How many plays do expect your team to know by 1st game?

About the same as Coach Campbell. 5-6 runs, & 3-4 passing concepts!

By our First Game we should be able to run our 5 or 6 Basic Run plays, the Basic Slant, Hitch & Fade package of our 3-Step Passing Game, as well as 4 concepts in the 5 Step Passing Game and a Boot Pass.

Based on scouting reports and film (which have to be from last year if this is your first game) I fully ecpect each player to be well versed on the SPECIFIC PLAYS WE ARE INSTALLING IN THE GAME PLAN FOR THE OPENER. Being a pass first, run second team, we are going to be ready to use a great deal of our passing game and ALL of our power running game for short yardage and goal line scenarios, by the time it is opening night! Just my way as always.

Coach Easton

When you each mention 5 to 8 running plays, are you running these out of the same formation, or multiple formations?

I would expect that repping the same 5 to 8 plays in all the time leading up to the first game would make for nearly perfect execution. Do you feel that other teams can scout that number of plays easily?

That makes a lot of sense. I just have trouble striking the balance in my own mind between simplicity and diversity.

Also, I just want to try new things. Interesting for me, but maybe not best for the kids.

I want to have the offense installed by the end of Spring Practice so that when we come back for two-a-days we are just fine tuning. It's hard trying to install an offense in 3 weeks. Take advantage of 7 on 7 and team camps. We have about 180 plays that we concentrate on for the season, but they are really about 60 plays that can be run out of different formations and shifts. As the veteran coaches have said above, use the play until they stop it. Most of the problems come when we try to be too creative and outthink ourselves.

MITCH,

AGAINST ALL CONVENTIONAL WISDOM EXPOUNDED HERE, IT IS JUST A MATTER OF DEDICATION AND HARD WORK TO HAVE THE ENTIRE PLAY BOOK IN BY THE FIRST GAME!!! I HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT AND I HAVE A WINNING RECORD TO PROVE IT IS A GOOD WAY TO GO!!! I did the same thing on the HS level as I did in the professional minor league ranks.

Coach Easton-TIGER ONE

This is from the great HOF Pro Coach - Paul Brown, & his disciple - HOF College Coach - Ara Parseghian (great ND coach):

THERE ARE 4 PARTS TO A FOOTBALL PROGRAM. LISTED IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE THEY ARE:

A) MORALE (CONTROLS THE “WHO”, “HOW”, & “WHAT”)

B) PERSONNEL (“WHO”)

C) TECHNIQUE (“HOW”)

D) STRATEGY (“WHAT”)

*IF YOU HAVE A & B, C & D WILL COME EASY!

Note that X's & O's come LAST! In my over 40 years of coaching on all 3 levels, I have found the above to be absolutely true! To beat a team with superior morale, & superior talent, would imply that someone had "MAGIC" X's & O's" - & we all know that there ain't NO SUCH ANIMAL. If it were - everybody in America would use the system, and HALF of the would lose each week (so it would be a .500 offense at best).


Remember also what the following fabulous coaches had to say:

1. Bear Bryant - "At Bama - we operate on the "KISS" principle". KISS means: "KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID".

2. COLTS WR COACH - Clyde Christensen - in a great lecture on the Colts Pass Offense (this past weekend at UNC) says that the Colts stress a VERY LIMITED amount of plays - their motto is that "LESS IS BETTER"!

3. Bud Wilkinson (winner of 47 straight games & 3-4 National Championships at Oklahoma):

A) "The best coach is the one who makes the fewest mistakes; the one who does the best teaching job; the one who is the best organizer. Writing the X’s & O’s is not the most important thing. There are 22 variables in a football game that must be considered".

B) ERRORS IN TACTICS AND STRATEGY:
TACTICS AND VICTORY. You get very few victories on tactics. Victories come if you can out block, out tackle, out fundamental your opponent. “Intimidate them physically”! Outmaneuver – no. Defeat – yes.

C) TOO MANY PLAYS AND DEFENSES. Subtract the number of different plays used in the game from the total number of plays you practiced. If this number is too large you better get rid of some plays. It is difficult enough to know when to run off- tackle, but if you have four ways to run off-tackle, you will never get the right play. Beauty of the Oklahoma Split-T was it’s very limited number of plays (4-5 runs at MOST).