Best of Game Play Thursday : Personnel Groups (Pt 2)

I’ll be taking a few weeks off from posting new content to gear up for the upcoming season (!!!), but since there’s a whole bunch of content that kind of whizzed by this past year, I’ll be reposting some of the best and brightest until we resume again in time for preseason in early August. If you need to get in touch in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Last week we started breaking down the concept of personnel groups, a concept that will completely revolutionize how you view who’s on the field and what’s going on, and today we’re going to break it down even more.

If you’re going to tackle a piece of football knowledge pre-playoffs, this is it! It’ll be your most enjoyable post-season yet!

Ok, so just a quick review: personnel groups are identified by the number of running backs and tight ends on the field on a given play – in that order: running backs and then tight ends – and wide receivers aren’t counted. So on a play that contains 2 running backs, 1 tight end, and 2 wide receivers we know that a 21 personnel group is on the field: 2 is the number of runnings backs, 1 is the number of tight ends, and wide receivers aren’t included in the personnel group.

But even though they aren’t verbally named, since we know that only 5 running backs/tight ends/wide receivers are on the field at one time (because only 11 players are allowed on the field from each unit and 6 postions are occupied by the offensive line andquarterback, so that leaves 5 spots of skill players) we know how many wide receivers are on the field based on the personnel group. If it’s 11 personnel – 1 running back and 1 tight end – that means there are 3 wide receivers on the field (2 spot are taken in the personnel group, which leaves room for 3 wide receivers).

Got it? I’m sure you do!

Now, it’s one thing to know what the whole personnel group system means, it’s another to be able to identify the players on the field. That’s what we’re going to do today.

There are three ways to know who is on the field at any given time:

1. Know your team! The easiest way to know who’s on the field is to know the players on the team you love. If you know the depth chart – who plays each position – you’ll know what personnel group is on the field by the players who are in the huddle.

2. Know the jersey numbers. If you are watching a game against teams you aren’t as familiar with, it’s helpful to know which jersey numbers are assigned to each position so you can use jerseys, not the players you know, to determine which players are on the field and what the personnel group is. Keep this handy until you know it well:

  • Quarterbacks and kickers wear from 1 to 19.
  • Running backs and defensive backs wear from 20 to 49.
  • Linebackers wear from 50 to 59 or 90 to 99.
  • Offensive linemen wear from 50 to 79.
  • Defensive linemen wear from 60 to 79 or 90 to 99.
  • Receivers wear from 10 to 19 or 80 to 89.

This isn’t concrete – sometimes players are allowed to wear numbers outside of their position (like Bear’s WR Devin Hester, who wears 23) – but by and large you can decipher a player’s position by their uniform number.

3. Know where plays (usually) line up. This one can be tremendously helpful but also tremendously tricky, because players line up all over the place and sometimes line up out of position. But in general, you can usually tell which players are on the field by where they line up. Here’s a standard formation:

football, advanced, personnel

 

IN GENERAL:

  • The tight end lines up close to the offensive line (and occasionally midfield)
  • The wide receivers line up on the outside of the formation
  • The running backs line up in the backfield (and occasionally midfield)

So in this formation, we have 1 running back, 1 tight end, and 3 wide receivers. So what personnel group is out on the field?

You got it! It’s the 11 personnel group.

Ok, now let’s put all of your hard-earned smarts to the test. Here are five examples of offensive formations. Take a look, decide which personnel group is in, and leave your answers in the comments! I can’t wait to see how you do, but most of all, I can’t wait for you to embrace this information and run with it!

Ready? Set? GO!

Example 1:

football, advanced, personnel

Example 2:

football, advanced, personnel

Example 3:

football, advanced, personnel

Example 4:

football, advanced, personnel

Example 5:

football, advanced, personnel

And if you have any questions, leave those in the comments, too! Anything goes!

Originally posted here on December 27, 2012

Best of Game Play Thursday : Personnel Groups (Pt 1)

I’ll be taking a few weeks off from posting new content to gear up for the upcoming season (!!!), but since there’s a whole bunch of content that kind of whizzed by this past year, I’ll be reposting some of the best and brightest until we resume again in time for preseason in early August. If you need to get in touch in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

When I learned about personnel groups earlier this year, it blew my mind.

All of a sudden I knew who was on the field and how to refer to them! I knew what people were talking about when they talked about personnel! It felt amazing. And that’s the feeling I want all of you to have, one step at a time!

Ok, ready? Let’s dive in!

Remember everyone on offense? The quarterback throws the ball, the offensive line (5 players) protect him, and the skill/position players – tight ends, running backs, and wide receivers – advance the ball forward. There can only be 11 players on the field from each unit (offense, defense, special teams) at a time, so we know that between the quarterback and the offensive line there are 6 players, which leaves for 5 skill position players.

The skill position players are the players referred to in “personnel groups.” You might have heard teams like “21 personnel” or having the “11 personnel group” on the field.

Personnel Groups are identified by the number of running backs and tight ends on the field on a given play – in that order running backs and then tight ends – and wide receivers aren’t counted. Each position can only have a certain number of players on the field at one time – there can only be at most 3 running backs, 3 tight ends, or 5 wide receivers (but not all at the same time, since there are only room for 5 players plus the QB and O-line).

Ok, now we get to do a little personnel group math. But don’t worry, it’s not like algebra. It’s more like first grade math.

A personnel group consists of two numbers.

The first number refers to the number of running backs on the field.

The second number refers to the number of tight ends on the field.

From those two numbers, we know how many wide receivers are on the field.

So let’s say there are two running backs on the field and two tight ends on the field. That would be a 22 personnel group. And since we know that there are two running backs and two tight ends on the field and there need to be five total skill players on the field, that means there is one wide receiver on the field.

Make sense?

Here’s another example: if there are 3 RB’s and 1 TE, that’s a 31 Personnel Group. And since there are only 4 players in the Personnel Group, that means there is 1 WR on the field.

Ready for some quick fire examples? I know you are!

  • 2 RB’s + 1 TE = 21 Personnel
    • This means: there are 2 WR’s on the play (leftover count from the 5 men on O-line, QB, and 21 Personnel)
  • 1 RB + 2 TE’s = 12 Personnel
    • This means: there are 2 WR’s on the play (same as above)
  • 2 RB’s + 2 TE’s = 22 Personnel
    • This means: there is 1 WR on the play
  • 3 RB’s + 0 TE’s = 30 Personnel
    • This means: there are 2 WR’s on the play

The personnel group on the field usually gives clues as to whether the offense will run or pass. If there are lots of running backs on the field, then it’s probably a running play. If there are a lot of wide receivers on the field, then it’s probably a passing play. But beware! It’s in a team’s best interest to mix things up – to pass on a 22 Personnel or to run on a 10 Personnel – just to confuse the defense. Knowing the personnel groups doesn’t automatically lead to knowing the play, but it will help in determining the team’s game plan.

Another trick to note: the personnel groups are based on which personnel is IN THE HUDDLE – not necessarily how they line up/are utilized in the play (let’s say, if a TE lined up as WR, etc).

How are you feeling? Confident? Mixed up? Questions and concerns? Let me know in the comments because next week, we’re going to revisit this post and break it down a little bit more. We’ll talk about how to identify running backs and tight ends and wide receivers on the field and in the huddle so you know how to calculate the personnel group a little more precisely.

Until then, go practice! Have fun! Enjoy being in the know!

Originally posted here on December 20, 2012