vol.13, no. 4 gridironstrategies.com pursuit advanced

PLUS: Point-Counterpoint: Pre-Snap Reads vs. Defensive Disguises

StrategiesVol.13, No. 4 • GRIDIRONSTRATEGIES.COM

Quick Look

Advanced Defensive Pursuit rills

Helping Your QB Perform His Best

Improving Technique for Your Wide Receivers

Developing a Multiple Blitz Package

The first term explained in the Louisiana College Wildcat defensive playbook is pursuit. Defensively, each practice is

started with a pursuit drill. We stress to our players that our defense will hang our hats on a relentless, unwavering desire to have eleven players pursuing and attacking the football. We tell our players that there are two types of defensive players – those who run to the foot-ball and those who run to get the football. Relentless pursuit by a defense has many positive effects – caused takeaways, minimiz-ing opponents’ big plays, big hits, and momen-tum shifts. Pursuing the football is the most ba-sic defensive fundamental that all players can excel at regardless of talent. You might not al-ways have an abundance of talent, but you can coach and demand superior effort. Pursuit is all about effort and willpower and has nothing to

By Brian Wallace Co-Defensive Coordinator, Louisiana College

do with your height, weight, speed, or strength. By doing these pursuit drills, you will find out the ones who have a burning desire to play the game and you will get your defense to play with reckless abandon that will create a mental edge over their opponents. The pursuit drills we do set the tempo for practice and gets our players’ in the right state of mind. Each pursuit drill emphasizes the importance of never giving up on a play and straining to get the football. In essence, we want to totally eliminate loafs. We tell our players that nothing bad is going to happen by running to the football, so never give up on a play. Loafing is unacceptable on our de-fense, and we tell our players that when they loaf they might as well go play for the other team because they are traitors. If our players don’t go full speed, then they will not be part Pursuit continued on page 4

Hot topics in this issue

PURSUIT

Creating a Swarming and Physical Defense Through Daily Pursuit Drills

X’s & O’s NEWSLETTER

of our game plan. There are three elements of effort that we are looking for when doing these pursuit drills and when watching film:

Burst - noticeable change of momentum at the moment of recognition.Speed - maximum rate of movement.Finish - proper manner of completion.

The first pursuit drill that we teach is Side-line Pursuit. This drill emphasizes pursuit angles and spacing. Starting off in fall camp and early in spring, we put cones three yards apart down each sideline. We designate the first three cones to be used solely for our three defensive linemen (we run a 3-4 scheme, but

4 gridiron strategies

you can adjust based off of your defense). When the coach calls out the defensive unit, they huddle and are given a defensive call. Af-ter they line up, a coach gives a cadence, and when he snaps the ball, he drops back like a QB. The players will drop according to the cov-erage call and the DL will rush five yards past the line of scrimmage. The coach will give a di-rection to either sideline which tells the play-ers which side to pursue. Other than the first three cones that are designated for the DL, all the other cones are first come, first serve. We wanted to develop a competitive mindset and see which players want to get the football and beat other players to the cones. The coach in the back has a whistle and will blow it multiple times throughout the play-ers’ pursuit to the cones. When the whistle is blown, the players are required to touch their chest to the ground and get back up and con-tinue to pursue. They have the option to dive out on their chest, or do an up-down. Once the player reaches the cone, they break down and have hot feet in a good tackling position with their hips and butt sunk and eyes up and facing the sideline. They continue to have hot feet and are still required to do an up-down if the whistle is blown. Once all players reach the sideline, the coach will blow the whistle for a few more up-downs and then they are whistled back to the huddle. Depending on the time of year and pro-gression of your players, this can be repeated

Diagram 1: Sideline Pursuit

or you can call the next unit out to the field. However, if one player loafs, that player is called out and the whole unit is required to do it again. Once the players have a great concept of the drill, we take the cones away to allow the players to create their own sense of spacing when in pursuit (Diagram 1). The next pursuit drill we teach is Run to Coach Pursuit, which emphasizes getting

eleven helmets to the football. The same pro-cedure is used to start off the drill; however, this time the coach will point to which coach he wants the players to go to. Once the play-ers get to the coach, they circle around in the same good tackling position with hot feet and the coach will take them through a series of up-downs prior to dismissing them (Diagram 2). The final pursuit drill we run is the Takeaway

5gridironstrategies.com

Diagram 2: Run to Coach Pursuit

Diagram 3: Takeaway Pursuit

Pursuit Drill. This pursuit emphasizes the prop-er process and pursuit once the defense pro-duces a takeaway – we become the offense. We will use this pursuit on lighter preparation days to save our players’ legs. After the same starting procedure, the coach will drop back and throw the ball to any of the defenders in coverage. We coach our players to catch the ball at the high-est point and then get to the near bottom of the numbers (not the sideline). By getting to

the bottom of the numbers, it will allow our defender with the ball to escape tacklers and not just get run out of bounds. The DL turns and finds the QB to block. The nearest de-fender to the ball is coached to turn and block the intended WR then follow behind the ball in case of a fumble. All other defenders get to the top of the numbers and clear a path for the ball carrier and lead him into the end zone (Diagram 3). p

About the Author: Brian Wallace is in his third season as co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach, and recruiting coordinator at Louisiana College. Wallace played linebacker at LC from 2004-2008 and was a two-time team captain. He started his coaching career at his alma mater but then spent three seasons as a defensive and special teams assistant at Louisiana-Lafayette. Wallace then joined the LC staff in February, 2011.


