Cover Too

by: Nick Interdonato
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It may come as a surprise to some that computers have been helping high school and college coaches build game plans for nearly 20 years. Starting with the early Apple II and IBM personal computers, technology that had previously been available only to larger colleges and professional teams began working its way into the high school and small college ranks.

Innovative coaches, facing many obstacles, began to integrate computers into their game planning processes during the mid-1980s. Computers at that time were expensive, hard to use and often tucked away in computing labs.

Software in general, and coaching software specifically, was often difficult to use, overpriced and prone to errors. Yet, as is frequently the case with "early adopters" of new technologies, many coaches found it well worth the effort and aggravation. These pioneers found a new competitive edge, and with each passing season found new and better ways to use computers in their programs.

From Competitive Edge to Necessity

It didn't take long for computers to become intregral parts of football programs. Coaches, who are competitive by nature, were quick to jump on the computer band wagon. Improvements in computer hardware, software and usability, along with declining prices, resulted in the rapid adoption of computer scouting which gave coaches far more data about their opponents in far less time than ever before.

Defenses evolved from "read and react" to attack, as coordinators began planning their defensive alignments and movements based on previous tendencies with a high probability of success. The availability of information made it possible for part of the big chess game to be played before teams even took the field. The games were played in the coaches offices and practice fields as schemes were developed, practiced and refined for game day.

"Our players know what the opponent is going to do before they do," says one defensive coach who uses scouting software to prepare his team for upcoming games. "That is because we tell our guys that they are going to be playing the game (each day in practice), before they play it and because of the information we have and the way we build our practices, they really do!"

The result of the rapid adoption of computer scouting of opponents at all levels makes it highly likely that an offensive or defensive coordinator knows his opponent inside and out. That being the case, it becomes very important for a coach to know himself at least as well, and preferably better than his opponent knows him.

Why Scout Yourself?

#	Hash	Down	Dist.	Formation	Play	Defense	Gain	Comment/Result
	L M R	1 2 3 4	S M L

Figure 1.

Scouting software helps coaches determine his own team's tendencies. It is important for a coach to know as much as the opponent does about his own offensive and defensive tendencies. In addition to aiding in game plan preparation, this knowledge helps a coach evaluate his own play- calling in a particular game or in a series of games. Scouting software will help coaches nswer such questions as: Did I make the calls I had planned to make? Did I get full use of the formations and personnel groups I had intended in my pre-game preparation? Did I challenge the opponent (offensively and defensively) and determine their adjustments and put my players in the best position to win? How well did I mix it up? Did I create confusion and uncertainty in my opponent, or did I put my team at a disadvantage by remaining predictable.?

Equally important, and often overlooked due to time constraints and the pressure to prepare for the following game is how well last week's game plan worked. By collecting and analyzing information about both the offense and the defense on each play, a coach can quickly and easily generate reports that will help him determine the most effective plays and defenses against particular things the opponent did.

With this information, for example, it becomes easy to see, in black and white, the most effective run and pass plays, defensive fronts that were most effective at stopping the run and red zone performance on both sides of the ball. It also become possible to determine which offensive plays gave the defense trouble to the point of identifying the particular defensive fronts that were best (or worst) at stopping a particular play.

With statistical data, it is possible to take the ego and emotion out of discussions regarding the success of any aspect of a team's performance. For one coach to say to another that, "We averaged 1.86 years per running play, and only 1.2 yards on this particular play," is much less confrontational and much more constructive than saying, "Our running game was poor and this play was completely unsuccessful." When coaches on a staff communicate without any personal bias or opinion, the communication is usually better and the results should be better as well.

A not so obvious bonus of implementing a complete self-scouting process is realized the season after you begin using it. If the time was taken to collect and enter the opponent's data into the computer as well as that of the team doing the self-scouting, a complete scouting report on the opponent vs. us last year can be produced by simply pushing a button!

The self-scout process

Series

#

Down

Dist.

Hash

LOS

Formation

Off. Play

Pass/Run

Def. Front

Coverage

Blitz

Stunt

Gain

Comment

X

X

X

X*

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Figure 2.

