Gridiron Glossary: Cover One Man

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Billy Koehler

Cover One Man is a pass coverage where one defender has zone responsibility for the deep part of the field and each eligible receiver is covered man to man.

Credit: FoxSports1

Credit: FoxSports1

In the screen shot there is one safety deep; he is the player who is responsible for that zone of the field.  Each defender in man coverage is indicated with an arrow from him to the offensive player he is covering.

Because there is only one deep safety he will usually be in the middle of the field.  The corners will try to force the receivers to the middle of the field where they have help.

There are multiple variations on the coverage, but the general idea of all of the variations is as outlined above.

Gridiron Glossary is a resource for football terms that are often used by commentators, coaches and players but rarely defined.  If there is a term you have questions about or a definition you don’t agree with, let me know at billy@thirddowndraw.com.

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Can Virginia Blitz UCLA to an upset?

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Billy Koehler

Lost among the other high profile opening weekend games is a match up which could create the first major upset of the season. After scaring UCLA last season in Charlottesville, the Virginia Cavaliers will travel to the Rose Bowl where they will be more than a two touchdown underdog.  No one expects them to so much as keep the game close, but they could win.

Last year UCLA was nearly a three touchdown favorite at Scott Stadium. In a typically messy opening game for both teams, Brett Hundley and the UCLA offense weren’t able to get on track all day. The Bruins only put up 358 yards, including just 116 yards on 39 rushes on the ground. The difference in the scoreboard was all caused by three second quarter defensive scores for UCLA.

Who is comingj

In addition to scoring most all of the UCLA points, the Bruins defense had a great day stopping Virginia as well. The Cavaliers mustered just 120 yards on their 39 carries. When the UCLA offense couldn’t put the game away late, it was the defense who saved the day. Virginia had a first down at the UCLA 19 but couldn’t score or pick up a first down, and the Bruins ran out the clock.  The UCLA defense bailed out an offense that was all but shut down by the Cavaliers. Continue reading →

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Gridiron Glossary: Zone Blocking

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Billy Koehler

Zone Blocking is a blocking scheme for offensive lineman in which the covered offensive linemen block the man in front of them and the uncovered offensive lineman step placed to execute a combo block, if a defender is available, and if not to proceed to the second level to block linebackers with the exception that the backside defender is left unblocked.

Zone blockingj

Zone blocking is the entire blocking scheme and zoning is what two lineman are doing together.  In the diagram above look at the two combo blocks.  On the one to the left, the guard and tackle are covered.  In the zone blocking scheme the backside defender is left unblocked, so the tackle is treated as uncovered.  The guard is covered.  The guard’s rule is to block the man in front of him.  The tackle steps playside and will run into the defender covering the guard.  They will both block the defender at first, and then one will go block the linebacker.

Now look at the combo block on the right.  In this case the guard is uncovered and the tackle is covered.  The tackle’s first rule is to block the man covering him.  The uncovered guard steps placed and will find no one to block because the defender covering the tackle is too far away.  After that step the guard will then go to the linebacker to block.

Both of these combos are examples of zoning.  The uncovered player stepping placed to either engage in a combo block or proceed directly to the linebacker is the essence of the scheme.

Gridiron Glossary is a resource for football terms that are often used by commentators, coaches and players but rarely defined.  If there is a term you have questions about or a definition you don’t agree with, let me know at billy@thirddowndraw.com.

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Gridiron Glossary: 4-3 Under

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Billy Koehler

The 4-3 under is a defensive formation with four defensive lineman, three linebackers and four secondary players where the defensive lineman are shifted away from the strong side.

4-3 under ggj

The name under comes from an under shift.  The opposite is an over-shift toward the strong side.  By moving the 3 technique defensive lineman next to the 5 technique the defense has both the B and C gaps covered.   The defense is better able to defend the point of attack on the weak side since they have shifted their line that way.

Gridiron Glossary is a resource for football terms that are often used by commentators, coaches and players but rarely defined.  If there is a term you have questions about or a definition you don’t agree with, let me know at billy@thirddowndraw.com.

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Gridiron Glossary: Oklahoma Drill

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Billy Koehler

Oklahoma is a practice drill where one defensive player lines up against an offensive blocker with a running back behind him.  The defender must engage the offensive player, beat him and then tackle the running back.

 

The drill can be very violent, and many coaches no longer practice with it because of the perceived likelihood of injury.

Gridiron Glossary is a resource for football terms that are often used by commentators, coaches and players but rarely defined.  If there is a term you have questions about or a definition you don’t agree with, let me know at billy@thirddowndraw.com.

