Hey folks! I just posted on the main site a great Q&A session I had with Brian Flinn, Wide Receiver Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Villanova University. Villanova is a spread offense team, and they are the 2009 NCAA Division 1 (subdivision) champions, beating Montana.
In addition to the Q&A, Coach Flinn also sent me a bunch of video clips to go through... really looking forward to diving into that, and I'll get some of it posted either here or on Spread Offense TV as soon as possible.
Hey folks! I think one of the biggest questions coming into the 2010 season is, what will Texas Tech's offense look like post Mike Leach?
Now with Tommy Tuberville as the head coach (formally from Auburn) and Neal Brown the offensive coordinator (formally from Troy University), The Red Raiders will be running under a little different philosophy on the offensive side of the ball.
Just to give you a little taste of what you'll see, here's a video of Troy's offense versus LSU in 2008.
Notice the fast pace of the offense, they are in 'Indy or Jet' mode a lot of the time, trying to out pace, confuse, and wear down the defense. I also think you'll see Tech run the ball more, especially if it's working as this is what Tuberville likes to do.
Here's a 2010 Texas Tech preview video with some interviews:
I'm looking forward to seeing the new Texas Tech Offense in 2010!
Hey folks! I found this really cool website by the team over at EA Sports (NCAA Football video franchise) where they get into an analysis and conversation on the spread option offense.
Hey folks! I wanted share with you an article with diagram I posted on our main website in regards to the quarterback wrap or 'gut' play out of the spread offense. When I look at this play, I can't help to think about Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans and the break out year I believe he's poised to have in 2010.
I'll make a bold prediction that if he stays healthy, he'll be the league MVP in 2010, I just have that feeling.
To view the full article on our parent site, go to:
Hey folks! I know this is an X's and O's blog on the spread offense, but as most of you know I'm a former coach and enjoy so many aspects of the great game of American Football.
I came across a few things this week that I want to share with you. The first was an article written by a former colleague of mine when I worked as an athletic performance trainer. This gentleman's name is Martin Rooney, and in addition to this article he just released, his 3rd book on what he calls, 'Warrior Training' came out this week (look it up at your favorite online bookstore), the title is Ultimate Warrior Workouts.
I reviewed it and it is just an unbelievable collection of training knowledge from across the world. It's focus is predominately on the martial arts, but lets be honest, football players are warriors to a certain extent!
To get back to the recent post by Martin I mentioned above, it was an eye opening piece that I'll let you read and digest for yourself. It's one of those that you read and say... oh ya, I kind of knew that, BUT am I practicing this daily and am I a change agent for that!?
When I say 'change agent', what I'm asking you is are you spreading the word to your players and teammates about the necessity to not only become a great football player, but to live and practice a healthy, active lifestyle for life!
I thought about it the other day and I made the assumption that if everyone in the United States was like me, the health care industry would be bankrupt because they'd have no business!! Here's the extent of my health care for the last 20 years... I go once every 18 months for blood work and a full physical, and that's basically it!! Now I understand that some physical conditions and health ailments are predisposed and unpreventable for some, but lets be honest... most are totally preventable by what we do!
I take no prescription drugs, no therapies, nothing... I'm the worst nightmare for the health care industry... because I work to take care of myself (physically and mentally) and live a healthy, active lifestyle. That means drinking no soda, no sugary juices, moderate alcohol (I love an occasional beer, grey goose, etc), I drink lots of water, one coffee a day, and unsweetened green or black tea (hot and cold) to quench my daily thirst.
As a coach... are you a good role model for your players? Well you better be! That 'Do as I say, not as I do' crap is exactly that... crap!
One of the best joys for me is to reconnect with some old warriors I coached over 10 years ago... they are now adults with families, jobs, and there own lives. When I see them still physically and mentally fit, productive in society... still with that 'warrior' mentality... that's what gets me just as excited as a zone read play busting for a 50 yard touchdown!
Now to the video I mentioned, see below:
Good stuff isn't it!? Remember, moments like this in practice when you break through a barrier, watch a kid or group of kids grow right in front your eyes, that's what it's all about... the journey to victory is sometimes more fun then the actual wins!
Those days in the weight room when no one's even thinking about football in town, but your players and coaches are making those 'victory deposits' that can be exchanged for wins in the fall when the scoreboard is on.
