Cripes! Get back to fundamentals...

Interview with the Winningest Football Coach of All Time at Any Level: Coach John McKissick

brophyfootball@gmail.com (Jim Harshaw) — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 11:01:00 -0500

Insights from the all-time winningest football coach- alive or dead- at ANY level.

Today I bring you, Coach John McKissick. In 1952, Harry S. Truman was president, a new show premiered on NBC called The Today Show and Coach John McKissick was named head football coach at Summerville High School in Summerville, SC. He was 25 years old and just finished a stint with the 82nd Airborne. Sixty-three years later, he retired from the same school. He carried just a few accolades including the winningest football coach of ALL TIME at ANY LEVEL. He won 621 games in 63 seasons, won 10 state championships and had just TWO losing seasons.

What was the secret to Coach McKissick’s long and successful tenure? Find out in this week’s episode of Success Through Failure.

But first…. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire episode or if you hear something that you like but don’t have time to write it down, be sure to grab your free copy of the Action Plan from this episode– as well as get access to action plans from EVERY episode– at JimHarshawJr.com/Action.

Reduce the Clutter.....Game planning

brophyfootball@gmail.com (charliemeans) — Wed, 4 Jan 2017 11:25:00 -0600

In my previous post I talked about how I had to reduce the clutter on my call sheet mid-season to fit my eye on what our offense had evolved to, to give our kids the best chance possible to be successful. It also caused some changes in the way we game planned and produced our scripts for practice weekly.

Game planning is just as much an art as it is a science. Again, how do things fit your eyes, your thought patterns, your philosophy, and your trust level with the other members of your staff. The majority of our games are played on Friday nights. With HUDL we often times have video (at least one angle) of that night's game ready to watch almost as soon as we get back to the field house. For me, I may watch very few of the critical plays right after our game. Win or lose, I need a little decompress time so I hold off until Saturday morning to evaluate. I would say 99% of the time the saying of "you didn't play as good or as bad as you thought you did" holds true when you evaluate the film. We evaluate each offensive position on execution of their assignment and effort. As a staff we also talk through things we could have done better before we correct/encourage our kids a little while later as an entire unit.

When we are done with our athletes on Saturday, I continue basic prep for our next opponent. If the opponents in your district have not taken advantage of the LEAGUE EXCHANGE tool on HUDL, you are missing out. You have immediate access to all of your league's game tapes, once you have uploaded yours. For example, we play Sherman week 10, but Saturday morning after week 1, we have their week 1 game tape, along with the rest of the league so you can begin game planing as early as you want to, not that I do that.

I will watch an opponents last 2 games very quickly on Thursday, after our kick-the-field/O-D review practice, prior to that nights 9th/JV game. I am not looking for specifics, just general scheme information and any obvious personnel mismatches (good or bad) or anything that just jumps off the screen. Then I will do the same thing on Saturday evening with the game that was played on Friday night, again not looking for any specifics, just trying to get a feel of the defense and personnel.
We meet as an entire staff on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 and we stay until we have our work done. I have never worked for a head coach that believed in just being at the field house so people could see our vehicles parked there, so when we are done with our work we go home. Some weeks its earlier than others, but when I leave I will have practice schedules done for Monday and Tuesday, complete with scripts for our TEAM RUN, 7-on-7, TEAM PASS and TEAM periods. I will have Wednesday practice schedule done, but scripts not complete until after Tuesday practice so we can make adjustments as we feel needed after watching Tuesday practice film.

Prior to the Sunday 2:00 meeting, I get to the field house around 11:00 AM. My tools of ignorance are a great air conditioning unit and my headphones. The first thing I do is finish my self-scout from our Friday night game. I want to know what the opponent's defense knows about us. Here are the things I want to know:

Run/Pass by down/distance

Play to the Field/Boundary

Play to Strong/Weak side

What pass family (quick, sprint, screen, play action, drop back)

What passing zone on the field (left, right, middle) (0-5 yards, 6-12 yards, 12+)

Once I have inputted those fields myself, I run the reports on HUDL. I look at the past 3 games individually, and then a season tally of all the numbers. Again one of the reasons that we had to tempo was because some of our very lopsided tendencies particularly in the run game. We knew it, they knew it. Tempo doesn't defeat that, but it does eliminate some thinking time for an opposing coordinator and any of those kids we call coaches-on-the-field. It did give us some vanilla defenses. We did not see much blitz, but we did see some flat foot safeties at 7 yards every week! Because of the 9 man box look with the safeties down, our #1 pass was play-action-4-verticals from every formation, motion, play fake possible. We did not have ANY blazers running the numbers and hashes but the tempo and our ability to keep moving the chains did cause some bad eye discipline at opportune times on defense and each week we knew we were gonna have some shots to hit big passing plays.

When I was done with the self-scout (usually took me 30-45 minutes), I began to narrow my focus on the next week's opponent. The first thing I would sort and watch were all plays that scored a TD against the defense, as well as any explosive plays (runs over 12 yards, passes over 16). I want to feel good about the game plan. I am an eternal optimist. It hasn't mattered to me whether we were 10-0 or 2-8, if I had to scout the 85 Bears I was gonna feel good about a plan to make our athletes successful. I think this is a huge part of my weekend flowing on a track to building a successful unit. What offensive coach doesn't think he can score half a 100 every week??? Sometimes you have to trick yourself, but I believe in it. I had 2 main scouts that I relied heavily upon in this process. Shona Taylor was my formations guy. Casey Price was my secondary alignment guy. Both of these guys took a lot of personal pride in their job performance every week and gave me EXACTLY what I needed. For both formations and secondary alignment, I would look at the last 3 opponents. Luckily for us, several of our opponents played against offenses that aligned similarly enough to us that we could get a good feel for where they were going to be. I would have a feel (but not precise) for where we would get a 3 technique on 4 man fronts, or a 4i on 3 man fronts. I left that up to our offensive line coaches (Brandon Cates, Josh Knox @CoachJoshKnox) to give me specifics when we met as an offensive staff later. Secondary alignment was huge for me. I needed exact information. I asked for distance from the line of scrimmage and whether they were aligned to the field or to the boundary. For example if we had a Cover 2 corner sitting outside leverage at 5 yards depth, Coach Price would input 5b (b for boundary). I would watch all clips by the position of the corners to see how it affected the safeties. Because of the tempo, we didn't see a lot of movement post-snap. We got what we saw pre-snap. After I watched the breakdown by secondary alignment, I would go back and watch the formation break downs and look for any tweaks and twists by down and distance. This would get me close to the 2:00 meeting. After the general staff meeting at 2:00, I would meet with our QB/HC Chad Rogers (@CoachChadRogers) and WR coach Joel Luper (@LuperJoel) and we would make sure we were all on the same page and seeing everything with the same eyes. Again we all trusted each other, knowing that we had spent the time in watching film individually, so when we came together as a group we were not just spinning our wheels waiting on somebody to get caught up to speed. We could look at specifics. We could narrow in on short yardage situations, or specific motion adjustments, or how we thought they may adjust to a funky formation that we had in mind that week.

During this time, we would also set our formations for the week. We got to the point where we were not signalling in formations, only the play concept. This was a huge factor in use going faster. So on Sunday we would have a chart and run through all of our personnel groups and by concept and match it with the formation/motion we wanted it paired with that week. So if we were in our 11 personnel group (1 back, 1 H, 1 slot, 2 WR) we would start with POWER. The H was always gonna align to the side of the power. He was our kick guy. Some weeks the back would align same side, some weeks the back would align opposite side. This is where our self scout came into play. If we wanted to try and bust some tendencies, we would mix things up. On our counter play, some weeks we would pull the backside guard and tackle (the H could align strong or weak), some weeks we would pull the guard and H.....it just depended on what picture we were trying to distort to the defense, and so on and so on with all of our schemes (buck sweep, inside zone, outside zone). We would get funky and go WR over sometimes if we thought it would get us an advantage. Often times, we would tell our slot that he was to align to the "fastest side" meaning if the previous play took you to the right, then get your tail lined up on that side for the next play. With our normal personnel groups, we were not trying to get pull reads so we were not overly concerned about the conflict player on the backside so just get lined up as fast as possible, whether it be front side or back side. When we were Wildcat, we would be a lot more specific with the slot because of pull reads and needed an extra hat backside, or expansion of the conflict defender. Our slot and our Wildcat QB (who ended up aligning as the slot) had both spent time as a QB in our program all the way up to the JV level. They had a very good understanding of what we were trying to get accomplished and it allowed us to move fast and be in a good position for our offense.

At 3:15, our OLINE coaches came back to us and we met as a complete offensive staff. We would communicate to those guys any information they needed to know about formations, and then we would discuss any changes or additions to the run game and get squared away with all protections. This was the last time we would meet as a group before Monday practice so it was imperative that we all left on the same page, seeing things through the same set of eyes. A good example of how we would clean things up at this point....one Sunday we had some great stuff drawn up on the board as skill guys. We tied it all together with protections and scheme. The OLINE guys come in, soak it all in, and then they let us know that we had just now drawn up six different pull paths and techniques for our guards. There was no way to effectively and efficiently practice six pull for our guards so we pencil whipped a couple of protections and got things down to a reasonable number for the OLINE.

