IMG Academy's Head of Leadership Development: James Leath

Former Fresno State Football Player
Head of Leadership Development
IMG Academy
James Leath

James Leath joined IMG Academy in 2015. As Head of Leadership Development, James develops and delivers curriculum for IMG Academy student-athletes across 8 sports and presents to visiting teams, companies, and professional athletes.

Leadership lessons consist of communication skills, personal and group leadership, developing identity, and building team culture. James attended Fresno State University where he received his B.A. in Communication. During college, when he wasn't playing football, he was best known for being the beloved mascot of Fresno State, Time Out. After graduation, James went on to play quarterback for a semi-pro team in Fresno, CA. With over 15 years of coaching experience and a M.A. in Performance Psychology, James is passionate about teaching athletes the tools they need in order to be successful in life and in sport.

If you don’t have time to listen to the entire episode or if you hear something that you like but don’t have time to write it down, be sure to grab your free copy of the Action Plan from this episode-- as well as get access to action plans from EVERY episode-- at JimHarshawJr.com/Action.

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Teaching Defense - See it to believe it

If you don't do anything else this season, make sure you show your kids HOW to play what it is you are playing. Get game film and sit them down (or send it home) to show them how what you guys are doing is supposed to look like.

Call up the local college / university and ask for game film, especially if you are running anything similar to what they are running.

This tape here, was used to explain the tempo, drops, and technique of Cover 3 to our players and still serves as a valuable resource for indoctrinating defenders....

Illinois State 42 @ Yahoo! Video

Illinois State Up G Cover 3

Augustana 42 Nickel (Playbook)

Kaeding Kicking Klinic

Some notes I'm passing along on the kicking game that have actually helped me (and actually improve kicking performance of players!). This was some stuff I was able to learn from Nate Kaeding when he was at Iowa.

First things first - how do you find a good kicker? The best way is to scout and recruit through Punt, Pass & Kick contests, soccer players, and if nothing else, open tryout (see Texas Tech). You can’t coach a strong leg, so if you can't make one, may as well just find one.

Qualities to look for in a kicker are flexibility, leg snap, leg strength, balance, rhythm (in kicking), and possibly most important, consistency.

Kickers are a special bunch and for consistency sake, it is best to find one guy who can do the job and be done with it. Don't have 2 or 3 guys out there kicking in the game.

Also, it is important to recognize the kicking game isn't just a guy swinging at the ball, it is an entire operation consisting of the the snapper, holder, and kicker. It should be one fluid movement with all three players. Most unsuccessful kicks are the result of poor snaps and/or inconsistent ball placement. Stress the importance of technique (for consistency) and timing (for protection). The metric to strive for is 1.2 seconds total. In high school, if you can reach 1.5 seconds, you are doing perfect.

Kicking the ball
Special teams is all about timing. To improve timing and increase success, take every effort ot eliminate wasted movement (that prolongs the launch).

The kicker should set up a distance based on his personal stride length, starting with a plant position on the ball's (eventual) placement, and taking three large steps backward and one large step laterally.

The kicker should not have parallel feet in his stance. He should present his kicking foot forward, thereby eliminating a gather step completely. The whole movement for a kick takes place in 2 steps with an initial stutter. Any more steps than that and you will have erradic performance.

Once set in his stance, the kicker should pick a target past the goal post and high. With this visualization cued to align his body, he will then direct his attention to the kicking tee and keep his head down, locked on this aiming point. This ensures that the kicker is focused on his footwork and this is the same every time he kicks. With the kicking toe and kicker's hips pointing at the target (ball), his approach will consist of one 4" gather or jab step with the non-kicking leg.

short jab step initiates the long stride approach

After the jab step, the next step should be an exaggerated stride with the kicking leg, reaching forward as far as possible.

The final step is the plant step, which should put the non-kicking foot 6-8" outside of the ball placement.

The momentum of forward hip explosion should be carried through with the non-kicking foot vertically. This can be simulated/practiced simply by rolling the foot forward from the balls of the feet to the toes, ending with a jump. This follow-through ensures a consistently straight kick.

When practicing, this can actually be done with your eyes closed. Rather than shagging balls 40 yards down the field, have the kicker practice his approach and swing on a paper cup. You want to make this movement a habit, train the muscle memory of kicking mechanics.

In keeping with muscle-memorization, the coach should also stress practicing rhythmic breathing for the kicker. A consistent method of relaxed and controlled breathing will help your athlete maintain his focus during clutch game situations.