Whatever religion, creed, doctrine, or nothing you believe in... you'd be foolish to think the universe does not possess something bigger then all of us... it rewards those who work hard towards a goal, and leaves behind those who slack off in the loser pile!
I'll leave you with a quick video scene from the movie Gladiator... "What we do in life, echoes in eternity" --Maximus
Go be a change agent to your players and teammates, preach victory to your fellow warriors, and keep spreading e'm!
Sorry guys for not posting lately... I've been like a one legged man in an ass kicking contest the past few weeks! Anyway... I found this nice video below and I'll give my take on it.
You'll see Michigan vs Illinois here in 2009 in a 2nd and 6 situation just outside of the red zone. Michigan is in a 3x1 shot gun spread set, on the right hash mark. They line with trips to the field, and the open (X) to the boundary.
Illinois is in a 40 Cover 1 (Man, Free) with 6 defenders in the box. If you guys have read some of my stuff in the past, I'm surprised that Calvin Magee didn't call down to Coach Rod on this play to run the zone read ... because we know with 6 in the box (based on a positive down and distance), the offense has the advantage with the 5 down linemen having equal blocking numbers, and the QB in effect 'cancelling out' or blocking the 6th man in the box on the read concept.
But, Michigan instead goes with the quick screen to the trips (notice I didn't say bubble screen) off zone action, because to me this isn't a true 'bubble screen' based on the path of the receiver and the lack of the usual quarter moon arch path of the bubble receiver. You'll see, the play is very successful and Michigan gets the first down on the 8 yard gain.
Last point, based on the o-line movement of Michigan, I get the impression this was not a progression play that Forcier decided to go with, but instead a predetermined play called from the booth based on a tendency? Then again, it is the 1st quarter so how many tendencies can the coaches have upstairs?? There I go again... over thinking the play... lol - Just play ball!!
Sometimes the most simplest things are still the best. I know we all look to challenge our offenses and defenses as coaches with exotic stuff that keeps everyone excited and the opponent off balanced.
But remember, winning football games comes down to execution and personnel no matter how simple or complex the scheme or play.
In the modern era of football, the team that blocks and tackles better, and protects the football will still win more games.
Below is a video of a simple 4-3 Cover 2 by Michigan in a game versus Purdue. You'll see on this play that Purdue motions out into an empty set, and Michigan adjusts nicely with the corner coming out on the running back.
At the snap, you'll see the Michigan defense in great position across the field, the backers have their heads on a swivel... covering bodies and not air. The left corner (#3) does a nice job on sinking with his head in the backfield, just waiting to smack the first flat threat on this 2nd and 6 play.
Tell your team to 'Win This Play' every time they're in the huddle, no matter how simple or complicated the scheme.
I found a nice article that includes a Q&A with Art Briles of Baylor. The entire article link is below, but here's some exerts in regards to his discussion on the spread offense.
Your spread offense really served as a catalyst in the state of Texas. After they saw the success you were having in the 1990s, dozens of schools changed their offenses and patterned them after yours. Where did you come up with your version of the spread? Did you have any influences when you designed your offense?
I appreciate you saying that, because honestly we were some of the first people to start throwing it around and spreading it out. I just kind of came about it through trial and error. I had my first head coaching job back in 1984 in Hamlin, Texas. That first year, we made it to the quarter-finals and got beat on penetration. So the next year, I understood that if we didn’t spread the field and give our guys space to create plays in, somebody with better talent was going to shut us down and beat us. We started it in 1985, spreading in the ball around. We were in the shotgun, throwing it and running the zone read. It just kind of evolved through the years. We fluctuated with our personnel and with our philosophy, and with the defenses we were facing. I think it’s fun; I like how everything has evolved in the game of football. I’m excited about what the future holds, because it’s been a fun journey watching the way everything has transpired on both sides of the ball.
How much has your particular brand of the spread changed since you started running it?
Quite a bit. To some extent, we’re a little more screen-oriented now than we were then. We had more of a vertical passing game then, because we got more single [coverage] matchups than you get now. I’ve always liked a real mobile quarterback. We’ve always had our best teams that way. Even having Kevin Kolb at Houston. He’s fixing to be a star quarterback for the Eagles. You know, Kevin’s a mobile guy. He’s one of only three quarterbacks in college football history to throw for 400 yards and rush for 100 yards in a game. He had that capability; we just didn’t pull it out of them that much because he’s such a precise passer and we had other weapons around him. I like a guy who’s mobile. I like a guy who can move around and make things happen, and create plays for other people. Fortunately, we have a guy like that in Robert at Baylor.
