Protection Schemes

In our protection schemes, we are simple.  We like to block "Bigs" which is big-on-big as the 1st element of the protection.  We put our big guys on their big guys.  Whichever side the back is set, he has responsibility for the linebacker to that side, and the center has the linebacker away from the back.

One of the exercises we do to emphasize the time factor in protection is placing a cone 7 yards off the line of scrimmage to mark the QB's drop.  We will place a defensive end in his alignment and time how long it takes him to get to the cone.  Usually takes about 1.8 to 1.9 seconds.  When we place simply a bag in front of him and take away his angle of pursuit, the time now changes to about 2.1 seconds.  For most of our passes, we want the ball delivered around 2.8 seconds.

I tell the QB's they need to throw the ball within 2.8 seconds or they will be sacked.  We tell our offensive lineman to give the QB 4 seconds to throw the ball.  If you really think about it, how hard is it for a lineman to block his guy for 1 second?

The protection is a critical part of the attack, but it is not that complicated or difficult.  In our slide protection, we slide the lineman into a gap-protection scheme and the R-Back blocks the 5-technique opposite of the call.

If we want to play-action pass, we give an "Act" call.  Our numbering system puts our odd numbers to the left and even numbers to the right.  If we call "Act 3, the offensive line hears "Act," and automatically slide away from the call.  On the "Act 3" play, the line slides to the right.

The last protection scheme is what we call "Solid."  We take our best offensive blocker and single him up on the defensive end.  He blocks by himself and is locked onto that guy, while the rest of the offensive line slides away from him.  The R-Back takes the linebacker to that side.

We have various other protection schemes for our Roll Out, Sprint Out, and Naked concepts.  I am looking for discussion on these 3 protections in particular.  If you would like to share some of your knowledge, I am eager to talk football.

No Huddle Discussion Part 3

Communication Systems

The no-huddle “language” should be easy enough for the offense to communicate with one another, yet complicated enough to confuse the defense.  Some teams signal from the sidelines, and the QB might verbally repeat the communication, while other teams just signal from the sideline and are silent on the field after the information is signaled in.  The University of Oregon brought forth a new way of communicating by having boards held up on the sidelines, while teams like Auburn use colored flip charts and numbers in a complex way of determining whether to look at the flip chart or the signaler.  Last but not least, players referring to wristbands, which can be communicated verbally or nonverbally.  No one style is better than the other, in fact everyone of these styles are run at the three top levels of football:  High School, college, and the NFL.

In my opinion, whatever type of communication method you chose, there are certain basic information that needs to be communicated to the offense.  Not in any specific order:

·         Personnel

·         Formations

·         Motion (if any)

·         Cadence

·         Tags

·         Protection

During my coaching experience at the high school level, I was always trying to figure out ways to “dummy down” the play call.  When I first started calling plays on Friday nights, I would change out my “X” receiver and have the kid replacing him run the play into the QB.  The problem that I found quickly was, by time that kid got to the huddle, he forgot the play or left something out.  The QB would look to the sideline and raise his hands in the air.  I could sense the frustration…

Researching the no-huddle by going to clinics, reading books, and talking with other coaches, made me realize there were better ways to communicate from the sideline to the players on the field.  Coach Scott Weaver helped me out tremendously with communication, and opened my eyes to new fun ways to get the kids involved in hand/arm signals and naming the plays.  I just want to say thank you for all your help Scott, those long late night phone calls brought us our first league title in 19 years.