The Sweet Spot

Of most import for kicking is where (on the ball) to make contact. The ideal spot for consistent kicks is known as the "sweet spot" . This location is 3" below the midlevel point on the football.

DOWN,OUT, & LOCK

The secret to a consistent kicking game is the contact point. Namely, the foot.
The tool used to kick the ball should be the lower inside portion of the kicking foot.

Important coaching points are that the foot should be pointed down and outside. Once this position is achieved, “lock” the ankle to ensure there will be no deviance in the surface delivered to the ball. You want a club for a foot. The sweet spot of the ball should be making contact with the ‘knuckle’ of the big toe. Another crucial aspect of presenting the foot is to always keep the sole of the foot hidden. The athlete should drive through his kicking foot arch into and past the ball.

Much like the Darin Slack C4 Method of Self-Correcting throws, a basic trouble-shooting approach to improving kicking is as follows;

• If the kick goes end over end or spins too fast = contact made too low of sweet spot .
• If the kick goes too far ahead of goal = contact made too low
• If the kick goes quibs = too high of sweet spot
• If the kick goes too far behind / hook = contact made too high

During practice, don’t just having your kicker out there just going through the motions. Have an objective and focus, working scenarios and hashes. This will build the confidence for game situations.

THIS

.....not this

for more instructional material on the kicking game, I would recommend checking out Filip Filipovic at;

http://www.thekickingcoach.com/

Delegation of Authority (Using Assistants)

just bring me a juice box!

When we are TOLD what to do we often, as prideful men, reject it, no matter what it is because we want to maintain our autonomy and dignity. When we are asked what to do and given the choice to determine our own fate, we tend to buy in (even if its the very thing we would've been TOLD to do).

coach, let me get you a juice box!

Some thoughts I'll offer on managing your assistants to better serve them and the program;

1) Pick your battles / weigh the economics of responsibility;
What CAN they do? You likely have laid the groundwork of the Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. The frame has been built, why not let one of one of the most promising assistants to pick out the furniture? Maybe there is no incentive (monetarily / position), so it is going to come down to who wants to take on more responsibility. You may be stuck in a situation where assistants will do as little as possible because they just want a stipend and a good seat during the games (only you would know that). However, if a MAN is given the authority and responsibility, he will take interest and his pride usually takes over (to ensure the performance doesn't embarrass him)

This isn't just throwing someone the keys and told to lock up when he's done. I believe you'll have to be closely interactive with them ('what are we going to do about this?'/ 'what is our answer to that?' / 'what could go wrong?') This shouldn't be a blank check, but should be a stewardship position - "we need you to lead us in this area, we want to take full use of your knowledge and perspective of the game".

You may not be relinquishing the offense (naturally) but there are roles people can take responsibility for. Case in point, any monkey can run a defense (it takes a unique individual to actually screw up a defense).....now that you have a defense installed, why not just give them the burden of keeping it running? Another example, any assistant can run Special Teams, too.

I believe your main concern is HOW they see the position (their role on staff). What can you live with? If you give a guy the defense, you have to be willing to give up a 3rd down here, a touchdown there - and not freak out. Special Teams, that guy should be responsible for knowing the players and abilities to know what will be the best result in a given situation (reverse here? fake it now?). Just make sure you have the 11 ready to go. The "coordinator" title gives guys hard-ons apparently....feel free to invoke its power.

2) Define Expectations
Again, we can't just throw the keys to someone and say, "Drive!". He must define his costs & expenditures and justify the what and why (keep him within the budget of authority and responsibilities). Set clear expectations of what his job is. This is most important with regards to;
A) Scouting and Game planning -WHAT is this guy preparing for? Regardless of what you run, it is in response to your opponent. Your opponent is different every week. This guy has to be plugged in to scouting and the information to understand your opponent and provide answers for each situation.

B) Practice Planning - HOW is he preparing the rest of the TEAM? What is he declaring before practice that he NEEDS before the competition? ('speak up now, or forever hold your peace'). This responsibility will be a SHOCK to most of the guys you have on staff, but when there is plenty of warning of what is coming - there really is no excuse not to be organized or prepared (the true role of a coordinator).

C) Game Day Communication - WHERE do the pieces fit? How are the calls getting in? How are the other coaches fitting within this role (someone in the box? Someone signaling? Someone working rotations?) Let this guy define those.

