Football Game Planning: Strategies, Process & Preparation
Winning football games often starts long before kickoff. Effective game planning is the cornerstone of coaching preparation, providing the strategic roadmap needed to exploit opponent weaknesses, leverage team strengths, and put players in the best position to succeed on game day. Mastering the weekly game planning cycle is essential for consistent success.
This page brings together American Football Monthly's expert articles dedicated to the art and science of Football Game Planning. Here you'll find insights, techniques, and proven methods from experienced coaches on how to effectively prepare your team each week.
Dive into resources covering all critical phases of the game planning process:
Hal Mumme – The Godfather of the Air Raid Offense
Considered the original architect of the Air Raid Offense, Hal Mumme developed his passing game after studying the playbook of LaVell Edwards, the near-legendary coach of BYU. Mumme first brought the offense to Texas when he was the head coach at Copperas Cove High School. Mumme studied Edwards and built the high school program into a consistent power with the strength of a wide open passing attack. In those days the I-formation was king but Mumme saw possibilities with three and four receive
Subscribers Ask with Shawn Liotta part II
Shawn Liotta is the offensive coordinator at Clairton High School (PA), a team which averaged 59.9 points per game in 2014. Clairton also averaged 12.8 yards per play and 510 yards in total offense per game, even though the PIAA Mercy Rule was in effect in the second half of 12 of the 16 games his team played. His offense is aptly named the ‘No-Huddle, No Mercy’ offense.Along the way, Clairton’s quarterback, running back and wide receiver each set school records last fall. Li
Effective Strategies for Dealing with Man - Coverage Beaters: Stacks, Bunches and Mesh
ULM’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme is known for its aggressive style of play predicated on five and six-man pressure. To effectively utilize this type of defense, the pass coverage system must be proficient in man-to-man coverage. The ability to play cover 1 and cover 0 allows the defensive line and linebackers a great deal of freedom to find numerous ways to pressure the quarterback and stop the run by outnumbering the offense at or near the line of scrimmage. Of course, no defensive scheme is w
AFM Subscribers Ask with Shawn Liotta Offensive Coordinator, Clairton High School (PA)
Shawn Liotta is the offensive coordinator at Clairton High School (PA), a team which averaged 59.9 points per game last season. Clairton also averaged 12.8 yards per play and 510 yards in total offense per game, even though the PIAA Mercy Rule was in effect in the second half of 12 of the 16 games his team played. His offense is aptly named the ‘No-Huddle, No Mercy’ offense.Along the way, Clairton’s quarterback, running back and wide receiver each set school records last fall
Coach to Coach: To Overcome Early Season Adversity, Become a Champ
Early season adversity is common in football. Whether the adversity is a devastating loss, poor team chemistry, or another issue, a pre-planned process for improvement is necessary. Here are some suggestions for overcoming adversity and becoming a CHAMP. Can DoAdversity is often hard to overcome because individuals and teams stay focused on the problem for too long. A loss or setback always stings, and it should, but moving on and not looking back is essential for improvement.
Coaching HD – Technology to Prepare Your Team in Camp and During the Season
As another season is ready to commence, now is the time to solidify plans and details, and be sure that you are able to work through the grind of the season in the smartest way possible. Utilizing technology to help you and your staff be efficient will pay dividends in both preparation for each week as well as alleviating some of the stress that comes with the long work day that the season brings.In 2010, huge advancements improved the way we are able to work as coaches. The film r
Get Organized - Having an efficient and effective play calling system can help maximize your offensive potential.
As the offensive coordinator, there are many ways to organize your play calls. After six years as an offensive coordinator, I have experimented with several formats to find what works for me. What I have settled on is a format that is flexible in games and helpful in game planning on the weekends.When structuring my call sheet, the first thing I did was to create landmark calls. We broke the field down by zones, similar to what air raid teams do. But we decided to get more specific
Special Teams Winning Edge (Part II)
In the December issue, we discussed the head coach setting the tone for special teams play, the importance of other assistant coaches being involved in areas of special teams, setting goals, and strategy for the punt unit, kickoff unit, kickoff return unit and punt return unit. In this article, we’ll discuss practice efficiency and key points to consider when game planning for your next opponent. Spring Practice Plans Each spring, we evaluate our performance from th
Planning Ahead: What are the keys to game planning for an offensive coordinator?
What does an offensive coordinator go through as he prepares for his next opponent? What are the keys to having the most efficient game plan? AFM spoke to three offensive coordinators about the topic – Keith Grabowski, former offensive coordinator at Baldwin Wallace University, football consultant Dan Gonzalez, a former high school and college offensive coordinator, and Nick Restifo, the offensive coordinator at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.What is the process for
Multi Media Educator
For many years, the pages of AFM and coaching clinics were the primary ways a football coach would learn about new techniques, schemes or systems that were being used by other coaches.That’s all changed with the Internet. Today there are multiple ‘platforms’ available to any coach that wants to share his knowledge and opinions with the coaching community. You can turn to dozens of football websites and find volumes of opinions and ideas on every topic imaginable.
Special Teams Winning Edge (Part I)
I am a believer in our special teams philosophy because we have seen great success in every major category at two different universities – North Greenville University and Gardner-Webb – at two different levels of college football.My first few years as a special teams coordinator was trial by fire. But what I did learn is that you have to completely embrace the role because all great programs are sound and explosive in the kicking game and you have a chance to create a cul
Erasing A Decade of Disappointment: The Transformation of the Mustangs
A lot of coaches like talking Xs and Os, which is the easy part of coaching. The scheming and game planning is the chess match we all signed up for and love to do. However, as head coaches, we take on a little more than just the scheme these days. When you get your shot to be a head coach, for most of us, we don’t inherit a program that wins and is used to winning. Rather, it is usually a challenging program, one that has not won or doesn’t do so consistently. This p
Play Keep-Away: Each time your team punts, the goal is to kick it 40 yards and out of bounds.
It’s that time of year when coaches are in clinic research, upgrading playbooks and pushing the weight room as hard as possible. One area that is overlooked in a lot of playbooks is special teams evaluation. In most cases, special teams is the difference between two evenly-matched teams. Often overlooked and under-practiced, special teams play effects the overall efficiency of your program.In high school, we all face that very special player in the kicking game that can score any
Coaching American Football Overseas
By John Trana, American Football Coach in Russia and Croatia American football’s popularity is growing quickly all around the world. It is opening up new avenues for players and coaches to continue their football careers. There are over 700 teams in Europe alone playing American football. The quality of football can vary drastically with the top teams playing at a low college level. As the NFL continues to expand overseas, so will the popularity of American foo
DEFENSIVE BLUEPRINT - Lehigh's 11 Keys to a Championship Defense
We have 11 priorities for building a championship defense: staff, personnel, multiplicity, coaching the little things, getting what you coach, swarm, passion, and finish, self-scouting, game planning, and maintaining the integrity of your defense. Developing each one is critical to building your defense. Staff - It’s hard to be a championship defense if you don’t have a championship staff. In order to develop your staff, everyone must be on the same page and be an expert in
Self Analysis: Self-Scout Your Offense for a More Effective Game Plan.
The game has changed a great deal over the past decade. It used to be that offensive coordinators could create down and distance charts and run plays off of them with a pretty reliable sense of what would work. However, as the spread, no-huddle era has exploded onto the scene, it has transformed how coaches must approach the game.Our approach is to use statistics, specifically our offense’s own statistics, to formulate a game plan. The majority of our game planning time is spent
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach Prince George High School (VA) - Part II
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to
Game Planning Your Coaching Career (Part II)
The Third Quarter After the first half (introduction and growth phase) and making adjustments at half-time, the third quarter becomes the maturity phase of the coaching career. This does not mean that, as coaches, we do not continue to grow or learn. It means that we become more stabilized in our “giftings” as a coach. I admire the confidence of the FBS assistant who maintains a positive attitude that he will land a job in a better environment, after
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, Prince George High School (VA) – Part I
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to b
Rolling Thunder - Be efficient in the 'compressed' Red Zone.
No matter what your base offense is, you will find it necessary to make adjustments in what I call the compressed red zone; that is, from the three in. Adapting your base personnel, formations, and plays can be costly in terms of time and confusing to your players, who try to relate schemes and techniques used in the open field to this unique situation. Adopting a “Thunder Offense” can give you a personnel, formation, and play package that is specific to the compressed red zone. When your
Game Planning Your Coaching Career (Part I)
(This article is written to discuss career planning in the coaching profession and this is by no means the only way to pattern your pathway. The experience of one coach, while addressing many issues, does not include all scenarios. However, the organization of the material is well-known to all coaches as it is structured just as all of us would game plan against an unfamiliar opponent. It is hoped that this discussion would have us in the coaching profession talk about
Three Pillars of Defensive Prep
Three important items in game planning include practicing proper tackling, studying your opponent’s big plays and those your defense has given up, and focusing on turnovers.We are always looking for a defensive edge on game day. However, with the unpredictability that game day brings, it is very difficult to predict or prepare for every scenario that might present itself. That is why it is important to use Monday through Friday to put the odds of victory as much as possible in our fa
Strength Report – Creating an Edge in the Off-Season
Football players are getting faster. The process of increasing speed is two-fold. You must perform sprints as you would on game day, but you also have to increase lower-body strength and power. If you are looking for an edge this off-season, or just trying to add a new dynamic to the predictable programming, maybe it is time to revisit what you are doing in the weight room and during your conditioning sessions. Many programs across the country base their strength
Variables 101 – Knowing how to analyze over 100 offensive variables gives your defense a statistical edge.
