Using Tempo as a Weapon is Live on Google Play

Get it here on Google Play for Windows PC & Android devices

Get it here on iTunes for your Mac/iPad

What is this book?

First, it is so much more than a book.  The iBook format allows for so much interaction as well as providing the best possible platform for learning any concept.  The days of sitting in front of a computer screen to watch a streaming video or in front of a TV watching a DVD are over.  Now text is blended with video and interactive presentations (much like PowerPoint).  There’s still more.  The capability of interactive note taking diagramming within the book, and sharing through email, Twitter, Facebook, and Evernote are also possible.  Links to outside reading via websites and videos on YouTube add to the resources included in this manual.

The total amount of video included is over two hours.  Instructional videos explain the concept and give additional coaching points.  Telestrated, voice over analysis of game video provide a deeper understanding to the reader.  All video analyzed is also included separately in a section called “Further Review.”  The game cut-ups are separated by press box and end  zone view allowing the viewer to choose which angle he wants to analyze on his own.  Slow motion forward and reverse are possible.  Now the viewer can create deeper understanding by being able to watch the video free of telestrations or being held to the forward, pause, and reverse of a presenter having control of the video.

Who does this book benefit?

This is a detailed analysis of every tempo and procedural tool being used as well as ideas for future use.  There is something here for every offensive coach at every level.  The system outlined was used at the college level but had its roots in high school football.  Some of the tools have filtered down from what is done at the pro level.  However, these tools can be adapted at the youth level as well.  Tempo and procedure only take thought by the coach in implementing the tool and practice of the procedure by the players.  These types of tools have nothing to do with skill level.

What is meant by Tempo Tools?

The tempos are divided generally into Fast, Faster, Fastest, Slower, and Slowest.  The way in which information is communicated and how the procedure works determines in which category it fits.

As Rich Rodriguez points out, the use of tempo is an underutilized aspect of offense.  As is explained in this manual, tempo can be used to create a “counter” to how the defense is defending it.  It can be used situationally to create advantages for the offense.  Overall, it can keep the defense off balance and greatly enhance the attack.  Whether the philosophy is go as fast as possible running as many plays as possible, or manage the game and control the clock, this manual has tools that will benefit each approach.

Tempos Explained and Illustrated

1.  Run It (Base Tempo)

2.  Bounce

3.  Check

4.  Word

5.  Picture

6.  Sequence

7.  Order

8.  Same

9. Again

10. Flip It

11. Indy

12. No Play

13. Look

14.  Double Look

15.  Kill

16. Milk It

17.  Huddle

18. Jump

19. Next

20. Sugar

The manual includes the following chapters:

Chapters

1. Introduction to Tempo  – explains the philosophy and defines tempo and procedures. 2.  Setting Up Procedures – discusses how to set up procedures in any offense so that tempo becomes a weapon. 3.  Speed It Up – the theory and philosophy of speeding up the pace. 4.  Fast – a set of tools that allow the offense to operate at a fast pace.

5.  Faster – speeding up procedures and communication to stress a defense.

6.  Fastest – tools that allow the ball to be snapped at the fastest interval after a whistle.

7.  Slow it Down? – theory and philosophy behind controlling the clock.

8.  Slower – tools to get the offense in the best play.

9.  Slowest – tools to manage the clock.

10.  Implementing Tempo – strategies and methods for implementing tempo in an offense.

11.  Game Planning Tempo – thoughts on how to approach inclusion of tempo within a game plan.

12.  Exploring New Tempo Ideas – newer ideas in tempo and some that have not been utilized…yet.

13.  Getting Started – Must Have Tempos in Any Offense – suggestions for any offense.

14.  Perspective:  The Greatest Reason for Being Uptempo – perspective on tempo from Dan Gonzalez.

15.  Further Review – over 60 multi-angle cut-ups for your review.  Plays are labeled with the tempo as well as the play call.

Get other iBooks in my series.  Coaches Edge Technologies give you way more content than you can get from anyone else.

101+ Pro Style Pistol Plays.  More that 101 plays, it give s all the instructional materials you need to run each concept.

Pro Style Pistol Offense:  101+ Read Game Plays.  Add reads, run-pass options, and packaged plays and play action off the read game to your downhill runs. Like the first book, it has so much more than play diagrams.  Video tutorials and interactive presentations give you the details you need to coach these plays.