The biggest challenge that a coach has to overcome to develop a good self-scouting process is the shortage of time and staff resources during the season. Between grading film, meeting with players, planning practices and analyzing the opponent, self-scouting is often an afterthought and frequently gets put off until after the season. This does not have to be the case if a system is put in place that takes advantage of work that is already being done and uses the computer to do the heavy lifting.

There are a number of ways in which data can be collected for the self-scout process. Ideally, a combination of game day live scripting, post game play-by-play review, and either film review or a review of the film grading sheets will be utilized. Fortunately, most coaching staffs already do these things and just a few, if any, changes or modifications will be needed.

Game Day Scripting: Most coaches record their offensive and defensive calls during a game. With a little planning and practice, the down and distance, hash and the opponent's play or defense/coverage can also be recorded for each play. By grouping plays in drives or series by simply identifying them with a letter or number, the data on the script takes on additional relevance. This task is best done by a coach in the press box but can be done by a coach or player on the field. A simple form can be built for this purpose, such as the one shown in Figure 1. This form is ideal for game day because it is possible to quickly circle the hash, down and distance. Coaches who work the press box know that every second is precious, since the game doesn't stop to wait!

Post Game Review: It is usually possible to get a copy of the team statistician's play-by-play of the game. By reviewing the game "script" that was prepared as the game progressed and comparing it with the play-by-play, it should be possible to add the field position and result (gain/loss, fumble, interception, touchdown, penalty, etc.). It is also advisable to either record or verify the series letter or number, which will soon become relevant when drive charts are produced. This is also a good time to add comments next to each play, such as the score, personnel, etc.

Film Review: The final step in the data collection phase is either film review, or a review of the film grading sheets. The primary purpose here is to identify audibles and adjustments that might not have been reflected on the script. The offensive or defensive coordinator who will be using the information needs to decide whether to make the final data reflect the adjustment or audible as opposed to the play called. Most will want to reflect what actually happened, which would involve correcting the formation, play or defense to match what the film revealed. If any pieces of data were missed during either of the previous steps, or if a statistical play-by-play were not available, this would be a good time to complete or correct that information.

The result is a complete play-by-play of the game just played, with offensive and defensive information, ready for entry into the computer. Figure 2 shows the pieces of information that are collected during the self-scout process and what it looks like. It also identifies the items that are best collected during the game. Coaches can, by all means add additional pieces of data to the form that is used to collect the data.

Since most of the information on the form in Figure 2 is contained on the form in Figure 1 (the one used during the game), it is possible to make additions and corrections to that form if preferable.

Notes:

1) Data items marked with an X are collected during the game. Additional items are normally inserted after the game- either during film review or by reviewing the post game film grading sheets.

2) The distance is easier to record during the game as short, medium or long (see Figure 1). The play-by-play is used after the game to record the exact distance since that supports a more detailed analysis.

The role of the computer

Once the data has been recorded, it is ready to be entered into the computer. Depending on the amount of data collected, this takes anywhere from 40 minutes to two hours per game. The more time that is spent prior to sitting down at the computer to ensure that the data to be entered is clean and accurate, the quicker this process will be. Any computer software that is capable of scouting an opponent can perform a self-scout. Software that is designed for self-scouting will collect information about both the offense and the defense at the same time and on the same screen. This speeds up the data entry process and provides the ability to generate "us vs. them" reports. It also makes it possible to perform extensive post-season analysis of all plays from a season. For example, a defensive coach will be able to look at all of the offensive plays run by opponents in an 11-game season and determine which plays he faced the most, which plays he defended best (and how), etc.

While software designed specifically for scouting, and ideally self-scouting will make it easier to enter, manage and analyze the data involved in a self-scout process, much can be accomplished using a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel if budgetary constraints or personal preferences are a factor.

Analyzing the Results

There are four primary questions that can be answering from analyzing self-scout reports: What does the opponent think we will do based on what we have done? What have we not done that we should try - particularly if we can use our tendency as a decoy? How well do various things work? Where are we getting hurt and what are they doing to hurt us? Is there a pattern of opponent adjustments to what we are doing?

Assuming both the offensive and defensive teams have performed a self-scout, the in-season process will usually include analyzing the following basic reports, and may include additional reports or further analysis. This is a good place for a coach to begin.

Basic offensive reports include: offensive tendences; formations, overall formation usage; formations by down and distance; plays; overall pass/run tendencies; overall play usage; pass/run by formation; plays by formation; plays by down and distance; plays by hash, and plays by field position.

Openers should also be looked at. They are plays that began a series. "Openers are the single most important and valuable thing you can do as far as a game plan is concerned," says Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick.

Basic defensive reports that bear looking at are: defensive tendencies; defensive fronts; overall front usage; fronts by down and distance; fronts by field position; blitzes and stunts by defensive front; defensive coverages; overall coverage usage; coverage by down and distance and coverage by defensive front. Coaches should also analyze reports that show: offense vs. defense; offensive analysis; run plays vs. defensive fronts; pass plays vs. defensive coverages; defensive analysis; fronts vs. offensive run plays; coverage vs. offensive pass plays, and blitzes and stunts vs. offensive formations. Using the date year around.

After a self-scout process is implemented, the data collected and reports printed, the most important part of the process begins with the analysis of the data. Equally important is the application of the results of that analysis to a team's offensive and defensive strategy to bring about the desired changes (or maintain the status quo if all is working well).

Self-scouting data is useful at various times and in various ways during the course of the year. During the season, self-scout data will probably be used most in the game-planning process. An offensive or defensive coordinator will want to evaluate his play-calling and discover his tendencies so that he can build the game plan for the following week. Depending on the live scouting and film exchange arrangements of his conference or league, he may want to review games individually, cumulatively (all games through a date), or in groups (the last three games played). All are possible with most scouting software packages on the market today. With this knowledge, he can break down his tendencies and put his team in a position for a big play, adding a new dimension to the chess game.

As time and resources provide, a coordinator might also want to evaluate some of the "us vs. them" scenarios either to aid in the game planning process, make adjustments to his offensive or defensive package or to decide what to emphasize in practice. For example, if the data reveals that a weak side stretch play to the offensive left is averaging 8 yards per play, a coach may want to spend some time reviewing the film on those plays and making personnel or technique adjustments in those situations where that play is occurring at a high frequency.

Free of the heavy time demands of weekly game plan preparation, practice, games, film review and numerous other tasks, the post season is an ideal time for analysis. Valuable conclusions can be drawn from both tendency information as well as "us vs. them" information. With the amount of data that is available at the conclusion of the season with no additional effort, it is easy to generate reports and charts that consolidate an entire season's worth of data.

Inevitably, coaches will find that the 80-20 rule applies - 80 percent of their play calls involved 20 percent of their offensive package, 80 percent of the defensive calls involve 20 percent of their defensive package, etc. While methods of analyses will vary from coach to coach, a staff which stays committed to the data collection effort during the season will be rewarded with a platform for extensive analysis in the off-season with little, if any additional grunt work.

Depending on off-season coaching changes or assignments, the degree to which the previous year's data will be relevant will vary. Assuming no changes in the head coach or coordinators, last year's game should provide some valuable information that can be used to either validate or augment the information that is normally collected during the season.

If, for example, as a matter of practice, the self-scout process entails recording the offensive formation and play as well as the defensive front, coverage and blitz/stunt data elements, a detailed scouting report on either or both can be generated. In addition to detailed analysis of the play-calling and effectiveness of last year's game plan, a scouting report from last year's game can be printed. This is a freebie, so to speak, as little if any additional work is required to generate the reports.

Why not embrace technology?

And that is the beauty of using computer software. Coaches already compile most of the information. The software merely makes the information easier to use. By organizing and systematizing these processes, coaches can take advantage of the computer's ability to manage large amounts of data and support detailed analysis of that data.

Since this data has value both during the season, after the season, and often in the following season, it is well worth the time and effort required to implement a self-scouting process. The rewards are many, but the ultimate prize just might be the opportunity to hold the chalk last at that critical moment that determines a game, defines a season or shapes a career. That's quite an incentive to get started with self-scouting today.

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