Tools of the Trade: DE Read & React Drills

We are looking at defense on this post!

 (Sorry, offensive guys, but I have been just as much a defensive guy as I have been an offensive guy over my 10 years...but if I had to choose, I would go offense  ;)  ).

The last couple of years I have helped call and develop a 4-man front defense, either based out of Quarters coverage or Cover 3 (changed based on personnel). I also was in charge of coaching up the defensive ends, which had a wide range of responsibilities to take care within the defensive scheme. We also played in a league that had a wide variety of offensive styles, with spread being the most prevalent (even though they varied among each other as well).

When I take over a position, offensively or defensively, I always look at what the top responsibilities of the positions and the skills needed for that position. For our DEs, you had to pass rush, smash down a tackle or TE, take on pulling guards, and play the option a certain way depending on what side of the formation you were on. I then develop drills based on those skills that need to be developed.

I do not like to do a million drills and try to get through them at warp speed. I like to create an all-encompassing drill that works multiple skills at a time and gives real-game feel/look. So to follow that blue print, the first drill I came up with was what I called R&R...READ & REACT. It is a simple drill where I have an end play as an OT and he will randomly pick one of five different blocks to execute. The goal is for the DE lined up opposite of the OT is the READ the block and REACT properly to that type of block. You first have to walk them through what the blocks are and the proper reactions to those blocks, but the kids picked up fast.Also, I would have the OT go on his movement and the DE had to get off the movement of the OT and R&R.

Here is what the different blocks looked like and the reactions for each block:

The blocks are the following(from left to right on diagram): Pass Pro, Counter pull, Reach, Base/Turnout, and Down block. Obviously, with a pass pro step, the DE just went into pass rush mode. With the counter pull, the end would chase the OT down the line, unless we had game planned him to sit on it because of option. For the reach block, he is looking to fight across and always stay outside of the OT. The base/turnout block requires the DE to smash the OT back  and pinch down the B gap for plays like Iso/Belly. Finally, the down block required our DE to smash down the OT and try to prevent the OT from getting to LBs. He also had to be ready to wrong arm a pulling guard (I will talk more about this later).

Once we had go through multiple reps and worked both sides of the OT, we then had the DEs run the R&R drill versus a TE. In our defense, we played a DE heads up on a TE with his responsibility being the C gap inside. We had four blocks we would work here: Down block, Arc Block/Pass Release, Reach, and Seal Block. With the down block, we are doing what we did with an OT: smash down inside and prevent TE from getting to LBs. The arc release is a tough one for them to R&R, which required them to ride the TE a little to make sure it is not a reach block, then close it back down for a pulling guard or to get a pass rush. The reach block is a little different versus a TE because we are responsible for the C gap inside. So we taught them to take on the reach block with your outside arm, keep inside arm free while staying square, and don't wrap around backside of block until the ball has gone outside of your gap. Finally, if the TE tried to seal us from the inside, we would smash them down like we did with the OT's base/turnout block. 

Here is what the TE R&R looked like:

So when you look at the R&R drill in its' entirety, it covers about 90% of the skills needed by the DEs. This was vital because if I only had 15 minutes of indy, I could do this for 10 minutes and get a lot of reps in, covering 90% of the skills needed. The other 5 minutes I could cover any weekly adjustments or taking on a pulling guard. 

Speaking of taking on pulling guards, I have a great thing for you try to invest in. We had purchased the one year a huge, orange impact ball. It was the big ball that we would roll at players and they could work on wrong arming a pulling guard. We would either set up a simple drill, where an OT would down block, we would smash them down and wrong arm the ball. Great tool and allows for full contact on taking on a pulling lineman.

We took that drill to the extreme against one team that we faced last year. The team was a spread team that had to main run plays that gave people fits because they both involve a guard pulling, but resulted in two, widely different, attacks. They would run a trap play where the guard would pull and kick out the end, with the back hitting it up inside. The other play was what I called the power option, which involves the line blocking like power (OG pulling up through for LB) and the TB and QB sliding to the same side of the play. The QB would read the DE play side and either hand off to the TB on the DE closing down or keep the ball if DE widened to take the TB.

So with that in mind, I came up with the following drill. We had an OT, a OG (who would roll the impact ball at the DE at the snap of the ball), a TB, and me playing the QB. The DE would get into a 5 tech and at the snap at the ball would R&R first the OT, then look at the backfield to get clues on what to do. If he saw the QB turn his shoulders away from him, he would close down and wrong arm the impact ball. If he saw the QB shuffling with the TB, he would attack the mesh point square on and muddy the read. 