The Zone Offense:  Create a Structured System.  This resource is designed to show you how to set-up and teach an offensive system.  It starts by illustrating in detail the stretch play with position-by-position tutorials. Frame-by frame play analysis with coaching points and diagrams and video.

Here is a link to numerous No Huddle and Tempo resources

The Uptempo Huddle

One of the objectives of an uptempo offense is to force the defense to play vanilla because the speed at which the offense is getting up to the ball does not allow for the defense to make very many checks or get in calls.

Uptempo does not have to exist in only in no-huddle operations.  While watching the 2013 SEC Championship on DVR, I noticed that Auburn used a huddle very effectively at different points throughout the game.  In fact, following a big gain ripped off after aligning and snapping the ball in 10 seconds from the previous whistle, Auburn changed personnel and huddled.  This is of course the team whose head coach is in the process of trying to get a trademark for the phrase “Hurry Up No Huddle.”

I’d suggest that Auburn’s use of the huddle is perfect to use each time personnel is changed and tight ends, h-backs, or fullbacks are coming into the game and will align somewhere in the box.  Again, one of the purposes of going fast is to not allow time for defensive communication of their calls or checks.  The rule is that if personnel is changed, the defense is also allowed time to change personnel.  Most times an official will stand over the ball and not allow the offense to snap the ball while the defense is adjusting their personnel.  Unfortunately, unless the offense is shifting (Boise State does this frequently), the defense gets a chance to see the formation and begin making their calls and adjustments without the pressure of the ball being snapped quickly.

For those of you who never have used a huddle, I realize this applies to some of the younger coaches out there, the procedure was the quarterback calls the play once with the snap count, the receivers leave the huddle to get a head start to get to their position, then the quarterback repeats the cadence (some teams would repeat the whole call) and says “ready” and the remaining players say, “Break” while clapping their hands and getting to the line of scrimmage.

There’s a slight twist on Auburn’s huddle which allows them to get in motion and snap the ball within four seconds of breaking the huddle.

In the video below, the quarterback, Marshall  calls the play in the huddle and lets his receivers deploy.  Notice that the line is only about two yards away from the ball.  Marshall strategically waits until his receivers are in position, then breaks the huddle with himself and the remaining seven players aligning quickly.  After about two seconds a receiver is put in motion and the ball is snapped at about four seconds after the huddle was broken.

While the previous whistle to snap wasn’t 10 second like the previous play, the defense was still left with very little time to recognize, align and adjust. This is a tool worth considering for all offenses.

Get my iBook 101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays.  It provides concepts that can be utilized in any offense, not just the pistol. I have received some great feedback from coaches who adapted all or some of those ideas in 2013. Get 101+ PRO STYLE PISTOL OFFENSE PLAYS for your iPad or Mac from the iBookstore. 

Peyton Manning No Huddle Run Check

In the AFC Championship game while operating from no huddle procedures, Peyton Manning checked to the run against against a two high safety look with man coverage underneath.  The check at the line both times sounded like “Bash Montana Batman.”  Both checks occurred during touchdown drives.

The first was in the 2nd quarter on a 3rd & 10.  The play resulted in a 28 yard gain and put the Broncos in the Red Zone.  The Patriots definitely left themselves exposed inside and Manning took advantage of it.  The blocking scheme and the play can be seen below.

The second time Manning checked “Bash Montana Batman” was in the 3rd quarter on a 1st & 10 against the same coverage but a different front.  This time one linebacker was in the box, but the blocking angles and numbers favored a run inside for the Broncos.  Again, Manning recognized the defense and made the check resulting in a 7 yard gain.

The point in illustrating these checks is not necessarily show how to attack cover two man, but rather to discuss the procedures that are being used.  No huddle dominates offense at every level now.  A popular procedure is for the offense to align and go through a false cadence to elicit any movement or rotation by the defense, and confirm what the defense may be trying to do.  The offense then looks to the sideline for a signal telling them to stick with the original call or change the play.

This is a procedure we used frequently in the 2010 season.  The entire year I kept waiting for the defense to change their call when we changed ours.  It never happened that season.  Defensive coordinators must not have been comfortable in changing a call at that point.  The following season, more defenses began to change their calls when the offense peeked to the sideline.  The call being audibled to by the offense wasn’t necessarily the ideal call anymore.  Fortunately, we had installed a tool which put the check on the field with the quarterback.  The idea was that our players could see a few key indicators that we were looking for from the press box as well or better than we could upstairs.  The quarterback would false cadence, make a quick call to let the rest of the offense know to run the called play, or he could change it based on the parameters of the game plan.

This is exactly what Manning is doing with “Bash Montana Batman.”  An argument can be made that there isn’t the time necessary to do those things at the lower levels or that it’s too complicated.  First of all look at the still shots and the end zone view of what Manning is seeing.  The weakness of the defense is pretty obvious to anyone who has a basic understanding if the game.   Again, like the Broncos audible, these should be simple checks which can be shown to the quarterback and the offense on film, and easily executed on the field.  It’s all relative.  The defenses being played against at the lower level don’t have the sophistication of an NFL defense.

Recently, while talking to a high school defensive coordinator, he indicated that facing “look” or “peek” tempo teams, he had a much easier time making his calls and checking when the offense checked.  He would much rather face that than a team that just went fast or a quarterback who was making the checks on the field.

Thought Process for Quarterback on field checks:

1.  Have a procedure that allows this.  There may be times when you don’t want the quarterback to check anything.  Be having a procedure that puts him in a “check” mode, he know he is looking for a simple indicator or two to put the offense in a certain play.

2.  Find the obvious and most expected looks that you will face in the game and utilize something already in your offense to attack it.  Checking to a special may cause confusion on game day because the play being checked to isn’t that familiar to the players.

3.  Script in enough of those situations during the week that the offense understand the checks and can execute them.  If you don’t have time to practice it, then it shouldn’t be a part of what you do on game day.

When the players can learn the why and know it as well as the how, they can effectively attack the weaknesses of the defense.

Get my iBook 101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays.  It provides concepts that can be utilized in any offense, not just the pistol. I have received some great feedback from coaches who adapted all or some of those ideas. Get 101+ PRO STYLE PISTOL OFFENSE PLAYS for your iPad or Mac from the iBookstore. 

 

One Stop for Your Offense Resources

Coaches Edge Game Planning System.  Save time and be more effective.

Coaches Edge Technologies. The Best Coaches. The Best Content. Interactive.

I’ve shared my notebooks of online resources over the past few months. As you spend the last few days of preparation before the season, you may be looking for a coaching point or video to help with your installation. This post provides a link to all of the resources I’ve posted. There are hundreds of links to presentations, analysis articles, clinic articles, forum threads, and videos. All links take you to information that is free.

If you haven’t done so yet, get a copy of 101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays. It’s something that you will use as a reference both in and out of season because it’s loaded with offensive ideas and strategies. Get it here.

My articles on Pistol Running Game

Pistol Offense Resources

Diamond Pistol Resources

Power O Scheme Resources

Zone Running Game Resources

Play Action Resources

Coaching the Tight End Resources

Four Vertical Resources

Quick Game Resources

Tempo and No Huddle Resources

Game Planning Resources

List of my Clinic Articles
Creating an Offensive System gives you ideas for ow to go about putting together your system with specific regard to the language and terminology to create it. Discussion on all components needed for well rounded attack and fitting together all components for a fluid system is discussed.

Tempo and Procedures Part I. Setting up procedures to attack a defense. Gives ideas of how tempo can be used in an offensive attack. Details a procedure for sideline substitution.

Tempo and Procedures Part II. Discusses slowing down tempo at times to manage the game. Details no huddle procedures to slow it down, as well a purposes for huddling.

Tempo and Procedures Part III – Speed it up. Discusses ideas for multiple uptempo procedures as well as suggestions on how to become an uptempo offense.

A Multiple Run Game with Zone Schemes. Illustrates, with plenty of video cut-ups, different ways the zone game can be used. Gives a method for simply incorporating both read game and traditional hand off into your offense.

Methods for Teaching and Practicing Your System. Discusses how to make your practices and drills fit the needs of your concepts and schemes. Coaching the tailback in the stretch play is used as an example of how to set up drills and practices that give you direct game application.

Don’t Get Jumped in the Alley. Gives detailed technique with still shots, diagrams, and video on how receivers release an alley defender. Illustrates the importance of this technique in proper distribution and spacing of routes.

