SPECLAL
TE,d\{S 117
aeeressivep€oplewho could covcr war€ too com-
pact to provid€ zon€ pmtection. By switching to
the spread punt fomlation and a man protection
scheme, we were getting the most out of our
personnel,peoplewho couldb ngtheirassigned
rusher to a stop and cover the punt with good
speed.Ourends are able to releaseonthe snap of
the ball with no protection r€sponsibility. Our
punt coverageimpmved tremendouslyl
We searchlong andhard to find the be3l play€r
for eachposition on our puntleam.All ofourcov-
erage drills ar€ laped to find the player who can
consistontly spring downfi€ld under control and
maintain proper dislribution on the field in rcla-
tion to other membels ofthe coverageteam.
To quote Frank Ganz, specialteams coachfor
the Dehoit Lions: "Open field football is difYer-
ent. Flying down the field to make a tackle is a
dilYerentskill than breakingup to make a tackle
on d€fense."Yourb€st tackler on defensemay not
be your best coveraseplayer.
Ends
Our ends must be our best cover peopl€-They
musrposs.ssgreal speedand bc vFryaggr.ssiv..
They must be able to r€lease offthe ball with a
defender or two attempting to ke€p each on the
line ofscrimmage.Oncethey ar€ ofithebal1, they
muql bFal Ihe opponcnlto rhF rFrurn man.
Upbacks and facktes
Our upbacksand tacklesmustbe capableofbrins-
ing rhc rushcr ro d complcre"rop and rclcaqing
to contain the retum man or maintain lane le-
verase.This calls for a more disciplined player.
(Th€ upbach and tackles may switch coverago
responsibilities.)
Cuards
ThF sxard posirionscall lor play.r" u ho are big
ser than the upbacksand tackles to help the cen-
ter in pmtection whenever possibl€.They need
not be as disciplined as the upback and tackles,
but they must be hitters to solidify ihe middle of
Center
Our center is often involved in protection. He
must be capabloofnot only snappine the ball ac-
curately; he must also be abl€ to step quickly to
block left or risht, dopendins on the protcction
call€d.
Futlback
The fullbackpositionmusr be asqignFdro an in-
teuigent and asgressiveleadexHeruns the show!
He must be capableof recognizingthe opponent's
rush set and making the protection calls accord-
ingly. A tullback must be an inteme hitt€r, be able
to tak€ on rush€ft, and b€ athlelic enough to er-
€cute our various punt fakes.
Punt Procedule
The puntteam assembleson the sideline pdor to
eachthird down.The specialt€ams coach\ .iUgive
specialinstructions or plays b€forcsendingthem
on the field.
The punt team will sprint onto th€ field and
alisn quickly in punt fornaiion. Unless otheNrse
instructed, ther€ will be no huddle.
As th€ team runs onto tha field, they commu-
nicate special insh'uctions to members ofthc punt
team who are presenUyon the field as members
ofrhe offensiveunit.
Lining Up lor the Punl
FB will look amund to seethat the team is rcady
and will count 11.He will call the ftont and aleft
the team ifth€re is an overload. He will then make
the pmtection call.
Alter tho fullback's call, the line $r'i]Imakoany
necessaryline calls and communicateiheir block-
ing assisnments.After the line calls are made,
the FB rcchech the taam's aligrm€nt and calls
lbr the ball to be snapped(seeFigur€ 3).
FIGURE
3
@r+va" r
@r'@r'Er'@r'@r+ya"
2 yds@ @ zvos
15yds P
The line should assume a two-point hitting
stance with hands on thish pads, with €lbows
bent. Feet should be slishuy stagsered(to€,/heel
rclationship) with the outside foot back. Shoul-
ders should be panllel to the line ofscrimmage.
They will line up with theirbelmets breaking the
plane of the center's belt. They must be able to
secth€ ball.
 I48 FOOTBALL COACHING STR.{TEGIES

