Interview with Jeff Reinebold Interview with Jeff Reinebold
Transcription
Interview with Jeff Reinebold Interview with Jeff Reinebold
June 2010 Vol. II • No. 6 In This Issue Steve Axman Chris Booth Steve Loney Mike McQueary Jerry H. Moore Ken Niumatalolo Jeff Reinebold Kirby Smart Jim Tkach Larry Wilcox Interview with Jeff Reinebold Contents June 2010 Volume 2, No. 6 5 The Competitive Edge 6 Interview With Jeff Reinebold 9 Under the Helmet: Depression and Mental Health (Jim Tkach) 19 Why and How to Run the Triple Option (Ken Niumatalolo) 31 Basic Principles of Route Running (Mike McQueary) 43 Defensive Principles and Secondary Drills (Kirby Smart) 53 Youth Football Play: Blue Right 29 Belly vs. 4-3 (Chris Booth) 54 Effective Football Practice Concept: You Play as You Practice! (Steve Axman) 55 Counter-Pulling Drill (Steve Loney) 56 Noseguard Explosion Drill (Jerry H. Moore) 58 Find-the-Window-Under-Pressure Drill (Larry Wilcox) Photo credits Page 18 Page 30 Page 42 Page 50 Page 57 Dennis Hubbard/Icon SMI Al Bello/Getty Images Sport John Green/Cal Sport Media John Green/Cal Sport Media Jeff Johnson/Icon SMI EDITORIAL Editorial Director Managing Editor Project Manager Dan Robinson James A. Peterson Brenden Murphy [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Production Manager Multimedia Editor Roger W. Rybkowski Douglas McCorkle [email protected] [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES [email protected] P.O. Box 1828 • Monterey, California 93942 (888) 229-5745 • (831) 372-6077 ART CEO D. Mark Robertson President James A. Peterson Print Publishing Director Kristi Huelsing Assistant Print Publishing Director Megan Comstock © Coaches Choice 2010 Media Publishing Director Douglas McCorkle FOOTBALL COACH e-MAGAZINE is published monthly and is distributed without charge to those individuals who maintain a current subscription record and valid email address. To subscribe or update your information, click here. Clinic Director Angie Perry Office Manager Lizzie Short IT/e-Commerce Director Larry Miller We will not share your email address with any third parties. Upon registration, you will receive access to our e-Magazine and special offers, but you may opt-out of these communications at any time. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com 3 Message from the Publisher: The Competitive Edge M uch of the communicating football coaches do is wordless. In fact, over 90 percent of the communication of most coaches is nonverbal. While verbal communication enables other people (colleagues and players) to learn about a coach’s thoughts and ideas, nonverbal communication helps to paint an image of who he is and his feelings. As such, nonverbal communication is an essential component of skillful communication for all individuals—including football coaches. Nonverbal communication involves four broad elements: voice qualities, body language, facial expressions, and clothing and grooming. Everyone knows a coach on the opposite end of the spectrum on each element. Certainly, the calmness, strength, and confidence projected by the voice of someone like Tony Dungy stands in sharp contrast to the elevated excitement conveyed by the voice of Vince Lombardi on the sideline during a game. By the same token, the message dispatched by the body language of Nick Saban differs substantially from the one communicated by Joe Paterno’s body language during the course of a game. The takeaway point to be made by the aforementioned examples is that the list of polar opposites in the coaching community on the nonverbal spectrum is potentially endless. In turn, another key issue in this regard is that no single “right-way” roadmap exists concerning how to handle nonverbal communication. Within the boundaries of common sense and appropriate behavior, every coach needs to be himself. Trying to be someone else, someone or something they’re not, can be catastrophic for coaches at any competitive level. James A. Peterson, Ph.D., FACSM Publisher Coaches Choice Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com 5 Interview With Jeff Reinebold Q How did you first get started in coaching? JR My college coach at the University of Maine, Jack Bicknell, was the first guy who really encouraged me to think about making coaching a career. Jack was an individual who was loved by his players and when he talked to us, we all listened. Q Which individual has had the greatest impact JR Jeff Reinebold ABOUT THE COACH Jeff Reinebold is the wide receivers coach at Southern Methodist University, a position he assumed in 2008. His coaching career has spanned almost three decades, and has included stints at Western Montana College, Dartmouth, Rocky Mountain College, and the universities of Montana, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Louisiana Tech, and Hawaii. Much of his career has involved working with special teams and includes spending 12 seasons coaching professional football in the CFL and NFL Europe. 6 on you personally in your coaching career? A number of individuals have made a lasting impression on my career and my life—Jack, of course; my father; Jim Reinebold, who is in the Indiana High School Baseball Hall of Fame and is to this day one of the top teaching coaches I have ever been around. Two individuals, in particular, stand out on my list of people who have influenced me. June Jones and Dick Vermeil continue to be two of the biggest influences in my coaching and personal life. Not only has June been exceptionally good to my family, he has also brought me closer to God and has given me an unbelievable gift of knowledge and loyalty. Coach Vermeil is the guy for whom I would most want one of my sons to play. After interning for him in Kansas City, as I was leaving, I told him that in all of the interactions that I had seen him be a part of—from fans to players to coaches to media to the janitors in the dorms, I had never seen him once treat another person with anything but respect and genuine interest. Q What advice would you give a young coach just starting out? JR Young guys sometimes ask that question and the advice I give is the same that I got as a young guy...go learn the game, watch as much tape as you can, ask questions, listen more than you talk, care about the kids, and respect the game. The second thing is make sure you find a great wife! My wife, Ellie, who runs the pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University is a great example: a tough, strong, independent, loyal, and loving partner and great mother to our kids. Q What’s the most enjoyable job you’ve had JR in your career? Two things in my coaching career are my most deeply cherished memories. First, it was my opportunity to be a part of the Kansas City Chief ’s training camp in Coach Vermeil’s first year in KC. If I never coach another down in the NFL, I will always remember how it felt to go out and play the Bears in Arrowhead, with the KC crowd doing their “and the home of the CHIEFS!” as the national anthem was played; it was awesome. The second was having a chance to coach at the University of Hawaii under June Jones. Hawaii is a place I always said I wanted to be and the experience under June was very special to me and my family. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Q What’s the biggest challenge that almost JR every football coach faces? Our egos. Too many times, a coach’s ego takes over. Truth be known, I am as guilty as anyone. Coaches have a responsibility to the game to remember it is about the players; it is their game, we had our time and, at this point, it is about helping every athlete grow as a player, a student, and, hopefully, as a man. Q What competitive level (high school, college, or pro) have you enjoyed coaching the most? JR While I have never coached high school, I sincerely believe that because of the age of the kids you work with, coaching at the interscholastic level has to be extremely rewarding. In reality, each level has its positive and negative aspects. I really loved my experience in the NFL Europe League. We had young NFL guys who were there to get better or prove they belonged in the League. We lived together in a hotel in a foreign country, and, by the time the 10-week season was over, we were a very close football team. Q Have kids changed much since you first JR started coaching? I really don’t believe kids have changed fundamentally since I started my coaching journey, but the world has changed. Kids learn differently today than we did. We learned by listening. Kids now need to see what it is you want them to do. The best coaches I know are the best teachers. These coaches are able to utilize all of the technology available to help their athletes have success. The game is still the same wonderful game I fell in love with in the neighbor’s front yard, playing tackle football. Now, I see my 14-year-old son, Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Kekoa, trying to be like his idol— Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers, and it makes me smile—another generation falling in love with the game. Q Is there anything on your “coaching bucket list” that you haven’t done yet, but would like to before you retire? JR I would like to coach in the National Football League. The NFL is the highest level of competition. As a competitive person, you want to test yourself on the biggest stage against the best in the business. If it doesn’t happen, that is OK, because as my father taught me,“it is not the level you’re coaching at, it is the level of your coaching that matters most.” Q What trait do you admire most in a JR coaching colleague? Honesty is the single most admirable trait a human being can have. If you are honest with yourself and others, you will take care of a lot of the other issues that might arise. Sometimes being honest, truly honest, can be tough both on you and on others. In the long haul, however, it is always the best path to take. Being honest doesn’t mean you have to be rough. You can still find a way to communicate the truth in a compassionate way that isn’t hurtful. Q What would you like your coaching legacy to be? JR Hopefully, the players, coaches, and people who have been part of my coaching journey will realize that I cared for them and that I had their best interests first in my line of priorities. If “HE CARED” was written on the headstone of my coaching grave, that would be enough of a legacy for me. 7 Under the Helmet: Depression and Mental Health By Jim Tkach T o introduce this article, I’d like to give you an overview of my son, Bo: She told us he should not be having these thoughts at five-years old. BO TKACH • Two-time first team all-state football player • Two-time District XI javelin champion • ESPN’s 2000-2001 Academic High School Football All-American • Youth volunteer • 2007 Wilkes University magna cum laude graduate • Lifelong battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression • July 2007: Lost to suicide We summed up the situation and were led to believe that it was because Sandi was going to give birth to our third child soon, and perhaps some jealousy was going on. The primary purpose of this article is to raise awareness about a problem we face in America today. The introductory list details the things that Bo Tkach achieved in his short life. My wife, Sandi, and I lost him in July of 2007 to a miserable disease called depression. One of the first points I’d like to make is that depression is a disease, and that it is not a state of mind. This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, 2009 Coach of the Year Clinics, edited by Earl Browning Our first indication that Bo had a problem was when he was in kindergarten. He was five-years old at the time. His teacher sent him to the guidance counselor and told her Bo was having bad thoughts. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com In the seventh grade, things got worse. We noticed he was pulling his pants up tight. I told him to pull his pants down, and I looked at his waistline. He had on four pairs of underwear. Subsequently, he was diagnosed as having an obsessive-compulsive disorder caused by a chemical imbalance in his body. Through all of this, it created a whole life of uncertainty. In spite of all of this, he was able to have an unbelievable imprint on life. Two nights after his death, they had calling-hour at the church, and in our small town, they had to call out the fire department and police because over 1,400 people came to pay their respects. They included college coaches, high school coaches, and players from around the tri-state area. Sandi and I decided we would try to do something to make an imprint on young 9 people and coaches concerning the issue of depression. As a result, the Bo Tkach memorial “Under Every Helmet and Hat Is a Child Who Needs Us” was developed. I found out that 15 of our players were out drinking the week before. I benched those 15 players who were guilty of drinking. We lost the game by three points. Our daughter, Tristin, and our other son, Tyler, convinced us to use this name for the project. Tristin is a schoolteacher, and Tyler is a defensive end at the University of Pittsburgh. Both of my sons played high school football for me. If you have coached your own son, you know that can be stressful. When I coached my sons, it was the best seasons we ever had. Our house was filled with kids during that time. Football has been very special to our entire family and has affected the manner in which we conduct our lives. I have been fortunate to have been in football for 30 years. I continue to go to as many clinics as I possibly can because I am still learning about the game of football. The second part of this story comes about three weeks after we lost Bo. In 2005, Matt Millen, the former president and general manager of the Detroit Lions, called me up to talk. We grew up 20 miles from each other, but I did not know him. In 2005, I was the coach of a very good team that was undefeated. I found out that 15 of our players were out drinking the week before. I benched those 15 players who had been drinking. We lost the game by three points. We missed a fourth-and-one by just one inch, and we lost the game. Matt Millen called me up and let me know that he thought it took some stones to do what I did with those 15 players. It was a very controversial decision. The rule I had to follow was the fact that anyone who was caught drinking would have to sit out the games for two weeks. I did not talk with Matt Millen again for the next year or so. 10 After losing Bo, Sandi and I started going to some regular counseling. We did not feel it was going the way we wanted it to go. We would go to the meetings, and after the meeting was over, they would tell us that they would see us the next week, which was not strong enough for us. We wanted to go to a Christian counselor. Matt Millen called again and said, “I just heard about what happened.” A newspaper reporter who used to be in our area had given the message to Matt about our Bo. I told Matt that we were looking for a counselor. He replied, “Jim, that is what my wife does.” Two weeks later, we were sitting in his home, and we began the process of counseling. Every two weeks, we met at his house with him and his wife and went through a series of biblical studies to try to help us deal with the pain of losing a child. I did not know anyone who had ever lost a child through a suicide. I emailed the Indianapolis Colts, because I knew what had happened to Tony Dungy’s son. What were the chances of getting through to Coach Dungy? The very next week, he called me. He called me on my cell phone and said it was Tony Dungy. I knew that no one who knew me would try to play a joke on me after what had happened. Tony Dungy talked to me for about 45 minutes. He told me two things that stuck in my mind. He told me that my marriage would go into the 80th percentile in regard to divorce because my wife and I may not deal with this in the same way. He also went on to say that our own children may not deal with it in the same way. My daughter was a “day counter.” We were going to see the University of Pittsburgh play one day, and she called me up. I answered the phone, and she asked me if I knew what day it was. I told her I was Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com not sure what she meant. She replied, “It has been 30 days since we lost Bo.” Before the call, I was having a “good hour,” and that got me upset again. Sandi reminded me what Coach Dungy had told me about this kind of thing happening. Everyone is going to interpret it differently.We need to understand that everyone is trying to help in this regard. We had a lot of people come up to us and say the stupidest things you can imagine. They did not want to hurt us, but they were just not used to dealing with this topic. The morning after the first call from Coach Dungy, he called back, and said, “I forgot to tell you something. If you really believe in heaven and that your son is better off in heaven, then it is almost selfish to want him back.” The key thing about this point is the fact that Tony Dungy called