Using Tight Ends in Your Offense. Discusses many different ways a tight end can be utilized in your offense. Loaded with video. Quotes from Chris Brown and Andrew Coverdale. Details how to incorporate and coach the TE. Lists the Benefits and advantages of using a tight end.

The Basics of Creating a Multiple Pass Concept. Discussion of concept based teaching and its advantages in creating a multiple passing game that extends across multiple formations and personnel groups. Lists specific steps to conceptualizing a pass play. Naked/Play Action Concept is used to illustrate concept passing.

Adding a Wrinkle: Strategies for Movement. Using motion for specific purposes: changing gap responsibility, changing defender responsibility, taking advantage of a defensive adjustment, and creating total confusion.

A Process For Adding a Wrinkle. Adding wrinkles throughout he season in order to stay ahead of the defense.

Adding a Wrinkle: Attaching a Screen to Your Best Concepts. Adding a wrinkle by creating screens off of your most successful plays and concepts.

A Bag of Tricks. Specific thoughts on installing and using gadget plays. Video on different categories of gadget plays.

Stick-Draw Concept. A variation of the popular stick draw with the quarterback as the runner. Discusses the advantages of using the QB to run the draw.

Our Evolution of the Pistol Set. Details on how the use of the pistol has evolved for us and the advantages we have found in ball handling and footwork in the run game that have led to a more effective play action game.

Pin and Pull Sweep. Why we use the pin and pull and how it has become a very multiple scheme for us. Illustration with video of the different variations and applications of the scheme. Two important considerations when adding any play to an offense.

Adding Multiplicity with a Flexible Run Scheme: The Counter Play. Illustration of how the counter play can fit into a multiple personnel, multiple formation offense. Illustration of scheme with diagrams and video.

Sweep Action to Enhance the Inside Running Game. Illustrates different types of receiver sweeps that can be used with the inside running game. Points for how to incorporate receiver sweeps.

Supplement to magazine article: An Evaluation System For Your Quarterback. Make your QB evaluations objective by focusing in certain performance criteria. Use the system to help you make decisions on exactly what need to be done in practice to get your QB performing at his best.

Multiple Passing Attack with the Spacing Concept. How you can incorporate several concepts that many offenses teach separately into one teaching concept with variations to one player. The spacing concept can be used to create horizontal stretches of the defense and is high percentage.

Distort and Displace with Double Teams. Specific illustrations of ow to create powerful double teams in both zone and gap concepts. Includes teaching progression and drills.

Just Wing It. The advantages of using a wing in any offense. Includes plenty of video of the multiple of a wing.

Four Keys to Successful Four Verticals. Explains how concept based teaching, detailed route running, a consistent progression, and simple adjustments make this a powerful passing concept.

The Play Action Pass: Tying Runs to Pass Concepts. Shows how to create a more effective and multiple play action passing game by combining components of your offense in a simple way.

More For Less: Creating Drills to Maximize Practice Time. Receiver and QB Drills are used to show how to improve multiple skills within a single drill. Discussion of setting up drills to remedy certain technique errors.

Maximize Practice Time – Coaching the Big Skill Positions: QB, RB, TE, FB, H-Back. Different thoughts in getting more out of the big skills practice time and incorporating timing for the play action pass. Drills to work these positions on video.

Evolution of the use of he quick passing game. Discussion of the quick passing game and how it is being paired with other components of offense for a more powerful attack. Examples from Dan Gonzalez, Dub Maddox, Chris Brown and others. Plenty of video examples.

Using The Proper Tool: Pulling Technique. Explanation of what different types of pulls should be used for and specifics on techniques and drills for each.

More Bang For Your Buck with the Power Scheme. Illustrates how the traditional I formation blocking scheme can be used in multiple ways.

No Huddle & Tempo Resources

This book that looks at every facet of tempo utilized to this point as well as giving ideas yet to be used:

Targeted Attack:  Using Tempo As a Weapon  iPad  Google Play  More Info

It includes instructional videos and example videos on each of 20 tempo tools explained in the manual.  Suggestions and plans for implementation and use in any offense are included.  You will definitely see an opportunity for use in your own offense.

I like to accumulate resources and keep notes on different topics. No Huddle and Tempo Offense have interested me for years. I wrote a three part series on American Football Monthly that discusses the specifics of using various tempos and procedures to attack a defense. Read those here:

Tempo and Procedures Part I

Tempo and Procedures Part II – Slow it Down

Tempo and Procedures Part III – Speed it Up

I have some brief posts on this blog as well:

Tempo From the Huddle

But Did They Call it Nascar?

Knute Rockne on the No Huddle Offense

One Word Play Calls

The Uptempo Huddle

Here is a post on USA Football:

Tempo Tools for Any Offense

In my opinion, an offense is not using every tool available if they are not using tempo as a weapon. Tempo has become part of every play call for us. We have 17 different procedures that vary our tempo. We will never use all of those in a game, however, we now game plan tempo and attach it to certain plays or play packages.

We have found a way to do everything from no huddle. You can see how we use a multitude of formations, personnel and motions in our Pro Style Pistol Offense in my iBook, 101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays. That does not mean no huddle is the only way to use tempo. Hopefully the links in this post help you with your research and give you ideas for improving your offense.

News Articles

Syracuse No-Huddle

Iowa No-huddle

Huskies shifting to No-Huddle

Saban not a fan of No-Huddle

Sumlin’s Response to Saban

New England Patriots

Patriots 1 Word Tempo

Another Patriots 1 Word

How Chip Kelly Influenced Patriots No-Huddle

Tom Brady Discusses No-Huddle

Seneca Valley High School

Chesterton High School

Mazzone Offense Philosophy

NFL Nomenclature

Misc

NFL Release on No Huddle

Q&A with Herb Hand

Analysis Articles

Analysis of Ole’ Miss (Hugh Freeze) Drive

Auburn Hurry-up, No-Huddle Analysis: Be Fast & Physical

Auburn Hurry-up, No-Huddle Analysis: O-Line

Auburn Hurry-up, No-Huddle Analysis: QBs

Auburn Hurry-up, No-Huddle Analysis: TE/H-Backs

Auburn Hurry-up, No-Huddle Analysis: RB

Auburn Hurry-up, No-Huddle Analysis: WR

What NFL Teams Can Do To Counter The No-Huddle Offense

The No-Huddle and Bill Walsh

Eleven Warriors Blog – No Huddle

Clinic Articles

Brian Flinn – Villanova

John T. Reed Warp Speed, No-Huddle

No Huddle Communication – John Maurek

Coach B Dud – Installing A No Huddle Offense

Hudl Blog: Avoid No-Huddle Mistakes

Alex Wood – Two Minute Uptempo

Blue Streak No Huddle (HS)

Chris Peterson Strong Football Blog – Simplifying Play Calls

Brophy Football Blog Defending the No Huddle Spread

Brophy Football Blog No Huddle Wristband

Brophy Football Blog ISU Tempo Check

Clinic Presentations

Arundel HS No-Huddle Clinic Power Point

Kent Kessinger-Ottowa University

Jay Wilkinson – Broken Arrow

Tulsa No-Huddle 2009

Another set of Tulsa No-Huddle Notes (Bill Blankenship)

Brian Flinn – No Huddle Operation

No Huddle Triple Option – Gary Denhary (HS)

John Ivlow Bolingbrook HS

Rich Rodriguez Clinic Notes 2013

Podcast

Grand Junction HS Power Pistol No Huddle – Robbie Owens

Smart Football/Chris Brown

Future of the NFL

Speak my Language

The New Old School (article on Chip Kelly offense)

Brophy Football Blog

Battle of the Boards

Forums

Coach Book

No Huddle Playbooks

Mark Jackson – Seckman HS (MO)

Websites Dedicated to No-Huddle

Full Throttle Football

Play Fast Football

High Speed Spread Football

Noel Mazzone

http://www.nzonesystem.com/

Philosophy video

Brief Analysis of ASU

Mazzone on building an offense

Youth Football No-Huddle

Tips on Running No Huddle at Youth Level

On Youtube

Dave Bates – Auburn HS

Oregon Play

Grand Junction HS Cut Ups

Patriots 1 Word

Scott Smith (90min)

Peyton Manning Communicating

Oregon Picture Boards

Coach Huey Threads

One Word

I Still Love The Huddle

Check with coach no huddle

No Huddle Communication

2 Minute Offense

No Huddle Practice Plan

No Huddle terminology for OL

Tempo from the Huddle

We do all the things that an offense is supposed to only be able to do out of a huddle:  multiple personnel, multiple formations, multiple shifts and motions, and we are able to keep a very fast pace.  With some thought and planning, any offense can operate from no huddle very easily.  However, that doesn’t mean that every offense should operate this way.  I was reading a thread on Coach Huey this morning (here) about coaches who still use the huddle and what they see as the benefits.  I don’t believe there needs to be a debate about whether to huddle or not, but I do believe conversations about using multiple tempos from either mode are valuable.

