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Volume 13 Issue 3

Editorial Advisory Board

Coaching Footballs Split 4-4 Defense Linebacker Fundamentals ..................................... 3 Pete Noble GRIDIRON Coach College Spotlight Charleston University ........................................... 5 The Golden Eagle Way of Core Training .............. 6 Ken Farrar Offensive Line Drill Progression for the Triple Gun ................................................. 7 Ralph Insernia Pursuit Progression .............................................. 12 Carey Baker Using the Belley Series to Attack the Defense ............................................ 14 Chuck Apap

Bill Williams Football Coaches Professional Growth Association (FCPGA) San Diego, California

Gino Arcaro Head Football Coach Niagara College Welland, Ontario, Canada

Chet ONeill Mikey Marotti Clinic Director Coordinator Strength and Big New England Football Clinics Conditioning University of Florida Centerville, Massachusetts Mike Roark Assistant Head Coach Pasadena City College National Recruiting Coordinator, Offense and Defense Camps Pasadena, California Tony DeMeo Head Football Coach University of Charleston Charleston, West Virginia

GRIDIRON Coach Staff Dan Palazotto - Publisher/Editor Dawn Palazotto - Assoc. Publisher Joshua Tipis - Traffic Manager

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GRIDIRON Coach is published six times a year by Gridiron Publications, 7 Hansbrinker Court, Liberty Township, Ohio 45044; Toll Free (866) 326-2327, Local (513) 759-9963; www.GridironPublications.com; e-mail editor@GridironPublications.com. ISSN 1071-1902 One year subscription (six issues) $25-U.S., $35-Canada, $40-International. GRIDIRON Coach (c) 2005, Gridiron Publications All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording without the written permission of Gridiron Publications (the copyright holder). Prices for reprints of articles are available upon request. Gridiron Publications assumes no responsibility for unsolicited editorial or graphic materials. All information herein is believed to be accurate, however, we cannot assume responsibility. Contributed articles represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Publisher.

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Coaching Footballs Split 4-4 Linebacker Fundamentals

Pete Noble Monterey High School Monterey, CA The other aspect of this defense that we like is it lets us use our athletes. Most high school teams can fill needed positions within the framework of this defense. I never talk about the size of players, I only emphasize abilities of players. We are not a gap-controlled defense. We read backs, not offensive linemen. We believe that when you read linemen you teach linebackers to be blocked. My focus in this article will be on inside linebacker play versus the run. The first two ideas we sell our linebackers on are: 1) Take a read step; this will determine where you have to go; 2.) How do you get to the point of attack to make a play? These two concepts are our foundation for all play at linebacker. Coaches ask us all the time how do we get our kids to attack like that? Our standard answer is we practice it everyday! The two inside linebackers are called Mike (strong side inside) and Willy (weak side inside). Both backers line up in the A Gap. Each linebacker will line up at a depth of no less than four yards. If they line up closer than that they simply cant get where they need to go on the snap of the ball. We start our 9th and 10th graders back at 5-6 yards. We believe in the concept depth covers width. The read step is as follows: the middle linebackers start with their outside foot up. On the snap of the ball they step forward towards the quarterback with their inside foot (their outside foot is now free). If the play is a sneak by the quarterback, the linebackers first read is the quarterback. He comes I come!. Upon stepping and eyeballing the quarterback, Mike and Willy key their back. If it is a split back, heavy set, or weak set, they keep the back in front of them. In the I formation they key the fullback. In the Wishbone they key the quarterback through to the fullback to their near back. (I know this sound tough but it isnt). If the running back comes on the dive play, the backer will attack. He comes we come. The backside backer will always over play the trap and counter. Depending on the game plan we might have Willy slow play and look for a dive pass to the tight end. With the front side backer vacating on the dive he will pick up that receiver when the dive is away from the pass to the tight end. It all depends upon sets, game plans, and scouting reports. When Mike reads the near back on power off tackle kick out block route (power off tackle is the same as outside veer to us, we are a veer team), he makes his read step. His landmark is now the inside foot of the tight end. He will immediately take a crossover step. Mike is basically running at a 45-degree angle. His shoulders are not square to the line of scrimmage. He wants to take all blockers on with his inside shoulder. He wants to constantly maintain outside leverage with his up-field shoulder.. He will not run underneath blocks (go inside). He will not run around blocks. He has Willy to help him inside. If possible we want him to run through the outside shoulder of any potential blockers. We impress upon him the urgency to get to the point of attack! We want him to drive through the ball carrier, turn him around and make the play! It is important to mention here that Mike has outside help from the defensive end, corner and safety. Hopefully the outside linebacker, Sam, will set up Mikes play at the point of attack.
3