Here is the setup for both reads:

It worked beautifully!

In the game, we ready handle the two different plays and made them abandon using the one because we nearly nailed both the QB and TB on the power option read. Our DEs had a good game, with even one of our backups having to play most of the game.

When you are making a drill for a position (Offensively or Defensively), you have to keep a few things in mind:

1. Is this a needed skill that will be used in a game?
2. Am I addressing multiple skills at a time, so I can save time?
3. Will I be able to get maximum reps, or will a bunch of guys being standing around?
4. Am I giving them a realistic, game-like experience with this drill?
5. Is it easy enough to teach to them in the off season and they can run it on their own when you cannot coach them directly in larger groups?

Hope this helps and thank you to all of you that have been checking out my posts! I am over 300 page views in only about a week and a half...a great start and I plan to continue to provide great information and theoretical ideas that you could possibly try with your program. Please feel free to leave me feedback, good or bad, about the blog or the information being presented on the blog.

R&D Labwork: Stick Route Pass Concept within the Wing-T Offense

The more I study the Wing-T and go "mad scientist" on its' schemes, the more I realize there is a lot more potential in the passing game from the traditional Wing-T formations then most people may realize. Wing-T is clearly known as a run-based offense that uses play action pass. I think there is a  place for drop back passing in the Wing-T, which would only enhance the impact this offense can have on a defense. This would also answer the biggest problem with the Wing-T...what do you do if you get behind on the scoreboard or the defense is taking away the run game?

For the next couple of posts on this blog, I plan on showing you some common passing concepts that can be integrated into a traditional Wing-T offense. I will be covering all types of concepts, including quick game, intermediate/deep, and screens.

First up...the Stick route.

The Stick route is probably one of the easiest passing concepts there is in football, which also makes it one of the most high percentage passes used today. If you tune in to any college or pro football game, you will probably see this concept at least a handful of times. The receiver you typically see run this is the tight end, but if you are a spread team, it's going to be usually an inside receiver out of trips. A great example of this is the Patriots, with Gronk being the man running the stick route. Gronk is perfect to run this because he is big enough to post up/bang with a LB, but also has the speed/athleticism to run away from a defender.

The Stick route is an option route where the receiver will run a 4-6 yard route and determine to sit it down in a zone or to run an out to get away from man coverage. The receiver has to read the defense pre-snap and post-snap to either find that open zone or determine who is going to be running with him.

 Here is a great video of John Carlson demonstrating the basics of the Stick route:

So an easy concept that can be run from many different formations/alignments? That sounds like a perfect type of pass for such a run-heavy offense like the Wing-T. I decided to sit down and draw up what the stick would look like out a traditional Wing-T formation.

Here is what I got:

First, I would like you to focus on the TE/WB side of the formation. This would be the main focus of the play, with the stick being run by the TE, and an arrow route being run by the WB. The arrow route is used to get the D spread out horizontally, so we create space for the stick route. The stick route can be converted into a hitch-like route or an out depending on 2 things: Secondary alignment and Linebacker Alignment. You will see that the TE is always looking for the void within the coverage. Also, with the alignment of the TE and WB being so compressed to the OL, it makes it harder for the secondary to match up with the receivers.

 The QB will be looking to hit the stick route, but needs to peek at the arrow route to see if he is being left open. As far as the drop of the QB, I have two ideas on that: 1) Just do straight 3 step drop or 2) Open up to FB on short fake and pop open to throw. I like the 2nd option because I think you can suck in the LBs a little to open up the routes more, but I know the 1st option would work for sure (just no deception on the play being a pass).

Next, I want you to focus on the backside of the play, where the SE and HB are running their routes. I was pleasantly surprised how nicely this side of the play ended up. The HB is going to also run a stick route from the backfield alignment. Same rules as the TE, just from a different position. The best part of this side is the SE's route...the 8 yard out cut that is working to isolate him on the corner. This has been a great route from my previous teams and is a simple pass play that can get you good yardage. The idea is to run to a depth of about 8 yards, then break hard outside and come back to the ball (you should be at about a depth of 6 yards when you catch this). It is great against any man or cover 3 coverage.