me back. My son, Tyler, came home for the Labor Day weekend. He told me that he was not going to go back to Pitt unless I went back to coaching. I had been out of coaching for one year. I asked him what he meant by those comments. He told me he thought I would die if I did not do something to get my mind off the situation. He said, “All you are doing is crying.” He was right. I had some coaches ask me to come back to coaching, and I did. It was good for me, until I was driving home from practice one night. I could not stop crying. It was on a Monday evening, and I called Coach Dungy. I told him that I was struggling to keep from crying. Tony talked to me for several minutes, until I got back home. I walked in the door at home, and the TV was on. The announcer on the TV said, “The Colts will be kicking off to start the game.” I could not believe it. Tony Dungy took my call an hour and a half before the kickoff. I make that point to tell you that football people take care of football people. We all need to Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com be examples to start reaching out. Recently, after breakfast one morning, I received an email from Matt Millen. In the Super Bowl (which occurred the previous week), Matt had been sitting next to Tony Dungy during the pre-game show. Matt’s email said, “Jim, Coach Dungy asked how everyone was doing.” We are from a small town in Pennsylvania on the edge of the coal region. We are not everyday “newspaper-headline” type of people. The point is Matt and Tony could have forgotten about us and not called us or said one word to help us. They did not do that, and that is one of the points that I want to get across in this article. I coach hard. Don’t think this is going to be a “soft-soft” discussion from this point on. If kids are not doing things right, I am going to crew them. If they make mistakes, I am going to rip them. I am a line coach, and I coach hard. No one is saying you cannot coach kids hard. The thing you must do is to love the kids you are coaching. They are the only kids you have. Football is in a position to have an influence over more kids in this country than anything else. A recent USA TODAY headline read: The U.S. Army sets a record for suicides in the month of January. We lost more soldiers to suicides than we lost in the war in January. Perhaps, another enemy exists that we need to fight. They do not have enough therapists to help the soldiers who are returning from the war. In addition, we do not have enough people to recognize that we are dealing with a disease. I could not believe it. Tony Dungy took my call an hour and a half before the kickoff. I make that point to tell you that football people take care of football people. One of my former college teammates called me up one day and told me about his two sons. He has one son that is signing a scholarship with West Virginia University, and the other son, a junior, is a Division I 11 basketball player. He has an obsessivecompulsive disorder just like my son had. My friend asked me, “How did this happen?” We talked some more, and he kept coming back to how this happened. Because of the unfortunate circumstances, this is what the good Lord has led my wife and I to do. We are taking this challenge. At this point, I’d like to go over the program that we have put together. I asked him, “If he had been diagnosed with diabetes, would you question what had happened?” He said he would not question it if it were diabetes. “If the situation was diagnosed as cancer, would you question it?” Again the answer was, “No.” No, we do not question these diseases. Depression is a disease! Until we recognize this fact, we are going to have a problem on our hands. Under Every Helmet and Hat Is a Child Who Needs Us Last August, I spoke to the Lycoming College football team.The coach told the team that I was coming in to talk to them about depression. When I walked into the room, I had over 100 kids looking at me as if they had lost their best friend. I got up to speak, and the first thing I said was this: “Listen you— young and restless—give me your eyes.” The players sat up and listened to what I had to say. I had gotten their attention. Depression is a disease! Until we recognize this, we are going to have a problem on our hands. 12 This situation worked out to be a neat exchange, because after the talk, we had two kids come up to talk with us. We had a big kid who was a lineman come up, crying his face off. He said, “Coach, my best friend in high school just shot himself, before I came to camp.” I did not know what to do or what to say. I called his head coach over, and we arranged for him to see the college counselor. We got the process started. I am not a physician. I am not a therapist. I am a football coach. That is who I am. Someone once summarized my life when he said about me, “This man coached for 30 years, and after he retired, he realized he did not have any hobbies.” I can’t golf, and I can’t fish. I am a coach. Bo Tkach Memorial in Conjunction With the University of Michigan Depression Center This program was written with Eric Hipple, a former quarterback for the Detroit Lions. He lost his son six years ago to suicide. We were introduced to Eric through Matt Millen. We started talking, and I talked about the coaching aspects of what needed to be included, and Eric included the aspects related to the suicides. Then, the University of Michigan put its stamp on it, which simply means that I am not a nutcase coming to talk with you. It is a legitimate educational program, which is why the University of Michigan has their seal on our material. Eric Hipple is the outreach coordinator for the University of Michigan Depression Center. It is the first depression center in the United States on a college campus. They are doing some great work there. I’d like to review some of the information they are covering. When I go out to talk to kids at schools, I do not show Bo’s picture to the kids. A kid in the audience may recognize the picture and see it as “the attention Bo is getting.” Believe it or not, kids will hurt themselves for that kind of attention if they are having this problem . . . Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com The following list of goals details what we are going to try to do: Mission (Program Goals) • Promote mental health awareness in athletics; holistic care: High schools, colleges Coaches, parents, student-athletes • Encourage relationships; establish trust: Coaches and student-athletes Team members • Educate communities and provide resources/support: Outreach Tools for everyone involved We are working with Nike to develop information that we can give to football coaches to start out with some things they can do if they are faced with a kid who has a problem with depression. What do you do if a kid comes in to see you and tells you, “I just don’t know if I want to live anymore.” What do you do? As such, we try to spread relevant information to help educate coaches about the disease of depression. I want to stress one thing about coaching. I am a tough coach. I rip them when they make silly mistakes. However, I do not name call them.You do not want to call a kid a name. Criticize what they are doing wrong. If you are going to yell at a kid, teach them something. Coach them if you are going to raise your voice. One thing we did this year at Liberty High School was to meet as a “book-ofthe-week club.” We met at a pizza house and talked about books. We had 14 kids a week who came to the meetings. We had some quality football players come to the meetings. The first book we took up for review was Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx. The conversations we got into were amazing. I would recommend doing that if it is something you can do. If I had called Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com the program an FCA group or a Bible study, it was going to flash a red light, and we might have scared some of them away. It worked fine for us. I let the players in attendance guide the level of intensity at the meetings. The mission we are doing personally has been great. We had a golf tournament last summer. Two of my former students put it together. They both work in TV and in the Internet industry. In one day, they raised $55,000. If anyone in our area under the age of 25 does not have insurance to cover the cost of a mental-health assessment, we pay for that. We also pay for their counseling. Last month, we had 15 people whom we helped with counseling. The cost is $250 per hour. Fortunately, we arranged for a special counselor to come out to help us, who only charges us $125.00 per hour. What do you do if a kid comes in to see you and tells you, “I just don’t know if I want to live anymore?” What do you do? We had a flag football game between two rival schools. Each group made $10,000. the key point is that people want to help with these projects. I also want to discuss awareness. The University of Michigan did a study of Major League Baseball. They found that winning percentages were very low when teams traveled. Why is it lower? Is it the ice machine out in the hall? Is it the different bed they are sleeping in? Is it a different sleep pattern they are in? Take a look at high school football players. They are up late on Friday night after a game. On Saturday night, they are out doing what high school kids do. On Sunday night, they are trying to get to sleep, but they have slept late that morning and have a hard time going to sleep. Come Monday morning, they are rolling out going to school early in the morning. Take this kind of schedule for four to six weeks. Most school principals can tell you that most problems start four to six weeks after school starts. The records are 13 starting to point to the fact that the sleep patterns of kids is one of the reasons they are having problems. It has always been interesting how I deal with most parents. I bring them into a summer meeting. I sit them down, look at them, and say, “Unless I do something illegal or immoral, do not talk to me about your kids’ playing time. Let your kids play. One particular point is something that I have a hard time trying to figure out.Young kids usually wake up early. Those young kids will be up at the crack of dawn. We send the young kids to school at 9:00 a.m., and the older kids go at 7:30 a.m., in many cases. The high school kids want to sleep in, and we get them out early. Over 15 school districts in the United States are looking at swapping times to get kids back on a better sleep track. While a lack of sleep is only one consideration, a lot of little things can add up. Sleep is one factor you need to address with your players. Awareness • The importance of recognizing stress, sleep, depression, and substance abuse issues • High schools/colleges: Different levels of competition require different approaches For example, Division I vs. Division III • Coaches: How can you encourage positive mental growth and development? Activity and discussion Your role as a coach How do you impact your studentathletes? • Parents: Open communication Summer meeting for parents and coaches to maintain contact • Athletes: Encourage accountability Promote responsibility for self Discuss sleep schedule/nutrition It has always been interesting how I deal with most parents. I bring them into a summer meeting. I sit them down, look at them, and say, “Unless I do something illegal or 14 immoral, do not talk to me about your kids’ playing time. Let your kids play. You go out and cheer for them.” If you run that through some situations, you can keep yourself out of a lot of crap. I tell the parents that if they want their kids, they can take them home with them. If they are going to grow, the parents must leave them with the coaches. You have to teach the kids how to dress, how to walk, how to talk, how to sleep, and how to eat. We tell our kids to be on time, follow rules, and make no excuses. I put it back on the kids. It has worked for us, but I am not saying this way is the only way it will work. Next, I’d like to discuss relationships. We need to establish relationships, and we need to be around the kids. In that regard, we discuss several factors, including the following: Coaches and Student-Athletes: • Act as a mentor and friend with a shared respect. • Develop trust. • Make a commitment to the individual and the team. • Stay positive. • Exhibit fairness and integrity. • Have a strong work ethic, coupled with maintaining balance. • Learn from mistakes. A quote from basketball coach, Rick Pitino reinforces the point: “Everything I’ve learned about coaching, I’ve learned from making mistakes.” Team Members: • Delta Force mentality: No one gets left behind • Cohesive, coordinated team Coaching staff is on the same page Shared respect for each other and the team vision Team spirit: motivation and inspiration Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Next, I’d like to discuss education for those who need to become involved in depression awareness. As such, steps should be undertaken to enlist the following: • Targeting athletic programs nationwide • Outreach efforts: Speaking engagements Implement mental health awareness training In reality, a number of relatively well-known athletes struggle with depression. Several of these athletes have come forward in the last three to four years to speak publicly about their problems with depression, including: • Boris Becker, tennis • Vin Baker, basketball • John Howell, football • Barret Robbins, football • Dan Cody, football • Jim Shea, skeleton racing • Terry Bradshaw, football • Russ Johnson, baseball • Picabo Street, skiing • Julie Krone, horse racing • Pat LaFontaine, hockey • Pete Harnisch, baseball • Nikki Teasley, basketball As such, many more names could be added to this list. Who Is at Risk With Depression? • Depression impacts all income levels, men and women, all professions. • One in 10 people will experience some form of depression or bipolar disorder between the ages of 13 and 19. • Fourteen percent of everyone will have depression at some point in their lives. What Is Depression? • Depression is not: • The blues, being sad, stressed out, or upset • Caused by a bad day • Normal for anyone • A weakness or a character flaw Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Depression is: • A chemical change in the brain, involving neurotransmitters, genetic vulnerabilities, and environmental stressors (Diagram JT-1) • Accompanied by intense, persistent symptoms, which prevent optimal functioning Diagram JT-1. Interactions among genes, biology, and environment Diagram JT-1. Interactions among genes, biology, and environment Interactions Result in Clinical Depression • Depressed mood (blue, gloomy, tearful, sad) • Diminished interest/pleasure in most activities • ìSlowed down,î anxious, irritable • Trouble sleeping or too much sleep • Increase/decrease in appetite/weight • Unexplained physical symptoms, fatigue, loss of energy, pain • Feeling worthless, inappropriately guilty • Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions • Recurrent thoughts of life not being worth living, death, suicidal ideation, specific suicide plan or attempt Interactions Can Also Trigger Bipolar Disorder • Inflated self-esteem, grandiosity • Decreased sleep • Pressure to talk • Flight of ideas, racing thoughts • Distractibility/lack of focus • Hyperactivity in the workplace/socially, spending sprees, sexual indiscretion • Irritability 15 It should be noted that depression cannot currently be diagnosed based on brain images. What is known is that treating depression can make a difference. Another thing that is known is that depression is a disease. When the brain is scanned, these depressions do show up. On the other hand, they cannot be diagnosed at this point in time. Facts About Depression • Suicide is the third leading cause of death of individuals in the 15 to 24 age range (Table JT-1). • Every year, four to eight percent of adolescents experience a major depression. • Children of depressed parents are three times more likely to experience a major depression in their lifetime. Suicides per 100,000 for those 15 to 19 years old, compared with the rate for the entire U.S. population (USA TODAY 2/9/2000) 15-19 years old U.S. Pop. 1956 2.3 10.0 1961 3.4 10.4 [Text of Table JT-1. Center 1966 for the top4.3 10.9 on 1971 6.5 11.9 1976 7.3 12.1 1981 8.6 11.5 1986 10.1 11.9 1991 11.1 11.3 9.7 10.8 9.5 10.6 top of box] 1996 1997 • Education: Have a list of resources on hand. Coordinate a support system with parents and teachers. Educate yourself to counteract stigma. • When someone is showing signs/having symptoms: Encourage talking. Seek treatment (make referrals). Offer support and follow through. Resources • University of Michigan Depression Center: www.depressioncenter.org • Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: www.dbsalliance.org • National Mental Health Association: www.nmha.org • National Institute of Mental Health: www.nimh.nih.gov • National Alliance of the Mentally Ill: www.nami.org • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: www.afsp.org • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255 Table JT-1. What Can COACHES Do to Help? • Awareness: Stay vigilant; be aware of what’s going on with your team. • Relationships Continue to build trust, open communication. 