am fortunate to live and work in a beautiful geographical area. We have a great view of the Monterey Bay from our football field. However there is a price to pay for this view and for the Monterey High School football program that price is steep. We have declining enrollment due to the high cost of housing, and no land for expansion. We have some good athletes, but most of our kids are average high school athletes that are coachable. Budget cuts and the advent of walk-on coaches have drastically changed high school football in the last five years. As a result of the loss of on-campus coaches I believe that coaching your coaches is a necessity. Clear instruction of all football fundamentals must be a high coaching priority. If you dont have clear instructional methods, for your coaches and players, your teams play will be negatively affected. I will not employ a coach who does not believe this. The majority of my current staff is former players. It is fun to work with young enthusiastic coaches, they keep me young! In 1985 when I took the position at Monterey High School all eight of my assistants were on-campus employees. In 2004 I returned to Monterey High School (after 3 years coaching elsewhere) I had only one school district employee on my staff. We also inherited a team that had finished 0-20 in the last two years. Returning players had limited fundamental instruction and some of our seniors had never won a football game. This past year has been a great opportunity to demonstrate the value

Diagram 1

E S C

T M S W

E R C

of clear instructional methods of coaching fundamentals. We run the split 4-4 defen (See Diagram 1): We employ this defense system because it only requires two down lineman. We all have problems with finding linemen both offensively and defensively. Generally we can find 3 or 4 and that means some players will have to go both ways. Big lineman simply cannot play both ways effectively. Fatigued by their size they tend to rest on one side of the ball. The split 4-4 only needs two linemen. So, putting on your math cap, you need five on offense and two on defense for a total 7 linemen. We believe that most high school football teams can find 7 linemen. We believe this allows us to platoon our linemen, keeping them focused and fresh.

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In the meantime what is Willy up to? First of all, with his near back key gone, he will cross key to far back to a far wing. He will shuffle up closer to the line of scrimmage to attack trap counter. We want him to get underneath the line play and aggressively attack the ball carrier in the backfield. He is trained that when the far back doesnt move, or the wing is running back against the grain of the play, it is a trap or counter. His job is to attack in the backfield. He has the defensive end and Rover (backside outside linebacker) for help. The first drill the inside linebackers do all season is the read step cross over drill for one period, which is five minutes every defensive practice. We use a Gilman gear rag (our name for it) which is a vinyl strip with positions marked and splits marked. We put cones to mark the 5-yard start point. We have each line backer go off tackle. In this drill Mike goes to the right. After he goes Willy would go to the left. We have them switch lines so they get practice going both ways. Both linebackers have multiple repetitions going both ways. This is not a warm up drill taken lightly, fundamentals are constantly emphasized! Following former San Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walshs philosophy that if our student athlete cannot make it 100 % of the time vs air to our landmarks we need to find another position for that student/athlete. The next drill progression is front side attack and backside trap/ counter vs air. We do the same drill as above but with backs. We have the backs run dive, power, trap, and move to counter with wings. However, we start with a split back look and work dive, power, and trap. We emphasize techniques and fundamentals. I want to restate, we do this without tackling any ball carriers. We next move to shed block vs sleds. We use the Gilman oneman sled, with cones. We start with right shoulder techniques three times and then go to the left shoulder three times. Then we switch from the sled to blocking shields. We want as many repetitions in a non-threatening manner before we go live with each player. The fourth drill phase is to put offensive tackles and tight ends on both sides of the rag. We go one side at a time and practice running through the block. The inside linebackers read step crossover step and attack. The offensive people try to block them. This may be a two period drill (ten minutes). We do not work the trap aspect in an indo/drill period. We save trap and counters for our thunder period or 8 on 8 (a team run period). We believe the backers get a better read in a game situation because we want them to understand backfield flow. We are also trying to prevent any injuries. Our football program is lucky to have a full-time Scout. We scout each team two weeks before we play them. Our scout, Dave Reynolds, is a retired football coach from Lompoc California (something to consider when forming a staff, he is a volunteer). He brings computer read-outs on all facets of each game, scouting tapes and play cards to our Sunday coaches meetings. We turn this information into written scouting reports for each player. This information is critical for practice and for games. Players receive their reports on Monday nights after practice and on game days each player is responsible for signing and turning in their scouting report to our Equipment Manager. If we travel for a game we allow the players to take their reports on the bus with them. It is a hard penalty if a player doesnt turn their report in! Pete Noble has 33 years of coaching experience in various levels
4

