O Line Skills

PASS PROTECTION

In Week 5 of Summer OTAs, we install the Slide Protection used in our drop-back passing game.  Our Slide Protection is a half slide.  We NEVER full slide.  We want to get the Running Back out as a receiver if there is no blitz and we do not want to have the matchup of a Running Back pass blocking a Rush End.  We want offensive linemen pass blocking defensive linemen.

Our Slide protection combines two schemes discussed in earlier blogs:  Man & Gap.  Half the offensive line is in a Man scheme while the other side and the Center are in a Gap scheme.  The Running Back blocks to the Man side.  This allows for a 6-man protection with 3 blockers on each side of the ball.

Just like the Man Schemes in our running game, the Man side Guard blocks #1 on the Line of Scrimmage and the Tackle blocks #2, regardless of their alignment.  The Center begins the Gap scheme Slide away from the Man Scheme.  The Center has the A Gap, Guard has B Gap and Tackle has C Gap.  The Running Back has a check release vs any blitz to the Man side.

On day 1, we will have the offensive linemen communicate from Tackle-to-Tackle on the Man side then the Gap side as follows:  “I have #2, I have #1, I have A, I have B & blitz (with no DL in the B), I have C”.  As we advance to protect vs stunts, the Man side Guard and Tackle can switch vs twists but those two offensive linemen have those two defensive linemen.  The Gap scheme of the slide already accounts for all twists and blitzes.

If a defense attempts to blitz our protection to keep the Running Back from getting out into his pass route, we will bring the Running Back across the formation in his protection.  Since the Man and Gap sides are predicated on the side the Running Back is going, the offensive linemen must identify where the Back is protecting then call the protection accordingly.

Note the importance of communication on the line of scrimmage. As discussed earlier in the OTA Blog Series, we are also working on team building and interdependence. Our team plays a high tempo scheme and we use offensive tempo as a key component of momentum. The only way to support that tempo is to communicate. Communications further reinforce roles, responsibilities, and convey a sense of understanding, purpose, and confidence. When we have a common vision of success and communicate effectively to achieve that goal, it feeds tempo strengthening both our offense and our team.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

Communicating on another level…

As we begin Week 4 of Summer OTAs, I am reminded of a phone call I received last week.  The call was from legendary New Jersey high school coach Fred Stengel of Bergen Catholic.  Sometimes when I receive a call from another coach it is to get information.  Other times it is for affirmation.  This call was most definitely the latter.  Fred wanted to talk over their Pin & Pull scheme vs the defense Grayson HS (GA) runs.  Knowing he was preparing to face the preseason #2 ranked team in the nation, Fred did not want to leave any stone unturned.  Fred knew exactly what he wanted to do.  We just went over it step by step for every position on the offensive line.

As coincidence would have it, we introduce our Gap Scheme Pin & Pull play in Week 4 of OTAs.  Gap Schemes are characterized by some offensive linemen blocking down or back, while others pull to the play-side.  Although the play is called Pin & Pull, it would be more appropriately named Pin OR Pull.  Every offensive lineman will either Pin or Pull based on the defensive alignment. When running Pin & Pull to the Right, if you have a defensive lineman in the gap to your Left, you Pin him.  If you do not have a defensive lineman to your Left, you Pull to the Right.

The bulk of my conversation with Coach Stengel centered around the steps, visual target and strike points for the Play-side Tackles block in the 4i, how to handle the 0 Nose, and how to block the wide 9 technique on the Tight End.  The rule of thumb for every offensive lineman and Tight End is that when running Pin & Pull to the Right, all Pullers step with their Right foot and all Pinner’s step with their left foot.

Getting back to the topics of our conversation, the play-side Tackle will take a bucket step with his inside foot to see that the 4i does not penetrate and knock off pullers.  He will have a visual target of near Pec and strike points of sternum and near shoulder to see that the defender is pinned from play-side pursuit.  Since the Nose is head up on the Center, he is in the Play-side Guard’s backside gap.  The Guard will take a bucket step with the same visual target and strike points as he down blocks the nose.  The Center is the puller.  Since the Tight End does not have a defender in his Left gap, he quick pulls to the wide 9 technique with a visual target of far pec and strike points of sternum and far shoulder.  I then shared that this generally causes the wide 9 to widen so as to not get reached allowing a good running lane between the down block on the 4i and the expanding wide 9 for the pulling Center and back to run through.