We would break and eat as a staff after this meeting. After the meal, we were on our own to get our work done and be ready for Monday morning. I will go over practices and game plan add/deletes in a few days.

cmeans@denisonisd.net

@coach_means

The Evolution of a Call Sheet In-season...Reduce the Clutter

brophyfootball@gmail.com (charliemeans) — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 20:29:00 -0600

As the 2016 Texas High School season began our offensive staff had a plan, just like every other team. We had a good athlete at the QB position that could run and throw. We had 2 tailbacks that we felt very good about, one of which was our best defensive player as a 2 year starter and post-season award winner at Free Safety. We were going to be strategically balanced and throw when WE wanted to, not being dictated by the defense or down and distance. It was a blueprint for a perfect season, but as we all know, the beauty of the game of football lies with the many opportunities to persevere through adversity and adjust to change. We had 2 different epiphanies with these young men early in our season that called for a change in the way we thought offensively, starting with our call sheet.

The first epiphany came after the performance of our tailback in the opener. Prior to the season, we were shooting for 12-15 touches per game with him. We got in a shootout where we scored 61 points and lost. The back ended with 300+ rushing on 40 touches.

Week 1 call sheet

My call sheet for that week 1 ball game was pretty basic. The top-left in white (labeled 1st half) was our first 7 plays in normal down/distance situations. If we get 3rd/4th & short/long we would go to the down/distance section in green. We were opening with the POWER scheme. It is the basis of our offense. The other 6 were a mix of run/pass trying to show different formations with motion adjustments that we wanted to see. The next white section was left blank to fill in at half time with our adjustments. It was usually limited to a 3 play mini-script, along with a list of any other major ideas or adjustments our staff talked about at half. The next white sections were our base run/pass schemes going in that week. They are listed by scheme only, not by personnel groupings or formations. The bottom white section was our WILDCAT section that we were only planning on using on 3rd/4th & less than 3 yards to go situations. As fate had it that night we had 11-3rd/4th short situations which aided in the 40 touch total of our back. The rest of the sheet is pretty common stuff. There is a large section to draw between series if needed as well as halftime. The yellow-red-orange are important sections that I don't ever want to overlook. The yellow section is pre-game information to go over with the QB one more time. If I ask the QB about this info and he stumbles even the slightest bit then there is a pretty good chance we do not need to be running it. The orange section is just a script of plays to call during pregame team offense. Its important to do what you do without showing all that you do. Somebody is always watching! The back of the call sheet was our 2 point chart and kill-the-clock charts.
The second epiphany happened a couple of weeks later. During the first drive of our first district ball game, or QB pulls a zone read, goes for 12 yards, and separates the AC joint in his throwing shoulder requiring surgery the next week. We were prepared for the injury and had a plan. Our #2 QB was one of our starting WR and was a 4 year letterman as a kicker. He had a great understanding of our offense from being in 4 years of varsity meetings and practice. The transition to him was smooth. We did win that game and we were set up for a huge game with playoff seeding on the line the next week. #2 QB was not the runner as our #1 QB and we had some heavy tendencies as far as running to our strength formationally and to the wide side of the field. We are multi-personnel spread, no-huddle. We were not necessarily a hurry-up-no-huddle team to this point but we made that switch this week with a bye and a QB change. As fate would have it, #2 QB missed a Tuesday workout and did not play that week in the crucial district game. Again, we had a plan that had been worked since the Spring and we did not, as a staff, make any irrational decisions based on emotions. We worked the plan that had been practiced and gave our team the best chance to win. At this point tempo was no longer a "lets see what happens" part of our offense, it was the offense. #3 QB stepped in and the wildcat took off. Practice changed, and so did our staff game planning meetings. As well as a change in call sheets.

Week 10 front

Week 10 back

The big differences.....no script. We have the SEE EARLY section. These are the things that we wanted to see, but honestly it took longer to look at the call sheet, get the play called and get it ran, than it did to roll with it and check between series where we were at on what we wanted to see. It was more important for us to go fast, physically and mentally wearing down a defense, then to work down a script. The advantages to the script had been replaced because we had reduced the clutter of our offense, limiting formations, motions, and schemes. The HAVE WE? section was our go to section between series. It kept us honest with who we knew we had to be, to be successful as a unit.
The formation pictures and plays that accompany them became a very useful tool for our players. In any game, we had as many as 4 guys taking the snap from center, 2 QB/WR and 2 RB/wildcat guys. We could show them exactly where they needed to align, and through our weekly preparation, they understood the scheme and what needed to happen when the ball was snapped.
As an individual, the back page of the call sheet had more meaning to me than the front. We went from a standard size 8.5 x 11 sheet to a 8.5 x 14 legal size. It gave us room on the back for our strategic charts plus the additional room for my personal messages that helped keep me focused throughout the game. The messages changed from week to week, often saving the bottom row for some of my favorite old school rap lyrics. This week I had a quote from Denison native Dwight Eisenhower. The colored messages again where things just like the HAVE WE? section from the front page that kept me in line with our gameplan and overall philosophy that was made in the calm and coolness of our office when things are well thought out and calculated. After we have met as a staff and with our athletes at halftime, I find a place to be by myself for a minute or two and re-focus all of my energy on what it will take to give our kids the best chance to succeed. It may seem like a small thing or a minor detail but we were behind in this week 10 game at halftime. I was able to to find that minute alone and thought about the message of my picture. I touched my heart with it....in my terms.....calmed down and got myself ready to go. That's all it took. I was mentally locked in, and we kept feeding the beast, Tre Lyday!

We got beat in the first round of the playoffs. In the first half of that game, we were not successful on 3 different 4th & 1 situations. I called a bad game. We followed the same plan at halftime, and during my minute of alone time I was interrupted by the #1 tee boy in the state of Texas, my 8 year-old Easton.

He was calm, calculated, and very intently looked in my eyes and saw I was struggling. He got closer, stared me down, locked in on my eyes and he said, "Daddy, if we get another 4th down, call that touchdown play. Lets go play catch!" Things didn't work out that night, but I was ready for the second half. Whatever it takes!

In the next few days I will get very specific about how we game planned and how we practiced. If you have any questions you can comment here or email me: cmeans@denisonisd.net

A Conversation on Sports, Adversity and the Value of Failure

brophyfootball@gmail.com (Jim Harshaw) — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:24:00 -0500

Today I bring you Nick DiNardo. Nick is an entrepreneur, consultant, and public speaker focused on adversity, personal growth, and education. Throughout his career, he has interviewed hundreds of experts from multiple disciplines on overcoming adversity, dealing with trauma and stress, and the crucial role that it plays in our cognitive development and education.

Nick has dealt with adversity his entire life. At seven years old, Nick's family went from living the American Dream to a foreclosed home, divorce, and mental illness. He spent a year sleeping on the floor of a one room apartment and sharing a kitchen with 17 people.

He writes and podcasts about his journey, the story and science of adversity, and personal growth at NickDiNardo.com. Nick was a multi-sport athlete in high school football, baseball and track and played football at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

Download the Action Plan from This Episode Here

Welcome to the Wrestling with Success podcast with host Jim Harshaw Jr. In this show that uncovers the secrets of the most successful people on the planet who are also former athletes and reveals how they used skills learned in sports to overcome failure and achieve a level of success not otherwise possible. Former athletes are uniquely qualified for success if they learn how to translate lessons learned from sports into life. I help you do this by interviewing former athletes who are proven winners in the wrestling match of life and finding out how they used what they learned from sports to reach success.

PowerPoint Playbooks

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 19:04:00 -0500

Coaches always want to know how to create a better playbook. In this video we cover the basics of creating a football playbook with PowerPoint.

Feel free to download and use the 'diagram' template here.

IMG Academy's Head of Leadership Development: James Leath

brophyfootball@gmail.com (Jim Harshaw) — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 05:37:00 -0500

Former Fresno State Football Player
Head of Leadership Development
IMG Academy
James Leath

James Leath joined IMG Academy in 2015. As Head of Leadership Development, James develops and delivers curriculum for IMG Academy student-athletes across 8 sports and presents to visiting teams, companies, and professional athletes.

Leadership lessons consist of communication skills, personal and group leadership, developing identity, and building team culture. James attended Fresno State University where he received his B.A. in Communication. During college, when he wasn't playing football, he was best known for being the beloved mascot of Fresno State, Time Out. After graduation, James went on to play quarterback for a semi-pro team in Fresno, CA. With over 15 years of coaching experience and a M.A. in Performance Psychology, James is passionate about teaching athletes the tools they need in order to be successful in life and in sport.

If you don’t have time to listen to the entire episode or if you hear something that you like but don’t have time to write it down, be sure to grab your free copy of the Action Plan from this episode-- as well as get access to action plans from EVERY episode-- at JimHarshawJr.com/Action.

Download the Action Plan from This Episode Here

Setting Goals to Win Championships

brophyfootball@gmail.com (Jim Harshaw) — Wed, 6 Apr 2016 05:15:00 -0500

As a coach, you have goals, both personal and professional.

