A Safer Way to Play Quarters Coverage Part II

Well after the first installation on this topic, I'll talk now about some of the adjustments that can be made to defend the weaknesses of Quarters coverage.  This is not going to be a long post, as most of my stuff has been pirated from the likes of Jerry Gordon, as well as some of what Gary Patterson is doing at TCU.  However, failure to mention some of this stuff would inevitably flood my inbox with questions, so I figured why not go ahead and write a post about it?

If you don't own this book, stop reading and go buy it NOW!

The Weaknesses of Quarters Coverage
Typically the first thing you hear people say when asked why they don't run Quarters coverage, or what is the weakness of Quarters coverage is that the flats are weak.  This is so very true, there is not denying this simple fact.  However, let's look at the issue and see why coaches still employ this coverage despite this glaring weakness.

Any coverage that has the flats defended from inside-out is going to be weaker in that area.  The reason being is that a displaced receiver has a yardage advantage over the defender covering him.  Now, move the defender out over the number one receiver and the defense gains a tactical advantage, somewhat.  The flat defender, generally is responsible for forcing the ball back inside on run plays.  Remove this player from the core of the defense, and the offense now gains the tactical advantage on the run.  So, the idea here is to be able to do both.  Of course the way to do both, is in-game adjustments and from scouting, but also from having built-in answers to your coverage issue.  Enter in Cover Two Read.  Some call it a soft Cover Two or a Sink Cover Two, but no matter, it's a way of getting the best out of Quarters and Cover Two, otherwise known as halves coverage.  Again, none of this has no been talked about before, and all of the calls I'm mentioning can be found in Jerry Gordon's book "Coaching the Under Front Defense".

Alert Coverage
Alert Coverage is a tag added to Quarters, that changes the assignment of the corner and the outside linebacker (OLB).  Alert is the way Quarters morphs into Two Read.  Alert is not a good call against a large displacement by the two receivers, nor is it a very good call against a single receiver side.  Alert Coverage is meant to be called to two detached receivers.  Here are the rules:

Corner
Alignment: Corner will still align in traditional alignment of seven yards off and in outside shade.  Corner can also use a press and bail technique.

Assignment: The corner will still play man-to-man on the number one receiver on anything but shallow routes.  Against a wheel call (an out by the number two receiver, called by the safety), the corner will now funnel the number one receiver into the safety and get eyes to the number two receiver.  As the corner sinks, and funnels, he is awaiting to break on the throw to the number two receiver.  The corner only comes off of the number one receiver once the ball is thrown to this receiver.  The corner is also responsible for the wheel by the number two receiver.

Safety
Alignment: The safety, in Alert Coverage must align deeper than he would in traditional Quarters Coverage.  The safety should align 10 to 12 yards deep and be two yards inside the number two receiver.

Assignment: The safety will still play flat-footed, buzz or shuffle on the snap.  All reads are the same as Quarters, except if the number two receiver goes out.  If the number two receiver goes out (usually under the depth of eight yards), then the safety makes the "wheel" call alerting the corner that he now has a route coming at him.  The safety will now pedal and get eyes to the number one receiver.  The safety, on a "wheel" call is now responsible for the number one receiver vertical.

OLB
Alignment: The OLB no longer has to walk out as far against two detached receivers.  The linebacker (LB) can play closer to the box, but should walk out a minimum of five yards from the end man on the line of scrimmage (EMOL).  Into the boundary the OLB need not walk out at all.

Assignment: The OLB is a wall player.  He will wall all crossing routes, and will get hands on any vertical stem by the number two receiver.  The OLB will play the curl zone, and pass crossers off to the middle linebacker (MLB).  The OLB is responsible for the wheel of the number three receiver, should one present itself.

MLB
Alignment: Based on formation.

Assignment: The MLB's assignment is the same in Alert Coverage as it is in Quarters Coverage.

Alert is a great Quarters check for those teams running a lot of quick game against you.  It is still safe against four verticals as the corner is still really playing a deep quarter of the field with his technique if the number two receiver doesn't go out.  Alert is not a good check to a wide displacement by the number one and number two receivers.  If this distance is large, the safety cannot get over the top of the number one receiver, or must cheat his alignment to the point of losing leverage on the number two receiver running vertical.

How the run is defended out of this look is still a matter of debate.  Since I based out of Quarters, and my safeties were my run fit guys, I left it the same in this coverage.  I've had some die-hard Two Read guys tell me I was wrong, but in my opinion, this is just a check, or adaptation to Quarters.  I'm not looking to major in Quarters with a minor in Cover Two.  I just need a check that can help with the quick game against two displaced receivers.  No need to change up everything I'm doing with my base coverage.  I recommend keeping the safety as the force player, but to each their own.

Jump Call
Jump is a more aggressive version of the Alert Coverage shown above.  Jump would be what some refer to as hard Cover Two, or a squat Cover Two look.  Here the corner will reroute the number one receiver, but will not carry him, if he gets a "wheel" call from the safety.  The corner can align the same as always, but with the Jump call, he will actually jump the out by number two rather than the throw to the number two receiver.  For the safety, he will need to align a bit deeper, and possible wider, depending on the split taken by the number one receiver, however he should never align wider than the inside eye of the number two receiver.  With the jump call, the safety must pedal at the snap.  He will not be guaranteed any help if the number two receiver is out, coupled with a vertical stem by number one.  The OLB and MLB play things the exact same way as they do in Alert Coverage.

Might as well...

Jump is when, by game plan, you have the bead on the OC trying to throw the bubble or the arrow routes.  Jump is a very good call to mix in as it will show you have the ability to play some hard Cover Two, even though you are a base Quarters team.  Jump is not a good call when expecting a vertical by the number one receiver, because you aren't guaranteed that the traditional "hole" in Cover Two will be helped by the corner as it would be in Alert Coverage.  Think of the two coverages this way, Alert is safe, Jump is a bit more risky.

Bronco
Bronco is a coverage that TCU has made famous over the past few seasons.  The rules are simple, and in the end it's basically off man.  You can play Bronco Coverage with a banjo concept, or hard and fast man-only-deep (MOD) rules.  However you choose to play it, the coverage is very good against the "spread-to-run" offenses many of us are seeing these days.  The rules for Bronco Coverage are as follows:

Corner
Alignment: The alignment depends on how aggressive you want to be.  I start out teaching a no-switch off man principle, so I play my corners pressed (see diagram below).  The corner is a man-everywhere-he-goes (MEG) defender in Bronco.  Now, if you play a banjo concept, you will want the corner to play deeper, and my recommendation would be to play him at his traditional depth of seven yards, shaded inside the receiver, however.  Neither way is wrong, nor is it better than the other, and I will explain the rules of the two concepts later in this post.

Assignment: When I first teach this, I teach it to the corners as a MEG concept.  For our corners, this coverage is no different than Cover Zero (pure man).  Now if I'm teaching the banjo concept, then the corner has a similar rule to his standard rule in Quarters with one simple change.  In Quarters, the corner will take the number one receiver man, unless he's shallow (routes breaking under eight yards).  In Bronco, I do two things, I reduce the depth to five yards to declare vertical, and I add the words "out".  So, in Bronco, utilizing a banjo concept, I tell my corner he has the number one receiver vertical and out.