of football, including youth football, high school football, junior college football and semi-pro football. He is currently a teacher, Head Football Coach and Co Athletic Director at Monterey High School, in Monterey, California. Pete has authored Footballs Split 4-4 and instructional videos on the pass, and on the run. These instructional items may be obtained thru Coaches Choice.n

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GRIDIRON Coach College Spotlight Charleston University

n December of 2004, the University of Charleston announced the hiring of Tony DeMeo as its head football coach.

DeMeo came to UC after serving as offensive coordinator at the University of Richmond. I think the University of Charleston can be the premier Division II [school] in the country, said DeMeo. I think we can make some national noise. We have the potential to be a real contender in football, just like UC has been in basketball, soccer, volleyball and some of the other sports. I think Charleston is a great recruiting base, he added. We got some good kids from West Virginia, Ohio and Florida in our first recruiting class. And, location-wise, were roughly three hours from Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Lexington and Richmond. DeMeo inherited 42 players from the last years UC team who participated in spring drills this year. I was very pleased with them, he said. With the combination of players that well have coming in this fall, well have a good mix. We had a great recruiting class that I have to give credit to my assistants for. We built a nice foundation. DeMeo expressed excitement about the future of the Golden Eagles, with commitments from the UC administration to improve athletic facilities that include new turf, new locker rooms and other amenities at University of Charleston Stadium [formerly Laidley Field, which now remains as the field name]. Dr. [Edwin] Welch has a great vision of what UC can become, DeMeo said of the UC president. We both want to produce the best student-athlete. Excellence is a way of life. Well produce student-athletes that are successful in the classroom, field and their community. A 30-year coaching veteran, DeMeo has 19 years service as head coach at Iona, Mercyhurst and Washburn. He also served as offensive coordinator at Murray State, James Madison and Temple and as an assistant at UMass, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Pace. He is a member of the Hall of Fame at Iona, his alma mater. DeMeo has authored four books, including his first which was titled The Grass Isnt Always Greener, Its Only Astroturf. He has also produced several coaching instructional videos and DVDs and is one of the most sought after and entertaining football coaches on the speaking circuit.n

Building a Successful Program By Tony Demeo

1. Pick school with like goals - Same perspective academically. - Find right environment for you. 2. Develop a great supporting staff. - Coaches on the same page. - Care about people. - On same page philisophically. 3. Players on the same page. - Character counts. - Clear vision as to what is going to take place. - Academics is FIRST. A. Breakfast check (proper nutrition). B. Regular class check. C. Emails to teachers. 4. Recruiting - Excel academically. - Excel athletically. At Charleston, we recruit 60 and red shirt 20. - Recruit from three major border cities. 5. Getting more athletic. - Run to win!, running at 6am. - Team dodge ball. 6. Develop a strategy. - Be specific and detailed. - Triple Gun Offense A. Balanced. B. Simplicity. C. Flexible. D. Maximizes skilled people. - Multiple Defensive Package. 7. Drill for success. - Drill for skill. - Minimum technique, maximum usage. 8. Community retlationship. - Develop fan base. - Speak to different groups. - Tie community in. - Radio show. 9. Never ending improvement. - Practice to the minute. - Finding better ways to practice. 10. Take it to the field. - Play to the best of your ability. - Get better every day. - Improvement occurs gradually.

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The Golden Eagle Way of Core Training

