SITUATIONALOFI'ENSE 81

Two.Minute Rules ception or turnov€r usually m€ans you lose the

game.
:.tain rules and principles are essentialto suc- If the defensehas dropped deep to take away
::.i in a 2-minute ddll. Number on€, €veryone our primary receivers, then the lay-offs should
- iit know the situation, not juBt the quarter- be even more open and becomebetter gains. When
':.:k. The coachesshould communicate on the we lay the ball off, we prefer for the QB to work
. :.line to oul entire offense:whether we need a into the short side of the field. We've found that
l .rr if we will settle for a FG, exactly how much we have much more success getting the compl€-
::.' is left, how many time-outs we have, and tion and lhen eettingout ofboundsand "topping
. r: :r ofthe thrce tempos we are going to execute. the clock wh€n the throw is to the short side of
- i the QB vrill remind everyoneof the situa- the field.
: : again on the field before rre heak the huddle The QB must also decide when to take the short
- :he frmt play. gain and when to just throw the ball out ofbounds
s€cond, everyone must know it's time tD hurry to stop the clock. In a norrnal 2-minute situation,
r - : io things quickly For this reason, we go on a our goal is to gain 7 yards on eachplay.Ofcoume,
: - :i snap count to try and saveevery secondon we always want the bigger gain, but we don t want
'. rlock.We also want to get in and out of the to force it and increaseour chanceofa tumover:
' -:.le and up to the new line of scrimmage as Ifwe're going to gain only 2 or 3 yards, then we
. , : as rve can. We can't run amund trying to get eiiher need to get the ball out ofbounds or make
-::xized. W€ must execute, be as efficient as a fimt down so the clock stops, at least tempo-
:' i:rble, and waste no plays or tim€ onthe clock. rarily. A gain of only a few yards is not wodh the
hird, receivers should get all the yads they time we lose off the clock.
r: :fter making a catch but still be consciousof We try to use time-outs very discriminatingly,
': :ideline.This may sound elementary,but it's usually taking them only after sacks or short
' .r- sing hou ofien you seeplaycrsrun immp-
: ::.]v out ofboundB. To help our playeN know
!: :l! *'hen to try to get out ofbounds and when
, r.r get north and Bouthup the fi€ld, we teach
L - . {e call the numbels .&le. If they catch the
'| 'n or outside the numbere, they should eei
, :.et can and get out ofbounds. Conversely,if
'.. catch the ball inside the numbers, they
-- rld getupfieldandmakeyards,andnotworry
i- i: the boundary
. i.urth principle is to never take a sack. Sacks
' alt costyou valuableyards,but the time that
. ::.es rvhile the team gets lined up and ready
' ::e next play is usually much $eater than
- ':::al. Also, when you're going backwards in-
.-.:r of forwards, it rcquires more time for the
il.. :o get back and aligned colrectly.
:1e Qts shorld try to get rid ofthe ball ifat all
r rle, but if a sack doesoccur,w€ always con-
. :-ri: :aking a time-out immediately. After a sack,
- :e usually faced with a bad down-snd-dis-
.::.. so the time-out gives you time to get your
. ,:hts together and decide on the next play.
ri.riher key principle is to takejust what the
r,-'i:je gives up. OtrI motto in these situation8
. ' ! needy, not gteedy," and this has to be the
:-. thought olthe quarterback.The QBh
"rling
:- .:rn making processmust remain the same
- 'inything, becomeeven mor€ comeruative
.' ,: :onnal. At this point in the game,an inter-
82 FOOTBALLCOACHINGSTRATEGIES
gains when we don't make a frrst down orget out
of bounds. Rarely wju we take a time-out after
makins a fiIst down unless we have more avail-
able than the situation dictates w€,11need. Wed
rather stop the clock with the eB intentionaly
tluowing the ball into the ground, sac ficing the
down to save the time-out. When ue do this, the
QB callsr he codeword .or r his ptal and er erl une
knowsto gersor.Thp QB ca tbr r he ba a. soon
"
as everyoneis set and the official
marks the ball
as ready for pla)r The line merely steps insjde
while everyoneelse stays in his stanceuntil the
whisue blows the play dead.
On.the.Field Procedures
Now,let's Iook at a few ofthe procedureswe use
and how we executeour 2-minute offense:
1. We identify which of the three tempos we
want or need to employ,and then we ale1t
€veryone on the offensive team that we are
going into that mode of offense.We atso jn_
torn everyoneexac y what our goat for the
series may be, whether we need a TD or if
we can setUefor a FG.
