by Coach Curtis Peterson
Strong Football.com

Yep, I said it. These statements are idiotic. Not that you’re an idiot if you’ve said them at some point.  I know I have from time to time, but there is most definitely a clearer way to get the point across to the players. Usually that way tells the player the solution too, where as these statements do not.

1) “Block Somebody!”

The most dreaded statement every offensive line coach can hear. I’ve heard defensive coaches say this before and I want to literally kick them in the face. Block who? How do you know the back didn’t go the wrong way or the QB didn’t boot the wrong way.  This actually happened.  Everyone went one way, the QB went the opposite, and the OL still got boo’d. Couldn’t be anymore obvious who was in the wrong too!

Saying “block somebody” doesn’t tell the kids anything. It frustrates and confuses them. Thoughts could include, “Block who?” or “Well, they must be talking about him b/c I blocked somebody”.

Here’s the problem, the guy who was wrong probably did block somebody, the wrong somebody, or he used bad technique. Instead, when the kid is on the sidelines, tell him details.

For instance, if the center didn’t block back on Power, you could say, “You’ve got to block down, not out b/c the guard is pulling. You’re also standing up, you need more bend in your legs.”

Instead of simply yelling because you’re frustrated, use your eyes and know the scheme. If you can’t or don’t have the ability to do both of those statements, please shut up.

2) “We gotta tackle!”

Really? I didn’t know that about this game of football. This statement is weak because you’re stating the obvious and you’ve failed to communicate the how or why.

Instead of “We gotta tackle”, tell the kids what they’re doing wrong and how to correct it. Is the opponent running through the tackles? We probably got to get the head across the player and keep our feet moving. We could also probably use better pursuit by everyone.

3) “Do your job!”

I don’t know why this one has exploded recently, but I keep hearing it over and over again. It drives me nuts! First of all, what the hell do you mean and who the heck are you talking to? If the kid keeps failing at a task, he probably doesn’t know what his job is and you’ve coached it poorly.

Explain the scheme again to the kid. Tell them the technique involved. That is a much better solution.

4) “Don‘t quit running!”

I’ve said this. A lot. It then occured to me that the kid quit running for one big reason. He didn’t feel he had the ability to catch the ball (some of us call this laziness, I call it lack of confidence). You need to make him want to get after that ball and prove to him that he can in practice. A lot of kids don’t know that they get faster when they’re focused on a singular target, like what they’re doing when they’re trying to make an over the shoulder catch.

By building confidence in the player that he can catch up to the ball and take the hit after he catches it, you’re helping that kid not only be a better football player, but you’re helping him later on in life when a goal seems just out of reach.

5)”Be an athlete!”

What? Obviously the kid is an athlete. This tells the kid nothing besides to maybe run around in circles. If the kid is an athletic player who got tackled by a lesser athlete, tell him how he messed up. Did he read the play poorly? Did he stop his feet? Did he throw the football when he should have run it?

How did the player fail and what can you do to correct it? Find the answer to this. Even when it is an athleticism problem, the answer to one or both of those questions is probably why he wasn’t “enough” of an athlete. That is a lot more beneficial for everyone involved.

Conclusion

I’ve made a lot of these statements at some point, and I want to stick my foot in my mouth when I do. It simply doesn’t help anyone, including yourself.

Instead of these statements, you need to ask yourself questions first. Who made the mistake? Why/how did he make that mistake? What does the player need to know or do in order to fix that mistake?

A lot of times, you need to check the understanding of one of your players. I’ve found that technical mistakes happen because a player is confused on the scheme a lot of time. I think a kid doesn’t play as hard because they don’t have confidence in themselves, their teammates, or confidence in whether or not they are executing the scheme correctly.

A lot of times, these problems arrive because we failed as coaches somewhere in the process. Making one of these statements, and statements like them, only hurt the player and the coach even more.

by Joe Daniel
Football-Offense.com

Most coaches want to have balance in their offense. In order to have balance though, a coach needs to define what balance is for his offense.

Balance is not a 50-50 split of runs and passes. Most coaches think of that when they think of a balanced offense. In fact, balance is when the opponent has the threat of you running or passing in any given situation.