Safety
Alignment: The safety will align six yards off and one yard inside a detached number two receiver.  This changes to one yard outside an attached receiver (with five yards of the core of the formation).

Assignment: The safety will have the same rules as the corner in both the basic version of Bronco and the banjo version.  The safety is responsible for the number two receiver vertical and out.  Again, as with the corner, the depth of what I tell them "vertical" is, will be reduced to five yards.  Against inside cuts by the number two receiver, the safety has the choice of calling "push" if he feels the route isn't vertical.  This tells the OLB to let the running back (RB) go, and the safety will now take him.  If the safety feels this route is vertical, of course he would not give the OLB a call and would run with this route man-to-man.  If the safety does give a "push" call, then he will now rob the curl to post of the number one receiver (as he would in Quarters Coverage).

OLB
Alignment: The OLB can take his base alignment as if there was not a detached number two receiver.  In other words, he can remain in the box.  He will even remain in the box against trips formations.  This coverage is designed to free up the LB's to remain in the box and is more focused on them stopping the run than the pass.

Assignment: The OLB, as with Alert and Jump tags, is a wall player and will handle all crossing routes in this coverage.  Crossing routes are passed off between the OLB's and the MLB.  The major difference in Bronco Coverage, when talking to LB's is that they are not dropping off of a numbered receiver.  The OLB's as well as the MLB are responsible for the RB.  The OLB's will take the wheel of the RB, unless given a "push" call by the safety.  

MLB
The MLB's assignment is the same as he would in Quarters.  He is the middle hole dropper and assigned to cover the number RB vertical.

Bronco with no banjo concept

Bronco with the banjo concept

The sole purpose behind Bronco Coverage is to be able to keep the OLB's in the box to defend the run.  I've heard some folks call this "Box Coverage".  Whatever you call it, the coverage is a great adaptation for those posing spread folks that try to play a seven on five or six game in the box by spreading you out with receivers.  No need to get the defense bent out of shape if your opponent doesn't throw the ball out to the receivers very much, or those receivers are no threat to your defense.  The coverage is still safety force, but the OLB's are in a position to handle some of this responsibility as well.  I teach Bronco with a catch-man philosophy, and it does take a bit of getting used to.  The edges of the defense can be soft at times if the wide receivers (WR's) are good at making their stalk blocks look like routes.

Bronco is better served, being played to one side of the field, preferably the short side of the field as shown below.  In the illustration you can see that the OLB is allowed to stay in his home alignment because the coverage to his side is Bronco.  This allows this player to focus more on stopping the run, and less on having to get out to a pass zone.  To the field side you can play whatever you like, in my example, I'm playing Quarters to the field.

Bronco can even be played into three-by-one formations.  It's aggressive, but it is a good coverage if you have the cats to run it.  The only adaptation that needs to be made, is that the single side corner will now have to man up, as he is all alone due to the weak safety being moved over to the trips side of the coverage.  The weak side is played just like Solo coverage.

Bronco into trips

In conclusion, with a few calls and adaptations you can set up Quarters Coverage to work versus many of the common formations and route concepts in the game today.  Now, if you have the time, I recommend installing all of these adjustments.  In the past, I've been able to get Quarters in and perhaps one or two other calls (usually Bronco and Alert).  One year, I ran only Quarters and Bronco and it worked out just fine for the young group I had.  No matter what you do, there will need to be adjustments that you make, as every coverage has a weakness to it, and Quarters Coverage is no exception.

Duece

A Safer Way to Play Quarters Coverage

In all my years coaching this coverage, the number one question that arises is "How is my OLB going to run with a wheel route?".  It happens a lot where I coach at, because the post/wheel route concept is the single most popular concept around.  It was made legendary around here in the early 80's when a local team made several playoff and state championship appearances, with the post/wheel concept being their top concept from a twins formation.  Anyhow, around here, you need to have an answer for this question, or you're going to be in some serious trouble.

Originally, my adjustment was to play 2 read to two detached quick receivers.  This was a great solution, and I've written in length about 2 read, and using it as an adjustment to Quarters coverage.  However, at my last the talent pool was as dry as I've ever coached in.  I still wanted to play a pattern match coverage, but the boss man detested the OLB running with the wheel.  I also didn't have a lot of time to deal with to install multiple coverages and checks to various formations.  What I needed was a coverage that would defend well over 90 percent of what we were going to see.  Well, here's what I came up with, and I'll share with you the differences between standard Quarters, and my version.

General Rules
For the safeties, my Quarters was the standard stuff.  Everything in this coverage was based off what the number two receiver did.  Also, the safety and the corner worked in tandem, not by reading number two, but by communicating what they were seeing their respective receiver doing.  I figured, most of our guys were coming out of youth football where they had played man-to-man coverage, so their eyes were used to being on their man (or in poor cases, the backfield).

What did number two do?  In this case...had a drink!

I taught that the number two receiver could do one of four things, and they are listed below.  One unique thing I taught, was our safeties eyes would follow the number two receiver to his next threat.  I got this from talking with a college coach at a clinic a couple of seasons ago and I really liked it, because it naturally makes sense.  Here are the four reads and reactions we taught our safeties:

1. Go vertical.  If number two goes vertical (depth based on game plan), then the safety would lock on man-to-man.  Standard, 100 percent Quarters stuff right there.
2. Go out.  This was the only route the safety had to make a call on.  The safety would make a "wheel" call to the corner and the OLB to announce that number two was not vertical and was now threatening the flat area.  When number two was out, the safety got his eyes to number one, and was purely a robber player.  I told them this "Eyes to one, rob curl to post".  That simple.  As you can see, the safeties eyes follow the number two receiver to his next threat.  The number two receiver is out, so the safety's eyes follow him to number one.  At this point the safety is in a good position to break on a route coming into the curl area, or work underneath a post route.
3. Go in.  If the number two receiver worked inside off the snap, the safety would follow him with his eyes to the next threat, which in this case is the QB.  The safety would now slow pedal, reading the eyes of the QB.  Usually when the number two receiver drags inside, or slants inside, you're getting a high-low concept, such as post/drag, mesh etc., or you're getting double slants.  Again, the safety is in good position to play these routes by reading the eyes of the QB.  The corner will alert the safety as to what route he's getting so the safety will know how to react by either speed pedaling to work under a post, or driving up on a slant cut.  I'll discuss the corner technique at length later.
4. Block.  I won't discuss run blocking at the moment, because to be honest that horse has been beaten to death on this site (lol).  I'm talking about pass blocking.  In the case of spread offenses this may be a TE or H-back that's been left in to block, rather than run a route.  In this case, the safety's eyes go to his nearest threat, which again, is the QB.  The reactions when the number two receiver block are the same as when number two is inside.