They're different from mine and everyone else's but there are certain habits that you must develop to get from where you are to where you want to be. Ever wondered exactly what they are?

Interviews with Successful Former Athletes

Have you ever wanted clarity on the exact habits that you need to get there?

Sure, you're working hard but there's that seed of doubt. "Am I doing the right things?" Yeah, I've been there too.

I have created a cheat sheet that reveals the secret habits of high achieving former athletes.

I've interviewed dozens of them on my podcast-- Olympians, billionaires, astronauts, Navy Seals, professional athletes-- and identified eight habits that they all have in common.

And I've put them into a free PDF for you so that you can start working on the right things immediately.

Get it now (free) => 8 Habits of Successful Former Athletes

XO Wizard Coaching Perspectives

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 08:33:00 -0600

Michael Hoglund and his staff at XO Wizard have done a great job developing an extremely useful playbook application for any program. If you're building a playbook, I would highly recommend jumping into their 14-day trial and give it a run. It is a lot of fun to build within their applet.

In addition to this tool, he has also regularly contributing insightful content from a variety of sources, so be sure to follow at @XOwizard

In his latest blog offerings, he meets with several different coaches and explores their perspectives of the game, of program management and athlete training. This should be more 'smart football' to feed your off-season needs

http://blog.xowizard.com/

Mark Richt - Handling the Blitz

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 09:30:00 -0600

MARK RICHT - HANDLING BLITZ from ragin caucasian on Vimeo.

Jim Schwartz Pressure Philosophy

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 10:20:00 -0600

Concussion Movie & Coaching Ethos

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 11:51:00 -0600

There is no bigger issue the sport of football is facing today than the cloud of anxiety associated with long-term affects of head trauma. We have addressed this previously, but not to the extent we will be exposed today. This season we are presented with a social impetus that will move this issue into the minds of a wider audience than just football players and coaches. The movie, Concussion, amplifies the wake started with HBO's "Head Games" (2010) and Frontline's "League of Denial" (2013) with narratives too strong to ignore. The movie is a profitable venue because it is something on everyone's mind; everyone wants to learn more about this issue.

Understand that a movie is an over-dramatization of life stories, but can serve as an effective means to illustrate a perspective (The Insider, Thank You For Smoking, Erin Brockovich, The Informant!, etc). Both the sport of football, as an institution, and the harrowing stories of NFL veterans suffering from diminished mental capacity evoke powerful emotions. With so much at play in these discussions, I feel it is important to clearly define a path of constructive dialogue. For the betterment of the sport, coaches should serve as vanguards of this dialogue, improving the sport and protecting the trust parents and our communities have in our programs. Teaming with our training staff is job number one so that we can have a better appreciation for the monitoring and treatment of at-risk athletes. In addition, educating ourselves on the physical impact of the game has to be as important as learning how to run Power against an Under front.

To start, it will be easier to find the root issue by declaring what this conversation should NOT be about:

NFL as a business: This isn't about defining liability or benefits between worker and employer.
NFL as entertainment: This isn't about how players should be framed/viewed in the media.
NFL as an embodiment of football: Football is a platform to deliver the entertainment product. The conditions this entertainment industry fosters leads to an increased risk/exposure to these variables. Recognize the emotions behind this product association (also exists in NCAA). Emotions are real, but not fact.
The value of team sports: We are not weighing the benefits of organized competition against risk of injury.
Value of mental toughness: Don't frame the risk of brain damage as if it were any other physical obstacle. Physical rehab (muscle/ligament repair) is an entirely different animal compared with brain tissue.
Solely about concussions: The answers we are seeking are the origins and scope of degenerative brain conditions, known as CTE. While concussions are an issue and cited as a precursor to the condition, what we are really after is how to better understand how to better protect the brain against all effects, not just those that produce "knockouts". An oft-sited study , "Incidence, Clinical Course, and Predictors of Prolonged Recovery Time Following Sport-Related Concussion in High School and College Athletes (2010)", provides a wealth of data that set the ground work for concussion protocols.

How we address the next questions in light of the new information presented, will shape participation in the game of football for 14 - 24 year old males in the coming generations. I would encourage coaches this off-season to spend some time reading or viewing material presented by physicians on the long-term impact of brain trauma. While there are no absolutes at this stage in discovery, there is plenty of information available so that we can provide intelligent feedback to those with concerns. From an educated foundation, we can participate in discussions with medical professionals to find solutions.

The sport of football has faced these challenges before. In the 70's, it was serious ligament damage (coming back from an ACL tear was unheard of 40 years ago), then it was spinal injuries, then it was dehydration, then it was heat stroke, then it was concussions, now it is long-term degenerative brain condition. I am not suggesting these are equal injuries, but its not like this is anything the sport cannot overcome.

Moving forward, the questions, as I see it, we need to find answers for are as follows:

What can this age group tolerate? What is the likelihood of risk / frequency?

I reserve the right to be absolutely wrong later, but there is a world of difference between the hits a 15 year old takes in a game takes, a 23 year old kid takes in DIII ball, and a career in the NFL. This is really like comparing a prop plane pilot vs a jet pilot vs an astronaut. They all are flyers, but are not subjected to the same stimulus / environment. Just because they advance in the field based on an increasing set of criteria, doesn't mean the parallels remain consistent (a collision with a player of equal size does not produce the same relative force to the body). The mass/force generated by high school athletes is largely within the realm that the human body can adapt itself to. The mass/force and frequency that can be generated in an arena played with (super) humans is easily beyond which the fragile human body can ever account for.

How do you determine the scope of injury? What factors are needed to produce a long-term degenerative situation?

Products like Shockbox are a step in the right direction, but is not the panacea. It provides quantitative data that is needed to better define what transpires on the field. The next step will be to scientifically provide the conclusions of how the brain responds. Keep in mind, proper equipment and fit is important to protect the physical body, but will not prevent brain trauma caused by explosive movements. Helmets will prevent head injuries and can reduce the force inflicted on the head, but the brain is a free-floating organ (like dropping an egg within a container). With free market solutions, we have to temper our expectations because not all these products intent on selling parents on piece of mind will offer real solutions. With such a willing market (and incentives from the DoD), business will fill this void with anything to make a buck.

Temper against the risk of rushing absolute answers creates a false security in an uncertain environment.

Thankfully we are rapidly advancing technology to better understand the brain and CNS that just wasn't possible 30 years ago. Embrace this tide of innovation and knowledge. We simply did not have the technology until very recently to accurately study evidence of brain trauma outside of an autopsy. The brain trauma (onset disease) is a precursor to CTE. Of a representative sample of HS players, we need to understand how pervasive the evidence of the disease is. This is what we need to determine the scope of risk to give everyone an actionable decision. These studies help us better understand human physiology in the ever-evolving science of neurology and will benefit not only football but all contact sports (Hockey, wrestling, soccer, rugby, etc).

Periodization Off-Season Conditioning

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Tue, 8 Dec 2015 10:00:00 -0600

Now is the time of year that most programs are just now getting over the siege of the 2015 season. Kids and coaches are on break and August 2016 is an eternity away. Most program's approach strength and conditioning in January the same as they do in July. This off-season, I would encourage you and your staff to sit down and assess how you wish to develop your athletes this off-season to have them primed for competition in game 1.

Below is a sample of a program we built a decade ago with this approach in mind. The goal was to reset our athletes to square one after the semester break. While we use a maintenance lifting routine during the season , it is difficult to achieve gains during the season. Therefore, we go back to the basics for core development as well as serving as a great teaching time for our incoming freshmen and underclassmen.

When you look at the season from January until August, you have quite a bit of time to nurture athletes and work off a foundation of movements. We structured our 32-week off-season conditioning as a 4 day week broken into 4 phases. The goal here was to set aside enough time to lay a foundation of proper technique and foster team building in the weight room that would build the core of our team in the fall. During the early phases, we brought in outside instructors, spending a good portion of our time encouraging and involving underclassmen. This program was built to be progressively challenging while being dynamic enough to change exercises from week to week.

BASE (4 weeks)- heavy emphasis on strict movements with very low resistance. Focusing on the concentric and eccentric phases of each base movement, safety and correct form are stressed. Even if you're benching 405, we have you go back to weight training 101 and dedicate your body to recuperating and drilling proper form. This is a great time to educate the kids on nutrition and associate the weight room with positive experiences.

DEVELOPMENT (5 weeks) - with the movement foundations set, we progress on true resistance training and teach the intensity to train correctly (set the tempo). The key here is to get kids paired in groups and always moving, either lifting or spotting.

PEAK (6 weeks) - Traditional pyramid building program where we expect to achieve our biggest gains. We ramp up the intensity and push the kids to add more resistance to achieve more.

CHAMPIONSHIP (8 weeks)- Geared toward challenging the body's limitations and improve stability of movement - more isolation movements.

This particular program was centered around the push-pull combination to keep the body fresh for the type of movement it follows.

After the Base phase, we featured one day a month of some type of physical competition, ensuring that the same type of kids didn't win every month. Some competitions were focused on speed, while others strength, then others just agility.