As we discussed in Weeks 1-3, communication between offensive linemen is critical to their success.  The same can be said for communication between offensive line coaches.  If there is anything you wish to discuss, I would look forward to hearing from you.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

Adding the Zone Series & Reinforcing the Team

During Weeks 1 & 2 of summer OTAs, we installed our Man Scheme Plays.  In Week 3 we introduce our Zone Scheme.  In our Man Schemes, the offensive lineman blocks a particular defender regardless of his alignment.  In the Zone Scheme, we focus on play direction.  Zone Right or Zone Left.  In our Man Scheme Plays, we have a very specific point of attack.  We are running the ball to the play-side Guard.  On our Zone Scheme Plays, there is no point of attack.  The ball carrier can run anywhere from tackle to tackle.

On Zone Right, every offensive lineman must step with his right foot and account for the defender to his right.  This causes two important reactions from the defense.  One, the defensive linemen laterally displace themselves to the direction all of the linemen are stepping.  Two, it keeps Linebackers at their pre-snap depth.  The combination of those two effects, creates the running lanes in our Zone Plays allowing the ball carrier to bang it up inside, bounce it to the right or bend it back to the left.

After teaching every lineman to step with the same foot, we teach them to identify if they are covered (a defensive lineman aligned on any part of their body) or uncovered.  Lastly, they are taught to identify if they have a defensive lineman to the call side (ex: to their right on Zone Right).

This creates the 5 Zone Scenarios we teach:

1. Covered to the call-side
2. Covered head up
3. Covered to the backside
4. Uncovered with a defender in the call-side gap
5. Uncovered with an open call-side gap

The gap is defined as the area from outside one offensive lineman’s call-side shoulder to the nose of the offensive lineman to his call-side.

These 5 scenarios create a variety of blocks along the offensive line:

1. Covered to the call-side = 1-on-1 Reach Step Drive Block
2. Covered head up = Reach Step Combo Block with backside OL
3. Covered to the backside = Base Step Combo Block with backside OL
4. Uncovered with a defender in the call-side gap = Reach Step Combo w/ call-side OL
5. Uncovered with an open call-side gap = Reach Step and climb to 1st LB to call-side

These scenarios require a great deal of communication along the offensive line.  Everyone has to be on the same page stepping with the same foot and accounting for every 1st and 2nd level defender in the box.

The OTA series of Blogs is a little heavy on the X’s & O’s, but reflects where we are as a team this time of year. We’re working through team building concurrent with teaching plays and techniques. The evolution of both techniques and understanding from Man Series to Zone Series parallels the teambuilding goals of increased awareness and interdependence. As players grow in confidence in their own abilities, we expand their responsibilities to tasks they can’t accomplish alone. We force communications, interdependence, and foster trust among teammates. As coaches, it’s our responsibility to play a multi-dimensional game developing not only good technique, but good teams, and teammates.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

Continued Focus on Fundamentals

We build on the Man Scheme from Week 1 as we enter the 2nd week of summer OTAs by installing our Dart Plays.  These are they plays I shared when I spoke at the USA Football National Conference in January.  As discussed in Week 1, covering our Man Scheme plays, the Guards block #1 on the Line of Scrimmage (LOS), the Tackles block #2, the Center blocks the Mike and the Back blocks the Sam.

Making the complex seem simple: We have 12 different backfield actions on our Dart Plays (IZ, Counter, Q Counter, Draw, Sprint Draw, etc). To the casual observer, the Dart series of plays looks like one of many unpredictable alternatives, but they are all blocked exactly the same up front and only vary slightly from the Iso, Lead and Draw plays from last week.  On all of our Dart Plays, the backside Tackle pulls to block the Sam.  The pull technique we use is a Lead pull.  On the lead pull, the Tackle runs parallel to the LOS behind the offensive line with his chest angled towards the Sam and shoulders slightly banked towards the LOS so that he does not drift in his turn upfield to the 2nd level.

With the Tackle blocking the Sam, we now need to account for #2 on the backside of the LOS.  We have a number of ways to account for him.  The Back can block #2 on the backside and have the QB run the ball.  We have the Tight End block #2 when we hand the ball to the Back or run to the QB in Empty sets.  We can also not block #2 and account for him with a QB read.

