With all of the buzz (good and bad) about 7-on-7’s taking place at the moment, we wanted to take a moment to highlight why this format should be in its proper perspective, but with some emphasizing of concepts during the summer that could completely change the course of games if players are comfortable with running the plays they wouldn’t be accustomed-to come the padded season. In other words, we want to try and show you that even run-heavy teams can succeed at this format of slinging it everywhere on the field, and perhaps use these exhaustive days in the heat to squeeze out a few more victories during the fall if these concepts can stick to the minds of the players.
Take for example three teams from this past weekend’s 9-Route tournament. East Bay, Newsome and Lake Gibson are all run-based teams that may have some different looks at doing the running, but trust they’re trying to pound the rock. Watching teams in 7-on-7’s that you already know are going to be at a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio in terms of attempts and yardage on the ground versus the air can be interesting to say the least, and they can be dangerous in this format since you really don’t HAVE TO HAVE a gunslinger at the QB position. You just need an accurate one.
East Bay ran for over 1,800 yards last season while managing to throw for 300 for a run-pass output ratio of 6:1. Newsome’s rushing totals were 2,200+ yards on the ground while throwing for 700 yards, and Lake Gibson while only having a 700-yard differential in their passing vs. throwing totals, their scoring ratio of ground vs. pass was 3:1 with the Braves rushing for 30 touchdowns and throwing for just ten.
The Indians went 4-2 overall during the day on Saturday while posting an impressive 3-1 record that earned themselves a 5-seed during the elimination phase. Newsome went 3-3, but their pool play could have been noticeably different if not for TWO one-point losses to Steinbrenner and TBT. Lake Gibson, of course went to the finals on Sunday, but in a slightly different method of getting to a 4-4 record after going just 1-3 in pool play.
These teams being able to function beyond an average consistency through the air could possibly translate into additional victories this season if the reps that took place sink-in. While the “air-raid” teams can certainly thrive in a setting like this, most often not than not these days those guys are finding themselves without marquee names due to national camps and 7-on tournaments giving the “others” a chance to show they can move the ball as well.