The spread really took off in the college game early in the 2000s. Offenses enjoyed a lot of success for several seasons, but last year, it seemed like defenses found a way to at least slow down the spread. Do you think the spread is here to stay in college football, or will it be like the wishbone or West Coast offenses that were en vogue for a while before fading away?
I definitely think it will continue to change, but I also think it’s here to stay. I think the game has become a lot faster from the standpoint of putting people in space and letting them make plays. I don’t think that we’ll consistently see people lining up with a full house backfield, handing the ball to a guy who’s running downfield. I think that part of the game is definitely valuable. You can have some advantages doing that today, because people don’t recruit defensively to stop teams that pound the ball at you. But I don’t think the spread offenses are going anywhere for a while.
You left Stephenville to become running backs coach at Texas Tech. That was the same year Mike Leach arrived in Lubbock. What was it like working with Mike? How similar is your offensive philosophy to his?
We were on the ground floor of the Texas Tech process. Spike [Dykes] had done a great job there for many years. I think at that time, they had been to a bowl nine of the past ten years. That situation has continued there since then. The thing about Leach and his philosophy – like with Hal Mumme at Kentucky, Al Wesland at Valdosta – is it’s set, it’s patternized, and you do what you do. The thing I was impressed about was they had what they had, they believed in it, and it was successful for them.
In a previous post I highlighted the lead read play that Coach Rod loves to run to the open side out of the 2x1 shot gun spread offense formation.
In the video below, you'll see Michigan run a nice wheel route pass play off of lead read action in the same 2x1 set. In this situation, Michigan is right outside of the red zone and the down and distance is 2nd and 8.
To me, it looks like the Wisconsin 'Will' backer is covering 'air' instead of players and he gets caught out of position.
It's a simple, yet nicely executed play action pass by the Wolverines.
Lets face it .. defensive coordinators at all levels are getting pretty damn good at slowing down the spread offense. I mean just take a look at how well the spread offense was defended last year at the college level compared to the previous 4 years and you can see much improvements to the philosophies and execution in defending the spread offense.
At the core of any defense philosophy is aggression, getting to the football, and pursuit angles which leads to eventually bringing the ball to the ground as quickly as possible.
That being said, a well balanced spread offense needs to have in its arsenal a counter, misdirection, or reverse play for just about every important base play in your scheme.
So for example if your base spread offense run plays are zone and zone lead (with a QB read), Power, and Sweep (especially a QB sweep with a solid dual threat QB) - you need to have counter or reverses off of all of these plays to keep the defense honest.
As a coach, you have to explain to your team that these are not 'trick plays' or gimmicks that will be run maybe once a game. These are important plays that need to be executed and practiced in game speed in order to get the best results.
As coaches, you need to be able to communicate real time during the games and have your 'eyes in the sky' up in the booth scouting the defense for over aggressive, fast flow defenders who are setting themselves up for a misdirection or reverse. Also, don't be afraid to use these plays more then once in a specific series, back to back, or whatever. If at the end of a game your stat's show you ran 12 mis-direction or reverses and you won the game... who cares! I'll take the W!
Remember, there are two ways to slow down a defense - Get them to 'over think' on the field, and wear them down physically. In the perfect world, you want to do both as the game progresses.
Here's an excellent video of Auburn catching the 2009 national champs Alabama 'fast flowing' on defense last year.
Now no one studies defending the modern day spread offense more then Coach Saban and his staff at Alabama, but like any aggressive defense, his guys got caught fast flowing on this play.
Notice also this play was ran in the opening drive of the game by Auburn, when the defense is even more 'geeked up' (a slang term for 'over excited') and looking to knock someones head off.
I've always enjoyed breaking down Rich Rodriguez's spread offense, especially in the run game. I truly feel Michigan is on the brink of turning it around, and even in 2009 it wasn't the offense that let down the team as much as the defense.
I found two videos below showing a variation of the zone read run concept that really makes it difficult to defend Coach Rod's zone read.
In this first video in a 2009 game versus Penn State, you'll see the traditional zone read play to the tight end side of the formation, which is actually the weak side of the offense, opposite trips.
Penn State's defense looks they're in a classic Ron Vanderlinden Stack Cover 3 defense versus the trips formation.
