Video Analysis - Passing Concepts of the Spread Offense

This video is part of a series done by Coaches Choice.  The series contains many videos ranging from lecture to on field examples.  This particular video explains what passing schemes can you run the spread offense, and how you call these plays. 

The first portion of the video the speaker explains the system he uses to call his spread offensive plays.  This is just a series of numbers that all relate to different passing types.  These types include Mesh, Vertical, Smash, Screen, Flat/Curl, and Stick.  He uses odd and even numbers to show what side the play is running to, and also uses east/west for play 0 and 9. 

His plays are called using a three digit number and possibly and east/west afterwards if the play type deems it necessary.  For example the play call could be 980 west, the three numbers explain the blocking scheme, the formation, and the passing routes.  The 9 stands for standard drop blocking scheme.  The 8 stands for a double tight formation.  The 0 stands for mesh, and the west gives direction for the play. 

He then goes into an explanation of the mesh play.  The positives are that it gives the quarterback shorter route options, which are more high percentage passes.  Also the use of rub routes makes it difficult to defend man to man, and also difficult to keep track of all receivers.  This play also gives many options to the quarterback in the middle and flat areas of the field which tend to be good places to attack defenses.

This video does a great job of simplifying the spread offense passing scheme into easy to remember play names and types.  Then the video shows how utilize the  mesh play and shows why it is successful.  This was also done in an simplified form, which helps to show why it is successful.  I agree with the play calling system this coach uses, and would be all for implementing this play calling system into our footballs offense next year.

Iowa Football Coaches Clinic

On Friday March 28th and Saturday March 29th I attended a coaches clinic in Iowa City.  The clinic was run by the University of Iowa football staff and visiting speakers.  In this clinic I got to watch many great speakers, see demonstrations, and even got to watch two full days of Iowa Hawkeye football practice.  Along with this I got to tour all of Iowa's facilities, and talk with many other coaches throughout the state.

The first clinic I attended was called Implementing the No-Huddle.  The speaker of this clinic was Randy Schrader, who is the head football coach at Washington HS in Iowa.  This coach was a very good speaker and had many key phrases that he established through-out the clinic.  The first was an easy phrase, but especially important to the No-Huddle, it was "Do Your Job."  This phrase is just as it sounds.  He really stressed this at the beginning, he said all players and coaches need to do their job to succeed in this offense.  The second quote he said was a little less straight forward; "More is not better, it is just more.  Less is more."  This phrase was in reference to the style of offense he runs.  When he runs the No-Huddle he doesn't coach all kinds of fancy formations with creative plays, he just runs his bread and butter plays over and over again. 

He runs the no huddle a little differently than I discussed in my No-Huddle blog.  His No-Huddle is a system of first calling the formation, then signaling the plays to the skill position players who all have wrist coaches (each play number has a color assigned to it with two colors).  Then the quarterback makes two calls at the line of scrimmage so the offensive line knows the play.  His play sheet consists of 60 plays with 2 colors, and these are run from different formations.  He also has a Bear and Cougar series, which is the high paced No-Huddle, were only 2-3 plays can be run and they happen rapidly.

He talked about how his team practices and works-out in the off-season as well.  The first thing he said was he will practice in shells 99% of the time, but his players go 100% all the time.  He also stated that he doesn't condition his players very often and uses the No-Huddle during practice as his conditioning.  Lastly, his off season work-outs are all fast paced movement lifts.  This he stated prepares his players for the high speed of the offense.


Later that day I attended the Iowa Football practice.  This practice was held indoors with no-pads.  I watched drills ranging from 3 on 3 blocking drills, cutting drills, and down field passing drills.  The 3 on 3 was a zone blocking drill where the lineman had to flow down field and pick up 2 lineman and 1 linebacker.  The cutting drill had lineman cutting at linebackers and the linebackers had to use their hands to avoid the cut blocks.  The passing drill was basically 7 on 7, but a little more structured.  The quarterback knew which side he was throwing too, so he had fewer reads to make.

