2nd and Long! What is your philosophy?

First thing is not to panic.

Make sure the play will put you in a manageable 3rd down sitiutaion. I like to run on 2nd and 10 just to make sure third down is not impossible.

Exactly....I think way too many OC's get impatient in this situation! In 2nd and long I am going to ensure my possession as an OC by getting half of 2nd and long. Depending on the opponent and DC...that could be a possession throw, option, draw, etc. Some of our biggest plays out of our option game have come from 2nd and long.

This would be a running down for me;off tackle or something up the middle (sprint draw or belly). I would even consider a strong Play Action Pass, off one of the run plays I listed.

I want to get at least 5 to 7 yards on the play, set myself up with a good third and short situation.

Now look at it from this standpoint....You are playing a conference/district opponent with the same DC the last several years? 2nd and long! Do you give weight to the DC or do you take into account it is 16-18 year olds executing a scheme defensively?

How much thought do you give to what you have done in the past and what your opponent has done in the past in certain down and distances?

how long? I mean 2nd and 10 is not long IMO. I pass the ball on just about every down.

now if it is 2nd and 20, I believe in trying to get half of it back.

It depends on the defense and field position. Are we in 4 down territory. How well is the defense playing? because as seagull put it "punting is ok"

We have been very succussful with our quick screen game on 2nd and long, bubble and jailbreak. IMO, good safe plays that can easily gain 5-6 yards and sometimes +10. That now puts us in the 3rd and med or short.

Great thread!!

I'm with most of the coaches here, no need to get over aggressive. There are a few qualifiers: 1) if I'm just killing them on the day with the pass and all we did was misfire, we might come right back at them with a 10+ yard pass if we are so confident. 2) If we are in field goal range, we DO not want a negative play, so deep drop passing might just be out. 3) How aggressive is the DC? Is he likely to drop lots of guys, making a 5-6 yard run on a draw very very likely, or is he going to bring some kind of blitz a lot in this situation. Again, field position matters. If I'm at mid-field and I think he will blitz, it might be a good time to max-protect and go deep, but if I'm on my own 20 it's going to be 3-steps or a quick trap.

one thing you have to remember is the defense sees this as a chance to inflict more damage.

so often a blitz is inorder. if you hit it right, the blitz beater is a good choice.


if it is 2nd and 10, I will shoot for first and ten, unless like I said, it is 2nd and 20.
one of my favorites is 2nd and 10 on our goal line. line it up and throw it vertical. big play to break their back.

I think the key is to do what you do best. Everyone pretty much agrees that punting is okay and that we want a manageable third down situation. Some of us are passing teams we will pass on 2-10, some of us are running teams we will most assuredly not pass on 2-10.

Most of us will do what we do best and let the situation take care of itself.

airman, what is your defensive philosophy ?

Airman I used to coach for a guy that had the same philosophy. He was a wide open offensive guy that told me "The job of the defense is to get the ball back to the offense as quickly as possible. I f you let them score quick that's OK just don't let them drive and eat up the clock!"

Run the ball in the first half, no question, run it and see what happens. In the second it depends on the score, where the LOS is on the field, and what we've done in the situation previously. If you've been running in this situation all game, it might be a good chance for play action late in the 3rd or in the 4th.

I've always been told to get half.
We have a lot of those....


What do you call on 3rd and 55. (had one of those this year)