for significant yardage.

Here’s Coach Corrill illustrating the Juke Concept on game film in this video:

Video: Empty Juke

Formation distortion is a sophisticated yet practical approach to modern offensive football. By presenting unique pre-snap pictures, blending run and pass concepts, using tags, and controlling the tempo, offenses can maintain their core principles while keeping the defense uncertain. 

This technique maximizes the offense's efficiency and enhances its explosive potential, making it a formidable strategy in any coach's playbook. As Coach Corrill aptly puts it, "We don't think outside the box. We make a new box," continuously pushing the envelope to find newer, better solutions without imposing unnecessary restrictions.

Don't miss Season 2 of Coach Corrill's Podcast - Student of the Game on The Coach and Coordinator Network.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski

P.S. Coach Corrill has presented at Lauren's First and Goal and the D3 Top 25 Clinic. Here is a bundle of his presentations: Mastering Advanced Passing Game Tactics. Save 53%