Versus a 3 down front, we do not have to account for #2.  We consider the Nose to be #1 on the playside so the backside Guard blocks the defender on the backside pulling Tackle as his #2.  Anyone outside of that block does not affect the play.

This series of plays is our most versatile and most successful.  We averaged over 8 yards per run with our Dart Plays during our 2017 championship season. Whether orchestrating an offense or tackling any other problem you encounter, ask yourself, “What would it be like if this were simple?”

In the case of the Dart Series of plays, we gain more than a dozen options built upon the same foundation. The repetitions this foundation affords our linemen reinforce muscle memory and conditions them for success. Hard work on these fundamentals now and this summer will pay off during the season. As you have heard me say before, (and our players and coaches hear daily) “Championships are not won on Saturdays in the fall…”

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

 

 

 

 

Focus on the Fundamentals…

We begin our summer Organized Team Activities (OTAs) this week.  During the next 6 weeks, my blog will discuss how we teach/train our offensive linemen during that period.  Although we have returning players, we teach OTAs as if it is the first time we are installing it.  While the next few weeks topics are likely a little heavy on X’s & O’s, the focus on fundamentals and establishing a foundation of success is the consistent theme. Back to basics!

During week 1, we introduce our Man Scheme.  Man schemes differ from our Zone and Gap schemes in that we block a particular person regardless of play direction and defender alignment.  In its simplest form, the Guards block #1 on the line of scrimmage (Defensive Tackles in a 4 down front), Tackles block #2 (Defensive Ends).  The Center blocks the middle or backside Inside Linebacker (Mike) often in combination with one of the Guards if their #1 impedes the Center’s path to Mike.  The Running Back blocks the 1^st Linebacker to the playside (Sam).

In Week 1, we introduce QB Iso, Lead, and Draw.  For our OLine, all 3 plays are blocked the same (simplifying the scheme breeds early success and confidence!).  Only the backfield action differs.  Iso is a downhill QB run to the side of the running back’s offset alignment.  Lead is run to the side of the line of scrimmage opposite the running back’s alignment.  The QB rides the running back as he would on inside zone then follows him.  Draw is run to the side of the running back like Iso but is done with a pass set by the running back and a drop step by the quarterback.

Offensive linemen can use drive blocks or jump sets.  The jump set can only be used if the defender has outside alignment (ex. 3 tech on a Guard or 5 tech on a Tackle).  On the Jump set, the offensive lineman takes a base run step with his inside foot but makes a pass set with his upper body.  The step defends the inside gap.  The show of “high hat and hands” in the pass set invites the defender to get into a pass rush and has him remove himself from his gap responsibility opening up running lanes.

Examples follow:

You’ve read here how we reinforce the mantra “Championships are not won on Saturdays in the Fall.” This back to basics approach to teaching fundamentals is the next step in our process of reinforcing who we are and how we think about our roles, responsibilities, and commitments to the team. While understanding and appreciation of individual assignments are imperative to getting the play right, I’m equally focussed on helping teammates recognize their interdependence in pursuit of collective success.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

Seize the Day

There are lots of inspiring quotes from great historical leaders. I came across one years ago that I have on the wall outside the door to my office.  It gives me daily motivation and reminds me of the responsibilities I carry forward.  Another is placed for our players to see as they exit our locker room.  It inspires our team throughout OTAs, Camp, and the season. I hope it gives you and your team the same inspiration:

“This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever leaving in its place something I have traded for it. I want it to be a gain, not a loss; good, not evil; success, not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it…a day of my life.”

Little reminders matter, and reinforcing themes of teamwork, purpose, and sacrifice are daily reminders of who we want to be as teammates, and who we aspire to be as a team. These quotes remind us of our team’s culture, our role, and our privilege to earn a place on this team and carry forth its legacy.

What reminds you to be a worthy teammate in your team, club, job, or family?

Find a quote, an image, or another reminder to reinforce the culture you aspire to be part of and set out each day with a reminder to be your very best!

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

At St Johnsbury Academy, we are in the final days of school.  Senior capstones are behind us and finals are only a week away.  On June 4, we will graduate 14 seniors from our undefeated state championship team.  On June 11, we will begin our summer Organized Team Activities (OTAs).  In Vermont, we have the good fortune of not having too many restrictions on our summer schedule.  We train 3 nights a week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) for six weeks.  I know it is a lot to ask but we believe that giving players and families weekends and Fridays off, makes it more palatable.  We do not make OTAs mandatory, although our players and their parents understand that the work we do in the summer is what allows us to win in the fall.  As we have said for the 5 years I have been at the Academy, “games are not won on weekends in the fall”.