This particular routine is available for download here

Be sure to check out these other posts on Strength and Conditioning.

While we're on the subject of off-season planning and coordination, use this as a template to define your staff's short-term and long-term goals for your program's success.

Here are several other blogs you should bookmark and regularly tune into this off-season
nflbreakdowns.com
www.footballstudyhall.com

www.syedschemes.com

efootballflix.com

http://jameslightfootball.com/
http://lifeafterfootballblog.com/

Coaching the 2-Gap Nose

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Tue, 1 Dec 2015 10:00:00 -0600

Even or Odd, that is the question. With more and more defenses opting into basing out of an odd front, I figured I would pass on some notes of my experiences from a true 3-4 defense. We've touched on this before, but I believe the true multiple defense of today's game is consists of just 2 interior tackles, 1 defensive end and then 1 hybrid 'tweener' or undersized end/speed rusher. You can get by with these type of players to get into whatever front you need. Many defenses base out of these odd personnel groups, but are actually playing an even defense, in the traditional sense. These defenses may play a zero technique, but only require this player to control 1 gap. In addition, they may cover both guards (2i or 3 tech) and control 2-gaps on a read, but aren't actually using a 2-gap technique. There isn't much out there on coaching up the zero technique. The only thing I've seen addressing this is the Mike Fanoga's "Developing 2-gap Linemen For The 3-4 Defense" video and I don't know that anyone has garnered anything of value off it. The video just reviews basic DL drills and Coach Fanoga mumbling through unorganized cutups of his teams with no meaningful coaching points. In this installment, I would like to provide my thoughts on coaching a 2-gap zero technique in an odd front.

The main goal of the nose tackle is to control both A gaps. This is usually to free up fast flow inside linebacker in the bubble. I believe its important to appreciate what this position's function is; be responsible for immediate action to both A gaps. At the bare minimum, the nose should be an obstacle in these lanes. At best, the nose is an immediate threat to the ball once its snapped. I have never bought into the notion of using defensive linemen as blockers for linebackers. I'm all for linemen controlling gaps (laterally), but in no way should a defensive lineman be passive chattel to cover up deficiencies of other team members.

So many times I see coaches simply expecting the nose to post the center and then grab the guard and either just hold both of them at the line or to knock out both blockers and make a tackle. This does the position and the scheme a disservice. I believe what these coaches are thinking is akin to the nose just teeing off on the center, essentially tackling him, and finding the ball. That will likely work if you have Lyle Alzado playing for you, but since no scheme should be built around one player, you will need to develop important skill sets on your roster to actually play this position with technique. What often happens when players are coached in this haphazard fashion is the player remains raw, getting off high (pad level) and get pushed off the line and into the linebackers. This is typically followed by coaches chewing ass and throwing another (or simply a bigger) body in at nose, only to get the same result. Reaping the benefit of having a 2-gap nose(and choosing to run this scheme) requires a significant investment in skill development. You have to do more than just put a large body at zero technique and expect to 2-gap.

BASIC SKILL SET

With every defensive technique, recognize these are skills that must be developed and repped correctly to gain any benefit from. Simply talking about it will not generate any benefit. I believe you should equip your players with rudimentary skills first to ensure they are competent to do the bare minimum of their position. Once they've mastered the basics of the position, then move on to advanced techniques for exceptional performance. Trying to advance from stance to double counter moves in one practice will only frustrate coaches and player alike and retard development.

Developing the skillset for the nose is simply to perfect a low, coiled stance and get extension on the center. The stance should not be staggered and should be slightly wider than shoulder-width with the tail in the air and the chest as low as possible. Starting from a 4-point stance makes training this stance easiest. As the player builds a comfort level in this position, they can remove the off hand from the ground (but still keep the arm low).

this is a good example of pad level and hip flexion in the stance

Remind the player that they are trying to make a compact spring, squeezing their mass into a small space. The stance actually should be uncomfortable with 70% of the weight forward compelling the nose to move forward at the first opportunity.

Hip explosion and hand placement are key here and this skill cannot be drilled too much. For what we're after here, it isn't just a stance and start rep, the key is to get comfortable crowding the target (ball) with a high tail and exploding up into the target which would be only a foot away. The closer the nose is to the ball, the greater immediate threat he becomes to the center's snap (and the ability for the offense to account for both A gaps). While it is best to rep this against a 1-man or 7-man sled, this can be repped against a wall, a goalpost, or any other solid, stationary target. Focus on hips and (palms of the) hands. It isn't enough to just fall into a target, it is important that the first movement has the player striking the target with both hands as his first 6" step hits the ground. This contact should force the hips to roll forward, raising the chest into the target.

The next step would square up the weight of the nose, both feet underneath the frame of the body, building momentum to extend the arms from the hips. It wouldn't be unusual to spend a full week of Indy time repping just stance, strike and extension. Once this is consistently achieved, speed up the reps to instill a footwork rhythm of your linemen; we're not just coaching the technique but also the tempo it has to be achieved. They should have a muscle memory BANG-BANG response of get-off-to-extension. What the coach is going for here is to make this reaction so ingrained in the player that they aren't thinking of how to get to a leverage position, but they can be fully keyed on their read response.

Since the double-team is the primary threat to the nose, this should be the focus of work for the nose to recognize. The rule is to "fight the pressure", though there are a couple of techniques to use to be effective. The bare minimum would be to post the center, then immediately drop the near knee of where the pressure comes. At worst, this creates a pile of the guard and center to the point of attack (closing the running window) and at best, it propels the nose into the running lane to make a play on the ball. I feel this is an effective technique for beginning players because it is simple to teach and actually benefits the linebackers. The worst thing a coaching staff can do is be adamant that the nose must hold the point against two blockers when he hasn't been sufficiently trained to succeed against that matchup. By dropping the knee, you ensure the player stays low and cuts the playside guard. You can rep this halfway and be satisfied with creating a pile in A gap on first down block pressure. Once your kids get good at 1) stance 2) strike 3) extension and 4) knee drop/pile, then begin fully repping the drop and seat roll into the running lane. What this looks like is the knee goes down and the hips turn to plant the butt on the ground (back is to the blockers).

When this takes place, the nose is compacting his body once again to coil out of his original stance. Once the nose hits his butt, he should pull his near elbow violently back. This is the same motion as "starting the lawnmower" to spin the flywheel from a pull cord. This pulling motion should be violent enough to swing the hips 180 degrees into the gap so that you end up in a 4-point stance in B gap.

Your nose should be competent enough to start if they can consistently perform these basic components. The only other blocks you will deal with is a reach or a pass set. Obviously, on reach the nose will get his extension on the center and fight laterally to keep outside leverage on the ball. On pass set, the nose should at first be instructed to only bull rush with a rip escape.

Coiled stance/ crowd the ball

6" punch / beat the snapping hand
Extension / elbows
Run the knees, keep feet moving….what to do now?
Fight pressure / drop or squeeze gap

First step wins

ADVANCED SKILL SET

Now that we have covered basic components of the position, you can gain the most out of the position by advancing their skill sets. The get-off and leverage is vital to success on the line. The zero technique has the advantage of squaring off against an offensive player preoccupied with snapping the ball. Foster a competition during pre-practice for the nose to grab / trap the center's snapping hand in his crotch. This instills in the nose the aggressive, crowd-the-ball stance and focusing on the target of the center's arm below the elbow. Without the ability to keep the nose at bay, the center is immediately beat and could potentially foul the exchange. The more of an immediate threat the nose is to the center 's first step, the more the nose can pressure the center's performance of snapping the ball.

Improving the stance and strike repetitions would also include a gap step escape. Again, the repetitions are to enforce technique and, more importantly, the tempo the linemen executes each movement. Add the rip and swim moves to the nose' s repertoire, so that the progression goes stance, explosion strike, full extension, and escape. The coaching points for the each are as follows:

Rip

Extension, trap near wrist/elbow with outside hand
Outside foot steps outside the blocker's body to set the base

Inside foot crosses the blocker's body and sets just outside the gap foot. The target is to get hip-to-hip with the blocker.

Punch the inside arm into the gap to lift the blocker's gap arm out of the way. Violently rip the bicep to the earhole of the blocker.

Swim

Extension, swat the near forearm down with the outside hand
Outside foot steps outside the blocker's body to set the base

Inside foot crosses the blocker's body and sets just outside the gap foot. The target is to get hip-to-hip with the blocker.
Jab the inside hand just outside the neck of the blocker to swim over his shoulder. Keep the arm tight to the body, don't wind up. The action should be to throw the punch (outside) the face of the blocker and, "stab him in the kidneys with an ice pick".

Improving the double-team

When your nose starts showing an aptitude to keep his feet and maintain leverage on the center, you can get more out of him by teaching him how to split the double team. When the nose extends on the center (post) and feels pressure from the driving guard, he can drop his hips from the center and turn his butt into the guard and shuffle laterally, turning away from the pressure. This will tie up both guard and center and keep the nose in position to still play playside A gap and any inside cutback. The key here is to not let the guard and center get hip-to-hip to work an effective double-team. If the nose stays square, the driving guard can squeeze his hips inside and get on track with the center. When the nose kicks back his hips, much like an offensive baskteball player backing into a defender, he's performing an action not unlike an offensive tackle that is getting beat by a bull rush who would drop his hips, spread his legs to gain low, stopping leverage on a rusher. With the guard tied up past 5 quick steps of the nose, the playside inside linebacker should have a clean window into B gap to make a play. This technique is also effective versus zone combos where the drive blocker would slam the nose then work to the second level after the backside reacher can overtake the nose. This "turn away butt block" would prevent any zone combo from getting free.