16 Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Resources for Parents • Mentor Research Institute • www.steponeforparents.org • www.incrisis.org • Consult with your local mental health department for services in your community. One video that I would encourage everyone to see features Randy Pausch and is entitled, “The Last Lecture.” Randy was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. The book by Randy on the same subject is also superb. We used it in our book club. The University picked a profession to do what they call “The Last Lecture” to give to the kids. No one knew this, but Randy only had six months to live. He got up and gave an incredible lecture. One point that stood out with our kids in the book club was his comment: “The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” That line stood out with our kids. I was once one of those guys who always wanted to know what life is throwing at me next. Coaches should teach kids that life is up and down, especially in football. One week you are happy, and the next week you are down in the dumps. If coaches will take one or two points from this article and stress them a little more next year, I guarantee that they will see a difference in their programs. One of the focal points that I wanted to make in this article was to exhibit a Delta Force mentality. The Delta Team has a motto that is particularly relevant to me and my circumstances: “We all come back out of this mission together. No one is left behind.” We started emphasizing this point with our kids. Our team is only as good as the weakest man. We tried to sell it to the kids that they had to take care of each other. Just because a kid is not a starter, it does not mean that we cannot pay respect to that kid who is out there every day. If the coaches will let the players who are not starters know that they are proud of them for busting their tails, I am sure it will boost those athletes. These athletes should not be left behind. As such, you can take negatives and turn them into positives. Coaches should teach kids that life is up and down, especially in football. The website, www.botkach.com, has a lot of information about mental health problems, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and much more. Two former students set this site up for us, and they maintain the cost through the local TV station. They also developed a video that is shown every Friday night on local television. Showing this video has helped get the message out, because we have had a lot of people come to us for help. Football coaches were starting to ask pertinent questions. We also produced a commercial that promoted the need for awareness concerning mental health and depression. Football people were behind making that commercial. Like many things in life, football people made a difference in ensuring that the commercial was made. Football people can also make a difference in raising public awareness about depression. Toward that end, hopefully, this article will encourage them to do so. R ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jim Tkach is an assistant football coach at Liberty (PA) High School. A 1978 graduate of Lycoming College, Tkach previously served as the head football coach at Northern Lehigh (PA) High School, from where he retired following the 2005 season. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com 17 Why and How to Run the Triple Option By Ken Niumatalolo B efore I get into my article, I want to share a few things. I sometimes wonder if I am using certain terms to impress the players, or someone else. Many times, simpler terms exist that carry more meaning with the players. Coaching is not about how much you know. It is about how much you can communicate to your players. They have to know what you are saying. I once went to a clinic and listened to a coach, who had a great offensive mind, but I found myself wondering what he was talking about. He made a simple explanation of an out cut that made me think I should go back to engineering school. Football is a great game, but it is not very complicated. This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, 2010 Coach of the Year Clinics, edited by Earl Browning I’ve learned a number of important things at the United States Naval Academy. I have been coaching for 20 years, all of them at the college level. The thing that separates the Naval Academy from the other schools I have coached at is leadership. Football is the most unselfish sport there is. In what other sport do you have so many individual skills? Everyone’s individual skills are unique to themselves. When the ball is snapped, everyone must do his job for you to have a successful play. Everyone must worry about his individual skill as it fits into the total Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com play. At Navy, our athletes are not concerned with what someone else is trying to do. When players do that, they excel as a team. I coached at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before I came to the Naval Academy. We had four players at UNLV who were considered draft choices for the NFL. We were more talented there, than we are at the Naval Academy. We were spending countless hours at UNLV on the offense, but we were barely scoring 18 points a game. When I came to the Naval Academy, the players were not as strong or as fast, but the offense was better, because the players did their jobs. We had less material, but we were so much more efficient with our offense. We have averaged close to 30 points a game since I have been there. We had a player come back from Iraq and talk to our team about leadership. He talked about two things. He talked about leading and teaching. He said that when you lead men, you have to love those whom you lead. That concept fits in with a coaching staff. You have to love the guys you lead. The second thing is to lead by example. If you are the coach and you want your players to play with high energy, you have to show 19 high energy. If the coach has his hands in his pockets and is yelling at his players to show some energy, they look at him. What kind of example is that coach showing? Players watch what is going on with a staff. If some friction exists in the staff, they sense and know what is going on. We want all the arrows pointing in the same direction. When you lead, you have to lead from ahead. Everywhere that player went in Iraq, he was in front of the troops. The players have to see that their coaches are just like them. Regardless of your title, you’re not trying to be something better than they are. The last thing is devotion to your men. If you use the words love, example, ahead, and devotion as an acronym, you get the word lead. I have learned these things at the Academy. We have players and coaches who are not as strong as the people we play, but the leadership in our group is tremendous. We have early morning workouts. We start at 5:30 in the morning. We call the workout the fourth quarter. During this time period, we are doing football drills, but we are working on mental toughness. We do eight different drills that are football-related. We used to use monkey-roll drills, but we do not do that anymore. You do not need to teach players to get on the ground. We want our drills to be football related, but what we are looking for is perfection. We want to make sure everyone does everything right. It is important in a football organization to have staff unity. We want the coaches to be “all in” when it comes to the team. When the coaches walk through the door, we are a coaching staff that is on the same page and reacts as one. Players watch what is going on with a staff. If some friction exists in the staff, they sense and know what is going on. We want all the arrows pointing in the same direction. The scheme we use at Navy gives our players a chance to play. We have been using this scheme for some time.When we practice 20 the offense, we have a team option drill. In this drill, we have two huddles. I noticed in the national championship game that the University of Texas’ second quarterback did not look like he had taken too many reps in practice, which is the reason we run two huddles in this period. We prepare our depth, and we get up to 40-plus reps in a 20-minute period. If you run the triple option, you must rep the offense. The secret to this offense is to keep it simple. When you have a simple plan, you can play fast. Add that factor to the repetitions you get, and you have a chance to be good. We want to be sound in the offense. Running the option attack at Navy is like Karl Malone and John Stockton running the pick-androll in basketball. Everyone in the NBA knew they were going to run it, but no one could not stop them because they adapted to every scheme the defense presented. We do the same thing. Everyone knows we are going to run the option. We have to get good at our scheme and adapt to what the defense is trying to do. We do not care what the defense does. We try to get good at what we do and run it. Be Demanding: Don’t Make Excuses • Toughness • Great effort • Ball security • Flawless technique When you run a football program like the one we have at Navy, you have to be very demanding. We do not make any excuses for players. One good thing about the players at the Naval Academy is that they are all mentally tough. We try to build off that trait. We want to emphasize the intangibles in football. The toughness and effort are the things that we must excel in. You do not have to be talented to have great effort or toughness. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com When you run the option attack, you have to coach ball security. We do not think of the offense as a high-risk offense, but we do not want the ball on the ground. We coach the four points of pressure on the ball, and we want the players to know that ball security is important. When we run our offense, we align and see how the defense is going to play us. We have been running this offense for a long time. Reasons exist as to why we run the offense. Why Play Option Football? • Help in recruiting • Do not have to block everyone • Three days to prepare for the option is not enough Personnel-wise, we do not have to block everyone in this scheme. It may be their best player whom you do not have to block. The offense itself is a unique offense, and it is hard to prepare to defense the scheme. To play an option team, the defense must play assignment football. When you force the defense to play assignment defense, you slow them down. You stop their blitzing game by running the option. It becomes very high risk for the defense to blitz linebackers. Someone must play the dive, quarterback, and pitch. To play in the option offense, the players have to be unselfish. If you are a player who wants to run the ball 20 times a game, it will not happen in this offense. We were in a recruiting battle for a running back. The other service academy told the player he could play in the I bone and run the ball at least 20 times a game. He asked how many times he would run the ball with us, and I told him I did not know. I do not want to mention any names, but the other service team had a lightening bolt on their helmet. Players who come into our program are not worried about how many times someone Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com carries the ball. They are focused and do not care if they run the ball 20 times or if they block 20 times a game. That attitude helps us compete with the teams on our schedule. We do not have the physical talent that most of our opponents have. The statistic that favors a team like Navy is time of possession. We run the football, which is something we led the nation in four out of the last five years. We do not turn the ball over, and we do not commit too many penalties. If we do those things, we have a chance to beat anyone. The top three rushing defenses in the country are the University of Alabama, Texas, and Texas Christian University. In today’s football, with all the spreads and the bubble screens, there is something to be said about running the football and stopping people from running the football. If you can stop teams from running the football, you force them to be one-dimensional. We have to coach the intangibles, which we talk about daily to our players. We stress the brotherhood within the team, and they feel accountable to their teammates for how they play. The players believe in each other, and those are some of the things they take with them as they go to serve our country. They are very proud to be an American and will do whatever it takes to serve their country. At this point, I want to cover the triple option and go over the rules of how we run the offense (Diagram KN-1). We try to run this play 20 times a game if we can. The playside wide receiver is assigned to the deep defender. If the coverage is cover 3, the wide receiver blocks the corner. If it is a two-high safety look, he blocks the high safety to his side. The playside slotback is called the A-back. His rule is to block the run support. If the strong safety inverts out of the secondary to support the run, the A-back In today’s football, with all the spreads and the bubble screens, there is something to be said about running the football and stopping people from running the football. 21 uses an arc release and blocks him. If the cover-2 corner rolls down as the support player, the A-back kicks him out. The wideout and slotback are responsible for perimeter blocking. FS C B T SS B N B T B C Diagram KN-1. Triple option Diagram KN-1. Triple option The playside tackle has the playside linebacker. To block the linebacker, he takes the best release available to him. The definition of the playside linebacker is any linebacker from the tackle’s outside shoulder to the inside. It does not matter whether it is a linebacker. It is a defender on the second level of the defense aligned over or inside the offensive tackle. It could be a nickel back. He has a simple rule for his release. If the guard is covered, he takes an inside release. If the guard is uncovered and can prevent a B-gap run-through, he takes an outside release. Those guidelines are two simple rules. The playside guard has a base rule. If a down lineman covers him, he blocks him. If he has a 2i-technique defender, he steps with his inside foot. If he has a 3-technique defender, he steps with his outside foot. If he is uncovered, his assignment is the playside linebacker, which puts the playside guard and tackle on the playside linebacker. The playside guard and tackle, in that situation, are responsible for the playside linebacker and backside safety. If the linebacker scrapes outside, the tackle blocks him, and the guard goes up on the backside safety. If the linebacker hangs or blitzes, the guard blocks 22 him, and the tackle takes the backside safety. The center and backside linemen have a scoop rule. If the center is covered, he is responsible for the playside A gap and scoops half of the nose. If the nose stays frontside, he drives on him. If the nose stays backside, the backside guard has the other half of the nose and tries to take over the block, which allows the center to climb to the second level. We define the backside guard’s responsibility as from his crotch to the crotch of the center. The backside tackle has the same rule. He scoops inside and is responsible from his crotch to the backside guard’s crotch. They are blocking an area rule to the backside. If anything shows in the backside A gap, it belongs to the guard. If anything shows in the backside B gap, it belongs to the tackle. The fullback aligns five yards from the football, depending on his speed. If he is faster, he can get more depth. If he is slower, he may move closer to the line. The backside A-back aligns on the tackle’s outside foot. The split of the offensive linemen is three feet across the board. The guard aligns with his hand on the toes of the center. The tackles take their alignments on the guards. We used to align with our hands on the heels of the guard, but we got too many penalties for not being on the line of scrimmage. The line is uniform across the board, with threefoot splits and their hands on the toes of the center. If the defenders split wider than three feet, the linemen attempt to split them up to five feet. The farther the defender goes, the more natural running lanes we will have. Most defenders will not let you split them that wide. When the linemen come off the ball, we Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com try to play with a flat back. In this stance, we are heavy weighted forward. We have 60 percent of the weight forward. We have an elongated stance, and the linemen’s hips are higher. We are not like a zone team and have narrower bases in our stance. All we are doing is coming off the ball. We