Original Air Raid Film

I ran across some of the videos last night as I was searching YouTube for some Air Raid footage. Here we have some video of the original Air Raid system that was put in place by head coach Hal Mumme while at the University of Kentucky. At this time the Wildcats coaching staff also consisted of Mike Leach, Tony Franklin, Sonny Dykes, and Chris Hatcher. It’s almost hard to believe that so many influential spread coaches were working together on the same staff. Since then, each of these coaches have went their respective ways and continued to implement and innovate their own versions of the spread offense. But it all stemmed from what is taking place in these videos. From 1997-2000, the Kentucky football program became the catalyst for what is now a spread offense revolution in college football. The Wildcats offensive innovation also trickled down to the high school level, and by the early 2000's, the spread offense was taking Kentucky high school football by storm. I personally owe Coach Franklin thanks because it was due to his influence that my high school switched to the spread offense a few years before I began my high school career as a quarterback. I hope that watching these videos allows you to see the simplicity of the original Air Raid system. These cut-ups were all I watched when I was running the system as a high school qb. Tim Couch has flawless mechanics here and runs the system to perfection. I think that in today's game, coaches often over analyze the spread scheme. I believe it comes down to perfecting simplicity and allowing your playmakers to get the ball in space. As you can see, Kentucky isn’t doing anything revolutionary here; they just simply execute their scheme to perfection. As an offensive coach, I believe many of us need to stop trying to overthink our schemes and just get back to the basics of the spread game. Sorry the videos are not the best quality but still effective in seeing some of the original aspects of the system.

* Notice the use of the backs out of the backfield during these clips.  The golden rule is "when in trouble, find a back".  Not only is this a pain for the defense to defend but it also provides easy completions for your QB that will build his confidence and keep him from taking unnecessary hits.  Also using the backs more effectively is a great way to force the defense into defending laterally (sideline to sideline) as well as forcing the secondary to defend closer to the line of scrimmage.  Using the backs consistently in your passing game will lead to more opportunities to take shots down field later in the game.  You as a coach must instill this mentality in your QB.  Finding backs consistently only comes through reps during practice and constant verbalization of this concept during meetings.

Challenging All Coaches - Throw More Fast Screens!

 

There’s no doubt that the screen game is a critical part in all variations of the spread offense.  There are many types of screens; fast screens, slow screens, jail breaks, solids, middle screens, rockets, lasers, Alabama’s and many more. Today I want to focus on the most basic type of screen that the spread offense makes use of, the fast screen.  First of all, don’t let the simplicity of this play fool you, it is by far one of the most effective ways to get the ball into the hands of your play-makers, idealistically giving them 1-on-1 matchups, making defenders tackle them in space.  Over the past couple years, I have noticed with the complex play strategies that have been installed within the spread offense, the fast screen has begun to get over looked.  So here it is coaches, this is my public service announcement to all of you: THROW FAST SCREENS UNTIL THE DEFENSE IS FORCED TO DEFEND THEM!!! It is truly that simple.  If a defense is giving your WRs a five to ten yard cushion, throw the heck out of those fast screens and make them tackle your best players in space.  Be persistent, you may get tackled for a one or two yard gain but it only takes one missed tackle and your guy is off to the races for six.  My point is, don’t let one negative play scare you away from throwing fast screens the rest of the game.  This not only forces the defense to defend in space but it also increases your QB's confidence because he is getting more completions (great confidence booster early in the game).  It also increases your offensive tempo throughout the game.  Just think how tired those big d-linemen are getting from running sideline to sideline and then back to their position as your offense presses the pedal to the metal and lines up for another play.  If nothing else you should have a huge advantage in conditioning because you should be practicing like you play, and that should be FAST.  By the fourth quarter, your chances of breaking a fast screen for a big gain increase dynamically.  Now what happens when the defense adjusts and tightens coverage... You take advantage.  This is what you want, this opens up the down field passing game, and provides you with opportunity to throw other screens such as jail-breaks, rocket and laser, slows, or solids.  Fast screens have multiple benefits for your offense.  I can’t stress enough the importance of establishing this threat as a staple of your offensive strategy.   Tempo and getting the ball quickly into the hands of your playmakers, these two concepts alone will make your offense difficult to defend.  I try to think simplicity, consistency, and effectiveness… sometimes simple is better, especially when you are able to do it fast! 

My notes from Coach Butch Jones' presentation at the Glazier Clinic

I haven’t had much time the past couple days to write but I just wanted to take a second and get a post up before I leave for Chicago tomorrow. I wanted to give you guys some of the notes I took while listening to Coach Butch Jones of the University of Cincinnati.  Coach Jones was a great speaker and I really enjoyed hearing him at the Glazier Clinic in February. A lot of this was written in short hand but I will do my best to elaborate on the some of the points.  His presentation was over play calling and offensive strategy.

·        You must have confidence in your play call – Coach Jones really stressed having absolute confidence in your play call. This confidence is gained through knowing that you have properly installed all aspects of the play and through knowing that you are putting your best playmakers in position to effect the game.

·        REPS = Confidence ; The more time you spend perfecting a play through repetition, the more confidence you and your players have that the play will work.  Repping fewer plays to perfection and consistency is much more productive then repping tons of plays and never perfecting any of them.

·        Call plays that your players are confident about as well

·        Think PLAYERS not plays – get the ball in the hands of your best playmakers, it’s as simple as that.  Equal distribution of the ball should not be on your agenda as a play caller.  The guys that can potentially have the most positive effect on the game for your offense are the guys that should touch the ball the most, period.  Create plays that get the ball in the hands of your playmakers!

·        Always give feedback while teaching.  I have stated this point as well in some of my posts, I rarely allow a player to go through a rep without providing some type of criticism.  Any feedback is good feedback if it is coming from a knowledgeable place.

Here are some points he made regarding offensive strategy:

·        BALL SECURITY is always #1 on the agenda.  You must constantly instill this idea into your players’ minds.

·        Always think TD’s in the red zone.  It should be your mentality as a coach that every time your team is in the red zone it’s going to be for six.  You should have a small number of plays that you are extremely confident in for red zone situations. 

·        Win 1^st down! Statistics show that winning 1^st down is an unbelievable advantage to the offense.

·        QB should know the play callers purpose for the plays being called.  You QB must have the most in-depth understanding of your offensive strategy.  He should understand and recognize why plays are being called and what the goal behind each in-game situation is. 

·        PLAY FAST – we hear this all the time as coaches of the spread offense but Coach Jones says that when you think you’re playing fast enough, play faster.  But you can’t play fast if you don’t practice fast.  TEMPO means EVERYTHING in practice!

·        Formations not plays – he talked about how you should use less plays but more formations.  Get extremely good at a few plays and run them from a variety of formations.  He says this combined with playing extremely fast should equal an unstoppable offense at the high school level. 

·        First off the ground rule -Install the concept that your players should be the first one up off the ground after every play and the ball carrier should always immediately hand the ball to the referee.  Both of these ideas increase tempo and force the defense to line up faster.

I am Second Videos

Here are some great college qb's discussing how their relationship with Jesus Christ has impacted their lives.  Great stories, I hope they inspire and motivate you to seek knowledge and understanding from Jesus.  Enjoy!!

Essential Warm Up Throws and Tips

There are plenty of ways to get your qb's arm warmed up during pre-practice.  I have witnessed many variations of warm-up drills but I believe this video gives a pretty good idea of what your qb should be doing during pre-practice warm-ups. There are a few other drills I really like for pre-practice and I will try to include videos on those in the near future.  It is important to keep in mind a couple things while coaching your qb's warm-up throws:

1. Make sure he is always throwing to a specific target.  What I mean by this is, dont just allow him to throw to another player, make him pin-point a specific location on that player as his target, every single throw...e.i. the head, left shoulder, right shoulder, chest.  This will help improve concentration and accuracy and avoid forming bad habbits during warm-ups. 

2. Your qb should never have dead feet during warm up throws.  It doesnt matter if he is throwing at a target five yards away or thirty yards away, he should always keep his feet "hot".  If his feet are stationary during warm-up throws, then he will be stationary in the pocket. 

This is not a period to be going through the motions.  Bad habbits can easily develope during warm-ups.  Keep a close eye on mechanics, effort, and the two concepts presented above.