It's Only a Game

A poem I wrote in 2008.  I know, I'm a man of many talents...

It’s only a game

Sweat runs down a tired and bloody face
The coach sends the signal in “40 base”
The defense aligns on the offense ready to go
The outcome of the play they do not know
The offense has been pounding the ball all day
But as coach says…”we must find a way”
As in life you must find the answer to your questions
And do so without doubt or hesitation
For when the ball is snapped and the play is run
It is now your turn to go and get the job done
To make the tackle and stop the play for no gain
Seizing the moment, regardless the strain
This burden you bear on a Friday night in the fall
Will make the difference in success or none at all
Someday a similar opportunity will come within your grasp
Will you remember this time and be up to the task?
The crowd noise disappears and your mother’s voice booms
“Do your best” you hear as toward the ball carrier you zoom
“Don’t be uptight” again you hear your mother say
But you are tense as you run along your way
He’s squaring his shoulders to run to the alley
If I could only run faster, I wouldn’t need to hurry
But he is good and one of the best you’ve faced
He’s rounding the corner at a feverish pace
He’s done it all night, and done it so well
It would be so easy to give up and never live to tell
Your mom wouldn’t be mad she would understand
But you know in your heart the opportunity is at hand
To make a difference, to make an impact
By tackling the often elusive scat back
All week long you’ve heard how good he was
You’ve seen all night how quickly his feet buzz
As he’s cut and darted and dashed around
You know if you fail it will be all over town
You know this is the chance to make a play
And as in life coach says “you better seize the day”
For opportunities only come along once in a while
If you miss them, you can only look back with a smile
And say I could have or I should have as those have before
And never know success or hear the crowd roar
The time is getting near, the back getting nearer and nearer
Mom’s voice comes in but you don’t want to hear her
“Your coach is too serious, it’s a game played by boys”
The crowd disappears and your breathing is the only noise
You hear his breathing now as he is upon you
Eye to eye with this terrorist in pads
When he is tackled you will certainly be glad
At the very last moment you see you don’t have the angle
And in a last ditch effort you dive at his ankles
Only to see him hurdle you and gallop to victory
Could someone tell me where is the free safety?
He is now cheering with his teammates
You are wishing it was you who could celebrate
But he saw the opportunity and he seized the date
Starting in the summer with lifting weights
He beat you months earlier when you were out on a date
He was lifting, working, and preparing for this moment
Because he feared losing, having victory stolen
That is why you failed to win the game you desire
He was better than you, had more competitive fire
As you watch him run down the field
Hearing the crowd moan groan and squeal
You’re hoping somehow it would be a dream
But you hear through the noise your mom’s voice beam
“You did your best and shouldn’t be ashamed…
…remember son, it’s only a game”.

Duece

TGOG Film

Well, it's finally here!  For those that have doubted the technique, a dear friend of mine, and colleague, Coach Barry Hoover, who runs Coach Hoover's Football Coaching Site, has done all the leg work for me in finding the proper cut-ups for the film and putting it all together.  I can take no credit here, Coach Hoover's a fine individual, who by the way, can tear up some BBQ!!!  Anhow, here is the film, hope everyone enjoys it!

Some other things to look at this off-season:

Brophy stirring the pot with Florida State and Mickey Andrew's famous "jet" technique and pass rush technique in his latest blog post.  He also has another good post on the "In, At, Out" Drill for LB's.

Some other sites to check out are in my blog roll.  Always give these guys a look, there's some good stuff out there!

Smart Football
Hit Em' Hard
Spread Football
Blitzology
Compete in All Things

These are just a few in my blog roll.  Great stuff out there written by great coaches that take time out of their busy schedules to help us out.  Thanks guys!!!  Dog days of summer are here, don't get lacidasical!!!!  Season's right around the corner.

Duece

Some More Stunts for the Zone Read

Not that stunt!

In some recent discussions on the Huey board, I decided to dust off a post that was actually supposed to have been posted over a year ago!  It was a thread that was to go along with one of my first posts about the Down and Up stunt against the zone read.  As with many things, I shelved it and haven't been back to it.  Well here it is, and here are a couple of other stunts that may help you against the zone read by giving different looks to the offense.

Setting the Three Technique
This one topic has been debated countless times.  The offense has the upper hand because by setting the three technique away from the running back they have an easy cut back lane if the ball is handed off to the running back.  Not to mention an open B gap to the weak side that they can exploit if they have a running QB by running QB iso to that side.  If you set the three technique to the back, then the blocking on the front side of the zone play becomes a bit easier because of the soft B gap.  So what to do?  The two stunts discussed here involve moving the three technique in a manner that allows the defense to dictate what the offense will do.  If your defense is not flexible enough to move the three technique around, you need seriously reevaluate what you are doing defensively.

Stunt 1- Using the Three Technique as the QB Player
The first stunt is where the 3 technique is set to the RB.  On the snap, the defensive end will slam down hard into the B gap and attack the near hip of the offensive guard.  This will do two things.  To the QB it looks like the end has come down hard and this should be a pull read.  Second, if the ball is given, then the DE will have the B gap for the cutback run.  The Tackle, will loop outside and replace the DE to contain the QB.  Again, if the QB pulls the football, then he will run right into the unblocked three technique.  Obviously the success of this stunt lies in the ability of the three technique to tackle in space.  A good rule is to do this when  the offense puts the RB into the boundary, which gives the QB less room to operate in.

Stunt 2- The Read Blitz
The Read Blitz was introduced to me a few years back as a well to "mess" with the option QB and give the defense another easy way to defend the option.  Against the spread, the defense will set the three technique away from the RB, inviting the cutback.  Pre-snap the weak side LB will walk up to within a yard of the LOS into the open B gap.  This LB is keying the near hip off the offensive guard.  If the hip moves inside, the LB attacks right off this hip and flat down the LOS, looking to prevent the cutback.  If the hip attacks to him, either vertically or laterally, the LB will work to get up field and wall off the play coming to him (could be power, iso or QB zone).  The DE to the side of the read blitz will now become the QB player.  In similar fashion to the down and up stunt, the DE will still squeeze the tackle, but with hands only, being aware not to get his shoulders turned so that he may be in a position to contain the QB if the QB pulls the football (which will more than likely happen due to the DE "squatting").

The beauty of this stunt is that even if the LB gets washed, he's done his job, because he's eliminated the cut back lane in the weak side B gap (which is what most DC's are worried about by setting the three technique to the back).  The major coaching point here is to have the DE squeeze with his hands, and then shuffle down the line, being prepared to tackle the QB.

The read blitz can be used against many types of options and was introduced to me as a way to mess with the triple option QB on inside veer.  Against the veer, the LB simply tackles the dive back if the guard's hip goes down inside.  The DE will still squeeze and sit for the QB.  This is a simple stunt that doesn't take a ton of teaching time to develop and can really foul up an option QB's reads.

A word of caution, be well prepared and know when to run this stunt as it's not the best in the world against isolation runs to the opposite side of the stunt for the lack of the extra player to make up for the extra gap presented by the lead blocker.  It's also a bit tough vs. the pass because now the LB must drop to his zone, being only a yard off the LOS.  This is where detailed film study is really crucial in game planning.

So, that's it!  Just a couple of tidbits to keep you rolling along.  Sorry it's been so long between postings, but life is back to that glorious busy buzz of high school football.  Never thought I'd ever say it feels good to be underpaid and overworked!!!!

Duece