Coaching Knowledge Project #9 Paul Brown

         Over the last few summers, I have started taking notes on some of the coaching biographies and books that I have read. One problem that I have had over the years is that I read so much and look at so much different info that I don't ever retain the knowledge for future use. I will read about a drill or a philosophy and I will think "Hey, that fits pretty good with my guys. I wanna use that this year." Then I will lay the book or the info to the side and forget all about it.
        Earlier this year, I began to compile & organize these notes & axioms into a single document. Ideally I would like to eventually have a notebook that I could add to each offseason and look at again each pre-season as I reevaluate my program. I thought that as part of this blog and my compilation efforts, I would share some of the things that I've found.
        These are quotes about coaches, quotes from coaches about their influences, and outside observations on coaches and their programs. Some of these are Hall of Fame coaches, some have losing records, and some are career assistants; all have good things to offer.
       Today I am sharing some quotes and information about NFL Legend Paul Brown. Brown is considered the "father of the modern offense", and one of the greatest football coaches of all time, achieving success at every major level—high school, college, and professional—and introducing numerous innovative coaching methods still in use today. He is also credited with founding both the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals franchises, with the former named after him and the latter naming their stadium in his honor.

PAUL BROWN

·         Everything worked to complement everything else.

·         First it is taught, then it is learned, then it is groomed. If all else fails, go back to fundamentals.

·         You’ve got to be able to get along with them and have them be at their best. You do this by organizing things well enough so that they believe in what you are doing.

·         Going to the movie, for instance, made you realize that something important is going to happen the next day and that it isn’t going to be just another Sunday. And those written exams on the plane take your mind of silly things and make you think about the job ahead.

·         Getting into football is a state of heart & mind as well as physical…don’t ever get the idea this stuff isn’t important.

·         You must invest yourself fully. If it’s worth something, it’s worth everything.

·         You must sacrifice to get to the top. That is why we ask you to train.

·         In training camp the players wrote in their own plays, the defenses against them and the various breakdowns that made up each element. He checked the books to make sure each player was doing the same thing.

·         If you placed the best individuals (not necessarily the most talented football players) in the most advantageous positions, winning would come almost naturally.

·         In every training camp, I applied the basic laws of learning – seeing, hearing, writing, then doing, again and again.

·         On defense, Brown stressed the fundamentals of tackling more than any other phase of the game.

·         Win or lose, they expected the same things for next weeks game.

·         On his criticism: I would much rather he had gotten up there and screamed and ranted and called me names. But he didn’t. Each slice got deeper. It was nothing vicious, and he never raised his voice. But he really got to you with that needle.

·         I attached more importance to a team’s respect than to any other phase of my relationship with them, including blocking & tackling.

·         You begin by building up the middle because you’ve got to start an offense with a good ground game.

·         He takes pains to tell his players to forget about things said during the heat of a game or to take them with a grain of salt and to consider the circumstances under which they were said. “I may say things to you I don’t really mean and you must understand that at all times and take it just that way.”

Coaching Knowledge Project #8 Tom Landry

Over the last few summers, I have started taking notes on some of the coaching biographies and books that I have read. One problem that I have had over the years is that I read so much and look at so much different info that I don't ever retain the knowledge for future use. I will read about a drill or a philosophy and I will think "Hey, that fits pretty good with my guys. I wanna use that this year." Then I will lay the book or the info to the side and forget all about it.
Earlier this year, I began to compile & organize these notes & axioms into a single document. Ideally I would like to eventually have a notebook that I could add to each offseason and look at again each pre-season as I reevaluate my program. I thought that as part of this blog and my compilation efforts, I would share some of the things that I've found.
These are quotes about coaches, quotes from coaches about their influences, and outside observations on coaches and their programs. Some of these are Hall of Fame coaches, some have losing records, and some are career assistants; all have good things to offer.
       Tom Landry coached the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988, posting 20 consecutive winning seasons, winning 5 NFC Championships, and 2 Super Bowls.

TOM LANDRY

·         As a general rule, a coach needs to be more demanding when his team is doing well, because there is a human tendency to ease up when you’re winning. When things are going poorly, especially when the effort is there, that’s when a team needs encouragement & affirmation more than it needs pressure from the coach. That’s the time to back off.

·         Faith gives a man hope and hope is what life is all about.

·         He learned the limited effect that emotions had on the outcome of football games.