Now in this play, Michigan is in the same offensive formation as above (and Penn State is in the same defensive alignment), but watch the difference in the zone read play.
Look at the right tackle on the offensive line, instead of zone blocking and trying to cut off the defensive linemen like in the first zone read play above, he blocks out or 'fans' the defensive end to set up the nice cut back run by the tailback. What's great is not only the cut back by the tailback, but the concept that the QB still needs to be respected by the Eagle linebacker (which is what Penn State calls him... he's really the Sam, #11), keeping him on the perimeter and hesitant to squeeze down hard on the tailback, honoring the QB read keep that the traditional zone read presents.
I found this nice defensive look by Michigan versus Purdue in their 2009 game. Purdue's offense is in a 3rd and 5 situation, mid-field and they come out in a 3x1 (with TE) shot gun spread formation.
Michigan is in a 4-3 "2 high" look pre-snap... but watch all the action once the ball is snapped by the defense.
Michigan runs a double zone blitz on the right side, the open side of the offense, and basically bring the kitchen sink to the field (or strong side) of the play.
I diagrammed the look below.
Some really exotic stuff here by Greg Robinson, Defensive Coordinator at Michigan.
One of Rich Rodriguez's favorite plays out of the classic 2x1 shot gun spread offense is the read lead run play to the open or 'weak' side of the set. As a result of the formation and Coach Rod's preference, this play is often run to the short side of the field or the boundary.
I found a great video of this specific play from last years Michigan vs Purdue game.
I know when Coach Rod was at West Virginia, he and Calvin Magee (Offensive Coordinator) loved running this play with Pat White, Steve Slaton, and Owen Schmitt.
Below is the play diagram for your reference. You'll see this is your classic outside zone blocking play, but what makes this play tough to defend a lot of times is the defense over defending to the 'field' and/or strength of the formation.
As a coaching point, it's important to stress to your quarterback (especially if he's a dual threat QB who can run well) that he still needs to read that backside end and if that end knifes down or collapses hard on the zone lead he should keep it and progress to the strong side of the formation where he has the #2 receiver running a bubble screen or pitch option.
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It broke 50 degrees today in NJ on this 4th day of March, 2010... and I got that feeling of football for some reason. Even though snow is still on the ground from the 20 inches we got last week, you can tell that the tide of the 2010 football season is on the horizon.
We got the NFL combine that wrapped up, Major League Baseball is in its second week of spring training, college spring ball is right at the front door, and during my football coaching days I always got this itch around now that it was time to pick it up a notch with our off-season stuff.
I pulled out my old favorite football quotes notebook (which I have saved now on my computer) and the first one, and my favorite still is:
"Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price" - Sun Tzu
To me, this quote wrapped up everything that off-season football preparation was all about... I couldn't put it into better words then Sun Tzu did in 6th century BC times.
My first year ever coaching high school football was 1993. That year, our team went 1-8. We had 5 seniors, 16 juniors, and 15 sophomores on the varsity team.
Immediately after our last game that year, a core group of about 25 kids made a commitment not to be embarrassed anymore, as I did ... not only as there football coach, but the guy running the off-season strength program.
Four days a week this core group of guys showed up in the weight room with a lot of enthusiasm, did everything that I told them to do, and continued to get better. They paid the price!
As the guy who had to be there at everyone of these sessions in the off-season, I too had to pay the price as a coach. It meant sometimes disappointing my wife (which was actually our first year married), missing family functions, etc.
In the end... the hard work and commitment paid off! That season (1994), we went 7-3 and made it to the NJ Group 1 state finals, hosted at Giant Stadium. The team we beat in the semi-finals (a triple overtime win) was a team from our league that we hadn't beaten in 13 years, they had a 21 game winning streak snapped that day, by the same team they demolished 38-0 the year before. We actually played them opening day in 1994 and lost 17-6, just itching for another shot at them in the playoffs.
The euphoria after that win was intoxicating, the smiles on the faces of this collective group that gave the ultimate sacrifice to turn it around from 'worst to first' was unforgettable.
That's what it's all about coaches... paying the price now for victories in the fall. No matter what situation you're in now... trust me, it can be turned around if the commitment is made.
Hey folks! I just posted on the main site a great Q&A session I had with Brian Flinn, Wide Receiver Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Villanova University. Villanova is a spread offense team, and they are the 2009 NCAA Division 1 (subdivision) champions, beating Montana.