We also structure every session of the week to be different to keep our players interested.  Mondays are Power days in the weight room followed by OLine practice.  Tuesdays are Speed days on the field followed by 7v7 practice.  Thursdays are Strength days in the weight room followed by 7v7 practice.

We will work our Stance, Steps, Visual Targets and Strike Points at every one of our 6 OLine practices, then do a specific scheme (Zone, Dart, Pin & Pull, Slide, Boot, Sprint) each week.  During the 7v7 practices, we will install a different passing play each night and work our Match Zone coverage concepts vs that play.

At the end of the 6 weeks, we host our weeklong minicamp culminating with our 7v7 tournament and OLine challenge.  Last year we welcomed 10 teams from Vermont and New Hampshire to our campus for the event.  When the event is over, we give our players and their families 2 weeks off before we report to training camp.  Every one of our families knows the first 2 weeks in August are their time for vacation.  By providing families with the weekends off and scheduled vacation time, we get great parental support throughout the summer months and strong attendance at OTAs and camp.

This has allowed us to change our motto from “games are not won on weekends in the fall” to “championships are not won on weekends in the fall.”

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

 

How do you perceive Marv Levy and Bud Grant?
As coaches, it is important to realize that we can impact the outcome of games but we cannot control them.  Thus, we cannot let the results of games or seasons define us as coaches or individuals.  During the month of May, I will be recognized at two banquets with Coach of the Year Awards after winning the 2017 Vermont Division I State Football Championship.

Such recognition and reputation can be a fickle thing. We were a play away from me joining Marv Levy (Buffalo Bills) and Bud Grant (Minnesota Vikings) as head coaches who regularly took their teams to championship games but could not win them.  We had earned our way into the championship game in 2014 and 2016 but came up short in both.  In 2017, we relinquished a comfortable halftime lead and had to make a stop late to win the game.  We made our stand on the 11-yard line, with 11 seconds to go, to win the game.  We made the stop… and I am elected Coach of the Year.  If we did not make that stop, I would have lost 3 state championships in 4 years.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m both flattered and thankful to be recognized by my fellow coaches. I’m thankful we had such a tremendous group of dedicated players, coaches, families, and a community who supported us. But I’m most thankful this game and this school give me the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of our student-athletes and gives me the opportunity to pay forward the investments so many great coaches made in me. Super Bowl wins or not, my guess is Marv Levy and Bud Grant might say the same thing.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!

I received an email from a coach in Oklahoma last week who had heard one of my podcasts on USA Football.  He was intrigued by the cultural changes we made at St Johnsbury Academy turning a perennial underachiever into a team competing in the Vermont Division I state championship game three of the past four years.  He went on to inform me that he had just been offered the head coaching position of a team that had 0 wins in 2017 and then requested a conference call to discuss his next steps.

After discussing several of the changes we implemented centered around increased self-image and performance standards, we turned our focus to the limited amount of contact we have at practice.  I informed him that on our run to a state championship, we only had two varsity players miss a total of two games due to injury.  We had a running back get a grade one AC separation in his shoulder by landing on the ball while being tackled during our 4-minute offense win in week 3, and we had a lineman miss our first-round playoff game with a mild concussion he received during our last regular season game.  We had NO practice injuries this year.  We never go live and never tackle in practice and we were a very good tackling team.  He was intrigued when I informed him that we only dress in full pads on Tuesdays of game week.  There is no need to wear all your gear when you do not go live and it allows you to practice and play at a much faster pace.

He shared his struggle with the mentality of players, parents and area coaches who insist that they need to go live in every practice and include Oklahoma drill stating that the drill is named after their state for a reason.  This coach recognizes the futility of running drills that benefit only the biggest and strongest players while driving away kids who are not initially prepared for such collisions as they are introduced to the sport.

I suggested such an abrupt change in philosophy might also be a catalyst accelerating his teams’ recognition of a fresh start. I look forward to working with this coach as he changes the culture of his program and hopefully his area of Oklahoma.

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!