So this becomes, "You're running this show - just need you to provide us the answers (for planning) so we can help you help us (this week)". If he can't come up with those criteria without shitting his pants, he isn't qualified to begin with (and may not need to be on staff).

3) Hold accountable for group results
It isn't the offense and defense...it should be the TEAM. If Bob is the DC or ST coordinator, the team of coaches should be meeting to define practices and game plans. Bob is going to have to articulate this to the rest of the staff. "What can WE do to help the defense better, Bob?" It shouldn't be a YOU / ME thing, it should be an US thing, where the staff works together and challenges each other. Criticism should be ENCOURAGED here. Rather than taking the approach of "damit, the defense ain't getting the job done - YOU SUCK!", (because, naturally, the guy will blame everyone but himself) present it to include all hands on deck. "how are we / what can we do to improve our performance?" (so that introspection analyzes how to improve the TEAM).essentially,

• Sunday - "We play City High this week. Bob, what should we watch for this week? What is our game plan? What will work? What won't work? What is the 3rd and 3 play we have to watch out for within our 20 yd line, Bob?"
• Wednesday - "Bob, how do we look this week? What are we opening with? Any concerns?"
• Saturday - "Bob, good work - what went right? What could we improve on? What should we look for next week?"

Your guy(s) will either run from this or embrace it - but the bottom line they won't be able to hide anymore. Give these guys an arena to prove their worth. This is essentially telling these guys, "You can do what you need to make this work, but you have to be able to make it bullet-proof and be able to justify it to the rest of the staff" . This isn't a "do whatever you want" approach, it is "justify what your are doing to the rest of us, and that it is fail-safe, so we ALL can get on board".

Having said ALL THAT --- I don't think it has to be as black & white as a coordinator position. More importantly, there just needs to be more interaction with the staff. Do you guys meet together for game planning? Do you guys hang out together after practice?

Staff Cohesion is very important to make a team work.

Put someone in charge of scouting / tendency tracking. Put someone in charge of game day rotations....something ANYTHING where they are forced to provide a product for the team, that we all are dependent on them.

Random musings about developing a defensive coordinator

Random musings about developing a defensive coordinator on your staff (or grooming an assistant to take that role over).

Send him to a local college/university to spend time with them during their Spring Ball. It would sound like he knows the defense and (may) know the opponent, but doesn't understand the application / rationale behind what he is calling.

It would help in many ways;

1. You are empowering him to take the next step (not telling him to do something)
2. He will network with other minds (may be more receptive of other coaches input)
3. He will see it is more than just slapping stuff together, but focusing on situational defense versus particular threats.
   

One other comment....I don't know what your relationship is like, but if it is half way decent, I would challenge him as much as possible in relaxed settings. Break out the bar napkins. Every defensive guy is the next Buddy Ryan when you're just lining up against Pro sets....but what happens when you are facing bastard sets or challenging personnel, now what!?


Try to break his mousetrap. What will he do now? He will have to rethink his approach, why he is doing what he does, and galvanize his defensive philosophy.Again about the rhythm stuff, it is one thing to get the read-out of stats, but how much time does he use to watch what his opponent is doing during the course of a game? What is the OC doing in tough spots? What does he go back to? What is he trying to set up? Those are things you can pick up through pattern-recognition, by watching a full game and watching it progress.


So if you're watching 3 or 5 games on Joe Blow OC, now you're up in the box....you can have a deja vu feel for what is coming next.The only caveat I would offer, though, is don't get in the rut of trying to beat the OC, but rather just beat the QB. Understand the offense, so that you CAN do that (frustrate blocking rules, RB in protection, route-combos, QB reads, etc).


With practice - script EVERYTHING. You (and your staff) should package your opponent based on all those fancy stats/tendencies. In doing so, your kid should associate certain plays / formations with specific tendencies.


If you approach practice by slapping shit together, the kids will play like they are slapping shit together, and consequently, it will look like the defense is being called like we're just slapping shit together.


Lastly, does the DC grade the performances of his players (quantify their assignment execution)? the bottom line is how efficient or practical is this concept for your predicament? Can you assess it on your own? What will it take for it to be effective?

How could you screw it up?