To bring balance to your offense, you only need to follow these guidelines:

1. Self Scouting: Each week you need to take film to see what your opponent will see. You may think you’re pretty sneaky, but chances are you have some pretty strong tendencies if you are not self scouting.

Hopefully you have video analysis software like Hudl and this will not take long. Tag last week’s game, then run a report on the last two or three games to see your tendencies in every situation.

Pay attention to down & distance, field position and hash placement when you are self scouting your offensive playcalling. If you have strong tendencies anywhere, plan to break them this week.

2. Balance what you practice. Some coaches want to work what they are good at, while others only focus on the problem areas. Make sure you work whatever you need to work to ensure you have balance in your attack.

You have your 7 on 7 and 9 on 7 periods, are you really balanced? In team offense playcalling do you have balance? What about your individual periods?

Look at what the Offensive Line is working on each day. This gives you a good idea of how balanced your offense is.

3. Use plays that compliment what you do best. If you are a run heavy team, you should achieve balance with play action passes, not 7 step drops and double move routes.

Passing teams should achieve balance with screens and draws to keep the defense off balance.

4. Be series oriented, but don’t work off a script.

Scripts have their place. You may script the first 10 plays to see how they will react to various formations and plays. But soon you’ll want to work off that information. You should have a plan for what to run based on what the defense gives you.

This is where series, not script, comes in. If the defense has decided to give you the edge all night in favor of stopping your ISO play, take it!

If they take away the pass by giving your spread attack a 4-1 box, be able to run. That is true balance.

Take what the defense gives you. If your team is one-dimensional you will have trouble. But if you have balance, your team can overcome anything by taking advantage of the defense’s weaknesses.

One week our opponent was Cajon HS and while breaking down film of them, I saw that they favored a Cover 1 defense in short yardage situations and I wondered what the Free Safety would do if we went empty from a 2×2 formation by motioning our single setback out of the backfield (below).   Would he stay in the middle of the field or would he pick up the RB?

Cajon Special as the play would be called was a simple deception.  The deception was that the inside receiver to the left side was actually an offensive Tackle while our Tight End replaced him on the right side of the offensive line.  The OT was positioned on the LOS, so he was covered by the X-receiver and was not an eligible receiver.

Meanwhile the slot and split receiver to the right side were aligned off the ball and in the backfield, making each of them eligible but, more importantly, they didn’t cover the TE at the right tackle position, making him eligible as well.

The single setback went in motion to the left side of the formation, toward the OT, on the second sound in the snap count.   If the Free Safety went with him, he’d leave the middle of the field uncovered which we would attack with the TE via a dump pass.  If he stayed and the defensive front bumped to the RB, he would spot up beyond the OT and we’d throw him a quick pass.   Sort of like a long pitch play.   The QB drop was 3-steps.

Cajon Special was two simple options based on one read and it was quick once the ball was snapped.  And, as it turned out come game day, the Free Safety went with the RB, vacating the deep middle which we successfully attacked with the TE for 36 yards.  Had he been faster, it would have been 6 points.  Even still, it was so sweet to see the play executed as designed and was very much a momentum changer.

At our level, the 53 defense is one you see a lot and Cover 1 is a coverage scheme you can force a 53 defense into by going empty from a 2×2 formation.  And Cajon Special is one pass play you can use to defeat it.

We see a lot of Cover 2 pass defense at our level.  One pass play or “concept” that exploits the flat defender is the “Smash” scheme diagrammed below.  It is a classic Cover 2 beater and is in the playbook of every high school or college OC with a penchant for throwing the ball.

Smash Concept to the slot or TE side of a formation.

Smash is a 2-receiver, hi-lo combination scheme that has the outside receiver running a 6-yd hitch and the inside receiver executing a 12-yd corner route on top.  The idea is to put the CB or the flat defender to the 2-receiver side in conflict.  If he sinks to cover the Corner Route, the Hitch is open.  But if he sits to cover the Hitch, then the Corner is open.  He’s the defender the QB reads to determine where to go with the ball.

The play does more than attack a Cover 2 zone however. Versus man coverage, the corner route is a very good option — so long as the QB lays the ball to the receiver’s outside shoulder. The reason for this is because many defenses that play man coverage use inside leverage to take away the quick slant passes that can gash them for big yards and are easy throws.

