COUNTER - The Ying to Power's Yang

I can not imagine running Power without running Counter.  The two plays go together  very well and the cutback action of counter will hurt defenses who flow very fast to the RB's initial path.  It is also a great answer to teams who want to load up to your FB  or strong side in an effort to shut down Power.

We run multiple variations of Counter.  The core of the play is down blocks and/or double teams play side, just like Power.  This is why I think counter is a must have in your arsenal if you run power, because there is so much carry over between the schemes.  In counter, our Backside Guard (BSG) is the kick out man, now rather than skip pull he will take a very tight inside path to kick out the first color that shows, which is usually the play side DE.
This is all the same in every Counter we run.  Our variations come from who our 2nd puller is and who secures the back side.  Our 2nd puller is also called the "wrapper" because they will wrap inside of the guards kick out block to lead up on the play side LB.  If the opposing DE steps down to wrong arm our guard will drive this, logging the DE, and our 2nd puller and Rb have to read this and bounce around it.

Counter FB
We will use the FB as our second puller, this tells the BST to stay home and secure the back side.

Double Tight Counter
This is very similar to counter FB, but we run it from double tight, we use our BS TE as our 2nd puller since we don't have a FB in the game.  This was a great play for us, the extra gap in double tight was great for us because it isn't something you see much with so many teams spreading out on Offense.  Being in this balanced look up front also helped to stop teams from loading up one side to shut down Power.  We could line up the same and call the play either direction.  We miss a down block in this clip but it is a great example of our 2nd puller working down the field to spring us for a huge TD.

Super Counter
I didn't run this scheme often but it had serious big play potential because we are aligned in a heavy formation to the strong side, but then pull 3 players to the weak side.  In super counter, we have 2 wrappers.  We pull both the FB, and the TE up through the hole to lead for the RB.

QB Counter
The last type of counter I want to describe is often called GT.  The T represents the BST acting as the 2nd puller and wrapping up to LB.  If we ran GT to our RB we would either block the BSDE with the FB, or have to read him.  In this example (my favorite play if you have an athletic QB) we use the RB to block back side and have the QB keep the ball.  This maximizes our blocking while being spread because we use the back as a blocker, and it provides some misdirection by faking to the back and going the other way.

In most cases if the defense is shutting down power, counter is wide open.

Power Variations #6 - Overload Power

One of my favorite ways to run our 2 back power is using unbalanced/overload formations.
We are stilling running our same 2 back power scheme, but we overload the defense by lining up unbalanced and getting an extra hat play side.  Most teams who use unbalanced bring a tackle over to where the TE usually plays.  This past season my TE was my best down blocker so we just covered him up.  I liked this because we still had 2 wide forcing the defense to walk someone out over the slot, but we were still running 2 back power to the TE side.
We had a few overload sets but the diagram below was the main one.

We had a lot of success using this formation running power.  In the clips below, both were done near the end of the game where we had to run the clock out to finish off the game, the type of situation where everyone knows you are running the ball.  The first clip is from a series where we ran overload 2 back power 5 consecutive plays, to march down the field, while running the clock out, and eventually scoring to end the game and beat our cross town rival.  They never adjusted to our overload and we kept pounding the ball.

Yes it sets us up in a very heavy formation to the strong side but i feel it makes play calling easy, it all comes back to numbers and seeing how they adjust.  We used this formation for some play action shots and if I felt they were loading up to the overload side, we could run power to the weak side.  The clip below is an example of weak side power away from the overload, it isn't blocked great, we miss a down block, but we are able to punch it in.

The last example I am going to share of an overload set we used on the first play of the game in our 1st round playoff match up.  We still covered up the TE, but we removed our slot WR, and replaced him with our usual starting TE (best blocker) and lined him up in a wing position.  We are still running power but you will see him work inside and we get both him and our BSG through the hole. 70+ yards untouched is a great way to open the game.

Small adjustments like this are great wrinkles to mix in through out the season.  It just expands a base play by using another formation.  This can be difficult for a defense to line up to, especially if they haven't seen it on film to prepare for it.  My only caution is to have something ready in the play action game, and back to the weak side, so you can take advantage when they over adjust to stop that strong side run.

Power Variations #5 - Super 1 back

Today's power variation is simply combining two concepts I have already discussed.
From our double tight formation we would run 1 back power (because we don't have a FB in, we are in 1 back) and I would add our super tag on to tell the back side TE to also pull.

Another way we can run super 1 back power, is to call our 1 back power scheme, but from 21 personnel.  Since our TE is the kick out guy in our 1 back power, the Fb is used as another insert player along with the back side pulling guard.

Here is a clip of the play, we get good base blocks from our RT and TE, and a very good down block from our RG to open up the B gap.  Now we lead our FB and LG through the hole and our RB can get downhill behind them.

Tomorrow will be my final post in the Power Variations series, it will also be my 100th Post!