Knowing how to analyze over 100 offensive variables gives your defense a statistical edge.Every defensive coordinator has his own style and process in preparing a game plan for the next opponent. Part of this process is detailing the statistical side of probability on the opponent’s play selection. Ideally, each defensive call has the probability of being successful, helps create one-on-one favorable match-ups and allows the players to execute the proper techniques in stopping the of
Get More Out of Your Film By Having Better Film
In today’s coaching world, film is a major tool for success. Yet, sometimes we get film that just isn’t up to par. When you get opponents’ film, you are left at the mercy of their filmer. Often it’s a young manager, injured player, young coach, or possibly a volunteer. Your own filmer can sometimes be very green with the camera, have tripod issues or even miss entire plays. People can forget equipment, and then you’re stranded without film. We’ve all had it h
Slowing Down the Spread
What do defenses do to slow down the spread and how do offenses counter? AFM asked spread offense coaches, “What defenses give you the most trouble?”Sparky Woods • Head Coach • Virginia Military InstituteSparky Woods has been the head coach at VMI for the past four seasons. Previously, he was head coach at Appalachian State and South Carolina and the OC/QBs Coach at Memphis. Woods was also a position coach at Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi State. He has b
What, as a Defensive Coach, Gives You the Most Trouble?
Coaching football is simple in theory - score touchdowns, and stop the opposition from scoring touchdowns. Too bad theory isn’t reality. Every football coach in the world understands that there is a lot more to it than that. Defensively, you are charged with stopping an entire offense in a few short days of practice and game planning. Each coach has their own way of going about stopping each team. Over the years, you develop your defense to suit your team and stop the opposition, yet for ea
The Fix Is In – Adjusting your defense at halftime and during the game can pay big dividends.
All coaches know that tweaking a defensive scheme during a game or at halftime can often make the difference between winning and losing. But how do some of the game’s best defensive minds approach in-game defensive adjustments? Is it better to completely revamp a defensive game plan or is it better to make minor adjustments based on what you’ve seen from an offense? AFM asked three prominent defensive coordinators about their approaches to in-game defensive adjustments and found some spec
Letter From The Editor/Publisher - Number Cruncher
In Moneyball, Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, relied heavily on a novel system of statistical analysis to build a team of productive players that other clubs had overlooked. It worked, and the 2002 A’s won the American League West and set a record of 20 straight wins.Statistics have always been integral to baseball. As any enthusiast will tell you, a big part of the game’s appeal lies in numbers. Not just for fans who follow individual player’s
Suited for Success – 2012 Football Uniforms
Coaches work hard to prepare their players for the big contest on game day. Focus and game planning take shape during the practice week – all for those few precious moments on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon.Because of what’s riding on those moments, coaches always want to put their best foot forward in execution and appearance. 2012 is offering teams across the nation more selection and performance than at any other point in the history of the game. Game uniforms are beco
Coach to Coach – Offensive Game Planning: Strategies for Success
I love designing and developing offensive schemes. When I was a kid, I would sit for hours designing plays on my electric magnetic football game. Years later, I am still designing plays and offensive schemes. The challenge of designing a play and teaching players to execute it with precision in the midst of violent chaos is one of the things I love most about coaching. Once the plays and schemes have been designed and installed, the next aspect of being a successful offensive coach is putting
Utilizing the Quick Passing Game in a Spread Offense
At Kansas Wesleyan, one of the key components of our spread offense is being able to successfully utilize the quick passing game. Our offense is based out of a single back, 2 x 2 formation. One of our main objectives is keep things simple. This ranges from route concepts, protections, signals and words. As an offensive staff, we strive to get players to react instead of over-thinking. We encourage our players to be athletes and make plays based on reaction. In this article, we will discuss th
Take Your Quarterback From Good to Great.
5 steps to help your quarterback become a more efficient and effective leader.One of the most challenging things to accomplish as an offensive coordinator is determining what to invest in and what to eliminate. While there are plenty of offensive systems and plays that are effective, most of us realize that we simply cannot do everything. We still desire, however, to be highly productive and unpredictable while striving to make our offense better than the ye
Coach to Coach: Football Clinics – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
If you are like me, your email has been full of invitations and promotions to the many football coaching clinics being held across the country. As a coach with 19 seasons under my belt, I have attended many clinics, have had the opportunity to speak at many clinics, and I host the Shotgun Zone Fly Summit. Clinics provide us with a great opportunity to learn from some of the most successful people in the business. They are also a great excuse to get a “hall pass” for a w
Coach to Coach
When I was an offensive coordinator at the junior/community college level for six seasons, my football life consisted of recruiting, installing our schemes, game planning and calling the game on Saturdays. A full plate for sure, but it was 100% football. I definitely had ideas of what I would do if and when I became a head coach, but all of the peripheral things associated with running the entire program were in the hands of the head coach and the athletic director. In those days I thought th
Offensive Game Planning: A Week-Long Schedule to Success
Game Week Schedule - Sunday Our game week schedule is designated from Sunday to Friday. Our main objective for Sunday is to have a final breakdown of our previous game by 4:00 pm. Our breakdown consists of players’ grades on assignments and team goals. We also determine individual awards for our players from the previous game. Following our team meeting, our players divide into groups and watch film with the position coaches. Their night ends with position lifts. At abo
There Are Many Different Ways To Build A Successful Offensive System: An Update on the A-11 Offense
There Are Many Different Ways To Build A Successful Offensive System: An Update on the A-11 Offense By Kurt Bryan, Head Coach, Piedmont High School (CA) and Steve Humphries, Offensive Coordinat
Improving Your Kickoff Coverage
High school rules in many states mandate automatic touchbacks for any ball kicked into the end zone. Automatic touchbacks eliminate the risk of a big return and eliminating risk is as desirable in football as it is in other areas of life. To exploit this rule, many high school coaches ask their kickers to get the ball into the end zone. With the popularity of soccer and the requirement that high schools’ kick off from the 40-yard line, finding a kicker who can reach the end zone is not too
Linebacker Play-Reading Windows To Stop The Run
Stopping the run is always the number one concern of any defense. At O’Fallon Township High School, we have developed a scheme that allows linebackers to make an initial read and attack the ball carrier. We utilize good pursuit angles and have an understanding of the opponent’s blocking scheme that is simple to learn for the players and allows the coach to use the offense’s blocking scheme against them. At OTHS, we are a single gap, block react defense. We are counting on the f
Drills Report: Making Improvements In Your D-Line Pass Rush
With the current trend of offensive football becoming more and more spread out, defensive line coaches are seeing less and less of the traditional 5-and 7-step passing game. The traditional pass rush angles and teaching progressions don’t necessarily fit in defending the “spread” offense. Pressuring the QB in the shotgun and 3-step passing game has definitely become harder and forced D-linemen to adapt as pass rushers. We have developed seven “points of emphasis” in the pass rush t
Lessons Learned - Bunkered In-Game Week in the NFL
Working in the NFL is a fight against time. A work week consists of 80 -100 hours for the coaches. The time is divided up between individual work assignments, group projects, game-planning meetings, coaches’ film sessions, player meetings and film sessions, walk thru’s and practice. The meeting time with the players is between 20 - 25 hours per week. The amount of time actually practicing on the field is less than ten hours per week. Hard to believe, but true. Monday:
Reducing Penalties - Mike Westoff\'s Penalty Prevention System
How Mike Westhoff Turned the Jets into the Least Penalized Team Over the Last Eight Years It only takes about three minutes before Mike Westhoff gets to the tape. Like a proud father, the New York Jets special team coordinator is moving his red laser up and down the surface of a 42” TV in his office in Central New Jersey. “Did you see that block? Watch him snipe him here. That’s football for you,” he grumbles between bites of a banana. “A kick returner has to be e
Lessons Learned -from an NFL Assistant Coach - Bunkered In: Game Week in the NFL
Working in the NFL is a fight against time. A work week consists of 80 -100 hours for the coaches. The time is divided up between individual work assignments, group projects, game-planning meetings, coaches’ film sessions, player meetings and film sessions, walk thru’s and practice. The meeting time with the players is between 20 - 25 hours per week. The amount of time actually practicing on the field is less than ten hours per week. Hard to believe, but true. Monday:
ADDING FLEXIBILITY TO YOUR DEFENSIVE GAME PLAN
As high school defensive coordinators, we are challenged on a weekly basis to stop a variety of offensive schemes. Over the course of last season, these offensive schemes included split-back veer, wing-t, fly, zone, pro-style, full-house double TE, and of course the spread offense. Our defensive staff has always prided itself in being able to prepare our players on a weekly basis to stop our opponent’s particular scheme, their most dominant player, and their bread-and-butter plays.
