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Advancements on the Bubble Screen

Advancements on the Bubble Screen

Posted by | Apr 20, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Lee Blankenship

Head Football Coach

Beggs High School, Beggs OK

pvVs XLIntroduction

Let me start by saying that I believe that every good football program has to have an identity. As a staff you must buy in, and sell out to it. Just as importantly, you have to sell your identity to your players. In my experience, this is more important than the actual scheme itself. When you can get your coaches and players to believe that what you are doing is the best in the country, when they believe that nobody’s playbook is better than yours, when they are convinced that what you are doing gives them the greatest opportunity to be successful, then you can expect to win a lot of football games. Whether your offensive identity is the 5 wide “air raid” or Wishbone “ground and pound,” the first defense that you must attack is that of your players’ confidence in your system. This cannot be emphasized enough. You must find a way to get your players to believe in you, and in what you are teaching. I firmly believe that one of the main reasons for our success here at Beggs is the fact that our players believe in what we do.

Here at Beggs, we believe in using the bubble as a staple in our offense. The bubble route is the building block of almost everything that we do. In practically every play that we run, the bubble route plays a part. We throw the bubble screen 8+ times per game, use the bubble to open up seams in our run game, and we use the route in several of the concepts in our pass game. The goal is for us to force our opponents to constantly be aware of the threat of the Bubble Screen, which dictates how many defenders are in the box.

Before getting into scheme, I want to discuss the fine mechanics of the bubble route and throw. As coaches, it is so easy to get caught up in scheme alone, neglecting to teach the fine points needed to execute the scheme successfully. I had a barn built this summer. It wouldn’t have made much since to give the builders the plans, without quickly providing the needed tools and materials to get the job done. Likewise, it doesn’t make a lot of coaching sense to provide the young athlete with a good scheme alone. We must give them the tools needed to effectively execute the scheme.  

Fine Mechanics of the Bubble:

When getting set in his stance, the slot should always start with his inside foot up, as in the picture below.

Slide1

When the ball is snapped, we teach our slot receivers to Lateral Run – cross inside foot (up foot) over outside foot. Player should keep his knee high on the crossover step. His shoulders should remain square to the line of scrimmage, arms pumping just as if he were running forward. Eyes should stay on the QB. We teach our players to run laterally, straight down the line. He is already lined up off of the line of scrimmage; therefore, we don’t want to give up any more ground than that. I disagree with teaching players to loop backwards when they run the bubble. Firstly, they are losing ground in an attempt to gain ground. It is easier to lateral run than it is to backpedal loop. Secondly, they are creating a much more difficult throw for the QB. Notice in the picture below that our slot receiver never gives up ground. He is actually catching the football just behind the line of scrimmage. Thirdly, they are not stretching the field as quickly, making it easier for the outside linebacker to rally to make the tackle. (We will talk about this in much more depth later on.) We perfect the lateral run throughout our off-season, and work it every day during the season.

slide2Slide3Slide4

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6 Keys to Slowing Down the Wing T Offense

6 Keys to Slowing Down the Wing T Offense

Posted by | Apr 20, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Andrew Hofer
Head Football Coach
Polo Community High School (Polo, Illinois)
Twitter: @coachabh

 

Introduction:

Over the last ten years, the amount of spread offenses seen in game of football has surged. This has lead to a change in defensive strategy and philosophy from head coaches and defensive coordinators all over the nation. To combat these changes in defensive schematics, offenses seem to be going back to their roots: The wing-t formation.

This formation and the series’ that accompany them are mainstays amongst football programs nationwide. Even offensive gurus at the collegiate and professional levels tend to have at least some roots from the series’ associated with the wing-t.

Defending Wing-T Concepts:

At Polo High School, we generally have smaller players on our roster because of our small enrollment. Due that reason and our personnel, we are a 3 man front team that rotates the amount of guys we have in the box depending on the personnel and style of the teams we are facing. In the end, our base is a 3-5 with Cover 3 over the top or a 3-4 while playing quarters over the top.

To combat the wing-t, our program had to make some changes to better challenge all compliments of the series that come with these two formations. Typically, there are two main series’ that we see from these styles of teams: the Buck Sweep series and the Belly series.

Buck Series:

As a head coach, the Buck Sweep offensive series out of the wing-t is probably my favorite offensive series in all football. The problem with that notion is that many head coaches and offensive coordinators around the country agree. This is a series that can put some serious stress on a defense because, out of the wing-t, it can cause you fits in multiple areas.

Here are a few keys to slowing down the buck sweep:

Key 1: Attack the C gap to the TE Side – Typically, most wing-t teams have a strong blocking TE that can help pin the DE inside, in turn, allowing the pulling guards freedom of movement. This gives the HB a chance to make an L-cut up the alley and gash the defense. To attack the C-Gap, we want to slant our 3 man front toward the TE side of the wing-t. This counters that advantage and constricts the gap they are trying to create.

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Incorporating the Surface To Air-Raid (S.T.A.R.) System to Enhance Air Raid Staples

Incorporating the Surface To Air-Raid (S.T.A.R.) System to Enhance Air Raid Staples

Posted by | Apr 14, 2019 | , , , , | 0 |

By Rich Hargitt
Offensive Coordinator
Emmett High School (ID)
Twitter: @S2ASystem

 

 

At Emmett High School we are a base Spread Offense with Air Raid inspirations that features a large number of RPOs.  We run these plays from a fast tempo and feature, on average, about 10-15 formational adjustments per game.  The heavy reliance on RPOs has caused us to make the decision to re-implement more of our Air Raid roots into our passing offense this next season.  At the time of this writing, we are currently the #1 ranked passing offense in the state of Idaho by attempts, completions, yards passing per game, and overall passing yardage in a season.  These calls have and will allow us to create a false narrative for the defense by which they are not sure whether the play will be an RPO or a more down the field passing concept.  The name of our consulting group is the Surface To Air System but when we refer to our Air Raid twists in the drop back game we call it the S.T.A.R. Package (Surface To Air Raid).  There are four major Air Raid concepts that we have diversified and synthesized with our own unique twists and incorporated into our S2A System.  These concepts have been altered but still, contain heavy doses of Air Raid DNA.  The four major drop back concepts that we brought over are the 4 Verticals, Y-Cross, Shallow Cross, and the Mesh.

 

4 Verticals

The 4 Verticals or 4 Verts play has long been a staple of our system.  We feel that this play is the ultimate constraint play in order to keep defenses honest.  Most defenses are able to rotate coverages and bring exotic blitzes only to the extent that they are able to defend the back half of their coverage.  In short, they will do exotic things if they don’t get beat deep.  Therefore, the 4 verts play is pivotal in keeping defenses honest.  The play can be featured from a 2×2 or a 3×1 structure.  If 4 verticals are executed from a 2×2 set the outside receivers will execute Fade or Takeoff Routes, the slot receivers will execute Bender Routes, and the running back will execute a Shoot Route.

Diagram 1

 

The Fade Routes must turn the corner’s hips and prevent him from playing any sort of Read 2 type of coverage family.  The slot receivers will outside release off the ball and execute a 5 or 7 step release based upon the OLB’s alignment and defense.  If the coverage remains MOF closed, then the slots will both work vertically. If, however, the coverage is a MOF open family they will defeat the OLB and then bend to grass under the safety into what we call the Bermuda Triangle. 

The Bermuda Triangle is the area between the MLB, OLB, and safety.  We feel this is a dead zone where we can work and get ourselves open pass completions.  The running back will execute his Shoot Route to the flat or can be incorporated into the protection scheme.  Our read progression is quite simple as we read Deep to Shallow to Mid.  This translates as the Fade Route, to the Shoot Route, to the Bender Route.  We read it this way so that any trap coverage corner is beaten by the Fade Route and we hole shot behind him to prevent that coverage answer.  We check the short route next to prevent any sort of blitz charge by the second level defenders.  The Bender Route is read last as it takes the most time to work to grass. 

This route is essentially unaltered when we execute it from 3×1.

Diagram 2

 

In 3×1 the #3 receiver simply bends and attacks the hash he would have run up in 2×2 and applies all the same rules.  If the MOF is open he would bend under the safety but if the MOF is closed, he would work up the hash.  The read progression would remain unchanged and the play caller is free to flip the running back Shoot Route to the weak or strong side based upon his protection preferences. 

The 4 Verts play has long been a staple of our offense and is a great Air Raid play that defeats multiple coverage families.  This play is easily tagged and can and is altered in the S2A System to attack a variety of defensive presentations.

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St. Francis University’s (IN) Tweak on Tampa Two

St. Francis University’s (IN) Tweak on Tampa Two

Posted by | Apr 14, 2019 | , , | 0 |

 

 

 

By Joey Didier – @coachjoeydidier

Co-Defensive Coordinator

University of Saint Francis (IN)

 

1385774 536839373067773 1925714199 nEditor’s Note:  Joey Didier returns to USF for his fourth season as an assistant coach after playing for the Cougars through the 2004 season. Didier, the Cougars’ 2004 Silver Helmet Award winner, served as an assistant at Homestead High School from 2005-09, where he was a 2001 graduate. He was a 4-time letter-winner playing inside linebacker for the Cougars, played in two final fours and was the USF Champion of Character selection in 2004. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 2005 and a Master of Business Administration in 2013. Didier is also a member of the football strength and conditioning staff and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

 

At the University of Saint Francis, we pride ourselves in game plan preparation.  Moving to a new system in 2013 we knew we could prepare adequately for our opponent each week, but in game adjustments may be more of a challenge.  To ease the transition of a new scheme, we practiced installing adjustments as a staff during game week.  After the initial game plan was installed, our defensive staff spent the remainder of the week analyzing possible weakness in our plan.  We would identify areas of concern and counter with possible adjustments for Saturday.

With this approach, we found success implementing a Plan A and Plan B each week.  Plan A would stem from our base defense, with Plan B as some innovative variation to counter an identified weakness. We would prep our Plan A during game week and then brief our defensive players about the possible Plan B if needed.   We would not extensively practice our plan B, but would devote one practice period late in the week to walk through such potential adjustments.

This approach allowed our defensive staff to make quick in-game and halftime adjustments.  Our staff made successful adjustments this season, holding our opponents to 8.1 points per second half.  Our 3-high alignment was one of these adjustments.  The package was installed to improve defending a vertical passing attack, while denying the sideline to shorten the game.  This defense was initially a Plan B for a spread opponent but grew into a package we carried each week. The installation was simple and similar to our base defense, yet unique enough to provide difficulty for our opponent to stretch the field.

Overview

We base with 34 personnel but will substitute a nickel back for a linebacker to give different looks.  We not only use this position to enhance game plan creativity, but to also develop a young defensive back with invaluable game experience.  This player is normally the first defensive back off the bench and should be one of the more versatile athletes on the field. In 2013, our nickel was a traditional strong safety. 

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Applying the “ACTS” Principle to the Seam/Wheel Concept

Applying the “ACTS” Principle to the Seam/Wheel Concept

Posted by | Apr 7, 2019 | , , , , | 0 |

By Lonnie Norton
Offensive Coordinator/QBs
Prairiland High School (TX)
Twitter: @coachlnorton

 

   

As the offensive coordinator at Paris High School, myself, along with head coach Steven Hohenberger, sat down in order to find a way to improve a passing game that had produced only 9 TDs to go with 13 INTs during the 2013 season. With input from one of my former football coaches and now coaching mentor, Dan Gonzalez, we turned our passing game around to one that produced 27 passing TDs and only 6 INTs in the 2014 season and led to the program’s deepest playoff run in 26 years and followed it up the following season with 25 TDs and only 6 INTs. The concept that proved to be one of our most explosive and certainly, one of our most versatile was the Seam and Wheel concept. With this, we had a concept that could defeat the blitz and man coverage, defeat overloaded coverage to trips, an outstanding red zone play, as well as a play that was guaranteed to get the ball to one of our best playmakers.

 

The Pattern and Coaching Points:

Diagram 1

 

Single WR Side

  • #1:  Seam or Post
  • >Back:  Wheel

 

Seam – Aiming point is 7 yards deep at 2 yards off the hash (NCAA Hash Marks in Texas) before pushing vertical. He will throttle in the hole till he hits 15 yards deep and will then clear out.