Safety reads vs. #2 out

Safety reads vs. #2 in

Now, depth of these routes are all based on game plan.  In some cases, I've had the safety jump that drag route with a call.  These are just the general rules of our coverage.  Nothing really ground breaking here, except for the teaching of the safety's eyes.  I had never really heard anyone discuss where the safety should put his eyes if number two didn't threaten him vertically.  Now on to the corners.

The corners reads are the biggest change in my version of Quarters with the old standard way of doing things.  Most coaches teach the corner in Quarters that he has the number one receiver man-to-man on anything but a shallow crossing route.  I was no different, and my teaching still starts out this way, but with a few added twists.  Again, I teach a numbers game and teach the corners that the number one receiver can only do one of four possible things.  The reads and reactions are shown below:

1. Go inside.  If the number one receiver goes inside, then the corner will give an "in" call to alert the OLB and safety that the number one receiver is attacking the inside of the flats to the curl area.  He will stay over the top of number one and play for the double move (think sluggo).  The only call that switches this reaction, is if the corner hears a "wheel" call from the safety.  Now the corner knows, he must become a pure zone player has he may have another route entering his zone.  This is where my coverage takes a different turn than traditional Quarters.  It's not as aggressive as say, Michigan State's, but for high school football, it works just fine.  Later I'll go over route concepts so that you, the reader, can see exactly how these reactions work out.
2. Go outside.  Any route that doesn't threaten the corner vertically, gets a call (see above where the corner calls "in").  Here, the corner will call "out" to alert the OLB that the flats have been threatened immediately.  The corner will stay over the top of this route and work for depth, looking for two things.  First, he always plays the double move, which in this case would be the out-and-up.  Second, the corner will get depth to help the safety play any deep out cut by the number two receiver on concepts such as smash.  The corner, in the case of smash, is really a free player.  He can rally to the out (or hitch, some folks run it both ways) and assist on the tackle, or he can bait the QB into throwing the corner route and come outside and under and play the ball.  Either way, the corner's main job is to make the QB hold the ball by playing in between these two routes.
3. Stop short of vertical.  In other words, run a hitch.  In this case, the reaction is the same.  The corner calls "China" to alert the OLB that the flats are being threatened from the outside.  The corner plays the exact same technique as when the number one receiver runs a shallow out cut.
4. Goes vertical.  For most Quarters coaches, this is where "it's on" and the corner locks on man-to-man.  For me it is the same, to a point.  If the corner does not hear any call from the safety, it's man.  However, if the corner hears the "wheel" call, he is now a zone player, NOT a man player.  This simple adjustment in technique is the key to the coverage.  The corner, on a wheel call, will now play a zone technique and would squeeze the post to the safety.  Now, if there is no actual "wheel" route, the corner ends up playing the high shoulder of the post as he would in old-school Quarters.  If the number two receiver actually does run the wheel route, the corner will squeeze the post to the safety and come off late on the wheel route.  The key to making this coverage work vs. this in-out switch stuff offenses are running nowadays lies in how the OLB reacts to all of the above.

Corner's calls

The OLB is an important piece of making my version of Quarters work.  The thing most coaches will note, is the fact that I do not change a thing from the way regular Quarters teaches it's flat players to how I teach it.  The only difference is, I give the OLB a safety net with the corner helping late over the top on a wheel route.  The OLB is called a "match 2" player in pretty much any Quarters schemes I've ever taught, and this one is no different.  The OLB will look to match the number two receiver to the flats.  Let's look at how the OLB fits into the system with his reactions to the number two receiver.

1. Number two goes out.  This one's simple.  If number two is out, the coverage becomes man for the OLB.  The OLB will now run with the number two receiver wherever he goes, this INCLUDES running with him on a wheel route.  The good  news is, he has help over the top in the zone corner (due to the safety giving a wheel call-see the safety section for clarification).  
2. Number two goes in.  The OLB will still drop to the flats, but is now completely trusting the corner with what the number one receiver is doing.  If the OLB hears "in", then he settles his feet, eyeing the QB and sits in the slant window.  If the OLB hears "out" or "China", he must, as I put it, "get on his horse" and get out to the flats to play inside and underneath these cuts.  If the OLB doesn't hear anything, but ends up having a three two switch (where the number two and number three receivers cross), then the OLB will play the new number two with the same reactions as he would if this receiver were originally the number two receiver.  
3. Number two goes vertical.  Here, the reaction is exactly the same as if the number two receiver goes inside.  One coaching point, and it's a major disagreement I have with the way Michigan State teaches their Quarters, versus mine, is that the OLB should NOT reroute the number two receiver if he's going vertical.  I do not want my OLB "muddying" up the read for the my safety.  MSU teaches the OLB to knock this receiver down, I don't want this.  Number one, it's another technique I have to teach my LB, and number two, it messes up the safety's read on this receiver.  I simply have the OLB drop to the flats.  He does not reroute.  This is VERY important because if the OLB reroutes he may be late to his intended drop target and is doing exactly what the offense is wanting him to do (think pick or rub routes here).  

Ok, now that we have the rules in place, let's look at how all this shakes out vs. some of the various concepts many of us see.

Route Combos
The first combo is slant/arrow.  Against this combination, the safety, seeing number two expand gives a "wheel" call.  This alerts the OLB he's got a flat threat and the corner that he's now a zone player.  The corner will shuffle or pedal out for the three step drop, then upon hearing "wheel" knows he needs to bail into his quarter.  As the corner sees the slant, he calls "in" to alert the safety that the curl is now being threatened.  The safety, shuffles laterally to match the number two receiver's release until hearing the "in" call, at which time he drives on the slant.  These are some of the best collisions in all of football.  My safeties love driving on the slant because they are coming from depth and can adjust on the fly, as well as the fact most receivers are unsuspecting of the safety playing this route.  The OLB, cares nothing of the "in" call because he's heard the "wheel" call which overrides anything the corner says.  The OLB is expanding and trying to "top" the arrow route.  The corner, is over the top of all of this protecting against the double move (sluggo).

Slant/Arrow

Sluggo/Arrow

Now let's move on to the slant/wheel combination route.  This is where the coverage takes better shape and you can see the subtle differences between traditional Quarters coverage and my version.

Slant/Wheel

Here we see the safety driving on the slant, due to the "in" call by the corner.  The safety would have also given a "wheel" call which alerted the corner, he's a zone player now, and also alerted the OLB he HAS to run with the number two receiver now.  What the modification in coverage does, is allow for the corner to play a double move by number one (sluggo), and play off and help the OLB with the wheel route.  The OLB's play, helps the corner squeeze the slant to the safety.