Pressuring the Offense with Effective Front Eight
As offenses continue to develop multiple ways to attack defenses, we\'ve found it necessary to find a scheme that can put the pressure back on the offense. The 44G defense has provided us with the flexibility to accomplish that goal. General Pressure Philosophy As a coach told me: \"Take the ball out of the offensive coordinator\'s hands; put it in the hands of a 17 year old quarterback.\" That is the foundational statement of our pressure philosophy: force the 17 year ol
- More Solutions to Problem #9
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 9: Special teams letdowns – losing a game because of special teams play...what can be done to improve special teams play? Our focus here at Holbrook is on kick coverage and punt/punt return, since these are the biggest change of field plays in the
- More Solutions to Problem #3
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 3: Not being able to get the ball in the hands of your playmaker and teams finding ways to limit his touches...what do you do to counter the frustration inherent to this problem? As the offensive coordinator in a triple option offense it is important
Implementing the Saluki Zone Blitz Blitz Package
In our March issue this year, American Football Monthly presented an overview of the zone blitz scheme and its concepts. It’s a scheme that has been around for over thirty years originating with the innovative mind of Bud Carson, the notorious coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers “Steel Curtain” defense in the 1970’s. Though it has been tweaked into some more of the style we see today, the general concepts of the zone blitz remained constant. In its simplest form, the zone bl
The Winning Edge: Preparing D-Linemen for Game Day
Mike Waufle and Ray Hamilton know defensive line play. Between the two of them, they have a total of 49 years of coaching experience at the Division I level and professional levels of football. Among those in their tutelage are the likes of Andre Tippett, Russell Maryland and Michael Strahan. So it’s only fitting that the two guru’s of defensive line play collaborated on producing a scouting form called the “Winning Edge” which they give to each of their players during game week. Actu
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Will Muschamp
Last fall, under Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp, Auburn led the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense and finished in the top 10 nationally in pass efficiency defense, total defense, pass defense, and scoring defense. Since then Muschamp has joined the Texas staff as DC and inherits a defense that set school records for passing yards (3,611) and total yards (4,825) surrendered in a season in 2007. While he has his work cut out for him, Muschamp has a proven track record of fixing defen
Special Teams Game Plan Design
In no other phase of the game can field position be changed so dramatically in just one play as in the kicking game; yet, coaches often minimize weekly preparation in the kicking game just to get a few more offensive or defensive reps. Also, in no other phase of the game can one play be so emotionally uplifting, or, conversely, so demoralizing as in the kicking game. Additionally, consider that nearly one-third of the game is consumed by some phase of the kicking game and that for eve
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Mark Banker
Last fall Oregon State finished first among all 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in rushing defense, surrendering only 70.6 yards per game. The Beavers also finished fourth in quarterback sacks (3.4 per game); sixth in tackles-for-loss (8.2); and eighth in total defense (306.2 ypg). In 2006 the OSU defense led the nation in tackles-for-loss yardage (528). The lynchpin of this defense is Mark Banker, Oregon State’s Defensive Coordinator. Banker has spent 12 of the last 13 seasons with Head C
Developing a Passing Attack that Fits Your Plans and Players
Throughout my twenty-nine years in the profession, I have had the opportunity to coach at both the collegiate and high school levels. During that time, I have had the pleasure of working with various coaching staffs that have helped me formulate my philosophies on dealing with the passing game. At the same time, I have had many athletes with various ranges in athletic abilities. Therefore, I have had to adapt each year to the specific situation. When you are developing a passing at
Defensive Game Planning
Game planning is all about prioritizing; sifting through all the infinite details that you and your staff have investigated; and pinpointing the most crucial elements. Every coach worth his whistle charts tendencies from every down-and-distance, from every formation, and from each hash mark. They scout blocking schemes and multiple personnel match-ups, just like you do. They document the number of times you run certain routes; they know what your go-to running and passing plays are an
4 Principles of Play Action Passing
Gary Crowton has seen it all. He has coached in the biggest stadiums, in the biggest conferences, in the biggest games. He has coached in the small stadiums of small conferences in overlooked games. But, one thing doesn’t change no matter where he coaches. It is all football. WHY PLAY ACTION? Crowton joined Les Miles’ staff at LSU this year as offensive coordinator and helped lead the Tigers to a National Championship using two quarterbacks and a handful of ball c
Multiple Fronts Without Changing Personnel
No matter what defensive scheme you run, there are a few elements that must always be consistent for you to be successful. The athletes must believe in what they’re doing and they must understand what their responsibilities are. At the high school level we cannot recruit, so finding the great corners, the big Middle LB or the two big, strong, fast linemen may not happen each year. As high school football coaches we need to be able to adjust what we do depending on what the parents send us. No
Combating Offensive Speed with the 4-4 Defense
Whatever is being done at a higher level is usually filtered and quickly replicated through to the high school ranks. Packages like the zone read offense, the ‘spread’ rugby style punt formation and odd-stack defenses have become the norm now at lower levels. Although trends come in cycles, perhaps no scheme in football, except for the I formation offense, has had as much consistency as the 4-4 defense. Yet despite the popularity of the defense, teams have recently started to shif
The Situation
You’re on defense and your team has continually defended your opponent inside your 40 yard line. It’s red zone defense again as the clock ticks midway through the fourth quarter. It’s 4th and 9, you’re up 14-7 and the ball is on your 20 yard line, set on the (Defensive) right hash. They come out in trips open to the right and have been using slide protection to the strength with the ace back blocking inside-out and releasing if the end gets washed inside. What de
How to Get Your Gamebreakers the Ball
University of North Alabama coach Mark Hudspeth has been coaching football in the South for awhile. “I grew up just south of Starkville, Mississippi, watching Emory Bellard run the option. So, I have been an option guy from way back.” Hudspeth has learned that the basic premise behind Bellard’s famous Wishbone offense, developed and implemented under Darrell Royal at Texas, is ball distribution and having the defense decide where the ball goes. Since Hudspeth’s arrival in 2002,
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Glenn Caruso
Macalester College’s football program began a new era on December 16, 2005 when the college named Glenn Caruso its new football coach. In his previous position as offensive coordinator at South Dakota, Caruso directed an offense that set 117 school records including points scored and total yardage. In 2005, the Coyotes went 9-2 while averaging 49.7 points and 583 yards per game. Last fall, in his first season as Macalester’s head coach, the Scots produced their two highest single-game, total
AFM Subscribers Ask...
Ron Vanderlinden, now approaching his seventh year as Linebackers Coach at Penn State, has developed a reputation as an outstanding linebackers mentor. Over the years, he has coached Penn State All-Americans Paul Posluszy and Dan Connor, Pat Fitzgerald and Barry Gardner of Northwestern and Chad Brown of Colorado. He also helped the Nittany Lions defense rank in the top 15 nationally in rushing, pass efficiency, scoring, total defense and sacks in 2005. Similarly, his Northwestern defense in 1995
AFM Subscribers Ask...
Lew Johnston just completed his 22nd season as head coach for Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, VA. During that time, Johnson\'s teams compiled a 167-63-3 record with 5 District Championships and one Regional Championship. For the regular seasons 2001-2004, his Western Branch Bruins had a 32 game winning streak. A few years ago, Johnston installed the Shotgun Spread Wing-T package. Since that time, he has spoken at clinics around the country as well as completed a number of videos on thi
The Spin Offense: The Running Game (Part II)
When Dale Weiner and his staff at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge (LA) developed the “spin offense” as their primary offense in 2001, there were three aspects that they felt needed to be accomplished in order to be successful: develop a base run package with complimentary play-action off of it; keep the defense on its toes by using misdirection and motion; and keep it simple enough so that the players and coaches can make adjustments on the fly. Although the system is quite sim
Preparing your Defensive Game Plan
Every football coach, at one time or other during the season thinks “If only there were more time to prepare for this game, we could…”. DC’s are under great pressure each week to develop and implement a scheme that puts their players in the best possible position to make plays. This type of defensive game planning requires many hours of preparation – first breaking down game tape and determining an offense’s tendencies, and then selecting fronts, stunts and blitzes from the De
Running Wild
HOW TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE RUNNING GAME THAT WILL BOOST YARDS AND WINS For all of football’s passing progress over the past decade, the running game remains a fundamental cornerstone of winning football. Whether you’re punching the ball across the line in short-yardage situations or controlling the clock, every team must be able to get the ball into the hands of a capable runner who can read and follow effective blocks downfield, breaking tackles and making defenders miss.
