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AFM Subscribers Ask... Texas Tech

by: AFM Editorial Staff
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Premiering with this issue American Football Monthly begins ‘AFM Subscribers Ask…’, an in-depth Q & A session with a different coach each month. Subscribers are asked to send in their inquiries with specific questions for the coach featured that month. Our first coach to answer your responses is Texas Tech’s Mike Leach. One of the top offensive minds in the game today, Leach begins his seventh season in Lubbock this fall. A BYU graduate with a law degree from Pepperdine, Leach began his coaching career in 1987.



Q. If you could have just two pass plays for the 3rd and 5-7 yard situation, what would they be? Jeff Shutter, Head Coach, Eastern York High School (PA). AFM subscriber since October, 2000.
A. I would go with one play in which both receivers do crossing routes across the middle. I would also use a vertical, option route with a slant to the back side.

Q. What specific defensive scheme gives you the most trouble? Guy Gaylor, Defensive Coordinator, Wagoner High School (OK). AFM subscriber since April, 2006.
A. There’s no real answer to that – each defense is different. We usually have trouble with a defense that our opponent is best at – it’s a matter of matching up, then, and making adjustments during the game.

Q. How much do you and your staff pay attention to time of possession? Brian Barnes, Offensive Consultant, Clawson High School (MI). AFM subscriber since April, 2006.
A. Time of Possession is the single most useless statistic. We’ve led the conference in this category and also finished last. It can be easily manipulated where a team thinks they’ve controlled the ball and they really haven’t. We could have 85 plays to our opponents’ 60 and they could have a better time of possession and we win the game by a few touchdowns. In controlling the ball, I feel the important statistics include obviously scoring points, number of plays, more first downs than your opponents, and more third down conversions than your opponent.

Q. We are seeing a dramatic increase in teams employing the 3-5-3 to defend today’s spread offense. What do you feel is the best pass play and running play you would use to attack this defense? Frank Stamilio, Offensive Coordinator, Southington High School (CT). AFM subscriber since June, 2000.
A. Against this defense, as a pass play, I would use four receivers and an option route underneath. For a rushing play, I would spread the offense but run out of the Gun inside the tackles, trying to spread their defense out.

Q. You have one of the most prolific offenses in college football. Being a defensive coach, my questions is, everything being equal, what gives you problems? Chris Atkins, Assistant Coach, Miami Cora Park HS (FL). AFM subscriber since March, 2004.
A. Teams that are the best at fundamentals – blocking and tackling – usually give us the most problems. The best tackling teams we face, with everything being equal overall, can create the mismatches at key times during a game.

Q. We are a D-III team in New England and have had some problems running the bubble screen. Can you give us any guidelines or rules you use for your quarterback and wide receiver to execute this play and attack the outside of the field quickly? Bill McDonald, Wide Receivers Coach, Curry College (MA). AFM subscriber since November, 1996.
A. One of the important things to remember with the Bubble Screen is that you need to throw it only to a few guys… limit who you throw it to. It’s important also to make sure the timing of the quarterbacks steps and the actual throw are consistent. The quarterback should put the ball at a 45-degree angle on the outside foot of the receiver. The emphasis on blocking needs to be huge. You must execute the one-on-one blocks and make sure you have outside leverage with the wide receiver. After the catch, the ball carrier needs to go directly to the sideline rather than cut up the field into the flow of the defense. He should spring hard to the sideline and then cut up-field.

Q. We run a spread offense with multiple formations with shifts, motions, and the whole works. Could you explain the blocking technique for the offensive line, specifically backside when you run a half roll-out and full roll-out pass attack? What is the footwork like? Eric Halverson, Offensive Line Coach, Alameda High School (CA). AFM subscriber since March, 2001.
A. We do a lot of play action passes and passes off of various play fakes… we run assignments without over-committing and be in a position as quickly as possible to get set to throw the pass. To make it work the offensive linemen must sustain their blocks. They also have to keep light feet so they can block side-to-side – depending on the rush – and always stay square.

Q. When running a practice for 60 plus players at the high school level, what is the best way to utilize the time (2 hours) given to the team each day? Michael Rodsky, Freshman Offensive Coordinator, St. Joseph High School (NY). AFM subscriber since April, 2006.
A. Our practices are usually pretty short—an hour and a half to 1:45 usually… It’s really important to have them structured so there’s a consistent format every day. For example, you may have stretching and drills always to start the practice that gives it a high level of consistency. Our guys know that every Tuesday – as an example – the practice will consist of the same things. Within the allotted time you should try to be as efficient as you can. As a staff, we’re always trying to find how we can be more efficient in practice. I think it helps to break down the practices into periods – whether it be 15 or 5 minutes and it should flow better. Depending on performance, you may want to extend a period by a few minutes but give equal time to offense, defense, and a lot to special teams.

Q. What kinds of skills are you looking for out of a high school receiver: hands, speed, moves, knowledge, field sense? Ridge Bowden, Head Coach, Ruidoso High School (NM). AFM subscriber since May, 2000.
A. Receivers certainly come in all different shapes and sizes, slow and fast. But what good one’s have in common is the ability to get open and catch the ball. But I believe you can teach a receiver to catch the ball. But don’t underestimate a receiver’s talent to get open – that’s crucial as compared to size, speed, etc. Also overlooked is how quick does he come out of his cuts – this is very important in evaluating a receiver. If a receiver has trouble catching the ball, we have him focus on seeing the pebbles on the ball. It helps his focus. Probably 70% of balls that are dropped are related to poor concentration. The other 30% is nerve-related and not being relaxed.





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