·         If I lose, I’m going to lose. If I win, I’m going to win. That doesn’t mean that I don’t work as hard as anyone else or that I don’t try to win as hard as everyone else. I do because God expects us to be the best we can be.

·         The idea was to show a defense one formation and, when it was adjusting its defense to it, shift into another formation and run the play.

·         The key is discipline. Without it there is no morale.

·         There must be a great feeling between players to have a great team, to have good morale. A team must have the ability to believe in each other.

·         You can’t be emotional and concentrate.

·         You’ve got to have a clear-cut philosophy to be successful and it must be transmitted to your players. They must thoroughly understand everything you are trying to do so that, eventually, it becomes instinctive to them.

·         Achieving goals, which really means winning in some form, is the ultimate in a man’s life. Being the best at what you do stimulates life. God gave us a talent to do it and He expects us to do the best we can. Once we win we must give glory to God. As long as I maintain that approach, I’ll keep a level head in winning & losing. It won’t become the be-all but it’s a crime to not want to be the best you can be within the rules you operate under.

·         Achievement builds character. People striving, getting knocked down and coming back…that’s what builds character in a man. And character is the ability of a person to see a positive end to things.

Human Computer Post of the Week

FAITH:
Sometimes I go out in great pity for myself and, all the while, a great wind is bearing me across the sky.
        Native American Saying (Ojibwa)

FAMILY:
 The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. 
                         Thomas Jefferson

PHILOSOPHY:
The block of granite that was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.
                     Thomas Carlyle

FOOTBALL:
Two things to motivate kids: They have to know you care and they have to be getting better at what they are doing.

    

Coaching Knowledge Project #7 Don Shula

            Over the last few summers, I have started taking notes on some of the coaching biographies and books that I have read. One problem that I have had over the years is that I read so much and look at so much different info that I don't ever retain the knowledge for future use. I will read about a drill or a philosophy and I will think "Hey, that fits pretty good with my guys. I wanna use that this year." Then I will lay the book or the info to the side and forget all about it.
                 Earlier this year, I began to compile & organize these notes & axioms into a single document. Ideally I would like to eventually have a notebook that I could add to each offseason and look at again each pre-season as I reevaluate my program. I thought that as part of this blog and my compilation efforts, I would share some of the things that I've found.
             These are quotes about coaches, quotes from coaches about their influences, and outside observations on coaches and their programs. Some of these are Hall of Fame coaches, some have losing records, and some are career assistants; all have good things to offer.
                With the Miami Dolphins in the news as a possible landing spot for Peyton Manning, I figured let's go with a classic and pull out some Don Shula notes.

DON SHULA

·         I try to get the edge with mental preparation, and physical preparation, and in general, with overall preparation to accomplish the ultimate.

·         Don always wanted to know why we did what we did.

·         He always gives the “why” to everything that is put into his playbook.

·         He studied the opposition and always wanted to know “why” if something wasn’t working. When he dealt with a player, he’d always ask, “Are we asking too much of this guy?”

·         That is what coaching is….the ability to transmit information.

·         Everything is laid out to the minute. There are four and a half minutes here, eighteen minutes there. He has taken the coaches out on the field and put us through warm-up exercises just the way he wanted players to do them.

·         The team sees him working so hard and that feeling rubs off.

·         In the end, winning & losing doesn’t depend on trick plays or using new systems each week. It comes down to a matter of motivating people to work hard and prepare as a team. That’s what really counts. In a word, it’s called coaching.

·         The relationship I want to establish with my football team is one of mutual respect. I want my players to respect me for giving them everything that I have to prepare them to play their best. My respect for them has to come from knowing they are willing to give me all that they have to prepare themselves to be ready to play.

·         Determine your players’ talents and give them every weapon to get the most out of those talents.

·         Preparation means everything to me. I’m passionate about my players being ready for anything. If our players are worrying about their assignments, they have a tendency to hold back. They should be so familiar with their assignments that when the game starts they’re operating on auto pilot – not thinking, just doing.

·         He gives not only the Xs and Os, but the theory of why the play has been designed, why it is run and what it was designed to do with other plays to be used in a game.

·         Winning early helped because I was asking them to do so much. It made them think the work was worthwhile. They saw it pay off.

·         Each player, regardless of his position, must be taught to innovate & deal with situations he hasn’t practiced against.