Read my three part series on multiple tempo on American Football Monthly:

Tempo and Procedures Part I

Tempo and Procedures Part 2 – Slow it Down?

Tempo and Procedures Part 3 – Speed it up

Learn more about our multiple offense here.

In the early 2000’s I had a chance to hear Rich Rodriguez speak on his no huddle offense at West Virginia.  One of the very first points he made in his clinic talk was that whether he was a no huddle team or a huddle team, he would use multiple tempos to attack a defense.

Understand that the debate on huddling versus not has been around since the game was invented.  Knute Rockne was not an advocate for the huddle which began to be utilized while he was coaching.  He wrote in his book that the disadvantages of the huddle far out weighed the advantages.  See it here.

In fact the game used to operate without a huddle in its earliest days.  I found a video clip from the 1903 Yale-Princeton game in which the ball is snapped four seconds from the time it was spotted.  See it here.

I think Andrew Coverdale defines the huddle as well as anyone.  He and I spoke last spring at length about using no huddle procedures, and he decided to stick with the huddle system.  It paid off as Trinity High School in Lousville, Kentucky won the state championship.  Early in camp he tried some no huddle but made the decision that it was best for them to continue operating from the huddle as their base mode of attack.

Here are slides that Coverdale includes in his playbook:

You will notice that Coverdale uses multiple tempos from the huddle.  If you choose to be a huddle team, I would argue that you are not getting the most out of your attack if tempo is not a thought in how you attack.  You can speed up or slow down just like no-huddle teams do.  As I mention in one of my tempo articles, Boise State is one of the best at using fast tempo from the huddle.  They change personnel, use multiple shifts and motions and do it as quickly as some no huddle teams.  To truly appreciate it, you need to see them play live and watch their operations.

We added a huddle back into our offense as we saw both the need and desire to communicate in critical situations and to slow the game down in four minute situations.  There is nothing I dislike more than to be up on the ball and waiting and showing the defense our formation for an extended period of time.  In our huddle mode of attack we do use multiple tempos.

I also believe that mixing in huddle with some basic no huddle modes of attack can be incorporated fairly easily.  I had several “huddle” coaches speak with me this off season on how they could incorporate some no huddle procedures.  We talked about how using a simple scripted series of three plays run in sequence without huddling could put stress on a defense.  Incorporating some play action after a sequence of runs could prove to be very effective.  See an example here.

Other valuable tools for incorporating some uptempo no huddle into your huddle offense would be using “copy” or “opposite” procedures.  Don’t outsmart yourself.  If a play is working keep the pressure on.  Get up to the line of scrimmage as fast as possible and run it again.  If the play is to the boundary or field and it’s necessary to run it that way, use a procedure that allows you to flip the formation and play. The other recommendation was that if you have used a series of uptempo no huddle plays, use freeze to get out of it to get a cheap five yards.  Have a one word play call prepared to change to a live play if they don’t jump.

One word play calls were my other suggestion.  To me one word calls and picture boards work in a very similar way. I have a brief post on one word calls here.  The idea is to get information to the players as quickly as possible.  I prefer picture boards over one word calls as the defense can not tell when the boards are “live” as opposed to maybe keying in on a single word.  For a huddle offense, either mode is an easy way to incorporate 3-6 plays each week that you can get up on the ball and attack at a fast pace.

Tempo does not need to turn into a debate of huddle or no huddle.  My philosophy is that tempo is part of our attack.  It’s something we include in every play call.  We even game plan which tempo tools we will use (we have 17 tempo tools).

Suggestions for implementation of multiple tempo:

1.  Know what your team needs and is capable of.  The best people to answer this are you and your staff.  What some “expert” coach is saying at a clinic may not apply very well to your situation.

2.  Define your procedures clearly both for your coaches and players.  See more on procedures here.

3.  Make those procedures part of everything you do.  If you expect to use them only on game day and they have not been practiced, confusion will ensue for both you and your players.

4.  Have a tempo signaler for every single play and make all eleven players look to the tempo first.  This will let your offense know when to huddle, how fast to get out of the huddle, and when to align on the ball and run a play or sequence of plays without huddling.

5.  Operate with full game procedures during team periods in practice.  Have players handle sideline procedures in practice.  Doing it helps them to understand it.  Give a player a script and have others serve as signalers or send the play in with a messenger.  This will also allow your coaches to stand where they need to view their players.

Learn more about the our multiple pistol offense in my iBook 101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays. It is available from the iBookstore on your iPad here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/101+-pro-style-pistol-offense/id611588645?mt=11

But did they call it NASCAR?

At 2:15 of this video from the 1903 Princeton and Yale game, the offense aligns and snaps the ball within three seconds of the official spotting it. I didn’t see any picture boards on the sideline. Obviously they had ways of communicating and running plays quickly back then.

The game has made so many advances over time, and it constantly evolves and changes. Things that were popular before come back in different forms. Innovations aren’t always new plays or concepts, just concepts that have been repurposed and repackaged. Tiger Ellison did this in the early 60’s when he brought the no huddle and a more fluid of style back into play with the lonesome polecat which later became the run and shoot.

I recently read an article with Paul Brown’s innovation of “wig wagging” (hand signaling) plays in to his quarterback. Prior to this the QB just called the play on his own without input from the coach. The commentary in one article discussed if coaches were becoming too big of a part of the game.

We are able to share and learn football now with technology in a way that coaches even a decade ago couldn’t have imagined. There are certainly advantages to gain by harnessing the use of technology properly. I was excited to learn the technology that I used to create a coaching resource for the iPad. The dynamic format makes this a great way to learn and share football knowledge. It’s something I plan to use in the near future to create more iBooks and also to coach my players.

101+ Pro Style Pistol Offense Plays can be purchased on your iPad through the iBookstore here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/101+-pro-style-pistol-offense/id611588645?mt=11

Knute Rockne and the No Huddle Offense

I’ve been able to obtain a copy of Knute Rockne’s book which was published in 1925. I’ve been reading through different sections. I found out that the huddle on offense was just in its infancy. Up to that point, no huddle was the standard way to operate on offense. Primarily this consisted of the quarterback barking out a series of numbers like, “24, 42, 36, 15.” Each team had a certain method of how these numbers were decoded by the other players on offense which included methods like addition of the numbers or using certain digits of each number in the series. It seems that defenses at the time were always trying to steal the offenses signals to gain an advantage. Some things haven’t changed! While the game has come full circle with offenses going back to being a no huddle in their operation, certainly the methods of signaling have changed with picture boards, multiple signalers and one word calls. However, one paragraph in Rockne’s book still rings true: no matter what method is used it should be simple enough for the offense, but still be able to disguise intentions from the offense.

Rockne’s paragraph is in this picture.

One Word Play Calls

One word play calls have become a hot topic lately. With this mode of play calling the word gives the personnel, formation and motion and the play. It’s been equated to going into a fast food restaurant and ordering a “number six” which includes your sandwich, fries, and drink.

My initial though was that it certainly limits flexibility, but in my mind these should be used on a limited basis having somewhere between one and eight plays that would be used with this method. Like the fast food restaurant, you can still order everything else on the menu, but giving the single number quickly moves you along.

As I reflected back, I realized I used this in 2006 prior to using no huddle. We had a call “Bazooka” which was the personnel, formation, shift and motion, and the play. Eventually this evolved to a three play package. An example of this is below. We run a sequence of shifts before snapping the ball, but all that was called from the sideline was “Bazooka” which told the personnel on the sideline to go in and gave the QB the huddle call.

I have used Bazooka in no huddle as well. In this version we run a Power after a sequence of shifts and a motion. We had no problem running this because the players think it’s fun.

More on shifts and motions can be read about and viewed in my AFM article, “Adding a Wrinkle: Strategies for Movement.”

One other thought is that the perfect types of plays for this mode of play calling are packaged plays because they rely on a post snap reaction rather than getting a certain look out of the defense. An example of this is stick-draw which I detail in the AFM article, “The Stick-Draw Concept.” I mention the advantages of these types of plays in uptempo offense in Chris Brown’s article on ESPN’s Grantland.com, “The Total Package.”

More on this topic later….