So, in reality, there are 3 different areas of the field you can hit the D with this pass concept...the TE/WB stick-arrow combination, the HB on the stick route, or the SE on the bench route. All are easy, high-percentage throws that can gain you solid yardage. You just need to coach up the QB on what reads you want him to make or what rules dictate when he throws to the TE vs the HB vs the SE.

Now, this is not the only way to run the stick route concept. I have come up with some other ways you can get into the concept without compromising the integrity of the traditional Wing-T offense. All the formations I used are Wing-T formations with the HB moving to the strong/weak side in some formation. This allows the formation to form a trips look, which adds another level of complexity for the defense to adjust to.

Take a look:

Again, a very easy pass concept that can be adapted to almost any formation. The route is high percentage and I was able to pair it up with another concept (Bench route) to make more options available to the QB, which is also a high percentage throw. Finally, it is an option route that is easy to teach and requires minimal effort from the receiver to read and adjust.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and make sure to leave some comments on what you think or what kind of pass concepts you would like to see merged with the Wing-T.

The next concept I am looking to put together is the slant-arrow/ slant-seam combinations being integrated into the Wing-T.

R&D ThinkTank: The Waggle...One of the best "RPOs" before RPO became vogue!!!

RPO...Run/Pass Option.

If you have been on any football websites that discuss schemes, you start to see the screen filled up with titles that involve "RPOs". The next evolution of offense seems to be trending towards packaging run plays with pass plays and allowing the QB to decide what play should be run based on what the defense does. It is basically an option offense that incorporates the pass in the play.

The problem I have a lot of times with coaches is how they like to coin things as "new" or "unique" to their offense...like they just came up with a completely original idea. In reality, all they have done is taken a previously developed concept and adapted it to a new style of offense or set of plays. There needs to be credit given for the innovation of adapting the concept to new plays, but do not act like you developed the first concept of a run/pass option. The first concept of a run/pass option was develop well over 75 years ago...it's now coming back into trend with the new spread offenses.

 The first concept of a run/pass option in the modern game of football was the bootleg pass. The concept is to play action a run, get the QB on the edge, and have him either pass to an open receiver or run if there is open space. The bootleg pass has been in existence since the 1940's, with arguably the best one being developed in 1968...the Waggle.

Why do I think the Waggle is the best bootleg ever developed? Look at what I described a bootleg as...a concept where you play action a run, get the QB on the edge, and have him execute the run/pass option. The Waggle does that, but to the extreme!

First, the Waggle does not just play action a single play (like most bootlegs), but two plays...the Trap and the Bucksweep. This leads to a longer freeze by the defense due to the uncertainty of the ball being either with the HB, FB, or QB. A longer freezing of the defense gives a greater chance of the Waggle to hit big.

The second part of a bootleg is that it allows the QB to get to the edge. This is usually allowed due to the play action fake and a guard pulling to seal or lead for the QB. The Waggle has the great play action fakes, but takes the guard pulling to the max, with both guards pulling to seal and lead for the QB! With both guards pulling, this is designed to assure the edge is set and gives the QB time to make his run/pass option. It also assures that any extra defenders on the side of the formation the Waggle is going towards gets covered up by a blocker or receiver. Again, more time and room for the QB to execute the run/pass option.

Finally, the Waggle takes the run/pass option to the extreme by having potentially 6 options for the QB to move the ball. You have the Go route by the SE for the big hitter, the FB in the flats for a quick, high-percentage pass, the TE on a difficult-to-cover crossing pattern, the WB going deep with a post/streak route for another big hitter, the HB flaring out of the backfield for the throwback, and the QB running the ball with at least one lead blocker, if not possibly two.

 Some would argue it is a just a pass play, so that is why there is so many options. That may be true, but tell me what other pass play has 5 receivers out on a route and a possible two lead blockers for the QB to run if he needs to? The only one that does that is the Waggle.

That was just my two cents on RPOs and the best one out there (in my opinion), the Waggle.

RPOs are very interesting plays that I feel with continue to develop for years to come. They are a great example of the innovation of coaches...taking old ideas and applying them to new schemes. Just remember that you are not reinventing the wheel, you are just making it more efficient and making some cosmetic changes to it! 