The second day I watched a clinic on Utilizing Your Quarterback in the Running Game.  This was done by Joe Ryan the head coach of Sycamore HS in Illinois.  He discussed many draw plays and play fakes that he uses to get his quarterback room to run.  An example of this is the Power Trap Draw, where the quarter back fakes the power to the right and runs basically a delayed "draw" play left.  Another play he discussed was a QB draw, which is a fake FB screen and a QB run.  He pump fakes to the fullback and runs away form him.  This coach also discussed using pulling guards as decoys to move the linebackers away from the play.  As he stated, most defenses just read guard, so the guard can take them away from the play and you can use a pulling center or pulling tackles to give you lead blockers.

Later that day I attended another Iowa Football practice.  This practice was held on the game field in Kinnick Stadium with full pads on.  This practice started with many tackling and blocking drills.  I also got to watch many of Iowa's route combinations, usually always incorporating a middle route with the tight end and a WR attacking the sideline.  They also ran some interesting tight end drills.  The coach had pads on each of his hands and the tight end had to use a variety of moves to get off the ball and find an open spot to catch the ball.

All in all, this clinic had a lot to offer from lecture about the No-Huddle and the quarterback in the run game, to watching real time practice drills.  I learned a lot of important lessons about coaching style, coaching drills, strategy, and schemes.  I look forward to apply these next year when I coach football again.

The No-Huddle Offense

In this segment I want to describe how and why to implement the no-huddle offense to your high school football team.  The no-huddle offense has grown in popularity over the past few years, because of the pace of plays and lack of the ability of the defense to sub players.  By definition the no-huddle offense is just as it sounds, an offense that doesn't huddle.  Many teams run this offense where every player has a wrist coach, and the offensive coordinator just yells out the play number before play.  I find this system to be very ineffective, due to the difficulty of communication and the fact that the defense can pick up on certain numbers for certain plays.  Below I will explain the more modern way to run the no-huddle, and then why you should run it.

Photo by Ethan Hyman

The no-huddle offense utilizes many individual parts to run efficiently and effectively.  First lets talk about how the players know what formation to line up in.  A common method used for this is using big boards that have a variety of pictures, numbers, or words.  These represent individual formations that the players should recognize.  Look at the photo below, this would be the type of thing held on the sideline.  The players would know which part of the sign to look at, like the bottom right for example.  That is a picture of Shaq, who is big, this could signal the players to get into the big or heavy formation.

Photo by Michael Henninger

The second part of the no-huddle is the hand gestures usually done by players or assistant coaches.  In a normal no-huddle offense their are two to three different people making signals on the sideline.  These signals represent the play that will be run and the responsibilities of the offensive line, skill positions, and quarterback.  After the players look at the sign to know the formation they look to the coach/player that is assigned to them.  This coach/player does a series of hand gestures that represents the play.  Sometimes even words are used to specify the play.  The key to this process is putting many decoys in place to make sure the defense or opposing coaches can't catch onto what you are doing.  This can be done by setting a specific player or coach to make fake play signals every time, or fake words used.

Photo by Robert Willett

Now that I've explained the basics of how to run the no-huddle, I will explain why to run the no huddle.  First benefit is it makes it harder on the defense to huddle and call stunts.  With the limited time between each snap it becomes increasingly more difficult for opposing defensive coordinators to get a call in and the defense to get lined up correctly.

Second benefit is the defense gets fatigued.  This is due to the up tempo pace of the offense the defense has less time rest.  Now you may say that the offense will get tired to, but you can control how conditioned your players are.  But, the defensive players are probably not as conditioned.  Also, when you practice the no-huddle you are already gearing your players to last during the game.

The third benefit is that the defense has difficulty making substitutions during a drive.  This is again due to the high paced plays, the defense just doesn't have the time to make the substitutions.  This also helps with getting the defense fatigued, because they stay on the field the whole time. 

The forth benefit is this offense knocks the defense off balance.  If you can get a passing or running game going and you turn up the speed, the defense begins to get confused and usually starts making the wrong reads and gets themselves out of position.  This can also be attributed to the fatigue on the defense.

