By Adam Kirby
Offensive Line Coach
McMurry University (TX)
Twitter: @CoachKirby25
Introduction:
I believe that the offensive line, more than any other position, is one that requires a strong work ethic, attention to detail and meticulous preparation. Perhaps this is why I heard so many of my peer offensive line coaches talking about the challenges of the weekly preparation that their linemen need.
I have always prided myself as a coach on these attributes and want my offensive line to be the hardest working and most disciplined group on the team. The players know that playing offensive line at McMurry University is a privilege and they take pride in that. My goal for my guys is to go into each game confident that they know what could happen in any given situation.
Obviously, if this is to be accomplished, the work ethic must be there in order to achieve the goal of winning on Saturday. That goes for coaches and players alike. Here is a look at what we expect our players to know going into every game:
Contents of Weekly Scouting Report
Scouting Reports have become such a big part of today’s game. Everyone has them and uses them; from the overall offensive plan, to quarterbacks, to the offensive linemen. With the explosion of Hudl software, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, information on your opponent is as easy to access as it’s ever been. But the struggle that I have heard from other line coaches is that they have trouble harnessing and delivering this information in a way that works for their players.
One key to addressing this issue is creating a line specific scouting report. While understanding the overall game plan for the offense and our goals that we’re looking to accomplish that week is necessary, having an offensive line that knows and accepts their role in how the offense will function is vital.
Our offensive line scouting report is broken into six sections:
Contents of Notes Section
We also include miscellaneous information about the scheme that we will be facing that week. (ex. when the 3-technique is to the strength of the formation, watch Will blitz)
We also include tips and tricks that will work to our advantage as an offensive line (ex. #96 plays deeper when he is about to stunt).
Players have found this particularly helpful as we watch film during the week. Quite regularly, there have been comments where they are seeing what I’m telling them as a coach.
Contents of Statistics Section
In this section, I will take every play of every game our opponent has played and break it down into percentages. I leave it divided game by game rather than combining the games so that the players can see how the opponent has differentiated from week to week.
I like to start with the total number of plays for that game, broken into how many times they were in a particular defensive family (4-2, 4-3, 3-4). From there, I will break it down into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down. For each down, I divide the defensive family by the number of times they run it and what it equals out to percentage wise.
An example of this can be found below. This is an opponent that we played early in the 2014 season.
Contents of Opponents Starters Section
It is important to know everything you can about who your opponents are as individuals. I like to include a picture of every defensive line and linebacker starter that we’ll face that week. Include as much as you can in this section; height, weight, weaknesses, strengths, statistics, etc. Leave no stone unturned. For each starter, I will try and find 2-3 things that they do right and wrong to show to our guys.
Contents of Roster Section
I will include what I call a DL/LB roster in every scouting report we do. With the multiple formations that are being run in today’s game, it is not uncommon for a team to substitute a defensive lineman or linebacker and the level of play not drop that much. In my opinion, this is the most important section of the entire scouting report.
It’s tough to win on Saturday afternoons, especially in the American Southwest C
Offensive Line Coach
McMurry University (TX)
Twitter: @CoachKirby25
Introduction:
I believe that the offensive line, more than any other position, is one that requires a strong work ethic, attention to detail and meticulous preparation. Perhaps this is why I heard so many of my peer offensive line coaches talking about the challenges of the weekly preparation that their linemen need. I have always prided myself as a coach on these attributes and want my offensive line to be the hardest working and most disciplined group on the team. The players know that playing offensive line at McMurry University is a privilege and they take pride in that. My goal for my guys is to go into each game confident that they know what could happen in any given situation.
Obviously, if this is to be accomplished, the work ethic must be there in order to achieve the goal of winning on Saturday. That goes for coaches and players alike. Here is a look at what we expect our players to know going into every game:
- What are their favorite fronts?
- What are their favorite blitzes based on down/distance?
- What is the percentage they run a certain blitz?
- What are their favorite stunts based on down/distance?
- What is the percentage they run a certain stunt?
- What do we feel comfortable with in the run game?
Contents of Weekly Scouting Report
Scouting Reports have become such a big part of today’s game. Everyone has them and uses them; from the overall offensive plan, to quarterbacks, to the offensive linemen. With the explosion of Hudl software, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, information on your opponent is as easy to access as it’s ever been. But the struggle that I have heard from other line coaches is that they have trouble harnessing and delivering this information in a way that works for their players.
One key to addressing this issue is creating a line specific scouting report. While understanding the overall game plan for the offense and our goals that we’re looking to accomplish that week is necessary, having an offensive line that knows and accepts their role in how the offense will function is vital.
Our offensive line scouting report is broken into six sections:
- Notes
- Statistics
- Starters (Linebackers/Defensive Line)
- Roster (Linebackers/Defensive Line)
- Stunts/Blitzes by Down/Distance
- Blocking Adjustments
Contents of Notes Section
We also include miscellaneous information about the scheme that we will be facing that week. (ex. when the 3-technique is to the strength of the formation, watch Will blitz)
We also include tips and tricks that will work to our advantage as an offensive line (ex. #96 plays deeper when he is about to stunt).
Players have found this particularly helpful as we watch film during the week. Quite regularly, there have been comments where they are seeing what I’m telling them as a coach.
Contents of Statistics Section
In this section, I will take every play of every game our opponent has played and break it down into percentages. I leave it divided game by game rather than combining the games so that the players can see how the opponent has differentiated from week to week.
I like to start with the total number of plays for that game, broken into how many times they were in a particular defensive family (4-2, 4-3, 3-4). From there, I will break it down into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down. For each down, I divide the defensive family by the number of times they run it and what it equals out to percentage wise.
An example of this can be found below. This is an opponent that we played early in the 2014 season.
Contents of Opponents Starters Section
It is important to know everything you can about who your opponents are as individuals. I like to include a picture of every defensive line and linebacker starter that we’ll face that week. Include as much as you can in this section; height, weight, weaknesses, strengths, statistics, etc. Leave no stone unturned. For each starter, I will try and find 2-3 things that they do right and wrong to show to our guys.
Contents of Roster Section
I will include what I call a DL/LB roster in every scouting report we do. With the multiple formations that are being run in today’s game, it is not uncommon for a team to substitute a defensive lineman or linebacker and the level of play not drop that much. In my opinion, this is the most important section of the entire scouting report.
It’s tough to win on Saturday afternoons, especially in the American Southwest C
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