Tomorrow I will focus not a a new power scheme, but running power from unbalanced formations.

Power Variations #4 - Power Arc

Any well coached defense is going to have answers to try and shut down your base plays.  Most teams will try to stop POWER by coaching up their DEs to squeeze the down block and blow up the FB.

Power Arc is a great way to handle well coached DEs who do a great job with block down step down.

This is the simplest tweak we have in my opinion.  "Arc" simply tells our end man (could be the TE or the OT to the weakside) to Arc release instead of their usual down block.  They will open up wide, trying to clear the DE, and block the defenses force (OLB/SS depending on defense).

So while we are running power, that DE is seeing a reach block, the better coached the DE is the more effective this tag is.

In the clip below, the DE we are going against (#59) is an All Everything DE headed to BYU next year.  He is very well coached, and very difficult to run power against.  In this clip we use the Arc tag, he expands with our TE because the block looks like reach.  This gives our FB a much easier kick out block, and helps us run Power right at one of the best defensive players in Northern California.

Power Variations #3 - 1 Back Power

Standard power is a great play, BUT it requires you have a lead blocking back in the game.  I knew early on that POWER would be our best play, but wanted to be able to do it from different formations and not rely on HAVING to have our FB in the game.

So after we had some solid experience using our regular 2 back power (first half of summer worth of practice) I  installed our 1 back power.  We call it power base.  In power base, since we have no FB in, we use our TE to be the "kick out" guy.  The "base" tag tells our TE and play side tackle they will base/kick out on anyone head up or outside of them.

EVEN:
I include the play side Tackle in understanding this base tag.  If he doesn't have a base block to execute he does his usual down block like every other time we run power.  Against a 4 man front, we often see a 3 tech (b gap DT) on the TE side, so our tackle would down block as usual.

ODD:
Against an odd front we most often see the play side DT lined up head up to outside of our OT so he would base block. We just about always see a defender lined up head up or outside of our TE and this is the player our TE will base block.

By simply adding the word "base" to the play call we are running our bread and butter power scheme and only changing the TE's block, and the OT's block against an odd front.

Here are a few clips of us running 1 back power.

Power Variations #2 - Super Power

The bread and butter of any Double Wing(DW) attack is Super Power.  Traditional Super Power is the same as the standard power I described yesterday (play side down blocks, with a FB kick out, and a back side guard wrap) but the SUPER in super power comes from adding an additional puller/wrapper.  Now usually, DW teams use guard and tackle as pullers and have TE cut block to stop backside pursuit of the play.

We pull on super power a little bit differently, we pull the backside TE as the second puller/wrapper. This gives us a few advantages, we are pulling a faster, more athletic kid who can get to the hole quicker and has better feet to be able to redirect to pick up a LB.  It also lets us keep our back side tackle home with his usual protect b gap and hinge.  This means no new teaching for our back side tackle, in fact ours has no idea what the difference is between power and super power.  Keeping the backside tackle at home and upright is a more powerful block and I feel does a better job at sealing off the back side than the TE cut block.

It is key for the BS TE to get depth on his pull, and re enter the LOS square.  Ideally, when the guard gets through the hole he looks head up to outside, and the TE looks head up to inside.

Now we didn't do this from a DW set, we did it from our base 21 personnel pro pistol set.

Here is some video of us running super power.  Please excuse 2 of the clips, our camera guy started a little bit late so you miss the very beginning but you can see us pull both BSG and BSTE through the hole.

Coming tomorrow, 1 back power!

POWER Variations Series

Now that the season is over, I can get back to some real writing.

Power is my favorite scheme in football.  I am a huge fan of the standard play side down blocks, with a backside guard pull up to LB.

I am also a big fan of some variations a coach can use to help the run Power scheme in different ways.

This post will be the first in a series of some of the different ways I have taken Power and made slight tweaks to get a TON of mileage out of one play.

Today I will focus on your standard 2 back Power.
2 Back Power is what we install first, and requires a FB or H back to be the "kick out" guy.
The play side OL all block their inside gap (we can work doubles if the defensive front allows it).

Our FB is our kick out guy and is responsible for getting his head inside of the EMLOS.
Our back side guard will execute a "Skip pull" and work through the first open hole he sees play side to attack the play side inside LB.
The back side tackle executes a B gap hinge, stepping to secure B gap pressure, then working back to stop backside chase.

Here are a few examples of our standard 2 back power.

You can read a very in depth article of my blocking rules, how I teach the blocks, and videos of drill work for the Power Scheme as part of A Coaching Arsenal.

My entire chapter focuses on OL play in the Power Scheme.

Some more information on this iBook is available here and here.

More Power Variations to come later this week!

Taking Advantage of Sideline Technology

Before the 2013 season, NFHS lifted it's ban on using technology on the sidelines.  Since the 2013 season, we are all allowed to use any sideline technology we want (we just can't take it past the numbers or beyond the 25s).

