So I did a little bit on defensive line technqiues, thought it would be polarizing to go over some OL basics.
[b]Terms to Know:[/b]
[b]3-Point Stance:[/b] An offensive lineman stance that has two feet and one hand down on the ground. Three points of contact with the ground.
[b]2-Point Stance:[/b] An offensive lineman stance that has two feet on the ground, without the hand down. Two points of contact with the ground.
[b]LOS (Line of Scrimmage):[/b] The line where the previous offensive play ends and where the next one begins. It's also where the OL lines up pre-snap.
[b] Shoulders Square:[/b] Shoulders parallel to the LOS.
[b] Get Cloth:[/b] Grabbing the defensive players jersey without allowing any separation.
[b][u]Base Fundamentals[/b][/u]
[b]- Get off the rock!:[/b] In english, I'm saying when the ball is snapped, you should be out and ready to block immediately. You must get into the defender quicker than he can get his arms extended into you on run. In pass you want to get out of your stance quick enough to locate the defender that you want to block. Getting off the rock should be easy for a lineman, seeing how they know the snap count, but alot of times they're still slow, or they're too fast and cause a false start.
[b]- Keep Leverage:[/b]Defensive linemen want to get leverage so that they only half to beat half a man. What this means is that they are trying to get their hands on side side of the OL's body, more than likely at the pec (chest muscle) and the shoulder (especially in a one-gap assignment). If they succeed in doing this, they can turn the OL and get passed them with ease. So what the Ol needs to do is make that DL have to beat 3/4 of a man by getting directly in front of him using good footwork and staying low. Once the block is engaged the OL must stay lower than the DL and drive with the insteps (on run).
[b]- Eyes on the Target:[/b] See what you hit! Period. If your eyes/head are up you can also pick up a sightline on a blitzing backer much easier. It is important that the OL is always communicating with one another regarding blitzers, stunts, alignments, etc.
[b]- Know Your Steps:[/b] Know and master the footwork necessary for each play and blocking scheme.
[b][u]Stance:[/b][/u]
- Different schools/colleges/teams use different stances. I'll go over the one I like best.
Feet parallel to the LOS with the foot of the side that you play on slightly back. It's a staggered stance. For instance, if you're a right guard/right tackle, your right foot is back. Left guard/tackle, your left foot is back. Center has his feet even with one another. Centers are always in a 3-point stance, guards are almost always in a 3-point stance and tackles are usually in a 2-point stance.
- Shoulders must always be square to the LOS. It doesn't matter if you're in your stance or in midblock. An OL should [u][b]NEVER[/u][/b] turn their shoulders. Thou shalt not open the floodgates :)
- Bend at the waist with knees slightly bent. Coaching keys are butt down, proud chest (arched back). If your back looks like a table top, you're easy to defeat. 45 degrees is about right. Weight needs to be evenly distributed between both feet.
- In a 3-point stance, the hands that's down should have minimal weight on it. Putting too much weight on that hand puts you off balance. A good, quick DL that can get off the ball quickly can throw you to the ground easily if there is too much weight on the hand.
- Off hand should be cocked just inside the thigh ready for contact.
[u][b]Starts{/b][/u]
- When the ball is snapped, on run, the OL must get out of his stance quickly and take a short (6 inches of less) step towards his man, while keeping his shoulders square to the LOS. He must stay low through contact. Whoeever gets lower generally wins, but strength, speed off the ball and talent level are factors that can effect the match-up.
[b][u]Rules of Thumb:[/b][/u]
- Thou shalt not open the floodgates (heard that one before? :))
- [b][u]NEVER[/b][/u] cross your feet.
- One foot must be grounded. The second you come off the ground, you'll come back down on it in a hurry with your back flat and a 300 pound man running you over.
- Keep your head back. If your helmet is forward your weight isn't centered and you're giving an opportunity for the defender to push you head first into the ground.
- Never lunge at a target. Get into them with a strong base, staying low, feet shoulder width apart, helmet back, back arched. This will prevent the defender from eating you alive.
[b]When Blocking:[/b][/u]
- Explode through the defender with hips and drive defender with legs (on run) through the insteps.
- Hand placement needs to be on the breastplate of the defender, grab cloth.
- Holding occurs on every play. An OL needs to get cloth with their hands. You can do that by using flexion in the wrist so your palm is towards the defender and fingers up. Advantage is it's comfortable. Disadvantage is that your elbows are far apart and a defender can chop your hands off of him pretty easily. Another way to achieve this is the double under. The double under is palms towards the defender, fingers down and gripping the breastplate with fingers. [b]The ref won't call a hold unless the defender gets his hands on you and separates, so don't allow separation and there's no issue.[/b] :)
[b][u] Types of Blocks:[/b][/u]
[b]-Base Block[/b] - Normal block, going against the guy in front of you.