Video a Necessary Part of Every Program
“It was film in the old days, up to about ‘88 or 89,” recalls Clemson’s veteran video coordinator Rick Bagby, a pioneer in his field who led the video revolution that enables football coaches better use their time to develop sophisticated, smart, systems, and, he hopes, winning game plans for the ACC program that’s been a big winner for decades in the South. Across the country in the Pacific Northwest, Steve Pohl has been running Oregon’s football video operation since 19
Dominating Run Defenses
Different teams. Different schemes. Different coaches. Different levels of play. But Ohio State, Duquesne, Edinboro and Trinity all shared one very important distinction at the end of the 2005 college football season. They all led their respective NCAA Divisions in stopping the run. And while the way they accomplished their No. 1 ranking varied, a closer look at each program revealed some common threads to their success. All four agreed that personnel is the biggest determining factor
From Scouting Report to Game Plan
Know thy enemy. On the battlefield or the football field, few statements ring truer than that. Being able to effectively size up an opponent, identify their weaknesses, recognize their tendencies and formulate an attack puts you that much closer to victory on Saturday. In today’s high-tech world, scouting the opposition is often done with the latest in digital editing equipment. And when the lights go out, every program, every coach and every player is scanning their scouting report for the ex
Fire Zone Scheme
Coaching defensive football has taken on a whole new look in recent years with the advent of the “Fire Zone” or what is popularly referred to as the “Zone Blitz.” These schemes, first utilized by several NFL teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s, allow defensive coaches the capability to send five rushers (and in some cases six) while still being able to stay in a zone coverage shell behind the blitz. This scheme first evolved to help defenders take away the offense’s ability to thro
Stopping the Wing-T
It is one of the most confounding offenses found in either high school or college football. Mention the Wing-T at any meeting of coaches and the majority – if being honest – will admit that it is one of their worst nightmares. It is an offense that is as unpredictable as any in the game and the team that is unprepared for it will be placed in peril and will most likely be embarrassed. Few coaches will put their team at that disadvantage. Through scouting and film study, most coache
Madness in the Midwest
Kerry Coombs has lost control. He’s Colerain High School’s assistant principal and head football coach, but he’s not in charge. The kids, he says, are the one’s in control of his day. His office looks like the inside of several file cabinets or in his words, “absolute chaos.” “A really wise guy once told me that if I could get to where I’m only touching paper once that I’d be more efficient at my job,” Coombs said. “I’m
2005 December 2005 Innovators of the option • From Scouting Report to Game Plan • True Football Speed • Quarterback Fundamentals November 2005 It Starts in the Trenches • Attacking Defenses with the Veer • 4 Technical Components of Punt Coverage • Teaching
Rutgers Passing Attack
Related Videos American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this
Cover Story Randy Shannon: Miami’s Defensive CoordinatorBy David Purdum April 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Keeping Drives Alive: Effective Third Down Game Planning
At Western Michigan University, we utilize a multi-faceted approach when it comes time to game plan third down. It is a cooperative effort, involving all of the members of the offensive staff and the head coach. Before any meaningful discussion on third downs takes place, you must develop the down and distance parameters that will guide you through your game planning. We have two general categories, run situatio
Cover Story Gary Patterson: The Next Level Following the success of former head coach Dennis Franchione, Gary Patterson\'s intensity, professional experience and strong work ethic has helped take TCU\'s football team - along with it\'s attendance and graduation rates- to a whole new level. By Richard
The Mental Game
This article looks at ways that instructional technology and principles can be used to improve the mental performance of your football players. The focus is on decision-making. That breaks down into a player’s ability to recognize an opponent’s actions, to know his team’s schemes and his individual assignments, and to choose the correct response. It does not include executing the response. Coaches spe
The Use of Formations to Gain an Advantage
Garrison High School has a long tradition of a winning football program. We have been in the playoffs 28 times and won 22 district championships. This was the first time in my coaching career that I had taken over a program that had a winning tradition and the opportunity was there to make a good program great instead of trying to turn an unsuccessful program into a winning program. I was hired in July of 1999 an
Pressure Points
If you liked this article, here are three others just like it:
Simplicity
At Westminster College, we like to keep things simple and sound in all of our protection schemes. This enables us to make adjustments on a weekly basis without too many contradictions to our base rules. As we all know when you introduce specific schemes the rules change with regards to personnel and game plans. By keeping simple and vague we are able to adjust rules as the season progresses. We feel, and our play
Outline for Technology Game-planning
With the growth of technology in football and the ever-increasing demands on coaches’ time game planning and scheduling has become even more important providing the foundation for a successful football program. This is an outline of the weekly schedule we use at Fordham University for offensive game planning. The outline also highlights the manner technology makes our film study either more efficient or allows us to study
The Last Rep
Practice scheduling is becoming more important with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top head coaches from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning their industry. How important is practice scheduling? “Practice is the most important time that you have. T
Focus on Critical Information to Place Your Players in Position to be Successful
FOR LAST YEAR’S TECHNOLOGY ISSUE, American Football Monthly asked me to share some insight on the organization of game planning staff and resources.* This year, Travis Davis has asked me to again address the subject of game planning, this time regarding an often asked question: In light of the finite time we coaches have available each week for strategic planning, how can we find and use the best from th
Use Video Technology to Enhance On-Field Performance
Once a high school wide receiver myself, I remember the way our football coach would stress the importance of two things – execution and fundamentals. During the season, both play crucial roles in any team’s on-field performance. The off-season, however, is the best time to develop them. Free from the day-to-day headaches of game planning, the off-season
HOW TO REAP THE REWARDS OF PLAY DIAGRAMING SOFTWARE
No one needs to remind you that coaching is a time-consuming profession. Game planning. Practice planning. Scouting. Play diagraming. All of these things take valuable time.Perhaps you know a resourceful coach who always seems to find new ways to make more efficient use of his time. These coaches are usually the successful ones. Managing your time and your team are both necessities. So is preparing your team. One tool that can help you become more efficient and also help you prepare yo
Level the Playing Field
When we came to Martin a year ago, we knew that we were nearly starting from scratch. We only had thirty-eight players on our team for our first spring practice. Knowing that our numbers were low and we were going to have to play a very tough I-AA schedule with many young players, we had to try and find a way to do something different that would level the playing field. Having seen the Academies become very successful with less talent than their opposition by playing option football, and
The Clemson Zone Combo Package
The Clemson Tigers offensive style of football was developed in accordance with and is a reflection of head coach Tommy Bowdenís personality. The offense was designed as an aggressive, up tempo, attacking style that continuously applies pressure to the defense. This attitude has produced one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the nation over the last four years. His teams have consistently averaged more than 190 yards, both rushing and passing, and have generated on average more than 440
Cover Too
It may come as a surprise to some that computers have been helping high school and college coaches build game plans for nearly 20 years. Starting with the early Apple II and IBM personal computers, technology that had previously been available only to larger colleges and professional teams began working its way into the high school and small college ranks. Innovative coaches, facing many obstacles, began to integrate computers into their game planning processes during the mid-1980s. C
Achieving Maximum Benefit from Your Use of Technology in Game Planning
ALL STAFFS INVEST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF time and effort in game planning. Strategic preparation for an opponent is a big part of what we do as coaches. It\'s a major element of the intellectual challenge of coaching which attracts us to the profession, and it forms the basis for the way in which we as coaches compete on game day. Play calling success is dependent upon a knowledge of the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of both your own team and of your opponent. We all know that ot
May 2001 Cover Story The Information Age - Computers and the countless software applications have forever changed the face of coaching... a look at how the changes have affected coaches like Pittsburg State's OL coach Bill Kroenke.
Do It Your Way
Throughout my twenty-two years in the profession, I have had the opportunity to coach at both the collegiate and high school levels. During that time, I have had the pleasure of working with various coaching staffs that have helped me formulate my philosophies on dealing with the passing game. At the same time, I have coached many athletes with various ranges in athletic abilities. Therefore, I have had to adapt each year to the specific situation. When you are developing a passing attack, it
Letter from Publisher
On January 13th, the same day that Michael Jordan retired from the NBA, Jimmy Johnson decided to resign as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Feeling the pain of losing his mother and his father's illness, tired of 30 years of 16 hour days, a failed marriage and lost precious time with his sons, coupled with the frustration of dealing with multi-millionaire players, who refuse to "run through a brick wall like they used to," Johnson told his boss, team owner Wayne Huizenga, he was ready to
Q&A With Tony Dungy
Q: It seems to me you believe coaches and players have a responsibility to the kids that look up to them. How do you feel about the role of an athlete in the community?A: Whether you want to be or not, you have to face the facts that you are a role model and that's part of the job. I don't necessarily like all the things that go along with it, like dealing with the media and doing interviews. I'd much rather just sit here--all I want to do is coach the team and that's it. But it is part
Keep the Chains Moving
Achieving results on third down is one of the biggest keys to winning any football game. Third-down situations are often pivotal in determining the outcome of a game. A key stop for the defense can change momentum or significantly alter field-position advantage. Conversely, a conversion by the offense can keep a drive alive, eat up clock time, and keep scoring opportunities available. For the offense, the objective is simple: keep the football by making the necessary yardage. Severa
This page brings together American Football Monthly's expert articles dedicated to the art and science of Football Game Planning. Here you'll find insights, techniques, and proven methods from experienced coaches on how to effectively prepare your team each week.
Dive into resources covering all critical phases of the game planning process:
- Opponent Scouting & Analysis: Breaking down film, identifying tendencies, personnel strengths/weaknesses, and scheme analysis.
- Self-Scouting: Evaluating your own team's performance, tendencies, and areas for improvement.
- Strategy Development: Formulating specific offensive, defensive, and special teams plans tailored to the upcoming opponent.
