Featured courses
- How to Be an Influential Football Coach by Grant Young
- How Football Coaches Can Build A Game-Changing Special Teams Unit by Grant Young
- Master the Art of Quick Passing for High Completion Percentages by Keith Grabowski
- 3 SPO’s to Protect the Passing Game and create opportunities in space by Keith Grabowski
- The Art of Running the Corner Route- Coaches and Players Prespectives by CoachTube Staff
- Evolve your Defense with Quarter, Quarter Half to Stop RPO by Coach Grabowski
- 5 Core Offensive Priniciples for a Winning Football Formula by Keith Grabowski
- Win Downfield - Attacking Different Areas Deep with 3rd Level RPO by Coach Grabowski
- WAKE FOREST’S UNIQUE RPO GAME by Keith Grabowski
- Adjustments to Defeat the Tite Front by Keith Grabowski
- Attack Defenses with The Versatile Y-Cross Concept by Keith Grabowski
- Play Action is a Cheat Code! - 5 Play Action Concepts to Increase Your Expected Points by Keith Grabowski
- Question from Rutgers OC - What does your offense say about your coaching? by Keith Grabowski
- Gap Schemes vs. Tight Fronts, Play Action Shots and Misdirection by Coach Grabowski
- Setting up your young Qb for success by Keith Grabowski
- The Hot Gap plus 3 Gap Scheme RPO’s to Stress the Defense by Keith Grabowski
- Unlocking the True Potential of Your Special Teams Play by Keith Grabowski
- The Most Important Components of Air Raid by Keith Grabowski
- 4 Plays that Benefit from Bunch Formations by Keith Grabowski
- 3 Third Level RPOs for Explosive Plays by Keith Grabowski
- The Role of the Screen Game in Explosive Offense by Keith Grabowski
- The Chess Match: Win on the Perimeter (Part 1) by Coach Grabowski
- Unlocking the Power of Gap Manipulation to Limit Explosive Plays by Keith Grabowski
- TCU’s 3-3-5 and facing bigger personnel by Keith Grabowski
- Elevating Your Team: Strategies from Coach Matt Ruhle by Keith Grabowski
- 7 RPO’s for your playbook by Coach Keith
- Beyond Quarters - The Need For Additional Coverage Concepts by Keith Grabowski
- Top 10 College Football Players to Watch for in 2022 by Alec Burris
- Clemson vs. Syracuse Matchup of the Week by Keith Grabowski
- Sprint Out Passing: Move the Pocket for Success by Keith Grabowski
- How to Maximize Tackling Efficiency within Scheme by Keith Grabowski
- Offensive Drills of the Week by Keith Grabowski
- How a Stoplight Can Make Your Fly Sweep Takeoff by Keith Grabowski
- Keep your Drills Fresh and Your Skills Developing - Offense by Keith Grabowski
- Coach Kevin Kelley, Outside The Box by Keith Grabowski
- Want your defense to get off the field after third down? Sims and Creepers are the answer! by Keith Grabowski
- Create More Turnovers with Circuit Training & Win More Games! by Keith Grabowski
- Devastate the Defense with TE RPOs by Keith Grabowski
- Red Zone adjustments by Keith Grabowski
- CoachesClinic.com Featured Matchup: Cincinnati vs Indiana by Caleb Hopkins
- 3 NFL ZONE RUN PLAYS FROM WEEK 7 by Alex Kirby
- Sonny Dykes Teaches You How to Put Together an Offense by Coach Grabowski
- FIVE REASONS TO RUN THE 3-3 DEFENSE by Alex Kirby
- Getting Your Defense Ahead - 1st and 2nd down Pressures from Noah Joseph by John Grayson
- Chad Morris Teaches How To Builds an Offense by Coach Grabowski
- Get Your Offense a +1 With the QB Run Game by Coach Grabowski
- Are You Causing a 14 Point Turnaround...Against Your Team? by Coach Grabowski
- Learn How to Improve Your Offense with USC’s “Harrell Effect” by Coach Grabowski
- The Power of Influence - Rick Jones, Mizzou by Coach Grabowski
- Easy QB Runs to Drive Defenses Crazy by Ryan Eisenberger
- How many different ways can you make the defense cover everyone? by Ryan Eigenberger