[b]Reach Block[/b] - Reach step. Get your helmet and hands around the outside of the defender and get your butt around towards the hole that the runningback is running towards. This type of block is used primarily with a toss play. Hand placement is under the outside armpit and outside shoulder of the defender. Gain ground with the first two steps and drive the defender out of the way.
[b]-Gap Block[/b]- Power block to the inside. 45-degree step inside. One hand needs to be on the inside of the defenders body and one on the outside. Keep the helmet in front of the defender and get him out of the way. Drive and drive hard. Violent block. Open the damn hole :)
There's much, much more on OL play, but I figured we'd start there and see where that takes us for now :)
As always, if you have any comments/questions/whatever, let me know. I tried a little bit different format this time with the terms to know. Feedback is welcomed :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Defensive Techniques
I thought I'd change the pace a little bit here and do something on defense, as the majority of my threads have been offensive related. To start, I want to go over the technique system that everyone so often hears about. How often do you hear someone talking on TV saying that a defensive tackle is in a 3-Tech or a 5-tech? The majority of football fans really have no need to know what that means, although I'm sure some of you do.
Let's start with the 0-Technique. The 0-Tech is headup on the center, traditionally either played by a Mike linebacker (Middle) or a nose. In some 5-2 type defenses some teams utilize the Mike as the nose, although you see that more at the collegiate, high school and youth levels more than you see it in the NFL, but there have been some instances where it has occured.
The 1-Tech is either shoulder of the center. In order to differentiate between the two, formation strength dictates the name of each side. For instance, in a I Right type formation (TE to the right, flanker split out to the same side off the line of scrimmage and there's a split end on the line of scrimmage to the non tight end side), the right side of the center (from the offensive side of the ball) is the strong side. That makes it the left side for the defense. So I could call the left side (defensively) of the center the strong 1. But in non goal line defenses assignments are generally clear enough to not have to differentiate between the strong and weak sides.
The 2-Tech is the inside shoulder of the guard on either side of the center(I keep saying 'shoulder', whereas some defensive coordinators use the term 'eye', the meaning is slightly different, but generally the same).
The 3-Tech is the outside shoulder of the guard on either side.
The 4-Tech is the inside shoulder of the tackle on either side.
The 5-Tech is the outside shoulder of the tackle on either side.
Now is where it can get semi-confusing. I'm sure there are defenses that have simplified this a bit, but I'm going to go through the traditional way of numbering (Or the way I have always learned it and used it).
The 7-Tech is the inside shoulder of the tight end on either side.
The 6-Tech is headup on the tight end to either side.
The 9-Tech is the outside shoulder of the tight end to either side.
The 8-Tech is a farther outside alignment off the tight end, generally a yard off where the tight end would be.
Now the semi-confusing part. These technique assignments remain the same to the non-TE side. So on the side where the tackle is the last man in the box, if you're supposed to be in a 6,7, or 9 technique you line up as if there IS a TE there, even though there isn't. The same with an 8-Technique. So if you're in an 8 to the non TE side, you're going to have quite a bit of distance between you and the tackle.
That will give you a big advantage as far as pass rush goes as that tackle will have difficulty getting out to someone in an 8-Tech, TE or no TE. But offensive teams are generally aware of such things and often call for blocking changes. Perhaps a pulling guard to attack that 8-Tech player or maybe even a fullback. One thing you'll see more often than that, though, is a simple off-tackle run. It's not often you see a DE lined up out there to a non-TE side, and the reasoning is it opens a huge gap for the offense to attack. Most of the time, if you see something like that and you're going against a competent defensive coordinator, they're trying to disguise something going on. Whether it's a stunt to plug that gap, run blitz, weak slant on the line, or whatever it is they have planned. I would say that alignment is used to bait the offense into running into that gap. It would be a lie, though, if I didn't say I've seen some defensive coordinators do that just to enhance a pass rush.
I'm aware that this edition of chalk talk is fairly simple and not too in depth, but this should help at least a few people out there :)
Let's start with the 0-Technique. The 0-Tech is headup on the center, traditionally either played by a Mike linebacker (Middle) or a nose. In some 5-2 type defenses some teams utilize the Mike as the nose, although you see that more at the collegiate, high school and youth levels more than you see it in the NFL, but there have been some instances where it has occured.
The 1-Tech is either shoulder of the center. In order to differentiate between the two, formation strength dictates the name of each side. For instance, in a I Right type formation (TE to the right, flanker split out to the same side off the line of scrimmage and there's a split end on the line of scrimmage to the non tight end side), the right side of the center (from the offensive side of the ball) is the strong side. That makes it the left side for the defense. So I could call the left side (defensively) of the center the strong 1. But in non goal line defenses assignments are generally clear enough to not have to differentiate between the strong and weak sides.
