Have scheme questions, basic questions about the game, or questions that may not be worthy of their own post? Post them here! Yes, you can submit play designs here.

I saw the Browns use a similar formation on Instagram, which got me thinking about how it could be used.

By “pseudo,” I mean the H is aligned just barely off the line to look like a guard, while the tackle is positioned to look like a TE. The idea is to make the formation resemble Gun Tight Duo Left. The coach would make sure the official knows the H is off the line.

The H stays in to block for a one thousand, two one thousand count, then releases into his route. The line slides right, and the RB stays in to scan the middle and help the left guard.

If the H is a solid blocker, this could be a useful look to switch in and out of a more standard formation and give the defense another alignment and blocking threat to account for.

Does the alignment and delayed release seem useful, or would it give away too much? I’d also appreciate feedback on the routes and protection against the defensive look in the first photo.

Watch this hitch by #1 scheme with a wheel by #2 who blocks for the hitch. This is the bread and butter for North Texas's air raid system.

Hi guys.

I’m a big Michael Hawkins fan. I was watching as much film as I could to try and figure out how a normally run 1st QB was able to throw for 450 yards.

This was the key play of the game that set up a game winning field goal. Please help me figure out what the defensive playcall was supposed to be. Whatever it was, I can’t imagine it was win correctly here.

Morning,

I am coaching an 8th grade team in Canada and wanted to put feelers out there for a potential exhibition game in Washington State in November at some point. Due to low numbers, we are playing 9 man football this season, but would like to play a game of 11 man to prepare our boys for the next level. If you would like further info, DM me and we can discuss.

Hello everyone, I am a 20 year old college student 2.5 semesters into an engineering degree. The problem is I have no interest in engineering and I’m realizing now that I probably won’t be able to make up for that lack of interest by simply trying harder. So instead I’m considering changing my major to physical education or something else sports related as I think I would like to get into coaching. I would like to start at the high school level and maybe eventually get up to college if possible. I’ve loved football for around 10 years ever since I first started watching and saw rookie Dak and Zeke play I’ve been hooked. So my question is do you feel that coaching is a fulfilling career? What are your favorite and least favorite parts? Is getting to the college level realistic for someone who never played at that level? Is it worth the switch from engineering? If you’d like to share your own stories and how you’ve gotten to where you are as well I’d love to hear it.

Sacks are a poor way to grade an offensive line: there are only a few a game, and many are the quarterback's doing. So we built two ratings from player tracking instead, using where all 22 players are 10 times a second on 5,625 dropbacks from weeks 1 to 6 of the 2024 season:

• Line rating: how far the nearest pass rusher is from the QB 2.5 seconds after the snap, against an average defense in a standard dropback (4 rushers, 5 blockers, shotgun, 1st/2nd and 10).
• Pressure rating: how often the offense gets pressured before the throw, same standard dropback.

Both are Bayesian models with team effects, and we tested them on weeks they hadn't seen (trained on weeks 1–3 and tested on week 4, then 1–4 on week 5, then 1–5 on week 6).

TL;DR

• Line ratings repeat. An offense's rating from earlier weeks predicted the next week's space every time we tested it (rank correlations 0.59, 0.64, 0.54).
• Space and pressure barely agree. The quarterback is most of the difference.
• A pass rush is its players. A defense's past results barely predict next week's. The sack and QB-hit record of the players it puts on the field does.
• Offenses don't adjust to a scary front. They keep a blocker in slightly more often, throw no faster, and get pressured more.

Most and least space at 2.5 seconds (league average 2.9 yards): Denver and Washington lead at 3.4 yards, followed by Baltimore and Buffalo. The Chargers, Colts, Texans and Falcons trail at about 2.6 to 2.7 yards.

Pressured before the throw (league average 17%)

Where the two rankings disagree

Why: it's mostly the QB's legs, not his clock

• Offenses whose QBs scramble more get pressured more than their line implies (rank correlation 0.52 across 32 offenses).
• Holding the ball matters too, but less (0.34). Rodgers' Jets release fastest in the league (median 2.1 s); Jackson's Ravens release at 2.7 s.
• "Isn't a pressured QB just forced to scramble?" Partly. But the QB's scramble rate from 2023, before any of this season's pressure, still predicts the gap (0.43).
• Raw speed doesn't: the combine 40 shows no link at all.

Pass rush = personnel. Going into week 7, Kansas City and Denver put the most productive pass rushers on the field; Carolina, New England and Arizona the least. Because it's built from the players, it moves with injuries. Dallas was 3rd to 6th in weeks 2–4, then fell to 23rd and 25th with Parsons and Lawrence out.

Caveats: this is six weeks of data, so the intervals are wide and 12 offenses can't be told apart from average yet. About 5–7% of plays fail tracking and are left out.