The fact that it is the inside receiver rather than the outside one who runs the Corner route can create some favorable mismatches for the offense.  Most defenses put their CBs in man coverage on the outside receiver, while the inside receiver is then covered by either a Safety or a Linebacker.   At our level, it is usually a bumped LB.

Knowing the rules and how to manipulate them is often an aid to coaches as the diagram below will illustrate.  It’s from the Houston Oilers’ playbook in 1993, the one season Buddy Ryan spent as the team’s defensive coordinator. It depicts a special goal-line formation Ryan designed for the end of the half or the end of the game—situations in which there were “less than 15 seconds” according to Ryan.

You’ll notice that there are 14 defenders. The idea is to allow the offense to run a free play, which more than 11 defenders would presumably be able to stop, with the understanding that a penalty has to be taken. The purpose is to force precious seconds to waste away, leaving the offense with less time to maneuver. The wonder is why Ryan stopped at 14 players.

The Polish Goal Line defense was followed up by Ryan’s “Polish Punt Team” which he introduced to football lore while coaching the Philadelphia Eagles.  In a most unusual formation, the Polish Punt Team was designed to prevent a blocked kick or a long runback.  In it, Ryan sent 14 men onto the field for a crucial last-minute punt. At the worst, the expected penalty for too many men on the field would set the Eagles back 5 yards but drain precious seconds from the clock.

To the surprise of the Eagles, no flag was thrown and the safest punt in NFL history was executed without mishap. Was Ryan sheepish about employing such a questionable tactic? Hardly. When asked during the taping of his weekly television show about the propriety of having 14 men on the field, Ryan did note a flaw in the strategy. “There should have been 15,” he snapped.

Stalk Block

If you want to improve you’re outside running attack, one quick fix is to teach your wide receivers how to stalk block.   The technique we teach our WRs is different from what we teach our RBs and is as follows:

First we want the WR to drive hard at the DB and make him think he’s going deep.  “Sell the nine” we tell our wide outs.  We want the DB to start his backpedal which will allow the WR to get proper positioning.

Proper positioning translates into the WR getting his body between the defender and where the ball is going.  He then throttles down and comes under control, getting into a good, ready-to-hit position.  What we call a “breakdown” position which resembles a LB’s stance.

Positioning.

The WR doesn’t need to make a big hit on the defender.  Heck, he doesn’t even need to hit the DB at all just yet.  The ball is probably 10-15 yards away, so if he makes a big hit now, the DB is just going to bounce off the attempt and make the play.  Tell your WR to mirror the DB but to be patient and to let the defender come to him.

When the DB makes a move to the ball, the WR should stay under control — that is to say, he should NOT lunge at him.   He should strike with both hands on the DB’s breast plate. We tell our guys to roll up their fingers to keep them from grabbing cloth, but they should be able to lock their hands onto the breast plate of the DB’s shoulder pads to control him.

The WR should have his arms fully extended when he does this, with his butt low and a good base so he can move laterally easily.  His eyes should be on the bottom of the DB’s numbers or whatever body landmark you usually use. He should continue to mirror the DB so he can stay between him and the ball.

At some point the DB is going to attack in one direction.  When that happens, the WR should release the hand in the direction to which the defender attacked — i.e., if the DB goes right, release the right hand — turn his hips and ride the defender in that direction as hard as he can.

So if the DB commits to the outside, the WR should take him all the way to the sideline and, if he commits inside, he should drive him all the way back to the DL.  He shouldn’t worry about pushing him into the RB.  It’s the RB’s job to read the WR’s block and run off it properly.

This works for us and hopefully will work for you as well.  It’s simple to teach and master.  Just remember that the key phase of a stalk block is the beginning — “Selling the nine”.  It’s essential to get the DB to backpedal, so he must believe that the WR is going deep.

Stalk Block

"Psycho" Front

You’ve probably seen them: defenses in which the D-linemen are upright and in a two-point stance.  They might have one or two DL with their hands in the ground or none and if you’re an old school coach bound by conventioanl thinking, you might wonder if the opposing DC is simply crazy and turn your O-linemen loose on them.  Turns out they are “psycho” and they probably didn’t know it.

