Blitz Extended Coverage: Inside Zone Variations and RPOs – Eli Reinhart

Summary

North Crowley HS (TX) offensive coordinator Eli Reinhart discusses his approach to Inside Zone variations and RPOs within a modern-day offense.

• Speaker: Eli Reinhart

Transcript

• With a coaching career that includes stops at Saginaw Valley State and Fair
• State University.
• This next speaker has some serious expertise on the offensive side of the ball.
• Currently,
• he's the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the explosive high
• flying Crowley High School Eagles here to share his insights on inside zone
• variations and RPOs. Please welcome Coach Eli Reinhardt.
• How's it going, everyone? My name is Eli Reinhardt.
• I'm the offense coordinator and quarterback coach at North Crowley High School
• in Fort Worth, Texas.
• I wanna say thank you to Huddle for having me out and giving me an opportunity
• to speak in front of you guys today. You know,
• this is an exciting opportunity for me and I'm excited to be here tonight.
• Um, I wanna say thank you to our head coach, coach Gates,
• for giving me an opportunity as well to speak here and,
• and an opportunity to coach these kids day in and day out. Um, you know,
• it's been an awesome time and I think we're just getting rolling here at North
• Quality and, you know,
• we're really excited about everything that we have going on here.
• So I'm excited tonight to talk to you guys. Um, you know,
• what we're gonna talk about tonight is gonna be our inside zone variations,
• what we'd like to do on offense as far as our zone game. Um,
• we'll talk about a couple different variations that we like, um,
• as well as a few RPOs or a few little adjustments that we'll make,
• um, you know,
• that I think you can carry into some of the things that you guys do on offense.
• So, um, you know, we pop up the statistics here, uh,
• more than anything and wanna show kind of the balance or what we look to do on
• offense. You know, we're definitely a team that's gonna establish the run first.
• Um, you know,
• we ran last year for 3,600 yards and had 45 rushing touchdowns,
• but we were still able to, um,
• throw for over 2200 yards and had 28 passing touchdowns. So, um,
• the diversity that we had on offense, you know,
• we were looking to attack you on the perimeter. We were looking to, um,
• do some things with some quick game and then take some vertical shots in our
• pass game. But also, you know, at the, at the beginning of games and,
• and throughout a game, you know, we wanna wear you down up front.
• We wanna be able to, to run the ball in between the tackles,
• but also be able to get the ball in space.
• And over and over the past couple years,
• inside Zone has been a really good play for us. So, um,
• inside Zone gives us the ability to get to a lot of different looks. You know,
• there are different variations.
• A lot of the things that you're gonna see here tonight are a lot of the things
• that you guys probably already do where you're at. Um,
• I think what's important with clinics and what I always try to tell myself when
• I'm going through a clinic is, you know,
• I'm not going to a clinic to necessarily learn a brand new offense and,
• and bring in that offense and I'm gonna install it day one. You know,
• when I'm thinking clinic stuff,
• I'm thinking things that we can add to what we already have,
• what fits our offense currently.
• But also one of the things that I learned in a lot of these clinics are teaching
• progressions, right? So if I can steal a few little, you know,
• adjustments or tweaks or, um, different terminology or verbiage that helps me,
• um, you know,
• teach our kids a little bit better or different teaching progressions that you
• guys are using to, uh, to install your offenses,
• I think that's a huge advantage. So I,
• I think that's what what's important with these clinics,
• especially as you get older and you go through a lot of these, you know,
• getting an opportunity to, to see other people, see the way that they,
• you know, talk about it, see the way they install it,
• see the way that they call it.
• I think all those things can really help you progress as a coach.
• And something that I learned at a very young age from a lot of different coaches
• that I spent time with is, you know,
• take other things from other offenses and make it fit with what you do.
• You know,
• you don't necessarily have to transform and do what everybody else is doing,
• you know, down to a t you know,
• we're always gonna do what's best for our kids and, and what we feel like, um,
• gives us the best opportunity to win games. So, starting here,
• so we start with our Mic point system. So we use mic points here.
• It's a very basic mic point system. Um, if you guys use a Mic point system,
• it's very, it's a very common one. So, um, you know,
• we're gonna note denote the front side double team as our zero.
• And then anything behind the play is gonna be a minus one.
• Anything to the play side is gonna be a plus one outside of the zero. So,
• you know, we're gonna point the run center's gonna come out.
• Mike point the runs, you know, we're gonna be able to identify the fronts.
• We're gonna get into a call for our offense. Quarterback's gonna relay a call.
• Center's gonna call the points. Um,
• and then we have different adjustments as well when it comes to some of the
• point system. But, um, you know, the two one,
• the two photos we have listed here is a four down look and a three down look.
• With some of our inside zone, we use two zeros when we get the three down. Um,
• the main reason we use two zeros I think is,
• especially at the high school level, you know, our center's gonna come,
• you know, identify the front, you know, we're gonna get a three down front.
• So we're gonna be able to communicate, you know,
• there's two zeros and we're gonna point out there in that way.
• We automatically know we need to take that, um, that front side zero,
• we need to push the call. We need to push, um,
• push the zone out to that outside linebacker. So that is kind of just a,
• a like a reminder more than anything for the center and the front side tackle
• that, hey, we got something else out there. Because, um,
• you may see some defenses that put that guy in some different areas.
• He may not be standing off the line of scrimmage, he may not be super close,
• but, you know,
• I think a lot of defenses today are gonna widen that guy and then he's gonna
• play the sea gap from pretty wide and he's gonna fall in the box and tackle you
• for two. But if you just zone to the guy, you're able to gain, you know,
• a lot more yardage on the front side. So this is the way that we might point,
• and again, this is a very simple, pretty common mic point system. It,
• it isn't necessarily, you know, it,
• it may not be in your best interest to Mike Point runs,
• but the way that we call,
• the way that we identify it fits best with our system.
