Hey, thanks to Brophy for lowering his standards and allowing me to be a contributor and post on his blog, lol. I will do my best to not screw it up too bad.
Cripes! Let's get back to fundamentals! One of the worst-taught fundamentals IMO is ball security. Ball Security can win or lose 1-2 games a year. You can demonstrate, scream, up-down, beg, or plead, but the best way to teach ball security is to show your guys video. This is part of a video I made for my RBs last year. All of the sudden I became a 100 times better RB Coach because the video reinforced my teaching and motivated my RBs to hold on to the ball correctly. Check it out:
Fundamentals of Ball Security: 1. Two Finger Claw 2. Wrist above Elbow 3. Ball Tight to Chest 4. Tuck Elbow In 5. Opposite Hand Over Football on Contact 6. Keep Pads Low
My next post will look at some game tape of fumbles and show what mistakes were made.
The Super Bowl Champion, New Orleans Saints, and Head Coach Sean Payton have perfected an age old recipe for moving the ball down the field. With just a handful of concepts the offense can generate a solution on any given down to always leave the defense guessing what will hit them next. This versatility is what is required for an offense to adapt and survive in an increasingly competitive age of evolving defenses. It also illustrates the necessary "toolbox" of answers an offense must possess in its arsenal (when your best play and your counter to your best play is shut down, now what?).
The next few posts will explore some basic concepts of their passing attack to horizontally and vertically stretch defenses and provide easy answers to any situation. I don't intend to reinvent the wheel here - most of these concepts have been covered extensively before, either on smartfootball (which we'll borrow heavily from) or this site. We're merely attempting to provide an overview of the concepts (this site is mainly for coaches who already know this stuff) and how they adapt to a defense's response. These methods are actually quite common and are the standard blueprint for the modern offense ( air raid principles ). What makes the application for the Saints so effective obviously is a more-than-competent quarterback, a bevy of consistent receiving threats, and an emphasis on the 3-step game to alleviate pressure on the offensive line to be engaged in pass protection for extended durations.
VERTICALS
The crux of the passing game is premised on blowing the top off defensive coverage by sending multiple receivers down field on any given play. It only takes one open deep receiver on one play to threaten a defense. As written about extensively at smartfootball, the 4 vertical package is a 5-step concept that is best run out of 1-back or no-back sets meant to horizontally stretch deep safeties. The illustration shows the 4 vertical package, and subsequent pictorials will be overlaid with the 4 vert concept to demonstrate how the stems will appear the same.
CORNER
After threatening the defense with four vertical receivers, the offense uses another 5-step concept, a corner or china concept where the vertical #2 receiver bends his route deep outside away from any deep safety, while the #1 receiver stops his route shallow, thus "high-lowing" a side of the field (if corner retreats deep, throw underneath / if corner stays shallow, throw over the top outside).
As you will see in the clips below, it can be run out of any formation and even out of play-action ( becomes "Rodeo / Lasso" in 'the system ).
DIG
After presenting a threat to the horizontal and vertical sides of the field, with the 5-step Dig concept, the offense looks to exploit the width of the safeties created by the previous two concepts. So, if you're attacked deep and outside, the dig will victimize you where you ain't (inside and intermediate).
Variations of the 'dig' concept
With Dig, and its many varations (shallow /levels /drive), the concept is made more effective by running a player into the intermediate hole of a defense while simultaneously running another player at a lower depth to create two (often intersecting) levels on underneath inside defenders.
This opener of 5-step concepts will lead us into 5-step traps (screens) and (my favorite) the 3-step game.
Here are some nice clips of the promising playmakers for 2010, featuring (last year's Y, now playing X) #21 Desmon Ethridge and 2013 prospect (yes, he's just a freshman right now), #4 Damien Jiggetts making plays with Baylor University in attendance at the scrimmage.
...And that was my last night officially coaching for quite some time (maybe for good). My son turns 13 this summer and I will have him with me full-time from here on out, so I'd rather not short change any time with him (juggling 'work' and a coaching schedule).
I enjoyed my experience with the staff at HHS and think the world of the kids and their families that play ball there.
Just something to tide you over until hemlock and myself publish the upcoming posts of substance (several articles in the works).....
Continuing a theme/trend exploring Gary Patterson's split-field coverage principles, these clips illustrate the quarters-principled coverage against 2x1, 3x2, 3x1, and 2x2 formations.
Also, be sure to utilize the post tags for subjects previously covered..........(I'll try to better organize some of these)
The "drills" is a great one to check on and has helped me refresh my memory on some drills to run during the season.
Also, sick of my meandering posts? Click on 'hemlock' for a filtered view of nothing but his posts (and hit the print button!). This may really come in handy when he gets rolling on the Run 'n' Shoot series, that way you can get all his stuff in a concise package.
4D-FTP Update
As posted earlier, the 4D-FTP method, provides an alternative to defensive back play.
2010 4D-FTP CLINIC & TRAINING Events will be focused on answering pre submitted questions for the clinic, technique specifics and rapid fire training routines for development of the athlete for individual and group involvement. Group rate available. Events costs are determined by facility charges and may differ from event to event. Unconfirmed event dates subject to change.
Sorry, Abita.....I love me some Gulf Coast beer, an industry that truly suffered after Katrina, but you just aren't cutting the mustard save a Purple Haze or Turbo Dog. New buzz of quality hops coming from the Lafayette area, Bayou Teche, and Heiner Brau from Covington. I'm excited to begin exploring both breweries in the not-to-distant future.
Noting the trend of defenses to use dime packages even in nickel (11 personnel) situations.
Clips from the past season where 3 receiver-1 tight end formations (standard fare in the NFL) allow the defense to introduce a nickel and dime back and only leave in 2 or 3 defensive linemen.
I intended to go over some of these in more detail, but I've been swamped of late and wanted to share some clips rather than sit on them.
Since getting back from Nepal i have to admit to not really having a whole heap of enthusiasm for structured training.. this is not to say i've been sitting about.. far from it.
As soon as i got back i got my Genesis Aether road bike out and enjoyed some good riding on the road.. enjoying the great coastal views living in Newcastle affords me, mountain biking has been a few trail centres jaunts but mainly riding out from my door and riding local trails... in general i've just been really enjoying my riding.
Off the bike life has been pretty busy too.. after my post requesting challenges for the future i got contacted by David Warren or as he will be known the 'Bearded Man', organiser of the Blackmountains 3 Day (blackmountains3day.co.uk). After some chatting i am now involved in the planning and organising of this event and lending my full support to it as it is close as damn it to my perfect event... not really racing so no attitudes but nicely hard challenge riding.
I will try and mirror all Blackmountains updates here but keep an eye on the event website.
Next on my social agenda is the Keswick Mountain Festival, in particular the bike night where I will be doing a question and answer session on i assume what drives me and my riding although i haven't got the questions so it could be on anything:)
On the riding front life wouldn't be the same without a good challenge so shortly after the Keswick mountain festival i'll be packing the bivvi bag and with my friend Mike Mcfarlane we'll be taking on the West Highland way... then the East Highland way.. then the Speyside way.. a nice little coast to coast over a few days:)
I couldn't write this blog update without mentioning that the 'Rhino' Ryan Hawson and his wife Marnie dropped in last week as they prepared to start their 6 month brand awareness trip around Europe for Ay Up lighting... i am looking forward to going to meet them in Europe in July and having them back to stay when they get back to the UK in August... take it easy guys and have a great trip!!!
With all this new energy around me and things happening i met a man who could fulfill a desire of mine that i have had for a while now.. to get a representative tattoo sealing in ink what i believe in and what i stand for... tattoo's aren't for everyone but they are definately for me.. Martin was given free reign to design whatever he wanted with me giving him a few clues to how i live my life.. the work is started.. maybe finished.. and i'm loving it.
Answers on the back of the postcard if anyone knows what it says :)
There has been some inquiry into how to play shuffle (replacing the backpedal) in Cover 3, so here is a quick example of shuffle work with a run-through demo of the back-5 pattern-match drill discussed earlier. Now, although this player is good at shuffle, he is extending with the downfield foot. Ideally, it should be a push off with the upfield foot (left) and a catch with the downfield foot (right). Because he is extending / reaching with the upfield foot, he will be prone to over extending and consequently clicking the heels (bad leverage position/base). This also makes the transition more efficient and fluid. When the trail foot is the downfield foot, you can use it to direct the body like a rudder (rather than it being the 'drive-train'). Force is initiated by the upfield foot, after the 3 pushes (and come to balance) from the upfield foot, all the defenders needs to do to bail is pivot the downfield foot 45 degrees and this will pivot his hips and put him in a running position downfield. This is not unlike a handoff transition in a relay (baton).
Also, we flew through the 5-DB drill for the sake of filming it (as a visual). We went about 3/4 speed. In practice, this will be full speed and a little more intense.
