Coach ,

It’s July 4th weekend and we all enjoy fireworks!

Today we will look at how to create some fireworks (explosives) in your offense.

Set the Stage - Protection

Let’s start with one of the best offenses in the country in 2021.

Ferris State has been at the top of D2 rankings for offense for years and in 2021 they won the National Championship. I met Coach Sam Parker when he appeared as a guest on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast. He’s a detailed teacher of the game, so I was excited to see him sharing his knowledge.

Before we share some concepts that create explosives, let’s focus on how to protect the shot plays because whatever we might to do spring our receivers wide open, it won’t matter if the ball doesn’t get out.  

Ferris State loves the inside zone which many teams use now, and this protection marries with inside zone very well, setting the stage for a big play.

Video: Play Action Shot Protection Scheme

Pogo/Bow off of Inside Zone

Brett Dietz is a coach who I had an opportunity to compete against, and he does a great job with his offense. He is now the Head Coach at DePauw University.

Coach Dietz has created a high powered offense at D3 DePauw. In this video he explains one of his favorite concepts which he utilizes off of the inside zone which creates an explosive play:

Three Explosive Ideas from a Top HS Coordinator

About 8 years ago, my friend Dan Gonzalez who has authored several books on the passing age as well as a series of CoachTube courses introduced me to Josh Herring saying, “He’s a great football mind.”

I talked with Josh and 100% agreed with Dan.  Coach Herring has great ideas and a solid plan for teaching them. I ended up publishing two books for him.

He’s at it again sharing his ideas and I’ve picked out a few here that can provide any offense an explosive opportunity.

In this video, he explains the “old school” seam read concept and how they evolved the four vertical framework to match their needs, especially at the high school level.  They wanted to get more out of their 4-verts, especially in getting explosives, but without wasting routes (like the field comeback which many younger QBs have trouble throwing). There’s a ton to think about in this video (click on image for video):

Video: Creating 4-vertical effect with seam reads

The back shoulder can definitely take a chunk out of the defense. In this video Coach Herring explains the #1 way they threw the back shoulder in a concept called “Champ” where they can only release two deep and still create an explosive (click on image for video):

Video: Champ

Coach Herring believes a key to a successful passing game is moving the launch point. They utilize a half-roll protection he calls Goblin/Gator and includes play action to create the opportunity for explosives. One route concept he likes is what he calls “Ride.” Coach Herring illustrates the “Ride” concept with the film here (click on image for video):

Video: Ride Pattern

I love what these coaches are doing and how they think about creating explosive plays. I’ve shared several times how important having at least one explosive (16+ yard pass) in a drive is in putting points on the board. If you missed it or don’t remember, here it is again:

Mike Earys (long-time analyst for the Green Bay Packers) found explosive plays dramatically increased the odds that a drive would end in a score. A single explosive play (12-yard run or 16-yard pass) in a drive gives the offense a 40% chance of scoring points. Two explosives in a drive double the odds of scoring to 80% 

With that in mind, it is an offense’s best interest to be taking some of those shots downfield and arguably the best way to do that is with play action.  

Well-designed play-action draws defenders up and clears areas for the throw that gives an offense explosive plays.

Hopefully, these examples give you some ideas on how you can create more explosives.

Enjoy the 4th! I’m looking forward to seeing the fireworks show on Monday and from your offenses in the fall.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski