The last years of my active career were spent
mostly at the H.S. level. I found that when I wasn’t a head
coach, many of the head coaches I worked for really knew the
nuts and bolts of the run game, but were largely unaware of a
lot of the little things that successful college and H.S.
throwing coaches do to make their pass game more effective.
Early in my career, I had the great experience of visiting and
getting to know the staffs of some of the top college programs
in the country after I developed my sound actuated timer. (See
my “Speed and quickness coaching tips using a sound actuated
timer” article) In addition to the college programs I visited,
I was able to have many NFL teams as my clients too.
Naturally, a little bit from each program rubbed off on me,
and when I started coaching H.S. ball,
Six of the first seven QB’s I coached started in either at the
JC or 4 year level. The last varsity level program that I had
some say as to putting in the passing game package, we
had a Sr. QB that averaged 63% completion, and a Freshman QB that took
our varsity to the state championship that averaged 64%. I have tried to condense some of the
concepts and practices that many of the successful passing
coaches use.
You may use some of these concepts now, but hopefully, some
will be of use to you.
1- You can develop some package routes that attack both
vertically, and horizontally. All package routes must
be taught with all possible defensive scenarios and coverages
in mind ..and how they each effect the pattern. You can have
3-6 of these packages along with a pass tree, a bootleg, throw in some quicks , and intermediates, and you will have a pass game way
above most H.S. programs. You can achieve a high level
of execution in the pass game if you become aware of the
"Spot Timing Concept" with all of your patterns. The
Spot Timing Concept involves being always aware of the
timing and WR depth of each pattern, including your
read patterns. The key to having a precision pass
game is to work in the off season on the read patterns
especially, so that your pass game is in place before the
season ever starts. If you email me, I can send you some
routes that do the above.
The QB and the receivers must know what adjustments must be
made in every defensive scenario. QB's must know who to read! Put a
scrimmage vest on the player the QB must read. With
enough reps, the QB will begin to make his reads under
pressure. It is best to use a timer or stopwatch to put
pressure on the QB to make his reads within a certain time
frame to prevent him from getting rattled during game
situations.
Another good practice to incorporate is to install a
system of calls where your QB consciously looks off coverage
in the initial stages of his drop. This is especially useful
against cover 2 when you want to influence the safety then
throw to the opposite side of the initial look.
1-A
Always work to hit an uncovered receiver. Many times in
games, because of coverage snafus, a WR, or a flexed RB will
be uncovered....study your game films and you will be
surprised how many times receivers may be uncovered against
even better defensive schemes, especially if you move people
around. Usually it will be one of the receivers in trips or
the slot man. He can just go up field for 5 yds., getting as
much separation as possible and wait for the ball.
2- Drills must be set up to teach the QB’s and Rcvrs to read
the coverage pre snap and post snap within the given time
frame.
2A-All patterns must be executed within a specific time frame.
(short, PA, intermediate , or deep
patterns.) Here are some optimum suggested times......( You
may not be able to achieve these times, but with some work,
your players may come close: Hitch .9 seconds into the WR's
hands, 3 step 1.3 Sec, quick 5, 1.5, long 5 step, 1.7,
7 step 2.4. Note: using shotgun, add .4 to .5 seconds
to those times. (With shotgun, you should adjust the depth
of your WR's patterns too.
3- The quicker your QB can learn to execute a pattern in
practice, the
easier it is to have good pass pro. Also the QB will have more
poise and be able to have to recognize what is going on and
execute the play within a 1 to 2 sec. time frame . To give you
an example,
years ago, I began to use a timer when I would teach my QB’s
to throw a
quick hitch pattern. My QB’s eventually learned, using
good technique, to use a one
step and
throw and get the ball Into the receivers hands in .9 of a
second. Believe
me, that’s smoking! Realistically, the average H S
corner playing zone can barely react if, as he is coached,
takes his first step back . (Your WR’s can go 6 back to 5 in that
time) If you know how to teach a "cheat step", you can gain an
extra .1 - .2 sec and it eliminates a "false step" by
your QB. When your QB's are going through their
read progression in the shot gun, they should chop their
feet as rapidly as possible and find their back foot at the
beginning of their release.
4- All patterns must be coordinated with the line coach to
develop
a strategy to afford maximum pass pro for each pattern. If you
implement a quick passing game, pass pro gets a lot easier.,
especially if the Guard and Tackle do- dad and zone block seal
to the inside and let the backs take care of the outside.
Always run your
play action passes using a “low helmet” run look or else
the DB’s &
LB’s won’t bite on the fake.
5- Each combo pattern must have its own strategy. If you have
a good pattern, such as some Bunch patterns, you must work
too, to arrive at the execution point from as many formation
looks as possible to thwart tendency recognition. With your
combo patterns, you should teach a read progression, and
teach it within a a specific time frame. I eventually taught
on the average of 4 reads in our progressions, (including
hots) all within 2.5 sec. Certain coverage's
will negate specific patterns within your read package right
up front....your QB's must be taught to recognize this
pre-snap. For instance, if part of your package is a quick
hitch, hard man coverage will take this away. As you become
more advanced with this, the QB and Rcvrs can make
adjustments on the fly. .
6-You can throw to spots with timing. Either the deep post –
corner, a fade
stop or the arrow-fade can be thrown to a spot…the Rcvr runs
to that spot
at absolute top speed to arrive at the same time as the ball.
You must use
a timer or stopwatch to coach this. Try to run your timed
deeps off of quick
play action. If you can get the ball off in around 1.6
seconds, you can hit
spots at 24 yds deep. Again, if you email or call me, I can
get more in depth about the patterns and how to coach them.
7- You must throw 45 minutes a day ( in indi, or 7 on 7) apart
from team scrimmage to teach good execution of your patterns.
Don’t expect to have a precision pass game throwing 10 to 15
minutes a day.
8- You must have a plan going into a game as to how you are
going to attack with the passing game as well as the run. You
must have specific objectives as to what can be accomplished
with what they give you. A team that will jam you has to be
planned for with a much different approach than with a team
that plays you in a deep zone. How do they play you in the Red
Zone? More and more DC’s are using jam techniques in the Red
Zone while using zone everywhere else. Know your opponent!
Of course, these are just a few concepts, there are many more
practices that successful throwing coaches employ. My next
article will be about how to train your QB’s to execute year
in and year out to move the football without opposing teams
loading the “box” with nine men to stop your run game.
There are more books than ever to increase your knowledge of
how to put into place the ideas listed above. One of the most
knowledgeable book series ever written about packages, reads
and the pass game are written by Coaches Robinson and
Cloverdale (Coaches Choice)…You can get the books on Amazon.com, or from you local
book seller. There are 3 books in the series. The most
advanced book of the series is "The Bunch Attack" It has
more "secrets" in it than any football book I have ever
read. Many college coaches use "the Bunch Attack" as a
throwing bible. I heartily
recommend them to any coach that wants to upgrade their
knowledge of the pass game. Another good book you may want to read
is written on the pass game by x-BYU Coach Lavell Edwards…He’s
probably forgotten more things than all of us will ever know.
If you are interested in discussing any part of this
article, email me and I will be happy to explain some of the
specifics to you.
One of the fascinating things about football, it seems like on
a regular basis, you say to yourself “I can’t believe how much
I’ve learned the last two years”!
You must be a student of the game to get your program to
higher levels. I hope this information has been helpful to
you.
If you have any questions, you can email me at
coachwhaley@whaleycoachingsystems.com
other articles by Bob Whaley-
"Going from worst to first"
“Speed and quickness football coaching tips using a sound
actuated timer”
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