RUN ‘N SHOOT BREAKING DOWN THE CHOICE ROUTES IN THE


I n this offense, the receivers make adjustments to their routes based on coverage. These coverages are divided into four base categories – single safety zone, two safety zone, man and blitz. We will concentrate on “choice” routes and the receiver’s conversions vs. single safety zone

coverage. The choice route is designed for the single receiver in a 3 X 1 formation (Diagram 1). Proper alignment is very important to stretch the defense both vertically and horizontally (Diagram 2).The receivers will be num-bered playside 1 and backside 1, 2, and 3.

Diagram 1: CHOICE vs. Single Safety Zone Coverage

Diagram 2: Proper Alignment

WR route decisions are based on alignment and the type of

coverage the free safety shows in this offense.

By Wayne Anderson, Jr.Former Head Coach of the Bialystok Lowlanders


Techniques of the Playside Single Receiver vs. Single Safety Zone Coverage:

The single WR will run his route and make a deci-sion based on the man covering him by the time he gets to his seventh step. By his fifth step, he should know where he’s going to go (Diagram 3).

Coaching Point: the receiver should always line up with his outside leg back in his stance.

If the defender covering the single WR is three to five yards deep, by the time the receiver reaches his seventh step, he will run a speed out (Diagram 4). That seventh step is taken at 45 degrees in which the WR brings his inside leg over the top. This is a speed cut technique which is different than your normal plant and cut technique of an out route. As the WR runs his route upfield, he wants to attack the outside shoulder of the defender covering him.

If the receiver breaks down the cushion of the defender to three yards or less, then on his sev-enth step he will run a skinny post (Diagram 5).

Coaching Point: It is important that the receiv-er run this post route skinny so the free safety does not come into play.

If the defender is playing an open technique and crosses his legs over, this is considered either a

man or zone technique. For the purpose of this article, we will consider it a zone technique (Dia-gram 6).

The rules are the same for the WR attacking a de-fender playing an outside “open” technique. He is against a defender using a backpedal technique except that the receiver will be attacking the hip of the open technique defender instead of the outside shoulder of the defender (Diagram 7).

If the defender is playing a hard inside tech-nique, then the receiver will run a straight line up the field and make the proper conversion on his seventh step (Diagrams 8A and 8B).

If in backpedal technique: If open technique:

If the receiver breaks down the defender’s cush-ion to three yards or less, he will then continue to run vertically upfield instead of a skinny post route (Diagram 9).

Versus a blitz, the receiver will run three to five steps upfield and then break to a ‘quick’ post route (Diagram 10).

The backside routes are just as important as the frontside routes. All four receivers need to know their routes and conversions for the play to be successful.

BACKSIDE ROUTES: Backside 1

The WR is reading the drop of the defender cov-ering him. If the defender in his drop opens his hips to the inside and is playing high over the top, then at a depth of 8-10 yards, the WR will hook up and find the open window back to the QB. If the WR is able to break down the defend-er’s cushion, then he just takes him upfield (Dia-grams 11A and 11B).

If the defender opens his hips to the outside, then the receiver just takes him upfield (Dia-gram 12).

Backside 2

The WR can either be motioned over into a 3 X 1 formation or just line up in the #2 position in trips (Diagrams 13A and 13B).

At the snap of the ball, the WR runs upfield and avoids contact with the second level defender. After clearing, he will read the position - a seam read – of the free safety (Diagram 14).

If the free safety rotates over to the play side, then he will keep running the seam route (Dia-gram 15).

3.4.

5.

6. 7.

9

8A. 8B.9.

10. 11A. 11B.

12.

13A.

14. 15.

13B.

gridironstrategies.com


If the free safety stays in the middle of the field, then at 15-18 yards the WR will hook and find the open window back to the QB (Diagram 16).

If the free safety rotates to cover the WR, then the WR will break across his face to the open area he vacated and get upfield (Diagram 17).

Backside 3

In this instance, the WR is running a crossing route at a depth of 5-7 yards (Diagram 18).

The WR’s job is to hold the underneath coverage and be the “hot” read for the ILB blitz. In zone cov-erage, the WR wants to work his way across the field and find the open window back to the QB.

Quarterback

There are two different ways to teach the drop of the QB: (1) the traditional half roll drop or, (2) having the QB in the shotgun with a three-step angle drop (Diagrams 19A and 19B).

Half Roll Angle Drop

Correct footing is shown for the angle drop out of the shotgun for a left and right-handed QB (Diagrams 20A and 20B).

1. step with left foot 1. step with right foot2. step with right foot 2. step with left foot3. step with left foot 3. step with right foot

By the QB’s third step, he should know if he is going to throw front side and what conversion route the WR is going to run. If the QB has any indecision, then he will go to the back side and the next progression. By going to the back side, the QB will pick up the location of the FS. Where the FS is will let the QB know what conversion the backside #2 receiver makes on his seam read.

Here is the QB’s read progression (Diagrams 21A and 21B)

Pass protection - is a six-man pass protection with the single back going to the single receiver side.

I am sure that some high school coaches will ask if high school players are able to make these conversions and my response is ‘yes.’ For exam-ple, when I was coaching in Italy in 2008, I had a receiver that had been playing American football for less than a year and he was able to make the proper conversions playing the playside number #1 position with less pre-season practice time than a high school player would get.