• And especially with the amount of movement,
• the amount of games and different fronts that we get in any given game,
• we gotta be able to identify,
• being able to identify as half the battle with inside Zone,
• being able to make calls and, and get lined up and be efficient with, um,
• our kids, knowing where they're going and being able to get there. Um, you know,
• as quick as possible, um, with some of the tempo things that we do, um,
• you know, as well as some of the things, um,
• that we do to get the ball on the perimeter.
• So starting with our offensive line stuff, um, I think,
• you know, just being a skill guy, you know, sometimes these always get missed,
• but we definitely like to talk about some of the offensive line responsibilities
• first. So talking about all offensive line zone aiming points.
• So the zone aiming, zone aiming points for us, you know,
• we're gonna identify the first, you know, the three rules for us.
• So we're gonna talk about gap. Um,
• the first thing the offensive line's gonna have to look at is just what's in
• this gap, okay? If there's something in your gap, block your gap,
• kind of an easy rule, right? So if there's nothing, number two is heavy.
• So if there's nothing in your front side gap,
• I'm gonna be really heavy on my backside gap.
• So I'm not just gonna smoke out of there, work up to the next level.
• I'm gonna be really thick through that backside gap before I work up to my
• reference point. Okay? And then number three is reference point. Okay?
• So say there's nothing in my gap.
• I can't be heavy in my backside gap cuz there's nothing there.
• I'm gonna work back to my reference point, which is gonna keep me, right? Okay?
• So this is why it's important for us to identify, like I said,
• because you're gonna have a lot of different fronts.
• You're gonna have a lot of different movements and these base rules are gonna
• allow us to deal with a lot of the different movements and pressures as long as
• we stay to our three base rules. Okay?
• And then when we talk about zone aiming points again, um, you know,
• the actual zone aiming points for um,
• our offensive line move are gonna get our eyes to the play I number and we're
• gonna drive our backside leg through the crotch. Um, those,
• those aiming points are important mainly for creating movement. You know,
• we want to create as much, you know, lateral stretch as we can possibly get.
• You know,
• we wanna make sure that these defense a linemen are working to get back in that
• gap. So anytime we can zone,
• we can keep our eyes to that play I number cuz that play I number's always gonna
• be moving and we always want that lateral stretch to create,
• especially with the backs that we have,
• having the ability to find some different holes,
• find some different areas to put the ball. You know,
• I think it helps when you can really start getting some of that stretch. Um,
• so we're gonna work our best to zone to that play side number and get some
• movement, you know,
• laterally from those defensive linemen to try to stay in their gaps.
• Okay, so here's our running back aiming points.
• Now there's a couple different ones here and a couple different aiming points,
• but our base aiming point is we're gonna aim the ball, um,
• to start at the play side foot of the center. Okay? So our zone, our zone game,
• we're gonna start at the play side foot of the center. And as you see here,
• we're just gonna read the A gap, the frontside a gap.
• So if there's nothing in the frontside a gap,
• we're gonna bang it right now in the frontside A.
• Now if we get color in the frontside A we're gonna go to blue, okay?
• And blue is gonna be a bend.
• So we can bend it from the backside A all the way to the backside C gap.
• I think if you see, you know, a lot of college football,
• a lot of different games, N F L, a lot of the more explosive runs on say,
• you know,
• inside zone cutoff or inside zone trap are those balls that actually end up
• spitting all the way out in the C gap or the D gap. So, um,
• we really like this ball to think it's going a gap back, you know,
• we'll take it out to the front side for this bounce look.
• But I've noticed for us personally,
• the more explosive and the more successful runs that we've had are the ones that
• don't necessarily bounce. They're either gonna bang it or bend it back.
• We have the most negative plays when we do take the ball at the front side. Um,
• you know, a lot of times, you know, especially when you get some of those, um,
• some of those specific looks where um, you know,
• it looks like the DN has his hat inside, but realistically his hat's in,
• you know, his hat's on the outside of that tackle there.
• And as soon as the back goes to take it outside, you know, there's a hand, um,
• and that DN gets off that block and makes that tackle. So, you know,
• it looks like a lot of space out there,
• but we wanna make sure our running backs really press.
• So we're gonna press the heels of the offensive line and we're gonna make one
• vertical violent cut. You know,
• if we're in the back field making a bunch of cuts before we get to the line of
• scrimmage, that is no good for us. We wanna make sure these backers are are,
• you know, being influenced by the back. We're gonna put pressure on them to,
• you know, fill a gap and get where they need to go.
• And then also the pacing of the back is very important for us.
• If the back,
• if the offensive line is moving in the right direction and they're going to the
• right spots and they're getting what they're,
• what they're supposed to be doing done,
• but our back is running too fast and we're not getting to the combination blocks
• cuz our back is so fast, it's not good for us.
• So the pacing of the back has to match what the all of offensive line's tempo
• is.
• So that's a big coaching point for us is we gotta make sure we are not outpacing
• the offensive line.
• We want those guys to be able to grind on those combinations and us to have that
• space.
• So we wanna make sure that our backs aren't too fast to the line of scrimmage
• and that comes with pressing the heels and then making one vertical violent cut.
• Um, and then making a decision getting up the field and um, you know,
• creating some big runs. So first one we're gonna talk about a zone rate.
• And again, this is one that you know, everybody does, you know,
• everybody will do,
• we do some different variations of our zone rate stuff as far as what we're
• gonna do on the perimeter. Um, you know,
• we've had years where we've run the quarterback a bunch.