A better example of this is shown below, and that is how the coverage adapts to handling the post/wheel combination.  The safety gives the wheel call and gets eyes to number one.  As one climbs vertical the safety will open to him and must expect the post or dig routes.  Once the receiver's hips sink, the safety can now turn into the post.  I tell my safeties to "run the post for the receiver".  In other words, run the same route the receiver is running.  The corner, will hear the "wheel" call and knows now, he is a zone player.  The corner squeezes the post to the safety, but will do so, keeping leverage on the wheel.  The corner can squeeze down inside on the post, because of the play of the OLB.  With the OLB carrying the wheel, it gives the corner time to help pass the post off to the safety as well as get back over the top of the wheel.  Through repetitions, what I was finding was that the corner was able to drop off and read the QB versus this combination and was breaking more on the throw, rather than the route.  This gives the defense, the old "plus one" advantage we are always looking for.

Post/Wheel

The next combination, is the curl/arrow and curl/wheel.  This is one of the toughest to defend because the curl is so enticing for the corner to jump.  From the illustrations you can see that the safety would give the "wheel" call, this alerts the corner he's a zone player, and the OLB that he must now run with the number two receiver man-to-man.  The corner will high shoulder the curl, and is in perfect position to leverage the number two receiver if this route turns in to the wheel route.  The safety, will continue to expand with number two, because he has not gotten a call from the corner.  Again, the OLB's technique is what makes the coverage work.  The OLB by expanding works into the curl window, long enough to buy the safety time to work to the curl.  If the arrow turns into the wheel route, the OLB buys the corner some time to adjust off the curl and take over the wheel route.

Curl/Arrow

Curl/Wheel

As you can see, the coverage is not all that unlike traditional Quarters coverage.  The only difference is that the OLB is not forced into running with the wheel route by the number two receiver alone.  He has help over the top in the form of a pure zone cornerback.  Yes, this coverage is not as aggressive as traditional Quarters coverage, but remember, it's built for lesser athletes.  Sometimes being overly aggressive with lesser talent can lead to trouble.  What this coverage DOES DO, is still gives you a means of pattern matching that allows defenders to cover receivers and not grass, while having some built-in help for the lesser skilled coverage player (the OLB).

What routes are you seeing?  Send me an email to footballislifeblog@yahoo.com and I'll feature it in the new Mailbag posts.  In the next post, I'll focus on some of the problem routes, and the calls and adjustments used to help the defense defend these adaptations.

Duece

Mailbag Volume 2

I really have to apologize to the coach that sent me as it's almost been two months since I got the idea for a blog post.  I've been so busy with spring football and making the transition into my new job, I totally forgot.  So to the coach that sent this in, I apologize, hopefully this isn't too late.  Anyhow, I had a coach that is in his first gig and was asking for just some basic advice for a new coach getting into the game.  I figured his question alone would be good for a blog post, so it's the only question I'll focus on for this mailbag post.  Let's take a look at what advice I'd have for the guys just getting started.

Like Your Job, Love Yourself
I start here, because many coaches get into the profession seeking success and recognition to fill a void in their self awareness.  I hate to be blunt here, but if you're trying to fill some void and you think winning coaching a sport is going to help, you have big problems.  Sure, winning is fun, and the job can be fun, but you need to be true to yourself first and foremost.  I think you've got to have a good handle on what you think of yourself and what you want to accomplish.  I'm not talking about coaching either, I'm talking about what YOU want to accomplish as a PERSON.  When I first started, all I wanted to do was prove people wrong.  I'm still driven by this, but it doesn't consume me as much as it used to.  See, I was a small offensive lineman in Nowhere, USA that was always told "Too short", "Too fat", "Too slow", "Too weak" etc.  That crap burned me up as a player, because I gave absolutely everything I had when I played.  I had an old baseball coach nickname me "Charlie Hustle", mainly because I worked my ass off for what little playing time I got.  Football was no different for me, especially once I got to high school.  This drive to prove folks wrong drove me to get a college scholarship to play for a small NAIA program.  Now, in the early 90's the recruiting game wasn't what it is today, so exposure was rare (if any where I was from), so to get recruited and get a scholarship was big news.  Still, I had people telling me "You'll never stay", "You'll be back", "You won't make it".  Well, it kept me fired up all through college, and despite having to leave the game early due to injury, I finished school and earned a degree.  All of this led me back full circle to coaching, and even then I was told the words "can't", "won't", "shouldn't".  All of this consumed me to win, and prove others I could do it.  It's one thing to have this negativity consume you as a player, because you can use it as fuel for motivation.  However, if using as a coach, you're now bringing the lives of your players into your motivation.  I was actually using my player to achieve my goals.  This is bad...very bad.  I lost a lot of players in my first few years as a coach, and I couldn't figure it out.  A conversation with an old college coach opened my eyes to the fact that I was coaching for all the wrong reasons.  My last season as a youth coach was one of the best, because I put my goals second to the goals of my players and I opened up and began to love and care for my players.  This epiphany opened my eyes to the wondrous world of coaching to make a difference.  As I evolved, I've learned this, you must at least care for your players, no matter how much of a turd you think a player may be, you can and will make an impact on this person's life.  You cannot do this, if you don't first love yourself.  You must feel comfortable in your own skin in order to help make a difference in anothers life.  I wasn't happy with people doubting me, and it was making me miserable.  In turn, I was making my players miserable.  Once I realized the doubters are always there, and the only person whose opinion of me mattered was the guy staring back at me in the mirror, I became a much better coach.  I still have to revert back and remind myself sometimes of this very thing, because in the back of my mind is that little voice telling me about what the doubters are saying.  Once I squash that voice, I'm better for it, and since learning to trust and believe in myself, I've been a much better coach.  Learn to love you, and then you can truly love others and make a difference in their lives.

Care For Your Players
Like I said above, when I first started, the players were simply a necessary evil in me achieving my goals.  This will not take you far, and you're coaching career will be a hollow shell.  All players, if they are playing for you, deserve to have you care about them.  You, as a coach, cannot impact these players if you're not at least remotely involved in their well-being.  In some cases, the coach is the closest thing to a true parent that many of these kids may ever have.  Many coaches get squeamish when you begin speaking about "caring" (yeah man, that's Dear Abby crap coach?!), but caring is a crucial component to being a good coach.  Listen, I was a part of a team that won a total of two games in a three year period, but I still have players on those teams, that when I see them they hug my neck and actually say things like "Man I miss those days", "Coach, we sure had fun".  What???  How the heck can you go 2-28 and use those words?!  It is because despite the situation they were in, the players knew they were cared for, and they knew the men that were leading them were attempting not to win a football game, but to change their life.  This is why you must have an interest in your players well-being, from there you will begin to build trust, which will allow you to build not only the player, but the individual.