The 'coverage' concept is the basic premise a DC would use as an acid test to measure the practicality of kids in positions to do their job. It is what marries everything you are doing together, instead of a handful of ideas thrown together with none of the players working together.You have 8 gaps to defend - how are you going to shut them all down? If any one of those 8 gaps isn't defended, your entire defense is compromised. Do you want guys double-dipping in responsibility to ensure that these gaps are covered? If so, then what is your idiot-proof plan to teach these 5 defenders to read block reactions (to put them in the appropriate gap support)?

Ask yourself what is it (defense) going to do for you? That is the question that is most important. If offenses you face aren't multiple themselves, where is the value in being 'versatile' / multiple (on defense), if you never have to adapt to something different each week?

The front / blitz is just a delivery method....a tool to accomplish something specific - nothing else. What are the biggest weaknesses of this method, and how do you plan to account for it?Unbalanced? Option (or belly series)?....what is the "right" gap fit, when you get 2-3 threats on a given play? What are you looking to gain with your alignments? The only point is.....if you are relying on 3 stacked backers to make reads - how do you intend to teach it, because that might be a lot for MS kids to get 'right' a majority of downs. If you're just slanting and brining linebackers every play.....what are you really gaining, and does this do more harm than good for the future development of those players (because they really aren't learning any fundamental skills for the position)?

Establishing a Tempo / Intensity on Defense

All that inflammatory badass rhetoric is great and stuff.... we can scream, holler, and make faces and all that BS, but how does that really help improve the product?

The bottom line is how do we improve the product? Increase the expectations and standards for performance. If we want them to play fast, we have to give them the vehicle to be fast (simple)
If we expect them to perform a particular way, then we must condition their stimulus (muscle-memorization) to establish that routine. Build the player confidence with simple fundamental drills every practice, make it clear what the expectations are, and rep the beejesus out of it.

What I'm talking about is establishing a tempo.

That even when you just "go through the motions" it still comes out in an acceptable manner. Kind of like saying, you can come into work and coast all day, but just make sure you;

• come in 10 minutes early
• finish all projects ahead of schedule
• keep projects under budget

Well, if you do all that, it doesn't matter if you're inspired to work or not, because you are at least meeting core requirements and PROJECTING the qualities you want others to have. For example, I may be bored as hell - but if I start screaming at the top of my lungs, people will at least THINK I'm geeked up.

That is the 'fake it 'till you make it' concept.

You may not be a millionare, but if you treat yourself like one and dress impeccably, people will THINK you are a millionare.

This is what was meant by the 'fake it 'till you make it' --- you have to play like you're excited, even if you're not. Playing 'excited' isn't about how you feel, it is quantified through hustle and effort. The kids will gravitate to whatever we provide incentives for.

A good example; "Air Raid"
What makes "air raid" so effective?
Not the plays, but the practice format, the meticulous attention to detail. The application of basic fundamentals with tempo.

Just do the same thing for defense.

Tackling,pursuit, tempo.....You can scream, or you can snooze.....but as long as you take care of those three things, your defense will establish an "identity" that matters
The point is to 'condition' it into them.

Are YOU excited when you are teaching them?

Are YOU (and your coaches) going bananas to TEACH them (not ripping them a new one)??
When you go through drills, run-thrus, 7-on-7.........are the majority of snaps high-intensity? THAT is killer instinct we're really after.

If not, why not?

You can MAKE 'emotion' and 'hustle' a part of HOW you play if you enforce it. best piece of advice I heard from a pastor when I was young..IF YOU AIN'T THERE - FAKE IT 'TILL YOU MAKE IT!!!!

If the kids aren't performing or acting like they are ready to go - send them to the sideline until they come back at least SHOWING that they are ready to go.

Of course, you can't really do this CONSISTENTLY if they have difficult (thought-heavy) assignments. Can you plug any moron into a spot and give him a TRUE/FALSE job?

Do THIS, if THAT, do THAT if THIS?.....if not, streamline the process, demand intensity and try again.

Use the CHEAP things........(doesn't cost much)... like breaking the huddle, body-posturing, words used.

How difficult is it to just say..."play over, we are going to NOT walk to the huddle" ?
Maybe not run, but we are at least going to double-time.

If we don't do that, go to the sideline you, Kansas City Faggots!!

It doesn't take much to set the "tone". One guy not ready to go? EVERYBODY hit the sideline, and don't come back until you ALL are ready to go! (send in the 2nd unit) and see what happens.
Nothing worse than seeing kids walk around the field.

Another gimmick that has worked in the past (ala Lovie Smith) is .....QUOTAS
Don't even bother without doing what was outlined above......but just say...