·         One of the big things I’ve learned is to become more understanding of others in this regard. There might be a better way to teach a guy than to blow your stack on the sidelines, depending on the player’s personality.

·         On appearance: The key word is moderation. But I’ll draw the line the minute a player begins to think more about the way he looks that the way he plays.

·         When we win we know it’s not final. We know we’ve got to line up next week and prove ourselves all over again. If we lose, we also know we’re not dead and we must get off the floor and have a chance to change the score the next time we play.

·         The fact that you, as a coach, are asking performers to go beyond themselves, to push their limits, will automatically mean that you’ll be doing unpopular things. If what you’re after is being liked, that is going to dictate how hard you push; you won’t want to offend anybody or get them mad at you. As soon as that happens, there goes your effectiveness – and respect as well.

·         He rationalizes that if you come up short in your attempt for perfection, you’ll still be a formidable team. But if you strive to be just good and come up short, you’ll likely wind up an average club.

San Antonio Bound....

Heaing out to Texas for the AFCA Convention Sat am.......will be there til Wed am.....always like to meet coaches from other places and talk ball, so if you're interested e-mail me at wmitchell473@gmail.com      Have A Great Weekend!

Human Computer Post Of The Week

Time to get more diligent about what I spend my time thinking about....These are what I will think about this week:

FAITH
  "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence."

     Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him.
                                                                                       Daniel 6:3

FAMILY
You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.
                                                                                                     Desmond Tutu

PHILOSOPHY
         By now you ought to realize what cosmos you are a part of, and what divine administrator you owe your existence to, and that an end to your time here has been marked out, and if you do not use this time for clearing the clouds from your mind, it will be gone, and so will you.
                                                                                           Marcus Aurelius

FOOTBALL
   Coaching is giving your players a good design and getting them to play hard.
                                                                                             Bill Parcells

Taking the Bull By The Horns.....

                  Throughout this season, we have watched two local universities with immense talent (South Carolina & Clemson) struggle to defend the option; not just against Navy and Ga Tech, but against Wofford and the Citadel as well. In discussing the struggles with some other coaches on the high school level and the college level, two things have stood out to me: a lack of imagination in defending the offense and a lack of enthusiasm among defenders facing cut blocks for four quarters. A friend on the college level told me that he has several players who circle the game against GT as the game in which they are most likely to be injured. They go in thinking that this game could cost them a pro career. To which I argue, Don't they cut in the NFL also? Wouldn't a player be better off learning to play the cut block properly? The other issue is one of strategy or alignment and the risk of thinking outside the box.

           In an earlier post, I mentioned a certain front that we used called BULL. We started off using BULL vs Double Wing Power teams but, over time, we have adjusted the defense to combat various run-oriented offenses. After watching GA Tech / Clemson and USC / Navy, the other assistants on my staff wanted to speculate as to whether BULL would be effective vs these attacks. So I thought that I would address this question in this blog post. Please respond if you have thoughts; any feedback is welcome.

         I will start off describing BULL vs a Double TE / Double WB set because that is how we first designed it. We are a 3-3 BASE defense, but often we can get into our BULL front without changing personnel. Other times, I will substitute an extra LB and pull a CB. For the sake of this article, we will treat this as playing with 3 DL, 4 LBs, 2 SS/ OLBs, and 2 DBs.

Up front we will play with a 0 tech NG and two 3 tech:

• The NG has a 3 way go depending on the skill set of the Center. The best case is for the NG to drive the Center straight back.
• The 3 techniques are told to penetrate B gap. Against tight split teams, they must put their hat in the crack between the OG and OT. They will get into the hip pocket if the OG pulls.

The key to the entire front is what we call our Bull LBers. They play in a ghost 6 or a 7 tech if they have a TE. The way we coach these positions is what makes the BULL front so effective:

• Against a TE, the Bull LB will line up in a 7 tech tilted toward the TE, 3 point stance with his inside foot back and his eyes on the TE. (His butt will point at the inside LB). At the first movement by the TE, the Bull LB will fire out into the v of the neck of the TE; think of this an an anti-down block. After a hard collision with the TE, the Bull LBer will almost bounce back inside and find the ball. We call this a Ricochet technique.
• Against formations with no TE, the Bull LB will align in a ghost 6 technique, usuallly in a 2 point stance with his inside foot up. Depending on the opponent's offense, we may alter his aiming point, but usually it will be the hip of the nearest back. On flow away, he gets flat down the line of scrimmage and chases. (Note: Do not be afraid to use a smaller, quicker player at BULL LB. He will make a ton of plays running this down from the backside.)
• An important key here is that in most of our BULL calls, the Bull LBers secure C gap and then are free to the ball, with no contain or force responsibilities.
• I cannot stress enough the importance of coaching the Bull LB to attack out into the TE. This technique is hard for opponents to see on film and TEs are simply not prepared for this.
• Vs Option, the Bull LBers are QB players.