Reading the center's first step

They key to coaching tempo so well that your players end up with what will seem like a long time once they've made that first step. In their mind, they will want to go from stance-to-escape within a full second and a half. This amounts to 3 quick steps of the nose's feet from their stance. For them to stay ahead, they will have to anticipate what body position the center wants to work toward. What I have found was fighting the very first step of the center as a sign of pressure (i.e. reading the center's feet for 2-gap).

If a center wants to post for a double team to his right, he will step with his right foot. If a center wants to reach the nose to his left, he will step with his left foot. After snapping the ball, the center has to make up for that 1/2 step he lost during the snap motion. He won't be skip pulling to the perimeter and if he false steps, he would create an open window along the offensive line. The point being, the center is rushing to get caught up with the track his fellow linemen are on. If the nose attacks the center's first step he will more than likely be correct on which gap is threatened. The whole sit and wait to get creamed by double-teams is a nebulous read for the nose. If you wait until the guard makes contact on the down block, its often too late to make a move.

The nose would have an explosive get off, gain extension (regain base), then once the center makes a move to fight for the leverage he needs, THEN the nose attacks that move because we really don't care about dealing with the center (we want the ball) and because we're posting and not just shooting, we're keeping the ILBs free of trash.

This isn't shooting gaps as a nose, it is premised on posting that center, as you normally would. This extra step advantage would provide the nose the ability to break any double team before it gets unified, giving the nose a one-on-one matchup he can win. How this is coached is to work against another player's movement with the first step (left, right, retreat) as the trigger to (balanced strike extension and half-man escape) indicate which side the nose should work his escape.

Here are some additional readings on the (true) 3-4 defense

3-4 Defense Article from NFL Magazine

North Iowa 3-4

Drills for 3-4 Linemen

Marvin Lewis 3-4 Clinic

Pete Jenkins on using 2-gap linemen

Coup d'œil

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 11:14:00 -0600

Inspired by the insightful post of Alex Kirby at Life After Football , I wanted to offer feedback on this same process with an emphasis on developing a routine for interpreting live football broadcasts. The method I'll outline is one that I've used for years while being in the box for gameday communication.

What we'll outline here is how to assess the next play that is going to be run before that play starts. The beauty here is this is a skill you can hone with hundreds of reps at your leisure. Likely, you will already be watching 12 hours of football each weekend that you can practice with. Let's assume you watch 3 or 4 football games in a weekend. That translates to roughly 450 - 500 repetitions to train your brain with instant feedback to develop this skill. This allows you to stay engaged with any broadcast, playing this game (within a game broadcast) but also developing a skillset invaluable to football coordinating. Watching games dispassionately, just focusing on formations and areas of the field, allows you to develop an intelligence towards predicting outcomes. Naturally, the type of plays called will depend on the play-caller, but those become exceptions to the rule. The more you exercise this technique, the more scenarios you will have to draw from because you will receive instant feedback once the play is run (were you right or wrong? What did you learn from your hypothesis?).

When all is said and done, it really is the commander's coup d'œil, his ability to see things simply, to identify the whole business of war completely with himself, that is the essence of good generalship. Only if the mind works in this comprehensive fashion can it achieve the freedom it needs to dominate events and not be dominated by them. -Carl von Clausewitz

The intent of this exercise is to use the 25 second play clock to assess what is on the field and the possible outcomes after the ball is snapped. The goal here is to consolidate all the information you see on the field and assume the probable outcome within 15 seconds, leaving 10 seconds on the play clock. I believe if you examine the game from a defensive mindset, it becomes easier to process what transpires after the snap and compartmentalize the components of a play, making your viewing experience more enjoyable. The following represents a cascading punchlist of data elements you will use to deduce a probable outcome in a given situation.

3 Seconds

This bit of information can be garnered immediately after a play has concluded.

Field position - where at on the field is the offense trying to advance the ball? When backed up inside their own 20, offense will be looking simply to convert the down and get out of the shadow of their own end zone. Between the 40s, the objective is looking to break an explosive play to reach the red zone. Inside the red zone, offense look to take advantage of the limited depth of the field (usually resulting in some form of man-to-man coverage) for a score.

Down and Distance - the area of the field and distance for the conversion influences offenses on how aggressive they will need to be while mitigating a negative yardage play.

Time remaining - more often than not, this really only matters in the 4th quarter in a close game. Depending on the momentum the offense is in, you can start reducing the time remaining by the average drive duration and figure out how many possessions are left before the game expires. If there are 10 minutes left in the game and the offense is trailing by more than 10, they would need to operate under the assumption that they'll only have 2-3 possessions left in the game and need to quicken the pace or reach for more explosive plays.

Hash - this makes a big difference outside of NFL, where the field width can magnify the space between the ball and the furthest receiver. The chasm makes it difficult for defenses to disguise their intentions (coverage/pressure).

Personnel - what kind of players are in the game? The offense has run 3 tight ends on the field. Okay, we're probably not expecting a vertical passing concept. Some network television broadcasts have begun listing personnel between plays.

7 Seconds

Pare down the unknowns by paying attention to the formation and how the defense matches with their front.

Formations

3-man surface: Pro strength or compressed trips?

1-back/2-back: 21 personnel? Find exceptions on why they won't be running Power/Iso because that is probably what is coming.

Balanced / unbalanced: is the formation symmetrical (expect it to be, then work the exception), is there more numbers to a side of the field, are there more than 3 players on one side of the ball?

What is the run strength of the formation (assume they will run to this side)? Is there a TE or H-back added to the box ?
Slot: What I'm looking for most often is what is the span of the slot (2 receivers) and how the defensive backs align (how deep are they? Inside/outside leverage?).

Is it slot (where is the potential #3 receiver) or trips (is the single receiver closed/split or to the field)?
Are the receivers compressed - what grass are they squeezing you to get?
Is it to the field? If so, where are they in relation to the numbers, to the hash?
Is the back offset? To or away from the field?

Defense matchup

The shell of the defensive coverage is a good indication of how the defense will respond and give a tip of who the force player will be (safety, corner, backer, end?).

As an example, if you see twins to the field and you have 2 defenders over these receivers no deeper than 5 yards with a safety over the top (in relation to both), assume a run inside because that would likely be the most successful scenario simply by the numbers remaining in the box.

Determine the slot coverage being used here; will it be man or will someone drop to cover the curl/flat?
Is the front playing even or odd? Is the center covered (nose) or are they playing shades?
How many rushing threats are in the box? Who would the offense declare the mike and slide coverage away from?
Are there any "out-of-box" defenders in close proximity to the box to be included as a potential rusher/primary run support defender?

Use this information to start making logical assumptions. Eliminate the exceptions and determine the most probable plays to run.

12 Seconds

Leverage / Matchup -

What is the target of opportunity? What is the most plausible scenario given this front/coverage and formation?

Example: You're watching Iowa offense. It's 2nd and 8, at mid-field and they come out in 12 personnel with double-tight Ace. Assume they are going to run stretch until you see something glaringly obvious (safeties drop down or a receiver motions across the formation).

This also helps you visualize any support fits of the defense and who is going to be in the best position to make the play on defense. Use the example above, you expect an immediate inside run, what defender could present the biggest problem. If they run zone left, which defender would be in the best position (just by alignment) to make the play on the ball carrier?

list the probabilities, then select the most appropriate response

16 - 20 Seconds

Reassess what you've just assumed. What have these teams been successful with? What is necessary just to convert the down?

Visualize how your assumed play will run against the given defense. How will that play be blocked and what are the risks to this play being successful?

Post-Snap

What is the first step at the snap? Is it flow / web / split action by the backs? Is that congruent with where the line is going?

Did anything happen that contradicts what you assumed would happen?

* this is actually a game I used to have our linebackers play during film study, where we would show opponent film one frame at a time. The winner would be the first guy to call out the play being run (based on the fewest frames/steps).

The bottom line is compile all the presnap data, determine the likely scenarios, then once the ball is snapped find the exceptions that would immediately alert you of the special play (blitz, counter, play-action, screen).

Example: if either of these safeties in a 2-high look were to drop, immediately we know we have an alert that could become pressure or an indicator that the safety is playing zone and will be covering the curl/flat area (looking for back out to his side / perimeter run defender). Does the other safety rotate to the middle of the field or does he jump the slot receiver on his side (telling you the middle of the field is wide open)

When you look at the game this way, it eliminates a lot of the unknowns when the ball is snapped. When you do this, you have the capability to focus on seeing technique, particularly on the pivotal players needed to make the play successful (i.e. a pulling guard in space on sweep).