The fifth and final benefit I will discuss is the amount of plays you can run in a game.  With the no-huddle you are able to almost double the amount of offensive plays that your team can run during a game (assuming you can move the ball).  This also takes the play-clock out of the question (so no more delay of game penalties).

To recap, the no-huddle offense can be very effective if your players fully understand the play calling system and are conditioned enough to last during the game.  With the no-huddle you can compete with the opponent on stamina, which as a coach you can control.   

Defensive Schemes

High school defensive schemes are a lot more set in stone than offensive schemes.  For example one defense may run all of their plays out of one formation for an entire game.  But two teams may run out of the exact same formation but run an entirely different scheme depending on how aggressive the defense is about blitzing and coverage.  In the paragraphs below I will describe four different scheme types and discuss the positives and negatives of each.

The first scheme I will discuss is the basic 4-4 defense.  First of all, 4-4 means there will be four defensive lineman on the line of scrimmage, and 4 linebackers generally 4 yards off of the line of scrimmage.  This defense also has three defensive backs, consisting of two corners and one safety.  This is probably the most basic high school defense because of the flexibility.  I say flexibility because there are essentially 7 players that drop in coverage on each play, and eight that play the run.  Also, these players can move around the field pending on where the offensive players are.  The four linebackers have a tough job in this defense, because these players need to make reads right at the snap to determine if it is run or a pass.  If pass generally the outside backers cover the flats and the middle backers cover the middle.  If it's a run, outside backers job is to make runners stay inside and middle backers need to read guards, fill lanes, and make tackles.

The second scheme  I will discuss is also the 4-4 defense, but I will call it an attacking 4-4.  The 11 players on defense are still in the same spots as the basic 4-4 defense, the only difference is the types of plays run out of it.  An attacking 4-4 sends at least 2 linebackers on a blitz just about every down.  Then the defense will do more man to man instead of zone.  If your corners are relatively good this scheme can be very effective.  You can stuff many runs because your linebackers attack all game and get up field.  This makes it very hard on the lineman to block them.  Also, passing can be difficult if the corners are in good position and the safety plays the field well.  The downside to this is you give up more big plays as a defense as it is easier for runners to get to the secondary.  You are predictable, meaning the offensive coordinator knows a blitz is coming.  Also, if you are unable to pressure a quarterback you will get scorched in the passing game.  But, all in all with good corners this is a pretty effective defense.

The third scheme I want to talk about is the 5-3.  This defense still uses three defensive backs in the same positions they were in before, but includes five d-linemen and three linebackers.  In this scheme it is the defensive ends job to contain the outsides, where as in the 4-4 it was the outside linebackers job.  The three linebackers in the 5-3 all have gaps they cover and must be aggressive and attacking.  There is less flexibility with this defense, but it is much more effective against the run than the basic 4-4.  This defense can be utilized when you have more good defensive linemen then linebackers, which is generally not the case. 

The final defensive scheme I will discuss is the 4-3 defense.  Of all the defenses I have discussed this one is the hardest to pull off in small town football, but can be very effective with the right players.  This defense has four defensive lineman, three linebackers and four defensive backs (like the image below).  As you can see you only have seven defensive players in the box, where as in the other 3 schemes you have eight.  These players need to be good at what they do, especially the three linebackers.  But if they can be coached well and are talented, then this defense has more flexibility then all others.  Because their are four defensive backs and two safeties, these players can move all over to cover various formations, and they can be much more aggressive against the pass and run because there are more of them.  Which, in the end makes the defense basically a 4-4, when the safety comes up field hard on run plays.  This defense also takes away a lot of down-field passes because of the four defensive backs.  The obvious downside, though is there is only seven guys in the box, so if able, you can run all over this defense.

In this blog I have discussed four defensive schemes, all of which have been used very effectively in football with the right players and coaching.  Depending on how much flexibility you want with your players, and how many players you want to devote to the run, will affect the scheme you employ for your defense.