Diagram 2

 

Wheel – We teach the back to push through the heels of the Seam/Post runner’s alignment before going vertical up the bottom of the numbers.  The back MUST be alert for any edge pressure as he will be hot for the QB.  He should expect the ball at no deeper than 12 yards down field.

Diagram 3

 

3 WR Side

  • Tagged Inside WR:  Shallow
  • Non-Tagged Inside WR:  Dig
  • Outside WR:  Under

 

Shallow – This has been a staple of our offense.  The shallow wants to release flat at a depth of 2-3 yards and slowly gain ground.  As he works his way across the field, he will read the flat defender on the opposite side.  If the shallow runner can get outside the flat defender, he will stay on the run.

Diagram 4

 

If the hole player widens, he will work to a stop around the opposite hash and show hands and numbers to the QB.

Diagram 5

 

Against Man Coverage, he will need to stair step his route in order to create separation.

Diagram 6

 

This route is worked daily by all WRs as part of a daily warm up for both WRs and QBs.  

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4-2-5 Split Coverage Variations to Defend Trips

4-2-5 Split Coverage Variations to Defend Trips

Posted by | Apr 6, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Chris Endress
Defensive Coordinator
Columbus High School (KS)

Introduction:

columbusAt Columbus High School, we are a 4-2-5 base defense that uses split coverage rules. A couple seasons ago, we divorced our front 6 from our secondary which made things much easier to adjust to what we see week after week.  Our defense is based on rules for different receiver combinations we see at during points throughout the season: 1 WR; 2 WR; Trips; Quads. For this clinic report, I will discuss our two top coverage rules for trips looks.

Base Coverage (Solo)

We base out of a quarters look (called “Blue”). Our free safety (F) and gorilla/strong safety (G) always travel together and move to the receiver strength which will be the trips side. The Willie (W) always aligns away from the F. For trips, our corner aligns 1×7 outside of the #1 receiver tilted inside. The F apexes the #2 receiver and the football. The G aligns 1×5 outside of the #2 receiver.  The W aligns in B gap away from the trips at 10 yd deep. The linebackers bump to the trips. The play side backer apexes the #3 receiver and the football. The back side backer aligns on the weak side shoulder of the RB in the backfield.

Slide1

Each defender has a pre–snap key. They are as follows:

  • The corner (C) reads #1 and has him on all vertical routes.
  • The G reads the end man on the line of scrimmage (EMOLOS).  He works outside and deep at the snap under #1 but locks on to the first threat that crosses his face.
  • The linebackers key their near guard then works to hook/curl and breaks on the first threat to enter the tackle box.
  • The F reads #2 and has him on any vertical route.
  • The W reads #3 and has him on any vertical route. The F and the W become de facto “cover 1” safeties if their reads do not go vertical.

Slide2

Solo works the same for other trips looks besides Trips Open (see diagrams 3 and 4). The pre-snap keys and the responsibilities remain the same.

Slide3

Slide4a

For Bunch looks, we play more of a box look. In that case, the C has the first outside deep threat, the G has the first short outside threat, the LB has the first inside threat, the F has the first deep inside threat, and W plays “Cover 1” to give help on any 3 vertical looks.

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Defending Heavy Personnel Concepts From 3-4 Spacing – Case 1: Defending Concepts from Balanced 1 and 2 Back Formations

Defending Heavy Personnel Concepts From 3-4 Spacing – Case 1: Defending Concepts from Balanced 1 and 2 Back Formations

Posted by | Apr 1, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Mike Kuchar
Senior Research Manager
X&O Labs
Twitter: @MikekKuchar

 

  

Editor’s Note: This research will be centered on defending the following personnel groupings:

  • 12 Personnel (one back, two tight ends)
  • 13 Personnel (one back, three tight ends)
  • 22 Personnel (two backs, two tight ends)
  • 23 Personnel (two back, three tight ends)

 

Produce a three-man surface when preparing against Odd defenses: that’s been a practice for offensive coaches for years. Add a bigger body such as a tight end at the end of the line of scrimmage and force a smaller body (such as an outside linebacker in an Odd outfit) to hold water against him. It seemed to be a more ambitious plan than preparing against a pure 7 or 6-technique defensive ends synonymous in Even front teams.

As offenses have evolved into using heavier personnel groupings, they have forced Odd defenses to adjust in defending them. But, rather than change the structure of the defense, Odd coaches are choosing to alter their support structure to get more numbers at the point of attack. As evidenced in this report, many of these coaches have chosen to tie safeties into the fit by using a two-high quarters coverage structure in defending it.

In this study, we research how 3-4 coaches are choosing to play with two-high safety spacing against heavier personnel, such as 12, 13 and 22 groupings. We segment our research into the following formation structures:

  • “Ace”- pure one back formation structures from both detached and attached tight end alignments.
  • “Deuce”- pure two back formation structures from both detached and attached tight end alignments.

 

There are generic labels that we selected to help in identifying and separating these formation bases. But there is a distinction that must be made in game planning against these formation types.

 

One Back vs. Two Back Distinctions

We found that many Odd coaches will alter their adjustments based on this one-back vs. two-back approach. While they may still decide to stay in two-high coverage structure, they may decide to change the personality of these defenders based on the backfield number. Illinois State defensive coordinator Travis Niekamp is one of those coaches who claim this to be a big debate in the defensive football offices each week. “We talk about are they a two-back team or a one-back team based on who that sniffer is, “said Coach Niekamp. “We use one-back vs. two-back rules. It’s really one or the other based on each opponent. We try to figure out if that sniffer is a glorified fullback or is he a legitimate tight end? Most offenses will either be a gap scheme team and insert team with two-back or they are a one-back zone team mindset. Is he a viable downfield pass threat or not? Is he a blocker? Do they move him around where they want out of the point of attack? We make our decisions based on that.”