The 2-Tech is the inside shoulder of the guard on either side of the center(I keep saying 'shoulder', whereas some defensive coordinators use the term 'eye', the meaning is slightly different, but generally the same).
The 3-Tech is the outside shoulder of the guard on either side.
The 4-Tech is the inside shoulder of the tackle on either side.
The 5-Tech is the outside shoulder of the tackle on either side.
Now is where it can get semi-confusing. I'm sure there are defenses that have simplified this a bit, but I'm going to go through the traditional way of numbering (Or the way I have always learned it and used it).
The 7-Tech is the inside shoulder of the tight end on either side.
The 6-Tech is headup on the tight end to either side.
The 9-Tech is the outside shoulder of the tight end to either side.
The 8-Tech is a farther outside alignment off the tight end, generally a yard off where the tight end would be.
Now the semi-confusing part. These technique assignments remain the same to the non-TE side. So on the side where the tackle is the last man in the box, if you're supposed to be in a 6,7, or 9 technique you line up as if there IS a TE there, even though there isn't. The same with an 8-Technique. So if you're in an 8 to the non TE side, you're going to have quite a bit of distance between you and the tackle.
That will give you a big advantage as far as pass rush goes as that tackle will have difficulty getting out to someone in an 8-Tech, TE or no TE. But offensive teams are generally aware of such things and often call for blocking changes. Perhaps a pulling guard to attack that 8-Tech player or maybe even a fullback. One thing you'll see more often than that, though, is a simple off-tackle run. It's not often you see a DE lined up out there to a non-TE side, and the reasoning is it opens a huge gap for the offense to attack. Most of the time, if you see something like that and you're going against a competent defensive coordinator, they're trying to disguise something going on. Whether it's a stunt to plug that gap, run blitz, weak slant on the line, or whatever it is they have planned. I would say that alignment is used to bait the offense into running into that gap. It would be a lie, though, if I didn't say I've seen some defensive coordinators do that just to enhance a pass rush.
I'm aware that this edition of chalk talk is fairly simple and not too in depth, but this should help at least a few people out there :)
Monday, January 5, 2009
BONUS: FG Percentage/Punt Teams
See who that is... In dead last? You bet! The Washington Redskins! Interesting, no? I'm convinced our lack of success is due to Special Teams.
Not in last in punt average. But we're extremely close. My calculations say 29th, but my eyes are functioning correctly right now, correct me if I'm wrong here.
And we're last again. Hooray.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Chalk Talk: By The Numbers
This is a post reviewing our yearly averages in Rush Yards Per Game, Rush Yards Per Carry, Pass Yards Per Game, Pass Yards Per Attempt, Pass Yards Per Completion, Completion Percentage, Total Yards Per Game, Total Yards Per Play, 3rd Down Conversions, Fourth Down Conversions and Turnover Ratio.
These charts are strictly on a by the numbers basis and not analyzed further than what they are. Take from them what you will.
The charts provided will graph the offensive numbers versus the defensive numbers in order to show if there's any correlation between our "winning" seasons and "losing" seasons based strictly on the statistics, which admittedly don't always tell the entire story, but it's a start.
Rush Yards Per Game. Pretty self explanatory here. Every season for the past five seasons, our offense has rushed for more yards per game than our defense allowed. That is very good news and encouraging. Our running game and rush defense, as a whole, appear to be doing quite well. Yards per game were actually quite low in 2004, though.
Once again, every season in the past five years has been even or tilted more towards the offense in rushing yards per carry. In 2004 the defense actually only allowed 3.1 rush yards per game. That's ridiculous on many levels. Our offense averaged UNDER four yards a carry twice (2004 and 2007) and our defense only allowed OVER four yards a carry twice (2005 and 2006).
Our offense only averaged more yards per game in two seasons (2005 and 2007). For the most part, we were pretty even here, though, with the exception of 2004 and 2006 where we were outgained by quite a few yards per game in the air.
Okay, this is where it got interesting. According to the stats on nfl.com we had a higher number as far as average per COMPLETION, which likely means we'd have a higher number in average per ATTEMPT here. However, I took from our TOTAL pass yards, that includes sacks for loss, the stats on nfl.com do NOT account for sacks.
Yards per Attempt take into consideration every pass thrown for us and against us. Incomplete or completed doesn't make a difference. How ever many times we threw or they threw, this is the amount of yards they got per play. This is an area that both our offense and defense can seemingly use improvement on.
This is the same story as the yards per attempt above. I took sacks into consideration.
We allowed almost a first down PER completion defensively every single year the past five seasons. Ouch. In turn, offensively, we averaged over ten yards per completion in three years. Not bad, but that stat needs to be over ten each and every season.
