Often, when fans and pundits discuss football schemes, they focus on broad concepts like “systems.” They talk about whether a team runs a 4-3 or 3-4 defense or whether they use the Air Raid or West Coast offense. These are interesting topics and worthy of discussion.
The real work of a football staff, however, is not in deciding what system to use but in knowing how to employ their system situationally. Any loyal BTSC reader knows, for example, that although the Steelers continue to base out of a 3-4 defense, they are in a 2-4-5 configuration far more often.