For those who have followed Mahonz and my Beast adventures, we have been running mega splits for about the last dozen seasons or so. I got away from that this year because I have a lot of big kids. One has apparently quit and another is out with a concussion for at least 2 more weeks, but I still have a lot of bigs.
In Mega splits, the idea is to force big defensive linemen to play in space, then let the backs find the natural seams. We have described it as a kick return from scrimmage. With our old team, Mahonz and I were blessed with backs who knew how to exploit those seams and Beast became a big play offense for us.
This season, at Mahonz' suggestion, I implemented TKO from Beast. What we create can't be described as a "hole". It's more like a driveway. We were able to successfully move the ball (although inconsistently) against all opponents, including the good ones. We stalled a bit more than I would have liked against the "never been beaten" team and film revealed why. Our RBs were picking and choosing their way through the tunnel, jump cutting, juking and looking for a clear path to the endzone. This made the job of the blocking backs exponentially harder. The 2nd level defenders were moving all over the place, reacting to the ball carrier and they had to hold their blocks longer because the BC remained in the tunnel much longer.
So I designed a drill that I thought I'd share. I can see it working with 16 Power in UBSW and DW toss. Additionally, I think it would also work with GOD or other rules blocking. We ran it for 15-20 minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday then unleashed it on Thursday against our friendly scrimmage partner. This team has done a better job of defending beast than just about ever other team we faced except for the "never been beaten team". We scored easily on 2/3 Beast plays and we picked up 7 yards on the 3rd due to a bobbled snap. Looking forward to seeing it tonight against a 50 front opponent who often aligns with 9 men on the LOS.
Note: we have been working hard at everyone being at a dead sprint, especially the o-line. Sprinting to their landmark really seems to be effective.
When in doot . . . glass and oot.
So, how did it go?
That particular team that we played on 9/25 was pretty stout vs Beast. It was our snaps that absolutely killed us. However, today I'm very happy with where we are in Beast. If we played that team again, it would be a very different game.
We ran a lot of TKO in our 10/1 game and put up 28 points offensively. Snaps again were an issue, so we changed centers in the 2nd quarter and did much better. Replacement center still had a few bad snaps, one of which was disastrous, but luckily, we had a penalty on that game.
We were able to move the ball methodically down the field vs 2 top teams including Troy's whose defense is very good. We scored twice each on those teams. The other team, we probably should have scored 4 times on them.
We found a center finally and our offense is night and day. We implemented a Part scheme to accompany TKO where we can fan block 1 or 2 guys on the end and have the sniffer backs run through the part. We played a weak opponent last week for round 1 of the playoffs and had to stop running Beast to keep the score down.
I feel very confident about Beast vs our next opponent.
When in doot . . . glass and oot.
@gumby_in_co We ran Beast in an emergency when our do everything QB went down for part of a scrimage we ran. It was more the formation than the offense and it looked great for the first play. Our biggest RB rumbled to a 10-15 yard gain. We didn't get anything after that. We could do it full time but I don't see our HC agreeing to do that, lol.
@gumby_in_co We ran Beast in an emergency when our do everything QB went down for part of a scrimage we ran. It was more the formation than the offense and it looked great for the first play. Our biggest RB rumbled to a 10-15 yard gain. We didn't get anything after that. We could do it full time but I don't see our HC agreeing to do that, lol.
Beast gets an undeservedly bad reputation for being too simple or "not real football" because it doesn't teach anything. I have put a lot of work into it over the years and can now run it a dozen different ways so that it's really multiple offenses from the same formation. But that's the key. You really need to work at it. It's all about the blocking.
When in doot . . . glass and oot.
@gumby_in_co What is a scheme? We are a block the guy nearest to you team. Why do I get myself stuck in these situations every year?
@gumby_in_co What is a scheme? We are a block the guy nearest to you team. Why do I get myself stuck in these situations every year?