• We've had years where we haven't had as much of a runner playing quarterback.
• So you can do some different things to kind of mitigate all, you know,
• any deficiency that you have. You may be a team that throws a lot of bubble.
• You may be a team that runs triple, you may be a team that is more of a,
• you know, we're gonna lock, it's gonna be six man inside zone.
• We're gonna cut that backside end offer.
• We're gonna trap 'em because we wanna use more RPOs and throw it a little bit
• more. So we start with zone read in, just kind of our base install.
• Like this will probably be the first play that we install every year. Um,
• and it is something that we talk about all the time. So, um,
• looking at the two diagrams here is just a four down and a three down.
• What we do, how we push, how we take it there and we can,
• the base is what we do it as double option. Then we can work in a triple option.
• We can work, like I said,
• some first level rpo is the main one you'd get out of zone read,
• maybe some second level ish type stuff.
• But mainly we're gonna be a first level RPO team,
• especially with an unprotected edge. Okay?
• So here's a good example of what kind of we're talking about.
• So here's just a kind of a orbit inside zone triple, okay?
• If he got the quarterback and the skillset to do it.
• This kid wasn't necessarily the fastest kid in the world, but man,
• he was tough and he was able to get the ball in the perimeter.
• Does a really good job here creating, uh, you know,
• a lot of space here. We're gonna pull, we're gonna sprint off the mesh,
• we're gonna attack the upfield shoulder of that outside linebacker and then
• we're gonna pitch and drift. And this is a receiver coming in motion here.
• So this is another way to create some touches for those receivers where
• they're gonna always be involved,
• they're always gonna have opportunities to touch it.
• So we're gonna include that and incorporate that in our run games.
• So here is just, I mean this is zone triple, this is, you know, a lot, you know,
• a lot of guys listening to this today are gonna be guys that run this same exact
• play,
• but this is a zone triple play that we really like to get the ball in space when
• we got the quarterback we feel like can run and get the ball in the perimeter.
• But I want you to take a look up front, uh,
• maybe not necessarily at the front side tackle,
• but look at kind of the lateral stretch that we're getting on this defense here.
• The amount of stretch that we're getting and where this guy ends up, um,
• shows to you a lot of how we're working to our aiming points and how much space
• we're trying to create.
• We're trying to create as much space as possible so we can get these guys moving
• from side to side. So here's a great example of that. Um,
• just getting an idea of all of the things that our guys are, are,
• are taught as far as aiming points and where we're trying to move these guys to
• create some of this lateral space.
• So if the end didn't crash and the end's playing the quarterback,
• we get a good wash here and maybe this ball spits again like we talked about
• here in this backside B gap or to sea gap area.
• Okay, here's another look.
• Now what we have here again is we're gonna have a true, um,
• zone double here. Okay? So we're gonna zone double to the backside,
• but we also have a front side R P o if we want it.
• We can throw bubble if we like the leverage, um,
• we gotta press on on two so the quarterback decides to work the backside or
• just to work the zone portion of this. And like I said,
• zone double the tight end's gonna bluff. Um, we really like unbalanced stuff.
• That's a great unbalanced formation for us.
• But you're gonna see here kind of the reasons that we have to point and we
• push.
• So you're gonna see the center identify our 0 47 is gonna be all the way out
• outside of the box. This is gonna tell us for that right tackle.
• He's gonna have to be thick in his backside gap when he is zoning out because he
• is gonna have something else show up. Okay?
• So he is gonna have something else show up to the front side.
• We're really gonna push this out and then we're able to, in this instance here,
• create a lot of space in here.
• Look at all that space in these gaps because of the stretch we're able to create
• because we're able to identify some of the push that we're we're looking
• for upfront as far as identifying linebackers.
• We get an idea of some of the identification and then we can work laterally as
• much as we need to.
• Okay? Here is another first level type R P o. This is gonna be, uh, you know,
• a three down answer for us.
• So if we get a four I that's really bearing down on the B gap,
• the tackle's gonna collect and we're still for the quarterback gonna read the C
• gap. So this is still called inside zone.
• And then we just have a simple first level R p O off of this, okay?
• This is just a skip type route from the tight end,
• we're just gonna work flat down the line of scrimmage.
• Now the one thing I would give you guys as far as the recommendation on going
• into some of the game planning stuff,
• one of the things we always look for when we get some off corners,
• where are their eyes? What are they looking for?
• If we're looking back inside a lot of the times, you know,
• we're gonna work some of these guys on some of these crack type paths to
• block these safeties and make the corners make a bunch of tackles. Okay?
• So we're gonna work a man inside each, we're gonna press vertical.
• I think the biggest thing that you have to do to do this well is you need to
• push vertical first and then work to the crack.
• So we don't wanna work on an angle straight to the safety because that's gonna
• maybe trigger a crack release quicker than we want. Okay? Or,
• or we wanna make sure that that corner's not necessarily triggering right away.
• Okay? Um, so when we're working up, um,
• we get to the safety quarterback again reads the sea gap.
• So the end is there or the new end is there. And he sees this,
• he's gonna spit this out on the perimeter, um, because we're two for two
• and again, we get outside, we're able to make some plays, okay?
• But the biggest thing in some of the RPO stuff, I say we're two for two,
• we're gonna count here in some of this.
• This is the guy that is closest to the line of scrimmage.
• So he's one in the count.
• These guys are kind of above where we would actually count those guys.
• So if he feels like he's tight, this is gonna be two on one, okay?
• Whether or not we block this guy, if we feel like he's too tight,
• if we feel like we can't get there, we're gonna just let him go and follow.
• You know,
• he's either gonna fall in the run or the quarterback's gonna have to answer.