Like a team that runs the triple option, the Run ‘n Shoot is all about repetition and paying at-tention to detail. If you are a coach that wants to run this offense, it is very important that you do not combine other offensive philosophies with the Run ‘n Shoot. Again, this is due to repetitions during practice time. If you are coaching two different philosophies, you’re not going to have enough practice time to be good at either one. If you are going to commit to the Run ‘n Shoot, then you need to totally go all in. It is a fun of-fense to run and your players, coaches, and fans will enjoy it. p

About the Author: A frequent contributor to both American Football Monthly and Gridiron Strate-gies, Wayne Anderson has over 20 years of coach-ing experience on the high school, college, and professional level. He is the former head coach of the Bialystock Lowlanders and has also coached in Italy, Denmark, and Poland.


16. 17. 18.

19A. 19B.

20A. 20B.

21A. 22B.

Football coaches spend countless hours researching new techniques and schemes that they can teach to their team to increase their winning percentage. We have a great example this year in the NFL

with what the San Francisco 49ers did with their quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, and the Pistol Offense. All of the adjustments you make to your schemes (installing the 3-4 defense to defend against the spread) or changes in technique (using the “double under” technique to increase functional strength on a run block) are valuable to your team. However, as we get caught up in the latest offensive and defensive craze, we have a tendency to overlook another important aspect to the game – special teams play. I have heard many coaches preach the importance of the kicking game during practices to get their players to try harder on those units but then undervalue special teams in terms of practice time and/or film study. Think of how many games that you have ever been involved in that came down to a field goal or how frustrated you were by poor field position. Now think of how you could address those issues so that those situations are tipped in your favor. We believe one of the easiest solutions to that problem is to make the best use of your special teams to create scoring situations as well as put your opponents’ in an uphill battle against field position.

IMPLEMENTING THE “DOG SOLDIER” MENTALITY

In one of our first meetings as a staff this summer, our Special Teams Coordinator Todd Alles told us a story about a sect of the Cheyenne Indian Tribe. In the 1800s, when America was trying to expand its territory and displace Native Americans in the process, there grew resistance against the pioneers. The Cheyenne Indian Tribe had a militaristic sect of warriors known as the “Dog Soldiers.” The legend says that the Dog Soldiers would chain themselves to a spear and throw that spear into the ground during a battle to show their adversaries that this is their ground and it will not be taken. We want our special teamers to share this same mentality. Special teams is not for the weak of heart. The most important quality in a special teams player on our squad is the willingness to put their body on the line for the one play they are on the field. When filling your special teams depth chart, the most important quality you should look for is courage. You want the player who plays with reckless abandon; the guy who takes the old adage “play each play as if it is your last” to heart. Another way we are able to reinforce this idea of fearlessness is that we name each of our special teams unit after a unit in the Armed Forces (Rangers, Commandos, etc.). As a team we acknowledge what

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR SPECIAL TEAMS


A “Dog Soldier” mentality will maximize your special teams play.

By Tom Watts, Head Coach and Matt Brown, Former Tight Ends Coach

Ohio Wesleyan University


servicemen do for our country and emulate the military in a number of aspects including the mentality of a soldier, organizational methods, and team unity. Once we have our depth chart set, we will start on the first day of fall camp installing the schemes for our special teams. We teach each player their responsibility in the scheme and make sure they understand the importance of their role on each unit. We believe that if our players completely comprehend our scheme then they will buy into their role and ensure that we have sound special teams play.

PRACTICE

Practice is the most important time for special teams and, unfortunately, the trends suggest that special teams are primarily practiced the day before the game when practices are non-contact. We typically spend about twenty five minutes on our full-contact days (Tuesday and Wednesday) on special teams. We focus on two special units per day (punt and kickoff on Tuesday, punt return and kick return on Wednesday) with each unit getting between seven and eight reps per practice. We also begin practice with a “specialist” period. During this ten minute period, we will have our kickers, punters, and snappers working together with returners honing their skills. We will also use this time to review our scheme and discuss how our opponent will try to attack us with the players on each unit. Our field goal unit will also work during this period on getting aligned, using proper technique, and improving overall execution. Our Thursdays are almost entirely devoted to special teams. We have meetings during the day where we will spend ten minutes with each unit watching film of practice during the week and reviewing our opponents’ film to give our players a better understanding of their scheme and how we are going to attack them. Thursday’s practices are a bit lighter than Tuesday and Wednesday. Our practice usually lasts about ninety minutes and we are in shells. We spend at least five minutes on kickoff, kick return, punt, and punt return and then about ten minutes at the end of practice with field goal and field goal block units. We tie our special units period with our offensive and defensive practice time as well because we focus on working field zones with those groups on Thursday. Similar to most teams, we spend a bulk of our Friday practice working with the kicking game. We have our “Friday Script” which will start with a

special unit and then the appropriate team will run a play against air, the special unit associated with the outcome of that play will then take the field and take a rep against air as well. We practice for about 45 minutes on Friday and our “Friday Script” takes about 30 minutes. Here is an example of our weekly practice plans:

OWU Football 2012

4:00 pm Warm up

4:15 pm Special Teams Mock Game

• #1 Delta receives kick and returns it to the 5.• 1st OFF runs 1 play for a TD vs. air.• #1 Expt kicks expt.• #1 Recon kicks off to returners only and it is downed at -30.• 1st DEF defends 1 play, intercepts for a TD vs. air.• #1 Expt FG team executes a ready call vs. air.• #1 Seal team 6 kicks onside and recovers on the -40 vs. air• 2nd OFF runs one play vs. air• #1 Commandos punts with snapper from the -40 with returners catching.• 2nd DEF defends one play from -40 vs. air.• #1 Rangers return right vs air.• #1 ALL STATE receives kick from just the kicker.• 1st DEF comes out to for Punt Safe.• #1 Rangers block vs. air.• #1 Recon kick-off after a safety (kicking it with returners).• #1 Delta after a safety-PUNT IT WITH RETURNERS.• #1 Commandos punt from the -5 and take a safety.• Speed FG

