Speedball Tempo Plays

Fast Faster Fastest

 It seems like almost any offense can operate out of no huddle in today's game.  I would venture to guess that more than 50% of high school and college teams are now no huddle offenses.  The fact that teams can operate without a huddle does not make them a tempo team.  In reality the huddle was used as a method of communication for the offense.  Coaches needed a way to get all the information into the players, so the QB acted as the interpreter gathering information from the Coach and then delivering all the information to the players in the huddle which was where all 11 players were.

Offense Is In Control

How many times have you seen an NFL team get shutout for 28 minutes, go to a 2 minute drive at the end of a half and go right down the field and score?  You ask yourself why they don't do that more often, and the answer is simple.  They can't communicate their entire playbook that way so they usually have 5 or 6 things they practice each week in a 2 minute drill.  What you find out is the defense has a hard time communicating with their players and you usually see more base defenses which makes it easier to execute on offense.  So offensive coaches figured out since they control the personnel changes and the pace of the game, why not do it all the time?  Being in or out of the huddle is not about schematics, it's more about how you choose to communicate with your team.  That is why any offensive system can operate as a no huddle team so long as they can streamline their communication.  The question that arises now is can you be a tempo team?  That is where schematics comes into play.  If you are a power I team that has all predetermined runs and passes it is very difficult to be a great tempo team because you do not possess built in answers to how the defense chooses to defend you.  You will have to teach your QB how to check out of bad plays which essentially is slowing down your pace of play.  That is why the true "UP TEMPO" teams are so good at what they do.  Their plays have built in answers to adjust to the different looks the defense presents.

Today I am going to talk about a philosophy called "Speedball" which is essentially the fastest you can play on offense.  When using a speedball approach you are essentially staying in the same formation and running the same play as fast as the refs will allow you to do so.  This really puts a strain on the defense because your players already know that but the defense does not.  When you use this philosophy coming from the sideline your offensive guys already know what they will be doing but the defense has to react to it.  You have now negatively impacted the defenses lines of communication because they are trying to get a call and you already have yours.  Now the issue that arises is you have to have a play that has different built in options for the QB to get you out of bad situations.  Usually the best case scenario for speed ball is any form of option football that has built in access throws for the QB based on coverages.  In this scenario you can get the football to 3 or 4 or 5 different players without ever changing the play.  Now you have to have a QB that can read and react on the fly as opposed to a QB that can stop and change the play.  So in general you still need a smart and savvy QB that has to be well trained to execute this type of offense.  

Keep in mind there are no magic bullets in football.  It will still always come down to blocking, throwing, catching, and securing the football on offense.  I took a new job in the off season and we got off to a slow start and lost a few games because we did not execute the fundamentals of football.  But our kids understand how to run the speedball tempo and the few times we have done it this season it has worked for us.  It actually eliminates a lot of the thinking on offense because you do not have to worry about formation, snap count, or assignment changes.  At times I think coaches including myself make it more difficult than it needs to be and in essence slow kids down when our whole intent is to PLAY FAST!!!!!

Sometimes I forget myself, but it is important to try and remember our goal is to PLAY FAST.

Run Access Throws

GIVE YOUR QB ALL ACCESS

Today we will be talking about access or free throws on the backside of run plays.  As a Split End or X Receiver growing up in the late 1980's I was always stalking the deep man middle of the field on runs away from me.  My coaches would always tell us to work like hell to get to the FS because that was the "Home Run" block.  But then they would tell us that we may only get to that Safety 4 or 5 times a year, but when we do it will be a big play.  It was not very efficient in terms of time spent practicing it and times actually accomplishing it.  We were not an up tempo team so the QB was responsible for getting us in and out of good plays.  As a Head Coach today in an up tempo offense I choose to give my backside receivers and QB'S access or free throws.

We Are In Charge

As an up tempo team the Offensive Coordinator is in charge of getting the team into good play calls.  Let's be honest, we are going to watch way more film than a 16 year old QB so we should be in charge.  If you are going to try and play fast you have to give your QB a chance to get himself out of possible bad situations with easy throws.  You also want to be able to take anything "free" or easy the defense gives you.  If you are a check with me team it is much easier to get into good play calls after watching the defense line up.  As a tempo team it becomes a little harder.  Your goal is to call plays as fast as you can so you do not always see what the defense is in.  You are usually relying on film study and tendencies, but you are going to make bad calls as a tempo coach.  If you watch a lot of up tempo teams play, you will see them in some 2nd and 12-15 scenarios.  We have to be honest in our approach and understand the other team has coaches and players as well, and we can't win every down.  One of the ways you can help that is by using access throws on the backside of runs.  This will allow the QB to make decisions within play calls to put the offense in a good situation.  It also allows your receivers to stay excited with a chance to get the ball on run plays as well.  Your front side receivers will still have to block the point of attack but the guys backside will be running routes which is what they really want to do.  Everybody has seen their share of receivers backside taking plays off, heck I did it as a player as well.  Now with routes built in and the potential to get the ball, they won't take plays off(we hope).  As a Head Coach I would like to think that I do not tolerate guys taking plays off, but in reality it happens to all of us at all levels.

More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

You can choose several different routes on the backside to run.  Some guys like slants, others like outs.  I suggest keeping it simple while having an answer for press coverage and off coverage.  I try not to let the players make a lot of decisions, but rather give them rules on what they can run and when they can run it.  We have experimented with letting the QB give a signal for the routes which works when you have an experienced QB but I'm not sure how good that would be with a younger or newer QB.  The access throws theory allows me to call runs as quickly as I can or want while giving the QB a chance to take what the defense gives us, or get me out of a bad call if the side of the run is overloaded.  It also gives us a chance to use the same play 2 or 3 times in a row with the ball going to different players.  If you are going to be an up tempo team I suggest you use the access throws theory on the backside.  Remember the execution of these plays is more important than the scheme itself so coach all the little things up and clean it up.

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO PLAY FAST