• Okay? So this almost works as like a triple play, okay? And this, you know,
• if you've seen this a lot, you know this is a very popular play here.
• So we do get the slip. I know this guy's hard to see in this, uh,
• white lettering here. Um, but you're gonna get your block here,
• your block here. Now, if this guy were to take off and run with this route,
• you know, we, if we pull the ball and they collect, you know,
• we're gonna work down the line. If he likes to throw,
• he is gonna spit it on the run, if not in their man and he takes 'em, you know,
• we're gonna run outside here in about this in the dap.
• Okay? Here's another great look again, we're in kind of a double wing set.
• Here's another one. Same idea. Make corners,
• make a lot of tackles push and then crack. Um,
• we're gonna go man here just based, this was kind of a game plan type deal.
• And then we're gonna slide this guy back through again.
• This is gonna end up being a collect and then he's gonna become the new Sea GT
• player.
• Now what we say with this R P O specifically is this is what we call kind of a
• blocked conflict player situation for our quarterback.
• What that means for us is whenever we call blocked conflict RPOs,
• um, the quarterback's gonna know, Hey, I'm blocked conflict.
• So if we wanna be aggressive, like we want to get the ball out on the perimeter,
• we want to get the ball to our skill guys in space.
• And what that means for the quarterback is as long as the blocked conflict guy
• isn't slicing up the field and killing this route right away,
• like we wanna pull that thing and we wanna throw it, okay? We want to,
• we wanna be as aggressive as possible on some of these blocked conflict play.
• Um,
• RPOs where we're having a guy that we are reading is accounted
• for in the blocking scheme as far as a perimeter screen,
• or he could be involved in the run scheme.
• That's just kind of the idea of the quarterback. Like, hey,
• we're fine if we hand it off because we got enough,
• but also we want to get the ball out on the perimeter as much as possible.
• So this is a great way to do it, is to use these block conflict RPOs.
• Okay?
• And I should wind back here because like our block conflict again
• is more talking about the perimeter, right? So we're,
• we're talking about here now he's still in there, we're gonna push again,
• he is technically our initial read, but this again,
• this is kind of like a triple deal, right? So this is here, bam,
• I wanna pull it. Now again, if he were to take off and cover this,
• it just becomes triple option right now.
• We gotta deal with this backside guy coming over.
• But that's the backside safety. So again,
• this becomes triple option. So again, if he were to see this identify run,
• he may run, take off, fake the handoff,
• and then he may be running vertical here off of, um, the key.
• So this gives us a little bit of a triple option type look.
• Um, you know,
• just working kind of a simple basic R P O that is very popular in today's game.
• Okay? Zone lock. Zone lock, we're kind of gonna buzz through pretty quick.
• Zone lock is a very, um, a very common r p is very,
• um, or excuse me,
• it's a very common zone variation and is one that we use a
• ton for some of our RPOs, the different ones that we use.
• Some of the pop passes, some of the quit games, some of the, um,
• G zone lock stick is one of the most popular ones. So, um, you know,
• we do some of that. We do some different things with some draw plays.
• We'll do some, some different things where we can make it a five for five run,
• but also put the six player in conflict.
• So here again, um, we're playing this team here.
• This team was kind of a Tampa type team with this. Mike,
• Mike was falling outta here. So again, if the mic wasn't running in here,
• you know, sprinting to make a tackle, you know, we're gonna do our best to
• make a decision. Like we want to call some of these plays to hand the ball off.
• I think the misconception with some of the RPOs is that we wanna throw the ball
• all the time. Um, and, and that may be the way that you, you know,
• you set up your offense. I think some of the block conflict stuff, yes,
• we wanna be aggressive, but generally when we call all these other ones,
• like we wanna run the ball and, and if we're five for five,
• we feel really good about it. So here is just a way, and I know some people run,
• you know, g fold, dart, all those different variations, it's all the same,
• right? It ends up being a five for five run. You just add, you know,
• you're adding that extra gap. Um, but here again,
• the mic's out of there. He's not necessarily in the box, he's not close enough.
• So quarterback does a great job of just handing it off and there we go.
• We get a 10 yard run because we're five for five.
• We do a really good job on this front side, double team, sorry about that. Um,
• and create a lot of space for our running back.
• And now we're just dealing with the backside safety.
• So if a lot of our runs can look like this with that much space, you know,
• in a five man run scheme, we're gonna have a lot of success in a given night.
• Um, here's another good look of the, the very,
• or here's the tight shot real quick. Um, again,
• what does that look like? Yeah, it's just a five man box, right?
• The mic's out of there. Five for five. We got no problems here. Okay?
• We got no problems. Well,
• we got a little bit of a problem cuz we're ducking our head, but you know,
• we're in good shape here with this guy who's out of the picture and then the
• safety's going away. Okay?
• So that's a really good start for us. And again, here's the very next play.
• Again, tempo's a big part of what we do. Um, but, um, you know, tempo for us,
• you know, we're very kind of herky jerky.
• Like we like to go fast and then slow it down and then we like to go fast again.
• So we wanna keep as much as we can keep a defense coordinator kind of on his
• toes with hey, they're going fast, or hey, they're sub switching personnel,
• you know, we can trade now. Um, you know, we'll we'll use some different tempos.
• We can start and stop pretty quick. So these, these were ones where mainly,
• you know, this is a little bit more pedal to the metal. Um, you know, let's go.
• So here again, the mic really here.
• And when you get comfortable with your quarterback,
• your quarterback can make some of these iffy decisions, right?
• Where it's not necessarily, uh,
• like we could have handed the ball off and been really successful here,
• but him just feeling good in the offense, getting in rhythm.