2. Beforc the QB takes the field, we rcview that
week's2-minute plan and confirmwith him
how many time-outs we have ard how nmy
plays we should be abl€ to run in the time
.emaining. We remind him what the Desr
plays should be for that week, and what to
expect liom our opponent. W€ try to start a
2-minute drill \.ith a ptay that's good ver_
sus a wide variety of coverages,which for
us may be a curl route, a screen,or a d.aw.
Whatever play you select,it shodd bc ure
that your players know €xtremely well, ex_
ecute well, and one that has answers ior
1994 Pro@edinqs Coach Futmer is head coach at rhe Uni\ersitr
whatever look you may get. Successon the
{irst play is criticat not onlyjust for the yardE
gained, but for the psychological boost it
$ves ine @am.
3. Aft€r th€ first play, w€ arc into our 2-minute
offense,and the coach€scontinueto call the
plays frorn the sideline.We don,t let oul
eB
call his own plays dudng the regutar couse
of the game, and we arent going to expeci
him to do so when the game is on the line.
The QB will immediately look to tbe side-
lin€ once the prcvious play is completed.
Becauseofthis, there is no real reason for
us to call two plays in the huddle at one time.
The signals are short and quick, usuatly only
one or two movements of a hand, and the
QB stafts relaying the play to the rest of
the ofense as the ball is being spotted and
the oflense is g€tting alJgned for the nexr
play. Routes aie usually communicatedto
the receiversfrrst, then the protectionsare
directed for the line and running backs.
In addition, we have found that we can
change the pelsonnel that we have in the
same by having them right up there besid€
us and sending them in as soon as the pre_
vious playends. This has beenbeneficiatfor
us becausewe can go fuom four WRs to two
RBs and back to five WRs without the de,
fense having time to adjust its personnel.
draws, aDd the FB trap have beel very
-,Screens,
efibctive ptays for us the last few y€arc, especially
on secondand short down and distances.By calt_
ing theseplays during tbe last 2 minutes, we hav€
an excellent chance to at least pick uD the first
do$n. The"e plaJ" atjo kFep ino a"r;n.. otr-
balance and slo\^ down the passrush
ofTennessee.
 i ! I { ; 4 i i I t i 6 | i ! !, iIF
Pass Plays for the Final Drive
JACKELWAY
0
The final offensive poss€ssionis an opportunity
:o win the game. We'v€ all been in such sitta-
:ions, and we've experiencedgreat victories as
rell as gut-wrenching d€feats.These situations
always heighten the victory and s€em to inten-
iify the emptiness of a ]oss.
The situation we'vebeen presentedwithlooks
iike this: 30 secondsremaining, on€ tim€-out,
irst'and-goal from the g-yard line. we need a
rouchdownto win-no probleml?
Gcrring inro thiq "iluarion is.ne rhing: pre-
oadng to capitalize on the situation is the task
preparationfor this 6rtuationin-
" hand. Our
cludes the following plan: identifi€ation of our
'clutch" series, practice time devoted to such situ-
ations, and executionof our clutch series.
The offensive staffwil s€lect three or four plays
ihat we can "hang our hat on." These are plays
:hat, regardlessofthe defense,we executeto the
highest d€greeofproficiency.We also prepare for
$ hat we expecta defenseto present. One chang€
ire have Beenin defensive football in these situa-
rions basbeentheuse ofmorezone covemgethan
rhe heretoforeman or blitz coverage.we will not
discount the possibility of the combination de-
fensesthat will be used to make us eam a touch-
The last 30 minutes ofThursday's practice is
always set aside for specific2-minute situations.
The practice tim€ allows oul offetse to developa
senseofpoise, purpose,and executionofthetask
hand. We {,ant to establish a tempo for 2-
^t
minute situations- OuI playeN are inehucted to
get to the line of scrimmage as quickly as pos-
- rhle.Our.kill plarers,WR.TE. RB. QB) are in-
:tructed onmethods to conseNetime and to stop
the clock without the use oftime-outs. Our QBs
$ill hear constantly from us that their best deci-
jion may be thrcwing to row 17. The QB's recos-
nition ofa "no chance"play alows our offenseto
remain in control by avoiding a sack,a turnover,
We will give oul QB two plays to call rn the
huddle with respective Enapcounts for each. Since
rhere was no mention of where the ball has been
*,; :
marked, we will take the liberty ofplacing it in
the middle ofthe field. Let's get startedl
84 Y Delay
The fimt play attempted will be an 84 Y delay,
FB read, run from a doubl€s right formation. This
play is dmwn up veNus a 3-4 front with cover 3
behind it (seeFigurc 1).