Ken Farrar University of Charleston Charleston, WV The routine we prescribe for our young men is adaptable and simple. From the first day they enter the weight room, they have to learn how to activate the deep abdominal musculature by drawing in or as I like to say sucking in your gut. Any athlete can learn this technique. Practicing drawing in requires practice and sort of a mind-muscle connection. Once our players realize that their abdominal infrastructure goes beyond the burn they feel doing a simple crunch, they are ready to advance. The simplest and most effective way of doing this is to get two hockey pucks and tape them on top of one another with an ample amount of athletic tape. Lie on your back and place the pucks over your belly button. Place both hands by your side and draw in like you are trying to fit into a pair of blue jeans that are a size too small. The pucks will disappear momentarily until the exercise is relaxed. Have your athletes do this for a long 5 count and release, 3 sets of 5-8 reps should be plenty for beginners. Once the drawing in technique has been grasped the athlete should be ready to progress. The term I like to echo in our athletes ears is to bring your belly button to your spine. This should have them envisioning the exercise and making that critical mind-muscle connection I previously mentioned. Moving forward have them get on both hands and knees and try the drawing in technique. Once they get comfortable doing this, they should be ready to extend a single arm/leg to a straightened position. This can be done opposite arm/leg or together, either one is effective. The next exercise I teach is called the prone hover or elbows and toes. On a mat have the athlete balance up on their elbows and toes keeping their elbows under their shoulders. Tell them to focus on contracting the muscles of the abs and lower back while keeping their hips in line with their shoulders in a straight line. The critical coaching point is not to let your hips drop below that plane you have created. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds for 3-5 sets. Following the prone hover, have the athlete lie on their side with their elbow directly under their shoulder keeping the legs in a straight line with the top hip up aimed toward the ceiling. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds for 3-5 sets. The next sequence in this circuit is the pelvic bridge. Have the athlete lie on their back with knees bent and feet on the ground. Keeping the drawn in aspect of the exercise tell them to press their hips up to the ceiling while squeezing their glutes and drawing in their belly button. Hold for 15-30 seconds do 3-5 sets. One variation of this exercise is to extend a single leg out for 10 seconds at a time once the technique has been achieved. These are simple exercises that are extremely effective and simple to do for any athlete of any age. We start every workout session with theses exercises and incorporate medicine balls and Swiss balls depending on the athletes level of skill. If you remember that the core is the epicenter of our ability to generate power your athletes will be jumping higher and propelling themselves faster in no time. Ken Farrar is the Strength & Conditioning/Offensive Line Coach at Charleston University. He can be reached by emailing him at kenshady72@yahoo.com.n
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very coach and athlete realizes the importance of strength training in athletics today. Without following a well-regimented strength & conditioning program the chance of injury increases significantly. Never mind that athletes today are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before. In relation to college football, it can be said that it is impossible to compete in todays game without resistance training. Strength training programs are designed to improve muscular endurance, strength, and function. The first goal of our strength & conditioning program at the University of Charleston is Injury Prevention. Football Players have to be built for speed and power this is well known. However, your players have to be on the field and not in the tub to win games. Our philosophy towards strength training is similar to martial arts icon Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee was a huge believer in muscle pliability as we are. We want our athletes to be just that: athletic. We are not in the business of bodybuilding or power lifting. We would rather have our players functionally strong than being good at a particular lift. Conversely, bodybuilding and power lifting do have an influence on the way our football players train, we just dont major in either. We know that strength training will make you physically bigger and stronger. Its also no secret that speed training will make you faster. In addition to running and lifting weights, we at the University of Charleston believe that core training is the one critical aspect of our strength and conditioning program that gives our athletes the greatest benefit. Core training or core conditioning are techniques used to basically strengthen the core of our bodies. The core of the body is made up of the muscles that attach to the pelvis, the abdominals, and back. The core is essentially the foundation of the way our bodies move. The key to sport specific skills is the ability to transfer energy from the ground to our limbs. According to Mike Boyle The core is the critical transfer junction at which energy can be lost or gained.

Boyle also contends that core training is ultimately the evolution of what we have learned from the leading researchers and practitioners of physical therapy about how they treat low back pain. It can be seen that adhering to a routine of core-strengthening exercises will not only make you a better athlete, it will also help you battle the injury bug. Wasnt it Joseph Pilates who invented Pilates during World War I to help hospital ridden patients by strengthening their core muscle groups? So now that we know the benefits of training the core muscle groups, what routine is best? Well here at UC we like to base everything we do in the weight room on the SAID principle (specific adaptations to imposed demands). In so many words, train for the way you will play. Working specifically with football players requires a lot of unilateral movements and explosion from the ground. Obviously, one wouldnt train a golfer and an offensive guard the same way although both can benefit from the SAID principle.