Tools of the Trade: 2-Man Pods for IZ/OZ

Last year, I was put in charge of an OL that never had run zone blocking properly. They had been a Jet/Rocket Wing-T type of offense previously, so Inside and Outside Zone and the technical aspects of the plays were foreign to them. The year before, they were supposed to be running zone blocking, but the technique was not being properly taught. They were use to the routine of sled, chutes, then the group/team part of practice (no real zone blocking technique being developed). Don't get me wrong, there is a time and place for sled and chute work, but these guys were seriously lacking technique due to it being a new offense for them and many were first time varsity guys with zero varsity minutes in a game. So I did some research and development my own little drill to help work the technical aspect of the IZ/OZ, but also have them work in real time situations against real opponents. I used what a lot of OL coaches call "Pods".

Pods are groups of 2-3 OL that will square off against 2-3 defenders in a multitude of situations set up by the coach. Some coaches will use 3 OL like a center, guard, tackle or a center with two guards. I felt it would be more advantageous for us to use 2 OL since 99% of all combinations in zone blocking involve only 2 OL.

I next developed a sequence of defensive alignments that would represent the majority of looks that my OL would see and have to block. I would start with the DL on the outside shoulder of one of the OL and the LB is inside shoulder of that same OL. Then, I would have the DL head up on that same OL with the LB stack over top of the DL. Finally, I would put the DL on the inside shoulder of the same OL with the LB on the outside shoulder of the OL. Once we went through that progression, we had the DL switch over to the other OL, following that same progression, but now running the blocking scheme the opposite way with the OL having opposite roles.

Here is a picture of the basic alignments I would take the OL through:

I would have the OL rotate from the offensive side, to the defensive side, to the back of the line after each alignment. We would go rapid fire through this and usually had 2 groups going at the same time (I would run the upperclassmen group and my assistant OL coach would run the underclassmen). We made sure that we could get through every alignment and progression for both IZ and OZ in about a 15 minute period.

For the IZ progression, the goal was to get push on the DL and get to the LB as fast as you can. So when we had an outside shade with a LB, our goal was to drive the shade with the covered OL and the uncovered OL stepping hard, anticipating an inside stunt by the DL, and then working up to LB. With the stack, the goal is to double the DL up to the stacked LB. If the DL slanted, the OL to the slant would pick him up and the other OL would spike the DL and work up to LB. Finally, with the inside shade and LB outside shoulder, the covered OL is taught to post the DL to give time for the uncovered OL to get there and then work to LB. The posting of the DL also allows for more movement of the DL, which means more room for cutback by the RB. This would all be repeated with the DL and LB being aligned on the other OL and the play direction going the other way.

Here is a diagram of the IZ progression:

For the OZ progression, the goal, if you are covered, is to reach the DL and work up to the LB (the uncovered OL will work to overtake the DL, so you can work to LB). If you cannot reach the DL, you run him and the uncovered DL will work to LB, We want the ball to go to the outside so we need to reach and cutoff the DL/LB. If they are fighting outside, we nee to run with them to occupy them and give the back a running lane. So that is basically the progression with the OZ in pods. The covered OL is looking to reach and work up to LB, while the uncovered is work to overtake the DL. Notice that with the inside shade, the covered OL does not post the DL. Most times we see this alignment, it is to the backside of the play. So we will tell our OL to reach and overtake the DL, but if you cannot reach him, then try to cut him. Alex Gibbs is a big proponent to cutting the backside of the OZ play, so that is where I got the idea of cutting a shade backside like that. To help develop that technique, I would give a shield/pad to the DL in that alignment and allow the OL to work his cut block on the shield/pad.

Here is a diagram of the OZ progression:

There are many things that I love about this drill:

First, I can go at any level of hitting or speed that I want to and you get great work out of it. If you have no pads on and its a walk through pace, it is a great teaching tool for footwork, aiming points, and overall techniques. You can go 1/2 or 3/4 speed to get a great warm-up for the day and still focus on the techniques involved. If you need to light a fire underneath your OL or have a gut check moment, I ramp it up to full go and I tell both sides of the ball to make people look silly. It really can become a slobber-knocker and give you a great look at who is ready to play ball.

Secondly, I can address the skills or techniques, worked on by using sleds or chutes, in this drill. Sleds are great for timing of the get-off, pad level, and foot firing/driving. I can work on all of that against a real opponent who is not flat like a pad and can move/adjust to your block. I like the more realistic fit-up in the pod drill versus a sled. As for the chutes, I may not have boards involved like the chutes, but the players can tell you right away that their feet were too close. The players know when it happens, because they fall of their block easy or they do not get the guy moving.

