Nine Ways to Force Fumbles

I don't know where I found this, but it's awesome.

NINE WAYS TO FORCE FUMBLES

1. Put your face across the ball as you make the tackle; even if you do not accomplish your objective, you are still in a good position to bring the runner down.

2. If you are the second or third man in on a tackle, go for the football. This applies when the first tackler has stopped the ball carriers momentum.

3. If you are being contained by a blocker and cannot get a good shot at the runner, reach out for the football with both hands. Actually tackle the ball with both hands.

4. If you are approaching the runner from behind and tackling him high ,you can sometimes can club the ball loose by bringing the arm closest to the football over the top.

5. If you are approaching the runner from behind and you are the second or third man, go for the elbow. A lifting action on the elbow will sometimes force the runner to fumble. The ball carrier cannot maintain control of the football with a lifting motion on the elbow.

6. When rushing the quarterback, force fumbles by stripping and hard tackling, this is effective when he is back pedaling. Linebackers who get in quickly are in good position to force fumbles in this manner.

7. Keep in mind the ball carriers and receivers who are apt to fumble. Try to know the characteristics of each. By way of illustration, a runner who is the type that spins, pivots, and twists alot is the type who leaves himself open to allow you to force a fumble.

8. The best method of all to force fumbles is to gang tackle. Hitting a runner from different angles will often dislodge the football. In addition, it will take something out of the runner.

9. There is times when defensive backs can force fumbles due to the type of pass thrown. A technique that is very effective is to club the catch hand of the receiver after the catch has been made. The catch hand is the farthest hand away from the quarterback.

PODCAST

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up and check out a few Podcast I did a couple years ago. Coaching friends of mine and I talk about a lot of different football topics. Credit to Brian Barnes (Twitter @coachbarnes20) and Terrance Wilson (Twitter @T_Wilson11).



http://coachandthefan.podomatic.com/entry/2013-06-14T18_25_27-07_00


http://coachandthefan.podomatic.com/entry/2013-07-07T18_35_22-07_00


http://coachandthefan.podomatic.com/entry/2013-07-30T19_09_28-07_00

Give me some feedback.

As always, COACH LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!!

Coach Marrogy

The Spread Offense Running Back in Pass Protection

Over my 12 years of coaching football at high school level, I have had an inner struggle (like most coaches) with finding ways to make your team better.  

Just recently I have had discussions with a few offensive coaches regarding their running backs in pass protection schemes. It seems simple enough on the surface:  Pick up the EMLOS on a full slide, dual read the LB's away from the slide call, etc.  If you use two backs in the backfield the potential for a "max protect" comes into play.

But with the trend in offensive football over the last 10 years to go faster, and get more speed on the field, what to do with your running back in your pass protection has created a new dynamic for offensive coaches everywhere.

                                           THE PRACTICE TIME DILEMMA

If you know me, then you know that I am very specific when it comes to how we spend our practice time. I don't like "doing things just to do it."  My high school practices as a head coach didn't last more than 2 hours once school started.  So I told my coaches to do (what they think) are the most important drills to them, to help us win a game on Friday (obviously your everyday drills apply as well here).

If you are a "full speed ahead" spread team then your philosophy is to attack, attack, attack. You want great tempo, get the ball out of your QB's hands yesterday, wear down your opponent's defense because of your superior athleticism and stamina, etc.

Even if you aren't a "warp speed" spread team your philosophies are similar:  you like the advantages that letting your playmakers play in space gives you.

So if 1 of the 2 examples defines you, I ask the question, "How much practice time do you give your running back's coach to practice pass pro?"  Before we attempt to answer that, here is some facts I have observed while coaching in this offense:

1. RB's in my version of the spread have never been very big.
2. Their demeanor is very similar to that of a WR (some, not all, hate stalk blocking).
3. It is the type of player that I want to get the ball to in space.

Now let's assume you are playing on Friday night.  Some coaches I know practice offense on Monday, defense on Tuesday, and let Wednesday kind of be a situational day.  So Monday is your big offensive indy day to work on all of your drills.  So knowing these things about the personnel of my RB, my daily drill package as a RB coach would consist of: ball security, footwork drills, making sure the exchanges with the QB are on point, keep working landmarks and foot work on run plays, sure up route running, etc.

When do you try and fit in pass pro?  Even if you do in this type of practice structure, you will only get about 10-15 minutes a week to do live blocking drills. Maybe you will do some indy offense on Wednesday, but I venture to guess that pass pro isn't the RB coach's top priority that day.  Ask any offensive line coach you know if he'd be okay with only 10-15 minutes of live blocking drills a week and see how he would feel about that.