This exercise is a great practice to condition your mind to interpret on-field patterns. This is also why I am a big fan of watching games via ESPN 3's Spidercam or just reviewing presnap alignment pictures on your own. Using the 6-10 seconds of presnap post-huddle alignments as a sort of football Rorschach Test, you quickly have to interpret what you see and list all the possible conclusions that would take place simply by leverage of each player.

I hope this has provided a framework to enjoy broadcasts while strengthening your "football IQ" to build off of. We welcome your feedback, so drop your recommendations or concerns in the comments section below.

Coverage Examples

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 13:47:00 -0500

Cover 1

Cover 3

Cover 2

Cover 4

Nuff Said

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Wed, 7 Oct 2015 08:36:00 -0500

The Gospel of Tony - it doesn't take exceptional skill to be a good teammate. #fbcoach

The Gospel of Tony - it doesn't take exceptional skill to be a good teammate. #fbcoach pic.twitter.com/Ffqx74iKjH
— Cripes! (@GetBack2Fundies) October 7, 2015
— Cripes! (@GetBack2Fundies) October 7, 2015

Overcoming the Advantage of Run-Pass Option Offenses

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Wed, 2 Sep 2015 08:33:00 -0500

Much has been made of the advancements of offenses in this 'modern age' of football. There are endless articles on these new spread plays, but what of the defense? What can a defense do to not only adapt but limit the seemingly endless advantages of these offenses?

See The Big Picture

Previously, we covered how the metrics are changing for defenses. What matters most for defending the spread, ultimately, is just preventing points. Chasing traditional yardage goals may not actually benefit the "spread" defense (focus on negative yardage plays, containing explosive gains, win 3rd down, settle for field goals).

In this installment, we hope to cover the options a defense has against 1-back spread and schools of thought on how to live in this new era of run-pass option, tempo offenses. This isn't intended to be "the answer" that coordinators need to implement, merely noting trends how some coordinators adapted to a variety of offenses and how these adjustments can be used to limit the effectiveness of recent offensive wrinkles.

First, defenses have to insulate themselves against the known risks a spread offense presents. With as many dynamic offensive flavors in today's game, thinking modular is the best approach to maintain front integrity and prevent easy completions when receivers are "spread". This approach also lends itself to compartmentalizing components of the defense, instead of making wholesale changes to the defensive structure.

Defense has traditionally been thought of in terms of the 8-man box or the 7-man front. Your "defense" (identity) was determined by the front alignment of your 21-personnel grouping (3-4, 4-3, etc). In today's game, it is apparent that these terms are irrelevant because defenses are faced with so many different styles of offenses that the only thing that will remain consistent will be the front preference (odd / even) and the philosophy implemented behind it.

With that said, let’s move on to how defenses approach 1-back spread teams. The first step is to keep it simple; break down the threat into its fundamental alignment threats. You will obviously have the 5 offensive linemen and in today's game, 4 spread receivers and no real tight end. The good thing is with "spread" tempo teams is that it generally leaves you with a limited playbook and most assuredly has only two formations; ace and trips. The receivers will present a slot or trips look to a side. When you add 3+ receivers to a formation, your coverage options expand. The more coverage defenders you add, the more variety you can have. In nickel a situation, which is what we're talking about with spread teams, we will commit 5 secondary players.

We will get into the coverage options later, but we have actually laid out the foundation for dealing with spread before:

The self-adjusting no-huddle nickel

Coverage options against slot

Using catch-man coverage technique

Pattern matching with fire zone pressure

2 Read quarters coverage

Rip/Liz Cover 3 adjustment against 2x2

Now all we have to assess is what are we left with to account for?

A 5 man line with a back and quarterback against our remaining 6 box defenders.
With 6 box defenders, are you going to use an odd or even front?

ODD (stack/base)

If you are an 'odd' defense, you can continue to keep 6 in the box with a stack or use a true odd front with 10 and 20 backers

Odd base

Odd Stack

EVEN (over / "T")

Typical 40 front defenses will set their fronts based on strong and weak personnel, setting strength to the field or to the back. Most set strength to the field to protect the edge and restrict a bubble to the boundary. Otherwise, most defenses you'll find will always set strength AWAY from the back.

If an offense is proficient in (inside) zone running or have a backside running QB threat, strength will be declared TO the back. This puts the shade / nose in the immediate path to disrupt the zone track. The 3 and 5 to the back present a solid leverage front against quick QB gap (power) runs.

Increasingly, many defenses are opting to play the spread (particularly when the ball is placed in the middle of the field) with two 3-techniques to discourage the perimeter and off-tackle run game. It is vulnerable to inside zone (unless you 2-gap backside). Interestingly enough, this is also what is pushing many coordinators to basing out of an odd front because what you'll find is all you need is two legitimate interior defensive linemen (A and B gap players) and the remaining gaps can be filled in with linebackers and safeties. In shotgun, without a fullback and tight end, there is no real threat of power runs so digging in at C gap in a 4-pt stance just isn’t necessary.

"T" - double 3 techs

WILDCARD (Bear / double eagle)

The wildcard you will see some defenses regularly get in on 3rd down is the old 46 or bear front. Reducing the front to 3,0,3 and edge rushers . This provides a pressure look that can utilize edge droppers or check-blitzes. The bear threatens to cover all gaps and stymie any leverage for zone combos or gap runs (using pullers). More importantly, however, it threatens your snapper with A-gap pressure with no help and can create a problem in identifying the Mike for protection (which way you will zone, which side you will man) forcing the back to block or have a defender free to the quarterback.

Play With 13 Players
6 on 6 would actually be an advantage for a defense; unfortunately the outside box linebacker in our front has to be at least threatening as a coverage option against his slot receiver. Otherwise, the offense can tee-off on this slot side because it’s clearly just the safety that can cover-down on the slot. This "Will" has to play with, "one foot in the box and one foot out of the box" for the defense to provide a challenge to the offense.

How do you control the front with 6, particularly if the quarterback is a running threat or they throw regularly throw quickly to the slot?

If you are 1-high, its an easy fix with rip/liz, but leaves you vulnerable to the field without a safety over the top of #1 and #2.

If you are 2 high, you can cover-down with the nic and walk out the linebacker on 2 (4+1). However, if you are not in dime grouping how can you stay sound with only 5 in the box? That leads us to exploring the kind of creativity needed to control the box.

While this really helps stymie an offense's intent at going vertical on you and forcing them to play it safe by throwing short horizontal throws and earn their yards on the ground, just how can defenses stay sound with only 5 "full-time" box defenders?

How to defend 6 gaps with 5 defenders? Get Creative

Stunting

During the rise of the Tampa Bay Bucs defense in the late 90s, the defense would rely on relentless pressure from the front 4 to control the front. With the MLB retreating to cover the deep middle hole, how can 4 rushmen control 6 gaps? By stunting into the open voids. The pirate and long stick stunt helped Tampa impact fronts even on run downs by covering up 2 gaps at once and inserting themselves into the open window.

This is the cheapest of the alternatives, as most defenses already have line games installed. Using it to cover up run-fit voids is a strategy that can provide a shortcut solution to these dilemmas . The stunting approach will naturally lead to fire zoning a spread, which remains a viable alternative. If you follow this logic of stunting into a front to control all the gaps, you now can add and replace the 5 rushmen to include safeties and backers with the security of adaptable zone coverage behind it.

2-gap away and 1 gap front side

If you're already looking at the front from a perspective of to and away from where the back sets, you can also change how that front responds. You can designate a side to be an attack-and-read 1-gap fast support and the other half being a read-and-attack 2-gap slow support side. This allows you to temporarily control half the front until secondary support can insert itself as a primary run support fitter. This option requires an investment in defensive linemen technique, but will provide carry over against other run offenses. With spread runs a true stout 2-gapper isn't what is required. With 1-back gun, the offense doesn't use traditional gap blocking post/drive double teams, but zone combos where the lead (post) blocker looks to work to the second level when the backside (drive) blocker overtakes the defender. This allows a "heavy" lineman to work leverage to control 2 gaps and keep the blockers from reaching the linebackers.

2-gapping to the back: provides you the flexibility to close any cutback but also remain stout against same-side gap power action
2-gapping to the field: allows you to slow-play run action to the width of the field, allowing secondary players time to fit into the run support.

Jump through / Run around blocks

A no-no for the traditional defensive mindset, with so much width to account for and so few players available for primary run-fit in the box, the other alternative is to run around blocks to get penetration and cause negative yardage plays. This is possible because there really are few linebackers to protect in the box. This, too, is a solution that requires a technique investment; it has little carry over against no-spread run games. It would also only be viable if you had an exceptional athlete among your defensive linemen to use the explosive burst required to chase a play down from behind (and likely not stout enough to hold point against the run).

These options allow a defense to account for the 6 gaps in the box. When the quarterback becomes a runner, the offense adds an additional gap to the formation without a clear indication of which side of the formation it will present.

The easy answer is to play single-high and drop a safety into the box, opposite of the nickel and account for the outside "D" gap(s). For the sake of this article, against 2x2 we want to remain in a 2-high shell pre-snap to provide us the most security against the deep ball and flexibility with coverage options.