Coach the Individual, not the Player
If I look back on my career, I've taught as much about life as I have X's and O's when it comes to being a football coach.  I've had players get arrested for selling drugs, doing drugs, I've had them get girls pregnant, get into an accident and become paralyzed and even worse.  In the course of all of this, I'm hoping that I've been able to help these young men.  Now I know what you're saying, "Coach this is supposed to be a technical blog, why are we talking about this?". Well, I'll tell you, why.  If you can't coach the individual, you'll never coach the player.  Young adults are very hard to earn their trust these days, and if you can't earn that trust, then you'll never get these individuals to be the player they need to be.  This idea of coaching the individual, the person, instead of just the football player will create trust.  One thing I've always done is ask my players questions like "How are you doing?", "How was your day?", "Is everything ok?".  The other thing, always shake their hand.  A coaching mentor of mine started this a few years back and it has had such a tremendous impact on the people we've both coached.  It's the single smallest gesture that says to the player "I care about you".  Still, to this day, I have players that will come up to me and shake my hand.  I had a defensive back this past season, I had to bench because of a poor attitude, that ultimately led to him being removed from the team, that came up to me at a function later in the year and still shook my hand.  Again, he and I may have had a difference of opinion, but he respected me, and I respect him.  Try the handshake thing.  You'll be surprised.  Kids are just wanting any recognition they can get, and sometimes the littlest gestures, such as a handshake, pat on the back, or a simple "How are you?" will go a long way.  Sometimes, you even have to do it to players you don't like.  You'll be surprised, maybe the player with the bad attitude will soften a bit, and start coming around to your way of thinking.

The biggest part of my coaching philosophy deals with not what offense or defense we are running, compared to the how are we making these kids better people?.  In my coaching manual, that I have prepared for any coaching job that I interview for, this statement is right in the front, under my mission statement.  I'm not here to coach these players to win a football game, or to learn how to kick slide, I'm here to coach them to be productive citizens, good husbands, and fathers.  When I learned this, I instantly became a better coach, because players see this.  Young adults are VERY GOOD at finding out who's real, and who isn't.  If you're fake, they'll find it out and find it out quick.  You have to refocus and direct your attention to making better people before you can EVER make them better players.

Never Stop Learning
Learning, whether it be coaching techniques, or actual technical aspects of the game, should never stop throughout a coach's career.  This is why you pay all those bucks for the clinics, the books, DVD's and pod casts.  The whole idea is to learn and keep learning.  I think the big thing here is don't stop at the standard methods of learning (what I mentioned before DVD's, books etc.).  Dig deeper, visit coaches you respect, visit schools who run schemes you are interested in or maybe run the same thing you do.  Listen, I had trouble defending the wing-t, many moons ago, so I went and visited two high schools that ran that offense.  All it cost me was gas money and some money to pay for their lunches and I had more information on the wing-t than I could shake a stick at.  It was worth it, the following season we held a very good wing-t team to their lowest offensive output of the season.  These things can and will pay off.  Many coaches tell me "Oh, I wouldn't ever ask Coach So-and-So if I could visit his place.".  Why?  You'd be surprised how many would be flattered that you asked.  My new job is at a place where I had a coach ask me this very thing.  He had seen a scheme we ran against another team and liked it, so he called me.  When I say called, he cold called me.  I didn't know this guy from Adam's house cat and he calls me.  We hit it off, have been friends for several years now and he's gone and gotten me a job at a very prestigious program here in the area.  Again, this all led back to learning.  He was trying to learn what we were doing, and in turn I've learned a bunch about what they are doing (TGOG for one thing).

Nothing wrong with traditional methods of learning, but don't be afraid to think outside the box.  One learning tool that seems to have declined here in recent years is the message boards, such as Coach Huey.  I cannot tell you the amount of stuff I've learned from the interaction on that site.  I've also met several great coaches through the Internet as well.  One problem I had, early on, was I thought my crap didn't stink, and my way was the BEST.  This is all a part of the big ego's many of us coaches have.  Once I got humbled a time or two I was ready to listen to some of the guys on the Huey board (such as OJW, and jgordon).  Those guys have passed on some invaluable lessons, that I'm not sure you could get out of a book.

Network, Network, Network
Networking sort of ties into continuing education.  If you visit coaches, or interact on the Internet, this leads to networking.  Rubbing elbows with coaches is a great way to learn, but it's also a way to keep doors open for you.  In my case, like I stated above, it's led me to a new job.  Networking has also led me to some very interesting people, and some very good people.  The yearly clinic we have with OJW has been a great experience.  Some of those guys have helped me make some crucial coaching decisions that either my staff, or the people around me couldn't help me make.  Many of us collaborated on the flexbone posts on Coach Hoover's board, which led us to meeting each other.  These guys are great, they know a TON, and are willing to share.  All of this keeps doors open for your future.  I have no doubts that if one of them called me for a job, or for a reference, I wouldn't hesitate to help them.  I'm also sure they'd do the same for me.  Networking is what makes a people profession like coaching go around.  Don't be in a shell, get out to clinics and talk to folks, meet coaches, ask them questions, share stories etc.  All of it has the potential to benefit you, or the the person you're talking to.

Networking...WORKS!

Run What You Know
I hear this all the time, and I do feel it's VERY important.  Now, only knowing one or two offenses or defenses is probably not going to help you very much, especially at the high school level.  Not being able to recruit leaves the high school coach needing to have a bit of repertoire when it comes to scheme knowledge.  Now that doesn't mean when somebody asks you what offense you run you tell them the "Split back veer, power shotgun, five wide offense" (lol, OC's, got to love em').  What it means is, as the varying degrees of talent enter and exit your program, you as the coach have not only the ability to fit schemes to ability, but have a way to tie the schemes together so that it's not like a scene from the movie Fifty First Dates where you're learning something new every fall.

Knowing your stuff, allows you to fix it when it's not working.  Listen, game plans on paper always work.  However, in-game, is a different story.  Being able to adjust your scheme because you know it inside and out, is essential to helping your players have success.  Many of us watch a coaching DVD on the 4-2-5, or read a blog post, and think "Man I want to run that!".  In reality, a blog post or a DVD doesn't do a scheme any justice.  To be honest, I don't care if you buy Pat Narduzzi's entire DVD collection on his 4-3 defense, if it is your first time involved with the defense, you will not KNOW it.  You need to coach in it, see it succeed, see it fail to really know it.  You need to talk to coaches that have run the scheme you're looking at for quite some time, and had both failure and success with it.  When I switched to the 4-2-5, I jumped early, and really didn't know it.  Luckily for me, through networking, I was able to work through my problems with the help of my friend and made things work.  This caught me off guard, because I honestly thought I knew the scheme, but when it comes to the actual running of the scheme and fitting the pieces together and getting it all coached up, I was a rookie.  Since then, I've been very cautious with what I learn and how I implement it.  I've learned to study the scheme and then try to break it.  I've gone and discussed with other coaches how they'd attack that certain scheme.  I've asked what weaknesses they thought were inherent to the scheme (all offensive and defensive schemes have strengths and weaknesses).  If I feel comfortable with these weaknesses, and have an adjustment, then I'll go with it, but if I can't account for this weakness, I won't install it.

Another thing about knowing your schemes is knowing what it takes, personnel-wise, to run it.  In high school, it is very difficult to have a scheme that is tied to certain body types, and/or athletic ability.  I've always looked at the schemes that didn't take the great athletes to run, or were built for lesser talent and then worked from there.  I always felt it was easier to upgrade a scheme, or add something into a scheme for when the cupboard was full, versus trying to pare down the scheme when the cupboard was empty.

Better have a scheme for these guys...

Also, don't be afraid to adapt.  I'll give you an example.  With the spread coming about, I had to find a way to get my best pass covering OLB to the pass strength.  I tried to make this work, but good OC's would find a way to put this guy into the boundary or away from their best receiver etc. and then exploit it.  I actually had a good coach figure this out, and BEAT me with it.  After that I poured through books, DVD's etc. and found NOTHING.  What I did do, was visit a local small college that ran a 4-3 and learned a neat little adjustment they ran vs. 1 back offenses.  When they faced a 1 back offense the OLB's aligned with the safeties instead of with the front.  This allowed the better pass covering OLB to go to the pass strength and the weaker OLB to be away from the pass strength.  It was eerily similar to what Gary Patterson does with his strong safety in the 4-2-5.  This one little adaptation has paid huge dividends here recently, allowed me to stick to my 4-3 roots, but be as adaptable as the 4-2 everybody's so crazy about.  Learn to be flexible and learn to be adaptable and your schemes will really take shape.

Know Your Job
Whether you're hired to coordinate or hire to assist, know your assignment and your role within the team structure.  If you're an assistant in charge with coaching linebackers, know how the DC wants it coached and COACH IT EXACTLY THAT WAY.  I can't tell you the amount of times I've told a guy how I want things done, only to look over in practice to see them doing something totally different.  Then get the worst answer in all of coaching, "That's the way we did it at...".  Nothing burns me up more.  I don't really care how you did it at your last stop, do it the way I'm telling you to do it.  Now, I don't mind suggestions, but after I've told you how I want it done, you do it that way.  Nothing looks worse to a player than getting coached one way, only to come to group or team drills and have the coordinator talking and teaching to a kid completely different.  Everybody has got to be on the same page.  Whether you agree with it or not, you coach the way you've been instructed to by your superior.

If you're the superior, demand the assistants coach it the way YOU want it.  If you let this slide, there will be issues, I can guarantee that.  Be clear in your teaching of your assistants.  Make sure you know they understand their assignment.  If they have a suggestion, by all means, listen to it, consider it even.  You may end up finding out there's a better way to to do things.  I always like listening to guys that join my staff from elsewhere to see how others do it.  Nothing wrong with that at all.  I had a guy tell me once it made me weak as a coordinator taking suggestions from assistants.  I told him, not at all, it actually makes me a better coach.  First, it gives a bit of ownership to the assistant, which at the end of the day is what they want.  Most guys want to contribute and know that their knowledge is being utilized to achieve the team goal of winning.  Second, you never know when a different way of presenting the information to a high school player may help the player better understand their assignment.  I always give this example, and it is so simple of a change, that it becomes comical, but this one little change made all the difference in the world.  I've told it before, but many years ago, when I was first coaching and we were teaching block down, step down (BDSD), our defensive line coach was using the term "wrong arm".  We were implementing the 4-3 for the first time at a place that was used to running the old 50 defense, so it was something new they were having to get used to.  Anyhow, long story short, I'm at the water cooler during a water break and hear a kid say "Coach Jimmy doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.  Why is he telling us how to do it wrong?".  So I asked the kid, what he meant by that, and he told me our defensive line coach was telling them to wrong arm things.  The kids were confused.  Look, I know it is semantics, but from that day forward, we've never called it wrong arming.  We changed the term to "splattering", and the kids seem to understand.  It is quite comical how one little change in the way information is presented can make the light bulb go off in a kids mind.

Another part of knowing your stuff, is knowing when you don't know.  I wrote about this over on The 12th Man Blog, because I've been a part of a staff that had some guys that if they didn't know, they simply made up what they thought it should be.  Nothing could be worse.  We were recently teaching what the TE does on midline, and the offensive line coach was actually teaching it backwards.  The players actually knew their assignment from using and reviewing their Hudl playbooks.  They were calling the line coach out on it, and it got ugly at one point with the line coach telling the players, basically, they didn't know their ass from a hole in the ground.  I was privy to all of this, and had the chance to discuss this with the head coach and we got it corrected, but the damage was done.  See, with kids, sometimes you only get one chance, so you better get it right.  The better thing for the assistant to have done would've been to simply state that he didn't know what the TE did on midline, but that he'd find out.  The EVEN BETTER thing the assistant could have done, is to know the damn playbook backwards and forwards!  If you're charged with coaching a position, you HAVE to KNOW it better than the players.  However, I get it, we all forget, or sometimes are coaching in a scheme that we may not be familiar with.  Don't be afraid to EVER tell a kid you don't know it.  Then follow that up with, but I'll find out for you.  Again, that goes back to creating trust.  The kid may be disappointed that his coach doesn't know, but he'll trust that you're going to make it right.  Kids will have a lot more respect for you if you tell them you don't know, than if you make something up.  They can tell when you're not being truthful with them.

Help Where Needed
I can't tell you the number of places I've worked where when the last period of practice was over, the coaches beat the players off the practice field.  Here recently, 15 minutes after practice was over, I'd look around and it would be just me and the head coach left on campus with 50 kids under our charge.  Guys would only coach during practice and then when practice was over, they were gone.  Let me tell you, nothing looks worse to a head coach than a guy that just coaches.  Listen, I get it, nobody likes putting away the water coolers, or opening up the locker room, or putting up the sled dummies, but it's got to be done.  There were many times when I was a head coach, if I didn't do that stuff, it wouldn't have gotten done.  This isn't good.  When you're an assistant, you're needed in many more areas than just the practice and game fields.  Help the head coach with anything and everything you can.  If he needs someone to run to the store to get tape, do it.  I find it comical that we had a coach, talking to some of our incoming freshmen about when they get to high school they need to volunteer for everything when at practice.  He'd say, "If coach calls out for a kickoff team, jump up and get out there, get noticed".  I agree with this mentality 100 percent, however, when it came to this coach doing extra work around the school, he was nowhere to be found.  The same holds true for coaching, if the head guy or a coordinator needs help with something, jump up and help them.  It will get YOU noticed, and generally, the boss man will be appreciative for your extra efforts.

Have Respect for Your Job and for Your Organization
I can't tell you the number of young coaches I've had to tell this to.  Basically, if you working for the program, you're doing it all year round.  Don't embarrass the program.  I've had to hire guys fresh out of college, and in some cases, younger to help coach, and you've got to instill this from day one.  As an assistant, you've got to realize that accepting a position with a high school program, puts you under the microscope, right along with the coordinators and the head coach.  There are many places where certain social activities are frowned upon.  If you, as a person, like to do these activities, you may have to curtail how you do them in public.  Drinking is probably the number one issue I've seen with parents and the community when it comes to coaches.  I mean, who doesn't like to blow the frost off a cold one right?  Especially after a long hot practice in August.  Well, if you've coached in small town America, like I have, this may be an issue if you choose to do this in public.  If there are places you can go, and not be so visible to the community, it is probably a good idea if you go there to peel the top of some "bluegills".  I know I know, the big city coaches are reading this and going "What the hell?".  Listen, this issue isn't as prevalent as it is in small town America, but there's other things to consider too.  Social media, and the negativity it can create is a HUGE issue among coaching staffs and their players in today's world.  The idea here, is remember that you're a part of something bigger than just yourself.  Extremely young coaches seem to have an issue with this as they are still in "party" mode, but this is the sacrifice you make when you take the job.  One rule I always taught both my players and coaches was "Never bring a negative light on the program".  Keeping that rule simple, makes people think, and gives me the boss the leeway to remove a player or coach from the program for doing something that isn't condoned.  Just as a general rule, remember you're doing more than just representing yourself when you take on the job of being a coach.