4:40 pm TEAM OFF AND DEF

5:00 pm Announcements The players have Sundays off while the staff meets to review the previous game and starts to gear up for the next opponent. The most time we spend together as a full staff is during our special teams meeting when we review film from the previous day, identify mistakes,


and discuss what we can do to fix those mistakes. Mondays are our day to review the game with our players. We spend about an hour going through our special teams film with our players to make corrections and point out great plays. We hand out paper awards to our players after a win and each Sunday our staff identifies players who did a great job on special teams. I think by handing out our “Dog Soldier” award we are giving our players another reason to buy into their role and giving them an incentive to work hard. p

About the Authors: Now in his second season as head coach at Ohio Wesleyan, Tom Watts finished his first year with a 9-1 record. He previously served as the special teams coordinator, defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator At Baldwin Wallace. A 2002 graduate of Hanover College, Watts has also coached at Westminster college, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and Waynesburg College.

Matt Brown recently joined the staff of Franklin College as offensive line coach after serving as tight ends coach at Ohio Wesleyan. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Baldwin Wallace and also coached there as a student assistant.


Trying to stop today’s explosive offenses has become an enormous challenge for defensive coaches. Having to defend

the spread option, power run game, vertical passing game and the single wing (Wildcat) on a weekly basis will definitely keep you up late at night. Designing a game plan that is flexible and well thought out can give you an edge over your opponent. Game planning for us is a merging of what we do well defensively and trying to take away what the offense does best.

Every offense has strengths and tendencies in their personnel groupings, down and distances and situations. We use film study to try to decipher their strengths and tendencies and come up with ideas within our defensive framework to stop them. On average, we break down three to four games of our upcoming opponent. Our breakdown sheet has around 18 categories from personnel and play name to formation width and pass concept. We also have our coaches draw up

GAMEPLANNING FOR TODAY’S HIGH OCTANE OFFENSES

Defensive coaches should ask “What is the theory of the offense?” when preparing for their next opponent.

every pass route, run play and pass protection to get a feel of WR splits, blocking schemes and ball distribution. After breaking down the opponent’s film, the first question we try to answer is, “What is the theory of the offense?” The theory could be ball control run, vertical pass game, spread option or controlled short pass game. Every theory is based on a set of beliefs, whether it’s numbers and angles, explosiveness or clock control. Knowing the theory of the offense

By Mike MutzDefensive Coordinator, Blinn College


will give insight into the play caller’s thought process and where the foundation of the offense originates from. The second question we want to get answered is “Who beats us?” This question is simply trying to figure out which offensive player or players do we have to stop – QB, WR or RB. Our game plan will center on taking away this key player. We also study the offensive personnel by their position groups (WR, OL, etc.) as well as individuals. It is also important to know who the backup QB is and have an idea what his ability level is. Once the above questions are answered, we will begin looking at the offenses different personnel groups and looking at the run/pass tendencies within each group. We then will take it a step further and look at the run/pass tendencies by personnel, down and distance. We define our down and distances by first and 10, second and normal (1-6), second and long (7+). We treat third and fourth down as there own separate game plan. First and second

Chart 1.

down calls will constitute about 75% of the game, so the majority of our practice time will be dedicated to executing these calls. We will try to identify their favorite runs, pass concepts and protections by personnel and down and distance and create calls to stop them. One device that has helped us over the years is to call the front and the coverage independently of one another. This allows us greater flexibility in trying to make the perfect call to stop their favorite run play and favorite pass concept. Within each personnel group and down and distance, we will have a base call, stopper call and pressure or blitz. All offense is rhythm and the more you can upset the rhythm, the better your chances of keeping points off the scoreboard. Another idea that has served us well over the years is scripting our calls. This has helped us mix fronts, coverages and pressures and prevented us from falling into a rut with our play calls. Once first and second down are completed,

we move to third and fourth down. We break third and fourth down into four different categories – third and short (1-2), third and medium (3-6), third and long (7-8) and third and extra long (9+). We have separate philosophies for each down and distance and we will create calls that match those philosophies. Our goal on third and short is to stop the offense 55% of the time. We want to get penetration, fill all inside gaps and stop their favorite run play. Our goal on third and medium is to stop the offense 65% of the time. We want to disrupt WR routes with press coverage or squats and halves coverage, attack protections and defend the sticks. Our goal on third and long/extra long is to stop the offense 75% of the time. We want to stop the ball from being thrown vertically down the field and mix blitz looks with coverage looks. Once third down is down is complete, we begin to plan for the special situations that will occur during a game – red zone, goal line, two-


Chart 2.

minute and four-minute offense. On average, the offense will be in the red zone three to four times per game. Holding the opponent to FG attempts is a must. Realistically, if the offense gets four trips to the red zone per game and you can hold them to FGs 50% of the time, you are playing well on defense. Goal line defense will be different every week. Some teams will not get into bigger personnel on the goal line while others will. We will try to match the offensive personnel with our different packages. On most two-minute situations, the offense will not have a large formation package and usually rely on their most practiced route concepts. We try to put our best pass rushers on the field and give the QB different coverages every snap. Four-minute situations are usually high blitz circumstances for us. We are trying to stop the run and create negative plays and takeaways. The clock is our enemy (See attached charts). Finally, a topic never discussed in any

staff room is the word luck. Ten to twenty percent of the game comes down to luck. Sometimes you will have the perfect call on and your defender slips, the official misses a call or makes an incorrect call or the ball takes a lucky bounce for your opponent. Don’t panic. Understand there are forces out of your control and you must roll with the punches. Keep your confidence level up and dismiss any negative thinking. Your players will take their cue from you, and if you remain resilient – so will they.

About the Author: Mike Mutz was named the defensive coordinator at Blinn College in March, 2012. He spent the previous six seasons on the staff of Missouri Southern State University. Mutz has also coached at Sam Houston State, Ft. Scott Community College and Southern Illinois University. He is a 1997 graduate of Colorado-Mesa where he played defensive back.

18 gridiron strategies20 gridiron strategiesgridiron strategies


1. Stride Length - Perfect foot contact maxi-mizes stride length, which is defined as the dis-tance traveled with each step. Increasing stride length allows an athlete to cover more ground in the direction they need to move with each step - whether moving forward, sideways, or back-ward. Maximizing effective stride length is done by increasing power output (how much and how fast force is applied to the ground) and optimiz-ing the direction force is applied. If an athlete moves better and produces more power, he will improve stride length.

2. Stride Frequency – This key element is im-proved when the amount of perfect foot con-tact an athlete makes in a given amount of time increases. Stride frequency is a function of how quickly an athlete applies force during contact with the ground and how quickly and skillfully he moves his leg through the air to prepare to make the next perfect foot contact. Improving power output and mechanics during contact with the ground and during the recovery phase (repo-sitioning the limbs in the air) will increase stride frequency. Athletes need powerful lower abdomi-nals and muscles surrounding the hips to execute good recovery mechanics. Recovery phase me-chanics are vital in order to get in a good position to make a perfect foot contact. The faster you run, the less time you spend on the ground.

By Jordan Dowd • Athletic Republic Training Centers

5 FUNDAMENTALS OF SPEED TRAINING

3. Power Output – Improving your power out-put during all phases of sprinting will increase your speed. Incline running on a treadmill is a great method to improve power output since the treadmill doesn’t slow down when the ath-lete gets tired or makes a mistake in his mechan-ics. Using a combination of a strategically-placed mirror, instant replay video to monitor technique and a skilled trainer standing right next to the athlete provides a great environment for im-proving running mechanics and power. Strength and power training targeting key muscle groups for speed development like the hips, trunk, legs and upper body are essential for improving raw power and dynamic stability. Controlled, weighted jumps combined with eccentric over-load training provide a proven way to maximize raw power output. Ground-based agility, ladder, cone and plyometric drills that focus on improv-ing the fundamentals of accelerating, decelerat-ing, cutting, jumping and landing are all vital for transferring improvements in power and condi-tioning to the playing field.

4. Symmetry - An athlete is only as fast or powerful as his weakest leg. Symmetry is the bal-ance in the power developed during contact and recovery between the right and left leg. Training to ensure each leg is equally stable and powerful first involves a reliable assessment of the power

output and dynamic stability between legs. If power output differs above a certain percent-age, the weaker leg is targeted in training. Typi-cal methods for improvement include single leg lifts, jumps, and agility drills performed at a wide range of loads, velocities and directions.

5. Stamina - This is an athlete’s ability to sustain power throughout competition. Sprinters only need to produce power for a few seconds, but most athletes must maximize speed and power, recover, and then do it over and over again. This demands a level of conditioning that will allow an athlete to maintain form and technique while fatigued. A year-round training plan that incorpo-rates an athlete’s in-season, post-season and pre-season development is required to build speed and stamina while reducing the risk of injury.

“Every athlete has the capacity to improve their first step, create separation from a defend-er, close a gap on an opponent, make a quicker cut, increase their endurance and improve their top end speed,” said Swanson. “It requires a com-mitment to performance training and improving in each of the five fundamentals to prefect the skill of speed,” added Swanson. p

For more information regarding Athletic Republic training visit http://www.AthleticRepublic.com.

“Speed is a defining attribute of athleticism. No longer considered a genetic gift, speed is a skill that ultimately depends on how effectively an athlete puts force into the ground,” said Steve Swanson, Chief Science and Technology Officer at Athletic Republic. “While summer is a great time to develop speed skills, especially for fall sports, the bottom line is the fundamentals of speed can be trained year-round,” added Swanson. Speed can be improved by training five fundamental components: stride length, stride

frequency, power output, symmetry, and stamina.

20 gridiron strategiesgridiron strategies

21gridironstrategies.com42 www.AmericanFootballMonthly.com


By Doug HeslipAssistant Coach, Team USA

As a head coach, I believe “It starts with the linemen and ends with the linemen.” If our linemen can run and pass block, then the team will enjoy success. If we

struggle blocking with the big men, then we will not be successful. You can’t stray from the basics and fundamentals of the game. But you can be creative and incorporate different ways for your players to develop and get better. If you have a large group of linemen or a small group, I believe every school can benefit from the use of barrels in their development of offensive linemen. There are multiple drills where you can use

barrels, but I want to focus on just a few that we have used in the past and will continue to use in the future. The barrels I use are 55-gallon blue plastic drums. The barrel must not have any holes and must have both caps to the openings on top. I fill the barrels up with water. With a gallon of water weighing approximately 8 pounds, when the barrel is full it can weigh up to 440 pounds. So you have to decide how full you want to fill the barrels. The first drill is the “barrel roll.” The focus of the drill is to develop run blocking. Most schools use sleds for this drill. We also use sleds, but we want to make it fun and

Barrel WarsDrills with barrels can help both the run blocking technique

and front recognition for your offensive linemen.

challenging for the linemen and keep it fresh. Our acronym for run blocking is “BUBLS” - B-base, U-pads under pads, B-bend in knees, L-landmark, S-short choppy steps. The barrel will be on its side so that it will roll. You can have one barrel filled to the max so that you can use it for double team blocking by two linemen. You can have another barrel filled halfway to two-thirds full and use it for single blocking. In diagram 1, the illustration shows the player in correct position to engage the barrel. The coaching point is to have the players engage the barrel with a good base, keep their pad level low, have bend in their knees, hands on the barrel (landmark), and

23gridironstrategies.comgridironstrategies.com

use short choppy steps to roll the barrel. This drill also keeps their hands moving and works on hand placement. We have the linemen compete by seeing who can roll the barrel the farthest in four seconds, the average time of a football play. The second drill is called “Rapid Fire.” The focus of the drill is to develop front recognition. This is where the numbers game comes into the equation. In most small schools it is a luxury to have more than six or seven linemen. Even if you have enough linemen to put a defensive front on the other side, you can still benefit from the use of barrels. Your offensive line goes up against a live defensive front if you have enough bodies. They recognize the front and make their calls on the blocking assignment for pass or the run depending on the play called. In diagram 2, the offense is lined up against an even front. After they run the

play, the offensive line will immediately turn around and face another front made up of the barrels. In this illustration, the barrels are lined up in an odd front. You want to make the barrels a different front so that the offensive linemen are getting reps at recognizing different fronts. The coaching point is to give the offensive line an opportunity to recognize multiple fronts and make the appropriate blocking calls for your offensive plays. p

About the Author: James Housdan is in his second season as head coach at Parkers Chapel High School in El Dorado, Arkansas. He is in his 13th season as a coach, having previously coached at three other Arkansas high schools – Pulaski Academy, Johnson County Westside and Southside Batesville. Housdan is a 2000 graduate of Arkansas State.

Diagram 1: Proper position

Diagram 2: Facing odd and even fronts


MULTIPLICITY THROUGH SIMPLICITY Being Multiple in 21 Personnel

25gridironstrategies.comgridironstrategies.com

By Ryan Majors Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach

William Jewell CollegeMULTIPLICITY THROUGH SIMPLICITY “Multiplicity Through Simplicity”- this short

phrase is a pillar of our offensive philosophy. Mul-tiplicity means we want every player to under-stand that we can run our offense out of as many looks as we can. Simplicity means we define roles and alignments ahead of time for our positions to fit into those looks, and then teach our QBs how they all tie together. We are able to utilize the spread, no-huddle components of our offense while staying in 21 personnel (2 RB, 2WR, 1TE). The first component of our offense that gives us the ability to become multiple in 21 personnel is our formation/alignment structure. We have hard calls for fifteen formations that are the sum of the pieces we can put together in any person-nel grouping. The quarterbacks in our system learn that each formation/alignment combina-tion is like a math equation. Through our meet-ings and homework, they learn how to see the solution. This system has reduced mistakes in alignment by all of our skill players. Our quarter-backs have also developed a better understand-

Diagram 1. Right

ing of field awareness, defensive alignments, and matchup advantages. We designate nine spots on the field for align-ments that we tag using position-specific word-ing. For all motions, we have the same spots numbered 1 through 9, which are universal for all positions. Using this method, we are able to get into a variety of looks out of our base pro for-mation (Diagram 1). Displayed in Diagram 2 and 3 are the tags we use to the right of the field for the tailback and fullback, as well as the cor-responding motion labels. Starting in our base formation, right, we can get to a TE trips look by naming the formation “Right Fir” or by motioning “Right-T8.” Furthermore, we can get to an empty backfield by naming the formation, “Right Fir-T2.” The second component to being multiple is our Two-Play Check system. We send our offense to the LOS with a Two-Play Check around 60% of the time. We teach our QBs what we are looking for in each check so that on Saturday they can run the show.

Diagram 2.

Diagram 3.

Being Multiple in 21 Personnel


Our QB will get us into the correct play on the LOS through his cadence. We are able to pack-age 2-Play Checks with Run/Run, Run/Pass, and Pass/Pass. Unless we have a younger QB, or there is a new look from the defense, we rarely take over for the QB from the sideline. If we have to do so, only the QB will look to the sideline, get the check, and then communicate the play in his cadence. Overall, this system allows us to snap the ball in a timely manner, and keep the defense from baiting us with a look before the offense looks to the sideline. Whether a 2-Play Check is on or not, our cadence system remains the same so as to not trigger the defense that we are changing a play. The communication needed to change a play is coded in to the cadence. This system also puts our QB in charge and gets him more in tune to the defense and how our game plan is designed to attack each week. The following are a few packages we utilize out of 21 Personnel. In 21 Personnel, we use a FB and TB, and other times we use two TBs. We experiment each spring and fall camp with all of our backs (TB and FB) to better understand the skill sets they have so we can best utilize those skills in the season. We teach all of our backs the footwork and blocking assignments for all of our run plays. In our individual and group periods, we have all of our backs receive handoffs and work blocking fundamentals with each other. This allows us to get a lot of reps as the drill never stops to wait on anyone to get lined up, and ei-ther position can fit in at FB or TB. Whether we are working two-back or one- back plays, they are all constantly working. The past three years we have had two fullbacks that we have been able to use at times as a heavier tailback. These players had a knack for seeing Inside Zone, Pow-er, and Counter, as well as one-back protection. Also, keeping the FB in the backfield and split-ting out a TB only expanded what we could do in our personnel packages. One formation we utilize with a great deal of efficiency is a Trips Closed formation (Diagram 4). In this formation, we call a variety of 2-Play Checks in order to best utilize the numbers game against the defense. This line of thinking gives us some great advantages in the “Green Zone” which we define as the 25-yard line and in. We use this term instead of the “Red Zone” because that is a defensive-minded term which means “stop – we want to go.” The formation call in Diagram 4 is “Lt Over Tire.” Lt Over (Twins) is the base formation and the “Tire” tag moves the TB to the wing position, aligning us in a trips closed formation. We define alignments ahead of time. Using these defini-tions limits the amount of memorization for each position, and allows us a variety of ways to use all of our personnel to become multiple. The remaining RB in the backfield can be either a FB or TB. Either of the backs left in the backfield are expected to lead block on QB runs. The play call in Diagram 4 is Zone Read Left. With this play, we

will bubble #3, which in this case is our TB. We tell our QB that with any leverage advantage we get to the trips side to go ahead and throw the bub-ble (this decision can be made pre-or post-snap). If the bubble is not thrown, the QB will read the “C” gap defender for the give/pull read. Built into our play are two chances to quickly get one of our RBs the ball, one in space with the bubble and one with our base run play. A 2-Play Check out of the same formation is QB Power to the right or quick game to the left. Our QB looks at the number’s match up to our trips side. If we get anything close to a 4-on-3 by

the defense, we will run the play strong. If we get a 3-on-3 match up by the defense, then we will run the Quick Game call. Diagrams 5 and 6 show each check based on the defensive alignment. The next two plays are counter read plays that we use in 10/11 personnel that we have adapt-ed to 21 personnel. The formation call is “Right Tear-Y2” which changes us from a TE trips look, with the TB in the slot, into a 2 X 2 open forma-tion with the TE motion (Diagram 7). The first play is an OT counter, with a QB read option built in (Diagram 8). The playside tackle and TE or guard are working down to the backside LB, the

Diagram 4.

Diagram 5.

Diagram 6.

Diagram 7


Diagram 9.

Diagram 8.

C is back blocking to first man to the back side. The pulling guard is kicking first to show and the pulling tackle is working to the playside LB. The QB has a backside bubble (which is run by the TB) for any leverage opportunities, and he can also pull the ball if the C gap defender chases and the support player runs with the bubble. We can 2-Play Check this play with itself based on num-bers, or with a passing concept based on safety structure. The last play is a variation of our two-back counter, pulling the backside guard to kick out and using the FB to lead on the playside LB (Dia-gram 9). In one-back formations we make this a QB run call. First the QB will read the bubble to the play side for leverage. If support chases the bubble, the QB will follow his lead blocker, which is whatever back we leave in the backfield. Finally, we are able to vary tempo in 21 Per-sonnel. To execute a no-huddle pace out of 21 personnel, we incorporate a handful of plays on our No Huddle/2-Minute Band that each player wears each week. We are able to jump into this pace anytime we have 21 Personnel on the field. Our 21 Personnel No-Huddle has the pertinent information on the band for each position. First, we signal the play number to the QB, he echoes the number to the other players, and then the ball is snapped. The QB and WRs will have the full call, formation and all. The OL will have the run play or protection where formation is not nec-essary for them. The TEs will have the formation and specific route or run play. The RBs will have the formation, run play/protection. We have worked to align our offense with the most basic of our personnel groups so we are not limited in our calls. We also want to try to break

tendencies and rhythms in opponents’ play calls. We arrived on campus three years ago with a va-riety of personnel on our roster, and have con-tinued to recruit that way each year. “Multiplicity Through Simplicity” has created an environment for our players, recruits, and coaches that allows all of us to expand our skills and play to our dif-fering abilities throughout the course of a sea-son or career. p

About the Author: Ryan Majors is in his third sea-son at William Jewell, serving as both offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach. He previously was the head coach at Shawnee Mission North High School (KS) for five years and also was a graduate as-sistant at Pittsburg State. Majors was a quarterback at Emporia State University and a three-year cap-tain. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Emporia State and a Master’s Degree from Pittsburg State.

4 gridiron strategies30 gridiron strategies

I n 2012, Wofford’s option-based offense featured a dynamic fullback in Walter Payton Award finalist, Eric Breitenstein. Defenses tailored their scheme to force anyone else to beat them except Breitenstein.

It didn’t work. Terriers running backs coach Aaron Johnson made the appropriate adjustments, and Breitenstein went on to rush for 2,045 yards and 19 touchdowns. In this month’s “Point-Counterpoint”, Johnson talks about different ways to get his best playmakers involved, while Northwestern College (IA) defensive coordinator Matt McCarty breaks down how to take an offense’s biggest weapon away. McCarty employs a 3-5 stack defense, mixing in cover 2 and cover 3 and zone blitzing one of his five linebackers around 90 percent of the time. Here is how he’ll try to take away a team’s biggest offensive weapon and how Johnson will try to get his best player the ball.

