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Article Featured
Feb 17th
Coach Pratley was recently featured in an article on the Coaches Insider from Coaches Directory. Click here to view the article.
Playsheet
Feb 19th
One of the most commonly asked questions that I get is about my call sheet that I use on game day. For sake of all coaches, I thought that I would share one of my sample game plans with you.
The attachment is an excel file. There are several tabs included on the worksheet that have wrist coaches printouts, practice plans script, etc. The link can be found here at Game Plan 2009.
Please feel free to leave comments or questions about the Game Plan here.
Why the Pistol Spread Option?
Dec 31st
by Anthony M. Pratley
The pistol offense is quickly becoming one of the latest crazes in the world of football. Ever since Coach Ault at the University of
Nevada Reno introduced it to the world, the variations have exploded across the High School and College ranks. Having
been a spread option (Navy and Air Force style) and Spread offense coach, I decided to take a closer look at the Pistol
and have since adopted my own variation of it known as the Potomac Offense. (POTOMAC stands for Pistol Option
To Optimize Matchups And Coverages)
As a spread guy, I was married to option plays such as inside veer and zone read. The problem running it out of the shotgun was that most teams were able to key on our offense because of the alignment of the back. The back had to be next to the QB and it was a dead giveaway as to
which direction the ball would go. With the pistol, we were able to line the back up directly behind the QB and still be able to run the base plays that we love without tipping our hand to the defense. It also allowed us to run one of my favorite plays from the spread option, the Midline.
Another distinct advantage that we immediately discovered was that our QB was much more comfortable reading plays from the Pistol. He felt that he could get a quicker read because he was facing his read as soon as he caught the ball from center. It also allowed him to make his pass reads quicker. In essence, it was all of the advantages of the Shotgun, with the advantages of being under center all rolled into one.
When I took over the program at Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, MD
we were at the bottom of a long a turbulent ride for most of the players. I was the 4th Coach in just 3 years
at the high school, which also meant the 4th system for the players in t
hree
years. Not only that, but the Raiders had only one victory in the previous two seasons, and just 6 victories since 2000. I knew that I would have to bring in a system that would not
only have to provide an effective way to move the football, but a system that would be simple to learn and would adapt to the athletes that I had inherited. The Potomac Offense did
just that. It combines for us the passing ability of the Shotgun Spread, four wide receivers on nearly ever play with the quick strike running game of the option offense.
The simplicity of the system is perhaps the greatest advantage however. We knew that by showing 4 wide receivers on nearly every play, we would be able to predict what type of front our opponent would show us. We came up with about 5 possible combinations that our front 5 would face:
- 4-2 (6 Men in box)
- 5-1 (6 Men in box)
- 4-3 (Seven men in the box)
- 5-2 (7 men in box)
- 3-3 Stack (6 in box)
- 3-4 (7 Men in box)
By knowing what your opponent is in ahead of time, and by knowing which player is responsible for Dive, QB, and
Pitch as well as Flats we have really taken the odds and put them in our favor. We have developed a syste
m
by which we will count the box, and determine which plays to run against each front. We have even been known to have a run/pass option called on every play. Although there may be some other front combinations possible, these are the main
fronts that we will face. Each of them presents its own unique opportunities for us to take advantage of them using our “two-headed monster” of the option offense, and the spread passing game.
While we still have a long way to go as a team, we were able to average over
260 yards per game on offense and accumulated the best record at our school in over 10 years utilizing the Potomac Offense. In a conference like ours where we constantly face teams with
superior athletes, the system gives us the great equalizer. We are able to capitalize on matchups created by formation,
and by knowing each players responsibility.
Anthony Pratley
Head Football Coach
Leonardtown High School
Leonardtown, MD
The Veer in the Pistol Spread Option
Dec 31st
by Anthony M. Pratley
In this discussion, I will talk about the bread and butter play of the Pistol Spread Option offense, the inside veer. Many people have run the inside veer for many years, so I won’t waste your time or mine describing its many benefits. I will however describe to you how great it has been to us, and how running it out of the pistol set makes the read
much easier for our QB.
We ran Veer right and Veer left on nearly 80% of our offensive snaps last season. The first concept to understand is the idea of leaving a player unblocked. If you read my last article you will remember that I am the 4th coach in three years at Leonardtown High School. I was also implementing the 4th system in three years as well.
The idea of leaving a defender unblocked was a very difficult one for our players to understand.
Our rule is to leave any player that is a 4 Technique or wider unblocked.
Technique Diagram:
 |
The concept of the inside veer is to put the defender on an island. The defender can’t be right.
If he comes up field at all or tries to tackle our QB, then our QB will give the ball to the HB and let him run.
The second thing the defender can do is close down on the play and try to tackle the HB, our QB will then pull the
ball and attack the flat defender. This is what sets our inside veer apart from the traditional inside veer.
