This is part 4 of a 4 part series on how the USAFL reinvented itself 50 seasons ago. Today…

A NEW ERA…
How Offenses and Defenses Have Changed Over the Last 50 Seasons

One thing is for sure in the USAFL, nothing ever much stays the same. Whether it is a record 10 teams making coaching changes in a given season (2026) or zero teams making coaching changes (2023), dynasties come and go, coaching styles are in vogue one year and out the next, and players and teams every now and then put up astonishing single game, single season or career performances (see Page 2 for the fantastic compilation of statistical milestones compiled by Houston Texans' GM Patrick Sicher). But to step back and study the first 50 seasons that the USAFL schemes were in use gives one an opportunity to more fully appreciate the league, its foresight and evolution.

OFFENSE
Over the course of 50 seasons in an 18-team league, a total of 900 coaching choices are made on a season-by-season basis by league GMs. It's no surprise to even the casual USAFL observer that the preferred offensive scheme over the last 50 seasons has been the WEST COAST offense, employed nearly 40% of the time. The SPREAD offense has been utilized the least by GMs, just a little over 4% of the time. There is genuine balance of use for the remaining 4 schemes available to GMs in the league. 

Looking at scheme preferences over the course of 50 seasons though does not tell the whole story, and as one takes a look at the trends over the last 50 seasons distinct trends, eras, comebacks and extinctions of certain coaching styles is evident. 

	THE WEST COAST OFFENSE
	... has steadily gained in popularity, used by a record 10 of 18 teams in the late 40's and early 50's and used by nearly half of all teams in the last decade.
	THE PRO-SET OFFENSE
	... was a staple of many teams in the 1st quarter of the century, being used by nearly 1 out of every 3 teams in the 2010-2019 decade (the most of any scheme), and even made a slight comeback in the 30's as the predominant offensive choice of GMs not employing the WEST COAST offense, but has only been used by roughly 8% of the league for the past 20 years. It is making a slight comeback though once again, as 3 teams have used the offense in each of the last 3 seasons, the most since 2039.
	THE SPREAD OFFENSE
	... had its strongest grasp on the league in the 30's as well, being used by over 7% of teams over that 10-year stretch, the highest usage rate for the scheme in any given decade since their introduction. A USAFL team has not employed an offensive coach favoring the SPREAD offense since 2052.
	THE K-GUN OFFENSE
	... took some time to catch on, but was used at an increasing rate during the first 4 decades, until it fell slightly out of favor in the 50's.
	THE I-FORMATION OFFENSE
	... is the only scheme that trended up in usage each decade since the schemes were introduced, and was used by nearly 1 out of every 4 teams in the 50's.
	THE HEAVY OFFENSE
	... true to the form of its non-flashy running tendencies, has been a reliable scheme for GMs to deploy, dependably ranging between 10% and 20% usage for each of the last 5 decades.

OFFENSES BY DECADE

DEFENSE
While the clear-cut choice of GMs in the USAFL for offense is the WEST COAST offense, the preferred defensive scheme is not so distinguished. Just over half of the defensive coaches hired by GMs over the last 50 seasons have employed the 4-3 defense, while the 3-4 defense has been used by 40% of the teams. 

While the 4-3 defense has been the most popular defense over the first 50 seasons, one has to wonder if that will be the case after the next 50 seasons are in the books. Looking at the trends over the last 50 seasons, as was the case with the offensive scheme selections, distinct trends, eras, comebacks and extinctions of certain coaching styles is evident. 

	THE 4-3 DEFENSE
	... After peaking at a remarkable usage rate of nearly 3 out of every 4 teams for an entire decade in the 20's (the 4-3 was used by 16 of the 18 teams in 2022 and 2023 in fact), the 4-3 defense has declined in popularity since the 20's. By the 40's the 4-3 was consistently out-utilized by the 3-4 scheme.
	THE 3-4 DEFENSE
	... was used by less that 1 in 5 teams during the 20's, but has been on the rise since at the expense of the once popular 4-3 defense. Now, more than half of all USAFL teams regularly use the 3-4, as has been the case all but twice since the 2044 season.
	THE 4-6 DEFENSE
	... aggressive and risky, it has been used just under 8% of the time over the past 50 seasons, but only 4 times in the last 14 seasons, most recently by the Detroit Lions (2057, 2058 & 2059) and Green Bay Packers (2052). The 4-6 defense was utilized the most in the 1st decade the schemes were introduced (14.4% of the time), peaking with 6 teams in 2011.

DEFENSES BY DECADE

CONCLUSION: 
It is obvious to see how the USAFL PPP's remarkably changed the statistical landscape of the game and the General Managers of the USAFL could not bear to think about what the game was like before 2010.

What will the next 50 seasons bring? The possibilities could be endless.

The current topic around the USAFL watering holes is playing time for young developing players. Imagine the ability to give your bench players some time on the field when the score of the game has been clearly decided.

There's also the possibility of creating even more schemes ....

Just imagine.