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Abolish the preseason poll

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Billy Koehler

Earlier this week the AP released their first poll of the season, and unsurprisingly Ohio State is number one.  Somewhat surprisingly the Buckeyes are the unanimous number one team.  This is the first time in the history of the AP poll the pre-season #1 team has been a unanimous selection.  After winning the national championship last year in the college football playoff, the Buckeyes should be number one.  In fact, the entire poll should look exactly like it did at the end of last season.

Nothing has changed for Ohio State since they walked off the field champions against 2013_Ohio_State_Buckeyes_logo.svgOregon.  They haven’t lost any games; they haven’t won any games.  It’s not just Ohio State; it’s true for everyone.  No one has played any games, but for some reason we decide to penalize some teams and give others an undeserved windfall.

Proponents of a preseason poll argue that the Ohio State team that won the national championship is not the same team who is being selected number one now.  They may have many similar players, but they have lost some and gotten some new ones.  Of course that is correct; for every team this year’s team is new and different.   However, the fact that the teams aren’t the same is a reason we should be using last year’s rankings rather than making up new ones.

Long Bias

If we don’t have new preseason polls and just use the final rankings from last year, we will be giving the 2015 teams the advantages or disadvantages the 2014 versions earned.  If we do create a new preseason poll we will not mimic last year’s results; instead we will reward programs and conferences who have been historically good or have good reputations or off season hype.  We will give 2015 teams credit for accomplishments that may have happened before they were alive.   Continue reading →

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Gridiron Glossary: Combo Blocking

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Billy Koehler

A combination or combo block is one in which two offensive players initially engage a defender to block before one of the offensive players disengages and engages a second, designated defender.

 

Combo Blockj

Usually you have two offensive linemen engaging a defensive lineman and then one of the linemen goes to block a linebacker.  Which lineman goes for the linebacker is dependent on how effective the initial block is.  The defender will usually end up more in front of one offensive player than the other.  It is the other offensive player, who will go block the linebacker.

The diagram above assumes that the blocker on the left will be able to push the defender to a point in front of the blocker on the right before going to block the linebacker.

Gridiron Glossary is a resource for football terms that are often used by commentators, coaches and players but rarely defined.  If there is a term you have questions about or a definition you don’t agree with, let me know at billy@thirddowndraw.com.

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Gridiron Glossary: Zone Read

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Billy Koehler

The zone read is an offensive play, usually run from the shotgun formation, in which the offensive line zone blocks and the quarterback give the ball to a running back or keeps it himself based on an unblocked defender he reads.

Zone Readj

Although the term is common, it is used too often to describe plays which are not the zone read.  If the offensive line isn’t zone blocking, then it isn’t the zone read.  It could be the power read or the veer read, but it’s not the zone read.  Similarly if the play is a designed give or pull for the quarterback, then there is no read.  It may be an inside zone or an outside zone, but it is not a zone read.

 

Gridiron Glossary is a resource for football terms that are often used by commentators, coaches and players but rarely defined.  If there is a term you have questions about or a definition you don’t agree with, let me know at billy@thirddowndraw.com.

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Gridiron Glossary: Trips

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Billy Koehler

Trips, short for triple, is an aspect of an offensive formation that involves three receivers split out to one side of the formation.

Trips Formationj

Trips doesn’t describe the formation; it is just an aspect of the formation.

strong leftjj

Gridiron Glossary is a resource for football terms that are often used by commentators, coaches and players but rarely defined.  If there is a term you have questions about or a definition you don’t agree with, let me know at billy@thirddowndraw.com.

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On the Draw

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Billy Koehler

Stop me if you haven’t seen this before.  Your team is on defense and needs a stop.  The quarterback drops back to pass.  Your defense is in great position; it looks like they expected the pass, and your defensive lineman are getting up field.  Then the quarterback pulls the ball down on a draw and gets the first down.  Awesome or awful depending on if your team has the ball.

Everyone knows the draw.  The draw play is run by every college and professional football team.  It is run one of three ways.  All variations begin with the quarterback dropping back to pass.  In the classic variation the quarterback sets up to pass, then runs the ball straight ahead himself.  Another draw involves the same quarterback set up, then a handoff to a lone running back, who seeks a hole.  In the last version, a lead blocker stays back and then leads either the running back or the quarterback through the hole.  This is called the lead draw.  Regardless of variety, the basics of draws are the same.

The draw is the opposite of the play action pass.  Where the play action pass seeks to give the impression of run play before revealing a pass, the draw gives the impression of a pass before revealing a run.  The draw is a slow developing play, so deception is key.  If the defense is not fooled, the play will go for a loss.  If the defense does take the bait, most of their second level players will be running to their coverage responsibilities away from the ball carrier. Continue reading →

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