- Win Passing Downs with Creepers and Sims by Coach Grabowski
- Always have a plan to play your best 11 by Keith Grabowski
- Dominate the Defense with Double Teams by Coach Grabowski
- Buffalo OC teaches his model for game planning by Keith Grabowski
- Put your 3 Deep Coverage in a Better Position with Zone Alert Rotations by Coach Grabowski
- 5 Keys to Using Trick Plays by Coach Grabowski
- Learn from 'Juggernaut' Offense by Keith Grabowski
- Bob Wylie - Offensive Line Breakdowns by Coach Grabowski
- Utilizing the Hybrid Linebacker to take away Offensive Advantages by Coach Grabowski
- Always have a plan to play your best 11 by Keith Grabowski
- Coachesclinic.com Featured Matchup: #6 Oklahoma vs #21 Texas by Caleb Hopkins
- Easy for You - Difficult for Them Adjustments by Keith Grabowski
- Coachesclinic.com Featured Matchup: Davidson College vs Presbyterian by Caleb Hopkins
- Week 5 National High School Football Rankings by Keith Grabowski
- Protecting Aaron Rodgers (and your own QB) by Caleb Hopkins
- Defensive Drills of the Week by Keith Grabowski
- Woo Pig - Add a wrinkle with these Arkansas Downhill Run Variations by Keith Grabowski
- Coachesclinic.com Featured Matchup: #7 Cincinnati vs #9 Notre Dame by Caleb Hopkins
- Offensive Drills of the Week by Keith Grabowski
- Coach Jason McEndoo Teaches #12 Oklahoma State’s Top Running Play by Keith Grabowski
- Adjustments - Attach Screens to your best plays, defend star receivers, & movement to stop the run by Keith Grabowski
- Coachesclinic.com Featured Matchup: Army vs #16 Wake Forest by Caleb Hopkins
- How To Implement A Running-Back-By-Committee Scheme by Brandon Ogle
- How To Become The Most Feared Offensive Lineman In Your League by Chrisian Benavides
- Wylie, McNally and Alexander Key Coaching Points on the Wide Zone Play by Keith Grabowski
- #21 Coastal Carolina’s play that is a whole offense within itself by Keith Grabowski
- 4 Plays that Benefit from Bunch Formations by Keith Grabowski
- Best Mesh Concept Plays by Ron McKie
- Forming Families For Football by Darryl Page
- Top 5 Things Coaches Should Strive To Get Out Of Spring Camp by Darryl Page
- 10 Tips To Know Before Attending Football Camps by James Breland
- Offensive Line Drills by Rick Bouch
- You’re a captain, now what? 5 Tips to bring your team together and establish yourself as a true leader by Lester Crafton
- COACHING THE 4-2-5 DEFENSE VS SPREAD TEAMS by Alex Kirby
- Gifts From Grinch by Coach Grabowski
- A Package to Help You Win Mid to Late Season by Coach Grabowski
- The Future of American Football: How to Run the Spread Offense by Coach Scott
- Chris Ash teaches Longhorn Tackling by Coach Grabowski
- The misunderstood Yet Powerful Run Scheme - Duo by Coach Keith
- THE GUS MALZAHN QUARTERBACK COUNTER PLAY by Alex Kirby
- FIVE TIPS FROM GUS MALZAHN ON HOW TO BUILD YOUR PLAYBOOK by Alex Kirby
- LITTLEST KID ON THE FIELD TRUCKS LINEMAN – YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP by Jacob
- HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR OFFSEASON FOOTBALL TRAINING by Dominic
- BAD CALL, GREAT COACH: THIS IS WHY PLAYERS LOVE PETE CARROLL by Jacob
- How to Get Recruited for Collegiate Sports by Brandon Ogle
- How Offensive Coaches Win with Pre-Snap Movements by Trevor Strong
- HOW VAN HALEN AND CHIP KELLY CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER COACH by Alex Kirby
- FIVE REASONS TO RUN THE JET SWEEP by Alex Kirby
- THIS GUY’S DESIGNS ARE MAKING NFL HELMETS LOOK LIKE RELICS by Jacob
Protecting Aaron Rodgers (and your own QB)
Does your quarterback not have enough time to throw in the pocket? Are your tackles letting defenders run inside, causing havoc in your backfield? Are you tired of giving up sacks?
