Special Delivery

Missouri Western puts an emphasis on making special teams special
by: Jerry Partridge
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At Missouri Western we try to make special teams special. Many coaches have made the statement that special teams are one-third of the game, but actually as far as time spent on the field, they are less than that, but in impact they are more. Special team plays have a major effect on the results of the game. Blocking a punt for a touchdown or returning a kick for “six” more often than not results in victory. Fumbling on a return, having an extra-point or field goal blocked, or getting a punt blocked, will severely hinder your chances to win. Coaches always talk of devoting extra time to special teams. Ten years ago many people were just giving “lip” service to the kicking game, but now many programs are doing a great job coaching it. Therefore, it behooves a staff to step with it and find ways to gain an edge.

Every program in America has similar schemes. It’s what one does to get one’s players to execute that makes the difference. Over-coaching great effort and intensity is vital to the kicking game. Paying attention to detail and breaking special teams down into individual situations and drills can pay dividends. Spring football is dedicated totally to the individual facets of each unit. The early part of two-a-day camp is dedicated to individual breakdown and drills. Punt team and field goal are the units where we get to team settings more quickly. The part-whole method is vital in learning to execute in the kicking game. Also, time spent during practice is extremely important. During the season, we have a 10-minute walk-through session on the field of one phase before every practice. We practice two phases every day and on Thursday we work on every phase, including the pre-practice walk-through. On Fridays, we do a situational script involving special situations in the kicking game. On the average, we’ll spend two hours a week practicing special teams.

We have weekly and yearly goals that are closely tied together. If you were to add up our weekly goals it would create unrealistic yearly goals. Therefore, our players are only aware of the weekly ones. Our coaching staff has the realistic aims for the year. Everyone has their own set of kicking games goals and a lot of it is just clinic talk. We have some extensive goals but there are some main ones that are vital.

We’ll start with punt team. The goal is to never allow a blocked punt, or the “sickening thud” as we refer to it. Going into 1998, we hadn’t allowed one in seven years, with the exception on two mishandled snaps by our punter. In the past years, we’ve had some blocked. We went to spread punt last year, which can weaken your protection, but increases the strength of your coverage. Our coverage goals are to have a 35 yard net punt average, less than a 2-yard average return against us, and no returns over 10 yards. Punt team is dependent upon a great snapper and punter. Without them, the above goals can be thrown out the window. Our punt block /return team has been very successful. We go into each game wanting to block a punt. Our seasonal goal is to block five punts. Our return goal is to average 10 yards per attempt. On the kick-off team, the weekly goal is no returns past the 20-yard line. The yearly goal is no returns past the 40-yard line, which has been met before. Kick-off return is something that seems to get better with more game repetitions. In other words, the worse the defense is, the better the K.O.R. unit. Seriously, our goal is to return every kick past the 35-yard line. Each week we hope to be 100% on FG/XPT and to block at least one attempt by the other team. Our league (The Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association) keeps team stats on punt return, kick-off return and net punt. We aim to finish in the top three in all categories. Considering that the MIAA is one of the top Division II conferences in America, if we do finish in the top three in those categories then we are playing very good special teams.

Rather than go into schemes, I will talk about some drill work that we feel gives us an edge.

Punt Block/Return:

We have two basic schemes we use vs. Tight Punt and Spread Punt. We will also game plan and come up with unique plans vs. certain opponents. However, fundamentals remain the same. We do a drill circuit involving three main stations at three to four minutes each.

Punt Block Circuit


Hands Contact: (Diagram 1)

We get two lines coming from two to three yards away. A coach will be on his knees, throwing a ball up at the hands of our players. This is to get used to the contact and work on proper hand placement. We want our hands together with the tips of our forefingers and thumbs touching. Our arms need to be at a downward angle, hands below the chin, taking the ball off the punter’s foot.