have a blocking scheme where we double-team the 3technique and combo for the playside linebacker. The backside A-back is the pitchman on the option. When he comes in motion, his aiming point is at the butt of the fullback. He is on a dead sprint for the butt of the fullback. After he gets to that depth, he mirrors the quarterback. Ideally, we would like to have the A-back take three flat steps and turn up. On this play, we are trying to get north and south. We are not trying to attack outside. If the quarterback turns up, the A-back has to keep up with him. We want the pitch relationship between the quarterback and the A-back to be a 4x1-yard relationship. We want to pitch the ball parallel to the line of scrimmage. We do not want to pitch the ball perpendicular or behind. We want the ball parallel to the line on an outside pitch. The quarterback’s read is the first down lineman. His pitch read is the next threat going to the outside. We have tried to read the head, the numbers, or whatever.We coach the quarterback on the read with a simple rule—can the defender tackle the fullback? If he can, keep the ball. If he cannot, give the ball. Our quarterbacks are so smart and we do so many reps, that they know the difference.We try to make it as easy as possible. I am not trying to hide anything from you, which is what we tell our quarterback. The secret to the read is repetition. The second step the quarterback takes is different from most people. We do not have a ride step. We Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com try to get the second step of the quarterback on the ground as quickly as we can. He wants to extend the ball back as far as he can and keep his eyes on the read. Sometimes, the quarterback’s feet end up in a stagger, which is a personal preference with me if that situation happens. If he ends up with his feet parallel, it makes it harder to extend the ball back. By the time the ball reaches the quarterback’s front hip, he has made his decision to pull or leave the ball with the fullback. The staggered feet allow the quarterback to make some last-second decisions. If the reach key and pitch key are both on the line of scrimmage, we tell the quarterback to look through the first defender to the second one (Diagram KN-2). The defender who tells the quarterback everything is the second defender. If the second defender closes inside, he gives the ball to the fullback. Too many times, the quarterback is concentrating on the first read and gets hit in the lips by the crashing second defender. He has to see the read defender, but he must feel the pitch key. 1 T 2 B Diagram KN-2. Pitch key Diagram KN-2. Pitch key If the second defender is coming hard, the quarterback disengages from the fullback but does not attack the second defender. He wants to keep space between himself and the defender. He wants to see what the defender is doing. We want to know if he is attacking the quarterback or going to the pitch. 23 The disengagement from the fullback gives the quarterback a split second longer to see what the defender is doing. If the defender comes to the quarterback, he loses a bit of ground toward the pitch and delivers the pitch outside. Obviously, if he attacks the pitch, the quarterback keeps the ball. the scrape of the linebacker. The quarterback does not look at the inside linebacker. He concentrates on his outside keys. If we miss the block on the scraping linebacker, the quarterback gets earholed by the linebacker, which is when you get a fumble.We want the tackle to stay tight on his release and get vertical. The blocking technique for the center is the playside number of the nose. He wants to get his second step on the ground and keep his shoulder square to the line of scrimmage. He wants to rip through the playside armpit and keep a vertical line up to the backside linebacker. If the center is uncovered, he works through the A gap and climbs for the two linebackers. If the playside linebacker blitzes through the A gap, that is his block. If the playside linebacker flows, the center climbs for the backside linebacker. The fullback aims at the outside hip of the guard and reads the first down lineman inside of the read key (Diagram KN-4). If the center is covered by a nose or has a shade defender to the playside gap, his rule is to reach playside. If the nose works hard to the playside, the center may be able to block him past the handoff gap, which tells the fullback whether to stay on track through the B gap or bend behind the block of the center. The backside blocks are more of a banana step. We are not trying to run flat down the line of scrimmage.The first step is a 45-degree angle, and the second step is a 90-degree angle. We want to cut off and get upfield. We want the playside tackle to stay tight on our outside releases to the playside (Diagram KN-3). The first step is at the armpit of the linebacker, and the second step is to the crotch. If the defense runs a C stunt with the 5-technique tackle and the 30-technique linebacker, the tackle does not want to miss F FS B Diagram KN-4. FullbackTread N Diagram KN-4. Fullback read Anytime we have a double-team at the point of attack, the fullback looks to stay on track (Diagram KN-5). If the scheme is to double-team the 3 technique, the fullback M T B N B T T Diagram KN-3. C stunt 24 Diagram KN-5. Double-team track Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com stays on track and does not cut back. If the center and playside guard double on the nose and the tackle veer releases inside, the fullback stays on track. We give the offensive tackle some options on his releases, depending on how the defender tries to handle him. If the defender tries to cancel any inside move by the tackle, he can take the outside release. That stipulation is contrary to our rules, but we are flexible in that area. This scheme is simple. I learned it at the University of Hawaii, and you have to keep it simple for us Island guys. Anytime the defense has two stacks, the quarterback reads the area. If the linebacker blitzes for the fullback and the defensive end steps outside for the quarterback, we can read that situation. We work on that in practice daily. All they have done is swap responsibilities and we can handle that. If the center has an A-gap responsibility to the Mike linebacker and he fast flows to the strongside, the center climbs to the backside safety. During the course of a game, the linemen move their splits in and out to find out what the defender will do. We flex the A-back and move the splits of the wide receivers to see what adjustment the defense will make. This offense is simple and sound. It is all about getting numbers in the right places. We also take advantage of the angle we have on the defenders. On the midline option, the fullback’s aiming point is the playside cheek of the center. The read for the quarterback does not change. He reads the first down lineman. Different things exist that we can do with the play after the read. The quarterback can carry the ball, or he can run the option and get it out of his hands. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Against the 3-4 look, the playside tackle turns out on the 9-technique defender (Diagram KN-6). The quarterback reads the 5-technique defender. The playside guard climbs to the 30-technique linebacker aligned on him. The center blocks the nose. The backside guard wants to run through the heels of the nose and get vertical to the backside linebacker. We can motion the Aback toward the fullback and turn him into the B gap for the playside linebacker. They work a combination scheme. The backside A-back comes around for the pitch as window dressing for the play. The quarterback gives the ball to the fullback or keeps it in the B gap. If he keeps it in the B gap, he follows the block of the A-back. S READ B B B Diagram KN-6. T Midline option N T Diagram KN-6. Midline option One thing we do when teaching ball security is to have the backs get up with the ball. They get off the ground each time and give the ball to the officials. We do not want to leave it on the ground. If we do not secure the ball, we cannot beat anyone. The thing the midline does is to soften the 3- and 4-technique defenders.When we have to base block them, it is an easier block. If we want to give another look to the play, we bring the A-back in motion behind the fullback and lead him up to the other side of the play (Diagram KN-7). Instead of being the pitchman, he becomes the isolation blocker for the quarterback. The good thing for us this year was that our quarterback was a strong runner. By the time the defense 25 found him, he had gained four yards. FS tackle goes inside for the linebacker, and the pulling guard logs the defensive tackle. SS C B E C B N T E Diagram KN-7. Midline/cross motion Diagram KN-7. Midline/cross motion When the playside tackle turns out on the defender, he wants to stall the inside shoulder and get separation.We run the counter option (Diagram KN-8). If the defense is in a 3-4 look, it is a simple play and most of the playside rules are the same. On this play, the fullback runs opposite the playside. The fullback and backside tackle are responsible for the two defenders to the backside. The center and playside guard are blocking back. In this case, the center is covered and combos with the playside guard for the nose and backside linebacker. FS C SS B B T C B N E B Diagram KN-8. Counter option Diagram KN-8. Counter option The playside tackle and backside guard are responsible for the first down lineman and the playside linebacker, whoever that may be. If the 5-technique closes across the playside tackle’s face, he locks onto him and drives him down the line. The backside guard pulls around the offensive tackle and blocks the playside linebacker. If the 5-technique tackle plays to the outside, the playside 26 The A-back comes in step-motion toward the fullback and turns back to block the support player. The split end to that side has the deep defender. The backside A-back is the pitchback on this play. The quarterback steps toward the fullback and counter runs to the playside. He options off the #2 defender to that side. In his presnap read, he has to locate the #2 defender to the playside. If he is on the line of scrimmage, as the quarterback steps for the fake, he has to peek over his outside shoulder on his second step to see if he is on a hard charge inside. If he closes on the quarterback, he pitches the ball to the A-back. The quarterback steps with his foot to the fullback on his first step. His second step should be perpendicular to the line of scrimmage. He pivots away from the line of scrimmage on his outside foot. I learned this offense from Coach Paul Johnson when we ran it in Hawaii back in 1989. The A-back tried to confuse the defender who was keying on him with his release. We found if we arc released with the A-back, the defender read that release as a run block. We released the A-back straight at them. They did not know if it was a playaction pass or a run, and it froze them. From time to time during a game, we change up the techniques of the A-backs. When we go into a game, we do not have a call sheet. We have assistant coaches watching positions to see how the defense is playing the option. We have coaches watching the secondary, the defensive ends, and the linebackers. Against the 4-4 front with 1- and 3technique defenders, we want to run the Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com play to the 1-technique side (Diagram KN9).The fullback cuts off the backside, blocking the 3-technique defender. The backside tackle turns back on the defensive end. The playside guard and center run a combination block for the 1 technique and the backside linebacker. The playside tackle areas the stack over him. He releases inside and blocks the B-gap defender. The pulling guard blocks whichever defender is playing the C gap. The A-back comes in step-motion and turns back on the safety. The split end to that side blocks the corner. The quarterback options the outside linebacker to that side. S C B B B C B DiagramEKN-9. N vs.E4-4 T Counter Diagram KN-9. Counter vs. 4-4 Defensive ends like to chase the triple from behind and try to run the quarterback down. When we see that, we run a reverse. We run the triple, midline, and counter. We also run the zone play to take advantage of aggressive running linebackers (Diagram KN-10). On this play, we base block at the line of scrimmage. The fullback, on the W M E N T S E zone play, still reads the first lineman to the backside. The fullback reads the zone play like any other zone play. If the A gap is open, he runs it in the A gap. If the Mike linebacker plugs the A gap, he looks to bend the ball behind the backside down lineman. We use this play when we find the Mike linebacker cheating into the wide field. If he is running to the alley, it is hard to block him. This play slows him down and makes him play more honestly. This situation becomes a catand-mouse game with the Mike linebacker. I want to finish this article with an overview of our play-action passes. When we run the play-action game, we try to get crossing patterns going against the action of the triple. When teams defense the triple option, they have to use their secondary to support on the run, so they can balance the defenders to blockers. When the backside safety tries to run the alley to the triple option opposite him, that situation is what we are looking for. We then throw the ball to slow the secondary down. In our protection scheme, we block bigon-big. The fullback is responsible for the linebacker to his side (Diagram KN-11). The backside A-back comes in motion and becomes the pressure-release blocker to the frontside of the protection. The backside split end takes the top off the coverage and clears the deep third. The playside A-back runs a six- to eight-yard drag pattern against the grain of the play. He is running high or low off the linebackers. The split end to the playside runs a climbing inside route. He is looking to create space for the drag pattern. He occupies the safety and keeps him from falling down on the drag route. We do not talk too much to our receivers about route running—we ask them to get open. Diagram KN-10. Inside zone Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com 27 DVDs EMBEDDED From Coaching the Spread Option Counter by Tony Demeo FS C W SS M T N T S E C PLAY FILM From Integrating the Triple Option Package Into The Wing-T Attack by Pat Fox PLAY FILM ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ken Niumatalolo is the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy, a position he assumed following the 2007 season. Prior to being named head coach, Niumatalolo had two coaching stints at the Naval Academy for a combined 10 seasons, including the last six where he served as assistant head coach and offensive line coach. During his tenure at Navy, the Midshipmen have consistently been one of the top rushing teams in the nation. 