Self explanatory. 2004 and 2006 are the only years where our defense allowed a higher completion percentage than the offense.
Our offense got more yards per game than our defense allowed in every season except in 2006. That's an encouraging stat based on our defensive output. Alot of our total yards are dependent on our rushing game, which is great, but we could use more production from our passing game (not that this chart tells us that, just sayin' :))
More self explanatory charts. Our offense was over or at five yards per play in four of the five seasons. Our defense only allowed over five yards per play twice. Not bad for either unit.
3rd Down Conversions. The defensive stat is how often they allowed a conversion on third down, obviously, the offensive stat is how often we got a first down on third down. I think we could use improvement offensively, and we need to stay below 35% every season defensively as well. Allowing a team a first down on third down once every three attempts isn't too bad statistically. We should aim there.
We allow an absolutely alarming rate of fourth down conversions. I don't have the exact numbers here, but I'd imagine these are pretty much mostly all short yardage situations with the occasional exception here and there. We allow too many and we definitely don't convert enough of them. This needs to improve. Last season appeared to be a step in the right direction offensively, but not so much defensively.
We've had a positive turnover ratio ONCE in the past five seasons and it was at +1. That's no good. We had a -5 TWICE. We need to force more turnovers and take better care of the ball.
Stay tuned, next Chalk Talk thread will be a breakdown game by game of the 2008 season where I measure our average with our peaks and valleys throughout the season. :)
Then we'll get in to the real X and O talk :)
These charts are strictly on a by the numbers basis and not analyzed further than what they are. Take from them what you will.
The charts provided will graph the offensive numbers versus the defensive numbers in order to show if there's any correlation between our "winning" seasons and "losing" seasons based strictly on the statistics, which admittedly don't always tell the entire story, but it's a start.
Rush Yards Per Game. Pretty self explanatory here. Every season for the past five seasons, our offense has rushed for more yards per game than our defense allowed. That is very good news and encouraging. Our running game and rush defense, as a whole, appear to be doing quite well. Yards per game were actually quite low in 2004, though.
Once again, every season in the past five years has been even or tilted more towards the offense in rushing yards per carry. In 2004 the defense actually only allowed 3.1 rush yards per game. That's ridiculous on many levels. Our offense averaged UNDER four yards a carry twice (2004 and 2007) and our defense only allowed OVER four yards a carry twice (2005 and 2006).
Our offense only averaged more yards per game in two seasons (2005 and 2007). For the most part, we were pretty even here, though, with the exception of 2004 and 2006 where we were outgained by quite a few yards per game in the air.
Okay, this is where it got interesting. According to the stats on nfl.com we had a higher number as far as average per COMPLETION, which likely means we'd have a higher number in average per ATTEMPT here. However, I took from our TOTAL pass yards, that includes sacks for loss, the stats on nfl.com do NOT account for sacks.
Yards per Attempt take into consideration every pass thrown for us and against us. Incomplete or completed doesn't make a difference. How ever many times we threw or they threw, this is the amount of yards they got per play. This is an area that both our offense and defense can seemingly use improvement on.
This is the same story as the yards per attempt above. I took sacks into consideration.
We allowed almost a first down PER completion defensively every single year the past five seasons. Ouch. In turn, offensively, we averaged over ten yards per completion in three years. Not bad, but that stat needs to be over ten each and every season.
Self explanatory. 2004 and 2006 are the only years where our defense allowed a higher completion percentage than the offense.
Our offense got more yards per game than our defense allowed in every season except in 2006. That's an encouraging stat based on our defensive output. Alot of our total yards are dependent on our rushing game, which is great, but we could use more production from our passing game (not that this chart tells us that, just sayin' :))
More self explanatory charts. Our offense was over or at five yards per play in four of the five seasons. Our defense only allowed over five yards per play twice. Not bad for either unit.
3rd Down Conversions. The defensive stat is how often they allowed a conversion on third down, obviously, the offensive stat is how often we got a first down on third down. I think we could use improvement offensively, and we need to stay below 35% every season defensively as well. Allowing a team a first down on third down once every three attempts isn't too bad statistically. We should aim there.
We allow an absolutely alarming rate of fourth down conversions. I don't have the exact numbers here, but I'd imagine these are pretty much mostly all short yardage situations with the occasional exception here and there. We allow too many and we definitely don't convert enough of them. This needs to improve. Last season appeared to be a step in the right direction offensively, but not so much defensively.
We've had a positive turnover ratio ONCE in the past five seasons and it was at +1. That's no good. We had a -5 TWICE. We need to force more turnovers and take better care of the ball.
Stay tuned, next Chalk Talk thread will be a breakdown game by game of the 2008 season where I measure our average with our peaks and valleys throughout the season. :)
Then we'll get in to the real X and O talk :)
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