It is amazing how far technology has come in the last 15 years! The technology that is now available has made vast amounts of information available for coaches at all levels. We have come a long way from the days of waiting 5 hours for 16mm film to get developed!
My first year coaching I went to the MegaClinic in Atlantic City and bought a video by Jerry Campbell, who would become a great mentor to me. Jerry's video was a VHS tape on the installation of the option game. I played that video so much I wore it out! In about 2005 I ordered my first instructional DVD. You were able to skip from chapter to chapter and more easily find information. I thought that was high cotton! Little did I know what the future held.
Several years ago I was asked to record my own coaching DVD's with Coaches Choice. We started with a set of 4, then did another set, and all of a sudden we had about 18 DVD's. Dr. Peterson, who owns Coaches Choice, asked me to write a couple of books on the pistol. In 2012 we released 101 Pistol Run Plays and 101 Pistol Option Plays.
Last year Keith Grabowski called me and told me he was writing his own pistol book through the ibooks publisher. When he completed it he offered me a chance to download it. It was amazing! He incorporated videos and power point slides into the book. Coach Grabowski opened the door to the future of publishing! It is also a great book!
This fall, Dr. Peterson called me and said we were going to transform my two pistol books to the ibooks format. I was ecstatic. After seeing the finished product, I am very pleased.
101 Pistol Option Plays is actually so large that it had to be converted into two ibooks. There is so much video that one book would be too large of a file! Part 1 contains more traditional option concepts like midline and inside veer. Part 2 contains option concepts from the pistol that are more spread oriented. A large part of the book is inside zone read, power read, and counter read. Each chapter has a detailed description of the schematics of the concept being introduced.
One of the greatest features of the book is the ability to incorporate film room walk throughs! I will actually talk you through concepts just like if we were in the film room! It is an amazing way to interact.
The coaches film room allows the author to talk you through a concept, brining the film room right onto your iPad!
The ability to incorporate power point slides and full color pictures really brings the book to life!
This is going to be an exciting clinic season as the way you purchase books and videos has forever been transformed! You can now get a book that you can take anywhere, as long as you have a mac or an iPad. That is the one drawback to the ibook format, is that right now it only works on iOS products. The great thing as that you can find refurbished iPad 2's, 3's, and 4's for very reasonable prices!
In addition to my pistol books, there are several other books available using this same technology. Gus Malzahn's book on the Fast Paced No Huddle is also available. Rich Hargitt has some awesome air raid books available on the ibook platform.
If you are looking for more information on the pistol, check out 101 Pistol Option Plays! It has hours of video and hundreds of slides and pictures to go along with the diagrams and descriptions of each concept. Here is a link to 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 1: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 1
Part 1 focuses on traditional option concepts like midline and veer.
And here is a link to 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 2: 101 Pistol Option Plays Part 2 Part 2 contains more spread concepts including inside zone read, outside zone read, counter read, and power read.
101 Pistol Run Plays will be released in the next few days.
This is a tremendous platform for coaches to research new concepts, and I am very excited to see what will come down the pipeline in the future!
A few months back I published a couple of iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense.
I also wrote a book on Tempo. It will greatly help you build a multiple tempo system with simple communication that will allow your kids to play with confidence. It also had over an hour of video clips! You can order the ibooks version here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270.
Perhaps the most versatile play in football is the power play. With one blocking scheme the offense can give the defense a multitude of different looks.
I have two main goals on offense. First, I want to find the leverage point. We define the leverage point as the area we have an advantage on the defense. Second, I want to put as many defenders in conflict as possible. Rather than running a concept from one formation and giving the defense the same look, I want to give them the same concept from several different formations with multiple backfield actions. This is why I like the "power" play so much.
The first way I install the power is as the traditional downhill power play. Our frontside is going to block gap away. The center is going to block back, the backside guard is going to pull through the first window, and the backside tackle is going to dig out the backside B gap to hinge. The offensive line is leaving the frontside End Man on the Line (EMOL) unblocked.
To account for the EMOL, we have multiple variations of the power. First, we can use a player in the backfield to kick him out. Second, we can use the H back to kick him out. Third, we can use a backside player to kick him out. Fourth, we can kick him with the pulling guard and let the back lead up through the first window. And finally, we can read the end man on the line.
Here is an example of the traditional 2 back power play from the pistol.