• This is a sophomore quarterback at the time, first year in the offense,
• you know, he is like, man, no one's covering him.
• I'm just gonna flip this thing out there.
• Now the mic isn't necessarily not falling in the box, but we're playing fast.
• They're not necessarily lined up.
• I want these guys to be able to go out there play fast and not feel like they're
• gonna make a lot of mistakes or overthink a lot of things.
• So if the quarterback feels good, man, I'm gonna live with it. You know,
• I think the biggest thing with RPOs with young kids or,
• or just high school kids in general is you have to be very intentional with what
• you teach these quarterbacks and what you exactly what you're looking for.
• Because if you don't, you're gonna end up being frustrated with every decision.
• You're gonna be questioning every single decision the kid makes.
• I think for you, you gotta lay out a great ground rule.
• You gotta lay out great structure for the quarterback to have and then you gotta
• live and die by the decisions that he makes.
• I think you can get paralyzed by over coaching. You know, Hey,
• I think maybe you should have handed this one off,
• or maybe we should have pulled it and threw it out there.
• If that's what you want,
• and that's what you're looking for on some of those plays.
• You need to use things like block conflict. Like, hey, I'm calling this like,
• I want you to be aggressive. I want you to throw it. Or Hey,
• this one's a little bit more run based. Okay? And then all this stuff, again,
• it matches what you wanna do as far as your offensive identity.
• There are some teams and some people that I work with or have worked with that,
• you know, they are more p r o pass run option than they are r p o. You know,
• they want to get the ball in the perimeter,
• they want to throw the ball at any chance that they get and that may work for
• them. That may be the best system that works for them. And, and,
• and that's great. And I think that's a lot what we,
• what we are trying to is identify what our kids are good at, let 'em play fast,
• let the quarterback play and make a lot of decisions.
• And I think our quarterback does a really good job because we have really
• defined rules that the quarterback can fall back on and we don't do too much
• questioning about the decisions that he makes more than anything.
• I just want to know what, you know, why, why did you make that decision?
• And those things we can live with because, you know, he's going with his gut.
• And again, we don't wanna paralyze our kids by overthinking. And you know,
• the one that we tell 'em all the time is like, hey, if I tell you to throw it,
• you know, you're, or think about throwing it,
• you're probably gonna throw it and maybe you should have handed it off that
• time.
• And then you end up in one of those situations again where your kid is kind of
• overthinking things, especially at the quarterback position.
• We want them to play fast, operate fast, especially for a tempo team.
• Okay, so here's zone cutoff again. So this is just like, you know,
• cut zone. This is what everybody runs. This is a huge play for us. Um,
• this is a huge play. Uh, mainly, you know, if if we're really,
• um, you know, we're generally an 11 personnel team.
• We can play in some 10 personnel,
• but generally like to have a tight end on the field because of the run schemes
• and you know,
• these defensive guys can do so much when you're in 10 personnel open formations.
• You know,
• we stabilize them just a little bit when we get a tight end on the field,
• you know, we'll get two tight ends on the field and really stabilize 'em.
• But you know, we like to base out of 11. So this is a really big play for us.
• This is a big r p o play because we got the double protected edges. You know,
• we can deal with a lot more in some of these cutoff schemes than we can deal
• with. Again, you know, you can't really get, you know,
• I mean some people do it and I've seen it,
• but you wanna be very careful with your second and third level RPOs when you're
• using, um, you know,
• when you're using five man run scheme where you're gonna leave a first level
• defender unblocked, okay?
• So it's hard to run inside zone read and maybe throw like a bang eight or throw,
• you know, bang from two, you know, that's a little bit dangerous.
• I think you're asking to get your quarterback hurt in that situation.
• So zone cutoff, it's that answer for us.
• And there was just a three down variation of it. So here,
• what's important for the tight end to know, especially high school guys and,
• and like I said, we don't have the greatest Logan tight end in the world,
• but man, like he just gets in the way. He just gets a piece,
• he does what he needs to do and he doesn't have to be a world beat.
• He's just gotta know and identify who he is gotta block and,
• and and really just get into the space that you're supposed to be in.
• So he did a really good job first year in the system. Uh, you know, for us,
• the tight ends have to be really understanding of,
• of what their responsibilities are.
• When we say you're a C gap cutoff guy on cutoff, like you're not,
• like a lot of kids will think, okay, I'm blocking the end, you know, I'm not,
• you know, when we call cutoff, you're a sea gap guy, you know,
• you could cut off the end, you could cut off, you know, a backer rotating,
• you know, here you're gonna actually see the mic and the Sam are gonna twist.
• And then our tight end does a great job of staying in the sea gap and makes a
• crucial block here for a big touchdown run in the playoffs.
• Okay? So the tackle collects the end.
• That backer that's lined up over the tight end who, you know,
• a lot of times our tight end or anyone's tight end just wants to block that guy.
• This team did a great job of, of rotating and twisting those guys.
• So really had to stay disciplined in the sea gap.
• And he does a great job here. And again,
• that's the space that we're looking for.
• Running back makes us, uh, you know, a spectacular run here.
• But it all starts with the tight end. Knowing his base rules,
• staying in the sea gap,
• making sure he's firm there and he is able to make that block, you know,
• on some of those twists or some of those different, um, you know,
• pressures that we get. It's very easy to get lost in, you know, finding a guy,
• you know, we are covering and blocking a gap, okay?
• And that is one of the most important things for our quarterback to know,
• but also for our tight ends and offensive line to understand when you run in the
• zone game, it's not a man, but it is a gap or it is an area.
• Okay, here's another good look,
• okay, tight end again,
• the only thing here that I see wrong is our tight end is really kind of
• shielding himself in the hole.