28 Diagram KN-11. Drag We run a post wheel pattern from the triple option fake (Diagram KN-12). The wide receiver runs a three-step pattern to the post. The A-back runs the wheel route behind the post cut. The wide receiver tries to keep the post skinny and stay away from the backside safety. He tries to split the corner and safety. We keep the pattern on the same side of the hash marks and high-low the corner. We are trying to get the patterns at two levels so we can stretch the corner. good at it. We have to pick our poison. We do not have our players long enough to teach a multiple-faceted scheme. It is a preference for us. We spend all our time on the running game. We have a pattern that we try to run by the safeties (Diagram KN-13). We run a vertical pattern with the A-back and split end to that side. This pattern takes advantage of the safety trying to get to the alley to stop the option. Oftentimes, the defense will try to replace the safety with the linebacker away from the play-action. They roll the safety down into run support and try to invert the backer into the middle. S C C B B B B Diagram KN-13. Two verticals E N T E Diagram KN-13. Two verticals Diagram KN-12. Post wheel Diagram KN-12. Post wheel We like to throw the ball, but the only time we can do it is in definite running situations. The offensive line cannot protect unless it is that situation. We spend our time on the option and not the passing game. We do not spend enough time on it to be very If they read the pattern, we stop the receivers at 12 yards. The offensive linemen have to come off the ball and run block to sell the play. If they try to pass set, all they do is back up. The quarterback we had this year could definitely throw the ball. He is the best play-action quarterback we have ever had. We do not have any secrets. Everyone knows what we do. We accomplish what we do because of the repetitions we put into the attack. R Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Basic Principles of Route Running By Mike McQueary A receiver has to adhere to several principles in order to run a good pattern. The first principle involves the feet in press coverage. Coaches see too many receivers who are horizontal at the line of scrimmage on press coverage. To run an effective route off a defender, the first thing the receiver must do is push to the feet of the defender and step on his toes. It does not matter whether the defense are in tight- or looseman coverage, the first thing the receiver does is step on their toes. Before the receiver makes his break, the closer he is to the defender, the better his route will be. On a comeback pattern, the receiver releases outside, pushes vertical, and leans inside on the defender. The receiver runs as hard and as fast as he can up the field vertical. He throws his shoulder and hips forward as he starts to make his break. This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, 2007 Coach of the Year Clinic Notes, edited by Earl Browning Personally, I do not like the term “drop your hips” in connection with route running. The term is a contradiction with many wideout coaches. You will never hear me tell a tight end or wideout to drop his hips. If a receiver drops his hips, the shoulders come up. He cannot drop his hips if he has forward lean. I think forward lean is the key to receiver route running. I use the terms Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com pad level, forward lean, throw the shoulders, and throw the head. I think the term “drop your hips” is wrong. I know that contradicts the opinion of many great wideout coaches. We have two different post routes at Penn State. We have a bang post, which is run at 12 yards. The receiver takes five steps, which brings him to 12 yards. He plants at 12 yards and catches the pass two to three yards coming out of the break. The second post is an over-the-top post. This pattern comes off of most of our playaction passes. We do not give a yardage landmark on this pattern. The coaching point is to get to the feet of the defender. If it takes the receiver 16 yards to get to the defender’s feet, that distance is the depth of the pattern. If the receiver gets to 18 or 20 yards and has not run down the defender, he breaks to the post because he will not get the ball. The ball will go to the underneath patterns. When the receiver runs his patterns, he has to get leverage on the defender. We want to be able to run the pattern inside and outside of the defender equally well. We want to put the defender in a head-up position on the receiver or a position that suits the route we are running. 31 Coach Biletnikoff told Tim to “break the glass.” I did not know what he was talking about. When Coach Biletnikoff was a player, he used to envision a glass plate on the ground. Whenever he made a break in his route, he envisioned breaking the glass with his foot. What he was trying to get Tim Brown to do was stick the route. One coaching point that I give the receivers on an over-the-top post is that a blind spot exists against a three-deep corner. The corner looks in to the quarterback and opens up with his butt to the boundary. He is 9 to 10 yards off the receiver and slowly backs into his coverage. The blind spot is behind the defender and toward the sideline. I tell the receiver, when he gets to the tip of his stem and close to the feet of the defender, he should widen his course slightly. We widen outside and get to the back hip of the defender, which is the defender’s blind spot. Route running is an art form. When I came out of Penn State, I caught on with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent. I heard Fred Biletnikoff coaching Tim Brown one day. I knew I wanted to get into coaching, and I certainly was not good enough to make it in the pro league, so I listened to the instruction. This situation was the Hallof-Fame receiver coaching a future Hall-ofFame receiver; I figured that advice would be worth hearing. Coach Biletnikoff told Tim to “break the glass.” I did not know what he was talking about. When Coach Biletnikoff was a player, he used to envision a glass plate on the ground. Whenever he made a break in his route, he envisioned breaking the glass with his foot. What he was trying to get Tim Brown to do was stick the route. He wanted him to stick his foot in the ground with force. It is a coaching tool that you may use with your players. Sometimes, you have to say the same thing a thousand different ways. Never curve off a route. Make them crisp and sharp. When you coach a point that you want to hit home with your players, give it a sound. When you emphasis the stick point, yell, “Bang!” at the point of the stick. When the receiver runs a post pattern, we want him to keep the pattern high, which 32 means do not run the pattern into the middle of the field. If the quarterback wants the receiver to move into the middle, he throws the ball and leads the receiver into the middle. In some cases, the backside corner can make a play on the deep post, if the receiver allows him to follow him. The receiver can adjust to the ball thrown to the inside. It is hard for him to adjust back to the seam to make the catch. If the quarterback wants to throw the ball high, the receiver is already there. If he wants to lead the receiver to the middle, it is an easy adjustment. Coaches know that, but receivers sometimes do not grasp the concept. When a receiver comes off the line of scrimmage, he should never release straight up the field. For example, if a defender is aligned on the receiver’s outside shoulder, the receiver should release and immediately stem to the defensive back’s outside. As he runs the route, he should try to get the defender inside of him, because he is running an out cut. If the pattern he is running is a speed out, the receiver should make his cut at 10 yards and catch it at 12 yards going to the sideline. It is not a breakdown and turnout cut. If the receiver plants his foot at 10 yards and rolls his momentum to 12 yards, it is a fullspeed cut. If the receiver runs the route at 10 yards and never gets deeper than 10 yards, he has run the wrong route. In the speed cut, the momentum carries the receiver up the field to 12 yards. We have baseline rules in running pass routes. I have been talking about them all along. While they are base rules, they are more of a thought process: • Feet: push to the feet of the defender. • Leverage: get leverage and never give it up. • Come back: come back to the ball. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com • Do not run yourself open; run the pattern and never stop. On the other hand, the receiver has to temper the rules with common sense. If the receiver runs an out route and the defender is five yards inside of him, he should not run inside to the defender’s feet. These thoughts are baseline thoughts I want receivers to have. When the receivers run patterns on turffield grass, you can tell when they stick a good cut. The residue from the shredded tires puffs into the air when they make their cuts, which means they are “breaking the glass.” It tells me they broke the glass and stuck the route. A coaching point for the receiver is what he sees as he makes his break. He should never cross the defensive back’s face after he makes his break. If the receiver makes his break and the defender is there, he has run a bad pattern. He has made a mistake in leveraging the defensive back. If the depth of the route is timed to go 10 yards, that has to be the depth of the pattern. If the receiver runs his pattern at nine-and-a-half yards, the ball is delivered late. The route is early, and, therefore, the ball comes out late. When that situation happens, we have an interception. The timing of the pattern is done because the defensive back breaks on the route of the receiver. The defensive back reacts to the route and is there when the ball arrives. In my opinion, as a former quarterback, half of the interceptions a quarterback throws are the fault of the wide receiver. I tell my wideouts and tight ends the same thing. If the quarterback is working on one timing sequence and the receiver runs the wrong depth or direction, the quarterback throws the ball to the defender. He gets the interception, but it was not his fault. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com The next route I want to discuss is the curl. We run our curl route at 12 yards. The receiver works down the field to 12 yards and breaks the glass. He throws his shoulders forward, turns, and works directly back to the quarterback. He does not come back down on the stem, and he does not curl inside. We do not tell our receivers to work inside if the alley defender is under the curl. If the alley defender is underneath the curl, the flat has to be open. We do not want to make football harder than it has to be. The strong safety is the flat defender. If he is under the curl and the pattern has been run correctly, the flat is open. If the alley defender has run out to cover the flat, there has to be an open throwing lane to the curl. When I coach the wideout on this play, I tell the receiver he is responsible for the corner. If the corner intercepts the ball, it is the receiver’s fault. The quarterback is responsible for the safety and the alley defender. If the alley defender or the safety makes the interception, it is the quarterback’s fault. If the receiver works inside to get open, the quarterback may not know exactly where he will stop. If he throws the ball behind the receiver, it is a miscommunication problem between the two players, which is why we do not move on our patterns. That factor goes back to the fourth point in our baseline rules. Never run yourself open; run the route that is called. Never stop the pattern, because every route has a reason for the receivers to be where they are in the pattern. Another way of teaching the curl is related to basketball. We tell the wide receiver that as soon as he runs his curl, he plays lowpost basketball. The receiver wants the corner on his back, having to play through him to get to the ball. If the corner is not on the back of the receiver, chances are we The quarterback is responsible for the safety and the alley defender. If the alley defender or the safety makes the interception, it is the quarterback’s fault. 33 are in trouble. On this pattern, base rule #3 is important: work back to the ball. The receiver has to come back to the football, hard and aggressively. We want him coming back at least three to four yards. Another key point involving the curl pattern occurs when the receiver begins to do what we call “peek” in the pattern. He breaks the pattern at 12 yards, but as he gets to 10 yards, he starts to look around. The defensive back reads that and gets a good break on the ball. We do not want the receiver to peek on his curl route. Route running is an art. It is not going out to the mailbox and cutting right. I may be the only coach in the country who believes this next point. I do not coach catching the football. I worked with the tight ends when I was a graduate assistant. I never once coached them how to catch the ball. I never instructed them about how to position their hands.You either catch the ball, or you do not. If I have a receiver who cannot catch the ball, I screwed up when I recruited him. If a player can catch, but he does not catch it the right way, why would I mess with how he catches it? I have certain beliefs about catching the football, but I do not coach it. Route running is an art. It is not going out to the mailbox and cutting right. If the route is run correctly and the ball is delivered on time, it does not matter who plays defense. In the stance of the wide receiver, the inside foot is always up. It does not matter what type of play is being run, the inside foot is up. In our three-step passing game, we count steps, which is the only reason our inside foot is up. Our hitches are five steps in depth. The slants are three-step patterns, and the outs are four-step patterns, which means the total number of steps in the slant route is three. On the down-thefield patterns, we teach yardage. The regular five-step out is run at 10 34 yards, not five steps. Even though the depth of the route is the same, it goes back to constancy of teaching. We are probably the only team in the nation that does that. This system comes from Dick Vermeil, when he was the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. They did timing steps up to five steps and yardage throws on everything else. The five-step hitch is the same pattern as the 12-yard curl. One of Coach Paterno’s base coaching and teaching points over his whole coaching history is simplicity. He always reminds us to know what we are asking our players to do. Even if you like a particular scheme or route, always coach to your players. If you do not have the players to perform the skill, do not do it. He has come into our offensive staff meeting, looked at the game plan, and cut 20 plays off of it. The next thing I’d like to discuss is our four-vertical pattern. In this pattern, we ask the slot receiver to the field to be our middle adjuster. If the coverage is three-deep, he stays up the seam. If the coverage is two-deep, he runs the post. When the ball is on the hash mark, the safety to that side has a heavy skew off the hash mark toward the boundary. He skews that way, because it is a shorter throw when the ball is on the hash mark. The slot receiver has a bad leverage problem going to the post, because of the skew of the half player in the wideside of the field. At USC, they handled the problem by letting the tight end to the boundary in the formation be the adjuster. He has more leverage on the safety cheating to the boundary. We thought that was a good idea. We had a freshman tight end this year. He will be a first-round pick, but he is a freshman. We told him he was going to be the adjuster in this set. The first time we ran the play, he made a mistake. Joe went nuts and blistered my butt when we got in after practice. To make a long story short, do not Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com ask your players to do more than they can. Coaches should make sure that what they advocate is sound, but they should not ask their players to do more than they can. Next, I want to talk about two-deep and three-deep zones. When teams start to attack those coverages, they have to know what they are. I do that in my meetings. I show the players the coverage and why we run to where we do. They need to know what the defense is and why we run the patterns we do. Teach the players the concept of what you are doing. That advice comes directly from Joe Paterno. The first thing the quarterback has to see is two high safeties. Teams we play skew the safety to the boundary, if the ball is on the hash mark. The attack points against two-deep coverage are anywhere on both boundaries over 18 yards and in the middle hole at 16 to 22 yards. It is essential, however, to use the checkdown receivers, which means throw the ball to the backs and outlet receivers. pattern we run is a four-vertical route. The set can be a triple-receiver or a double-slot set. In the 3-by-1 set, we put two wide receivers and the tight end to the field and the single receiver to the boundary (Diagram MM-1). The outside receivers have to get vertical and wide as fast as they can. The offense stretches vertically, and the defense stretches horizontally. The best way to stretch the defense is to get all four receivers down the field as fast as we can. If one of those receivers lags behind the others, you can almost write that side off. FS C W 5 M S C Diagram MM-1. Four verticals Diagram MM-1. Four verticals When the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl, they picked up seven first downs against two-deep cover throwing to the checkdown receivers. That statistic is unbelievable in pro football. Their running back had over 100 yards receiving. If the safeties do not skew with the ball on the hash mark, hit the throws into the boundary. They cannot cover that area. A football field has five underneath zones and two flats areas. Two curl zones are 10 to 12 yards deep on the hash mark for high school and two outside the hash mark in college. A middle zone, 15 to 18 yards deep, is right in the geometric center of the field. The attack point in the middle of the field can be no deeper than 18 to 22 yards. Anything thrown in the middle of the field over 22 yards should be picked off. The Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com The tight end runs up to eight yards and gets across to the opposite hash mark. It is difficult for him to get deep and stay up with the other receivers, as they push for depth. If the receivers are even in their depth, they put great pressure on the safety. The safety has to respect the slot receiver, because he knows he has no help in the middle of the field. He knows the middle of the field is the attack point for most offenses. The safety to that side knows he is in trouble, if all those situations are present. The back runs what we call a “doc” pattern, which stands for “delay over center.” The back has a blocking assignment and checks his way out into the center