Playoff Recap & OL Follow Up

Boy, what a weekend! That was really a good game we had against Seattle. They were well-prepared and ready to go. We were behind for the first time all year early on, and then again at halftime. We’ve only been down at half two other times since 2011 – last year in the regular season against Las Vegas, and then in the 2011 championship game against Boston. So it was a definite gut-check for us and I was pleased how we responded. For the second week in a row we shut out the other team in the second half and scored multiple TD’s of our own to take control of the game.

It is always good to coach against good guys and good coaches. Scott McCarron (DC) and Mike Talley (HC/OC) are just a couple of really good guys who coach their teams very well. Seattle is a classy organization from top to bottom and I look forward to playing them again. I haven’t been this on edge before a game in awhile (first game of the season against Las Vegas, and the first game against Central Cal both come to mind), and I sorta like the feeling.

So in two weeks we host a very talented Kansas City team. Another team we’ve never played before who looks really, really good on film. Some may say their schedule hasn’t been the toughest, but hey – good is good and talent is talent, and they have it in bunches.

Massey has us beating them by about the same margins they had us beating Seattle and I just don’t see it. We may win, yeah….of course, I think we will. But I’m under no illusions that it’ll be anything other than a dogfight from start to finish.

***

As a follow up to last week’s “Thoughts and Rants” post, I thought I’d elaborate on the whole “taking your OL seriously” theme. Many coaches have said, “But I do – they’re a priority” OK, maybe they are, in your mind, I get that. But what I’m talking about is what comes out on film and on the field.

Generally speaking an experienced OL coach can tell within a couple of pass plays at most how an opposing OL is being coached. Usually it starts and stops at the tackle’s footwork on her pass sets. If it is good, then more digging is warranted. If that footwork is poor, then you usually know all you need to about how they’re coached. Sure you’ll keep looking to see what the scheme is, but if they show poor footwork then half of your DL’s battle is done.

One of the reasons I still like scouting in person even though all of the film is posted is that I can watch pregame drills. I watch my counterparts when we play too, whenever I get the chance. Sometimes, I even get drill ideas from them. Heck, last year I saw the OL coach for the Sting do a more efficient version of a drill I already did, so I modified mine. But usually, the drills done in pre-game only confirm what I’ve already seen on film.

You might wonder why their tackle gets beat around the edge so quickly, and you watch them drill and it becomes apparent. You wonder why the guard and center lose their balance so often, you watch them drill their punches and you think, “Oh – THAT’S why.”

So basically, as a coach, people need to do an honest self-evaluation based off of what really happens in a game, not based off their perceptions. Simply saying “well, she missed the block” isn’t enough. “Why” did she miss it? Was it her step(s), her balance, her eyes or her hands? Then you can note that you need to come up with drills to fix that specific problem. If you don’t know the reason, then ask an outside person. If you don’t know how to create a drill to mirror that situation, ask around.

As a shameless plug, that’ll be a big part of the camp we’re doing – for all positions – offering solutions for problems that you’re having. But knowing and admitting that you have a problem to fix is the first step. If you want to sit back and just say, “Well, they’re just better than we are” then OK – you’re right and nothing will change.

I’ll never forget my first three years as a coach. My first year, I simply relied on what I knew as a player – which wasn’t much as it turned out. Fortunately after that season I knew that I didn’t know anything. I started going to clinics then, but was not only overwhelmed with info but was on teams that were understaffed with coaches who didn’t know much more than I did. Only after arriving at Fountain Valley High in ’94 was I surrounded by coaches who were better than me, and they pulled me up to their level in a hurry. Finally I had a place to get answers for the problems I was having.

That’s what we hope to provide at the camp. That’s also what this blog is about, most of the time at least during the offseason – getting coaches better. But you gotta be willing to get out of your comfort zone a little.