I want ____ amount of sacks/turnovers/interceptions before period ends

if not, we will do ____ amount (the difference) of up-downs/sprints/Hebrews/rolls/etc to make up the difference.

It conditions competitiveness as well as how that ONE PLAY can make the difference between success and failure.

Powerpoint Playbooks / Animation

The following are clips I made years ago from Powerpoint to better illustrate our 42 Nickel concepts.



This isn't what the team I coach at runs now (3-3), but nonetheless, this illustrates how a "coverage first" defensive concept works. The coverage determines
WHAT defense is being played. The coverage dictates the front. You see, we'd call the coverage and that
was it (it set the front and run support for all 11 players)



This is the loaded zone package we got from Iowa State years ago. Not many people do this, though I'm not sure why not. It affords you a cheap way of consistently getting number superiority versus 2-back teams.

If any of this is interesting, the download section below has write-ups, playbooks, and more videos on our version of the idiot-proof 42 Nickel.

TCU's 42 Nickel Blitz & Coverage Concepts

As an addendum to the AFCA article post about TCU's 'divorced front & coverage' earlier in the week ( http://brophyfootball.blogspot.com/2009/07/tcus-42-nickel-coverage-front.html ), I am going to offer what I know about their blitz concepts and how it correlates to the coverages they run out of them.

Their calls are meant to tell all 11 guys what to do and not just effect individuals or groups of players. TCU signals in all their calls with wristbands that all players wear. This makes their rather verbose terminology more efficient in communicating and eliminates the need for signalling.

There are three distinctly different front blitz concepts utilized

BULLETS - linebackers (Mike / Sam) blitzes
SMOKES - Safeties (Strong/Weak) edge blitzes
DOGS - Safeties & linebacker blitzes

Their calls are always determined by how they set the front. Their front will be determined by their call, made by either the offensive formation formation (tight/split) or by hash (field/boundary)

Their basic 4 man fronts are TITE (7 & 3 strong / 5 & 1 weak)
or the traditional G (7 & 3 strong / 5 & 2i weak)


BULLETS
The first example would be;
TITE BULLETS "A"

LBs align by front with 7 / 3 strong and 1/5 weak, with the Mike backer in the bubble.
"Bullets A" tells the backers to run through A gaps. These are essentially run blitzes. This is just an exchange stunt for run-thrus, not a traditional wanton-abandon blitz, just an aggressive run-thru gap exchange.

Another example is;
TITE TORO BULLETS OKIE

Toro tells the NT to cross the face of the center
"Okie" tells the backers to blitz opposite of the center, away from the callside. This puts the Mike in the B gap, and the Sam crossing the face of the center to fill backside A gap. He becomes the rat and reads run first.

The last type of BULLET blitz is;
MO/SOW
Mike Outside
Sam Outside


TITE TAKE BULLETS MO

Mike loops outside to the edge, the defensive end stunts down inside (TAKE) to B gap.
Sam in the strong A bubble


SMOKES
Smokes are outside safeties blitzing from outside the box. As a general rule in TCU's defense the FS will never blitz.


Smokes can be defined just like the front, depending on what kind of pressure is needed.
SMOKE WIDE (from the field), SHORT SMOKE (from the boundary), DOUBLE SMOKE (both safeties blitzing).

Another way to define the smoke is based on formation strength. THUNDER/LIGHTENING (rather than by hash) determines which safety will blitz (strong or weak safety).
"T"hunder to TE (strength)
"L"ightening away from TE

With SMOKE, the end will need to know if he has additional edge pressure with him. It is the safety's responsibility to make a 'FIRE' call to alert the end that he is coming off the edge. If the end receives a high-hat pass read, he now has a free (2-way) rush. The purpose is not to have one guy (Offensive Tackle) blocking two guys coming off the edge (DE/S)

Additionally, on a SMOKE call, a safety can make a "LION" call to alert the end that he is going inside the rush lane, so that the DE should continue on a wide rush.