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Offensive Line Drill Progression for the Triple Gun

Ralph Insernia University of Charleston Charleston, WV

First and foremost, our offensive linemen need to play with a nasty demeanor. We are not a finesse offense. We need to play hard and fast. We need to come off the ball low and hard with great intensity. Regardless of your size, you can always play in our offense if you smoke off the ball. A. Stance and Start

We will always work from a two-point stance on run and pass plays. We believe what we gain in vision and defense recognition from a two-point stance; we do not sacrifice speed and leverage. Players will start with a toe to instep relationship (inside foot up, outside foot back). Feet should be no wider than shoulder width apart with the toes pointing straight ahead. Players will squat into the same ready routine they are used when getting into a three-point stance. We will bull the neck back to scan the defense. We will holster the hands between the thigh boards and hip pads and pinch the elbows tight. Weight distribution should be 60% forward and on the push-off foot. From a side-view, we will be able to identify power angles in the ankles, knees and hips. From a front-view, we emphasize pinching the knees inward which is the fundamental aspect for explosion and leverage from offensive linemen. Side View Front View

Hips Knees Hips Knees Ankles Ankles

B.

Steps and Footwork

For offensive linemen drill progression, there is no substitute for chutes and boards. All of our drill work will begin in the chutes, and we will add the boards as we progress. In pre-practice, the OL will get the hips loose by squat-walking through the chutes (lengthwise). Then they will do leg swings and knee rounds. During individual work, we will start in the chutes doing stance and takeoffs. Emphasis on (1) good 8 inch power step, (2) rolling the back knee for leverage, (3) pads on pads body position, (4) good arm sweep and (5) neck bulled back. These are all done from a good stance, right foot then left foot lead and done two times or to coachs satisfaction. a. Smokes Good stance, fire off the ball, no false steps. Looking for speed. b. Crabs Takeoffs into four-point crab block. Looking for speed and athleticism.

On the next set of drills, we will take the first step and freeze the body position. Then we will reload and take the first two steps and freeze the body position. Then we will reload and execute the block all the way through the chutes. Emphasis will still be on the same five traits we identified above.

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1. Boards Drive Square up on board, 8 inch vertical power step, roll the back knee for leverage

4 Ball 3 2 1
(feet)

RG or RT (Left foot lead)

2. Boards Veer Tuck veer foot under board, 8 inch step on 45 degree angle, roll the back knee for leverage. Start on a 45 then work vertical.

Ball

3 1

4 2
(feet)

RG or RT foot lead)

3. Doubles Blast Double team blocks, blocking a bag, matching steps, Post man and Rip man, Stay on

4 3

Ball

3 2 1

RG and RT Double Team

2

Rip

Post

a) Post technique Veer steps, good arm sweep, make contact on second step, inside hand on sternum, outside hand through near number, accelerate feet on contact. b) Rip technique Drive steps, good arm sweep, make contact on second step, rip forearm up under shoulder pads and through near number, keep inside arm free by pumping it, accelerate feet on contact.

Continued on page 10

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The Updated Wing-T with the Adjustments By Tom Marshall

This Book has been designed from many books, articles and notes that I have acquired over the past thirty years of coaching against the Wing-T. Many coaches have contributed their ideas and I am fortunate enough to have been able to put them all in this book. The Wing-T is the system, but this book will give you some different weapons to open up the offense to complete agains the many defenses of today.

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4. Doubles Reads Same double drill but incorporate a LB to read and block LB

4 3

Ball

3 2 1

RG and RT Double Team

2

Rip

Post

a) Post technique Same as above, we will drive roll and finish on the defender. b) Rip technique Same as above, we will try to get three steps of movement on the DL before we come off for the LB. We will only come off if the LB plugs. We will stay on the double team and fully commit our inside hand if the LB moves laterally. The next set of drills will be done on the one-man sled. We use this to emphasize balance and base. The sled will be set on a yard line working across the field to ensure they are working in a straight line. A coach will stand next to the lineman holding a stick over his head to ensure he stays low out of his stance. We can also use the one-step, two-step progression if the technique is not perfect. These are all done from a good stance, right foot then left foot lead and done two times or to coachs satisfaction. Emphasis will still be on the same five traits we identified above. 1. Drive Square up to the sled, 8 inch vertical power step, roll the back knee for leverage
4

Ball

3 2 1

RG and RT (Left foot lead)

2. Veer Off-set on sled so veer foot is centered on bag, 8 inch step on 45 degree angle, roll the back knee for leverage
4

Ball

3 2 1

RG and RT (Left foot lead)

10

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3. Doubles Blast Double team blocks, driving the sled, matching steps, Post man and Rip man, Stay on the block