Defensive ends and outside linebackers tend to be the best players on the defense. Because of this, we want to be able to put them in conflict to slow them down. If they know that when they get a down block they will get a kickout block, the will be able to anticipate the kickout and box or spill the player based on the defensive call. However, if the defender doesn't know who is kicking him, or if he is being read, or if he is going to be cracked, he is going to hesitate. It is through this hesitation that we gain a tremendous advantage.
Another variation of the 2 back power is the using an H back to kick out the end man on the line. The H can be a frontside or a backside player. In the example below, the H back is aligned to the backside of the play. If the defense were to set their front away from the H, the offense could bring the play back to the side the H is aligned.
Another variation is the have the QB open away from the play and mesh with the back. This forces the defense to hesitate slightly as they don't know if the point of attack is to the mesh side, or away from the mesh side.
Because we want to keep the EMOL guessing, we can exchange the assignments of the pulling guard and the kickout player. This is a great variation from two and three back sets. In the three back look, the frontside back will block the primary force player. The backside guard will pull and kick out the end man on the line, while the backside back will lead through the window. The quarterback can open to the play, or away from the play.
Another variation of this concept is to combine the veer and the power. This is a great frontside read concept from the 3 back pistol. Instead of blocking the EMOL, the QB will read him. The EMOL is used to squeezing the down block and finding the kick out player. In this read concept, the EMOL is not going to get blocked. This forces him to have to decide whether to play the dive back, or the quarterback. If the EMOL plays the dive, the QB will pull the ball and get replace the EMOL. If the EMOL slow plays or comes upfield, the QB will give the ball.
If the backside B gap defender is giving the offense a problem, they can make a GUS call, which means guard stay. Because the backside back can replace the puller, the backside guard can now protect the backside B gap. This allows the center and frontside guard to combo the nose.
This barely scratches the surface of the new innovations of the traditional power concept. The power has been a successful concept for many years, and with new variations, it has grown to be one of the most versatile offensive concepts being run.
For these and many, many more concepts of the power and power read, check out my DVD on the power and power read from Coaches Choice. It will give you dozens of ways to put the defense in conflict while getting your best athletes the football in open space! The DVD covers multiple ways to run the power and power read from the pistol and gun! I take you through the mechanics and schematics of of the frontside and backside power read from three backs empty! This DVD will help you score more points!
In January of 2016 I published a couple of iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense.
I also wrote a book on Tempo. It will greatly help you build a multiple tempo system with simple communication that will allow your kids to play with confidence. It also had over an hour of video clips! You can order the ibooks version here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270.
One of the keys to our success was tremendous preparation!The key to preparation was our outstanding group of documents we used for all three phases. If you are looking for fully editable and customizable documents that you can tailor to your program, I have made mine available.
It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today for under $15 and download them tonight!
Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/
And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/
Someone asked me at a clinic this year, "what makes a great football play?" My answer was stolen from something Mike Leach once said. "A play where you don't have to block many dudes." I am not very smart, but I am smart enough to know that we will have a better chance for success if we don't have to block as many players.
Explosive Offense comes down to three things:
1. Leverage
2. Numbers
3. Green Grass
If we can get the ball into the hands of a good athlete with leverage, numbers, and green grass, we have a better chance to gain yards and move the chains. We have a better chance for an explosive play.
What is leverage? Better yet, do your players know what leverage is? Leverage is simply an advantage. If I want to get to the cone on the right, do I have an advantage over my opponent? Below are two pictures illustrating leverage. The player in red needs to get to the red box. The player in white needs to defend the box. If I have the advantage, I have leverage.
In the picture above, the player in red has the advantage. He has leverage.
In the bottom picture the player in white has leverage. He has an angle to defender the player in red from getting to the the box.
Leverage is vital in the game of football. If you have leverage, you have an angle to make a block or defend and area. If you have leverage, keep it, if you don't have leverage, go get it.
The second component is numbers. Do we have enough players to account for the defenders? On defense, do we have enough players to account for each gap? We want to have a numerical advantage when we run a play. A coach asked me the other day how we block 6 in the box when we run inside zone from our 2x2 look. My answer is that you can't. Unless, you have a guy that can block two of theirs. If you do, then you should win. The way we account for the 6th defender is to read him. Reading a defender allows us to account for one more player.
