The Inches We Need are Everywhere Around Us
Oct 12, 2022 2:34 pm
Coach ,
The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch.
-Al Pacino in “Any Given Sunday”
This season we’ve been focused on finding the “inches all around us” to help improve our units.
Today we share tips from three outstanding special teams coaches that can help make a difference for your units. Let’s start with a tip focused on coaches' responsibilities.
#1) Have Game Day Eyes
It’s the time of the year when this may need to be a reminder for the coaching staff to be focused on the exact part of each unit they are responsible for on every rep. We’ve all been guilty of becoming so focused on our other positions or units and miss our opportunity to put our eyes where they are supposed to be on game day.
It’s something that Ball State Special Teams Coordinator Cory Connolly calls “game day eyes.” He organizes all units and positions and assigns eyes to each area. Having this organized for both practice and game day is best and holding ourselves accountable for following through with it as coaches is just as important as what is happening out on the field.
This allows for easy corrections and adjustments as well as for understanding where breakdowns are occurring as well as where advantages can be found.
Coach Connolly explains how the Cardinals handle it in this video (click on image for video):
#2) Clean Your Cleats to Be in Better Position for a Surprise Onside
The surprise onside kick can hurt your team not just because it is unexpected, but because your players up front are not doing a few little things that can keep them in a good position to get the onside even if they were not expecting it.
Many errors can be traced to the stance and start and that’s true on the KOR unit as well. To highlight that Ross Pennypacker, Special Teams Coordinator at Villanova, shows how a technique called “clean the cleats” helps them put players in a better position, especially if there is a surprise onside.
In a “game of inches” the difference is clear in what Coach Pennypacker points out here (click on image for video):
#3) Jazz Session Drill and Spin Back/Hatchet Technique
Montreal Alouettes Special Teams Coordinator Jeff Reinbold is an expert on technique on teams. He is constantly looking for ways to innovate.
In this video, he illustrates two drills that can be done with little running and contact, which is important in saving the legs and the bodies at this point in the season.
The first drill is called “Jazz Session.” It is used to teach players to find the ball on KOR, stick their foot in the ground, and get on the correct shoulder of the defender they are assigned to block. Because it is a small space, many repetitions can be performed in a short time frame.
Coach Reinbold also shares a technique “spin back - get back” which he also identifies as a negative angle tackle. The technique is not only applicable to special teams, it happens in all phases of the game when a player has set an edge and the ball stays inside of him. It happens on INT when the offensive players have to cover, and of course, it happens quite a bit on defense.
Coach Reinbold shows how the detail of this technique is critical in stopping a big play. Watch the video for details on both of these drills (click on image for video):
Video: Jazz Session and Spin Back
The details of this game are what really is intriguing. How the technique is coached and given attention should be a part of every team culture. A huge case in point is the Illini defense (at the top of virtually every statistical category) which I have shared in other emails and on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast this week. They have made drastic improvements by fixing fundamentals, and that’s what we all have the opportunity to do regardless of talent.
Have fun improving the little things this week and good luck!
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski