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Post by firebird on Dec 3, 2006 11:19:20 GMT -6
Is your philosophy really what you think it is? This season I learned a valuable lesson about myself. In the past I have worked as an assistant in either a split back veer system or a wing-t system (two different HC's). During that time, we always had a very potent passing game with a 2,000+ passer virtually every year. During my time as a assistant, I was enamored by the passing game and always wondered why we didn't pass more. I always swore that when I became a HC I would run a pass oriented offense. When I got my chance, I spend all of my time learning and implementing a shotgun 4 wide spread offense. I even made a few trips out to Texas Tech to study the Air Raid. We implemented it, practiced, put up huge numbers, and lost a lot of games. Now I don't blame the losses on the offense as we couldn't play D at all, but quite often we turned the ball over too much, couldn't run out the clock to secure a lead, and couldn't convert those tough 3rd and 2 type situations. This year I was determined to add a solid running game to our passing attack. We basically added the shotgun veer, speed option, and a few other option elements to the spread shotgun game. We looked great in our scrimmage, but at the 1st game we turned the ball over 5 times and lost 40-0 even though our D actually played very well (only gave up 1 scoring drive, everything else was off our turnovers). I went home, watched a lot of video both of my current program and programs that I had been involved with in the past. I determined that I was really a wing-t coach with a little option and that I was attempting to "shoehorn" this philosophy into a shotgun spread approach. I was really struggling with playcalling and trying to use one play to set something else up. Our offense wasn't based on series football, which was something I was accustomed to. I also realized that my last QB at my previous school and my QB at my new school had passed for approximately the same yardage. The old school QB would have numbers like 8/10 for 250 yards and 2 td's, the new school QB would have numbers like 21/40 for 250 yards 2td's and 4 int's. I came to realize that our passing game in the past was good because our run game was good and that I was lacking a run game. To make a long story short (too late  ) I came to realize that I was doing something that was really out of my character. I began that day installing my old offensive system. We became much more productive, scored more points, and had an answer for most everything the D threw at us. My playcalling became much better as I was working with a system that I knew and was much more comfortable with and most importantly fit my personality and my REAL philosophy of offense: series football. The point of this post is how many times to we run something that is really not true to our personality or personal view of how to get things done on a football field. How many times do we just want to say, "we run a spread offense," or "we run a 3-3 stack defense" or some other new football buzz word. I'm not implying that the spread or 3-3 are bad sets, but how many of us run the "flavor of the month" offense or defense instead of what we know and are good at? Just food for thougt. Obviously I have way too much time on my hands now that the season is over. |
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Post by lochness on Dec 3, 2006 11:49:05 GMT -6
Couldn't agree more with you coach, good post.
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Post by coachseven on Dec 3, 2006 12:01:36 GMT -6
Super post I agree completely. I also made that mistake.
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Post by spreadattack on Dec 3, 2006 12:07:41 GMT -6
I agree. One thing I'll say is that it is hard to just install a new offense wholesale no matter how much film you study, or even times you visit. It's one thing if you were an assistant or even GA at Texas Tech, coached under them, practiced with them, and learned the rhythm of the offense. Without having coached with other coaches experienced in something, I agree that it is hard to just decide you're some kind of "wide open" coach when you've only actually coached in much different systems.
I think it sounds like you made a good move firebird, Sounded just like a square-peg round hole thing. And I think there's some truth too to the kinds of kids you have, doing more with less. I agree that one of the problems with the Airraid is that, while multiple in passing options, it really lacks deception which is the great equalizer of inferior talent.
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Post by jdwatters on Dec 3, 2006 12:07:53 GMT -6
As others have stated great post firebird.
I think my situation is a little different. Since I have not alot of experience yet, I don't really have a philosophy I can hang my hat on. A year ago when my team won the city championship our style was more run first, split back type offense. This past off-season I spent alot of time researching and buying videos of different concepts to see what I could add to the system for next year. I think it got to a point where I had put too much in and didn't have the right system set up for it (I had Coverdale's Bootleg, DeMeo's Triple Option, bits of Air Raid, etc.) At times I liked it all and there were times where I wanted to just trash the entire system. I need more years under my belt and more years under different systems before I find something I am really sold on.
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Post by saintrad on Dec 3, 2006 12:21:34 GMT -6
i agree with you firebird...some people are label conscious or "fad happy" and try to do the popular thing. Good job finding your roots again. Always looking for that opportunity myself. Maybe if i get the Show Low job I can do that.
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Post by firebird on Dec 3, 2006 12:50:20 GMT -6
saint,
I am actually from Show Low. My advice, put in for the Snowflake job (Snowflake is about 15 miles from Show Low). A good coach at Snowflake could win a state title next season. They are always loaded with talent and when they have a good coach they are one of the top teams in the state.
IMHO
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Post by saintrad on Dec 3, 2006 12:55:33 GMT -6
thanks, i appreciate the info.
only putting in for a head job just so i can be a coordinator and run a system i am comfortable with
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Post by ocinaz on Dec 3, 2006 14:30:49 GMT -6
Agree with Firebird, Show Low has traditionally been a very tough place to coach, from what I have heard, when they let this season's coach go, they already had a guy in place. SnowFlake always is loaded with talent, they just haven't been able to get over that HUMP yet.....Keep us locals updated Saint........
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Post by fbdoc on Dec 3, 2006 14:41:19 GMT -6
I think "Philosophy" is one of the most overused and mis-used words in our profession. Allow me to ramble and use a bit of word play for my responce.
Firebird, your post was excellant but I don't think it's a question of philosophy more than it is one of "Style". Let's face it, all of us have the same basic Philosophy - we want to help our young men become better men-husbands-fathers, and we also want to win football games, hopefully in that order. There are many different ways to accomplish both.
Your old team was successful and you enjoyed the passing game without realizing the positive impact that the running game had on it. After some reflection, this became clear and you began to incorporate plays and schemes to get back to your style of "series" football. It wasn't a true change in philosophy, you simply altered your method of moving the ball.
That simple act of analysis shows that you are a superior coach to so many who do subscribe to the "flavor of the month" without fully looking at their own skills and the skills of their kids. Thanks for sharing your thoughts - hopefully your post will help all of us to continually evaluate what and WHY we are running something.
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Post by spreadattack on Dec 3, 2006 15:06:24 GMT -6
fbdoc, I agree that philosophy was probably not the right word. I would argue that it's more a matter of competence than anything else. My philosophy is success (winning and other), and I will coach what gives us the best chance to win and the kids the best chance for success.
Philosophically or theoretically or stylistically I can be a wing-t coach or enjoy watching run and shoot teams, but I think firebird's post just exhibited that he is an excellent coach because he could swallow his ego: he realized that the old offense gave his team the best chance to win with them as players and him as coach. "Philosophically" or "stylistically" he could say that he'd love to run some kind of spread chuck n duck style where every week the QB goes 51 of 60 for 600 yards and 8 TDs, but the world isn't perfect, so we do the best we can do. That's all a good coach can ever do.
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Post by pegleg on Dec 3, 2006 17:01:17 GMT -6
i think the bottom line to this whole topic is do what you know how to do. we all feel more comfortable with the thing we know how to do. i grew up in a spread sling it around style, therefor i don't really "know" how to run a multiple back run first scheme. i think firbird realized he is in the same boat in reverse. thats not to say i couldn't run it, but i wouldn't be comfortable and therefore probably not successful, just like firebird said. i don't think it matters what you decide is your personality. at the end of the day, those things are decided for us, we learn the game somewhere from someone and that shapes the things we do well. and we should stick to what we know. i know the spread/zone/air raid so thats what i do, good or bad. congrats to firebird for coming to that conclusion and going back to what he knows.
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Post by utchuckd on Dec 3, 2006 20:34:54 GMT -6
We're going through this process over this off season. We're gonna sit down as a staff and get everybody's input on what type of team we want to be offensively. We've been a little of this and a little of that, and have had trouble getting on the same page at times.
AZ coaches,
We had a coach here for a couple of years that was the HC at Round Valley. I saw some of his Show Low film. Those boys get off the ball!
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Post by ocinaz on Dec 3, 2006 21:25:12 GMT -6
There are tons of ahtletes in that entire area....Round Valley, Show Low, Lakeside Blue Ridge, Snowflake, and Payson....Small rural mostly mormon communities.....Round Valley smoked us last year and Blue Ridge did this year.....
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Post by coachcalande on Dec 4, 2006 5:50:03 GMT -6
A good question would be "Is your identity what you want it to be?"...I think a team needs an identity and the philosophy to match. Example...
fun and gun
basketball on grass
every down a track meet
flash and dash
razzle dazzle
3 yards and a pile of ground up flesh
conservative hardnosed
ground and pound
physical and disciplined
smashmouth and tough
what you see is what you get, try and stop it
take what they give us
balanced, unpredictable
"trickeration" at the right time
certainly you can try to pick from all of those...I know for me I want my teams to be known for being very physical and disciplined. I want to use the run to set up the pass, I want to rely on perfect execution of 11 men rather than the athletic ability of a special few. As time has gone by I have learned the value of a few trick plays mixed within a very simple core of plays. I want a super team not super stars. defensively we want to be known as a wild pack of dogs, attacking, ruthless, never backing off... the kids like to know "who" they are.
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Post by coachcb on Dec 4, 2006 6:47:50 GMT -6
I found myself in this same situation several years ago. I had always run splitback/staggered I veer- normally with success. However, one year, we had several very athletic WR types, and a QB with a good arm. I became stubborn and refused to adapt, I wanted to run the heck out of the ball period. We looked great during practice and scrimmages, but could not get the job done during games. It took me losing my stud FB to injury before I decided to throw the ball more. Over a 3 game stretch, we rarely ran the ball more than 10 times a game and threw the heck out of sprint outs and 3 step drops. We were a much more successful unit.
From that point on, I decided to be as adapative as possible and to base my offense on non QB and OL intensive schemes. I know I can teach all the QBs to run throw short routes on three step drops and sprint outs and to throw track and quick screen; I'm not sure if I can teach all of them to read the option. I know I that all of our OL can be taught to set up and pass block for the short passing game. And I know there are going to be those thin years (with the OL) where we're going to need that short passing game to lighten their load on run plays
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tedseay
Sophomore Member
Posts: 164
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Post by tedseay on Dec 4, 2006 7:01:38 GMT -6
firebird: Have I got an offense for you... ;D ;D |
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Post by firebird on Dec 4, 2006 19:35:20 GMT -6
Ted,
I think I have read every Wild Bunch playbook you have put out and have enjoyed every one of them. I have used a number of principles in the past and have been cosidering using your set as one of our basic sets as we have 2 solid halfbacks, a good fullback and no TE's but 3-4 decent wideouts all coming back next season.
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Post by fbcoach33 on Dec 4, 2006 20:34:26 GMT -6
one thing I have often thought is this, and I think it holds true with whatever system you run, Ive been running option now for 10 years, same system, and every year I learn something more about it, a better way to attack a certain front etc. I cant imagine juming from system to system every few years, at least without some common things within the systems, to really feel comfortable using a new system. Every year we tend to add some plays in the off season to spice up the offense and pretty much every year we never use them and go back to running the same stuff we have run for years, but feel very comfortable with and know how to use to beat people.
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Post by saintrad on Dec 4, 2006 22:20:12 GMT -6
philosophy and method are usually confused.
My philosophy on offense is to score as much as I can and limit the penetration of the opposing offense. My methods of accomplishing that is by using a single-back, multiple formation offense using a counter based run game and a concepts based passing game. Defensively, i use a multiple 40 front defense with a pattern reading secondary. That is the basics but thats what I do.
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Post by ocinaz on Dec 5, 2006 0:03:39 GMT -6
Sounds good coach.....Hope to see you on the sidelines here in AZ next year......
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Post by saintrad on Dec 5, 2006 0:39:27 GMT -6
me too... might have to do a gophers-firebirds-lobos three way to see who has bragging rights of AZ then
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Post by ocinaz on Dec 5, 2006 2:00:53 GMT -6
That would be cool.....I am hoping to do some 7 on 7 with Firebird and JH this summer also.....Saint, check your privates??....
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Post by coachcalande on Dec 5, 2006 4:09:41 GMT -6
one thing I have often thought is this, and I think it holds true with whatever system you run, Ive been running option now for 10 years, same system, and every year I learn something more about it, a better way to attack a certain front etc. I cant imagine juming from system to system every few years, at least without some common things within the systems, to really feel comfortable using a new system. Every year we tend to add some plays in the off season to spice up the offense and pretty much every year we never use them and go back to running the same stuff we have run for years, but feel very comfortable with and know how to use to beat people. I agree with this too...the longer you stay with one system the better you know it, how to maximize its strengths and shore up its weaknesses...same with defense...you KNOW how and what to practice because you know what others are going to do to attack it. |
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Post by groundchuck on Dec 5, 2006 5:23:52 GMT -6
Good posts, and food for thought.
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Post by saintrad on Dec 5, 2006 12:07:14 GMT -6
.....Saint, check your privates??.... aahhh they are still down there |
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Post by ocinaz on Dec 5, 2006 13:23:01 GMT -6
UMMM...Private messgaes....
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) I came to realize that I was doing something that was really out of my character. I began that day installing my old offensive system. We became much more productive, scored more points, and had an answer for most everything the D threw at us. My playcalling became much better as I was working with a system that I knew and was much more comfortable with and most importantly fit my personality and my REAL philosophy of offense: series football.