Offenses today are doing more than throwing bubble/flash screens the perimeters with their run action, making the "open space" for the secondary grows to a near impossible expanse to defend. Further widening receivers from the ball reduces any slot coverage possibility into a man-to-man matchup in space.

This is the dilemma all coordinators are in and amounts to a 'rob Peter to pay Paul' on a down by down basis. This requires the defensive coordinator to squeeze more out of his overhang defenders. If you can account for the 6-gap box and two split receivers, you can get can introduce more uncertainty of what the overhang defenders are capable of, forcing a run-pass option offense to be wrong.

What Else? Pressure
Here are some ways for defenses to supplement the defensive front, to retard the effectiveness of run-pass options:

The easiest option is to use overhang pressure (nickel blitz) something a defense already has in its package, but the application of edge pressure against spread offenses are factors to consider.The intent would be to not only to threaten to pressure the thrower, but also discourage perimeter runs or fast screens.

Boundary

The safest pressure to apply because the width is constricted, affording disguised pressure because by alignment, any defender is in good position to cover or blitz. Boundary edge pressure gets in the way of flash screens and pressure would be intended to get in the face against a deep sideline throw.

Field

Because the width of the field will likely be used for perimeter runs, bringing pressure throws an immediate force defender to the edge as well as disrupt the trajectory of the thrower for any field throw (flat, bubble or curl area). The How to cover up this guy leaving coverage?

Another effective strategy spread defenses employ is to position safeties so that they can continue to advance the LOS on run-action. More and more, quarters safeties are cheating down from 15 yard depth to near 8 yards to muddy the coverage shell read and also put themselves in position to be at the line of scrimmage on the perimeter when facing run/screen action. Aggressive safeties rolling down can become an unaccounted defender in run support to discourage the perimeter run game (QB). Defenses today routinely bring 2-high safeties down late (to cover the slot) or allow them to fit as immediate run force, squeezing the open run lanes sooner than the back can gain leverage on the edge, pushing the ball to interior support. This method is gaining popularity in correlation with using catch-man coverage technique to obstruct vertical receiver stems, maintain leverage on any receiver break (by remaining square to the line of scrimmage), as well as being in good position to defend against a stalk block and attack the ball on run action.

We believe these strategies will be employed more as the spread continues to proliferate. This evolution will have coordinators looking to adopt these strategies as part of their system to produce a go-to bag of tools to smother aggressive offenses.

In future posts, we will explore how offenses are countering these defensive responses and also note the additional developments of the 2015 football season.

2015 Offensive Trends

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 21:36:00 -0500

In the past few seasons, we’ve seen spread offenses evolving at a quicker pace using no-huddle quick tempo, run-pass options, and nontraditional personnel groupings (for a spread offense) to befuddle defenses and tip the scales in their favor. Defensive coordinators have been challenged to keep up with these attacks and adapt their own philosophies to the changing times.

Even with this advantage, some offenses are doing their best to push the envelope even further to remain on the bleeding edge of efficiency. Many teams such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Ohio State Buckeyes, Baylor Bears and the Cal Bears are leading this charge.

This season, we will explore these variations, the challenges they present, and what defenses can do to swing momentum back in their court (next post).

Back in 2011, we took a look at the costs of running from the gun and the impact it had on the playbook and to defenses. The conclusion at the time was to distill it down to inside or outside zone and limit the playbook to one concept per area of attack (inside, outside, perimeter attack). Now four seasons later, offensive innovators have found a way to marry multiple concepts to get the best of many worlds.

The most popular run-pass option out there is zone-read with a backside pass. While it used to be just feature the bubble screen to stretch a backside overhang defender with the threat of a quarterback run, offenses today are looking to create as much of a vertical stretch as they are horizontal. The offensive leaders today run routes on EVERY run play so the action remains consistent to defenses.

The zone-read often gets dismissed because the prevailing opinion is that you can't be successful without a mobile quarterback. However, what we've seen (with Nick Foles' success), is the play fake of the give is what is the most valuable element of the zone boot. The challenge is, if you're optioning on the backside end, the athleticism of a Mike Vick is needed to avoid getting blasted regularly from that defender of preventing the defender from chasing down the zone run from behind.

As we saw in last week's preseason game, if the quarterback isn't actually passing, he remains a target.

...this is what happens, Larry

So what do you do when you are committed to throwing the ball, have (and recruit) throwers, but need to have a viable zone run game? How do you protect the investment of your quarterback as a weapon?

Offenses today are foregoing the post-snap end read and now pre-snap keying backside "grass" to put vital backside run-fit players on an island. These overhang defenders will be unable to commit to filling cutback lanes lest a receiver finds open grass for an easy completion. This adjustment of 'locking' the backside end with stretch-read runs, eliminates the most dangerous rusher to the quarterback. This has the added benefit of preventing backside linemen from going too far downfield if the quarterback decides to throw and also mirrors common spread slide/man pass protection, causing more hesitation to a defender's key read.

Front side linemen are looking to reach outside "D" gap to stretch the edge of the defense like wide zone. The intent is to stretch the playside of the defense to split the defense down the middle because the backside of the defense will be occupied with pass action to the backside receivers. Blocking the backside end essentially occupies 4-5 defenders from being a factor fitting in primary gap support. Because stretch is more of a horizontal play than the vertical track of inside zone, there is no risk of frontside players being downfield if the quarterback decides to pull the ball and throw.

Watch the effect the snap pivot has on the defense

On the backside, receivers explode up field to get as much vertical push on their defender to find open grass. This not only requires defenses to respect the legitimate passing threats, but also frees up receivers from actually blocking anyone. The route combos are typically 5 and 3 step slants (like the backside of Stick), but can feature any quick 2-man game.

Don't respect the backside void? Pay the price

It is crucial for the quarterback to flash his shoulders to the perimeter to show that he's willing to make the "throw to second base". This action is what will continue to freeze the safety and overhang defender. The read is easier and less a threat than a facing an All-American at defensive end. If the overhang defender (over #2 / outside the tackle) wants to involve himself in the run game, throw the slant. If he consistently hesitates to respect the seam/curl, then you're effectively running against a 6-man box and should have a sizable cutback lane for the runner if the defense stretches with you.

In the coming weeks, we will explore how defenses adjust to legitimate run-pass option offenses and how offense counter again. Stay tuned.

Pass Rushing Coaching Points

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 08:22:00 -0500

Coach Ron Roberts and staff have been busy beefing up their website offerings of late. Be sure to check out their latest perspective of how to teach a dangerous pass rush

1. Pass Rush
2. Set Line Principle
3. Edge Rush
4. Power Rush

Also, their video selection has been improved...there is a Demarcus Ware hand fighting training video (for pass rush) that is worth checking out.

http://www.ronrobertsfootball.com/

Art of Smart Football

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 18:09:00 -0500

With The Essential Smartfootball, it was satisfying to see Brown's selection compiled and presented to a larger audience. This time around, The Art of Smart Football, takes many of Brown's contributions from his blog, Yahoo Sports and Grantland and presents them as he typically does, with a welcoming dialogue of mature reflection and clear analysis. The content of this book is a complete package of contemporary football trends to afford the fair-weather fan to seasoned coach a competent perspective to fully appreciate what you'll see on the field this season.

As we explored when assessing his last book, Brown is the pacesetter of intellectual football discourse today. There is no reason sports analysts should continue in the morass of the old media storylines (dumbing down what is delivered to their audience), when Brown has been showing how it can be done without losing the reader's interest. The book is not heavy on football jargon or diagrams (though there are some great illustrations), so it is an easy read that one can digest quickly or casually pick up at their leisure. This would be a great read in the coming weeks as everything he covers here, will be the narrative every weekend from the college to pro level.

There's no reason you shouldn't have this offering in your library. Grab it at Amazon today....the electronic version (Kindle app for mobile) is as easy as it gets.

Sideline Technology: Leg Up Analytics

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Thu, 9 Jul 2015 20:41:00 -0500

Even before the NFHS rules changed allow electronic communication devices on the sideline, coaches knew there were real-time tools they wish they could have to a competitive edge to help manage their gameplan. Now that this restriction has been lifted, it begs the question, "what is really needed and which product can deliver it consistently?".

If you're doing your job correctly through the week, you know exactly how you intend the game to play out on Friday night. Whether or not you can assess if it is going according to plan before the clock runs out is the insight all staffs strive for. For years before electronic devices, we would rely on a slew of clipboards charting plays, tallying stats, and tracking performance. It usually wasn't until halftime that you could get out your slide rule, run the numbers and come to any meaningful data to figure out what needed to be changed or identify what isn't going right.

Recently, I was made aware of a product that does everything I was doing in the booth and on the sideline in one little platform.....AND it packages all the calculations into a clear dashboard. What's cool is this can take all your real-time data and import it into your HUDL account, saving your staff hours of game breakdown on the weekend. Check this out

LegUP Analytics Intro Video from Team LegUP on Vimeo.

Below is a guest post from Anthony Blake, CEO of LegUP Analytics detailing this extremely helpful product.