For option rules; Safety is pitch on SMOKE, End is pitch on LION


DOG
Dog blitzes involve both the linebacker & Safety from the same side. These are generally called
"T Dog" /"S Dog" to generally coordinate with field / boundary (short side) calls

As an example;
FIELD AIM WIDE DOG B

"AIM" front angle away from call
Wide Dog B = Sam & Safety from the wide side are blitzing (with Sam in B gap)
Safety from edge
Sam to outside
T to A
Nose to A
E to B

TITE TWIST T DOG A

T & N twist
Sam to B
E to C
S to D (outside)

MOB

MOB is an 8 man pressure, with all safeties and linebackers blitzing. When facing a TE in MOB, a "COP" call is made to alert the callside end to play man-to-man on the Tight End. The "COP" alert allows the FS to remain free, while not requiring a safety or backer to check out of the blitz.

In all of TCU's coverage concepts;

• The Corners will always have the 1st receiver, and they will trade based on where true X & Z receiver types align.
• The Safeties always have 2nd receiver (as long as #2 is outside the tackles).
• The FS is always free, so long as there is no 3rd receiver outside the box.

To keep the linebackers together (and not displacing their alignment), they will "fiddle" on 2 backs (take first back to flow their way with opposite backer defaulting to the other back) and banjo any 1 back look (linebacker to flow will take the back man-to-man, while the other linebacker is the rat in the hole).

With TCU's 6 man front shell, they will never have the LBs leave the box. They will adjust to formations with their safeties.

If #2 weak walks into the box, then both LBs have a back and the WS becomes deep 1/2 player.
C0 corners are 1x7 and play loose, reading 3 step, then hard focus turn onto WR.
Trade corners.

Against trips looks, the outside corner will always play in a press/bail technique, while the inside defender will play loose / off.

TCU's coverage concept allows 2 coverage players free at all times, not unlike the old "11 Robber" used in the 90's by Charlie McBride at Nebraska.

In the following game scenarios, we will take a look at these principles in practice versus various formations and attacks.

Here versus an even formation out of double-tights. TCU presents a 2-high MOFO shell, but it actually becomes Cover 1, with strong and weak safeties accounting for the Tight Ends, and one linebacker blitzing.

Here is a trips looks (Kings/Trey) with a TE. Again, the same 2-high MOFO coverage shell is presented, but at the snap, the field safety is on a SMOKE, so the FS (the guy on the right hash) immediately opens to the 3rd receiver (Tight End). The spacing concept ISU was running here gets eaten up and the hesitation causes the quarterback to take an immediate sack.

And finally a doubles-to-2-back attack, common with spread option teams. A 1-back look motions into a 2-back formation, but the "AIM OKIE" call actually puts TCU in position to pick up the triple-option threat and stuff this run for a loss. The Mike on the Okie stunt loops outside to take the 2nd back, with the backside Sam stacking the A gap controlling the dive back.

Virginia Tech Robber

Without an original thought in my head, I am going to piggy-back on a brilliant article recently authored by coaches Chris Brown ( http://smartfootball.blogspot.com/2009/07/deconstructing-virginia-tech-defense.html ) and Chris Vasseur analyzing the evolution of the Va Tech Hokie 42 from an 8-man Robber, to their current, 7-man front quarters look. The article can be read here;

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Deconstructing-How-the-Hokie-D-becomes-deadlier?urn=ncaaf,178348

Both contributors are great minds of the game and Coach Vass has run the 44 "G" with Hokie "Tuff" front (bear) and Robber concepts for years.

As an aside to that piece, I am offering this treatise on Robber that may illustrate the evolution of the game from the days of our youth into what we have today. Fans of 'defensive football' will no doubt have an affinity for the violence associated with the likes of Buddy Ryan's 46 defense and other unrelenting, aggressively swarming dominant defenses of the 80s.

What does that have to do with the Robber? Well, sports fans, quite a bit. When we reminisce of these grand days of Hollywood football, we often do not account for WHY certain schemes were successful when they were, and are can be puzzled at why we don't see these schemes much any more or why they aren't as dominant as they once were.

What you'll find with the Robber and 46 is though their concepts are different from one another, the reason behind their success isn't. The ability to stuff the box with more defenders than could be blocked means someone is coming free (because you ran out of people to account for all those defenders). What broke (or accelerated defensive Darwinism) Robber, also broke the 46.

Offenses of the era were hamstrung by painting themselves into a (formation) corner by relying on 2 back, tight end formations in an effort to bring more numbers to the point of attack than the defense had. Rather than fight fire with fire (keep adding additional bodies to block), the solution was to stress the defensive front (and coverage) by REMOVING numbers from the box (think of the adage, "you've got to spend money to make money"). By displacing one of the two backs outside the box, the offense gained a horizontal stretch on the defense. This had the ability to stress coverage and run-support to a breaking point. More and more, offenses began finding strength in going on the attack of these explosive defenses (Seifert-era 49ers were notorious for their exploitation of using William Floyd & Ricky Watters in these coverage-stressing roles).