of the field. Based on the scouting report, the back may have to help one of the offensive 35 linemen on a tough match-up. He chips his way out, if his primary assignment does not blitz. We want an outside release by the receivers. If he is forced inside, the first thing he has to do is get wide again. Against cover 2, I want them as close to the sidelines as they can get. Against three-deep coverage, we do not adjust the slot receiver. The inside receivers are two yards outside the hash marks (Diagram MM-2). The split receivers are on the sidelines no closer than four yards from the boundary. One high safety is in the middle of the field. The corners are eight to nine yards deep and usually one-yard outside the wide receiver. Five underneath zones are on the field. If the defense rushes four defenders, they have four underneath defenders for five zones. FS C C W M SS cover43 Diagram MM-2. Four verticals, 4 going to the fieldside. The defense figures he can play the curl and react to the flat. The defense teaches to carry the curl and tackle the flat, which means they cover the curl and react back to the flat and make the tackle. On first-and-ten, the defense gives up the flat. We want to throw the ball into the flat and make the defense miss the tackle.We want to turn a four-yard play into a first down. The concept in the four vertical is the same for the corner in the three-deep as for the safety in the two-deep. We have to pressure him to cover both verticals. The next formation I want to discuss is the 2-by-2 set. The pattern is a verticals pattern by the two wide receivers and two outs by the two inside receivers. In this set, they are the slot and tight end (Diagram MM-3). The concept behind the route is to attack the corner defender—long and short. The pattern puts the wide receiver on the boundary at 20 to 25 yards. The second receiver is up front on a pattern between six to eight yards. The running back releases into the flat. The pattern works the corner on an up-and-back type of concept. SS C Diagram MM-2. Four verticals, cover 3 Diagram MM-3. Up and back The weakside linebacker has to cover the boundary flat zone. The defense asks the next inside linebacker to cover the boundary curl zone. The outside linebacker to the field has the middle zone. The strong safety plays the curl-flat zone to the fieldside. I ask my players why the defense asks the strong safety to cover two zones to the fieldside. The answer is the strong safety usually runs better than the other underneath defenders, and the ball is in the air longer 36 Diagram MM-3. Up and back The corner will carry the vertical until his flat is threatened. The corner starts with the vertical up the field. The fullback comes out late into the flat.When the corner sees the fullback, he starts back to his flat coverage. The inside receiver breaks his pattern Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com behind the corner and into the sideline. The attack points in the three-deep coverage are up the seams at a depth of 18 yards. We attack the flat-to-curl area to the fieldside and the one-on-one matches throughout the defense. Nothing is better then the three-step pass game if the defense gives it to you. Coach Paterno always says take what the defense gives you. Do not make it a complicated game. Make it simple. In three-deep coverage, the one-on-one coverage is outside with the corners. Against Wisconsin in the second half, they backed their corners off to nine yards. We completed six quick-out patterns for four first downs. At Penn State, we give our patterns six basic numbers. They make up six basic combinations of routes. Everything else we run we tag to those numbers. If we tag the number with a player, we change one route in the pattern. If we call “X streak,” we have given the X receiver a streak route. If we give a city name or animal name, we are changing more than one route within the pattern. The zero pattern is the base, simplest route we can run. The X receiver is the flanker to the field and runs a 10-yard speed out (Diagram MM-4). The Z receiver or split end to the boundary runs a 14-yard comeback. The tight end has a two-deep middle read. If the coverage is three deep, 14 12 10 12 Diagram MM-4. Zero Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com he works up to 10 yards and does a turn out. As he turns out, he feels the strong safety playing the curl-flat and finds a void. If the coverage is two-deep, he works out wide and comes into the post at 12 yards. He keeps the middle of the field on his inside shoulder and never crosses it. If we throw the ball to the tight end against two-deep coverage, it has to be thrown at 18 yards. The best passes are the one-on-one passes that the defense gives you. If teams play Tampa-2 coverage against this pattern, we treat it like a cover 3. The tight end stays on the seam and does not go to the middle. The tight end running the vertical up the seam seals the seam defender to the inside, so he cannot get out to get under the 14-yard comeback, which is the seam defender’s rule in the defense. He carries the seam player to the middle third. If he does that, he is no help to the corner on the 14-yard comeback. When attacking the curl-flat defender, we do not like to put wide receiver on the curl with the tight end in the flat (Diagram MM-5). We like to have the wide receiver running the curl, the tight end running a vertical, and the running back into the flat. That scenario seals the seam defender and keeps him out of the flat-curl area. It gives us a 12-yard curl pattern, with no one in the underneath coverage. If the defense tries try to get someone under the curl, the flat is wide open. F SS C Diagram MM-5. Curl-flat, cover 3 37 Instead of the flat pattern, we can run the flare route. That pattern puts the running back in space against a linebacker coming from far inside. VERTICAL 25 SMASH HITCH Diagram MM-7. Up-and-back, cover 2 If the alley defender gets underneath the curl, throw the flat, which is why we do not slide the curl receiver. If he is covered, we throw the flat. We do not want to force the ball to the curl receiver. We want to take the open throw. To the backside, we have the same pattern, except we have no flat receiver. The first baseline rule applies to the curl receiver. He has to get close to the feet of the defender before he makes his break. That defender has to feel the receiver will run by him if he does not get out of his backpedal and run deep. When the defender does that, we break the curl. If the coverage is cover 2 and the seam runner does not stay with the tight end, he carries his pattern up the seam and breaks into the post (Diagram MM-6). The ball is thrown into the middle at a depth of 18 yards. F FS SS C S M W Diagram MM-6. Curl-flat, cover 2 C Diagram MM-7. Up-and-back, cover 2 It puts the corner in a bind. He has a five-step hitch in front of him and a 25-yard smash route on the sideline. The half-cover defender runs deep with the vertical by the inside receiver. The coaching point for the quarterback in this situation is the shoulders of the corner. If the shoulders are open, he looks for the hitch. If the shoulders are closed, he looks to go over the top to the smash. Even if the corner is giving ground, with his shoulders closed, he cannot make a play on the smash route 25 yards deep. We coach our receivers on a four-verticals pattern, that if a defender is on his spot, he adjusts to the middle. The spot is over the receiver at a depth of 8 to 10 yards. We got this concept from the University of Texas. In our play-action game, the only difference between the bootleg and the naked is the line protection. When we call naked, the offensive line blocks the outside-zone play. If we run the bootleg, the backside guards pull to the callside to protect the throw (Diagram MM-8). The number-one Diagram MM-6. Curl-flat, cover 2 Another pattern we run with the upand-back concept comes from a 3-by-1 formation (Diagram MM-7). On this pattern, the outside receiver runs a five-step hitch pattern. The split end runs a smash route to the corner. The inside receiver runs the vertical. The backside receiver runs a shade route to the middle of the field. The coaching point is to take the easy throw. 38 18-20 Diagram MM-8. Boot and naked patterns Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com receiver to the callside has an over-the-top post route. The number-two receiver to the callside runs the flat. The number-one receiver opposite the call runs an 18- to 20-yard deep cross. If there is a number-two receiver to the backside, he runs a shallow 8- to 10-yard crossing pattern. pattern so the number-two receiver knows he runs the wheel, instead of the flat. The number-three receiver to the callside runs the flat. The reason we run this play is the action of the strong safeties in the Big Ten. More often than not, they are linebackers playing in the secondary. We run the naked and bootleg from many different formations. We have specific rules for the receivers on every one of the formations. The first formation is the pro set, with a weak adjust by the running back. We have no number-two receiver to the backside. If the number-one receiver cannot get to the post, he adjusts to a deep flare or streak route. The play-action is outside zone to the weakside. The Big Ten is known for hard safety fills. If the safety in the middle jumps the cross, the post is an option. The next pattern I’d like to discuss comes off the draw action. The draw has been one of our staples in our offense (Diagram MM10). This pattern is a double-cross pattern. The number-one receiver to the callside runs a post route. The backside flanker comes in motion, as if to crack on the support defender. He runs a crossing pattern to get to the opposite hash mark at a depth of 18 yards. The tight end comes out late on a shallow cross at 8 to 10 yards. We look for the post, deep cross, and shallow cross in that progression. This read sequence allows the quarterback to work the up-and-back read on the callside corner. It is an easy throw. The tight end is coached to recognize the defensive-line alignments. If he has a 5-technique and 9-technique alignment, he blocks down on the 5-technique and releases to the flat. If he only has a 9-technique, he holds for a two count and releases. If the play is toward the boundary, we hold him for an extra second. On the other hand, we do not want the tight end to think delay. On the 3-by-1 naked play, the numberone receiver applies his rule (Diagram MM9). The tight end applies his rule, and the slot receiver runs a wheel route up the sideline, following the vertical. The backside receiver runs his deep cross. We tag the The next pattern comes away from the tight end. The split receiver runs a post cut, which is a post cut, but not the over-the-top post. It is the post cut at 12 yards. The running back comes out of the backfield to that side and runs the wheel. The tight end runs a six-yard drag, and the backside wide receiver runs an 18-yard dig across the middle. If the quarterback wants to throw the post, he has to throw it on time. 18 10 Diagram MM-10. Draw action Diagram MM-10. Draw action Diagram MM-9. Wheel Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com 39 DVDs EMBEDDED From Attacking Cover 3 With the Multiple Pro Passing Game by Dan Robinson PLAY FILM From Attacking Split (2 High) Safeties by Gunter Brewer PLAY FILM From Cover 2 Pass Attack by Steve Axman We run the same concept with the postand-out cut (Diagram MM-11). We bring the third receiver in motion to that side and send him straight to the flat. The outside receiver runs the post cut, and the inside receiver runs the speed out at 14 yards, rolling to 18 yards on the boundary. He does not break down and stick the route. He speed-cuts as he fills the void in the coverage. His momentum will carry him deeper at the boundary. R 18 14 Diagram MM-11. Post-and-out ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike McQueary is the wide receiver coach and the recruiting coordinator at Penn State University, his alma mater. McQueary’s connections to Penn State are extensive. A state college native, he played at Penn State from 1994 to 1997 and was the starting quarterback in ’97, leading the Lions to a 9-3 record and a berth in the Florida Citrus Bowl. From 2000 to 2002, he served as a Penn State graduate assistant coach. In 2003, he spent the season as an administrative assistant with the football program, before assuming his present position. PLAY FILM From Quarters Coverage Pass Attack by Steve Axman PLAY FILM From Concepts and Patterns to Attack Quarters Coverage by Stan Zweifel PLAY FILM 40 Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Defensive Principles and Secondary Drills By Kirby Smart B efore beginning, it is important to note that this article does not address anything that is revolutionary or anything we have invented. We win because we can run the ball and stop the run. It is that simple. People say that principle is old-school mentality. It is, and we practice that way. Everything else we do comes off that premise. Historically, the teams that can run the ball and stop the run win more games. The offenses today want to throw the ball. The players like it, and it is fun. At the University of Alabama, we are not about fun. We are about toughness, being physical, and winning ball games. The players have fun by winning games and championships. We do things that way, and our players buy into that idea and play hard for us. In this article, I will cover some defensive drills that we use. I will tell you why we do the drills. After I’ve reviewed the drills, I will discuss some man-coverage concepts and ideas. This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, 2010 Coach of the Year Clinics, edited by Earl Browning Nothing is special about the drills. When we start the drill session, we start everything with A, B, and C. We want some kind of agility in the drill. We want to see block protection on defense. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com These drills are for every group on the defense. We do drills for the linebackers, defensive line, and defensive backs. We do cut-block drills, stalk drills, and drills of that nature. We are no different from anyone else. We are working drills in which we use our hands. You cannot play defense without using your hands. We want to play with the hands, lock out, and control blockers. We want to see contact in our drills. The C in our drills stands for contact. You cannot play football without contact. Although we may not take players to the ground, we are physical in these drills. In our practices, we do not take players to the ground except in two or three scrimmages each year. We do not teach the drills on the field. We want to prepare the players for what we are going to do in a position meeting. When we go to the practice field, we do not want to spend time explaining the drills. We do not want to explain what we want to accomplish. We want to repeat the drills that we use, rather than having to teach them daily. Drill work is important, but the time we have to work on individual skills is limited. When we get to the practice field, we want to get as many repetitions as we possibly can. 43 We do not waste time doing different drills or creating new drills. We want the maximum number of repetitions for the individuals, and we want to make the most of the time we have. Our managers set up the drills and have them ready to go when we get to the field. This procedure is all part of organization, so we can be more efficient with our practice time. With the restrictions the NCAA places on colleges, it is imperative that we do these things. We have to utilize every second we have with our individual groups. do not turn their hips in that direction. They keep their shoulders square to the line and weave from side to side.We do the weave drill to control leverage on a receiver. If we have outside leverage and the receiver stems outside, we want to weave outside and keep the leverage position, without turning the shoulder to do it. We do the same drills daily. With regard to defensive back drills, the first drill we do is a down-the-line drill, which is a simple backpedal drill. We work from the sideline to the hash marks. In this drill, we are looking for proper technique. In the stance, we want the feet close together. We want the feet somewhere between four to six inches apart. We want the feet no wider than a toe-to-instep stagger. The next drill we incorporate with the weave drill is a flip turn. We start out in the weave. On the coach’s signal, the defensive back executes a flip turn and runs. We add a turn to one side and the run. After that, we add a turn going both ways. We use these drills with our corners and safeties. We want the feet barely clipping the grass as the defensive ends backpedal. We watch the posture and footwork of the defensive backs. We do not want any false steps as they push off. We push with the back foot, and then we push with the front foot. When we coach in an individual period, we do not