Too often, we beat our heads against the wall trying to run a play when we don't have the numbers.
In the example above, a 4-3 team is keeping all three linebackers in the box. This means you have 7 defenders for 5 blockers. Even if we read a defender, we have to pick a player who will not be blocked. However, if we look outside the box, we have numbers. We can throw the bubble and block the corner, giving us a better chance at an explosive play.
How many times have we tried to run a play and got stopped because we ran the play into an area where we were outnumbered? If we don't have leverage, and we don't have numbers, we can't have an explosive play.
What if that same defense moved their linebackers outside the box to be in a better position to play the bubble? Now you have a 5 man box, giving you numbers to run the inside zone.
We can now account for all 5 players in the box. This gives us an opportunity for a successful football play. We would rather play 5 on 5 than 5 on 7.
Here is an example of the inside zone play being run versus a 5 man box.
We can take this a step further, and play 6 on 5. If we "read" a defender we have 5 players to block 4 defenders.
We can also add a third option phase with a receiver, to account for another defender to the read side. With a 5 man box the defense has to borrow from the secondary to account for the quarterback. We can add essentially a pitch phase to put the quarterback player in conflict.
If we have leverage and numbers, we should have green grass. Green grass is where we want our best athletes. If we can get a good athlete the football in green grass we should be able to have explosive football plays.
The best way to do this is to give your quarterback simple RPO's based on presnap alignment. We like to marry a run and a pass together. We might pair inside zone with the bubble screen. Two the 2 receiver side we want to know where the 2nd defender is lined up. If he is outside the box, we don't have leverage. We would then look to the other side. If the number 2 defender is outside the box, we would know we should have leverage to run inside the box.
In this example both number 2 defenders are outside the box. We want to run inside the box.
If the linebacker to our right was inside the box, we would want to attack the perimeter to that side where we have leverage.
What if the defense came out in a 1 high look? Now you will get a six man box with inverts leveraging your #2 receiver. In this case we would want to "read" a defender in the box to account for all six defensive players. We can add a triple option phase with the bubble player, which adds more pressure do the defense.
And here is a video clip of our inside zone read with a triple option component. They inverted their secondary to move a 6th player into the box, while playing cover 3.
The "cowboy" tag tells the number 2 receiver he will become the pitch man. Rather than having him block the outside linebacker, the cowboy tag allows you to pitch off the outside backer. Better yet, build your RPO concept into your run play and the "cowboy" component is built in. With a one word call you can communicate the run and pass concept. Your offensive line blocks the run. The QB determines whether you throw the quick concept or execute the run. If he executes the run and gets a pull read, he can still throw the quick game concept.
As I look to put a game plan together, I want to know where we can find leverage and numbers. From there, we ask ourselves where we have a personnel advantage. I script the first 15 plays, with an eye to look at formations we feel give us an advantage. Once we find something we can take advantage of, we begin to hammer away. We faced a team about 12 years ago that ran a 4-4, and consistently had a 6 man box versus our two back sets. We ran our isolation play 22 times in the second half. At one point, we ran the iso 9 straight plays on a 12 play scoring drive.
If you want to improve your offense, make sure the play called gives you leverage and numbers, giving you green grass. This will increase the number of explosive plays you have, which means more points on the scoreboard.
A big part of winning the battle for leverage is incorporating RPO's into your offense. I wrote a new book on RPO's that is available as an ibook for the iPad, iPhone, and Mac. It is also available for the Kindle.
A few months back I published a couple of iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense.
I also wrote a book on Tempo. It will greatly help you build a multiple tempo system with simple communication that will allow your kids to play with confidence. It also had over an hour of video clips! You can order the ibooks version here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270.
One of the keys to our success was tremendous preparation!The key to preparation was our outstanding group of documents we used for all three phases. If you are looking for fully editable and customizable documents that you can tailor to your program, I have made mine available.
It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today for under $15 and download them tonight!
Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/
And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/
Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points!
https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint
All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points.
The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season.
My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts.
https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint
One concept we like on offense is the concept of two
offensive players tracking two defensive players. This is a very important
concept in our option game from the pistol and offset look from the gun. When
we started running the zone read in 1999, defenses were vanilla in how they
defended us. By 2003 and 2004, however, defensive coordinators started to cloud the read
for the quarterback.