Do it my way, or hit the highway!

Marry a Football Wife
Probably the single most important item on this list.  I can't tell you how many coaches I've lost to the fact they married a woman that simply did not understand the man's love of the game of football.  I have been SUPER fortunate.  I can, without a doubt, say my wife is a football wife.  She's coached for my youth team, and has always been my Filmer from day one.  She is very supportive of what I want to do with coaching and football.  If you can't find this person, then you need to be up front with her about the time involved in being a football coach.  The good ones, don't mind, and even actually like seeing their husbands involved in the changing of young men's lives.  Others, well, they can't handle any competition to their husband's affection, so they tend to get jealous, which usually leads to one of two things and both of them are bad.

Don't forget child rearing either.  Many women are fine with the husband coaching in the beginning, however once the little ones show up, it's time for "daddy" to give up his hobby and grow up.  The good ones realize you'll be there for the family when football gets over with.  I have a friend that is raising five boys, yes FIVE BOYS and is the DC at a very prominent high school.  His wife is an ultimate trooper.  She understands the time involved, because in the beginning this was communicated to her.  I did the same with my wife.  My wife understands my love for the game, and ultimately she has grown to love the game as well.  Anyhow, be up front with the woman in your life.  As they say, behind every good man is a great woman.  Whoever said that must have been talking about a coach's wife.

Know Who You're Working For
I think this is one that's probably burned me more in my coaching career than anything else.  I'm a very open and trustworthy person, so I have a tendency to get close to people without ever first diagnosing what they're about.  Lately, I've gotten better at this, but I'm still vulnerable when it comes to assessing just what somebodys motivational factors are.  I think many young coaches, when they go through the interview process, are just so thankful somebody called them about their application, they forget that this job is what is going to help define and shape their careers.  I was exactly like this when I interviewed for my first head coaching position.  I failed to ask all the right questions that a coaching candidate needs to ask.  There are certain items you will need in order to be successful, DO NOT take any of these for granted, just because YOU think they're important.

There are numerous sites you can go to about interviewing for coaching jobs.  One of the best I've seen is Coach Fore's website and consulting service.  He does a good job breaking down interview questions, as well as coaching the coach on what questions they should be asking during the interview process.  Remember, it's a lot like buying a car.  The people interviewing you, in my experience, rarely want to be there.  They look at having to look for a football coach as a necessary evil of their job, and many just want to get it over with.  I find that these types, generally aren't worth working for.  The ones that ask you what you think they need to build a successful program, or maintain a successful program are the ones that pique my interest.  Folks that are goal-oriented, and are always striving to get better are the ones I like to be around.  The reason is, these people are generally constant thinkers (much like myself).  Nothing is ever good enough, but not to the point that they demean the current system or way things are being done.  These people are just generally always trying to build a better mousetrap.

Hmm...

You really need to know where your boss is coming from and what their perception of the football program needs to be.  Many will give the generic answer of "successful", "winning tradition" etc.  Few ever delve into what they really are thinking.   You need to know how this potential superior will handle situations in which he or she should have your back.  How are these folks going to handle an altercation with a player or parent?  What about an altercation with a coach that may need to be reprimanded or, even worse, removed?  These answers are tough to find, but you would be surprised what talking to current and former teachers and coaches will lend itself to yielding in terms of valuable information.  All-in-all this is just you doing your homework on a potential job.  I think of it as no different than me reading magazines, and the Internet to determine, from reviews, what's the best cell phone, or automobile to buy.  Don't approach it any different than you would any other large commitment.  Take your time and make sound decisions based on your research.  You'll be happy in the end that you did.

Keep Good Records
I don't mean wins and losses either here guys, what I'm referring to is keeping good notes and documentation that may aid you in the future.  I have just about every scouting report I've ever prepared still at my fingertips.  I have kept just about every scheme I've ever run in a file somewhere.  You never know when that one small tidbit will help you in the future.

I generally store this information by year and then by team.  One thing I add, if I know it, is the name of the OC, DC, or head coach I'm facing.  These guys move around, so you never know where you may come back across them in your coaching journey.  Most guys philosophy's don't change, so you'll have a leg up on getting prepared for them when you come across these guys later.

Don't Take Things Too Seriously
Those that know me, just spit out their coffee!  Yeah, I know, I'm the grinder, the guy that the losses take me two to three days to get over, you know, the guy who takes this game way too serious.  I've gotten better in my older age, but I still have to deal with this.  One thing I remember a coach once told me, is that "Nobody will care as much as you do".  Man that hit home.  I was mired in a losing situation and could not figure out why it felt like I was digging a hole, only to have 10 different people throwing dirt back in.  Well, my friends, nobody was caring as much as I did, because it wasn't their ass on the line every Friday night!

You've got to realize at the end of the day, it's still just a game.  Sure, people lose their jobs because of it, but that's just life.  There are people losing their jobs elsewhere that can't get new ones as quickly as us coaches can sometimes.  There are going to be moments when you simply have to sit back, and realize this stuff is not the end of the world.  One thing I constantly had to tell myself is "The sun will come up tomorrow".  I still have to do that, some, to this day.  If you are as passionate as I am about your craft, you will too.  Take it in stride, readjust, and continue forward with your goals, just realize they are YOURS.  Not everyone else will share your passion.  Learn that early on, and it'll help you deal with the folks that surround you.  It'll help you understand where these people are coming from, which, in turn, will help you do what the good ones do, and that's to get them to be as passionate as you.

I could go on for days about advice for young coaches.  The ones I've listed here are items that are important to me.  They are pieces of information I would've like to have had when I first started coaching.  Experience is the greatest teacher, but there's nothing wrong with being able to read about other's experiences to help you out.  I hope this mailbag post was a good help to all the new and aspiring coaches out there!

Duece

Mailbag Volume 1

Somebody say mail?

Alright, let's get this mailbag thing rolling here with the first issue!!!  We'll see how I do and keep working to improve from there.  Remember, email your questions to footballislifeblog@yahoo.com.  Ask away, if I can answer, I will!  I'm not going to use names.  I was, but I'm going to keep it impersonal, that way I can answer the questions, and not have to worry about whether or not somebody wants them posted or not.  The questions are good, and if you have them, I'm sure that another person has them as well.

