Dan Gonzalez presents innovative concepts in his books. The proof is always how those ideas translate to production on the field. Currently, Gonzalez serves as a consultant to high school football programs. He is helping produce results. His teams are averaging a 40.9 points per game.
A client in Texas after 3 games has the following offensive statistics:
465 yards per game, 41.3 points per game
The QB is passing for 215 yards per game, rising for 105.3 per game. He’s thrown 4TD and run for 7TD.
A client in Missouri after 4 games has the following offensive statistics:
Averaging 40.3 points per game
The QB has completed 72.6% of his passes for 11TD and only 1 INT, and averages 259.9/passing yards per .game.
Keys to production
Gonzalez points out that explosive plays for each team and no turnovers are the keys for the production of his clients in Missouri and Texas.
The tools
Navigation tags allow the quarterback to be in sync with the play caller on a down by down basis. What was once something that was 100% memorization of the game plan so the QB was on the same play with the coach can easily be seen from the press box and communicated with Gonzalez’s navigation tag system.
Further more, think of how an offense becomes limited when the number two quarterback has to play. He isn’t as confident because he lacks experience, and most time the coach shares that lack of confidence. Navigation tags eliminate that worry be giving the coach the ability to direct his passer.
The communication system he has developed is revolutionary, yet very simple. Gonzalez explains the philosophy of why he set up navigation tags in this excerpt:
“Instead of a system centered on the coach, we now have a system centered on the needs of the player. This point cannot be understated; it is often forgotten that the players (particularly the quarterback) have the hardest jobs. It is the coach’s job to orchestrate and guide; putting the needs of the player ahead of everything in a system is the ultimate in servant-leadership.”
He goes on to explain the technical purpose of navigation tags:
“The ability to target multiple parts of a given pass pattern, and a means for communicating these intentions from one down to the next. To simply give the QB a progression, and then to leave him with no way to adjust in-game, is unacceptable. The coach must accept responsibility to guide the leader of the offense, and have a way to communicate his intentions.”
Navigation tags allow the quarterback to be in sync with the play caller on every single play. Gonzalez explains this further:
“These situations happen in every game at every level: the players don’t always see what a coach does, and there is a need to augment the standard progression to dial the player into the easiest completion. Rather than “grab bagging” on the sideline, we use navigation tags as a means to communicate on a down to down basis. All the while, this communication is achieved without losing the ability to adjust, should the defensive play be different than anticipated. Most of all, these tags do not deviate from the core concepts of the offense, and the astute coaching staff will implement these as part of a game plan, rather than a harried grasp at straws on the sideline.”
Another chapter worth highlighting in this resource are “Offensive Axioms.” In regard to axioms, Gonzalez writes, “That’s what it’s all about, right? Having a core set of values, and doing everything within the confines of those values. Through all the developments, X and O –wise, the crux of the philosophy should not change. To reiterate, core values do not change; the method is what changes with innovation. So how would one go about shaping this philosophy?”
Gonzalez explains his axioms in detail in this chapter. Learn how Gonzalez’s axioms get the defense to play into your hands and tax the defense mentally. What any coach can pull out right now to help his offense are bulleted below.
▪Organize your offense so that it attacks all areas of the field.
▪Always be in a good play by organizing play structures into packages to give every play a explosive possibility.
▪Use personnel, shifting, and motioning.
▪Get to the third man in the progression to open up big plays with the third fix.
▪Create big plays and control the clock.
▪Limit the defense’s ability to disguise.
The last chapter, “Stay on the Cutting Edge” provides some great thoughts for any offensive coordinator. Gonzalez explains the importance of being organized in thinking about distribution of plays and key factors in becoming a top producing offense. He emphasizes carrying the appropriate amount of offense and how to think about what to carry in terms of play calls. He shares his model and thought process. While your system may be fundamentally different than Dan’s in terms of how it attacks, the thought process can be applied to any offensive system.
There is much, much more that Gonzalez puts on the table in terms of how a great offensive coach thinks and plans. This is a resource that is quickly and easily read because of the dynamic format used to produce it. It’s a combination of short, yet meaningful spans of text, and video screencasts in which Gonzalez shares and illustrates the points he writes about in the text.
Again, none of what Gonzalez presents requires any team, whether they performed well this week or poorly, to scrap what they do. Gonzalez simply gives some tools and perspectives that can be meshed with your current system. These two quotes point out what he is communicating in this manual:
“However, the astute coach with the system to overcome such obstacles can make simple adjustments without disrupting any core teaching.”
“That is the challenge every year: seeking continuous improvement, while at the same time, sticking to one’s core teaching and beliefs. ”
This is part one of four in Gonzalez’s series, “Coaching Concepts: Developing an Offensive System.” Part 1 The Need for Change was designed to make an impact for coaches right now at this time of the year.
Follow Dan Gonzalez on twitter @Dan_Gonzalez16 and read his blog here.
Check out my company website https://coachesedgetechnologies.com/store/
You can get The Need for Change and other innovative resources here.
Coach and Coordinator 