How To Develope a Successful High School Defense

Before I start talking about defense, I'll admit, much of what I will talk about about I just learned last year, which was my first year coaching defense.  Although, I may lack some knowledge in this area, I will discuss knowledge of several other coaches that have more experience.  I started my offensive segment saying what position was most important for success.  For Defense this is much harder to do, as a successful defense is more of a group effort.  But, if I had to choose one player that was all-state caliber I would take the obvious choice, middle linebacker.  If your defense has a dominant middle linebacker, you are able to have more success in making sure people are lined up correctly and know what slant and/or stunt they will be doing.  Also, a great middle linebacker can read inside runs easily and fill the right gap and make most of these plays.  Screens and passes over the middle are much harder to run when your going against a great middle linebacker.

Photo by Hugh Cox

Before any linebackers can have any success at all you need at least an decent defensive line that knows what they are doing.  The key to this is what is called gap integrity.  For linebackers to have lanes to make tackles and not have blockers all over them the d-line needs to fill the correct gap on the snap (gaps are the spaces between the o-linemen).  Gap integrity is even more important on blitzes, I learned this the hard way a couple of times.  If a player blitzes the same gap as where the defensive lineman is going, it opens up a whole.  If the play ends up going up that hole, then runner usually ends up getting to the secondary, which is a bad situation for the defense.  If you look at the picture below you will see the linebacker is blitzing the gap between the center and guard and the two d-linemen are going to the other two gaps.

Photo by FootballsFuture.com

The most successful High School defenses have a d-line that plays with their hands on.  This helps in two ways: first this keeps the offensive lineman away from your body so when you are near the runner you can easily disengage the block and make the tackle, and second this keeps the o-linemen occupied so they are unable to go down field and make a block on a linebacker.  Also, d-linemen need enough power to keep the o-lineman back.  As a d-line the worst case senerio is to get moved back away from the ball.  This makes life easy on the runningback and hard on the linebackers.

A successful d-line makes the job easy for a linebacker.  First it keeps them free to make reads on runs and make tackles.  Also, it makes open lanes where the linebacker knows to fill on inside and outside runs.  But, these linebackers need to be smart and aggressive for them to get tackles.  They need to be smart so they can make there reads.  The middle linebacker needs to read the guard.  I was always told going through football that following the guard will always take you to the play, and through coaching I have found that to be correct.  We run drills in practice everyday just working through reading the guard.  These linebackers also need to be aggressive.  This is a lot easier said then done.  They need to be able to attack, stick their nose into a play and make a tackle.

Photo by Chris Manderioli

 Finally, I will talk about the defensive backs.  Their job is fairly easy in small school football, as their are a lot more runs than passes.  As long as the d-line and linebackers do their jobs the d-back should rarely have to make tackles.  For running plays the defensive backs are your safety nets, they need to be able to make open field tackles when the running back breaks into the secondary.  They also need to be able to read pass, and cover well.  They need to make sure under no circumstance, they ever let a receiver behind them.  They also need the correct footwork to be in position to make plays.

To recap, if the d-line, linebackers, and d-backs all do they jobs correctly.  If they make their reads, fill right gaps, keep hands on, play aggressively and have proper footwork, you will find that stopping the offense will be done easily. 

Offensive Schemes

When I say an Offensive Scheme, I am referring to the general different types of formations used in High School Football. A team's offensive scheme is the formation they use most frequently during a game.  I do understand that most teams run a large variety of formations during a game, but below I am going to break down each individual formation, and it's strengths and weaknesses.

The first offensive scheme I want to discuss is my personal favorite, the spread.  The spread does just as it sounds, it spreads the defense out.  This involves having at least 3 receivers split out (away from the line) at all times.  This works because the defense also has to spread their coverage out to defend it.  Because of this you can also have a lot of success running the ball, with fewer defenders in the box. Also, you can do more read option type runs with the defense as spread out as it is.  The key to running the spread well is good having good athletes to play at the receiver positions, and a quarterback good enough to get it to them.  This is important because all of the wide-outs need to be a threat to the defense, making the defense devote players to stopping each one.  Another benefit of the spread is it opens up the field.  There is so much more you can do in the screen game, and vertical passing game with a spread out offense.  This also can be a negative as it is much harder to fool the defense, because they can see much more of what you are doing.  Also, you have less blockers in the box, which means it is harder to run right at the defense.