Going back to my days of not knowing anything, I remember the o-line was a big mystery to me. I would have been extremely grateful if someone came to me and said, "Hey, we really need a blocking scheme. I can help with that." Instead, I started by googling "Youth football", blah blah blah. John T Reed set me on the path of "A poor block on the right guy is better than a great block on the wrong guy." So I changed my search to "best blocking scheme for youth football". That led me to Derek Wade's website and the magic of the double wing and Gap On Down blocking. It was like finding the Rosetta Stone to me. I took it to the HC and the conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey Mark. I think we really could use a blocking scheme."
Mark: "What's that?"
Me: "A plan to account for all defenders in the box. I found one that is based on rules, so each lineman can figure out who to block, even when the defense lines up in different ways."
Mark: (blink, blink): "Nah. That's too complicated for these guys. They just need to decide they want to play football and fire out on the snap"
I don't know why YOU get in these situations every year. After 2 seasons with that clown show, I became very selective about whom I coach with.
I block Gap on Backer in 12" and mega splits. Sometimes inside gap, sometimes outside gap, sometimes left gap, sometimes right gap. Depends on what we're trying to do, what the defense gives us, or sometimes, just a "feeling". Then I block TKO in zero splits. Sometimes I fan 1 guy (Long End), sometimes 2 guys (Power Tackle and Long End). When we pass, I use fan protection.
None of this is very complicated, but very few teams have any kind of scheme. I've watched a boatload of film this season. More than usual, I think. The common theme in our league is a double team that leaves a gap wide open. Then, a play's success or failure hinges on whether the guy coming through the gap can make a TFL or not. If he does make the tackle, you can expect a lot of "C'mon line! Y'all gotta block." (We don't really say Y'all around here) or "You need to hold your blocks". Blocking schemes are easy and the best thing you can do to improve your offense.
When in doot . . . glass and oot.
Mark: (blink, blink): "Nah. That's too complicated for these guys. They just need to decide they want to play football and fire out on the snap"
You just summarized my 2021 season in one sentence!!
Fight 'em until Hell freezes over, then fight 'em on the ice -- Dutch Meyer
"Nah. That's too complicated for these guys."
--He was referring to the others on his coaching staff.
--Dave
"The Greater the Teacher, the More Powerful the Player."
The Mission Statement: "I want to show any young man that he is far tougher than he thinks, that he can accomplish more than what he dreamed and that his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go."
#BattleReady newhope
You just summarized my 2021 season in one sentence!!
What it comes down to is this: if you know how to get your players from Point A to Point B, then you will teach them. If you don't know how to get your players from Point A to Point B, then you won't teach them. And you will blame the kids.
No such thing as a coach who knows how to teach a blocking scheme, yet decides not to.
--Dave
"The Greater the Teacher, the More Powerful the Player."
The Mission Statement: "I want to show any young man that he is far tougher than he thinks, that he can accomplish more than what he dreamed and that his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go."
#BattleReady newhope
@coachdp - And that was how it went down. When one idea got nixed, I went on to the next one.
In the championship game, everyone was reach blocking because I knew the other team would outside gap us (e.g a defender on every lineman's outside shoulder). While it was far from perfect, it was really rewarding to see the kids stepping with their outside foot and turning the guys in. We only scored once, but probably had the ball twice as long as the other team.
Fight 'em until Hell freezes over, then fight 'em on the ice -- Dutch Meyer
@coachdp - And that was how it went down.
How do you think I know this? Because it's the same everywhere.
--Dave
"The Greater the Teacher, the More Powerful the Player."
The Mission Statement: "I want to show any young man that he is far tougher than he thinks, that he can accomplish more than what he dreamed and that his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go."
#BattleReady newhope
Mark: (blink, blink): "Nah. That's too complicated for these guys. They just need to decide they want to play football and fire out on the snap"
You just summarized my 2021 season in one sentence!!
Personally I think if you can get your lineman to fire out fast, form up on them, and drive them back hard, then you've done an amazing job as a coach, and you're in the 99th percentile of coaches. Likewise, just because you know what a down block is doesn't mean you can coach it.
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