- Play Calling & Call Sheets: Designing effective call sheets, scripting plays, and developing a philosophy for in-game play calling.
- Situational Football Preparation: Planning for critical moments like third downs, red zone, two-minute drills, goal line, and special situations.
- Practice Integration: Efficiently teaching and repping the game plan during practice week.
- In-Game Adjustments: Strategies for adapting the game plan based on live action and opponent responses.
Game Planning Search Results
Falcon Offensive Game PlanningHal Mumme – The Godfather of the Air Raid Offense
Considered the original architect of the Air Raid Offense, Hal Mumme developed his passing game after studying the playbook of LaVell Edwards, the near-legendary coach of BYU. Mumme first brought the offense to Texas when he was the head coach at Copperas Cove High School. Mumme studied Edwards and built the high school program into a consistent power with the strength of a wide open passing attack. In those days the I-formation was king but Mumme saw possibilities with three and four receive
Subscribers Ask with Shawn Liotta part II
Shawn Liotta is the offensive coordinator at Clairton High School (PA), a team which averaged 59.9 points per game in 2014. Clairton also averaged 12.8 yards per play and 510 yards in total offense per game, even though the PIAA Mercy Rule was in effect in the second half of 12 of the 16 games his team played. His offense is aptly named the ‘No-Huddle, No Mercy’ offense.Along the way, Clairton’s quarterback, running back and wide receiver each set school records last fall. Li
Effective Strategies for Dealing with Man - Coverage Beaters: Stacks, Bunches and Mesh
ULM’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme is known for its aggressive style of play predicated on five and six-man pressure. To effectively utilize this type of defense, the pass coverage system must be proficient in man-to-man coverage. The ability to play cover 1 and cover 0 allows the defensive line and linebackers a great deal of freedom to find numerous ways to pressure the quarterback and stop the run by outnumbering the offense at or near the line of scrimmage. Of course, no defensive scheme is w
AFM Subscribers Ask with Shawn Liotta Offensive Coordinator, Clairton High School (PA)
Shawn Liotta is the offensive coordinator at Clairton High School (PA), a team which averaged 59.9 points per game last season. Clairton also averaged 12.8 yards per play and 510 yards in total offense per game, even though the PIAA Mercy Rule was in effect in the second half of 12 of the 16 games his team played. His offense is aptly named the ‘No-Huddle, No Mercy’ offense.Along the way, Clairton’s quarterback, running back and wide receiver each set school records last fall
Coach to Coach: To Overcome Early Season Adversity, Become a Champ
Early season adversity is common in football. Whether the adversity is a devastating loss, poor team chemistry, or another issue, a pre-planned process for improvement is necessary. Here are some suggestions for overcoming adversity and becoming a CHAMP. Can DoAdversity is often hard to overcome because individuals and teams stay focused on the problem for too long. A loss or setback always stings, and it should, but moving on and not looking back is essential for improvement.
Coaching HD – Technology to Prepare Your Team in Camp and During the Season
As another season is ready to commence, now is the time to solidify plans and details, and be sure that you are able to work through the grind of the season in the smartest way possible. Utilizing technology to help you and your staff be efficient will pay dividends in both preparation for each week as well as alleviating some of the stress that comes with the long work day that the season brings.In 2010, huge advancements improved the way we are able to work as coaches. The film r
Get Organized - Having an efficient and effective play calling system can help maximize your offensive potential.
As the offensive coordinator, there are many ways to organize your play calls. After six years as an offensive coordinator, I have experimented with several formats to find what works for me. What I have settled on is a format that is flexible in games and helpful in game planning on the weekends.When structuring my call sheet, the first thing I did was to create landmark calls. We broke the field down by zones, similar to what air raid teams do. But we decided to get more specific
Special Teams Winning Edge (Part II)
In the December issue, we discussed the head coach setting the tone for special teams play, the importance of other assistant coaches being involved in areas of special teams, setting goals, and strategy for the punt unit, kickoff unit, kickoff return unit and punt return unit. In this article, we’ll discuss practice efficiency and key points to consider when game planning for your next opponent. Spring Practice Plans Each spring, we evaluate our performance from th
Planning Ahead: What are the keys to game planning for an offensive coordinator?
What does an offensive coordinator go through as he prepares for his next opponent? What are the keys to having the most efficient game plan? AFM spoke to three offensive coordinators about the topic – Keith Grabowski, former offensive coordinator at Baldwin Wallace University, football consultant Dan Gonzalez, a former high school and college offensive coordinator, and Nick Restifo, the offensive coordinator at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland.What is the process for
Multi Media Educator
For many years, the pages of AFM and coaching clinics were the primary ways a football coach would learn about new techniques, schemes or systems that were being used by other coaches.That’s all changed with the Internet. Today there are multiple ‘platforms’ available to any coach that wants to share his knowledge and opinions with the coaching community. You can turn to dozens of football websites and find volumes of opinions and ideas on every topic imaginable.
Special Teams Winning Edge (Part I)
I am a believer in our special teams philosophy because we have seen great success in every major category at two different universities – North Greenville University and Gardner-Webb – at two different levels of college football.My first few years as a special teams coordinator was trial by fire. But what I did learn is that you have to completely embrace the role because all great programs are sound and explosive in the kicking game and you have a chance to create a cul
Erasing A Decade of Disappointment: The Transformation of the Mustangs
A lot of coaches like talking Xs and Os, which is the easy part of coaching. The scheming and game planning is the chess match we all signed up for and love to do. However, as head coaches, we take on a little more than just the scheme these days. When you get your shot to be a head coach, for most of us, we don’t inherit a program that wins and is used to winning. Rather, it is usually a challenging program, one that has not won or doesn’t do so consistently. This p
Play Keep-Away: Each time your team punts, the goal is to kick it 40 yards and out of bounds.
It’s that time of year when coaches are in clinic research, upgrading playbooks and pushing the weight room as hard as possible. One area that is overlooked in a lot of playbooks is special teams evaluation. In most cases, special teams is the difference between two evenly-matched teams. Often overlooked and under-practiced, special teams play effects the overall efficiency of your program.In high school, we all face that very special player in the kicking game that can score any
Coaching American Football Overseas
By John Trana, American Football Coach in Russia and Croatia American football’s popularity is growing quickly all around the world. It is opening up new avenues for players and coaches to continue their football careers. There are over 700 teams in Europe alone playing American football. The quality of football can vary drastically with the top teams playing at a low college level. As the NFL continues to expand overseas, so will the popularity of American foo
DEFENSIVE BLUEPRINT - Lehigh's 11 Keys to a Championship Defense
We have 11 priorities for building a championship defense: staff, personnel, multiplicity, coaching the little things, getting what you coach, swarm, passion, and finish, self-scouting, game planning, and maintaining the integrity of your defense. Developing each one is critical to building your defense. Staff - It’s hard to be a championship defense if you don’t have a championship staff. In order to develop your staff, everyone must be on the same page and be an expert in
Self Analysis: Self-Scout Your Offense for a More Effective Game Plan.
The game has changed a great deal over the past decade. It used to be that offensive coordinators could create down and distance charts and run plays off of them with a pretty reliable sense of what would work. However, as the spread, no-huddle era has exploded onto the scene, it has transformed how coaches must approach the game.Our approach is to use statistics, specifically our offense’s own statistics, to formulate a game plan. The majority of our game planning time is spent
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach Prince George High School (VA) - Part II
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to
Game Planning Your Coaching Career (Part II)
The Third Quarter After the first half (introduction and growth phase) and making adjustments at half-time, the third quarter becomes the maturity phase of the coaching career. This does not mean that, as coaches, we do not continue to grow or learn. It means that we become more stabilized in our “giftings” as a coach. I admire the confidence of the FBS assistant who maintains a positive attitude that he will land a job in a better environment, after
AFM Subscribers Ask with Joe Daniel Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, Prince George High School (VA) – Part I
Joe Daniel has more than ten years experience coaching on the high school and college level. In 2009, Daniel began building a website which includes more than 300 articles on defensive coaching – www.Football-Defense.com Daniel is also the host of The Football Coaching Podcast and has written several eBooks, including Coaching Football’s 4-2-5 Defense, Installing the 4-3 Over Defensive Front, and Dominating Football Defense with the Zone Blitz. A frequent contributor to b
Rolling Thunder - Be efficient in the 'compressed' Red Zone.
No matter what your base offense is, you will find it necessary to make adjustments in what I call the compressed red zone; that is, from the three in. Adapting your base personnel, formations, and plays can be costly in terms of time and confusing to your players, who try to relate schemes and techniques used in the open field to this unique situation. Adopting a “Thunder Offense” can give you a personnel, formation, and play package that is specific to the compressed red zone. When your
Game Planning Your Coaching Career (Part I)
(This article is written to discuss career planning in the coaching profession and this is by no means the only way to pattern your pathway. The experience of one coach, while addressing many issues, does not include all scenarios. However, the organization of the material is well-known to all coaches as it is structured just as all of us would game plan against an unfamiliar opponent. It is hoped that this discussion would have us in the coaching profession talk about
Three Pillars of Defensive Prep
Three important items in game planning include practicing proper tackling, studying your opponent’s big plays and those your defense has given up, and focusing on turnovers.We are always looking for a defensive edge on game day. However, with the unpredictability that game day brings, it is very difficult to predict or prepare for every scenario that might present itself. That is why it is important to use Monday through Friday to put the odds of victory as much as possible in our fa
Strength Report – Creating an Edge in the Off-Season
Football players are getting faster. The process of increasing speed is two-fold. You must perform sprints as you would on game day, but you also have to increase lower-body strength and power. If you are looking for an edge this off-season, or just trying to add a new dynamic to the predictable programming, maybe it is time to revisit what you are doing in the weight room and during your conditioning sessions. Many programs across the country base their strength
Variables 101 – Knowing how to analyze over 100 offensive variables gives your defense a statistical edge.