4 3

Ball

3 2 1

RG and RT Double Team

2

Rip

Post

5. Doubles Reads Same double drill but incorporate a LB to read and block LB

4 3

Ball

3 2 1

RG and RT Double Team

2

Rip

Post

The last set of drills is done as one-on-one blocking drills. One lineman will be on offense and his partner will play defensive line. It is imperative that players are matched up according to their ability level and that the look player gives the best effort possible. Blocking will progress from (1) the fit position, (2) two-step explosion and (3) blocking from distance. 1. The Fit Position The offensive lineman will lock into the sweet spot with his hands and hat. Back is flat, neck is bulled, hips are low and there is a good forward lean. On the first command, the OL will chop his feet in place. On the second command, the OL will lower his hips and drive the defender. Use short, choppy steps (punch the feet in the ground) to drive the DL directly down field. 2. Two-Step Explosion Now the defender will back up two steps from the OL. Emphasis now is in staying low on takeoff. The coach will be looking for a low body position (pads on pads), rolling the back knee for leverage, good arm sweep and neck bulled back eyeing the sweet spot. Contact should be made on the second step. Lock into the sweet spot and drive down field. 3. Distance Blocking This drill simulates blocking a LB. The OL will stay low out of the stance and find the junction point to make the block. All previous techniques are emphasized including balance and body position. The techniques taught provide an offensive lineman with the necessary information to execute his assignment properly. In addition, if the lineman plays with great intensity and comes off the ball low and hard, he will be successful. Ralph Insernia is the Offensive Coordinator at Charleston University. He can be reached by emailing him at ralphisernia@ucwv.edu.n

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11

Pursuit Progression

Carey Baker Charleston University Charleston, WV

The most important aspect of defensive play is pursuit to the ball. It is why speed is so essential in todays game. A defensive coaching staff can have the best designed plan in the world, but it wont work if player take bad angles and dont have a burning desire to get to the football. Players can even be good tacklers, but wont make as many plays if they dont have teammates pursuing and taking away the ball-carriers escape options. These truths have led us to begin the unit portion of our defensive practice with pursuit progression. Starting practice with pursuit progression provides several benefits. Here, at the University of Charleston, we operate with the philosophy that practice is sacred. We all have days when our players just seem to come to practice with a get-through-it attitude. Doing pursuit drills at the beginning of practice tends to jump start a practice when players seem sluggish. In order to maximize the focus of our players in practice, we have found that hitting full speed tempo early in practice yields benefits for the rest of the practice. Many times we have felt that a lackadaisical practice has been turned around by raising the intensity during pursuit drill. Finally, our pursuit progression teaches a relentless attitude that is integral to defensive excellence. Our pursuit progression is made up of three separate drills that emphasize separate aspects of defensive pursuit. The first drill is Contain Drill (see Figure 1) Contain drill is a run oriented drill used my many schools and run many different ways. At the University of Charleston, we align facing barrels with a coach under center holding the football and a running back behind him. In addition, we have two wide-outs with relatively narrow splits. The coach tells the back which way to go and starts a cadence. When the ball is snapped, the coach simulates a toss to the running back and the receiver to that side takes an angle to take a handoff on a reverse. The running back has the option of keeping the ball or handing it off. If he keeps the ball, he must accelerate to and up the sideline. The responsibilities of defensive players in our Contain drill are as follows. Rushers (may include LBs or DBs on a blitz) must key the ball and accelerate across the line on the snap. The contain rushers have sole responsibility for defending the reverse. All other rushers take pursuit angles to the ball carrier and push the ball to the sideline. The most important coaching point for rushers is not to follow directly behind a teammate. Some coaches use cones on a sideline to emphasize the need to fan in pursuit to eliminate cutback lanes. Depending on the call, primary run support and alley responsibility may change but all players must have the fit in order to avoid repeating the drill. Figure 1 - Contain Drill

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The second component of our pursuit progression is our 3 and out drill (Figure 2). In this drill, we simulate the pursuit of three consecutive passes in rapid succession. The defense again faces the barrels with a QB (coach) under center. Receivers are aligned on the numbers to the right and left of the defense. A third receiver (coach) is 25 yards behind the defense. On first down the QB may raise up and throw to any of the three receivers. All eleven defenders must accelerate to and surround the receiver. If a whistle blow (and it always does) before they get there, they must drop to the ground and instantly pop up on the run and get to the ball carrier. Once all the cutback lanes are taken away, the whistle will blow again. All eleven players hit the ground and line up for the next down. Three quality repetitions get us off the field. A poor rep may require a 4th down conversion attempt.