McCarty: If they are an option team, we want to make sure we’re sending someone to him (best ball carrier) all the time. With our scheme as a stack, it’s a gap-control defense. One of our five linebackers is going to blitz directly to that player. If he’s a dive back, we’re sending someone to dive. If he’s a pitch back, we’re sending someone right to him at pitch. We don’t want him carrying the ball.

Johnson: Last year, we had one of our better fullbacks. Everyone wanted to squeeze and close down that tackle when he veered, and

take the fullback. So it was hard to just run our triple option and get him (fullback) the ball. We would tweak our scheme with our offensive tackle to now open a gap, because if they are taking away the fullback, they have to be sound on the back end to account for the quarterback. We would just tweak it a little bit to create a little bit of space to avoid where the linebacker was.

McCarty: If it’s option, we’re going to dictate who’s carrying the ball and try to make sure it’s not their star. If that back is the dive back, the blitzer will bend his blitz flat and try to go to the dive. We don’t disguise it a whole lot. We just want to make sure we take away their best player. If they know what we’re doing, maybe they’ll have to adjust and I’m OK with that.

Johnson: If the defense is deciding that they’re going to squeeze because the fullback is dangerous, then we can always tweak it and run our mid-line concepts, because it doesn’t matter what the tackle does on the dive since we’re going to pitch off of it now.

McCarty: If it’s a regular zone scheme, one-back set or I-formation, we’re going to really try to take away what they do best. Maybe it’s their best one or two plays. We’re going to scheme against those and make them do something they’re not comfortable at. We’re going to try to take away their two best plays.

By David Purdum

Aaron JohnsonWofford College (SC)

Running Backs Coach/Recruiting Coordinator A former running back for the Terriers, Johnson is in his fifth

season on the staff. Wofford was second in the nation last season in rushing, averaging 349.7 yards per game.

Matt McCartyNorthwestern College (IA)Assistant Head Coach/Defensive CoordinatorMcCarty is in his ninth season directing the Raiders’ 3-5 stack scheme. Northwestern has ranked among the NAIA’s top 15 in scoring defense, total defense and sacks in eight of McCarty’s nine seasons

CoachSchool

PositionNotes

TALE OF THE TAPE

POINT-COUNTERPOINT

GETTING THE BALL TO YOUR PLAYMAKER VS. TAKING AWAY YOUR BIGGEST OFFENSIVE WEAPON


Johnson: If they’re targeting our pitch man, then the quarterback has to run the ball or we have to adjust our perimeter blocking to account for that pitch player (defender). That can be as simple as taking the slot receiver or our wing against the linebacker or perimeter defender. We also arch our tackle on a mid-line scheme to get an extra number on the perimeter. If they are running someone out to take away the pitch, we’ll just arch our tackle and use him as a perimeter blocker along with our halfback or receiver on him to account for that extra number. Everything in option football is based on numbers and how the defense reacts to it. Everything that they do is naturally going to create another opportunity for us.

McCarty: If we play a team that has an outstanding QB, we’re going to make sure we’re blitzing him and we’re going directly to the quarterback. We’re going to make him give it and make sure he knows that we’re there all the time. If it’s a boot, we’re going to send someone to him all the time. A few times, if it’s a zone read team, we will cross blitzes or mix up blitzes. For example, we may send our outside linebacker down to dive or at the quarterback and loop our backer outside to the pitch. And then the next time we’ll send our backer to the QB and our defensive end to the pitch. We’re going to try to adjust his reads to cause some indecision.

Because of Wofford’s option scheme, the Terriers don’t face a lot of bracket coverage on their wide outs, like McCarty uses against dynamic wide outs. Johnson tries to get his receivers involved in the running game.

Johnson: We’re always trying to see if a reverse is an option that’s available later in the game, no matter what the defense does. If we have a playmaker at wide receiver, a reverse is always one of the options that ensures we’ll get him the ball. We look for any time that the reverse player (on defense), the cut-back player, on the back side away from the play ends up over-pursing to the football. It’s hard to train yourself as a coach to not focus on the position that your guys are playing and how they’re performing during the game. But, instead, you need to actually watch and see what is happening on the back side or the back edge of the play and to how the defense is reacting. That is something one of our coaches is usually watching to be able to see if the reverse play is a weapon that we want to utilize later in the game.

McCarty: The main thing is we’ll play zone coverage behind him, but our flat defender is pressed on him, being physical with him and leaving our safety in zone behind him. If we’re in our cover 3, we put our dog or outside linebacker and have someone on the line of scrimmage that is physical to disrupt the timing. A lot of times they are going to try to throw screens to him, and that’ll help throw off the timing. If he tries to go vertical, we’ll still have help over the top. We will match up our best corner, switch sides if we need to, and make sure our best corner is on their best receiver. At Wofford, halftime adjustments are made by reviewing the call sheet and identifying the problems with the calls in the first half. The Terriers’ staff will then pinpoint the cause of the negative plays and figure out ways to tweak them to get their biggest threat the ball. “For example, if it was a trap play and they took it away because X, Y or Z happened, then we need to come back and run our trap option,” said Johnson. “We basically create a formula in the second half based off the successful plays we had in the first half and the adjustments to the negatives plays in the first half.” It will be up to defensive coordinators like McCarty to make counter-adjustments, while still focusing on taking away the offense’s best players and plays. p

vol.13, no. 4 gridironstrategies.com pursuit advanced

Documents