I began taking advantage of lifting the technology ban this season.  I had seen a few different companies that offered replay systems and ended up emailing SkyCoach, and asked for a trial.

I was intrigued by SkyCoach because it had less equipment than other systems I had seen.  Their system relies on iPhones to film with, and your cell signal to upload and download the clips.  I am a big apple fan (iPhone, iPad, and MacBook user) and I know that most of our kids have iPhones. Some coaches have concerns over cell signal strength and upload/download speed.  I didn't have any connection issues in any of the stadiums we played at.  You can use a free app called Ookla to test download and upload speed.  Pretty much anywhere is going to have fast enough download speed, just need to make sure upload speed is at least 1.0 MBPS.  Every stadium on our schedule was well over this number.
A case with a magnifying lens attaches to one iPhone to get a tighter view of the play.  I would have my TA film the games from the press box, and I would auto download them onto my iPhone in my pocket on the sideline.

You could have infinite iPads or cell phones logged in looking at the clips (clips are easy to sort and filter by O/D/ST, by series, by play type etc.). What I chose to do was pick up a TV, and have my players and myself watch in between drives.

You can find generic brand flat screen TVs for really cheap, and I got some adapters (iPhone 5/6 to HDMI) that you can find at any electronic store to connect the iPhone to the TV.
If you have power in the stadium you can run an extension cord, or use a car battery, or buy a portable battery pack like I did.

My game day sideline set up looked like this.

I would review the film each drive and have any of my kids not in on defense reviewing with me.  I found this to be a tremendous resource for me as an OC.  It definitely helped with play calling, making adjustments, and fixing our mistakes.  I think this is a more valuable tool than talking to a coach up in the booth.  The guy in the booth can only spot one thing at a time, with this I can rewind the play as many times as I need to in order to see every position on the field.  I can also pause it at the snap and see the exact alignment of every defensive player to each of our formations.

I am not a SkyCoach employee, but I got to use this technology this year and I absolutely loved it.  I have shown this technology to a few schools in my area since our season ended and they have seen what an advantage it can be. 

One knock on SkyCoach was the price ($1500 this season) but the 2015 pricing is down to $1095.  That is a good chunk of money but this is a resource that can add a few wins to your season, and I think having easy instant replay on the sideline seconds after the play is worth one or two extra summer car washes to raise the funds.  

Definitely check out their website and give it a trial, I am confident you will enjoy it.  Tell them Coach B Dud sent you by using my referral code

"Dudley2015"

You can still use your Glazier discount code in promo code while using Dudley2015 in the referral code

Great New iBook!

Sorry I have not been around in a while, it was a busy football season.

I want to share with all of you a great new resource brought to you by Coach Grabowski.

A Coaching Arsenal: Exclusive Strategies From Top Coaches on Implementing the Pistol Offense

It can be found HERE>

Coach Grabowski reached out to coaches from all over the country to contribute a chapter to this iBook and it does not disappoint.  I have been reading it all week.  For those who have missed out on my past blog post about iBooks, they are a remarkable resource.  Embedded within the chapters of the ibook are slideshows of drills, diagrams, and video.  This makes it a great teaching tool that makes the content more digestible and more helpful than a standard coaching book or coaching DVD.

I am one of the contributors to this Pistol "Anthology".

My chapter is titled "Offensive Line Play in the Power Scheme".

Mid 2013 we transitioned from a 4 wide spread system to a Pro Style Pistol Offense.

Power is the core of our offense.  My chapter focuses on how I teach the Power scheme both schematically, and with individual drills.  It includes written description, diagrams, and multiple video clips of some of my players executing the basic skills and drills needed to run Power. 

This year, with power being the focal point of our offense, we broke every single individual and team school rushing record (school has been around since the 1920s).

We rushed for over 3500 yards this year!

This iBook is an excellent resource for all things Pistol.  I highly suggest you all check it out!

Volume 1 includes:

Chris Ault – Foreword

Larry Beckish Reflections on an Idea:  East

Tom Kaczkowski – How Did the Pistol Start?

Chris Klenakis – Interview on the Innovation of the Pistol Formation

Jim Mastro – Pistol is a Formation; video chalk talk on “Zone Slice”

Scott Baumgartner – Innovation of the Pistol; video chalk talk on “53 Pass”

Robbie Owens – Systematic Approach to Building an Offensive System

Dave Brown (former GA at Nevada) – The Bubble as a Pre Snap and Post Snap Answer

Anthony Pratley – The Sweeper Method of Zone Read

Justin Iske – Something to Hand Your Hat On:  Inside Zone

Ty Rogers – Using the H-Back to Leverage Defenses in the Pistol

Zach Tinker – Using the Diamond Pistol in the Red Zone

Tim Kilgore – Run the Horn

Brett Dudley – Offensive Line Play in the Power

Keith Grabowski – Setting Up Effective Play Action