The Inside LBs are the positions that make the whole thing fit together. Their key may change according to the type of offense, but their technique does not.

• The LBs align in a loose 30 tech over the opponent's B gap at a depth of no closer than 4 to 5 yds (very important). Their key is usually the back furthest away. For instance, vs Double Wing, the LBs key the opposite WB.
• If the key comes to the LB, he is blitzing from depth, at the snap, not before. If he comes from depth, the OT will often block down on the 3 tech and the ILB should fit right off the OT's butt. If he cheats too soon, he could get washed down as well.
• If the key goes away, he has eyes on the FB right now, looking for Dive, Trap, or Counter coming back at him.

The 7 positions described so far are playing the run all of the way. We tell them that if it turns into pass, your keys will turn your technique into a great pass rush. The 4 remaining players will play a few different ways.


The OLB/SS will usually align at LB depth

• 3 x 3 outside against a closed set (No WRs)
• 4 x 4 inside #1 against an open set (1 WR)

Two or more WRs usually causes us to check the coverage. The DBs align as follows:

• On the Hash 12 yards deep vs a closed set
• Splitting the EMOL and the WR 12 yds deep vs an open set

We start off teaching against a closed set with WB motion. The OLBS and the DBs are both looking at the opposite WB and reading overall motion or flow. The 4 spoke secondary will roll towards motion or flow. We call this 3 Roll coverage.
OLBs:

• If flow/motion comes toward, the OLB is attacking the line of scrimmage now, keeping his outside arm & leg free for contain, but still squeezing the running lane.
• If flow/motion goes away, the OLB checks for reverse then bails out to deep 1/3.

DBs:

• If flow/motion comes toward, the DB is rolling over to cover the outside deep 1/3
• If flow/motion goes away, the DB is rolling into the middle deep 1/3

If we are presented with an open set to one side, the defense simply treats that alignment as its key and disregards motion or flow. They are automatically rolling toward the split receiver.

This works especially well against teams that use the unbalanced principlie with the TE & SE on the same side.

           We will also run a coverage which we call 2 Safe. In this coverage, the 4 spoke secondary plays a predetermined responsibility without regard for motion or flow.
The OLBs are Flat / Contain / Pitch players and the DBs are Deep 1/2 safeties. In this coverage, the deep safeties are told to simply be safe and prevent the long pass.

      The next question we face is what to do vs a spread formation (split receivers to each side). Against a 2 RB set, we will simply check to 2 SAFE coverage.

When faced with a 1 RB look, we will usually just check to what we call Dallas .  In Dallas coverage, the DBs lock up man on the widest WRs and the OLBs will man up the inside receivers. I will then bump one of my LBs to FS depth and tell him to play "playground" ball. ("Playground" means look at the QB and try to intercept the pass. Don't overthink it.) While this means we are in some dangerous man coverage, keep in mind that we are not playing this against a true spread passing team. Also remember that I still have a 5 man rush coming very hard against an OL and a QB that play in a predominantly-running offense.

I realize that he who has the chalk last wins and I realize that there are some weak points in this front. When we play this, we are careful to emphasize that the opponent will get us sometimes; we just cannot let them get for big play touchdowns. This front may give up some first downs and some moderate gains, but it also will put huge amounts of pressure on the line of scrimmage and it will create negative plays. As long as we don't give up the quick big-play score, we will eventually catch that TFL or QB sack and we will be able to stop the drives.

            Would this work against some of the DI run-oriented attacks? I would like to think so, especially with creative placement of your talent. For instance, for those of you that follow the SEC, imagine Melvin Ingram and Jadaveon Clowney playing the BULL LB techniques and tell me that wouldn't have given Navy some headaches....Tackling and Pursuit ultimately win games but the BULL front has been good to us. I would be interested in heaing your take on this , as well as some things other coaches do against these types of run-oriented offenses.