The following is an illustration of Va Tech Robber during the infancy of its dominance, the 1998 season. With players like Keion Carpenter, Pierson Prioleau, Loren Johnson, and Corey Moore, the Hokies were just starting to develop a stride of aggressive defensive players that they would carry through the new millenium.


These shots are against a young Syracuse Donovan McNabb. The Orangmen eventually won this game, which many feel Syracuse squeaked by based on the ineptness of Tech's offense, coordinated by Rickey Bustle (now HC at ULL), and not the result of defense. These shots best capture what the "robber" was made for, and also show what caused it to evolve.


The first graphic beautifully captures the numbers matchup of the formation du jour of the era, 2-back pro. With just a single receiver split on one side of the formation (flanker I), the corners could essentially lock down any 5-7 step vertical throw, allowing the FS to "rob" and put the defense at a +1 advantage in the run game (8 offensive players - 8 box defenders + 1 FS).

In the Va Tech Robber, the Corners align in typical Cover 3 leverage, looking to shuffle into the 3 step and bail into 5 step game. They bail to take away deep 1/2 vertical throws, knowing they have help on pass inside with the deep hole safety.

he key for the FS is the TE, if he releases vertically and gets depth on the underneath linebackers, he is free to take the TE man-to-man in a speed matchup he is sure to win. If the TE stays in for protection, or releases shallow, underneath the linebackers, the FS is free to "rob" any inside breaking route from either of the single receivers (typically this would come from the backside X). The read is clear and distinct, allowing the FS to confidently play this technique against any 2-back offense with a TE.

You'll note the depth of the FS in these pictures, playing at almost LB depth around 8 yards. A reach, arc release, or down block from the TE initiates a run read for the FS, allowing him to aggressively fit the alley support as an unblockable defender in the run. Typically, in the 80s and 90s, that is essentially all offenses did, anyway (run/pass out of 2-back sets). The FS in robber is flat-footed and looking to move forward at the snap.

In this first example, we find the Orangemen in a 2-back pro-formation, running a play-action pass at the Hokies. Notice the FS's shoulders turning immediately to the #1 receiver as McNabb's shoulders square up and declare that this was not a run.

At the snap, the FS reads the high-hat pass read, and follows McNabb's shoulders to the now vertical X receiver running a post. With the corner in phase over the top of the receiver, the FS "robs" this route from the inside-and-underneath and finishes the play with a pass break-up.

The "robber" allowed the Hokies to essentially double-cover a single receiver, while at the same time, had it been a run, get an additional defender in to stop the run. With only 3 possible immediate vertical threats, the FS was able to quickly check off to the most dangerous man and aggressively play ball.

This game may serve as an illustration of the constant cat-and-mouse game offenses and defenses play with formations vs coverage, as you will see Syracuse's option attack test and experiment how they could best match up against one of the best 8-man fronts of the era. Syracuse uses 2 tight ends, 2-backs, and at times 3-backs, to attempt to stymie the onslaught of Tech's aggressive front, but as this next example shows, it is addition by subtraction that wins the day for the offense.

The next play here shows a completely different look. No longer are the Orangemen presenting 3 vertical threats, but now they have 4 vertical threats spaced horizontally, forcing the Hokies to account for these 4 over the 53 1/3 yard width of the field.

Now the chess match begins.

What is the 'right' decision?



Do you cover/respect the vertical threat of these 4 receivers? To do so, means you can no longer support the 8 man box



Do you treat the gifted McNabb as a runner and stay in an 8 man front? To do so, means you can no longer support the 4 verticals with only 3 deep defenders



To stay in Robber, would put 2 receivers on 1 FS, making an easy read for the QB to find which one will be open.

The Hokies chose the conservative approach, minimizing their liabilities by matching the formation, checking to Cover 4, and fortunately, bottling the receivers allowed the defensive line time to finally sack McNabb..

If you remember the game, McNabb was a terror running on the perimeter out of these spread sets. That aggressive offensive concept has been all too familiar throughout the last decade of football (and one the Hokies, themselves, would employ with Michael Vick the next year).

For more 'study' of the old Hokie Robber, check out the game film at;