The favorite stunt we would see was the defensive end
running the heel line, while the read side inside linebacker would work the C
gap. Typically this stunt was run when we got a one technique and a 5 technique
to the side we set our back. The first time we saw this our quarterback got hit
in the mouth. The defensive end running the heel line gave the quarterback a
pull read. It was frustrating for the quarterback as he was doing exactly what
he had been coached to do.
Our staff sat down the following Sunday and began to look
for solutions. Little did we know the
answer was already in our playbook. Because we had been running midline with
great success for several years, we had seen a similar gap exchange from the
Mike LB and the 3 technique. The 3 technique would squeeze the release of the
guard, while the Mike would work over the top into the B gap. To counter this
we had a second player tracking the Mike linebacker.
We got on the white board and started looking at how we
could make the same concept work with our zone read game. We ended up with a
simple concept that could work with any of our zone read concepts, as well as
our inside veer play. We would use a second player to track the playside
linebacker, along with our read side offensive tackle.
Our read side tackle and our bonus player would both have
their eyes on the playside linebacker. If the playside linebacker stepped up in
the B gap, the tackle would block him. The second player tracking the playside
backer would climb to the next most dangerous man.
If the playside linebacker scraped outside, the second player
tracking the PSLB would block him, while the tackle would work to the next most
dangerous man.
In addition, we also turned our inside zone read into a
triple option by adding a pitch phase. From our 2x2 look our inside receiver
would be our pitch man. This keeps the defense from rolling a safety down to play
the quarterback. They must honor the pitch phase.
Here is a clip of this two track two concept in action with a pitch phase.
In the clip, our second player tracking the read side backer took a poor angle and got leveraged by the safety. Instead of a 25 yard gain, we settled for a 9 yard gain.
Here is another example, where our playside tackle gets a body on the side backer, and the Y climbs to the safety. The triple option aspect forced the defense to play assignment football.
As we expanded and grew our pistol offense, we were able to
be creative with the alignment of the second player tracking the read side
backer. Any of our skill players could
be the second player tracking the playside linebacker. We could align them in
the backfield, or as a wing or slot to or away from the read side. In the picture below, the F is aligned in a slot and works across the formation to work with the read side tackle to account for the playside inside linebacker.
A lot of coaches ask if he gets in the way of the pistol back. The only way this happens is if he doesn't hustle on the snap.
Below is the back aligned in the backfield becoming the second player tracking the read side backer.
Another rule we added was that our read side tackle blocked anything that crossed his face. If the read player crossed his face, we blocked him. Instead of determining our read pre-snap, we told our QB to read the C gap player, after the snap.
As defenses began to catch-up with the zone read, we had to adjust how we read the C gap. Sometimes we would get three players moving on the read side, and the quarterback had to be drilled to make a post snap determination of who his read is.
We must differentiate when we need to have a second player tracking the playside backer. If we are getting a slant across the tackle's face, the tackle would block him and the QB adjusts his read to the C gap player. If C gap player runs the heel line, we want to get a second player tracking the PSLB to account for the gap exchange.
I hope there is something you can use from this blog post. These are ideas you may want to consider if teams like to gap exchange your read game.
If you are looking for more information on the two tracking
two concept, check out 101 Pistol Option Plays. It is available on Amazon and from Coaches Choice. The ebook is only available here:
Also, published a couple of iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense.
I also wrote a book on Tempo. It will greatly help you build a multiple tempo system with simple communication that will allow your kids to play with confidence. It also had over an hour of video clips! You can order the ibooks version here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270.
One of the keys to our success was tremendous preparation!The key to preparation was our outstanding group of documents we used for all three phases. If you are looking for fully editable and customizable documents that you can tailor to your program, I have made mine available.
It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today for under $15 and download them tonight!
Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/
And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/
Back about
ten years ago we lined up in the pistol for the first time, little did we know
what we were embarking upon. We were running some zone read from the gun and
people were playing games on the side we set our back. There were some real
tendencies we were trying to overcome. We set our back behind the quarterback
and found we were able to run our inside zone read game, just as we had with
the back offset. By the time 2006 rolled around, we were in the pistol
full-time.
In our eyes,
there were two distinct advantages to the pistol. The first was that we could
run our zone read game without the defense knowing which side would be the side
we were reading. The second advantage was the fact that we were able to run all
of our downhill run concepts from the pistol. Finally, our quarterback had
depth in the pass game.