Knowing how to analyze over 100 offensive variables gives your defense a statistical edge.Every defensive coordinator has his own style and process in preparing a game plan for the next opponent. Part of this process is detailing the statistical side of probability on the opponent’s play selection. Ideally, each defensive call has the probability of being successful, helps create one-on-one favorable match-ups and allows the players to execute the proper techniques in stopping the of
Get More Out of Your Film By Having Better Film
In today’s coaching world, film is a major tool for success. Yet, sometimes we get film that just isn’t up to par. When you get opponents’ film, you are left at the mercy of their filmer. Often it’s a young manager, injured player, young coach, or possibly a volunteer. Your own filmer can sometimes be very green with the camera, have tripod issues or even miss entire plays. People can forget equipment, and then you’re stranded without film. We’ve all had it h
Slowing Down the Spread
What do defenses do to slow down the spread and how do offenses counter? AFM asked spread offense coaches, “What defenses give you the most trouble?”Sparky Woods • Head Coach • Virginia Military InstituteSparky Woods has been the head coach at VMI for the past four seasons. Previously, he was head coach at Appalachian State and South Carolina and the OC/QBs Coach at Memphis. Woods was also a position coach at Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi State. He has b
What, as a Defensive Coach, Gives You the Most Trouble?
Coaching football is simple in theory - score touchdowns, and stop the opposition from scoring touchdowns. Too bad theory isn’t reality. Every football coach in the world understands that there is a lot more to it than that. Defensively, you are charged with stopping an entire offense in a few short days of practice and game planning. Each coach has their own way of going about stopping each team. Over the years, you develop your defense to suit your team and stop the opposition, yet for ea
The Fix Is In – Adjusting your defense at halftime and during the game can pay big dividends.
All coaches know that tweaking a defensive scheme during a game or at halftime can often make the difference between winning and losing. But how do some of the game’s best defensive minds approach in-game defensive adjustments? Is it better to completely revamp a defensive game plan or is it better to make minor adjustments based on what you’ve seen from an offense? AFM asked three prominent defensive coordinators about their approaches to in-game defensive adjustments and found some spec
Letter From The Editor/Publisher - Number Cruncher
In Moneyball, Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, relied heavily on a novel system of statistical analysis to build a team of productive players that other clubs had overlooked. It worked, and the 2002 A’s won the American League West and set a record of 20 straight wins.Statistics have always been integral to baseball. As any enthusiast will tell you, a big part of the game’s appeal lies in numbers. Not just for fans who follow individual player’s
Suited for Success – 2012 Football Uniforms
Coaches work hard to prepare their players for the big contest on game day. Focus and game planning take shape during the practice week – all for those few precious moments on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon.Because of what’s riding on those moments, coaches always want to put their best foot forward in execution and appearance. 2012 is offering teams across the nation more selection and performance than at any other point in the history of the game. Game uniforms are beco
Coach to Coach – Offensive Game Planning: Strategies for Success
I love designing and developing offensive schemes. When I was a kid, I would sit for hours designing plays on my electric magnetic football game. Years later, I am still designing plays and offensive schemes. The challenge of designing a play and teaching players to execute it with precision in the midst of violent chaos is one of the things I love most about coaching. Once the plays and schemes have been designed and installed, the next aspect of being a successful offensive coach is putting
Utilizing the Quick Passing Game in a Spread Offense
At Kansas Wesleyan, one of the key components of our spread offense is being able to successfully utilize the quick passing game. Our offense is based out of a single back, 2 x 2 formation. One of our main objectives is keep things simple. This ranges from route concepts, protections, signals and words. As an offensive staff, we strive to get players to react instead of over-thinking. We encourage our players to be athletes and make plays based on reaction. In this article, we will discuss th
Take Your Quarterback From Good to Great.
5 steps to help your quarterback become a more efficient and effective leader.One of the most challenging things to accomplish as an offensive coordinator is determining what to invest in and what to eliminate. While there are plenty of offensive systems and plays that are effective, most of us realize that we simply cannot do everything. We still desire, however, to be highly productive and unpredictable while striving to make our offense better than the ye
Coach to Coach: Football Clinics – The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
If you are like me, your email has been full of invitations and promotions to the many football coaching clinics being held across the country. As a coach with 19 seasons under my belt, I have attended many clinics, have had the opportunity to speak at many clinics, and I host the Shotgun Zone Fly Summit. Clinics provide us with a great opportunity to learn from some of the most successful people in the business. They are also a great excuse to get a “hall pass” for a w
Coach to Coach
When I was an offensive coordinator at the junior/community college level for six seasons, my football life consisted of recruiting, installing our schemes, game planning and calling the game on Saturdays. A full plate for sure, but it was 100% football. I definitely had ideas of what I would do if and when I became a head coach, but all of the peripheral things associated with running the entire program were in the hands of the head coach and the athletic director. In those days I thought th
Offensive Game Planning: A Week-Long Schedule to Success
Game Week Schedule - Sunday Our game week schedule is designated from Sunday to Friday. Our main objective for Sunday is to have a final breakdown of our previous game by 4:00 pm. Our breakdown consists of players’ grades on assignments and team goals. We also determine individual awards for our players from the previous game. Following our team meeting, our players divide into groups and watch film with the position coaches. Their night ends with position lifts. At abo
There Are Many Different Ways To Build A Successful Offensive System: An Update on the A-11 Offense
There Are Many Different Ways To Build A Successful Offensive System: An Update on the A-11 Offense By Kurt Bryan, Head Coach, Piedmont High School (CA) and Steve Humphries, Offensive Coordinat
Improving Your Kickoff Coverage
High school rules in many states mandate automatic touchbacks for any ball kicked into the end zone. Automatic touchbacks eliminate the risk of a big return and eliminating risk is as desirable in football as it is in other areas of life. To exploit this rule, many high school coaches ask their kickers to get the ball into the end zone. With the popularity of soccer and the requirement that high schools’ kick off from the 40-yard line, finding a kicker who can reach the end zone is not too
Linebacker Play-Reading Windows To Stop The Run
Stopping the run is always the number one concern of any defense. At O’Fallon Township High School, we have developed a scheme that allows linebackers to make an initial read and attack the ball carrier. We utilize good pursuit angles and have an understanding of the opponent’s blocking scheme that is simple to learn for the players and allows the coach to use the offense’s blocking scheme against them. At OTHS, we are a single gap, block react defense. We are counting on the f
Drills Report: Making Improvements In Your D-Line Pass Rush
With the current trend of offensive football becoming more and more spread out, defensive line coaches are seeing less and less of the traditional 5-and 7-step passing game. The traditional pass rush angles and teaching progressions don’t necessarily fit in defending the “spread” offense. Pressuring the QB in the shotgun and 3-step passing game has definitely become harder and forced D-linemen to adapt as pass rushers. We have developed seven “points of emphasis” in the pass rush t
Lessons Learned - Bunkered In-Game Week in the NFL
Working in the NFL is a fight against time. A work week consists of 80 -100 hours for the coaches. The time is divided up between individual work assignments, group projects, game-planning meetings, coaches’ film sessions, player meetings and film sessions, walk thru’s and practice. The meeting time with the players is between 20 - 25 hours per week. The amount of time actually practicing on the field is less than ten hours per week. Hard to believe, but true. Monday:
Reducing Penalties - Mike Westoff\'s Penalty Prevention System
How Mike Westhoff Turned the Jets into the Least Penalized Team Over the Last Eight Years It only takes about three minutes before Mike Westhoff gets to the tape. Like a proud father, the New York Jets special team coordinator is moving his red laser up and down the surface of a 42” TV in his office in Central New Jersey. “Did you see that block? Watch him snipe him here. That’s football for you,” he grumbles between bites of a banana. “A kick returner has to be e
Lessons Learned -from an NFL Assistant Coach - Bunkered In: Game Week in the NFL
Working in the NFL is a fight against time. A work week consists of 80 -100 hours for the coaches. The time is divided up between individual work assignments, group projects, game-planning meetings, coaches’ film sessions, player meetings and film sessions, walk thru’s and practice. The meeting time with the players is between 20 - 25 hours per week. The amount of time actually practicing on the field is less than ten hours per week. Hard to believe, but true. Monday:
ADDING FLEXIBILITY TO YOUR DEFENSIVE GAME PLAN
As high school defensive coordinators, we are challenged on a weekly basis to stop a variety of offensive schemes. Over the course of last season, these offensive schemes included split-back veer, wing-t, fly, zone, pro-style, full-house double TE, and of course the spread offense. Our defensive staff has always prided itself in being able to prepare our players on a weekly basis to stop our opponent’s particular scheme, their most dominant player, and their bread-and-butter plays.