 

Applying Quarters Coverage Methodology

At its core, quarters coverage is a man coverage philosophy. Coordinators have the ability to put nine defenders in the box to defend the run yet still be able to have the ability to handle four vertical threats. For Jason Bornn, the head coach at Saugus High School (CA), quarters coverage has been the base call in his 3-4 defense the last 16 years and 62 percent of the time he will drop 8 to play against heavier personnel groupings. “It just works for us because we use one safety as force and one safety as backside cutback,” said Coach Bornn. “It cleans the fit up better. We need nine defenders in the box to defend the run game. I never understood when coaches say, ‘Cover 3 puts eight defenders in the box.’ Not really. You’re wasting the high safety. It’s seven in the box. You get nine with quarters.”

For Coach Niekamp, who spent the lion’s share of his professional career as a four-down coach, felt at one point the best solution to defending heavy personnel is to line up in pure Under front and play buzz safety, or Cover 0. “But, the problem with man is you need to fit it right,” said Coach Niekamp. “And if you don’t fit it right, you’re going to be a man short. And that missed fit is that play winds up being a big play or a touchdown. The nice thing with the split safety look is you can be wrong but still be okay as far as the fit goes because you’re always going to gain that extra safety back. We found out that after being an even front coach for nearly 20 years, we can line up more quickly and execute better out of Odd with the shifts and motions with formations. It was a no-brainer. Why not be an Odd team?”

So, in order to match up with heavier personnel groupings in the Missouri Valley Conference, where more than half of his opponents lined up with two or more tight ends, Coach Niekamp decided to operate from a field and boundary defense. “I liked that for two reasons: tempo and matching personnel,” he said. “You can personnel to match an offense. You would like to be mirrored but this is not the NFL. You still need to find a faster guy to put to the field and a slower player to put toward the boundary.” 

So, in order to defend these sets Coach Niekamp will not adjust his structure; rather he will adjust his support calls based off rules. “We are a quarters defense and have the ability to vary our support structure accordingly,” he told us. “We can cloud a corner or sky a safety. Those are our generic rules. We want to make sure we can line up and play fast. The key is the interior defenders and the front three because the beauty of the 3-4 is that if you can have Nose that can guarantee double teams you are freeing up a linebacker. You can eat up five offensive linemen with three guys and it makes things easier. That’s why we saw gap schemes. They couldn’t block them, so they had to read them.” 

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Defending Heavy Personnel Concepts From 3-4 Spacing – Case 2: Defending Concepts from Unbalanced 1 and 2 Back Formations

Defending Heavy Personnel Concepts From 3-4 Spacing – Case 2: Defending Concepts from Unbalanced 1 and 2 Back Formations

Posted by | Apr 1, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Mike Kuchar
Senior Research Manager
X&O Labs
Twitter: @MikekKuchar

 

  

Editor’s Note: This research will be centered on defending the following personnel groupings:

  • 12 Personnel (one-back, two tight ends)
  • 13 Personnel (one-back, three tight ends)
  • 22 Personnel (two-backs, two tight ends)
  • 23 Personnel (two-back, three tight ends)

 

Quite simply, when the offense becomes unbalanced, the defense needs to become unbalanced. Defenses have a choice to become unbalanced in three different ways:

  1. Adjust gap integrity with the front seven defenders
  2. Adjust the coverage rotation with the back half defenders
  3. Adjust with pressure

 

According to our research, we have found that the majority of coaches, 73 percent will adjust with the front seven defenders, while nearly 22 percent will adjust coverage rotation. Only 6 percent will choose to pressure them. It seems that most Odd front coaches will stay in their base front and just move people over to account for the extra gaps presented by the offense.

We segment our research below into how 3-4, two-high defenses are fitting up the run game against the following formation structures.

 

Formation Adjustment Fit Patterns:

  • Three Surface Triple Width Unbalanced Formation Structure
  • Four Surface Double Width Unbalanced Formation Structure
  • Four Surface Nub Unbalanced Formation Structure
  • Four Surface X Off Unbalanced Formation Structure
  • Six Surface Nub Unbalanced Formation Structure

 

Three Surface Triple Width Unbalanced Formation Structure

Diagram 23

 

The first formation we will present our research on is the unbalanced triple width formation above. It’s a formation structure synonymous with perimeter run and pass concepts to the field side. It presents three eligible receivers and four possible gaps to the strong side of the formation. 

 

Best Practices

Since it’s purely a one-back formation, there isn’t a significant threat to the boundary side run game. For this reason, Illinois State University defensive coordinator Travis Niekmap treated this as an unbalanced look and stacked the linebackers to the trips side. He also will bump the front to declare a new Center.

Diagram 24

 

As evidenced in the clip below, Coach Niekamp will also slant the front to the heavy surface side. So, instead of lining up in their responsible gaps, the front seven will get there on the snap of the ball. The movement will usually cause problems for the zone run game synonymous with one-back formations.

The clip below best illustrates this coaching point:

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Defending Heavy Personnel Concepts From 3-4 Spacing – Case 3: Movement Strategies from 3-4 Spacing to Defend 1 and 2 Back Concepts

Defending Heavy Personnel Concepts From 3-4 Spacing – Case 3: Movement Strategies from 3-4 Spacing to Defend 1 and 2 Back Concepts

Posted by | Apr 1, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Jason Martinez
Defensive Coordinator
Grinnell College (IA)

 

  

Editor’s Note: The following research was written in the first person by Jason Martinez, the defensive coordinator at Grinnell College (IA)

 

When faced with 12/21 personnel sets we first try to determine the different formations and run game tendencies that we will see, so we can game plan how we want to attack the two and three-man surfaces out of these personnel groups. It is nothing earth shattering really, we just find ways to affect the run game while remaining gap sound. For example, we like to utilize stunts that attack the interior gaps vs an interior run game like inside zone, cutback, trap, etc. And utilizing stunts that attack outside gaps vs an outside run game like speed option, toss and outside zone. As well as finding ways to stunt in the B-gap to attack off-tackle run game like power and counter.

 

Defensive Buzz Words

Spark Step: This is a flat inside step performed down the line, 2nd  step is a gather coming to balance to explode thru the hips.