Question #1 Rip/Liz

What are the two outside safeties keying for their run/pass read, in the 4-2-5, when running Saban's Rip/Liz?  Also, can you tell me the alignment for the secondary?

Answer #1
When I ran Rip/Liz (R/L) from the 4-2, I had the OSS's key the EMOL for run/pass key.  This is tough in my opinion, but keying #2 makes them a bit late to the party in some cases due to their tighter alignment that if they were a deep safety (such as the way Saban actually ran R/L).

I'll take 1 high safety please...

To the second part, the OSS's are generally inside eye of the #2 receiver, but this can vary by game plan and ability.  The corners, use standard divider rules that can be found in any Cover 3 playbook.  Generally speaking, the split of the #1 receiver is what controls the alignment of the corners.  The FS will play in the middle of the #1's, or he can favor the QB's arm, or play more to the MOF when the ball is on the hash.  The FS can really be moved around according to game plan and what your opponent is trying to attack you with.  For more on defending the spread from an eight man front, go here.

Question #2 Midline Diagrams

Do you have any diagrams of midline vs. a 4-3?

Answer#2
No need to break out the pen and paper when you've already done it right?!  Go here to check out my old article on midline.  I will expound on this a bit, as I ran the greatest running play in all of football three different ways.

Midline blast, or what some would call midline lead involved both slots attacking the B gap area.  The play side slot would fold under and help seal off the scraping LB.  In the case of the 4-3 defense, this would be the MLB.  The backside slot would go in tail motion, and then lead the QB on the keeper (if the ball was pulled), by blocking OLB to near safety.  Blast was a great power and short yardage play.

Midline seal, was the base way I ran midline, which involved the backside slot going in tail motion and leading the play, with the play side slot, loading on the front side.  The key here was seeing how the defense would react.  The reason you we ran seal was teams we would see, would pinch their DL vs. a base block, and this would thereby spill the QB outside.  Well, if you're running Blast and the QB spills outside the B gap, there's nobody there to block for him.  Seal keeps this from happening, and gives the QB a lead blocker if the play has to hit a gap wider due to stunting defensive linemen.

Midline fold, was a way to run midline with twirl motion or no motion at all.  We would run this against teams that were blitzing a LB based on our motion, or slanting and stemming the DL based on motion.  Fold had the play side slot replace the backside slot on seal.  The backside slot simple went on a pitch course, as this was the beginnings of how we installed midline triple.

Midline is a great play, and is the number one constraint play a coach must install when running a triple option oriented offense.  For more information on the flexbone, go here.

Question #3 Quarters Questions

How do you handle a boot back to a safety that has a detached #2 receiver or a one back, double tight double flanker?  How do you handle sprintout pass to a slot trips set?

Answer #3
Although a bit vague, I'll try and answer these as best I can.  Without route combos, asking a question about how a pattern read coverage handles certain routes is a bit difficult to answer.  In the first part of the first question, I'm assuming some sort of high-low type concept where #2 may be running a whip route, while #1 is clearing the zone.  In the first example I've got drawn, that is what you'll see.  The safety is caught in a bit of "no man's land" in that the whip isn't really deep enough to grab his attention.  The LB is going to be held by the fake, but must expand immediately upon reading pass.  The LB will be inside and underneath the whip route.  The safety to the side of the boot will rob curl to post, but since #1 is vacating, more than likely he'll get a drag coming from the other side of the formation.  The MLB will carry the drag until he clears the edge of the tackle box, at which time he will come off and now attack the QB and contain him on the edge.  This is where the safety must pick up the drag route.  The safety away from boot action, should "melt" into the the middle third of the field looking to work underneath the backside post.   Of course, the corner's rule of staying on top of #1 would hold true and he would run with the vertical route on the boot side, and be on top of the backside post away from the boot.  Now, I have had some calls/reactions if we were really concerned with the backside drag that had the safety away from boot, jump the route and run with it across the formation.  This is good, so long as the team you're facing doesn't run any sort of throwback concept off boot action.  The big key with beating crossing routes, is that the underneath defenders need to get these receivers on the ground.  A receiver lying flat of his back can't threaten a defense very much!

One common high-low bootleg concept that has caught on around here is booting into smash.  Same concept, but what OC's like about it is that it pulls that robbing front side safety out of the mix, opening up the drag.  This is when we like to tag our quarters coverage with something that puts the backside safety on the drag, or really harp on our underneath players getting the receivers on the ground.

None of this really changes via formation, so much as it does against route concepts.  The reads are the same no matter the formation, so the Ace Double Pro look (double TE double flanker) doesn't really change anything for the safeties.  They will still read/react off what the #2 receiver is doing.  The good news about defending the TE drag is you can utilize some concepts such as the Jam concept by Michigan State to disrupt the release of the TE, compared to when the #2 receiver is split out in the slot position.  Again, this disruption keeps the drag route from getting to the LB's before they've had a chance to come off their run read on playaction.

To answer the second question is even tougher than the first!  Again, no route concepts were given, so I'll go with your standard trips sprint out flood, where you end up with three receivers on three different levels.  Now again, what coverage are you playing, because as we all know, Quarters takes on a bit different shape when it defends 3x1 formations.   The route concepts I'm used to seeing are shown below.  The #1 receiver clears the zone, while #2 runs an out cut to the back end of the flats and the #3 receiver runs an out cut to the front end, or shallow end of the flats.  Backside is usually a drag or post.  For general purposes, I'm going to show this out of my solo check, again, keeping in mind there are several ways to play 3x1 formations out of Quarters coverage.  Anyhow, the OLB/nickel to the trips side, will expand immediately and it's important that this player work for not only width, but depth too.  The safety, will more than likely run with the out route by #2, but will be behind it due to leverage (which is why a strong side X-out concept such as TCU's Special is such a good change up vs. 3x1 flood concepts).  The OLB keeps this throwing lane narrow by getting depth and width in their drop.  The corner, of course, stays on top of #1's vertical route.  The MLB is matching #3, and will widen on the snap seeing #3 expand AND seeing the sprint out by the QB.  Once clear of the tackle box, the MLB has to go contain the QB.  The weak safety is one that is really lost in all the shuffle, especially if the offense runs the backside #1 on a drag route.  The FS should melt to the deep middle 1/3 and mirror the QB's eyes since #3 didn't threaten him vertically.  Now, if the backside #1 runs the post, the safety can help the corner with this route as it crosses the field.  The weak corner is locked up man to man with the #1 receiver, so wherever he goes, the corner is going.  The LB, away from trips, is also locked in man, but upon seeing sprint action, can now work to the sprint side and help the corner with any shallow crossing routes by the weak #1 receiver.  One thing to keep in mind with the LB away from the action, is to keep his eyes on the back.  If the back DOES NOT go with action, he needs to sit for the throwback screen.

Again, a pretty vague question, I hope I was able to answer it clearly, and I hope the illustrations help.  Please, feel free to elaborate by emailing me at footballislifeblog@yahoo.com.  Well, let's see how this goes, let me know what you think!

Duece