want to stop the drill to correct what someone is doing. You do not want people standing and watching while you are talking to one player. We run the drill and make the corrections on the fly. 44 The next drill is a plant-and-burst drill. When we break back on the ball, we want to have the foot on the ground. Freshmen come in as toe planters. They want to plant with the toe and not the entire foot. The toe planters may only have two cleats in the ground when they attempt to break.We want the sole of the foot on the ground, with the foot to the breakside turned at a 45-degree angle to the direction of the break. When we drive on a pattern, we feel we have more ground traction if we have all the cleats of the shoe in the ground, as the defender bursts to the ball. We do not waste time doing different drills or creating new drills. We want the maximum number of repetitions for the individuals, and we want to make the most of the time we have. When you perform these drills, you must work off both feet. We break them to the right and then to the left. In these drills, it is easy to get false steps in the backpedal and burst drills. Every false step the defensive back takes is lost time, which means a completion. The second drill we work on is the weave drill. When we teach this drill, we want the defenders to stay square. When they do the weave drill, we are working on a backpedal. The coach stands in front of the players and starts them on a backpedal. He then gives them directions—left and right, to weave off and on the lines. When they weave, they The next drill is the two-line drill. We never do all these drills on the same day. We may use a two-line drill on Monday and a one-line drill on Tuesday. However, the defensive backs know the drills, and we do not spend time teaching the drills. We go into the drills and work on the techniques. We do not have to teach the actual Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com mechanics of the drill to get started. In the two-line drill, we want the defensive back to shuffle.We are incorporating our cover-2 scheme in the drill. We teach the corner on a cover-2 technique that when the receiver breaks off the line of scrimmage, the corner does not sink or drop off the receiver; he jams the receiver and shuffles for two steps. After the corner does his shuffle steps, the coach gives him a direction. He rolls the ball out as a fumble or throws the ball up in the air for the back to react to the ball and high point it for an interception. If the coach rolls the ball, the defensive back reacts and works on his scoop-andscore drill. If the coach throws the ball, he reacts to it and works on his ball skills. The defensive back has to catch the ball. We incorporate the drive on the out cut in the drill (Diagram KS-1). The defensive back does the same thing he did in the shuffle drill, except we are going to defend a receiver. We teach two different techniques—the burst drop as a man-coverage technique and a 45-degree angle drop as a zone technique. In the latter technique, he opens his hips and drives to a spot. WR Diagram KS-1. Out burst DB Diagram KS-1. Out burst When you do these drills, you should be able to find live-action shots of them in game films. Everything we teach in the drills, we should see in the games. If you can show the players the drill in a game film, they will Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com work harder to perfect the skill you are trying to teach. If they know they are getting better by using the drill work, they will work harder in the drill. You have to let them know why you are teaching the drill. The next drill is a speed turn on the out pattern. We teach a zone turn on the out first drill. In the zone turn, the defensive back opens his hips to the quarterback. He reacts back to the receiver at a 45-degree angle. On the speed turn, the defender runs the pattern with the receiver. He does not open his hips to the quarterback. He flips his head and shoulder to the outside, away from the quarterback. We use this drill as an out-and-up drill to work on the deep ball. I have been with Coach Saban since 2006, when I coached with him at the Miami Dolphins. I have learned a lot from him. We came to Alabama in 2007. I think Coach Saban is the best defensive backs coach I have ever heard speak or watched coach. He does a great job of teaching the players. He does not go into the film room and criticize the players. He tells them what they did wrong, but he reinforces that with positive comments, which is the best thing I have learned from him. I learned to teach and not to criticize. When we recruit a player, we want to know if he can play man-to-man defense. You cannot play college football at our level if you never play man-to-man defense. The second thing we want to know about a recruit is if he can tackle. You cannot play defense unless you can tackle. In a defensive back, it is harder because he has to tackle in space most of the time. A missed tackle in the secondary is double trouble. A five-yard hitch pattern and a missed tackle can amount to a 60-yard touchdown. The third thing we want to know is if he can play the ball in the deep parts of the field. 45 Defensive corners end up in bad situations too many times. They are isolated and have to make plays on deep balls. If they cannot do that, they cannot play in our scheme. We do the out-and-up drill to improve our ability to play the ball in the deep part of the field. Two factors are at work in the deep field. The back has to be able to adjust to the deep ball, and he has to catch it. When we do a speed cut, we do not want to stop and start again. When we stop, we have to start from zero. We want to roll off the inside foot and keep our momentum going. We want to keep our speed when we play any kind of double move. If the defender loses his momentum when the receiver turns the move deep, it is difficult to recover and catch up. We perform all kinds of ball drills. For example, we have a high-ball drill and a lowball drill to teach catching and concentration on the ball. The next part of our drill work is the B, which is block protection. The corner has to play the blocks of the wide receivers primarily. One of my favorite drills to do is a middle-butt drill. We even do this drill in our off-season program because we feel it is that important. It is a simple punch drill. The defensive backs punch with their hands into the breastplate of a defender. We want the hands inside and the thumbs up on the chest. Putting the thumbs in that position will bring the elbows in tight to the body. do an explosion drill. We want to sit back and use our hands. When the receiver approaches, the defensive back can use his hands and knock the crap out of him. If the defensive back keeps his elbow in tight, he has an extra foot or more to lock out on the defender. In the drill, we want to work outside, side-to-side. We do not want the receiver to turn the defensive back one way or the other. We always make sure the heels of the receiver are apart. We do not want the feet together. We want to use a step movement with his feet, as if he were an offensive tackle. We never want him hopping. We always want one foot on the ground. The next drill is an extension of the butt drill. We call it shuffle-run-cut (Diagram KS-2). We start out the drill the same way.We punch and lock out the blocker. The blocker moves to the outside. The defensive back shuffles, separates from the blocker, and runs to the outside.The second blocker comes out of the backfield and tries to cut him. The defensive back has to play the cut with his hands and feet. The key thing to playing the cut block is to keep the outside leg free and to the outside. The defensive back has to get his outside leg past the hat of the blocker. The defender gets cut if the blocker gets to his outside leg. BC TACKLE Diagram KS-2. Shuffle-run-cut B CUT We want them to pretend they are sitting on a barstool. We want their weight back and their head up. We want to punch and lock out the arms. Playing corner as a defensive back is similar to playing tackle against a rushing defensive end. We use the kick-slide technique when we play corner. The difference is we are not trying to lunge and 46 WR PUNCH LOCKOUT DB Diagram KS-2. Shuffle-run-cut We are going to do some form of tackling every day, for example, the block Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com protection drill, with a tackle on the end. We also do the shuffle-run-cut drill with a tackle on the end. In this drill, we stack two blockers and a ballcarrier in a line five yards apart. The defensive back punches and locks out on the first blocker. The last six inches of a bench press is what we teach in the lock-out movement, which is where the explosion comes from and what we are teaching in this movement. He shuffles and runs to the second blocker. The second blocker tries to cut him. He plays the cut and comes off the block. When we teach tackling, we teach near leg and near shoulder. I see players squat all the time when they tackle. We do not teach that way at all. In basketball, with a jumpball situation, the players jump for the tip with their inside leg and their inside hand, which is how we teach tackling. The tackler hits with his nearest leg to the ballcarrier and rolls his hips up and through the ballcarrier. We do the same thing on an angle tackle. If we hit with the near shoulder, the next step is through the ballcarrier not to the ballcarrier. We also teach a stick tackling drill (Diagram KS-3). In this drill, the defensive back gets into a backpedal. He sticks his foot in the ground and drives up for the tackle. When he gets to the tackle position, he executes the near shoulder/near leg technique and makes the tackle. BC WR DB Diagram KS-3. Stick tackle Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com The next drill is a simple angle tackle drill. The coaching point in this drill is to make sure they use the near leg and same shoulder. Coming on an angle, they can get the opposite leg forward and the near shoulder. Make sure their feet are in proper position as they run through the ballcarrier. You have more power with the near leg and shoulder as long as the feet are pointed north and south. In the open field tackling drill, we put the ballcarrier and the defender 15 yards apart. The defensive back wants to close the distance as quickly as he can. When he makes a tackle in the open field, he has to open his hips to the ballcarrier. If the defensive back cannot open his hips, he will struggle in the open field. When we open the hips, we have to flat step to the ballcarrier. If it comes to an angle tackle, he has to open his hips and flat step to the ballcarrier. We want him coming downhill on his flat step. He does not want to turn his shoulder and run on an angle. Some defensive backs cannot run straight ahead and flat step, because they are too tight in the hips. In the open field, we do not want to turn the shoulders.We want to close the distance, open the hips, flat step with the shoulders square, and strike with the near leg and shoulder. On a sideline tackle, we do not want to give the ballcarrier a two-way go. We do not want him to cut back with the ball or get down the sideline. We want to attack straight ahead and close the running lane. The next drill teaches pursuit tackling (Diagram KS-4). It works with our cover-2 roll. The corner and safety work in the drill together. In the drill, we set a dummy holder in the area of a toss sweep. The corner has to play off a receiver and force the ball from an outside-in position. The safety fills inside the corner. In this drill, we are trying to simulate a missed tackle. We teach swarming 47 defense. The SEC has good running backs. You do not knock them down on the first contact. We have one of those good running backs. DUMMY Diagram KS-4. Pursuit tackle TE BALL WR C SS to keep the batters off balance. We have to do the same thing at defensive back. We cannot defend the receiver with the same coverage scheme or technique every time. We have to change up what we do. We can play cover 2, or we can play what we call a tough jam, which is a hard jam with the inside hand. When we do this play, we do not lunge at the receiver or jump across the line of scrimmage to get to the receiver. The problem with the tough jam is too much risk exists if the defensive back misses the jam. If that situation happens, it is probably a touchdown. It is a risky play. Diagram KS-4. Pursuit Tackle The dummy holder has to be firm with the dummy. The cornerback closes on the dummy and delivers a hit on the dummy. After the hit, the dummy holder moves the bag to another position. The safety is flying to the ball inside the corner. When the dummy moves, he has to adjust his angle and hit the dummy. We run drills with the receiver and the corner, working on out-and-in breaks by the receivers. We also have to work on the breaks of the safeties in a cover-2 shell. They have to break downhill on a secondary break and back for the deep break. On one day, we work breaking down, and the next day, we work breaking deep. The next thing we do with the defensive back is to work on releases. When our defensive backs press, we want to play quick with our hands and feet. The worse thing that can happen to a defensive back is to lunge at a receiver. When the defensive back steps forward, he spreads his feet. After he spreads his feet, he cannot move his feet, unless he steps back inside himself. He has taken three steps, and he did not move from his original position. On cover 2, the corner is the primary run support. On a cover-2 concept, we make the safety drive out for the first three steps, because he is the half defender. We make him read the receivers. They want to know if the receiver blocked the corner or released. We do not read run or pass with a half-field safety on a lineman. We check the receivers. It could be a toss-sweep pass or a flea-flicker. If he reads run from the receiver, he flat steps and comes out of the half-field back into run support. We want his weight on the big toe of his up foot. From that position, he cannot spread his feet. When they snap the ball, we want to stay square and force the receivers to release around us. We use our step-step footwork to channel their paths. We say that playing corner is like being a pitcher in baseball. You cannot throw the fastball all the time. Eventually, the hitter will catch up to the fastball. He has to have a change-up 48 We play our corners a little different on cover 2. We coach the corner on his support path. If he sees air inside the receiver and can beat him in there, he takes it. Instead of taking on the receiver, he beats him inside and boxes the run. However, the safety has to make him right by getting over the top and playing secondary contain. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com We do not play much off coverage on the wide receiver. However, the first day of fall camp, we play good-on-good in a pass drill. We play off coverage because most corners do not understand leverage. The secondary plays cover 3 (Diagram KS-5). The quarterback has three options: He can run a toss sweep, a three-step quick slant pass, or a five-step comeback pattern. The defenders do not have any linebackers in underneath coverage, so all the cuts have to be out patterns by the receivers. running play when we are playing cover 2 (Diagram KS-6). The safety can make him right, but we do not want it to happen. If he decides to run through on the receiver, he has to get there. We use this type of play if we have a large tight end playing the split receiver, which in a stalk situation, is a mismatch for the corner. The corner can read the tight end and align on the wide receiver. When he sees the tight end release inside, he is a rolled-up cover-2 corner. RB RB Diagram KS-5. Leverage and fit WR QB BALL Diagram KS-6. Cover-2 drill WR QB TE C BALL SS C S Diagram KS-5. Leverage and fit We have to read run or pass and play run or pass.We do not expect the corner to make the play on the running play. However, we are asking him to play block-protection techniques on the receiver and get up to force the play inside. The worst thing the corner can do is to run outside the block of the wide receiver. We tell the corner to two-gap the receiver and play two-thirds outside and one-third inside on the receiver. The safety is coming inside the corner for run support. If the corner picks a side of the receiver, he has made the receiver’s job easy. We are teaching the corner and safety their fits on a running play, which makes the safety and corner tougher players. If we read pass, it is going to be some kind of outside breaking pattern. Some days, we play cover 3 in the drill, and on other days, we play cover 2. We do not want the corner penned inside on a Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Diagram KS-6. Cover-2 drill We play the slot receiver differently than most people. Most people press the wide receiver and play off the slot receiver. We play that way because we need run support from the man over the slot. If the slot blocks, we have run support from the strong safety. If the slot releases, we are man-to-man with the strong safety. We leverage the slotback based on where the help is. If we do have help inside, the defender leverages him outside. In college football today, the huddle occurs at the line of scrimmage. The offense aligns on the ball, and the coaches call the plays from the sideline, according to how the defense aligns. If you change your defense, they call automatics from the sideline. You can do two things in that situation. You can set in the defense you are in or change the defense.We are not going to allow the offense to do that to us. We do not show our defense when the quarterback gets under center or uses the hard count to get us to move. We do not show what we are in 49 when the quarterback drops his hand in the shotgun to get the snap. We are not any smarter than the other coaches are. However, we are not going to sit back and let them pick up with the play they want to run. We are going to put a kill call into our defensive calls. When we use a kill call, it is the same as a defensive automatic. We kill pressure-to-pressure, pressure-to-coverage, and coverage-to-pressure. If the offense reads cover 2 and decides to check to a draw, we kill our call from coverage-to-pressure. The offense checks to a play to run against cover 2. We kill the cover-2 coverage scheme and go to a blitz scheme. We tie our blitz to another coverage scheme. We go from a cover-2 call to a zone blitz and a quarters or man scheme in the secondary. We can also go from pressure-to-pressure. If the offense thinks they read an inside blitz scheme and automatic to an option play, we can change from an inside blitz to an outside blitz. They think they have an advantage and can block down on all inside gaps. We bring the blitz off the perimeter. The last kill we use goes from pressureto-coverage. The offense reads the pre-snap as a blitz scheme. When they automatic to change the protection scheme, we kill the blitz and go to some kind of max-coverage scheme. We can play a match-man concept or go to some other coverage scheme. We want to make sure we stop any type of now pass. The offense ties it into a blitzprevention plan. We are not going to sit back and let the offense do what they want. We do not have to use a kill call. We can use bluff tactics to make them think we are coming when we are not. The kill call we use most is the coverage to pressure call. We package these calls as part of the game plan. We will match a fire zone blitz with the country cover 2. At times, we get hurt with the kill calls, but we are not going to let the offense match their play to our defense without giving them some problems. When the offense does not get the coverage or blitz scheme they thought they saw, it builds doubt into their heads. The key to what we do is the game plan. In our film study, we match our coverages to their formations and tendencies. It is not like we are grab bagging coverages. The offense is going to game plan to what they see also. We are not any smarter than the other coaches are. However, we are not going to sit back and let them pick up with the play they want to run. Offensive coaches use dummy calls to make the defense think they are changing the play when actually they are not. It becomes 50 Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com a big crapshoot sometimes. However, we think we are better off using that system. The obvious problem when you start to check from one blitz to another or change from coverage-to-coverage is the communication of that call. You must have people on your defense who will take charge of those things and make sure the defense is on the same page. The automatic calls have to be simple so that you do not end up with two different coverages in the secondary. If we make a mistake in a blitz call, it will not hurt us as much as a blow in the secondary. That kind of mistake can lead to a big play. When we check our coverage, we want to go from zone coverage to some sort of man scheme. We can play pattern-match coverage or a man-free scheme. When we check from a particular coverage to another, we do not want the automatic every time we think the quarterback is changing the play. If you do that, the offense will figure out what you are doing and take advantage of it. You cannot always do anything about it. If you always check cover 2 to a particular coverage, the offense will figure that out. We want the offense to guess when we are checking off. It all comes back to disguise. If we can mask what we are doing, we will win most of those situations. R ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kirby Smart is the defensive coordinator at the University of Alabama, a position he has held for the past three seasons under Nick Saban. During his tenure at Alabama, the Tide have been one of the best defensive teams in the country. In December 2009, he received the Broyles Award as the nation’s best assistant coach. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com DVDs EMBEDDED From Defensive Back Drills and Tackling Fundamentals by Greg Vandagriff PLAY FILM From Defensive Back Play: Tackling That Wins by Rob Keys PLAY FILM 51 “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will” ~ Vince Lombardi Take your team to the next level. With more than 2,000 titles, Coaches Choice is one of the world’s largest publishers of instructional books and DVDs for coaches. Coaches Choice offers cutting - edge resources that feature some of the most respected coaches in their sport. TM Learning has no off-season Youth Football Play: Blue Right 29 Belly vs. 4-3 By Chris Booth Right Tackle: Blocks the Sam linebacker. Puts his helmet on the left side of the Sam’s body and drives him to the right. Tight End: Blocks the left defensive end. Puts his helmet on the right side of the defensive end’s body and drives him to the left. Diagram CB-1. Blue Right 29 Belly vs. 4-3 Center: Blocks the Mike linebacker. Puts his helmet on the left side of the Mike’s body and drives him to the right. Left Tackle: Blocks the Will linebacker. Puts his helmet on the right side of the Will’s body and drives him to the left. Left Guard: Blocks the left defensive tackle. Puts his helmet on the right side of the defensive tackle’s body and drives him to the left. Right Guard: Blocks the right defensive tackle. Puts his helmet on the left side of the defensive tackle’s body and drives him to the right. This play was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, 101 Youth Football Plays, by Chris Booth. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Split End: Lines up 12 yards outside of the right tackle and blocks the strong safety. Slot: Lines up seven yards outside of the right tackle and blocks the free safety. Quarterback: Drops his left foot, hands the ball to the tailback in the 9 hole, takes one lateral step to the left, and fakes a handoff to the fullback in the 7 hole. Fullback: Takes two lateral steps left and fakes taking a handoff in the 7 hole. Tailback: Takes a handoff from the quarterback, hits the 9 hole, and runs to daylight. R ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chris Booth is the head football coach at Peterstown Middle School in Peterstown, West Virginia. He is the author of four instructional books on youth football, which can be purchased here. 53 Effective Football Practice Concept: You Play as You Practice! By Steve Axman DVDs EMBEDDED From A NonTraditional Approach to Practice Organization by Herb Meyer PLAY FILM From 2009 Texas High School Coaches Association Coaching School — Football Sessions by Mack Brown A PLAY FILM This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, 101 Concepts for Effective Football Practice, by Steve Axman 54 n old, and yet often very correct, coaching adage exists that states “. . . you play as you practice!” This thought may or may not be totally correct. Some teams simply are not great practice teams, no matter how hard they work on the practice field. And yet, that same team may play at a championship caliber week in and week out come game time. However, a heavy, direct correlation seems to exist between teams that practice hard, intensely, efficiently, and effectively and teams that play hard, intensely, efficiently, and effectively on the game field each and every Friday night or Saturday afternoon. Teams that practice hard and intensely almost always take such efforts and habits to the game field come game day. Practicing hard and intensely develops playing habits that translate to winning playing habits on the field of competition. The equation is quite simple. Does your team practice with great intensity? Are “hard work, a blue-collar work ethic, toughness, grit, hustle, and pride” words that would be used to describe your practices day in and day out? If they are, the chances are that those words are the words that will be used to describe the way your team plays come game day. On the other hand, are your practices lack-luster, lacking hustle, drive, and excitement? Is there lots of talking by coaches and few repetitions? Is there a lack Diagram SA-1. of a physical attitude in your practices? Do your players seem to act like they are just trying to get through your practices, rather than earnestly trying to improve and get better? Unfortunately, there’s a tremendous chance that such negative practice descriptions will spill over to that same field of competition come game day. There’s almost always a definite correlation to your team’s performance in practice and your team’s game-day performance. As the saying goes, “. . . you play as you practice! R ABOUT THE AUTHOR Steve Axman is the offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and tight ends coach at the University of Idaho. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com Counter-Pulling Drill By Steve Loney DVDs EMBEDDED From Complete Offensive Line Drill Package by John Rice PLAY FILM From Coaching Offensive Linemen by Dave Christensen PLAY FILM From Offensive Line Run Blocking by Art Kehoe PLAY FILM Objective: To teach a lineman the technique of trapping and pulling to block a linebacker, while giving a second lineman who is pulling a better understanding of the proper spatial relationship between him and the trapper. Equipment Needed: Four shields Description: The offensive linemen form four lines. Holding shields, two defenders position themselves in front of the four lines, while two other defenders—one acting as a linebacker and another as a defensive end— line up as illustrated in Diagram SL-1. On command, the linemen who are first in lines #1 and #3 pull to block their assigned linebacker and defensive end respectively, while the first man in lines #2 and #4 executes a down block. Initially, the linebacker should line up over line #1. On the snap, he will scrape over the top. The coach can tell the defenders how to react, whether flat or attacking downhill. The defensive end should give different reactions as well. The down linemen should fight the pressure of the down block. Coaching Points: • If the trapper and the puller are side-byside in a team’s scheme, the drill should reflect that factor as well. • The lineman pulling for the linebacker should be on the trapper’s upfield hip. • The trapper should work inside-out to kick-out, while the puller should keep his eyes on his linebacker. R Coach (LB) (LB) X X X X (DE) X X X X X X X X X Diagram SL-1. Counter-Pulling Drill This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, 101 Offensive Line Drills, by Steve Loney Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com ABOUT THE AUTHOR Steve Loney is the offensive line coach for the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, a position he assumed in 2008. Loney’s impressive coaching resume spans 35 years and includes stints at the interscholastic, collegiate, and NFL levels. 55 Noseguard Explosion Drill By Jerry H. Moore Objective: To teach and practice the proper fundamentals and techniques of defeating various center blocks Equipment Needed: Four large blocking dummies; several footballs Description: • Align a quarterback and a center over the football on a selected line of scrimmage. • Position a noseguard in his normal alignment over the center. • Lay dummies in the neutral zone at the guard and tackle positions. • Have the coach stand adjacent to the noseguard. • Have other drill participants stand adjacent to the drill area. • On the quarterback’s cadence and ball snap, have the noseguard react to and defeat selected blocks of the center and pursue playside over and through the dummies. • The drill continues until all participants have had a sufficient number of repetitions. This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, The Complete Book of Defensive Football Drills, by Jerry Tolley 56 Coaching Points: • Always check to see that the noseguards are aligned correctly and are in their proper stances (i.e., eye level of the noseguards should be the same as that of the centers). • Make sure that the noseguards use the proper fundamentals and techniques involved in defeating the various blocks employed by the center. • Instruct the noseguards to keep their shoulders squared to the line of scrimmage as they pursue over and through the dummies. • In the early stages of the drill, alert the noseguards as to what type of block the center will execute. Safety Considerations: • A proper warm-up should precede the drill. • The drill area should be clear of all foreign articles. • The coach should watch for and eliminate all unacceptable match-ups of size and athletic ability. • The drill should progress from form work to live work. • The coach should closely monitor the intensity level of the drill. • The centers should be instructed to not make contact with the noseguards after Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com the noseguards initiate their pursuit over and through the dummies. Variations: • Can be used as a form or live-block, shedding drill. • Can be used with a ballcarrier, with the noseguards executing either a form or live tackle after pursuing over and through the dummies. • Can be used as a center-quarterback, ballexchange drill. R DVDs EMBEDDED From Defensive Line Play by John Levra PLAY FILM Diagram JM-1. Noseguard Explosion drill ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jerry Moore is the head football coach at Appalachian State University, a position that he has held for 21 seasons. In the process, he has become the winningest coach in Southern Conference history. Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com 57 Find-the-WindowUnder-Pressure Drill By Larry Wilcox Objective: To develop agility, speed, and the ability to move in the pocket and pass the football. Equipment Needed: Several footballs ABOUT THE AUTHOR Larry Wilcox is the head football coach at St. Benedict’s/Benedictine College, a position he has held since 1979. During his tenure at the helm of the Ravens, his teams have compiled a 207-114 record, won five Heart of America Athletic Conference titles, and qualified for the NAIA playoffs 11 times. In the process, he has been named HAAC Coach of the Year four times. This article was excerpted from the Coaches Choice book, The Complete Book of Speed and Agility Football Drills by Jerry Tolley 58 Description: • Align a quarterback, holding a football, on a selected line of scrimmage. Other quarterbacks stand adjacent to the drill area. • Position three receivers at different passending route alignments downfield. Give each of the receivers a number (1, 2, 3). • Position the coach 10 yards downfield and 10 yards in front of the quarterback. The coach keeps one hand behind his back. • On the quarterback’s cadence and snap count, have the quarterback take either a five- or seven-step pass drop. • When the quarterback completes his pass drop, have the coach signal him with his front hand to shuffle both left and right and to slide both front to back. • From behind his back, have the coach show (at his discretion) one, two, or three fingers. The designated receiver will flash his hand, and the quarterback will pass that receiver the football. • Continue the drill until all quarterbacks have had a sufficient number of repetitions from midfield and both hash marks. Coaching Points: • Always check to see that all quarterbacks are in their proper stances before starting the drill. • Insist that the drill be conducted at full speed. • Instruct the quarterbacks to hold the football in the pass-ready position throughout the drill. • Make sure the quarterbacks keep their heads up and their eyes focused downfield at all times. • Make sure all quarterbacks practice the proper mechanics when throwing passes. Safety Considerations: • A proper warm-up should precede the drill. • The drill area should be clear of all foreign articles. Variations: • Vary the position of the three downfield receivers. • Incorporate pass rushers for the quarterbacks to avoid. R Diagram LW-1. Find-the-window-under-pressure drill Football Coach e-Magazine | www.coacheschoice.com