On the site (free, no account needed): all 32 offenses on both ratings with intervals, every defense's pass-rush personnel rating week by week, one real dropback drawn from the tracking, and the full model and validation write-up: In this post https://advancedfootballstats.com/insights/nfl-pass-protection-ratings?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pass-protection

We're also following up on two questions people have asked us. Does a great run game slow the pass rush? It does on play-action; that post is up now. And mobile QBs get their own post next week.

Happy to answer questions about the method in the comments.

Disclosure: this is our own site and our own work. Play-by-play and player IDs come from nflverse.

Have a question about what football, gear, or tools to get? Questions about maintenance and taking care of your equipment? Welcome to Maintenance Mondays. Ask your questions here. Likewise, if you have any resources, suggestions, or tips for equipment management, please post them here!

I'm not sure if I'm explaining it right, but as far as I know, an onside kick attempt requires the ball to travel 10 yards.

Instead of kicking a fast ball low to the ground, why don't kickers try getting their foot under the ball and giving it as much arc as possible? Have the kicking team line up their tallest players around the middle and treat the kickoff like an NBA tip-off.

I can imagine it makes the kicker's run-up a little awkward, and it would probably need a different kicking motion to get the scoop right, but I could totally see this being much more successful than our traditional ground-bouncing onside kick.

Am I missing some challenges with this? Does the kicking tee make this difficult? Would this idea be worth trying at least?

Im in school trying to finish up sports management with a coaching specialty. Ill probably end up somewhere hs level, I'm pretty aware of that. What do you guys have formation wise (how many?) and how many plays from that formation do you have and install?

Hey guys, i'm a college intern working on the defensive side of the ball. My job is to chart plays, so before every snap I write down Hash, down, distance, personel, play result, our playcall. It could look like:

"L 1st 10 11p Short run _____"

Then at half time, I make percentages. Yesterday for example at halftime, the school we played looked like this:

10p =72% pass

11p = 68% pass

12p=100% run

1st down = 71% pass

2nd down = 65% pass

3rd down = 55% pass

2nd 5+ = 50% pass (interesting tendency btw)

3rd 5+ = 100% pass

Sometimes we play teams with less exaggerated tendency, sometimes more. If we called alot of pressure in the first half, i usually will also throw in this (also from yesterday)

Percent of pressures ran into a pass = 55%

Percent of pressured passes incomplete =72%

What more would you want to see here? Is some of this useless? Usually the coordinator (who i played with, I was a freshman he was a 6th year senior so good relationship) will look at a few things and then i'll notice some call changes in the second half.

If any other Wing-T folks are here, please chime in on the scheme or series!

Here's the only video I found that has been uploaded so far: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eUMs4jXpJmE

Diagram of the play from the classic Wing-T formation

This is a classic play from the Wing-T offense: The Down Scheme. Also called "G" or "G" scheme by some more conventional offenses. Make no mistake though, this is pure Wing-T.

The Down scheme is a fast-hitting, strong-side (TE-side) fullback run and is the foundation of the Wing-T's Down Series. The series in general is the Wing-T series for feeding the fullback the ball to the strong-side of the formation (it's counterpart or weakside series is the Belly Series).

The defining feature is the play-side blocking scheme, where all blockers outside of the play-side guard block down, and the playside guard pulls and traps the DE. In the case of Tulane's TD here, the DE squeezed down to get inside the kick-out. The default adjustment is for the pulling guard to "log" or seal the DE inside, and the FB slides off/outside of the block.

The common rules of the play work like this (PS = play-side, BS = backside). WB = wing-back.

• PSWB: Down
• PSTE: Down
• PST: Down
• PSG: Pull and trap DE or 1st defender over/outside the TE
• C: Scoop
• BSG: Scoop
• BST: Scoop
• BSTE: Scoop or downfield safety
• BSWB: Trail motion, fake Down Sweep/Down Option. If in the backfield as a halfback or tailback, same rule, but no motion.
• FB: Side step playside and dive at the butt of the tackle. Follow inside the PSG to C-gap. If PSG logs (washes DE down) bounce out.
• QB: Reverse pivot and press ball into the belly of the FB. Give. Carry out Down Option/Down Sweep fake.

Wing-T series are predicated on using 2-4ish plays that look identical to create confusion and misdirection for the defense. The Down Series typically will contain these plays:

• Off-Tackle Run: Down (FB run)
• Outside Run: Down Option or Down Sweep
• A PA Pass: Down Pass (often some type of pocket pass or rollout to the action side).

The parts that always look the same:

• The PSG always pulls, and the playside of the line blocks down.
• The QB always reverse pivots out, meshes with the FB, then fakes the option or sweep.
• The backside RB (WB in this case) runs the sweep or pitch track.

Another way to dress this series up is to use the backside RB on jet motion, and instead of a down option or down sweep, use a jet sweep instead (Navy LOVES this series).