HGUBEI GYd"t"v
N
CtrC
O
L
I
The fullback is given a "ftee release"thmugh
the inside leg of the strong safety. He'll force the
defensive covemge and specifrcally expand the
stronssidelinebacker (S) bywidening him to the
top ofhis zonedrop.We'll placeour tullback (FB)
at one yard deepinto the end zoneand as wide as
the strong safety's (SS) original alignmeni. His
tunction is to attmct two defendem, S and SS.
Our flanker will rrm his comeback route by driv-
ing the corner 17 yards into the end zone and com-
ing back to 15 yards.
The tight end (Y) will "slow-block by inl.iting
the shongside defensive tackle (ST) upfield. Y will
key tbe dmp of S and occupy the area S has va-
cat€d.Y must be aseressivewhile slow-blocking
and he canDot get held by the ST Our tailback
(TB) will check release offthe weakside linebacker
(W) and milTor the drop ofthe middle linebacker
(M). He has an opportunity to occupyorblockM,
and we will have a successful play.
84 FOOTBALL COACHING STRATEGIES
OuI QB will take his five-step drcp and key S.
We have crcat€d a two-on'one situation with our
FB and Y Our objective js to make S wrong and
look to ourTE. There have been instanceswhere
we have fbund our flanker, but that has been the
result ofa gr€at effort by our tdggerman. This is
our most successfulplay and we want our TE to
gain a minimum of5. By accomplishingthis we
have kept the football in the middle ofthe field,
and we can get back to the line ofscrimmage for
play No. 2.
93X
The situation is second-and-goalon the 4-yard
line with 22 s€condsto go.We anticipate tbe de,
Ienseto run the same front and cover as tbe fimt
due ro I heir inrbrlir) to huddle.subsri1ure.orsig
nal in a defens€(seeFigure 2).
F I G URE
2I ;
FS
/
S backs align in a near set. This play requires our
T ST
CCo
Doubles right 93 X is a fade by our sptit €nd
(X). He will drive throryh the outside shoulder
and fade tothebackconeofthe endzone.OurTB
will release thmugh the inside leg of{ and his
roul€ muar widenW By accomplishing rhis. re
place the burden on M to get to the TB.
Our FB will slip releasero the flat. ThiB rEa
technique that enables him to prevent a poten-
tial passrush ftom an area outsid€ ofour tackle.
He then slips into the flat. Our QB willfirstcheck
the corner.The aligr]ment olw will change his
fbcusto makingw wrong. Ifhe widens and hangs
with TB, we dump to the FB. IfW widens to the
flat, ourTB is prime. We completeto our FB who
is unable togetoutofbounds. Our final time-out
is used with 12 secondsremaining on the 2-yad
line,left hash mark.
1987Sunner Manual. ConchEluat is a scoutfor the DenaerBrcncos.
338 Flood Pass
Our sideline conversation will include our next
two plays. We also anticipate a defensive change
so our third Eelectionis a play we feel has a chance
versus any defensewhere w€ need 2 yards. Our
QB iB reminded not to lorce the issue, and ifit's
not going to happen, to get rid ofit so we'll have
another opportunitJr.Th€ play chosen is a 338
flood pass (seeFisurc 3).
FIGURE
3
CCNCO
We'll bring X to a tight position weak. Oui
flanker to motion pre-snap to an area 5 yards
ouhide the alignment ofY On snap, he will oc'
cupy the area S h as vacatedat a depth of 8 yards.
Ywill outsjdereleaseand occupya space5 yards
ouhide hiB original alignment and get to a depth
of 7 yards into the end zone.
Our TB will sprint to the front cone.He must
gain enough li"idth and depth that a simultaneous
hit and reception would break the plane of th€
end zone.Our FB must pin the delender respon,
sible for'contain." If that defender widens to a
point where a pin tu not feasible, then he will k€ep
him from gaining gound upfreld. We want thls
block as close to the line of scrimmage as pos-
sible.OUrQB must lorce the issu€by getting out-
side, keying the block of our FB. He now looks to
the TB and thrcws or runs to the front cune ur
In th€ event h€ throws off-balance, leaning out
of bounds, and somehow completes the pass to
the flanker, trynotto look stunned. Be composed
and be the frrst to let your booster club know that
you practice this amazing f€at every Thursday.