While there are very few “new” ideas about how to play defehnse, there’s a variety of ways to hide or disguise a scheme. One way that has gained significant leverage among NFL DC’s is the “psycho” front.  That’s a defense that packs it in along the line of scrimmage and has one or two or maybe even zero defensive linemen with their hands on the ground.

The particular madness behind the “psycho” is actually the goal of any pre-snap alignment: to confuse the offense; most particularly the QB and O-line as it will be difficult for them to identify who is blitzing and who isn’t.

The chances are very high that there will be an assignment bust.  Heck, the chances are there will probably be more than one.

And while a “psycho” front will likely reveal the type of deep coverage being played, it’s not always clear what kind of underneath coverage will be used,
be it man or zone, and if zone, how many underneath?  Two, three, or four?  Determining which will be a real problem for any offense.

Psycho front using one down lineman and rushing five.

Psycho front using zero down linemen and rushing five.

Psycho front using two down linemen and rushing four.

Psycho fronts — in and of themselves — don’t change a defense’s structure.  They merely disguise a defense’s intentions and they do so in a way that while
unconventional is extremely effective.

"Psycho" front.

"Psycho" front.

You see it all the time: offensive linemen watching the play instead of finishing their blocks.  The result is generally unfavorable for the offense.

As an O-line coach, I cringe at the sight, especially if the o-linemen in question are kids I coach.  I don’t expect to see it with my kids because I spend so much time teaching them to finish their blocks.  For me, after 3-point stance and form tackling, it is the third most important thing I teach and the first most
important thing I want my linemen to learn.

In my approach to teaching O-line play, there are three phases to a drive block:

– the initial contact
– the stalemate
– and the finish

I know of other line coaches who break it down even further but for my purposes and at the level I’m coaching, three phases makes it understandable to my kids.

I’ll speed rush past any explanation of the initial contact phase to get directly to the stalemate which, in my mind, is essentially the beginning of the finish.  What I tell my kids’ is that the stalemate is more than a brief struggle to gain leverage.  It is actually an opportunity to defeat a defender because they are taught to escape any block and get to the ballcarrier.

To separate and escape, defenders will relax to change gears and direction.  It is at that instant that the O-lineman should accelerate to gain leverage and it is in that instant that the third phase — to finish the block — begins.

To dominate in this phase, the O-lineman must be taught two things: to keep his feet moving forward.  That is to say, to gain ground with each short step.  And the second thing is to block through to the whistle or what many coaches refer to as the “echo” of the whistle.  Movement, it must emphasized, comes from leg drive.

To teach this phase of a block, I use drills that start with a snap count, incorporate the first two phases, and finish with a whistle.  As best I can, I try to mimic game-time situations.

To this end, I’m lucky in that our association has a 5-man sled.  We drive it around the field on a daily basis to condition our OL and to teach them to finish their blocks.

I have calculated that the average running play lasts about 5 seconds.  So I count 1000-1, 1000-2, etc. until I get to 5 then I blow the whistle.  For those 5 seconds I expect 100% effort.  If I don’t get it, I get 5 perfect push-ups which are used to condition the kids as well as reinforce my expectations.

5 push-ups hurt no one but they do help kids remember to strive for perfection even though we, as coaches, know it is unattainable.  We want to get as close as humanly possible and you’d be surprised how strong kids get doing nothing more than 5 push-ups.

I also use linemen chutes and stand-up dummies to teach kids to finish their blocks.  In these drills I am looking for and teaching technique as well as encouraging them to drive the dummies through to the whistle.  As with our work on the 5-man sled, they are expected to give 100% effort for 5 seconds or they give me 5 perfect push-ups.

We practice three nights per week, for two hours each night, and during my group time with the O-line we spend about 10 minutes on the sled or blocking out of the chutes.  Basically we’re doing the same things but just in different drills and on different nights.  The emphasis, however, is always on finishing the block.

While an offensive lineman’s initial explosion will engage a defender, it’s his ability to finish the block that creates a crease through which a running back will gain yardage.  If you don’t teach that then the chances are your O-linemen will be the ones watching the play rather than blocking it.

The neutral zone is a no-man’s land.  It is the DMZ formed by the two lines of scrimmage that intersect each end of the ball when it is made ready for play.  It’s as wide as the ball is long.