The biggest
advantage to being in the pistol was balance. When we were under center we didn’t
throw the ball often… or very effectively. Because of this, we routinely faced
8 and nine man fronts. When we got into the gun, we were able to spread people
out. We were able to take some pressure off of our offensive lineman.
The defense has loaded the box. The safety is only 6 yards away from the LOS!
The Gun Spread the Defense Out- FS now at 12 yards
Because our
quarterback already had depth, we were able to protect better. Our quarterbacks
were able to throw the ball better. They were more comfortable. All of a sudden
we had balance. Because we had balance, we ran the ball more effectively.
In the 90’s
we were based out of the I. We ran midline, load veer, iso, toss, trap, inside
zone, counter, and power. We chose 6 to 7 of these concepts to run each year,
depending on personnel. We were consistently one of the top rushing teams in
the area. In 1999 we were introduced to the zone read by Jerry Campbell, who
was the offensive coordinator at Westwood High School just outside of Austin,
Texas. Forever our world was changed.
During this same time, we met a young, energetic coach from a small college up North. Chip Kelly was recruiting for New Hampshire, and was on the forefront of the zone read game. He had some ideas that were way ahead of their time. Over the next couple of years we began to
incorporate the gun zone read into our offense. By 2002, we were in the gun about 50% of
the time. However, we were still getting under center to run midline, iso,
veer, toss, and trap. We were running our zone read concepts from the gun.
We thought we
were diverse, as teams had to prepare for our gun based offense, and out I
based offense. What we learned from talking to our opponents is that we were
very easy to defend because of our tendencies. They defended our I formation
offense one way, and our gun based offense another way. We also were
essentially running two distinct systems, which did not allow for efficiency in
practice. We needed to find a way to run the best of the three worlds we were
living in.
Enter the
Pistol
While we had
dabbled in the pistol previously, it was in 2005 and 2006 that we figured out
some things we can do with the pistol. I had a tremendous offensive line coach,
Chris Harris. During spring football, we were putting the back behind the QB to
run our zone read concepts. We used both one and two back looks. We were at the
end of spring practice when we fumbled a bunch of snaps under center. We told
our QB to stay at 5 yards. We had our F line up at 4 yards behind the right
guard. Our tailback was lined up behind the Q. We snapped the ball to the QB,
who turned and gave the ball to the tailback. We were running traditional Iso
from the pistol.
From there,
we ran inside veer. We started running it with the offset back running the dive
path. Then, we evolved to running inside veer with the pistol back being the
dive back. Next, we ran traditional power. Then, counter trey. All of a sudden,
we were able to marry our spread run game, option game, and our traditional
downhill run game from the pistol. We no longer had to get under center.
Over the last
9 years, I have helped several schools install the spread and pistol offenses.
Each school I have helped has done things differently. That is the great thing
about this game. You can take tried and true concepts and make them your own. It has been a lot of fun to see how guys have taken different concepts and adapted them to the pistol.
The weekend
of March 1st I will be speaking at the Nike Clinic in Oregon to talk
about our Pistol Offense. I will be speaking on Marrying the Downhill Run Game
and the Spread with the Pistol, and Installing the Quick Pass Game from the
Pistol. If you are heading to the clinic, stop by and say hello.
When I first started speaking on the pistol at clinics in 2006 and 2007, I would have small crowds. Most of them were curious, but they just couldn't grasp the concept of the back being behind the QB in the gun. Last year, I had over 500 coaches in one session. With the success of some NFL teams bringing more exposure to the pistol, I am excited to see how much the interest has increased.
If there is anything I can do to help you with the pistol, shoot me an email. This business is all about coaches helping coaches. We all have begged, borrowed, and stolen from other coaches.
Also, I published a couple of iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense.
I also wrote a book on Tempo. It will greatly help you build a multiple tempo system with simple communication that will allow your kids to play with confidence. It also had over an hour of video clips! You can order the ibooks version here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270.
One of the keys to our success was tremendous preparation!The key to preparation was our outstanding group of documents we used for all three phases. If you are looking for fully editable and customizable documents that you can tailor to your program, I have made mine available.
It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today for under $15 and download them tonight!
Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/
And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/