Here's another good example of the Down Scheme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8L1IIpostg

Same team running Down Sweep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvQjwCW0oak

Down Pass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08e43S_VqKw

I'M SO HAPPY MORE TEAMS ARE RUNNING CLASSIC WING-T THIS YEAR! Below are other teams I've seen run this exact scheme this season:

• Northwestern
• Tulane
• Army
• Navy
• Air Force

My throw feels really clunky, and I can never quite get a tight spiral. The ball always kinda points to the right. I've watched some youtube videos about QB mechanics, but I'd love any additional resources or advice. Thank you!!

Have anything on your mind or got any fun plans for the weekend? Feel free to discuss them here!

is there any website/video where i can know every offense/defense concept in the nfl--and not just like tens of them, but hundreds? i mean the free ones ofc (where i dont need to play)

sorry but this is my first time going here

so mods please dont remove my subreddit!

Greetings all. Long time commenter. First time poster in here.

I have been coaching in HS for around 15 years now. Most of that has been basketball with some years helping out with football. Somewhere recently, my love and interest has shifted completely to football.

I would say I have an intermediate knowledge of the game. I know a lot of generalities about different concepts, blocking schemes, coverage checks, etc etc (probably leaning slightly towards the skill positions and offensive side of the ball). I can draw up a blocking concept, but definitely couldn’t adjust it on the fly. I definitely don’t have a great understanding of how an entire scheme would come together. How you would teach it, the rules that go into it, the drills that go into it, etc etc.

So in short, what would you head coaches/coordinators say is the best path of learning towards that role? Do you learn a specific scheme? Specific concepts? Do you specialize in one side of the ball/one position or try to learn as much as you can about all of them?

Appreciate the feedback in advance. Looking forward to the responses.

I see all the time at both levels, a RB could flip sides or go from pistol to left or right of the Qb or even have another back enter the backfield to form split backs. It seems that the majority of the time the defensive front is "static" or "locked" or whatever nomenclature you use and don't move with the back. It seems at most, one of the backers point to the RB but I don't know if he's giving a specific call or just making sure the other backer is on the same page.

I guess a more accurate version of my question is what happens (if anything) to the LB's run fit responsibilities in a static front when the RB changes his positioning?

Followed for well over ten years, tried to throw the ball a few times and enjoyed it but obviously so far off what it should be. Not planning on even playing at an amateur level - just enjoy throwing the ball with children and even colleagues. I would like to be able to know how to throw properly as well as teach the children in my school a little better. Already feel like I’ve learnt a lot from a few videos but need a bit more now
What am I doing wrong?
Is there anything I’m doing right?
Any drills that would work on my bad habits/areas to improve?

It looks like I drop the ball low before I cock it. My wrist should never go below my left shoulder? More concerned about the follow through - trying to rotate my hips first and let my shoulders and elbow follow but unsure that’s happening correctly. How much power should I get from my right leg? Finding it hard to channel that power into my throw. Should my shoulder/upper arm be 90 degrees throughout or extend? If so, when?

(Yes, I know I’m bad)

Does anyone know where to find All-22 film for Georgia’s 2017 defense? I have film for most teams in the last two seasons, but nothing going back to 2017. I have resources of theirs from 2017 and would love to chart the games and share them with anyone interested.

Welcome to Chalk Talk Thursday! This is our weekly discussion thread for users to submit new plays they have designed. If you have an idea for a play and can draw it up, please post here. Keep in mind that it is very rare that one could devise a viable play that is entirely new that hasn't been ran before somewhere. Be open to criticism as well. There is so much more to coaching football than drawing plays, and many people do not realize how much coaching, technique, and development needs to happen on the actual field for a play to work.

It is strongly recommended that you STUDY a system or scheme first to gain an idea of how a play is put together, and how RULES help a play function.

PLEASE PROVIDE CONTEXT FOR YOUR PLAY!

Guidelines:

• No "joke" plays. We are here to learn.
• Specify WHY you are designing a play, and WHAT level/league it is for. It's fine if you're not coaching, but we need the context.
  
• Your submission needs RULES that guide your players on what to do.
• Pass plays require some type of QB progression for making a decision on who to throw to.
  
• Be mindful that you cannot predict what your opponent will run 100%. Designing plays to be "Cover X" beaters, or "3-4 beaters" IS NOT the way to go about it. It is better to have one play with solid rules and coaching points that can attack anything than one play for each coverage, front, personnel, or stunt you face.
• There is no universal terminology in football. Call plays what you want, but keep in mind that no one cares about fancy play names, or the terminology aspect.
  
• Please offer more text/information on your play than just a link or picture.
• Draw your play up against a realistic opponent!
• Make sure your offensive play is a legal formation. In 11-man football, you can have no more than 4 players behind the line of scrimmage (minimum of 7 on. You can have more than 7 on the line as well). Only backs (players behind the line) and the end players on the line of scrimmage are eligible receivers.
  

You may use whatever medium you'd like to draw your play. Two common software for designing plays that have free options:

• GoArmy Edge - Football
• Playmaker X

If he's a system QB... then you should run that system.