footballcoachingtips

1.) The play action pass has become a lost art in football today.The key to the play action pass is obviously the ball or hand fake to the runningback. When using a ball fake or hand fake it is very important for the QB to look the ball or the hand in to the runningbacks midsection and to hold the fake with your eyes for as long as possible. When using the ball fake the QB should make sure to keep the football as close to their body as possible, and do not swing the ball out in front of you. Make sure to have two hands on the football, and the runningback should keep his eyes focused foward as he and the QB work in sync to carry out the fake. The play action pass can be a very effective play if the fake to the runningback is done properly.

3.) The proper way to play cover 2 zone is to have your cornerbacks jam the reciever off of the line of scrimmage, and then the cornerbacks sink in to the flat. The free safety and the strong safety are lined up 8 yards off of the line of scrimmage, The free safety has a half of the field, and the strong safety has the other half of the field (called 2 deep, or cover 2) If you are playing a 4-2 defense the linebackers each have the hook to curl routes when playing cover 2 zone. Cover 2 is good against the option, or against a team that likes to sweep. Cover 2 is not good against a team that passes the ball well because there is a lot of ground to cover back there for 2 defensive backs. In general cover 3 zone is better against the pass, and the run.

2.) Football is a game of fundamentals. Some of the important fundamentals of football to teach are: Always have your recievers catch the football with both hands, and look the ball in and tuck it in before stepping upfield to run with it. The quarterback should learn to stay in the pocket, and to see the entire field when passing. Always have your players wrap up on the ball carrier with both arms when tackling. When running to the right in the open field the ball carrier should have the ball in their right hand and tucked in, when running to the left in the open field the ball carrier should have the football in their left hand and tucked in. Always teach the basic fundamentals of football to your players before you teach technique. Teaching technique is good, but teaching the basic fundmentals of blocking, tackling, passing, and catching the football will win you football games.

4.) The proper way to play cover 3 zone defense is the cornerbacks each have a third of the field, and the free safety has the deep middle third of the field (called 3 deep, or cover 3). The strong safety is lined up 4 by 4 yards off of the line of scrimmage on the strong side of the field in cover 3 and has the strongside flat on passing plays. The weakside linebacker in a 4-2 or 4-3 cover 3 has the weakside flat. The cornerbacks have contain if they read run, and a third of the field if they read pass. The cornerbacks should be responsible for contain when they read run no matter what defensive scheme you are playing. The cornerbacks should be lined up 5 yards off of the line of scrimmage and on the inside shoulder of the reciever. I like 5 yards better then playing them 7 yards off of the ball because I like an agressive, hard hitting defense and the corners are in a better position to come up on running plays.

It does not matter if you call the strongside tackle a tackle or a defensive end in the old 4-3 defense. For all practical purposes you can call him a tackle because the strong side LB is the last man on the perimeter of the line of scrimmage, and the weakside defensive end is called the rush end. The old 4-3 is like a 6-1 defense until the ball is snapped. Coach Haege use to like to angle the noseguard to the wide side of the field to take the pressure off of the middle linebacker, and to mess up the offensive line's blocking schemes. Each defensive lineman is responsible for a gap and the defensive line should always be changing what gap they take after every play. The defensive linemen should lineup on the inside shade, head up, or outside shade of the offensive lineman (called gap control defense). Most college and pro teams run a gap control type of defense.

The best pass defense is a good pass rush. Against a 1 back set that many of the college teams of today run I would play man to man defense (cover 1 or cover 0) and I would have my strong safety lined up 4 by 4 yards off of the line of scrimmage. He would have the strong side flat, and the weakside LB would have the weakside flat. I would play a 4-2 or a 4-3 defense and have my strong safety and/or linebackers blitzing hard every play. The middle linebacker would key on the runningback (the 1 back). My free safety would read the tight-end. If the tight ends runs vertical then the free safety has him man to man. The key to playing man to man defense against a passing team is that the strong side LB, defensive end or strong safety must jam the tight-end hard off of the line of scrimmage and not allow him an easy release, and the defense must get a good pass rush on the quarterback.