All of these movements will be utilized out of the following three fronts. Our defensive line understands that an individual stunt call always overrides the front alignment:

Base:
Diagram 33

 

Over:
Diagram 34

 

Under:
Diagram 35

 

The following below are just a few of the basic stunts and gap surge techniques that our OLBs and DEs will utilize in our base defense vs 11/12/21 personnel sets.

 

Eli Stunt—B/C Gap or B/D Gap stunt depending on 2-man or 3-Man surface:

 

Best Practice

We like utilizing these calls vs interior run game-Zone, Trap, Dive as well as Off Tackle, Power and Counter.

Diagram 36

 

  • DEs: are responsible for the B-gap in the run game.
    • We teach them to rip across the face of the OT into the B-gap utilizing a spark step inside to the B-gap getting vertical. His eyes and hands are to go to the outside shoulder (V of the Neck) of the OG. If he is to him, he will engage and drive the OG back and inside. If the OG is down or away, he is squeezing down the line looking for something coming back at him, spilling everything outside to his help or chasing down the heel line for play away.
  • OLBs: are contain defenders in this stunt. Depending upon the surface they will face it will be either thru the C or D-gap. We talk to them about 3 points-of-contact and exploding out of our hips by rolling off our front foot.
    • 2-Man Surface = C-gap. They are reading the OT’s outside V of the Neck. If he is to him, he will engage and drive the OT back and inside. If the OT is down or away, he is off the edge looking for something coming back at him, splattering everything back inside to his help or chasing down the heel line for play away.
    • 3-Man Surface = D-Gap. They are reading the TE’s/Wing’s outside V of the Neck. If he is to him, he will engage and drive the TE/Wing back and inside. If the TE/Wing is down or away, he is off the edge looking for something coming back at him, splattering everything back inside to his help or chasing down the heel line for play away.

 

In the clip below, the left side of the screen is running the Stunt. At the snap, you can see the DE does a good job of spark stepping inside and getting vertical thru the B-gap while reading the OG that is zone stepping away from him. This helps us keep the RB from cutting back and finding a crease backside since our front side of the play is doing an excellent job of getting vertical thru the gaps and clogging up any potential holes. Our OLB on the same side could be better with his positive shin angles and rolling off his front foot shoving his hips vs. stepping out of his stance. I think the worry of possible boot cause him to hesitate and be a little less aggressive vs. the run, but he still gets in on the TFL after checking for boot, counters, and reverse.

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Using a Numbering System to Communicate Pressures

Using a Numbering System to Communicate Pressures

Posted by | Mar 30, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Michael Bellacosa
Defense Coach
West Islip Public Schools (NY)

 

   

Play the call! That is the calling card of the defense we have been trying to build over the past several years.  Defense on our terms is what we preach.  From day one, we focus on set recognition with alignments and assignments for every possible formation we may see.  We follow as few rules to cover as possible, adjust to the offense as little as possible and use the very drastic hash marks of the high school football field as another defender.  This overall philosophy has allowed us to send 6 players, even 7, the majority of our snaps on defense.  In high school football, I have always believed that overwhelming the point of attack, putting as much pressure on the offense as possible will allow to dictate and control the flow of the game. 

Ironically, my love for pressure defense came from the mismatches and angles that can be created from a 3-4 defense.  But at the high school level that 3-4 scheme felt like an old school 50 due to the inability to stop inside zones and spread offense with a 3-2 box.   In studying the 4-3 we found that we had great angles to cover all underneath timing throws while maximizing our pressure and overloading the point of attack.  Since that time, we have implemented a multiple front, multiple pressure attack stemming from our 4-3 numbering system.  Since I implement a multiple front attack with movement between linebackers and defensive lineman on 80% of the snaps, a numbering system seems to be the easiest way to get calls into the defense.  Trying to keep things as easy as possible so I can relay the call to the players, numbering them can give them the most specific information in the fastest amount of time. Over the years this has worked extremely well for our players to process and play fast, without having to memorize more words.   So each defensive snap the players get signaled the front, which they must memorize, with the pressure.  A call can be a base 2 bingo 4 crush which is a 6 man pressure with movement or as simple as me making the signal for our combo front which is a 6 man line. Our blitzes are universal to all fronts, causing 6 blitzes to be executed 70 plus different ways.  This concept combined with our never changing coverage rules allows us to dictate to the offense and simply play the call every snap. 

Diagram 1

 

Personnel Job Descriptions

Numbering our safeties with a 1 and 5 stresses to them that we want them to play like a DB and think like a LB.  We look for a long lean player that can play in the box and bring pressure as well as be a visual obstacle for the QB in that alley between the detached receivers and the line. 

The 2 linebacker is the most physically stout of the LB’s especially against the run.  Most teams are right handed. 

The 3 has the most difficult job on the field.  First he must dominate between the tackles in run defense as well as cover tight ends and crossing receivers like a free safety in a 4-2-5 all while playing at 5 1/2 yards from the ball.  If we send pressure and hit are aiming points correctly his depth is fine because the QB will not have time to get the ball deep down the middle.  His long passes will be fades to the outside which sounds like a jump ball to me. 

The is our best edge rusher and most impactful LB on the team.  He plays on the edge and on the line in a variety of different fronts.  

Our linebackers play hand in hand with the 1 and 5.  At times the front can look like a 4-5.  In a pro set like you see in diagram 2, the 1 and 2 combo the coverage on the TE and any back coming out of the backfield.  If the TE releases into the flats like an arrow concept, the 1 is there.  If the TE has any vertical release, the 2 will cover him with the safety underneath.  A perfect throw can give the 2 a very hard time.  High School QB’s don’t always make the perfect throw and read.   Diagram 2 shows 9 men in the box without any blitzes called.

Corners in this defense are cover men and are put on an island quite a bit.  The main focus is to protect timing routes and have string edge and under coverage challenging the offense to go deep and complete long passes with defensive line movement and pressure right in the QB’s face.  the percentage of completion will not be very high and as long as the corner plays solid techniques and keeps the receiver in front of him, I will live with the yardage gained on low percentage plays.

