Football Play Selection

On the very first series of the football game would you run or pass the football? Do you script your plays or do you randomly call plays based on what you see or what is presented to you by the defence?


I think that most offensive coordinator's have their own personal philosophy on how they begin their play selection in that opening series. Probably, the play selection on the fist series of the game would reflect what your plan is coming into the game and what you already determined in you scouting and game planning. If you want to establish the running game, probably this would reflect in your play calling in your first series of the football game. You've scouted the defence and determined that you believe you can run the football against them so why not test the waters and see how things look inside. A big gain on the first play would indicate that you've done your homework!

Most times if they run big on that first play you know that a second run is coming. The game now begins to unfold as the defence adjusts to stop the run. A lot of times, once a offensive co-ordinator gets you on your heels they try and stay one play ahead of you. In other words while your adjusting to stop the inside run they're looking at exploiting you somewhere else. I find that this is more "old school" and is a very effective way to co-ordinate an offence.

Scripting plays is also an effective way to play calling. A lot of college and NFL coaches script their plays and have already determined in the game planning stage of what play they will call for a particular situation and have it marked on their play selection chart. For instance, if they find themselves in a third down and inches situation, they'll check their play selection chart and under the heading third and inches they would have already determined what plays to call for that situation and select one of the plays. Again, the play selection would be based on the scouting report.

Scripting can make play calling decisions a little easier as you have already determined in the comfort of your office with no pressure what plays to call for each situation. It also allows you to spread the football around to different players and attack different parts of the field and can take the predictability out of your play selections. The downfalls to scripting is that when things go bad you soon revert back to the "old school" way of play selections.





Cheers!

Offensive Tackles Rank high In NFL Draft

Have you seen any of the mock NFL drafts yet ? If you do check it out you'll see that in the top ten mock selections that the offensive tackle position ranks right up there as far as one of the most sought after positions in the NFL draft.

Why is that?

Well if you consider that in the NFL a new breed of hybrid defensive ends has emerged that are big athletic and very fast, its not hard to figure out why the OT position has become high in importance. These athletic defensive ends can create a lot of problems for your offence with their speed and strength and if you don't have a offensive tackle that's just as athletic and strong, then your in for a long day on the grid-iron!

If you check the salaries in the NFL in regards to the offensive line you'll see that the highest paid offensive linemen in the NFL are offensive tackles, particularly the ones who cover the backside of the quarterback. Every season you hear the experts talk about O-line and the Tackle position and how it has emerged as the anchor position. A good offensive tackle can take on the rush and speed of the defensive end which creates time and space for the quarterback. With this time and space most quarterbacks in the NFL will be able to pick apart a defensive secondary, without it they're on the ground!

Consider now for a moment just how big, strong and athletic these Offensive Tackles have to be and also consider that they have to be fast enough to take their drop-steps back quick enough while engaging the end, who probably runs a 4.5 sec 40 yard dash. They're big men that are athletic, strong and fast.

They're also very hard to find! If you've coached football and particularly offence, then you know that it all begins and ends with your offensive line irregardless of who you have at your quarterback or running back position.

You need a solid offensive line!

Cheers!

Football Systems Blitz with a Purpose

One of the most exciting plays in football comes in the form of a blitzing linebacker or defensive back creeping up to the line and then attacking the quarterback at the snap of the ball. It's almost expected, especially when a team is put in a position whereby they need a big play or long yardage in order to convert to a first down. A good football defensive system implements a solid blitzing scheme for either pass or run situations.

There's nothing that can pump fans up more in football than a quarterback sack, a forced turn-over, or a running back getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage on a called blitz.

But what are the pitfalls of blitzing and opponent?

Predictability comes to mind! For instance, if you continuously blitz eventually you're going to pay the price of being too predictable. In other words a good football offensive co-ordinator or quarterback will eventually call a play that will take advantage of your blitzing personnel and take advantage of that player vacating his normal area of responsibility. Dump the football in this area and probably get a decent gain out of it.

Now your strategy at this point will begin to change and you'll hesitate to blitz for fear of giving up another big gain. The advantage certainly swings in favour of the offence as they have more time and space to manage the football. Not good for you though!

Blitzing is a big part of any youth football system. The point is: don't be too predictable, use different looks and players when you blitz, as well as different pass coverage's whether it be man or zone. Also, don't always blitz when the offence is in a long yardage situation, mix up the downs as well. Blitzing on first down has commonly been referred to as the run blitz. Disguise your blitzes by showing blitz, but then at the snap of the ball, having your players all drop back into coverage. This can confuse any quarterback and now they will hesitate at changing the play at the line of scrimmage now giving your football defence more and time and space.

Cheers!

The NFL Combine Results

This week I had the chance to tune into the NFL combine. I was quite taken by the testing and drills that each player did individually and it became even more clear to me  the importance of having good football fundamentals. Each drill and test seemed to isolate a specific fundamental. No doubt all the players looked ripped and in shape ,but in the end ,the testing certainly separated the good from the great. The players that were fundamentally stonger scored higher.

I noticed that the majority of the drills emphasized stance, step, speed with a sudden change in direction. Some players did it with ease while others struggled ,or slipped, or made a poor plant, a bad cut, all which emphasize the importance of good footwork and good form that we must do on a regular basis fundamentally as part of our youth football practices. You can be fast but if you cannot move your feet your in trouble at any level especially in the NFL!

Then there was testing that isolated explosiveness such as the standing long jump and the vertical leap. Both tests seemed to focus on hip rotation and leg explosion which is something we emphasize every practice in our blocking and tackling.

Anyway, it certainly brought home to me once again the utmost importance in teaching fundamentals to our young football players and reinforced once again that in the end good fundamentals will separate the good from the great!

Cheers!