Thirdly, I can work stunts and blitzes into the progression, which prepares my OL for almost any situation. In the summer, I will start with the defense being static the first couple of times we run the pod drill. After that, I tell the defense to start to slant, stunt, or blitz either on their own or based on where I tell them to go. I feel like with the different alignments and stunting/blitzing prepares my guys for anything. Great example of this preparation was our Week 6 opponent last year. We were expecting a 4-3 defense with a monster back sitting in a B gap. We came out for our first series and they were in a straight 3-3, blitzing just about everyone they could find. Our guys did a great job of picking up every blitz/stunt and our RB had one of his most productive games of the season.


Side Note: Now that I am coaching for a Wing-T team, I am thinking about adapting this for our backside reach block scheme that we run with a lot of plays. The scheme would be basically like running an OZ progression. Something to ponder...

Hopefully, this helps some of you that are looking to run zone blocking and need a drill to help teach/develop the techniques of zone blocking. Please leave a comment below on your thoughts on the drill.

R&D Labwork: Zone Series/Package from Traditional Wing-T

I recently joined back up with the football program at the school I teach at (Delphos Jefferson). There is a new coach who took over this last year and led them to a very successful season of 8-3 (made playoff appearance). One change this coach made is he changed the offense from a spread run-n-gun offense to a Wing-T offense. Wing-T offense is something I have never ran in it's traditional form. I have done some of the belly series plays with some programs and I was part of a program that ran the jet/rocket version of Wing-T from a double wing formation. This has been an interesting learning experience to learn the little details needed to learn the more traditional form of Wing-T offense.

As you will learn as I write about more ideas, once I gain an understanding of a scheme, I go all "mad scientist" on the scheme. I start imagining what new little wrinkles could be developed to make something more deceptive or dangerous for an offense or defense. In this example, I was a spread, inside/outside zone guy coming to a Wing-T program. I knew they didn't want any Spread Wing-T, but I kept going back to the zone blocking I had been running the last couple of years. I love zone blocking due to the flexibility of the schemes and the ease of installing it. So what did my inner "mad scientist" decide to do...make a series or package of zone-blocked plays that can be run from an under -center, traditional Wing-T formation. I didn't create some new, fancy offense...I just took two, well established, offensive schemes and merged them. Check it out and see what you think!


Inside Zone (FB Run)

The first play I have in the series/package is Inside Zone with the fullback. I know some zone folks are already screaming at me about the depth of a fullback and that he will not be able to read the line fast enough to cut backside if need ( a real advantage in a more traditional use of zone runs).  My response to that is go watch USC, Ohio State, and other schools back in 70's when a lot of schools ran I and T offenses. You will see the fullback run inside zone, successfully see a cutback and gain more yards...I know it's not as effective as in shotgun or having the back 7 yards deep, but I feel this can be a yard gainer when run with it complementary plays.

Now for the logistics to get the play to work. First, the line is running a standard inside zone blocking scheme to the split end side of the formation (I will post about zone blocking in later posts). I like this because the entire backside is being blocked with no one there to close down and take away the backside (Remember: there is a TE and a wing that is stepping zone as well, so the backside is REALLY sealed off). The fullback's aiming point is the butt of the guard to the side the play is being run to. I feel this is the best AP because the play hits a little wider than the start of the trap play and has a feel of veer/belly. It also gives the fullback a great read of the blocking because the guard will tell you if you can slam it right through the hole or if you have to bend to the backside a little. This series of plays is designed to look a lot like the trap/bucksweep series, but even more challenging to due to the wide angle of the fullback on IZ and the unpredictability of the later OZ play run by the halfback. As stated, the HB is the back doing the OZ play, so he will be carrying out his OZ fake (which is really just like a bucksweep fake). The QB will open up to the fullback, hand it off as deep as he can, fake the HB OZ play, then will turn open like a drop back pass fake. A waggle like fake can also be done, as there is a waggle like play I will share later.

Here is a diagram of the Inside Zone being run against a 4-3 defense:

Outside Zone (HB Run)

The next play is the complementary play that is run simultaneously with the IZ run of the fullback, giving the look the trap/bucksweep action of a traditional Wing-T offense...the Outside Zone by the halfback. I feel that is also a great advantage for a Wing-T offense because of the flexibility of where this play will hit and that the line can get to the second level fairly quickly versus pulling and meeting the defense outside. The thing that people have to keep in mind with the location of the halfback in a  Wing-T offense: it is basically the same location of a halfback in a shotgun offense! So if you are familiar with running OZ from the gun, then the logistics of the play is the same.