Let's say you are a coach that prefers to practice offense and defense everyday.  The RB coach will most likely be given less indy time due to the fact that you are working both sides of the ball on the same day. What part of your drill package do you sacrifice to get the pass pro drills in?  Do you try and force it in multiple times a week?  Or just the one day so you can get to your other drills?  Anybody else see the problem here?

                                                          MY SOLUTION

It's late in the 4th quarter of a  game you are trailing by 6.  It is a tough battle with both teams playing some physical football.  It is 3rd and 12 on your own 30 yard line with less than a minute left.  An obvious pass down to most, and if you are a drop back team then a 5 step pass concept down.

Your undersized, speedy RB has already carried the ball 18 times, is a 2 way player, and on this passing situation he will be asked to take on a blitzing LB that outweighs him by 30 pounds. I don't like the odds.

My solution to the above problem?  Don't bother trying to block the guy!!!  Put your RB in the route and get him the ball.  Even if it is a hot situation where he gets a quick pass due to the blitzing LB then so get it.

"But what if he gets tackled short of the first down, isn't that what defenses want?"  Yes, but this is 4 down territory anyway.  And even if it isn't 4 down territory, punting and defense are part of the game.

"See, I don't like teaching my QB to throw hot.  It is too much to give a high school QB."  How is it any different then teaching your OL to bump out if there is a blitz off the edge?  How is it any different than having your RB read 1 to 2 on zone?  Your QB should be your smartest kid as it is, so if he can't handle something you have drilled in him all off-season then maybe he shouldn't be your QB.

"I don't like throwing hot all the time and having my QB get hit." Throwing hot is basically quick game from the gun.  If you are afraid of that in your drop back scheme then don't run that scheme!! Throw Quicks, Screens, Sprint-Outs, Boots, etc.   There are a lot of ways to get the ball down field if you have too.

We could spend hours upon hours talking about different pass protections for different schemes and personnel groupings.  I wanted to give my opinion on RB's in pass protection with the type of scheme I am most comfortable with running.  

Give me some feedback.

As always, COACH LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!!

Coach Marrogy

"Toss" the Play Out

As most who know me personally, know that I am NOT a fan at all of the Toss play, Toss Sweep or any type of outside run play in that regard. There are more negatives then positives, in my opinion, when you run the play. 

Most people who want to run the toss play say, "we want or need to get the edge." In today’s football that is a big fallacy, simply because you don't "need" to get the edge. There is enough run plays to keep teams honest inside the tackle box to give your linemen an advantage. Why do you need to get the edge? Or have to get outside on a run play? Too many coaches this day in age want to try to live in the past with that play, because of those reasons alone.  It is a negative thought process.

Another negative I see with the play is you're asking one or possibly 2 linemen to pull and get outside of the tackle box, which is something that they are not used to doing. I mean seriously, an offensive lineman pulling around and trying to block a defensive back? It is absurd in my opinion. There are plenty of ways of getting outside using Screens, Reverses, Keeps, etc without having to ask your linemen to pull and get out onto the perimeter. This is putting your most important people on the field at a disadvantage.

Another negative I want to talk about with the toss play is that when you pull a lineman especially out onto the perimeter, you are now creating a seam or a lane for a defensive back or linebacker to run through. If you are a defensive coach you must be licking your chops scouting teams that show outside runs such as Toss or Jet Sweep. For defenses, it is a fast flowing play. Defensive players are taught that when they see that type of action to get to the edge faster than the offense. For defensive coaches, it is an easy read to make an easy read to teach your players.

Coaches who are obsessed with running this play, don't realize that it is the only play when you have no counter action off of it. What I mean by that is when you're trying to get to the edge or perimeter and the play is not there, it's not like you can stop on a dime and cut it back because you're just taking yourself out of the play in general. 

An example of this would be a simple isolation play. When you run an Iso play, and if the play design is not there you can still go forward into another gap in get some sort of positive yards. On a Toss or Jet Sweep, you can't. You just have to live with lost yardage because the play is so far behind the line of scrimmage.

Now, most coaches who do like the play and run it will say: "I will just bring two more people to the point of attack to get out on the edge then the defense can handle." I think this is a little misleading. When you bring more people to the point of attack or a formation that coaches think gives them an advantage to run this play, that just brings more people from the defensive side of the ball to that point of attack. And in my opinion it’s just too much for something you really don't have to do. 

My final example of this is teams who come out in Bunch. The formation itself is great but, it’s pretty predictable. Sure, you have your basic run plays that work.  But the only main runs that you have is the toss and defenses already have an advantage just by scouting you.

Give me some feedback.

As always, COACH LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!!

Coach Marrogy