To steal a line from my Pastor, I am peacock-proud to introduce and announce the next iteration of the LegUP product line, Prime. Prime is the culmination of 9 months of customer visits, strategy sessions, design reviews, bug fixes, influencer meetings and other activities by the members of the LegUP team. We’ve toiled over run-pass options, play calling methodologies, football rule books and more, all in the name of building not only a great product, but a great experience for all of LegUP’s customers and other stakeholders.

Like many startups, we were our first customer. LegUP was formed to find a solution to a problem that we faced under the lights on Friday nights in the fall – the lack of reliable intel in the midst of a live football game. We had our pencils and stacks of paper for recording positive plays or managing substitutions. And sure, we spent hours before and after each game pouring over the numbers on our and our opponent’s prior performances. But that stuff is insufficient in the 3rd quarter when our opponent deviates from what we believe to be their tendencies. Or our go-to plays aren’t so potent.

LegUP Prime provides coaches and players with useful insights during real, live games to help them improve the performance of their team. Those insights are based on data recorded throughout the game about the players, play calls, situations and results of each play. With Prime, decision-makers get immediate, play-by-play feedback on their calls rather than waiting until halftime to confer with the rest of the staff.

Prime is our second product. Our first, dubbed The Basics, launched in October of last year. It played an invaluable role in our market by proving we could chart football games with an iPad rather than pencil & paper. With Prime we’re pushing the envelope further by providing teams with the first instance of real-time performance analytics.

We started LegUP to improve the quality, safety, and understanding of sports – starting with amateur football. Prime will become available on the Apple App Store in early August and we'll continue to share more about Prime on our website at www.legupanalytics.com. I look forward to hearing how LegUP Prime helps teams elevate their game day performance.

Anthony Blake
CEO of LegUP Analytics

http://www.geekwire.com/2014/legup-analytics-football-coaches/

Dealing With Parents: Jim Harshaw

brophyfootball@gmail.com (Jim Harshaw) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 11:54:00 -0500

Guest post by Jim Harshaw

Surveys show that dealing with parents is one of the top most time consuming and frustrating tasks that coaches deal with on a regular basis.

Having coached for 15 years from youth through Division I, I've spent countless hours researching best practices on dealing with parents. I've read books and blogs, listened to audio podcasts and talked with dozens of coaches about it. Here's what I've found: it all boils down to communication and education.

While these are simple concepts here are some practical solutions that you can use right away.

Let Them Talk: Many parents just want to be heard and by letting them talk without interruption you satisfy that need. Acknowledge that you've heard them and will consider their point of view and move on with your day.
Admit When You're Wrong: We all make mistakes. When we see a public figure make a mistake and try to explain it away or cover it up, we lose respect and end up talking poorly about them and even trying to undermine their authority. When they apologize and face the issue head-on, we are far more willing to give them slack and a second chance. It's the same with you.
How to Be a Sports Parent: Parents react with emotion instead of logic because they never took a class on how to be a good sports parents. It's your job to teach them things like how to be supportive at home, what kind of nutrition they should be providing and what kind of feedback is actually helpful for you. It will not only minimize the issues you have to deal with but also maximize the performance of your athletes.

Get many more tips and tactics as well as worksheets and templates in the Dealing Successfully with Sports Parents ebook. Access to this proactive guide will help you spend less time reacting to criticism, responding to emails and looking over your shoulder... and more time coaching. Download it here instantly.

This is a guest post by Jim Harshaw. In addition to learning how to deal successfully with parents as a youth, high school and college coach, Jim Harshaw learned many life lessons on the wrestling mat. He was a 3X ACC Champion for the University of Virginia, trained at the Olympic Training Center and competed overseas for Team USA. He lives in Charlottesville, Va with this wife Allison and four children.

Book Review: Ted Seay's Wild Bunch

brophyfootball@gmail.com (Dubber) — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 22:22:00 -0600

There are moments in everyone’s development in any role that resonate. From a father’s first realization to just how closely his young son watches (and sometimes to his horror, mimics) him, to that one positive or negative work experience that cements an attitude that lasts decades. These moments figuratively fill us with a deep, full, reverberating sound that echoes in our mind’s ears whenever a decision is weighed. “Remember when…”

This looks cool, but memory crystallization hurts like Hell....

In my coaching life, one such event struck me in my formative years, the reading of one Ted Seay’s Wild Bunch: A Side Order of Football. I have previous written about Ted’s concept of Unity of Apparent Intent.

Ted’s most recent expansion, The Wild Bunch: A Conflict-Theoretical Approach to Offensive Football, is more than a mere re-write. It is not just an unpacking of the what’s (plays), the how’s (technique), or even the why’s (philosophy)-though it has all of these. It is a digestion down to the fundamental nature of football: conflict.

Ted’s mastery at analyzing this concept (on which his newest book wonderfully expounds), coupled with my firm belief that any coach cannot begin his education with fully understanding and owning this concept, has led me to recommend this book for several years to any coach wanting to learn more about offensive football. Subsequently, dear reader, I also recommend it to you.

I don’t care if you can diagram every play from Michigan in 1922, or Army in 1945, or Houston 1989, or Kentucky in 1997, or West Virginia in 2005, or Baylor in 2013…..without an understanding of the underlying principle of all these great offenses (beside having talent), you have the directions on how to build a fine sports car, but no idea how to use the tools.

That underlying principle is conflict. I mean, if one has the brute force to run wedge every play for no less than 3 yards, then that is exactly what they should do. In the real world, however, no one is THAT much better than their opponents (and if you are, feel free to stop reading and go back to dusting your trophies).

A conflicted defender is one who lack certainty about where the ball is/is going, and consequentially, where he should be heading. Have you ever had a team period where the offensive coordinator just tells the offense to “run it again”, and everyone on the scout team hears it? You never saw a cornerback fill on iso like that kid just did.

The lack of conflict, and certainty with which the defense could sprint to ball creates very tough sledding, and soon the offensive coordinator is yelling at the scout defense to “play it honest”.

It should also be noted, that space is a vital component (and in fact, the end goal) of conflict. Even the phone booth knife fight that is the Double Wing offense wants to eventually get the ball in space.

Those who doubt that last statement have never played a good DW team with the ability to go play action, and the corner route is so wide open your pregnant wife could throw the touchdown. Conflict (secondary players needing to help on power) creates space (PAP over the top of flat footed cornerbacks).

Ted expertly defines this in chapter 3 of his book:

“…….don't take on your opponent at what he does best or where he is most concentrated. Coach Woody Hayes put it very well, misquoting Sun Tzu slightly, but to good effect: "Don't attack walled cities." I would add to that a corollary -- don't attack walled cities while the defenders are fresh and alert. Maneuver past the concentrations of enemy forces into open territory and ride like hell. Force your opponent to redeploy his forces to cover more ground, until you have him stretched thin from sideline to sideline. Then attack the walled city, while its defenders are out in the plains waiting for a cavalry end run that never comes.”

"Don't chase the enemies fly sweep!! But still stop it somehow!"

That concept alone is worth buying the book.

Ted goes on to lay out the personnel, formational structure, plays, drills, and practice plans associated with his offense, all the while relating his decision making back to the original premise of conflict theory.

For years I have said this, and with this new edition (which stands apart from the rest), it has never been more true: I do not care what offensive system you run, this is a MUST READ.

Annals of Cripes!

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Mon, 4 Aug 2014 14:29:00 -0500

This blog has been around since 2007 (not really taking off until 2009) and has generated over 4 million views. Over the years, we've covered a lot of different topics. The intent has always been to share ideas and collaborate whenever possible. We hope it's existence has helped you in some way.

As the off-season lull is fading and we're about to ramp up into a new season of high school, college and pro football, here are links to some of the more popular (and exhaustive) coaching studies we've conducted...

NICK SABAN

1-High Defense Principles I

1-High Defense Principles II

1-High Defense Principles III

2-High Defense Principles

Merging 1-High & 2-High (Rip/Liz) I

Merging 1-High & 2-High (Rip/Liz) II

Merging 1-High & 2-High (Rip/Liz) III

BO PELINI

Pelini Defense Intro

Pelini Defense Fronts

Pelini Defense Pressure I

Pelini Defense Pressure II

Pelini Defense Pressure III

Pelini Defense Library

ALEX GIBBS

Zone Runs (Alex Gibbs I)

Zone Runs (Alex Gibbs II)

Zone Runs (Alex Gibbs III)

Zone Runs (Beginning of Jim McNally)

Zone Runs (Editorial of the Future)

TONY FRANKLIN

Franklin arrives at La Tech

Franklin Evolves Air Raid Formula

Air Raid Patriarchs Evolve

Final year of Franklin at La Tech

Franklin at Cal

Maybe more importantly, we've been trying to keep tabs of where the game is going. We're hoping to expand on some of initial impressions voiced over the years. Below are some concepts you may want to watch for in the coming seasons....

DEFENSIVE TRENDS

Spread Defense Basics

Spread Defense Pressure

Spread Defense Handling Tempo

Redefining Defense for Today

How to Build the Next Generation Defense

Rugby Tackling via Pete Carroll

brophyfootball@gmail.com (brophy) — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 12:37:00 -0500

Courtesy of HUDL