Conflicting Defenders

We are starting to see more and more packaged plays on all levels of football including the NFL.  These are plays that are 2 or 3 plays built into 1, with the potential of the ball going to 3 or 4 different players on the same play.  They usually involve some sort of run combined with a shorter pass or screen.  Sometimes they can be 2 running theories combined into 1 play like a jet sweep with a power play.  The theory is very simple,  let the offense get the ball into the right players hands based on how the defense wants to defend you.  This type of play calling hopefully keeps the offense out of "bad" plays while limiting the number of checks or audibles the QB needs to make.

Usually during these types of plays there is a certain defender the offense wants to put into a "conflicted" position.  Based off of that defenders alignment or reaction, the QB will decide what to do with the ball.  This tied in with up tempo football has really started to give the offense a slight advantage while forcing defensive coaches to come up with a set of answers. This newer style of play calling has made its way to the NFL which really leads you to believe there must be some real strong validity to it.

Today I am going to focus on putting the conflict on the defensive end, and having ways to coordinate your attack based on his reaction to certain blocking schemes.  The first thing you want to look at is how the defensive end reacts to down blocks.  You can package an outside run with an inside run and take advantage of how the defensive coordinator teaches his defensive end to play these down blocks.  If the ends you are facing are squeeze or block down step down players then you can get the ball to the perimeter off of down blocks because that end will squeeze inside.  By combining an outside run with an inside run you can really put your QB in a great situation because he can let the end react however he wants and still put us in a good situation.  By using more "sweep" type runs you can effectively get the end sealed by giving him a down block to squeeze and then blocking him further inside with a fullback.

Conversely, if you are playing ends that are up the field players then you want to have runs that go underneath them and allow your players to kick them out instead of sealing them.  You are now effectively putting your offensive players in a position to be successful by giving them blocks you know are easier to make based on the reaction or educated response of the defense.  Another way to package plays that create conflict would be combining a quick pass with a draw play.  Now you can focus on a "conflicted" LB and see if he drops to play the pass or sits in the box for the running game.

All in all this newer type of offense with extremely fast tempo and packaged plays is creating a lot of points on the scoreboard.  It is very easy to do and can be done at any level.  Always remember to be multiple yet simplistic ensuring your kids can know their assignments and execute them at full speed.

PLAY FAST

Change of Direction-A Football Must

HOW GOOD WAS YOUR OFF SEASON?

 

As every football team across the country gets ready for a new season, the one question burning in every coach's mind is How Good Was Our Off Season Program?  We are all so excited to see our returning players on the field anticipating the tremendous improvements in speed, strength, conditioning and agility.   The beginning of every new season is our first real chance to evaluate the effectiveness of our off season program and more importantly, figure out where we need to make improvements in our program to maximize our efforts and returns on investment.  A lot of coaches go into the off season with specific goals in mind.  Some teams need to focus on speed, some teams need to focus on strength, some may want to focus on conditioning and mental toughness. The obvious answer is the program that can achieve all these things is the one we want to use, but just like in football, there is no "magic bullet" in strength and conditioning.  To be honest I think the effort of the player is way more critical to the success of the program than the actual program itself.

The one thing I will say for sure though is we have to make sure all the gains we are making can be applied to the football field.  We have to make functional improvements.  One thing I always keep in mind is a piece of information I learned at a clinic 10 years ago.  THE AVERAGE FOOTBALL PLAYER CHANGES DIRECTION 3-5 TIMES ON ANY GIVEN PLAY.  Now, obviously that will change based on the nature of the position and the nature of the play but you can be sure your players are going to constantly be changing directions.  I have been a client of SPEED TRACS for 3 years now, and we incorporate their speed and agility equipment and ideas into our off season program.  Loren Seagrave is a consultant and advisor for Speed Tracs and he gained his national fame for the dynasty he built with the LSU LADY TIGERS track program. He has also worked with several NFL teams and is the Director of Speed and Movement at the IMG Performance Institute.  He believes that the strength and power developed in the weight room is useless unless it can be transferred onto the field of play. Through the speed trac system it is his goal to integrate plyometric regimens with resisted running drills and technical running drills that capture the power developed in the weight room and apply it to not only straight ahead speed but also multi-planar movements used in the game itself.

What Speed Tracs has done, is given the Head Football Coach at the Pop Warner, Junior High, and High School ranks the ability to train multiple athletes at the same time while also providing software that has a curriculum for your programs and the ability to track and monitor the progress of your athletes in your program.  One of the challenges I am faced with all the time is having 45-65 athletes and 2 or 3 coaches to train them.  We also have to figure out during different times of the year the availability of fields and gym or weight room space.  Speed Tracs has created some interesting solutions to those problems with portable stations that can be moved very easily.

I have video taped some of my defensive backs doing standard footwork and transition drills, and then also some of the speed trac drills we use with them to assist with the functional movements of a defensive back.  If you are interested in changing some of your agility drills, or adding to your agility drills I suggest you give speed tracs a look.  The end goal will always be the same, we want to PLAY FASTER so lets TRAIN FASTER.  As coaches we can accomplish these goals by coaching and training smarter.

TRAIN FAST SO YOU CAN PLAY FAST