Scouting

Coach,

My method: 1. COMPLETE EAVLUATION OF THEIR QB ( ATHLETICISM, ARM STRENGTH, READING ABILITY, BALL HANDLING SKILLS, RUNNING SKILLS, DECISION MAKING ABILITY, CAN HE A TAKE A HIT, CAN HE MAKE CHICKEN SOUP OUT OF CHICKEN MANURE ON A BUSTED PLAY, DOES HE FIND A WAY TO WIN AS THIS IS THE QB'S PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY MORE SO THAN ANY OTHER! DOES HE REALLY KNOW THE OFFENSE HE IS RUNNING, OR IS HE GUESSING A LOT? IS HE SMOOTH IN HIS EXECUTION OF THE WHOLE OFFENSE?) Not necessarily in the order listed.

2. LOCATE AND IDENTIFY THEIR BEST PLAYER ON OFFENSE IMMEDIATELY WHEN SCOUTING! IDENTIFY HIS JERSEY NUMBER FOR PRACTICE PURPOSES AND MAKE CERTAIN ON GAME NIGHT THAT HE HAS NOT CHANGED TO ANOTHER.

3. ARE THEY A RUNNING TEAM OR A PASSING TEAM? ARE THEY PRETY MUCH BALANCED, OR WHAT PERCENTAGE OF RUNS VERSES PASSES DID YOU SEE WHILE SCOUTING?

4. WHAT TENDENCIES DID THEY PRESENT? HOW MANY RUNNING PLAYS WENT ONE WAY VERSES THE OTHER?

5. WHO IS THERE BEST RUNNING BACK? GET JERSEY NUMBERS ON ALL IMPORTANT PLAYERS, BE IT ON OFFENSE OR SPECIAL TEAMS.

6. WHO IS THEIR BEST RECEIVER, THEIR SECOND BEST RECEIVER? IS THE QB REALLY READING THE DEFENSE OR JUST LOOKING FOR HIS FAVORITE RECEIVER OR TWO, MOST OF THE TIME?
7. WHAT BLOCKING SCHEMES DO THEY UTILIZE ON RUNNING PLAYS? (ZONE, BASE, ETC.)
8. ON WHAT PRINCIPLES ARE THEIR PASS PRO SCHEMES BUILT, FOR THE MOST PART? (PLUG AND SLIDE, BOB, ETC.)

9. DO THEY RUN JUST A HANDFUL OF PLAYS OUT OF MULTIPLE FORMATIONS, OR LOTS OF PLAYS OUT OF A FEW FORMATIONS?
10. CAN YOU INTELLIGENTLY BUILD A GAME PLAN AROUND THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE ON THE OPPONENT, OR IS MORE INFO BADLY NEEDED?

11. ARE THE RECEIVERS FAST ENOUGH TO PULL YOU OUT OF MAN COVER SCHEMES IF THAT IS YOUR PREFERENCE? IF SO, DO YOU HAVE ADEQUATE ZONE SCHEMES TO STOP THE BLEEDING IN THAT SCENARIO?

12. IN THE DAY OF READING KEYS, WHERE FALSE KEYS ARE BIG PART OF ANY OFFENSE, A LOT OF COACHES HAVE GOTTEN AWAY FROM IT, BUT I STILL IDENTIFY WHAT PLAYS ARE BEING RUN OUT OF WHICH FORMATIONS AS THAT IS THE WAY WE USED TO COACH DEFENSE, AND IMO IT IS STILL A VERY GOOD TOOL.

THOSE ARE PRETTY MUCH THE MAJOR AREAS I LOOK AT WHEN SCOUTING.

Coach Easton

Coach,

I'm embarrassed that I forgot Coach Campbell's addendum! Finding the mismatches ranks right up there at the top. One of the first ones I look for is how do the recivers match up with my DB's? Are there any real noticable HEIGHT differences? How do we match up SPEED WISE? AS I PLAY MY CORNERS ROLLED UP HARD WITH INSIDE LEVERAGE ABOUT 99% OF THE TIME, I WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THESE TWO QUESTIONS IMMEDIATELY. Thanks, Coach Campbell.

JC

Another quick way for scouting defenses or breaking them down on video is to first look for outside inverts, this helps quickly to determine coverage and fronts. Coach CAmpbell