Pressuring the Offense with Effective Front Eight
As offenses continue to develop multiple ways to attack defenses, we\'ve found it necessary to find a scheme that can put the pressure back on the offense. The 44G defense has provided us with the flexibility to accomplish that goal. General Pressure Philosophy As a coach told me: \"Take the ball out of the offensive coordinator\'s hands; put it in the hands of a 17 year old quarterback.\" That is the foundational statement of our pressure philosophy: force the 17 year ol
- More Solutions to Problem #9
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 9: Special teams letdowns – losing a game because of special teams play...what can be done to improve special teams play? Our focus here at Holbrook is on kick coverage and punt/punt return, since these are the biggest change of field plays in the
- More Solutions to Problem #3
Continued from: 32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You\'ll Face this Season Problem 3: Not being able to get the ball in the hands of your playmaker and teams finding ways to limit his touches...what do you do to counter the frustration inherent to this problem? As the offensive coordinator in a triple option offense it is important
Implementing the Saluki Zone Blitz Blitz Package
In our March issue this year, American Football Monthly presented an overview of the zone blitz scheme and its concepts. It’s a scheme that has been around for over thirty years originating with the innovative mind of Bud Carson, the notorious coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers “Steel Curtain” defense in the 1970’s. Though it has been tweaked into some more of the style we see today, the general concepts of the zone blitz remained constant. In its simplest form, the zone bl
The Winning Edge: Preparing D-Linemen for Game Day
Mike Waufle and Ray Hamilton know defensive line play. Between the two of them, they have a total of 49 years of coaching experience at the Division I level and professional levels of football. Among those in their tutelage are the likes of Andre Tippett, Russell Maryland and Michael Strahan. So it’s only fitting that the two guru’s of defensive line play collaborated on producing a scouting form called the “Winning Edge” which they give to each of their players during game week. Actu
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Will Muschamp
Last fall, under Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp, Auburn led the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense and finished in the top 10 nationally in pass efficiency defense, total defense, pass defense, and scoring defense. Since then Muschamp has joined the Texas staff as DC and inherits a defense that set school records for passing yards (3,611) and total yards (4,825) surrendered in a season in 2007. While he has his work cut out for him, Muschamp has a proven track record of fixing defen
Special Teams Game Plan Design
In no other phase of the game can field position be changed so dramatically in just one play as in the kicking game; yet, coaches often minimize weekly preparation in the kicking game just to get a few more offensive or defensive reps. Also, in no other phase of the game can one play be so emotionally uplifting, or, conversely, so demoralizing as in the kicking game. Additionally, consider that nearly one-third of the game is consumed by some phase of the kicking game and that for eve
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Mark Banker
Last fall Oregon State finished first among all 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in rushing defense, surrendering only 70.6 yards per game. The Beavers also finished fourth in quarterback sacks (3.4 per game); sixth in tackles-for-loss (8.2); and eighth in total defense (306.2 ypg). In 2006 the OSU defense led the nation in tackles-for-loss yardage (528). The lynchpin of this defense is Mark Banker, Oregon State’s Defensive Coordinator. Banker has spent 12 of the last 13 seasons with Head C
Developing a Passing Attack that Fits Your Plans and Players
Throughout my twenty-nine years in the profession, I have had the opportunity to coach at both the collegiate and high school levels. During that time, I have had the pleasure of working with various coaching staffs that have helped me formulate my philosophies on dealing with the passing game. At the same time, I have had many athletes with various ranges in athletic abilities. Therefore, I have had to adapt each year to the specific situation. When you are developing a passing at
Defensive Game Planning
Game planning is all about prioritizing; sifting through all the infinite details that you and your staff have investigated; and pinpointing the most crucial elements. Every coach worth his whistle charts tendencies from every down-and-distance, from every formation, and from each hash mark. They scout blocking schemes and multiple personnel match-ups, just like you do. They document the number of times you run certain routes; they know what your go-to running and passing plays are an
4 Principles of Play Action Passing
Gary Crowton has seen it all. He has coached in the biggest stadiums, in the biggest conferences, in the biggest games. He has coached in the small stadiums of small conferences in overlooked games. But, one thing doesn’t change no matter where he coaches. It is all football. WHY PLAY ACTION? Crowton joined Les Miles’ staff at LSU this year as offensive coordinator and helped lead the Tigers to a National Championship using two quarterbacks and a handful of ball c
Multiple Fronts Without Changing Personnel
No matter what defensive scheme you run, there are a few elements that must always be consistent for you to be successful. The athletes must believe in what they’re doing and they must understand what their responsibilities are. At the high school level we cannot recruit, so finding the great corners, the big Middle LB or the two big, strong, fast linemen may not happen each year. As high school football coaches we need to be able to adjust what we do depending on what the parents send us. No
Combating Offensive Speed with the 4-4 Defense
Whatever is being done at a higher level is usually filtered and quickly replicated through to the high school ranks. Packages like the zone read offense, the ‘spread’ rugby style punt formation and odd-stack defenses have become the norm now at lower levels. Although trends come in cycles, perhaps no scheme in football, except for the I formation offense, has had as much consistency as the 4-4 defense. Yet despite the popularity of the defense, teams have recently started to shif
The Situation
You’re on defense and your team has continually defended your opponent inside your 40 yard line. It’s red zone defense again as the clock ticks midway through the fourth quarter. It’s 4th and 9, you’re up 14-7 and the ball is on your 20 yard line, set on the (Defensive) right hash. They come out in trips open to the right and have been using slide protection to the strength with the ace back blocking inside-out and releasing if the end gets washed inside. What de
How to Get Your Gamebreakers the Ball
University of North Alabama coach Mark Hudspeth has been coaching football in the South for awhile. “I grew up just south of Starkville, Mississippi, watching Emory Bellard run the option. So, I have been an option guy from way back.” Hudspeth has learned that the basic premise behind Bellard’s famous Wishbone offense, developed and implemented under Darrell Royal at Texas, is ball distribution and having the defense decide where the ball goes. Since Hudspeth’s arrival in 2002,
AFM Subscribers Ask...with Glenn Caruso
Macalester College’s football program began a new era on December 16, 2005 when the college named Glenn Caruso its new football coach. In his previous position as offensive coordinator at South Dakota, Caruso directed an offense that set 117 school records including points scored and total yardage. In 2005, the Coyotes went 9-2 while averaging 49.7 points and 583 yards per game. Last fall, in his first season as Macalester’s head coach, the Scots produced their two highest single-game, total
AFM Subscribers Ask...
Ron Vanderlinden, now approaching his seventh year as Linebackers Coach at Penn State, has developed a reputation as an outstanding linebackers mentor. Over the years, he has coached Penn State All-Americans Paul Posluszy and Dan Connor, Pat Fitzgerald and Barry Gardner of Northwestern and Chad Brown of Colorado. He also helped the Nittany Lions defense rank in the top 15 nationally in rushing, pass efficiency, scoring, total defense and sacks in 2005. Similarly, his Northwestern defense in 1995
AFM Subscribers Ask...
Lew Johnston just completed his 22nd season as head coach for Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, VA. During that time, Johnson\'s teams compiled a 167-63-3 record with 5 District Championships and one Regional Championship. For the regular seasons 2001-2004, his Western Branch Bruins had a 32 game winning streak. A few years ago, Johnston installed the Shotgun Spread Wing-T package. Since that time, he has spoken at clinics around the country as well as completed a number of videos on thi
The Spin Offense: The Running Game (Part II)
When Dale Weiner and his staff at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge (LA) developed the “spin offense” as their primary offense in 2001, there were three aspects that they felt needed to be accomplished in order to be successful: develop a base run package with complimentary play-action off of it; keep the defense on its toes by using misdirection and motion; and keep it simple enough so that the players and coaches can make adjustments on the fly. Although the system is quite sim
Preparing your Defensive Game Plan
Every football coach, at one time or other during the season thinks “If only there were more time to prepare for this game, we could…”. DC’s are under great pressure each week to develop and implement a scheme that puts their players in the best possible position to make plays. This type of defensive game planning requires many hours of preparation – first breaking down game tape and determining an offense’s tendencies, and then selecting fronts, stunts and blitzes from the De
Running Wild
HOW TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE RUNNING GAME THAT WILL BOOST YARDS AND WINS For all of football’s passing progress over the past decade, the running game remains a fundamental cornerstone of winning football. Whether you’re punching the ball across the line in short-yardage situations or controlling the clock, every team must be able to get the ball into the hands of a capable runner who can read and follow effective blocks downfield, breaking tackles and making defenders miss.
Video a Necessary Part of Every Program
“It was film in the old days, up to about ‘88 or 89,” recalls Clemson’s veteran video coordinator Rick Bagby, a pioneer in his field who led the video revolution that enables football coaches better use their time to develop sophisticated, smart, systems, and, he hopes, winning game plans for the ACC program that’s been a big winner for decades in the South. Across the country in the Pacific Northwest, Steve Pohl has been running Oregon’s football video operation since 19
Dominating Run Defenses
Different teams. Different schemes. Different coaches. Different levels of play. But Ohio State, Duquesne, Edinboro and Trinity all shared one very important distinction at the end of the 2005 college football season. They all led their respective NCAA Divisions in stopping the run. And while the way they accomplished their No. 1 ranking varied, a closer look at each program revealed some common threads to their success. All four agreed that personnel is the biggest determining factor
From Scouting Report to Game Plan
Know thy enemy. On the battlefield or the football field, few statements ring truer than that. Being able to effectively size up an opponent, identify their weaknesses, recognize their tendencies and formulate an attack puts you that much closer to victory on Saturday. In today’s high-tech world, scouting the opposition is often done with the latest in digital editing equipment. And when the lights go out, every program, every coach and every player is scanning their scouting report for the ex
Fire Zone Scheme
Coaching defensive football has taken on a whole new look in recent years with the advent of the “Fire Zone” or what is popularly referred to as the “Zone Blitz.” These schemes, first utilized by several NFL teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s, allow defensive coaches the capability to send five rushers (and in some cases six) while still being able to stay in a zone coverage shell behind the blitz. This scheme first evolved to help defenders take away the offense’s ability to thro
Stopping the Wing-T
It is one of the most confounding offenses found in either high school or college football. Mention the Wing-T at any meeting of coaches and the majority – if being honest – will admit that it is one of their worst nightmares. It is an offense that is as unpredictable as any in the game and the team that is unprepared for it will be placed in peril and will most likely be embarrassed. Few coaches will put their team at that disadvantage. Through scouting and film study, most coache
Madness in the Midwest
Kerry Coombs has lost control. He’s Colerain High School’s assistant principal and head football coach, but he’s not in charge. The kids, he says, are the one’s in control of his day. His office looks like the inside of several file cabinets or in his words, “absolute chaos.” “A really wise guy once told me that if I could get to where I’m only touching paper once that I’d be more efficient at my job,” Coombs said. “I’m
2005 December 2005 Innovators of the option • From Scouting Report to Game Plan • True Football Speed • Quarterback Fundamentals November 2005 It Starts in the Trenches • Attacking Defenses with the Veer • 4 Technical Components of Punt Coverage • Teaching
Rutgers Passing Attack
Related Videos American Football Monthly now offers a full line of coaching videos. So, if you enjoyed this
Cover Story Randy Shannon: Miami’s Defensive CoordinatorBy David Purdum April 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Keeping Drives Alive: Effective Third Down Game Planning
At Western Michigan University, we utilize a multi-faceted approach when it comes time to game plan third down. It is a cooperative effort, involving all of the members of the offensive staff and the head coach. Before any meaningful discussion on third downs takes place, you must develop the down and distance parameters that will guide you through your game planning. We have two general categories, run situatio
Cover Story Gary Patterson: The Next Level Following the success of former head coach Dennis Franchione, Gary Patterson\'s intensity, professional experience and strong work ethic has helped take TCU\'s football team - along with it\'s attendance and graduation rates- to a whole new level. By Richard
The Mental Game
This article looks at ways that instructional technology and principles can be used to improve the mental performance of your football players. The focus is on decision-making. That breaks down into a player’s ability to recognize an opponent’s actions, to know his team’s schemes and his individual assignments, and to choose the correct response. It does not include executing the response. Coaches spe
The Use of Formations to Gain an Advantage
Garrison High School has a long tradition of a winning football program. We have been in the playoffs 28 times and won 22 district championships. This was the first time in my coaching career that I had taken over a program that had a winning tradition and the opportunity was there to make a good program great instead of trying to turn an unsuccessful program into a winning program. I was hired in July of 1999 an
Pressure Points
If you liked this article, here are three others just like it:
Simplicity
At Westminster College, we like to keep things simple and sound in all of our protection schemes. This enables us to make adjustments on a weekly basis without too many contradictions to our base rules. As we all know when you introduce specific schemes the rules change with regards to personnel and game plans. By keeping simple and vague we are able to adjust rules as the season progresses. We feel, and our play
Outline for Technology Game-planning
With the growth of technology in football and the ever-increasing demands on coaches’ time game planning and scheduling has become even more important providing the foundation for a successful football program. This is an outline of the weekly schedule we use at Fordham University for offensive game planning. The outline also highlights the manner technology makes our film study either more efficient or allows us to study
The Last Rep
Practice scheduling is becoming more important with every season that passes, so American Football Monthly recently sat down with six of the top head coaches from around the country to get their thoughts on some of the major issues concerning their industry. How important is practice scheduling? “Practice is the most important time that you have. T
Focus on Critical Information to Place Your Players in Position to be Successful
FOR LAST YEAR’S TECHNOLOGY ISSUE, American Football Monthly asked me to share some insight on the organization of game planning staff and resources.* This year, Travis Davis has asked me to again address the subject of game planning, this time regarding an often asked question: In light of the finite time we coaches have available each week for strategic planning, how can we find and use the best from th
Use Video Technology to Enhance On-Field Performance
Once a high school wide receiver myself, I remember the way our football coach would stress the importance of two things – execution and fundamentals. During the season, both play crucial roles in any team’s on-field performance. The off-season, however, is the best time to develop them. Free from the day-to-day headaches of game planning, the off-season
HOW TO REAP THE REWARDS OF PLAY DIAGRAMING SOFTWARE
No one needs to remind you that coaching is a time-consuming profession. Game planning. Practice planning. Scouting. Play diagraming. All of these things take valuable time.Perhaps you know a resourceful coach who always seems to find new ways to make more efficient use of his time. These coaches are usually the successful ones. Managing your time and your team are both necessities. So is preparing your team. One tool that can help you become more efficient and also help you prepare yo
Level the Playing Field
When we came to Martin a year ago, we knew that we were nearly starting from scratch. We only had thirty-eight players on our team for our first spring practice. Knowing that our numbers were low and we were going to have to play a very tough I-AA schedule with many young players, we had to try and find a way to do something different that would level the playing field. Having seen the Academies become very successful with less talent than their opposition by playing option football, and
The Clemson Zone Combo Package
The Clemson Tigers offensive style of football was developed in accordance with and is a reflection of head coach Tommy Bowdenís personality. The offense was designed as an aggressive, up tempo, attacking style that continuously applies pressure to the defense. This attitude has produced one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the nation over the last four years. His teams have consistently averaged more than 190 yards, both rushing and passing, and have generated on average more than 440
Cover Too
It may come as a surprise to some that computers have been helping high school and college coaches build game plans for nearly 20 years. Starting with the early Apple II and IBM personal computers, technology that had previously been available only to larger colleges and professional teams began working its way into the high school and small college ranks. Innovative coaches, facing many obstacles, began to integrate computers into their game planning processes during the mid-1980s. C
Achieving Maximum Benefit from Your Use of Technology in Game Planning
ALL STAFFS INVEST A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF time and effort in game planning. Strategic preparation for an opponent is a big part of what we do as coaches. It\'s a major element of the intellectual challenge of coaching which attracts us to the profession, and it forms the basis for the way in which we as coaches compete on game day. Play calling success is dependent upon a knowledge of the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of both your own team and of your opponent. We all know that ot
May 2001 Cover Story The Information Age - Computers and the countless software applications have forever changed the face of coaching... a look at how the changes have affected coaches like Pittsburg State's OL coach Bill Kroenke.
Do It Your Way
Throughout my twenty-two years in the profession, I have had the opportunity to coach at both the collegiate and high school levels. During that time, I have had the pleasure of working with various coaching staffs that have helped me formulate my philosophies on dealing with the passing game. At the same time, I have coached many athletes with various ranges in athletic abilities. Therefore, I have had to adapt each year to the specific situation. When you are developing a passing attack, it
Letter from Publisher
On January 13th, the same day that Michael Jordan retired from the NBA, Jimmy Johnson decided to resign as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Feeling the pain of losing his mother and his father's illness, tired of 30 years of 16 hour days, a failed marriage and lost precious time with his sons, coupled with the frustration of dealing with multi-millionaire players, who refuse to "run through a brick wall like they used to," Johnson told his boss, team owner Wayne Huizenga, he was ready to
Q&A With Tony Dungy
Q: It seems to me you believe coaches and players have a responsibility to the kids that look up to them. How do you feel about the role of an athlete in the community?A: Whether you want to be or not, you have to face the facts that you are a role model and that's part of the job. I don't necessarily like all the things that go along with it, like dealing with the media and doing interviews. I'd much rather just sit here--all I want to do is coach the team and that's it. But it is part
Keep the Chains Moving
Achieving results on third down is one of the biggest keys to winning any football game. Third-down situations are often pivotal in determining the outcome of a game. A key stop for the defense can change momentum or significantly alter field-position advantage. Conversely, a conversion by the offense can keep a drive alive, eat up clock time, and keep scoring opportunities available. For the offense, the objective is simple: keep the football by making the necessary yardage. Severa
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