Diagram 2

 

Diagram 2 also shows the 4 linebacker on a fire (a straight line blitz).  The call into the defensive huddle was a simple base, but our combo rules has the 4 on a fire because there is no eligible receiver for him to cover, Free to Fire.   The 3 has middle of the field because his rules states if Free drop Five.  The 5 will have the slant/swing lane.  Pressure, pressure, pressure. 

Once again the objective is to maximize the pressure while playing the call in the huddle and not adjusting our defensive scheme given an offensive formation.  We simply need to know who and how to cover on any given situation. 

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Generating Explosive Plays with the A-Back in the Pass Game

Generating Explosive Plays with the A-Back in the Pass Game

Posted by | Mar 24, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Chris Andreadis
Offensive Coordinator
Red Mountain High School (AZ)
Twitter: @the_real_andro

 

 

Obviously, when you are crafting your weekly game plan, you are going to script “touches” for your tailback.  Handoffs and tosses in the run game are the most basic way to get them the ball.  We do this quite a bit.  However, getting touches for your tailback in the pass game can get complicated.  So, we tried to design some simple ways to get the tailback in space with the football. 

We found some simple ways to get our TB involved in the pass game and our reasoning was as follows:

  • Instead of having the TB bang with a blitzing LB in pass protection – we released him out. This is especially important for “scat-back” types, who are quick and undersized.
  • We were able to get one of our best playmakers in space with the ball.
  • We did not have to install a new play (like a screen), we built it into existing pass combinations.
  • The protection for the O-Line did not change.
  • This gave us a “Hot” vs. blitz.
  • This was not a check down (the 3rd or 4th read), but the primary read progression (why do it otherwise?).

 

Here are some of the different ways we accomplished this.

 

Scat Y-Stick Concept:

Diagram 1

Diagram 2

 

We ran “Stick” quite a bit. It was our most common 3-step pass concept.  We had a very good TE that drew a lot of attention – so we figured we could get our back open often.  The physicality of the TE’s stick route also proved to be a “natural rub” on the flat defender/ OLB.

Traditionally, we ran stick from a trips formation – so running stick out of a 2×2 formation was a tendency – breaker for us.  We were able to put the Sam (strong side LB) in a bind, because he really couldn’t be right – if he ran to the flat, we threw to the TE. We chose to have the TB run an “Arrow” route instead of a swing, because it was easier to complete, and he was catching the ball already with positive yardage.  Oftentimes, our swing routes would be caught behind the line of scrimmage.  This fixed that problem. 

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An Instructional Leadership Plan for Quarterbacks

An Instructional Leadership Plan for Quarterbacks

Posted by | Mar 24, 2019 | , | 0 |

By Justin “Coach Mac” MacDonald
Authority Football

 

 

This report is about creating an intentional plan to develop your key leaders – quarterbacks – in more than their athletic and cognitive domains, but also in the area of their character. The outcome of a character development plan is twofold – having a positive impact on these individuals and the next generation of young men. But the more practical benefit of focusing on character development is that our programs benefit from leaders we trust are more likely to make the right choices in split-second moments they have to impact the team’s season.

 

Leadership is the cause – everything else the effect.

Leadership in and of itself is not inherently positive or negative. Leadership is simply influencing. And I know you can think of some very influential leaders who were the bad guys.

What makes Leadership positive is the character, and character is shaped by values – what behaviors a person or people group value as good and useful.

So, as you look to develop the general leadership in your program, are you being deliberate about the key leader and future leaders of your program – your quarterbacks? And are you being deliberate about revealing, developing, and shaping the character and values of those quarterbacks in your offseason? And are you shaping your future Quarterback in his most formative years as an underclassmen years before he’s the varsity signal caller?

Football can probably be boiled down to one thing: trust.

As a coach, nowhere is that trust more important than with your leaders and specifically your quarterbacks. You trust him to make good game time decisions in your system. You trust him to represent your program well in school and in the media. You trust him to make good off-field decisions with how he behaves and how he treats others. Ultimately, you trust him in one key thing: to make the best possible choice in all scenarios.

That’s a tall order for us all because we are dealing with a bunch of humans who are inherently flawed, ourselves included. But being flawed doesn’t mean we expect or allow those we lead to make poor, selfish choices that jeopardize the team mission. Forgive, coach, teach, redeem, absolutely, but this is not about being reactive, it’s about being proactive.

Ever had a player let you or the team down at the worst possible time in a game or a season? Poor choice. Pulled himself out of the game. Got himself ejected. Acted cowardly. Violated a policy. Just went straight up selfish?

Ever seen one player’s actions change an entire season?

Of course, you have. You could look up this story from this year with one of the country’s top players. You could find the same story any year all over the country. How many years, thousands of hours, sacrifices from players, parents, coaches, changed in a single decision? It’s like we’re building programs out of a house of cards that can fall with a thoughtless breeze of selfishness.

This is not about judgment. Mistakes are exactly how we learn. It’s why we look at game film. Life has game film too. The secret is to look at some of Life’s game film with our leaders before they must experience things themselves.

It’s about stepping into an integral role in the shaping of the next generation of men, the next generation of leaders. Coaches spend more time with players than their parents do. Like it or not, we’ve got an opportunity – I would say an obligation – to model and develop our players’ character.

There are no more important players to trust than your quarterbacks. They hold the keys to what you’re building.

We intentionally develop their ability to deliver the ball on a key 3rd down, doesn’t it make sense to be as intentional about how we develop their entire decision-making system – their character?

So, here’s a truth that can greatly shape the way we lead and develop our leaders:

People perform based on the way the world occurs to them.

Let that sink in for a second.

Every bone-headed, confusing, straight up wrong, or head-scratching thing you’ve ever seen someone does made perfect sense to that person based on how he or she saw the world at that moment.

Every disappointing choice or behavior you’ve had a player make was the result of a perfectly coordinated series of events begun months or years before that led to that outcome. It’s like a chain of dominoes set up a long time ago by all the experiences a person has had in life.

Your power as a coach is to change the default future of where those dominos lead.

So what shapes occurrence?

Occurrence arises in language… so what language are you using to shape your players’ occurrences? How the world and their place in it occur for them.

One occurrence is whether the character is a thing your program talks about, believes is fixed or changeable and is something it intentionally develops. “Does Coach work our muscles, minds, and mindsets?”