There are two kinds of neutral zone violations: offside and encroachment.

Encroachment is an offensive penalty.  It’s when an offensive player is in or beyond the neutral zone after the Center “touches or simulates touching” the ball before the snap.  The Center is the only player allowed in the neutral zone.

Offside is a defensive penalty.  It occurs when a defensive player is: 

• in or beyond the neutral zone when the ball is snapped,
• contacts the ball before it is snapped,
• threatens a lineman who reacts before the ball is snapped,
• or is not behind his restraining line when the ball is free-kicked like on a kick-off.

Lead with the shoulder.

I recently read an article in which the author asked if form tackling is overrated.  His question piqued my interest because how many times do you really see a perfect form tackle performed in a youth football game?  Heck, how many times do you see it in any game, regardless of level?

Most tackles are made in the heat of the moment by grabbing any part of the ball carrier to bring him down.  It’s rare that you see a kid break down into a perfect stance before making a perfect form tackle.  Everything is moving too fast and furious while the basic geometry of the game creates too many angles for that to happen.

So why spend an inordinate amount of time at practice perfecting it if we don’t see it on game day?  We have four reasons why we choose to spend extra time each day at practice on the science of tackling even though it is hit-or-miss come Saturday.

The first reason, and uppermost in our mind, is safety.  I’m sure that’s true with you as well.  Keeping the head up and not leading with the helmet is the most important thing we teach.  Initial contact, we emphasize, should be made with the shoulder.

The problem we routinely encounter, though, is that when we say to get low and drive through the ball carrier, kids think to bend at the waist and lower their head, exposing their neck to injury.  This dangerous tendency must be overcome through perfect practice.  By perfect, I mean that kids must be taught to get low by sinking their hips; that is to say, by bending at the knees.  Not at the waist.  This will help to keep their heads up.

The second reason we spend so much time teaching form tackling is to overcome their fear of contact.  It’s in the contact drills that we see the most fear and hesitation in new players.  Knowing howing how to tackle and having faith in their equipment to protect them will, more often than not, result in a corresponding rise in their level of confidence in all areas of the game.  Some quicker than others but, eventually, with patience and perfect practice, all of the kids will become competent and confident tacklers.  Or hitters in general.

How we do that is by first separating the inexperienced kids from the experienced.  We start from scratch with the beginners by walking them thru the steps of a form tackle from straight up tackling to angle tackling.  Then we have them tackle standup dummies to perfect the critical phases of a form tackle.  Once they have learned not to lower their head, we pair them up by size and practice form tackling at half speed, then full speed.

Build confidence the same time you teach technique.

The focus, as with before, is on perfect practice.   We understand that speed and power will come once they have mastered the technique. The three things we emphasize are not to lower their head, to lead with their shoulder, and to run through the ball carrier.  That is to keep their feet moving and accelerate just before contact.

The third reason we spend so much time on form tackling is to intimidate our opponents.  Short of a long TD run from scrimmage, nothing fires up a team quicker than a good solid tackle.  And nothing deflates the spirit of an opponent more than good solid tackling.  Kids who are confident in their abilities, know what they’re doing, and have overcome their fear can compete with anyone, anywhere, anytime.  To this end, you should make tackling a point of pride for your players.  Make it that special something that distinguishes them from other teams.

The fourth reason we devote extra time to form tackling is that we’re always mindful of the fact that we’re preparing our kids for competition at the next level.  Though we don’t have the time to teach technique like they do in high school and beyond, we feel that if our kids are confident and competent tacklers then they will not be easily intimidated or feel apprehensive when they graduate to high school and step into drills there or on the field come game day.

The thing we forget at times and shouldn’t is to teach small players how to tackle larger players.  In youth football this is a common game-day confrontation. What we do is teach our smaller players to — again — lead with their shoulders but through the lower legs of a larger, more powerful ballcarrier.  Their head is up as well.  Once they see that they can bring a big back down, they lose their fear and hesitation and become more aggressive.

These are four good reasons to spend extra time teaching form tackling even though you won’t see it all that often in a game.  Teach it every day, which ever way you choose, but teach it perfectly.  Your kids will benefit from the extra instruction and so will your team.

The geometry of the game creates different angles.