• The only problem with this is if you do this and you turn,
• you're gonna get bench press into that space.
• So luckily we don't give up too much ground here,
• but the tight ends rules and cutoff are the same rules of the as the offensive
• line. We wanna zone, we wanna get our eyes to that place on dumber,
• backside leg through the cross.
• And we wanna zone that end just like we would zone, um, you know,
• a down lineman. So if he wants to collapse and get inside,
• we wanna get our eyes to that place I number and we wanna wash this thing down.
• Or if he wants to go up the field, you know,
• we wanna be real thick through this gap.
• So a lot of times these tight ends will go through some of the same offensive
• line drills, um, that we do on a daily basis. And
• again,
• here's a great look of the back pressing the heels and then making one vertical
• violent decision. You know,
• and again, you find some of the explosives here,
• you know that backside B, the C gap, you know,
• that's where that space really can develop when you get a lot of wash.
• Okay, here's another great one. This is against a bear Look again here,
• what we're really trying to do in, in this bear look, we're just trying to,
• we're gonna zone here, okay?
• And then we're gonna zone there and then the tight end is gonna take the sea gap
• defender, which is gonna be the safety here.
• And then we are just gonna jet at this edge to try to hold this outside back or,
• and the ball's actually gonna spit out here in the sea gap, okay?
• And the main thing here is obviously we don't have enough people to deal with
• this guy. Now the quarterback can correct it,
• but we're gonna use some sort of jet motion to try to occupy this guy.
• We may throw an rpo, we may,
• we do enough jet sweep stuff where we can hold these guys with some of those
• fakes,
• okay? And you see the space that's created there with just that jet motion.
• But this all starts with our id, okay?
• This all starts with how we identify the runs and knowing kind of the base
• front. So we'd call, you know, we would call front here,
• we'd call bear here in this specific look.
• Okay, here's another great look again,
• tight end is working to his aiming point. Um,
• and he's gonna be real tight. And then again,
• he's thinking he's gotta take the end, right? Because it normally,
• traditionally if this backer's in the box he's here, sorry,
• that'd be the minus one. Um,
• we'd be working here again, minus one zero, it's gonna be this backer here,
• we're gonna push this out. But now again, they exchange gaps.
• So now he's not the end blocker, but he is the C gap blocker.
• So the tackle takes the B gap threat,
• tight end takes the sea gap threat and then look at the space that's created
• here. Okay? So there's kind of the,
• the things that you guys gotta work on if you're gonna be a big zone team are
• all the movements and all the pressures.
• And I think that's what's the best thing for us with the,
• when it comes to inside zone is we can handle so much, right?
• We can handle a lot of different pressures,
• we can handle a lot of different things because we're zoning up front rather
• than being in more of a man scheme in some of the gap schemes.
• If we get too many guys to, you know, where we're losing guys polling,
• you know, we can be in some trouble in that way as well.
• Okay, let me skip ahead. I wanna make sure we get to some of this stuff. Um,
• uh, specifically here, I want to get to zone trap.
• Okay, zone trap. Again,
• I'm gonna show a good clip and I'm gonna show a bad clip.
• I think the bad clip first is first, okay? So again, we're a sea gap.
• So the good clip here, okay, we're a sea gap cutoff team again,
• and you'll see a clip here where we gotta stay more firm in the sea gap,
• but we use motions and manipulations to get the ball out. Okay?
• So here's a great one. Where're, earlier in the game
• we had spit this out, I think we ran counter earlier in the game,
• but we have just a simple bubble,
• r p o and we can do some different things out here.
• Now we can motion this guy orbit and then go bang eight and we can read this
• guy, um, you know, and we can stretch this guy laterally.
• We can do some things to get these secondary run support players, you know,
• out of, you know, necessarily where their gaps or you know,
• where their responsibilities are as far as the run fit. Okay?
• We wanna affect those guys and put them in conflict with motions, with shifts,
• with different variations. We wanna be in formation in the boundary,
• we wanna be in unbalance.
• We wanna give the defense as much as possible on a given night. Okay?
• So here's one again, the orbit. This could also look like triple option,
• but we get enough stretch from the end to get our kick out, okay?
• And not often in high school do we ever get this type of a kick out.
• We're normally getting a hard wrong arm and the ball's gonna spill into the sea
• gap. Now it ends up spitting there anyway,
• but a lot of this stuff isn't simply by some of the manipulation we're doing to
• try to get this end wide, okay? So we dug them out,
• but then we create a huge sea gap because of the motion. Look at the motion,
• what it does to this fam e stretch. Stretch, stretch.
• But now look at the sea gap to dap dap that's created there.
• Okay, here's another one again, orbit, we're gonna spit it out
• if we got space. So he decides he's gonna hand it off,
• doesn't like where the Sam's at, which is great,
• but look at all the space that's created inside. Again,
• we got this end to stretch a little bit,
• which gave us an opportunity to get inside,
• trap this guy and then get vertical. Okay? And this again,
• just motion manipulation,
• different RPOs that we have thrown with other run schemes in this
• game gives us kind of the same look different run scheme and we're able to get
• what we want outta these runs with just simple motions and,
• and changes and tags to adjust kind of the same play in a different look.
• Okay? So here's kind of the bad look, right? So we wanna make sure again,
• we are sea gap cutoff team. So here they're gonna bring the pressure again,
• I think it's here and then they twist underneath.
• Our tight end is gonna take the widest of the two and now he's wide open here to
• make a tackle. Luckily we're able to make a miss, but you get the idea,
• and this is one we show the tight ends to this day is we gotta stay in the sea
• gap heavy, especially when we're playing a team. That's gonna pressure a lot,
• okay? Very fortunate there to have a positive run in that situation.