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Figure 2 Three and Out Drill

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The final component of our pursuit progression is Swarm drill. This is our defensive scoring play. In Swarm drill, all eleven players are facing the barrels prepared to play the call given by the coach. Wide receivers are line up on the numbers on either side. The QB (coach) drops back for a pass. Rushers rush and droppers drop (we always run a zone coverage in Swarm). The QB throws the ball to into the defense. Rushers must retrace their steps as if fanning out to cover a punt. When they pick up the football in their vision, they must become lead blockers. The defensive line MUST block the quarterback. The interceptor is required to get behind blockers up the near sideline. The other players in coverage MUST block the intended receiver. We place great emphasis on this because statistics bear out the fact that the two offensive players most likely to make a tackle after an interception are the quarterback and the intended receiver. All eleven defenders then sprint to the goal line.

Figure 3 Swarm Drill

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Swarm drill gives us the opportunity to end our pursuit progression on a positive note. It is particularly fun to run a zone drop and let a defensive lineman pick one off from time to time. It also reiterates that getting the ball back is a defenses ultimate mission. At the University of Charleston, our defense strives to own BOTH end zones. Over the course of our first spring as a new coaching staff in 2005, we saw a dramatic improvement in our defensive pursuit. The pride level of our defense seemed to grow with each passing day. We have found that this pursuit progression can provide our defense) with a high-energy start to practice. It also emphasizes full-speed fits on ball-carriers, teaches relentless attack to the football, and provides reps on how to advance the ball when it comes under the defenses control. We hope these drills benefit you and your defense as much as they have ours at the University of Charleston.

Carey Baker is the Defensive Coordinator at Charleston University. He can be reached by emailing him at careybaker@ucwv.edu.n

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Using the Belly Series to Attack the Defense

The High School Wing-T Belly, Belly Keep and Belly Pass It is our belief that to be a successful football team on offense you must be able to 1) score a lot, 2) an offense that gives defense multiple formations, 3) an offense that does not turn the ball over, 4) an offense that is easy to teach to all levels in our program, and 5) an offense that makes few mistakes. We believe that our high school version of the Wing-T does this because it is easy to understand and still presents many problems to the defense. Each series that we use has a basic play, a keep play, a counter play, and a pass play. All offenses have nine points of attack or holes, with this in mind there are really only three attack areas; 1) up the middle, 2) off tackle, and 3) outside. Almost every play in our offense is established by blocking in and blocking out at the hole, creating a running wall for the back. The series we are going to focus on is our Belly series. Specifically we will focus on the basic play from the series which is our 34 or 35 Belly, the 34 or 35 Belly Keep, and the 34 or 35 Belly Pass. These plays will focus on attacking the off tackle area and the outside area of the offense as well as a play action play to take advantage of a defense which over plays for these particular plays. 835 BELLY

Chuck Apap Walled Lake Central High School Walled Lake, MI out on a 6 alignment or c) Block the backside LB. The play side Guard rule is the following a) X-Block out on a 2/3/4/5 alignments, b) Block in on a 1 alignment or c) Block the backside LB. The Centers rule is a) Reach block (anyone to the play side gap), b) Block anyone who is lined up on him, or c) Block backside LB. The backside Guard and Tackle share the same rule Reach Block and the Tight End is Reach to Stove Pipe. The Backside Halfback will come in 3 step deep motion so that at the snap of the ball he is even with the fullback. At the snap he will then continue on his path and turn up field after he reaches the play side tackle and Log Block the first outside threat. The Play side Halfback will take a 45 degree step towards the outside and then lead up through the hole and read the first inside LB. If he scrapes past the hole block him out, if he tries to fill block him in. The Fullback will take a drop step with his left foot, then a crossover step with the right foot, he will then take a flat step with the left foot and then accelerate up through the hole while taking the handoff. His aiming point should be the butt of the play side Tackle. The Quarterback will open direct at a 60 degree angle and take two steps on that path towards the fullback. He will then take a glide/ride step with the Fullback to handoff the ball. After the handoff he must carry out the fake by attacking the sideline at a four yard depth. To complement the 34/35 Belly we use our 34/35 Belly Keep. The Belly Keep makes the defensive ends and outside linebackers honest, these players will not be able to cheat inside to defend the Belly. The beauty of this play is that there are no changes for the offensive lineman, split end, fullback, tight end and backside halfback. The only two players that change are the play side halfback and the quarterback. 835 BELLY KEEP

This play (See Diagram 1) can be run out of all formations, but for this example we will look at it out of our 800 formation or Wing Right. In our offense we focus on rules for our blocking schemes and offensive line. It is important for each one of our lineman to learn his rule for a specific play or series so that he may apply that rule to any of the defenses we may see throughout the season. We identify our lineman rules based on if they are on the play side or backside, in this play the Left Tackle and Left Guard is considered play side. The backside is then the Right Guard, Right Tackle and the Tight End. The Play side Split End is going to stalk block. Our play side Tackle has the following rule a) X-Block in on a 2/3/4/5 alignments, b) Block

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This time we will take a look at this play versus a 52 defense (See Diagram2). As you will see our rules will also work versus this front. Again the Split End rule is to Stalk Block. The play side Tackle will X-Block in. The play side Guard will X-Block out. The Center has no one in the play side gap so his second rule is on, which he does have with the noseguard lined up over him. The backside Guard and Tackle will Reach Block. The Tight End will again reach block to Stove Pipe. The Backside Halfback will come in 3 step deep motion so that at the snap of the ball he is even with the fullback. At the snap he will then continue on his path and turn up field after he reaches the play side tackle and Log Block the first outside threat. The Fullback will take a drop step with his left foot, then a crossover step with the right foot, he will then take a flat step with the left foot and then accelerate up through the hole while taking the handoff. His aiming point should be the butt of the play side Tackle. As mentioned the two changes come by the Play side Halfback and Quarterback. The Play side halfback still takes a 45 degree step to the outside and now logs the first man outside the play side tackle. The Quarterback will still open direct at 60 degree and take two steps. He will take a glide/ride step with the FB and fake the handoff, and then run to daylight at a four yard depth. The last play that we will talk about is the 34/35 Belly Pass (See Diagram3). This is our play action pass to complement the Belly series. The goal is to take advantage of an aggressive outside threat (either a Defensive End or Outside Linebacker), or an eager Cornerback looking to come up to make a play against the run. The deception comes by the play side Halfback and the Splitend. In order for this play to be effective it is important for the Splitend to understand how his stalk block in the Belly Series sets up this play during the game. The play side Halfback, Fullback and Quarterback must also sell the mesh to set up the play action effect. 34/35 BELLY PASS

Guard making a 90 degree pull and instead of kicking out the defensive lineman he will log the 1st man past the play side tackle. The play side tackle will x-block in to the second defensive lineman. The Center, backside Guard, Tackle and Tight end will complete a Gate block. A gate block in our offense represents a lineman taking a step to the play side to protect the gap and then opening the backside leg in order to protect the backside of the offense. The Splitend will fake his stalk block, and then run a corner route. The Backside Halfback will come in 3 step deep motion so that at the snap of the ball he is even with the fullback. At the snap he will then continue on his path and turn up field after he reaches the play side tackle and Log Block the first outside threat. The Fullback will take his Belly steps, a drop step with his left foot, then a crossover step with the right foot, he will then take a flat step with the left foot and then accelerate up through the hole while faking the handoff. His aiming point should be the butt of the play side Tackle. The Play side Halfback will take a 45 degree step and after two steps fake the block on the defensive end and run a 4-6 yard out in front of the Strong Safety. The Quarterback will open direct at 60 degrees and take two steps to the Fullback and then take a glide/ride step with the Fullback to fake the handoff. After the fake he will two quick steps and set up over the play side Tackle. His read is from deep to short, the Splitend and then the play side Halfback. If the deep route is covered, and the short route is covered he must run.n

T Wing ool igh Sch ith Me! The H ly W Come F

$50 - Book $250 - Power Point Program $50 - Film Cuts that go with Power Point Program $100 - Drill Booklet for all positions and two Drill Tapes showing all drills in the Drill Booklet Postage and Handling: First Item $5 - each additional item $3 Make check out to: Chuck Apap 636 Olde Ivy Lane Howell, Michigan 48843 517-552-1083
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This is an example of the 835 Belly Pass versus a 4-3 defense. The play looks the same at the point of attack with the play side

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