If you want to stress defenses without adding plays,
use formations.
Formations change math.
Plays just execute it.
How Formations Create Advantage
Formations:
Force defensive adjustments
Expose alignment issues
Create leverage without changing assignments
This is a major advantage of systems like the Gun T, where formations are built around the same core rules.
👉 https://fbcoachsimpson.com/gun-t-system
Teaching Formations the Right Way
The key isn’t volume — it’s tagging and consistency.
Good systems:
Keep blocking rules the same
Move people, not responsibilities
Let players recognize space
What Coaches Are Learning
When formations are taught well:
Kids play faster
Defenses tip coverage
Play callers gain flexibility
This is something that’s much easier to explain and demo in person, which is why we emphasize it at clinics.
👉 https://fbcoachsimpson.com/guntclinic
Final Thought
Formations don’t replace fundamentals.
They reveal them.
If you want the formations themselves rather than the argument for them, 98 Shotgun Wing Formations is the book, and the Formation book bundle adds the unbalanced and power gun sets on top of it.