Checkdown Double Pass

Back in 1993 Florida State and Notre Dame had an epic showdown in South Bend. It was the only loss of the season for a dominant Florida State team. At the time they were running an unprecedented offense known as the “Fast Break Offense” which operated from the Shotgun and helped pave the way for the Modern Spread Offense. Led by Charlie Ward, the offense was nearly unstoppable. This play in particular is such a great design. RB Swing Checkdown (Lateral), Double Pass before the Flat Defender can close to the RB.

• Shallow Cross Spacing

  • Slot Under

  • WR Curl (& Go)

  • RB Swing to the Flat

• Lateral to the RB

• WR Curl & Go

I always wonder why more coaches don’t use Checkdown Double Passes vs. Coverages that are late to rally to the Flat. It’s always good to maximize the number of guys you have on the field who can throw the football. Even though FSU was unable to complete this throw, the concept is incredible!

Running "Boot" 4 Verts out of Empty Quads

Whenever you line up in Empty one of the first issues to address is Pass Protection. While 5 Wide Receivers creates inherent problems for defenses, it also exposes weaknesses for offenses. Some Defensive Coordinators see Empty as an opportunity to zero their coverage and bring maximum pressure. One way to give and Empty look but still deter the blitz is to use an in-line Tight End to create a three man surface. Here Memphis lines up in Quads Lt. Diamond with a Boundary Nub TE.

• 4x1 Alignment allows the Offense to ID the Coverage (Man or Zone)

• The Diamond Quad presents an immediate Screen threat

• QB Fakes the Bubble Screen

• LG Pulls in Boot Protection

• QB Pump Fakes and Relocates to his Boot Landmark

• 4 Verts with a Bender from #3

• Bubble & Leak Middle by the Diamond Point

What is so genius about this scheme is the fact that Screens are an extension of the Run Game for Outside Zone Teams. This allows the QB to “Boot” off Fake Screen Action. Even out of Empty, the Defense responds like it’s an Outside Zone Play Action to the Trips Side. The Nub TE deters a blitz because of the possibility of 6-Man Protection. I love this play especially if you pair it with tempo!

The Satellite Express

Jerry Rice finished his career at Mississippi Valley State with 301 catches for 4,693 yards & 50 TD playing for Archie "Gunslinger" Cooley.

The "Satellite Express" was a 5-Wide, No Huddle Offense that would often align in Empty 4x1 to create isolation opportunities for Rice.

This past off-season I did a Deep Dive on 4x1 Route Concepts from Andy Reid to Mike Leach etc.

The more I dug, the more I realized how important Archie Cooley was to the development of the Modern Spread Passing Attack. He was doing this in 1984!

When you watch the Kansas City Chiefs flood zones with 4x1 Route Concepts you're seeing the same Numbers, Spacing & Isolation tactics that the Satellite Express was using in their Empty 4x1 Stacked Formation!

That being said... I believe a big step in eliminating inequality in coaching (only 3 Black Head Coaches in the NFL) is understanding the history of Offensive & Defensive Innovation in Football & how brilliant men like Archie Cooley have moved the game forward.

Archie “Gunslinger” Cooley

Not only did Archie Cooley orchestrate a Record Setting Offense that averaged over 51 points per game, but he was able to win 17 of 21 games with a recruiting budget of $3,500 a year.

Why don't we have a 30 for 30 about The Satellite Express?

Willie “Satellite” Totten & Jerry Rice

Every play we call on Gameday has a Life & History of it's own.

If we learn the history of the plays we call, we'll realize that Great Concepts come from All Walks of Life & All Levels of Ball.

Learning that history will make us a better football coaches & better people.

Diamond Wide Zone Lead

I don’t know if there is a better coaching duo in the Country for Wide Zone than Scott Satterfield and Dwayne Ledford. They were able to transform Louisville’s offense in 2019 and Wide Zone was a staple play. Unlike most Stretch, Outside Zone or Wide Zone Schemes — you will consistently see Louisville run to the two-man surface (away from the TE). But, they are still able to create additional gaps with H-Backs and Fullbacks.

• Diamond Formation

• Wide Zone to the Field

• LT is responsible for the C-Gap (Work to the 5 Technique, but keep moving to the Overhang Defender if the DE spikes to the B-Gap)

• H-Back is responsible for the Frontside B-Gap

• LG & C Work Double to Climb from the 2i Nose Up to the Sam LB

• Backside Cutoff

• Fullback Protects vs. Hard Bend by the 9 Technique

The Left Tackle and H-Back are working together to handle C & B-Gaps. The H-Back reads the block of the LT, the RB will read the path of the H-Back. Great play to run to an open B-Gap!

TE Shovel Pass

When you’re playing with Tempo, one of the best things you can do is use Formation into the Boundary (FIB). When you combine FIB with Tempo the defense will struggle with pre-snap alignment. Bowling Green lined up in Trey (TE Trips) to the Boundary and ran Toss Power Read Back to the Field, but instead of having the QB run Power, they pulled the TE and used a Power Shovel Pass.

• Trey into the Boundary

• Toss Power Read to the Field

• Tackle Climbs up to Backside LB

• Guard Pulls and Wraps for Frontside LB

• QB Reads the Field 5 Technique for Toss or Shovel

Most Shovel Passes go to an H-Back who is off the line of scrimmage, but I love the idea of pulling a TE. I think it creates problems for the defense because they aren’t able to identify that TE as a “Sniffer” and roll they safeties accordingly. Toss Power Read + Shovel is a great way to keep your QB out of between the tackles run schemes.

QB Super Power

One of the best ways to handle 3-Down Fronts (Tite, Mint, etc.) is to create 3-Man Surfaces with a TE. In addition, running the QB is an easy way to gain the numbers advantage in the run game. You can use the QB in Zone or Gap Schemes with the RB leading. Oklahoma lines up in Double TE (creating multiple 3-Man Surfaces) to run QB GT Counter.

• GT Counter to the Jet Motion

• Backside TE Cuts Off the 5 Technique

• RB Kicks out Playside Edge Defender

• Both Guard & Tackle Wrap to Lead QB

• QB takes a drop step to run the GT Counter Track

I call this “Super Power” because the way it hits feels more like Power with a double Wrap from the Guard and Tackle than a true Counter. It’s a great way to rush numbers to the point of attack and get your QB Downhill vs. a 3-Down Front.