An often neglected part of football on offense is the spacing of your line splits on running plays, When running off tackle and the inside running game have your offensive line splits 2 and a half to 3 feet wide, the wider the better. This will allow the ball carrier to see the open field, and the offensive line to create open space for the runningback. When running outside and pulling an offensive lineman you should narrow your line splits to allow the pulling lineman time to get out and in front of the ball carrier.

There is no excuse for a team not having a good passing game.The day's of 3 yards and a cloud of dust are gone. Art Haege's football team's always had a good passing game because his team's worked hard on their passing game in practice during the season, and he had his quarterback and recievers working on their pass routes, and catching the football during the off season. In order to develop a good passing game a coach has to have their quarterbacks and recievers working on their throwing, pass routes, and catching the football all year long. As with anything, a good passing game is developed through practice and repetition.

When you offense is attacking a cover 2 zone go to the 5 and 7 step passing game. If you are using a lot of 3 step drops (slant passes, hitches, etc) the Defense (if they are coached properly) will switch to cover 2 zone. The corners jam the recievers hard, and and the safeties each have a half of the field.in cover 2. Run the dig routes, comebacks, stop routes, and short posts vs. cover 2. Use the Tight-End vs. Cover 2 on crossing routes and deep down the middle of the field. Get your running back out in to the deep flats vs. cover 2. Go to a slot formation or a 2 tight-end formation vs. cover 2, and run 2 vertical routes down the field, and have your reciever run a deep post. Cover 2 is among the easiest defenses to pass against if you run the correct passing routes.

Gap control defense is played by most defenses today. When playing gap control defense it is very important to have each player lined up on the correct shade of the offensive lineman. For example, when playing cover 3 have your strong side defensive end lined up on the inside shade (called 6-I technique) of the tight end in a 4-2 or in the college 4-3 defensive alignment. Always coorelate what secondary coverage you play with your defensive front. If you are playing cover 3, you can line your defensive end up on the inside shade of the tight-end or last man on the perimeter of the line of scrimmage because your strong safety will be sitting in the flat to help against the run on the strong side.

10.) When playing cover 3 play your defensive-end on the inside shade of the strong side tight-end. You have your strong safety sitting in the flat in cover 3 and he has force if they run to the outside. If you play your defensive end on the outside shade of the tight-end they are going to run off tackle on you. The same is true when playing cover 2. Remember that the corners are always responsible for contain when they read run, and the defensive end forces the play to the inside but he is not responsible for contain on running plays. This is why it is very important that some of your best and smartest athletes should be playing the cornerback position.

The defensive linemans first step on the line of scrimmage should be with his inside leg and foot. Get initial leverage on the offensive lineman by staying low and driving through the man as you work to fight off of the block. Stay low and learn to get leverage on the offensive lineman as you anticipate and see where the football and ball carrier are. If you are a linebacker, learn to stay at home and watch the football so you are not out of position on play action passes.

Working on your passing game during the off-season is very important. The QB's and recievers should be working together on their own time on their pass routes and timing. The QB should be working on his 3 step, 5 step, and 7 step drops and his timing with the recievers. The recievers should focus on running good and sharp pass routes. The football should arrive just as the reciever is making his break on the route. As a QB or reciever you always want to work on the fundamentals of football such as catching the football with both hands and tucking it in before running up field. The QB should learn to see the entire field while passing and learn to step up in the pocket as opposed to flushing early from the pocket. Good quarterbacks have the ability to focus on the entire field without getting flushed out of the pocket early. Good recievers have the ability to focus on the football at all times without thinking about getting hit after the catch.

One good way to adjust your offense to the defensive scheme that you are playing against is to go to a 2 tight-end set. Nothing messes up a defense more then switching to a 2 tight end formation when they are not expecting it. If you are playing against cover 2 zone, for example, have your tight-ends run 5 yard hitch routes, or 7 yard stop routes right down the middle of the field. Have your strong side tight end run a 7 yard sideline route, and your reciever (your flanker) run a fly pattern straight down the sideline. If the QB sees the corner sitting in the flat as he should be in cover 2, he should look for the reciever to be wide open. If you are playing against cover 3, drag your backside tight-end across the field and have your strong side tight-end run a short post. If the defense adjusts, as they should, then go back to your basic offensive formation.