• Okay? Zone insert, zone inserts one I'm excited to talk about.
• It's one that we use a lot. Um, you know, some teams will use some ISO stuff,
• some teams will use insert. I prefer insert. Um, you know,
• I think there's a d a definite place for iso you know,
• we've done a little bit of ISO stuff over the years,
• but insert's been a very consistent run for us, um,
• and has has done some great things for us.
• So I think there's the two variations there. Again,
• insert's very simple. This was a rainy night.
• Normally we'd have some sort of R P O tagged here. Um, you know,
• it it poured all pregame and we were really having a tough time completing any
• passes. So, uh, you know,
• we turned some of the RPOs off and went tried our best to block these guys
• a little bit. I think we end up going up here, but the scheme here again,
• we're gonna push this thing out, okay?
• We're gonna make sure we get to the right aiming points and then we're gonna get
• this backside insert from the tight end. Now our aiming point's the same still,
• okay, we're still front side foot of the center,
• we're gonna press this thing front side.
• But what happens to these backers a lot of times is they're gonna go with the
• flow and then we get this kind of the T-bone effect from the tight end
• is the good thing about insert is it's not like ISO where you know,
• if the tight end doesn't win at the point of attack,
• the play's dead right on iso like if he gets blown up in the hole,
• it's probably no, like the run's probably not good,
• but on insert we can really take advantage of getting the ball here
• pressing and then the tight end as this backer is bossing over can really
• t-ball this backer and then create a lot of space for us to run the ball behind.
• Okay? And here's a great example of that,
• Okay? I know you defensive guys are probably saying we're holding here,
• I don't think so, but um, you know, to each a zone on it,
• on their opinion on this specific play. But, um,
• here's a great example of kind of the insert.
• We don't even really get to this front side double team,
• but we get enough on the insert guys, we're not killing anybody by any means.
• We're getting a huge knockout block. We're just getting in the way, you know,
• we're losing slow and that is enough to get our backs in space with the ball.
• Okay? Here's one. Not sure why it's started here, but here's one. Um,
• it's a really great clip. Again, 12 personnel is is a great,
• if you, if you can put two tight ends on the field,
• it's a huge advantage for you. Um, especially um,
• with the amount of open formation spread or 11 personnel spread
• that everybody's doing,
• it's great to get in some 12 personnel spread and make sure,
• make sure teams know how to line up to it. You know,
• make sure you're able to take advantage if a team you know isn't sure how to
• line up or is, you know, I think there are so many ways that you can attack,
• especially if you got two special guys out here.
• So they still need to keep guys in coverage, but then the box, you know,
• the numbers can be very similar or very, um, you know,
• matched up in a way that is advantageous for you offensively.
• So again here we're gonna push
• to the mic lock, lock backside insert,
• press the front side and then I think he spits this ball on the backside B gap.
• Good Again here,
• we'd like him to press the heels just a little bit more. Um,
• we want these guys to fall a little bit more to the front side. Okay?
• So they're, you know, what's, what's really great is if we can press, press,
• press and then get this guy committed here and maybe closes this gap,
• but then there's that backside cut for the running back.
• So we want this guy to get a little bit further into the line of scrimmage,
• but after what he does with the ball, I can only complain so much.
• Okay, here's another great example of it. Again,
• it's just simple with some of the insert stuff, what you can do. So here,
• the stretch that we get with not only the formation, um,
• but also um, the,
• the pressing of the line of the bat can get us so much with these
• backers and displacing them in a way that we didn't even need to block them.
• Okay? Look at how far front side this guy's shuffling,
• but also he's gotta be able to keep his gap integrity. So if this gap,
• if these gaps here are moving, then he's gotta move, right?
• Because his gap is changing.
• So if we're able to press this thing enough front side,
• then we can create a great amount of space for us on the backside,
• okay? And then the only thing that's left in anub side is the corner
• and as a running back we gotta make corners make a tackle and they don't there
• and then we scored a pretty big touchdown in that moment.
• Okay, here's kind of an RPO o okay?
• So I think we're starting to get into some of the RPO stuff.
• So the way you know, we'll do some different things.
• Here's just a kind of a bang eight from over here. You know,
• we're gonna do some different motions,
• some different variations to get guys moving.
• I think one of the things we always like to do is have front side and backside
• edge protection. What I mean by that is we are always gonna zone one way
• and we wanna have some sort of edge protection with a motion coming back out
• late, a bubble. Um, you know, a, you know,
• a certain way to try to hold the field outside.
• So if we got pressure there was something to maybe hold it or an outlet for the
• quarterback.
• So here against middle closed,
• we're just gonna read and this is however you wanna dictate and that's what's
• good about RPOs that you know, it may not my, our, you know,
• method may not work in your system and it may not be how you want to coach it,
• but we said we wanted to be aggressive on this play.
• If it was middle open but he didn't relate back to the boundary,
• you're gonna shoot this thing to that boundary, uh, that X receiver.
• Okay?
• So even though he comes over now he relates back to the middle but he's not
• necessarily looking into the boundary so we're gonna be aggressive, okay?
• We do a lot like we don't care where the back set,
• we can get the quarterback's eyes where he needs to go, okay?
• So he's technically opening the wrong direction but his eyes can get to that
• backside safety pretty easily, okay? And then he is just gonna flip his hips,
• he's gonna load and then get the ball out,
• okay?
• And then some of your pressure answers and again you get double edge protection
• here with the motion coming back outside with the R P O, you know,
• we're working off of this guy. So if you were to blitz,
• you got edge protection and then we're also zoning this way cuz we're RPO oing
• off of this guy,
• but then we're also jetting out this way to try to hold anything to the
• backside. Okay?