The answer to these problems comes in two forms. Of course, better technique from the offensive line is an answer, but so is the running game.
A good running game is a quarterback’s best friend. That proved to be true in the Packers-Lions Monday Night Football match-up against the Detroit Lions.
The Green Bay Packers’ offense got on track with Aaron Rodgers completing 22 of 27 passes for 255 yards and 4 TD. Running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon provided an efficient rushing attack.
The Outside Zone
Packers head coach Matt Lafleur came from the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, so as with all of those branches, you can expect a heavy dose of the outside zone and play action. It serves to keep the defense off balance and provides the quarterback good looks downfield.
Of course, any offense starts with philosophy, and here’s what the Packers believe in:
It’s easy to see that the outside zone play fits Coach LaFleur’s beliefs on offense.
The beauty of the outside zone play is that it can be run to the tight end or away, from multiple formations, and multiple personnel groups. The play is versatile under center where it creates a great sell for play-action opportunities, and in shotgun where many teams utilize it with read game and RPO.
Here is Coach Stenavich explaining the outside zone weak from 21 personnel. (click on image for video):
For the quarterback, he is disciplined in carrying out his keeper fakes because it opens up his opportunities to takes chunks of yardage in the play-action passing game.
Refining Pass Protection
The other way to keep your quarterback upright is to have a sound protection scheme and excellent technique.
Offensive line coach Adam Stenavich is known for working with the best tackles in the game, such as Joe Staley and David Bakhtiari, and having one of the best pockets for Aaron Rodgers to throw in.
Though it is only a three-man rush, you can see the integrity of the pocket that allows Rodgers the time he needs to get the ball to his receivers.
Coach Stenavich uses drills to teach his tackles to keep their shoulders square, their hands up ready to strike the defender. Meanwhile, the hips are staying active, moving with the defender, and when the defender comes to strike, he steps up and meet them.
The defender is set up in a wide shade and is given the options of the bull, inside, or outside edge rush.
Coach Stenavich knows that a wide pocket is critical in maintaining great quarterback play, saying that, “...bailing the outside kick foot is the #1 reason we lose the width of the pocket.”
(click image for video)
The second drill Coach Stenavich uses to keep a wide pocket is the upkick drill. The tackle has an inside target on the defender to try to get them up the field, through the tackle, or inside.
A key coaching point Stenavich brought up was to not overset and take the inside target. If the Tackle takes the outside target, the edge rusher has an inside shot at the quarterback.
(click image for video)
Takeaways from Coach Stenavich
The takeaways from Coach Stenavich’s clinic are to have a run game that can be executed from multiple looks and personnel and build play action off of it.
It’s a preferred way to pass the ball for many of the coaches from Mike Shanahan’s tree including Lafleur, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan. Though all have distinctly unique looks to their offense, the core principles are very similar.
Secondly, every offense will face a time where they either want to or need to drop back and throw. The key to success is refining the technique of the offensive line. It’s something that can and should be worked on year-round.
Take a look at what you are doing and see if you can adapt some of these principles to improve your offense.
Coach Stenavich’s clinic is on sale 50% off until Monday. The clinic includes a Q&A with some well-known coaches like Bob Wylie, Coastal Carolina’s Bill Durkin, and #LinemanLunch Matt Jones.