When the QB uses a 5 step drop on passing plays, the strong side (the play side) of your offensive line fires out and base blocks, and the backside of your offensive line hinge blocks. This is also the same blocking scheme used for play action passes. When the QB has a 7 step drop on passing plays both sides of the offensive line hinge blocks. When using the 3 step passing game for short passes such as slants both sides of the line fire out.

Art Haege would always say that football is a game of fundamentals. Too many coaches of today work too much on pitter-patter technique and not enough on the correct fundamentals. The team that is the most fundamentally sound on offense, defense, and special teams, and gives 110% effort on every play is going to win. Teach the correct fundamentals such as blocking, tackling, catching and passing the football. A good coach always get's the best out of the talent that they have to work with. .

Some important fundamentals for a reciever to have are to always come back to the football if you see that your Quarterback is scrambling or flushed out of the pocket. Find an open spot on the field and come back to the football. If your QB throws a bad ball, and it looks like it is going to be intercepted near you, always break up the pass. Good recievers are also good blockers down field and they block hard on every play. Technique is good, but fundamentals will win you football games. Good recievers always stay after practice and catch passes with their QB. Repetition and practice, as with anything else, will make you a better reciever. Practice your routes after practice when everyone else is gone. The player that works the hardest in his spare team will be the player that earns a starting position. I use to spend countless hours in my back yard passing the football, and countless of hours playing basketball working on my basketball skills. I would chop ice off of my basketball court in the middle of February in below zero weather in Northern Minnesota, and shoot the basketball over and over again. If you want to be a better player, no matter what sport it is in, practice on your own time.

The correct alignment for a cornerback is to line up on the inside shoulder of the reciever and 5 to 7 yards off of the reciever. I like 5 yards better then 7 because at 5 yards you can come up against the run easier. Always use your near arm (your inside arm) when trying to break up a pass. Do not use your outside arm and reach across your body to break up the pass. If a reciever catches the ball and you are coming up from behind to tackle him in the open field try stripping the football as you are making the tackle. Learn to break on the football when it is in the air. Good defensive backs have the ability to break on the football when it is in the air and to get to the reciever to break up the pass.

The basic system that many college and pro coaches use for their passing game is: X is the split-end, Y is the tight-end, and Z is the flanker. Most coaches then assign a number for the route the reciever runs. For example, if the play is Z motion 492, the Z reciever (the flanker) is in motion across to the weak side and he is running a 4 route (in some systems that might be the hitch route) the Y reciever (the tight-end) is running a short post (a 9 route) and the X reciever (the split-end on the weak side) is running a "go" route (a 2 route) straight down the field. If you have a 4th reciever, say twins to one side, the 4th reciever is the "W" reciever. The reciever to your side as you are facing the field from the sidelines should be lined up on the inside of the number (on top of the number) and the reciever on the weakside should be lined up on top of the number (on the inside of the number) as you are facing the weakside of the field from the sideline. If the ball is marked on the hash you can move the wide-side reciever to the inside a couple of yards from the number.

You can get a first hand look at Coach Art Haege's old 4-3 defense in the video above from his 1975 or 1976 Virginia Minnesota Blue Devil team. Virginia is in the dark jerseys. This was not one of Coach Haege's best teams, but as all of his team's did, they gave 110% effort on every play. Coach Haege is wearing a dark blue sweatshirt with no hood, and I am wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt with a blue jacket. I was 9 years old. I was a really tall kid. You can get a glimpse of me standing on the near sidelines, and looking back at Coach Haege and shaking my fist at the field at the 8:16 to 8:21 mark of the video. Watch Coach Haege's halfback, #41 Pat Radosovich, TKO the linebacker on the goal line at 3:57 of the video.

A good pass route combination against cover 3 is the post corner to the strong side TE in combo with short post to the strong side WR, and your weakside WR runs a deep dig route towards the strong side..Run crossing routes, drag TE or WR over the middle, and get 3 WR's deep in to the strong side of the field. The corner and free safety can't cover 3 recievers. This same principle holds true when playing against cover 2 zone. If you really want to mess up a cover 3 zone, go to a two tight-end formation and force their defense to adjust.