 

 

The second scheme I will discuss is the I-formation, and those formations similar to this.  This is more of a tight formation with generally a tight-end on the line of scrimmage.  The I-formation utilizes a full back behind the quarterback where-as the spread does not.  This formation is used for more of a power running style with a fullback leading the way. Passing in the I-formation usually involves play-action and roll-out passes.  In these passes the receivers all go to the same side of the field, making the quarterbacks decision easy.  The key to the I-formation is being able to run the ball.  If you can get about 4-5 yards per carry, then the defense starts getting drawn in, that's when you hit them with a play-action and generally get large chunks of yardage.  Also, the I-formation uses a tight-end (most of the time) as an added linemen in the running game, and a additional receiver in the passing game.  This player must be versatile for it to work, as he must be able to handle blocking a defensive-end, and be skilled enough to get downfield and catch passes.  This formation is called an "I" because the quarterback, fullback, and halfback are in a straight line perpendicular to the line of scrimmage.  For formations similar to this the fullback goes to the strong or weak side, but the same types of plays are run.  The negatives to the I-formation come if you are unable to run the ball successfully, because then the play-action doesn't work and you won't be able to move the ball at all.

 

 

 

The third and final scheme I will discuss is the tight formation.  This can involve a various amount of running backs, with generally 2-3 tight-ends, and 0-1 wide-outs.  This formation involves fast-paced quick hitting run plays over and over again.  There is usually quite a few fakes involved as well.  Passing out of this formation is very rare, but can be very successful because of how infrequently it is done.  For this formation to be successful you have to be physically dominating up front.  Because the defense knows what your doing, so you have to be able to be better then them.  This is also it's weakness because if you are unable to run, there isn't much you can do. 

 

 

 

The three schemes I discussed above are the spread, I-formation, and tight formation.  Like I stated in the introduction offensives schemes will usually utilize all of these formations along with a variety of others, depending on the strengths of your team.  This is what the most successful offenses are able to do.  If you are unable to beat the opponent at the line of scrimmage then you need to be unpredictable.  This calls for running a variety of formations in your offense.

 



How to Build a Successful High School Offense

What creates a high powered offense?  The first thing that comes to your mind is a great quarterback right.  You probably think of a Peyton Manning type player, who can go to any team and make them great.  Yes, in the pros, great quarterback play (along with enough help) usually leads to highly successful offense.  This isn't necessarily the case for high school football, especially small town high school football. 

If I could build a class 1A offense around one great player, I would take a great running back.  I say this because, what is the easiest thing for 16, 17 and 18 year old kids to do?  Hand the ball off.  There is little to no risk to a hand-off, while many things can go wrong with a pass (interception, sack, drop).  But, even before the running back the most important part to success on offense is a good offensive line.

If you look back at the state championship teams over the past few years, what do they all have in common, a dominating offensive line.  Great athletes also help, but everything in high school football revolves around the success of an o-line.  The best part about the o-line is it can be developed at any program.  With just a few players with naturally good size and the right off-season program, any team can supplement a solid line. The key is get your kids to buy into the program, and regularly attend the weight room at a young age, then you can be successful year after year.  Look at teams like Aplington-Parkersburg or Solon; both do or did contend for a championship for many seasons in a row, not necessarily because of the talent, but because of excellent player development.

Photo taken by Erin Colligan

The key to running the right offense isn't about running the most creative plays, or picking the most unique formations, but it is matching your teams skill-set with the correct scheme.  High School football is unique in the fact that you can't pick your players (other than catholic schools).  In college and pro, you can scout or draft to fit your needs.  In high school you have no control over the players you get, but do control how you use them.

To recap, the keys to offensive success in high school football are an exceptional offensive line, great off-season development, and running the right scheme for your players.  With these few key points, good coaching sense, and, yes, some good athletes, you are well on your way putting some points on the scoreboard.

Photo taken by Lori Van Buren