First off, the line will be running a standard OZ blocking scheme. That also includes the TE and wing (whose block can be game planned depending on what defense you see that week). If everyone is stepping to the TE side, that means we have one or two defenders to the backside that will be unblocked. That is where the fullback comes in...he will be running his IZ fake, so he should distract the end and possible backer to that side. He can then throw a block on one of those two, depending on the situation. The QB will execute the same set of steps as the IZ play, with either dropping back or booting out like a waggle after the handoff to the HB. The HB will take the handoff and his aiming point is the TE's butt. He needs to read the TE's and wing's blocks to get a good idea of where to go...if the wing can seal the edge, then go outside; if the wing and TE have to widen out their block then cut it up. It's this flexibility that makes this play so dangerous...defenses can over run or fit up wrong to the play and the back can make them wrong every time!

Here is a diagram of the Outside Zone being run against a 4-3 defense:

Play Action Passes (Middle Pass and Naked Boot)

As with any series of plays in a Wing-T playbook, there are typically PAPs to take advantage of an aggressive, run-supporting secondary. I have two different types of PAPs available, depending on your style of play or personnel.

The first I took from my new team's playbook. The Middle pass was a variation of PAP based on the backfield action of the trap/bucksweep plays (which is the look of zone series...see where I'm going!). We have slide protection to the TE side, with the backside blocking man (BST for sure, BSG possibly, FB inserts to clean up any blitz/stunt). The goal of the play is to get a switching route combo between the TE and wing. The TE will run a 10 yd out, the wing with run a post, and the backside WR will just run a streak/vertical route. The HB can either flare out as a dump off or he can throttle down after fake and block the edge of the TE side.

Here is a diagram of the Middle Pass being run against a 4-3 defense:

The other PAP is just a variation of the Waggle Pass, just with no pulling. It is basically just a naked bootleg that the QB can boot out and have all the options that a waggle play can typically offer. The fullback would try to chip the end as he releases or he can stay in and block.

Well, that is my thoughts of integrating the zone blocking scheme into a Wing-T offense. I feel that the zone blocking adds another dimension to the already tricky Wing-T offense. I could see the defense struggling to decipher between is the play being blocked with zone or gap schemes, which would dramatically alter what way the LBs are suppose to flow. If you see a TE stepping down, is it the bucksweep or is it the inside zone play on the other side of the formation? I think you are going to mess with the defense's processing and slow them down (which is deadly versus a Wing-T offense). Also, zone blocking is good against blitzing/stunting, so if a team is playing your Wing-T by blitzing or stunting, this could be a solid adjustment against their D.

I would like to hear your thoughts or critiques of this idea of integrating zone blocking into the Wing-T. Leave a comment or shoot me an email to tell me what you think!

Welcome!

My name is Brandon Behnfeldt and this is the GridIron R&D blog.

My goal with this blog is to write about the unique ideas I have had over the years, describe the new/innovative techniques/schemes from all levels of football, and present a place where coaches can come to talk and share their ideas with one another. I want this to be like a "Think Tank" where football can be discussed, dissected, and evolved into a whole new level of football.

A little about myself...I just finished my 10th year as a varsity assistant coach (I am currently 29 years old, so I started coaching my sophomore year of college). I have been with 5 different programs over these 10 years, so I have been exposed to many different styles of football and levels of competition. I have been on teams that have been to playoffs almost every year (while others have never been to playoffs), teams that have had almost 80 kids 9-12th grade playing (while others had 25 players in the program), and teams that have had some of the best coaches in the area of Ohio I reside in (while others had guys on staff that should never had been allowed to coach football). I have coached both sides of the ball, helping call both offense and defense (Also was a special teams coordinator in the past). I have coached directly/indirectly almost every position on the field, with my specialty being OL/DL. I have also run pretty much every style of offense and defense you could possibly see.

It is this great set of experiences that I feel makes me well rounded as a coach, but also gives me a bank of knowledge of things that work, don't work, or could work if given the right situation. I want to continue that expansion of knowledge by researching football's newest ideas and see what applications those concepts can have for me or other coaches at any level. So I will need your help to give me inspiration through this process and share your knowledge with me and other coaches!

Thanks for your time and I will be posting my first "R&D Labwork" article real soon. The topic...the "Zone Series/Package" out of a traditional, under center, Wing-T offense.