Spot Run: (Diagram 2 & 3)

Again, we get into two lines. The groups are usually divided into DB’s, LB’s, and offensive skill people. In this drill, the DB and offensive groups come from a wide alignment. The LB group comes from an inside alignment. We emphasize our stance in this drill. The stance is similar to a 40-yard sprint stance. The feet should be bunched up close to the down hand with the butt up high. The off-hand should be high in the air with all the player’s weight forward. A person should stand in as the snapper. The punt blocker is off at the first quiver of the ball sprinting in a direct line to the spot nine yards behind the snapper. Sometimes we’ll throw an object on the ground and the player runs over it. The other times a coach will stand in as a punter and offer a foot to take the ball off of. The key points and emphasis are for the players to run, not looking at the punter, but at the spot. The arms and hands should go out at the last second. From an inside position, the player’s foot spot is really at eight yards and he should trail with his hands.

Punt Block Dummy Gauntlet: (Diagram 4)

The players get in one line. One at a time they run over three to four dummies while getting hit by a coach or two with a shield. The punt blocker runs to the nine-yard spot and over it. This drill is done from both sides and the coach provides pressure from inside and outside. The line should also be moved to an inside position. This drill emphasizes keeping the player’s pad level down, holding a straight line to the spot (despite contact), and picking up the feet. We teach the punt blocker how to deal with contact. If the man is the widest in alignment and gets bumped off his course, he should abort straight up the field. If the man is coming from an inside position and gets solidly blocked or bumped off course, he should stop in his tracks.

Punt Return Circuit:

We run a middle hold up, and from time to time mess with a wall return. The punt block, middle return, and wall return complement each other nicely. We go into each game thinking we can block a punt, and make a decision on which return we will use based on the other team’s punting and coverage abilities.

Wall Drill: (Diagram 5)

We break this down into two phases with four people at a time. First, we work on getting proper width. The drill is done to the far hash, from the middle of the field, and to the near hash. Unless, its from the far hash, the target point of the initial wall width should be the top of the numbers. From the far hash, the target is halfway between the hash and the numbers. This is the initial width. We always take the wall to the ball. While keeping our proper spacing.

Hold-Up:

The second station is the hold-up portion of the middle return. The players get in their three-point stance appearing to be going for the block. We want to get off the ball pad under pad and get both hands inside the opponent’s chest. We want to change the line of scrimmage three yards by driving the opponent back. As the push happens, we work our backs to the inside, releasing the opponent to the outside and assuming a trail position.

Front Number Block: (Diagram 6)

This is a partner drill that we do. One man is the coverage man and the other is on the return team. The blocker starts in a slight trail position. We want to see the back numbers and block the front numbers. The blocker should keep about a three arms length cushion. This drill is done in about a 10-yard space. The coverage man runs down approximately ten yards and turns in as if to tackle a return man. When he shows his front numbers, the blocker should be in position to block or shield him. The coverage man should retrace back down-field as if to chase the ball carrier. The blocker should stay on him.

Kick Coverage:

There are some basic rules we follow when we cover kicks. Sprint to the proper lane trying to stack on top of any hold-up block, while keeping the ball inside and in front. Any type of block that awaits ahead of the coverage man should be avoided to the backside of the blocker. If he backs up to set up his block, drive at him and blow past his face.

There are two main things we do to practice coverage. First, there is a base fundamental coverage gauntlet that we do. We will also cover through our lanes from base punt alignment and kick-off alignment. There is a designated ball carrier who runs the ball in either a back and forth motion or a normal advancement (See Diagram 7). The defense is to keep the ball inside and in front by taking proper pursuit angles and touching the ball carrier’s hip as he passes. Our coverage gauntlet is a drill that covers 35 yards (See Diagram 8). We have two alternating lines that start outside the hash. We put a man with a shield in front of him. The coverage man is harassed as he releases trying to pry past and stack the opponent. About 15-20 yards down the field, there is another blocker who will turn one way or the other and sometimes back up. The coverage man should avoid to his backside and then get back in his lane. It culminates by arriving at a coned in box where a form tackle occurs.

Diagram 7

Diagram 8

There are a thousand ways to do things schematically. However, we feel the time we spend on the individual aspects of special teams and the total amount of time we spend on the kicking game as a whole, are what sets us apart. If we win this phase, only one side of the ball needs to “click” for us to win.

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