Guards Tak€ a one-foot split from the cen- Eagle protection is called when the.e are more
ter: ?h€y are responsiblefor the alignment of lhan six potenlial rushcrs.This protecriunin-
tbe line. Guards muBt be sule that their hel- volves assigning a man to the center,and in all
mets ar€ even with the centels belt. The tack- casesof a ten-man ftont, the FB js assigned a
leE and ends wilt take their alisnment on the man to pick up (see Ficure 5).
euard.
Tackles-Tak€ a one-foot split from the
guard. They align on the guard so their Bhoul- Eagleproleclion,tag' c.tl by
dem are exactly even with the guard'Bshoul, FB s€nds center to .ighi
dem and parauel to the line ofscrimmage. y' tz 3 4 4 3 21\
Ends-Tak€ a split aiignment (14 yards lrom v/ vv v v v v v v vl v
the ball). Shoulders must be parallel to the line
of scrjmmag€,
(9 , (, ag,tefe9 €, €9
Upback.-Line up 2 yards ofl the balt with
their inside foot directly behind the outside foot
ofthe tackle. Assume a two-point stance,with
hands on thigh pads, cocked slighily to the
outuide.
Fullback Line up 5 yards from tbe ball, di, Ends Sarne split and alignment. Go to the
r€ctly behind the right guard. Assume a two,
baU!
point stance,being able to block their assign,
Upbacks-Ignorc anyone on the split end.
Block 1.
Punter-Line up 15 yards from the ball, di- Tackles Block 2.
rcctly behind center
Guads Block 3.
Centet Make a perfect snap. Block 4 to the
Punt Prctection side as dircct€d by the fullback.
Rock Fot€ction is ca[€d when our opponeniishave Fullback-Give th€ center directional call and
sir porcntialru<her<,seeF'e!re 4,. Blockingas- block man not picked up by the center.
si€nments will always be deterrnined by count- Punter-Anticipata r11shFituation, use two-
ing the potential rusherB from outside in. step punt. Get the punt offl Maximize hang
time, but don't outkick coverage.
TIGURE
4 Punt Coverage Examptes
,l i i ?, I i J \" .\ Ifthebatl is caught in the middle ofthe field, the
center, ends, and tullback $.i11go directly to the
(9 u e9 tr.l e9 q, Qg ball. The guads will be 6 yardB outside of th€
(D 'I, 6D ball, the tackles will be 12 yards outside ofthe
ball, and the upbacks wilt be approximately 18
€9 yads outside ofthe ball. The coveragewill then
P squeeze to the ball, convergtne frcm outsid.e.in,
with the inside shoulder on the ball (seeFisure 6).
Similar coverage responsibilities apply when
Ends-Rslease quickljr.Go to the ball! ball is caught outside the hash area. Figure 7
Upbacks-Ignore anyone on th€ sptit end. shows cover responsibiliti€e outside the right
Counting from the outside, block 1. hash.
Tackles-Block 2.
Guardr-Block 3. Right upback---Contain the rctun. Should
Centet Make a perfect snap. Sit back and be approximatelJ Jards oursideball.
"ir
block area solid. Right tackle and right gu.rd-,Co diectly
Fullback-Scan the formation and block the to the ball when itis kicked to their side ofthe
most dangerous r'usher. field (outside the hash).
 SPECIALTEA.\IS 1]!

Puntcoverago,ball kickedin Punt cov..age, b6ll kicked

lhe middlsof lhe field oulsid€rhe righrh.sh

Centgr-Adjust coverage to be 6 yards out- Ends--Co to the ball. Maintain lev€rage on

side the ball. the bafl wiih near shou]der
Left guard Adjust cov€rage to be 12 yards Fullback Go directly to the ball.
outsid€ the ball. Punter-Keep th€ ball in ftont at aU times.
Lott tackle-Adjust coverage to be 18 yards Play safety role.
outside the ball. LU, LT, LG, C, Ru-Maintain leverage on
Lelt upback Adjusl coveragetobe approxi- the ball. Squeeze to the ball, converging ftom
mately 24 yards outside the ball. R€sponsible outside"in,with inside shoulder on ball.

1992 Sumher Manual. C@ch Coushlin is hedd coach for the Jdchsonlille Jdguars (NFL) Cod(h Pdquette
sp.cial teams c.ckh at Boston College.
 150 FOOTBALLCOACHINGSTRATEGIES

i : f t I ; ; ;i t i; : l tl iir ; t ii i; ! ili i! i i:i $ I I

Making a Commitment
to Special Teams
JOHN COOPER wnn I-ARRy COYER
; : , ,.,,i; I ; ; i { I I ;, i Q i } rt M
Every coachbeJievesin the importance ofthe kick_
ing game. Some coaches,especiallythose coach
rng wmnmg programs, are committel to thekrck_
inggame- They are willingto putth€irbesr pray_
els on these teams and spendthe necessarypra€_
trce time on the kicking game. They don.t con_
sider the work of special teams an ,,after prac_
tice" activity.
Punt Team
Our defensive staff handles the punting
same
usmg the very b€st athletes on our team. The onty
player we won't ltse is our No. 1 quarl€rback. Fig,
ure 1 showEour standard punt alignm€nt.
i ; li i i i 9 ; i !
Coverage: Work to get in the middle ofthe field.
Sp nt in lane. When the ba is caught, closeto
the ball fffirst man to the receiver, attack with a
high tackle. Force him to commit siatewavs.
Guards
Two-point stance with the outside foot slighUy
back. Feet sliehtly narrower than shoulders.
Hands onknees. Linedup on the heelsofthecen_
lssign nent: Block outside-the outside edge
of protaction responsibility. Responsiblefor the
man or men in the oursidz gap from his insid€
shoulder(from noseto nose).Ifthere are two nen

FIGUBE
I
@.'@,@'u'I'u'@.@,@
@@
@ oy os

@ rsyo"

Center
The most important thing about the punt is the
center's snap. It must be pefect. The center's
prime job is to s€t the ball to the punter accu-
rately in 0.7 seconds.He snaps at teast ore sec_
ond after the fullback says ,,ready" He should vary
the delay of his snap, staying aware of th€ Zb_
sccond.lock. lf an opponcnris jumping around.
be 6hould snap quicklJ
Assignmentr Quick setup. Retain wide bas€ and
shufie back one yard (two step6).Foot-to-foot with
upbacks after thi6 shufile back. Be alert to.,over,
load" call from upbacks.