• So really big explosive play there. Here's another one again,
• I think what's important in,
• in teams that are trying to take away your leverage is one, I wanna see how,
• like how dedicated are they to take it away? The inside,
• are they just aligned there or are they really gonna try to take it away?
• Because then we can just adjust what these routes are, right?
• But right now this is still bang eight, okay?
• And then we still have some different answers.
• Not sure exactly what the tag is over here could be bubble, um,
• where we're gonna push crack. It still could be double slant on the backside,
• it could be slot fade. We'll have some different pressure answers, um,
• for some different looks depending on the game plan.
• But again,
• we're gonna see how dedicated that corner is to taking away this throw.
• Okay? He's really got his eyes in the back field, safety spins down.
• This is pretty, pretty easy.
• Like this is kind of an R P O drill for us that we'll do, you know,
• all the time for the quarterback to just see rotation fall down
• and get it out, okay? And again, this is just to protect some of our runs.
• If you play a lot of quarters teams,
• you're gonna see this look a million times where that boundary safety's gonna
• spin down in the weak side and he's gonna be that seventh defender.
• But we gotta have answers for that.
• We wanna make sure the numbers are even as much as possible
• if they're gonna try to gain hats, we're gonna try to take advantage of that.
• And I think as a play caller, um, you need to make sure that you know, okay,
• hey this team is a boundary ad team or this team's a field ad we're
• formation. What are they gonna look to do? Who's gonna be the extra fitter?
• Are they gonna try to add from the field? They're gonna try to add from, um,
• you know, the boundary. Is it gonna be a safety ad? Is it gonna be the corner?
• Are they gonna bring the corner and blitzes to be an extra defender? Um,
• you know, you gotta identify that during the week.
• And I think what the reason we do that is to make sure we're calling the right
• RPOs. We're recalling the, the throws that are gonna best
• affect the defense as far as putting them in conflict with how their secondary
• rules are as far as their secondary fitters. Okay?
• So we wanna make sure that when we're calling RPOs,
• like if I'm calling a ton of field RPOs,
• but they've only added the boundary safety, I mean it doesn't really matter,
• right? They can do that all day long.
• They can keep that field overhang really wide and he'll never fall in the box.
• But you know, the boundary safety may be down there, you know,
• either forcing the running back to make a couple cuts in the back field and
• getting tackled for two, three yards.
• Or he may be making the tackle himself at two to three yards.
• So we wanna make sure during the week we're gonna identify who that extra fitter
• is to just try to give ourselves the best chance of success with our run game,
• but also with some of the RPOs we're gonna call,
• okay, here's another look. This is just insert, we're gonna orbit motion.
• And again, if we want,
• if we felt like this guy was gonna fall really far inside,
• we were gonna shoot this bubble out here to him. Okay,
• we can do some different variations.
• He felt like he was tight so we were just gonna hand it off. Okay,
• here's really, we should, you know,
• we could have something on the boundary safety,
• but we felt like if the safety's coming from depth like that and is trying to
• hide where he is coming from,
• we are gonna keep some of the field stuff on though we did come to some of the
• boundary stuff later in the game.
• Okay, here's another one. And this is, you know, we're winding down here.
• This is another insert clip.
• I think this is just a good one to show you kind of the tight end's
• responsibility again. Um,
• you know what's good about insert is like more than anything
• this tight end has the minus one. Okay?
• So there are gonna be times in the zone where it's gonna be a little bit funky,
• guys make exchange gaps, but realistically,
• and this one he's gonna have the minus one more than not. Okay?
• So what that does for him is this is a great clip because the backer fits
• outside.
• Now what he's gonna do is use kind of the offensive line type rules so nothing
• shows up in his gap, which is here.
• He's gonna be real thick through that backside gap until his reference point
• shows back up, which is gonna be the minus one. Okay?
• So he actually helps to tackle just pin this and creates more space
• for the running back. Okay?
• And now that's obviously kind of next level thinking,
• but if you can institute some of these rules or install some of these rules,
• you know, your,
• your tight ends can really understand some of the same blocking rules that your
• offensive line is using.
• Okay. Um, let me skip through here.
• Um, here's a good one. Just kind of again, just some of the insert stuff,
• you know, it's nothing too complicated.
• Wanna make sure we show some of these where we're gonna zone,
• we don't get off this front side double team,
• but our tight end does a good job on the insert and it's just,
• there's a lot of space being created. There's a lot of space in there,
• but just how simple this play is for us in the, in the utility that gives us,
• it gives us the versatility of almost both the plays.
• We get zoned to the front side. We get a man scheme on the backside.
• We can take advantage of the front side of the zone and we can pick up some
• different pressures to the front side,
• but also we can still run a man type scheme on the backside where we can press
• it front side, um, you know, and see color in that front side, a gap.
• The read is still the same for the back, you know, bang to bend to bounce.
• It's still the same. So he is gonna look for color in the front side.
• If he's got color,
• then he is just gonna wind this thing back and follow his insert. Um,
• and this is, like I said,
• it's been a huge play for us and it's a big part of what we do offensively. So,
• um, that's really tonight kinda all that I had for you guys. Um,
• you know, I appreciate you guys being here. You know, this is, like I said,
• huddle. I appreciate it. This is a great opportunity for me. Um, you know,
• I always like to share, like, to talk and communicate with other coaches.
• So here's my contact information, here's my personal email, and then also, um,
• my Twitter handle.
• Twitter is a great way to get ahold of me and get in touch if you guys have
• questions or, or want some more information or,
• or different things that we do on offense. But, um, you know,
• I appreciate your guys' time and,
• and thank you and reach out if you guys have anything.
• But I appreciate you guys and, and thank you very much.