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LB Reads & Run Fits in the 4-3

LB Reads & Run Fits in the 4-3

Posted by | Mar 24, 2019 | , , | 0 |

 

By Joe Ginn – @CoachGinn

Defensive Front Coordinator

Choctaw High School (Choctaw, OK)

 

 

Editor’s Note:  Coach Ginn served as the LBs and Defensive Front Coordinator for the Yellow jackets this past year after spending 2 years as the Offensive Coordinator and Receivers Coach at Choctaw High School.  Prior to serving his role as Offensive Coordinator, Coach Ginn spent 3 seasons Coaching Receivers at Choctaw.  Before coming to Choctaw, Ginn spent four seasons (2004-2008) as Defensive Coordinator at Tecumseh High School (Tecumseh, OK.)  Joe worked as a Defensive Graduate Assistant for Choctaw High School (Choctaw, OK) in 2003 working with Linebackers.  Joe played 1 year of College Football at Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS; and 3 years of Football at East Central University in Ada, OK.

 

Coaching Briggs 2In my opinion the key to great defense is proper fits and gap responsibility by a whole defense.  With that said, I also believe great fits by Linebackers and even safeties can cover up for the Down Linemen who may at times get out of gap integrity.  I’m constantly talking to my players about how they have to be the “proper piece of the puzzle.”  It seems the players understand puzzles and by making the analogy to it all fitting together like a puzzle helps them understand the team cohesion and fit cohesion we have to have to be a premier defense. 

We feature a multiple front 4-3 scheme which at times will look like a 4-2-5 and sometimes a 5-2.  For the sake of this article I’m going to focus on our Base look which we like to play the majority of the time for the answers and cohesion it gives us.  Our Base front will have a 7 technique or Inside Eye alignment on the TE from our Defensive End, when we get a TE, without a TE this DE slides down into a 5 Technique.  Our Strong Side Defensive Tackles is in a 3 Technique who we tell to put his inside foot on the crotch of the Guard.  We play a 2i technique with our Weakside Tackle.  We tell him to put his outside leg on the crotch of the Guard.  Lastly, we play a 5 Technique DE weak.  He is coached to have his inside foot on the outside toe of the Tackle or put his inside foot on the Crotch of the Guard depending on the type of player he is. 

As far as our LB alignment, I want these guys lined in our gaps.  I have our Sam LB put his Inside foot on the Outside foot of the TE, or he will apex without a TE based off #2, I tell him without a TE he is splitting the End Man and Number 2 and adjust him from there based on coverage. (that’s a completely different talk)  Our Mike LB is told to put his inside leg on the Football.  He is an A gap responsible player and I want him to line up in his gap as best as possible.  Our Will LB’s alignment is where we vary from a lot of 4-3 Defenses.  We feel like the Will has the ability to “Erase” the weak side, he also at times is asked to be the force player and we feel like putting him down inside the box puts him in a bad position for us to ask him to do this.  Therefore, his alignment is essentially stacked on our Weakside DE, I tell the Will vs. a pro set to put his inside foot on the Outside foot of the Tackle.  Willie will also have to apex vs. a split #2 receiver his side.  We also slide him back into the box vs. a trips set away, as well, again, I feel like those are different clinic talks.   

Our LB depth is always at 4& ½ yards.  I believe this gets them where they need to be to be able to read and react to be in proper position after the ball is snapped.  Alignment is the #1 thing we preach from day one with our defense, we feel like Alignment is CRITICAL to a defense.  I have diagrammed out our base alignment vs. a Pro, Doubles, and Trips set in Diagrams 1-3 to give you an idea of where we want to start from alignment wise. 

Slide1Slide2Slide3

Personnel Job Descriptions

When I am learning about a scheme, I always want to know what the coach is looking for in his linebackers to make the scheme work.  For us, our Mike Linebacker has to be a kid who can get off blocks.  If he can’t get off blocks, we have to cover the Center with a Shade Nose and that makes us far more susceptible.  Mike must be a kid who can Read without errors.  I get on to my Mike harder than I do the other 2 because with him a split second can be a touchdown if our safeties don’t bail us out.  Like I said he has to be able to get off blocks, he can’t stay blocked and definitely can’t go around them.  This is a position you can sacrifice a little speed for size & strength so long as he can read.  Our Willie can be a smaller faster guy.  I feel like we can take a slower Safety in there at Willie if he can read and will be aggressive when we need him to be.  This guy last year was my weakest LB, in terms of strength, but he made good reads, and got where I needed him to.  The Sam again, needs to be a Strong Safety type kid.  This guy needs to be stronger as he’s going to have to take on blocks of the TE.  Again, if you have a LB that can run a bit, but can’t read, put him at Sam.  Sam must be Physical and not afraid to hit.  Really I don’t want any of these guys afraid to hit.

 

Linebacker Keys

I feel like our LB keys are unique and give our kids an advantage on their reaction reads and how they get a jump start on where they’re going, you’ll see on some of the clips how our Mike LB’s keys put him to the spot the ball is going before the Linemen even could reach his pull on a few of the Counter plays.  So, I want to address a little on how we get to where we’re going before I talk about where we’re actually going. I begin every individual practice with a key read drill as I believe in the importance of proper reads in LB Play.  I still teach a 6 inch read step as an initial reaction to our read.  I tell the kids, “be slow to see it and quick to react once you’ve seen it.”  I also would like to take the time here to tell all of you if you are not filming your inside period each day from behind the defense and reviewing it with your players you are doing them an injustice in my opinion.  I feel like this is one of the things we do to put our kids at an advantage, because you can tell them 1000 times, but most of the time it just takes them seeing it one time before they understand what you’re saying. 

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The Frisco Quick Concept: A 57% Efficiency Rate

The Frisco Quick Concept: A 57% Efficiency Rate

Posted by | Mar 15, 2019 | , , , , | 0 |

Joel Mathews
Offensive Coordinator
Fort Osage High School (OH)
Twitter: @CoachMathews16

 

 

This past year our offensive staff installed what we call the Frisco concept. Our passing game is based on the system developed by Dan Gonzalez and this concept is similar to the one he utilizes in his offense. We use a combination of a number tree and words for our routes and Frisco is an acronym that identifies the routes for our kids. From the outside to inside it stands for five, slant, one. The diagram below shows the basic routes for Frisco from a Trips set.

Diagram 1

 

We also ran this from two back with either the F or T running the one (arrow) route from the backfield.

Diagram 2

 

Throughout the year this route proved to be a versatile concept that we used in any down and distance situation and anywhere on the field. This concept provides the quarterback with a quick throw to the slant versus blitz and a high-lo read on both the front side and backside of the play to take advantage of a defense that overplays the slant.

 

Protection:

We use a standard 6 man half-slide protection with this concept. The frontside blocks big on big and the slide starts with the first uncovered lineman. The back will insert himself on the playside and look to block the first threat from inside to outside. If no threat shows, then he releases and drags to the backside getting no deeper than 3 yards. We will call protection variations that place the slide side on the frontside of the play. This gives us an answer for teams that like to blitz from the field side and helps to avoid creating tendencies that are too obvious by moving the placement of the back in the backfield. Clip #1 shows our standard protection versus a 4 man front, while Clip #2 shows the same protection, but with the slide side on the frontside of the play.

 

QB Progression:

We take 95% of our snaps from shotgun so the majority of our QB’s drops will be 3 step drops. We also use Gonzalez’s idea of ACTS (Advantage, Concept, Third Fix, Scramble) to teach our quarterbacks their progression. In this concept, his advantage route is the slant. By the time his back foot hits on his third step he will know whether he is going to throw the slant or not. Even in a situation where the defense brings more than we can block, the quarterback can still stand in and deliver the ball to the slant before the blitz can get home. He’ll take a shot, but we have the opportunity for a big play as well. A key coaching point on the slant is that the quarterback has to throw this where the receiver won’t take a huge shot from a safety. We want the slant run aggressively and if the receiver is worried about taking a hit that doesn’t happen.

If the slant is covered, then the quarterback will hitch up after his third step and look to his concept, which is a hi-lo read on the alley defender to the slant side. This defender can not cover both the 1 route in front of him and the deeper 5 route behind him. Against man coverage, the QB will still progress from high to low and takes the best throw.

If both of those options are covered, the QB will hitch up again and look to his third fix which is the backside in and the check release from the running back. The combination of those two routes creates a hi-lo on the backside defender. Once the QB has gone through the progression and nothing is there, his last option is to scramble and make a play with his feet.

It is important for the quarterback to understand the concept of throwing through windows. On most throws the quarterback will be throwing through a window before the receiver gets there. It is vital that he have a clear understanding of how the different routes stress a defense. 

 

Coaching Points for Routes:

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Stick and Boot Screen SPOs (Screen/Pass Options)

Stick and Boot Screen SPOs (Screen/Pass Options)

Posted by | Mar 15, 2019 | , , | 0 |

By Rich Alercio
Head Football Coach/Athletic Director
St. Johnsbury High School (VT)
Twitter: @OlSkills

 

 

Screen Pass Options (SPOs) provide your quarterback with a frontside pass option opposite the side of your screen.  Like RPOs, SPOs identify the conflict player.  The strongside inside linebacker (Sam) is the most difficult defender to account for in screen blocking.  We identify him as the conflict player.  If he hangs in the box to play screen, we throw the frontside pass.  If he expands to the frontside pass, he is no longer a threat to the screen.

Unlike RPOs, SPOs allow the QB up to 2 seconds to make a Post-Snap read.  Moreover, there are no concerns of a QB/RB exchange, no changes to the blocking scheme, concerns of an illegal man downfield or blitzes with man coverage.

Although RPOs are all the rage in offensive football at every level, we have been running SPOs long before the term conflict player was ever used.  In 2001, while I was the offensive coordinator at The College of New Jersey, we were faced with a 3rd & 6 at Midfield.  We called Trips Right Boot Screen Left with every intention of the quarterback booting to the right and throwing a screen pass to the back on the left.  For some reason, he threw to the Tight End on the frontside who got 9 yards and a first down.  After the series, I asked our quarterback, “Why did you throw the ball to the Tight End”.  He replied, “He was wide open.”  That was a V-8 moment.  From that point on, we always gave our quarterback a frontside pass option before throwing any screen.

On our drop-back SPO we run Stick, a pass we already have in our offense and a route combination most teams use for their RPOs.  We run it out of 3×1 Open and Tight.  We run our Boot SPOs out of 2×2 and 3×1 with a Tight End on the front-side.  All routes and protections are the same if we call Stick or the Stick SPO and Boot or the Boot SPO.  The only tag we will make is to have the screen-side WR Crack, if we do not want him to run the route associated with the pass or if we feel we need him to make a block at the point of attack. 

 

OL Protection:

Our SPOs are 2-Count 3-Man Screens.  In both our drop-back and boot screens, the offensive line will block the protection called for a 2-count.  We block slide protection on drop-back and man protection with a pulling guard on boot.  After the 2-count, 3 offensive linemen will depart down the line of scrimmage to the end of the box then go out, up and in.  In drop–back, it is the Guard, Center & Guard (see diagram 1).  Since the screen side guard is pulling to the boot-side on our boot protection, the 3 linemen going to the screen are the tackle, center, and guard (see diagram 2).  The other two linemen maintain their block.

 

Diagram 1:

Diagram 1

 

Diagram 2:

Diagram 2

 

It is imperative that the offensive linemen departing to the screen do not cross a defensive lineman’s face on the way out.  If blocking a front-side technique (See Diagram 3), that is not a concern.  The coaching point is to keep hips and shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and not turn them to the defender which would delay the departure.  It is a concern when blocking back to a backside technique (See Diagram 4).  The offensive lineman must allow the defender to rush outside of him and then depart behind him.  In this scenario, the offensive lineman can open his hips to the defender which will facilitate a quicker departure to the screen.  When the offensive lineman approaches the defender in space, we have them buzz their feet before contact, just as we teach defenders to breakdown in open-field tackling drills, to avoid them whiffing on the more athletic player in space. 

 

Diagram 3:

Diagram 3

 

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