Although we do have the capability of brining one of our slots in motion to be a pitch man, we usually choose not
to. We have found that usually that is a dead giveaway. Instead, what we do is send our inside slot to the play
side on a swing route. Now what we have done is put the Flat defender on an
island. He must decide to take the QB on the option, which is usually his run
responsibility, or take the Swing Route and cover the flats, which is his pass responsibility.
Primary Read Diagram:
Vs. 4-2
Vs. 3-3
The most difficult part of running the Inside Veer is the QB read. It is imperative that our QB finds his read right off of the
snap. This is the main reason that we feel the pistol gives us the biggest
advantage. Our QB catches the snap at steps at a 45 degree angle on our
“triangle.” The HB’s responsibility is to run straight down the “triangle” as
fast as he can.
The QB will be responsible for the mesh point exchange. We teach our HB that it is his job to “get tackled.”
If he doesn’t get tackled, he didn’t give us a good enough fake. The other little hint that we have used to help us teach the read
is we use the “Clear and Cloudy” idea with our QB. If the gap that you are reading (in this case the “B”
gap) is Clear, meaning that no defender is in the gap, then give the ball. If
the “B” gap is Cloudy, meaning that there is a defender in the gap, then we tell the QB to keep the ball and make his
secondary read.
The QB’s secondary read is an easy read to teach, but is one that must be a very quick read.
In many cases, we have already predetermined what the Flat player is going to do by setting up the play.
The QB also has the ability to immediately go to his third option on any play if he knows the slot will be
uncovered.
As the QB makes his initial read, and pulls the football, his eyes immediately find the flat player.
If the flat player is guarding the swing route in the flat, then the QB will keep the ball and turn up field.
The only way that our QB will throw out to the flat is if he feels that he is going to be threatened by the Flat
player. We very rarely get to our third option on any veer play, but when we
do, we were very successful by it.
As I mentioned previously, we did not invent the play, we did not come up with a new way to run the inside veer, we have just
found a system that works for us and for our players. The veer is truly a play that when perfected can be a
very dangerous weapon. The true trick of running the inside veer is to
practice and rep it over and over again. When you reach that point, you can then add about 3 or
4 more plays that compliment the veer.
The Quick Screen Game
Dec 31st
The Quick Screen Game in the Pistol Spread Option Offense—by Anthony M. Pratley
There may be no better series in football when utilized correctly then the quick screen game. There are several distinct advantages to the Quick Screen game, but perhaps the most important is the ability to get the ball on the edge quickly. By using the quick screen game, the defense is unable to load the box with 7 or 8 players to stop the run. In our offensive scheme, this is a tremendous advantage. We run inside veer, midline and trap more than anything else. Being able to play the numbers game in the box gives our offense the distinct advantage that we need.
Secondly, it gives your best athletes the ball in space. I can’t overemphasize this point. By utilizing quick screens, we are able to get the ball in the hands of our playmaker. Not only that, but in most cases with our quick screens he only has one man to beat and is nearly guaranteed 3 yards. In our offense, we want to gain 3 yards a play on average.
Finally, the quick screens are perhaps the safest and most effective passing play in football. The completion rate is usually very high (we shoot for 90%) and the chances of an interception are very slim (Unless there is a tipped ball.) Also, the opportunity for a big play-action pass is huge. Once we have established the screen game, we use it to set up the big play.
We utilize five basic quick screens in our offense, the Swing screen, the bubble screen, the flare screen, screen right/left, and finally our middle screen. The Swing screen is the most common in our offense. It utilizes our 4 wide receiver concept.
We will swing our slot receiver to the outside and the WR to the outside will come in and block the flat player or closest threat. This is a great play against zone teams, but is surprisingly effective against a man coverage team. With the block on the first threat, we are usually able to get a two for 1. If you have read my previous articles on the Veer, you will understand how important it is for us to use the swing screen in our offense. We use the same action when we run the veer play and it gives us a run/threat option. If we are able to successfully complete a few Swing Screens right off the bat, it forces the flat player to respect the pass and will open up huge running lanes for our QB in the veer.
The second screen that we use effectively is the Bubble Screen (commonly referred to as the Tunnel Screen.)
This screen is essentially the opposite of our Swing Screen. On this play, our outside receiver will make a quick jab fake up the field, and then come back behind the line of scrimmage toward the ball. Our inside slot receiver will immediately release and block the closest defender to the WR. In most cases it ends up being the flat player or the corner, depending on the defensive coverage. On this play, we also release both our Tackles and our Guards. The offensive lineman will engage the defender, and then release outside. The Tackles will take an angle to pick off the flat player or edge defender, our Guards will usually take an outside release and look to pick back toward Linebackers or the Free Safety. The WR will catch the ball and immediately plant up field to follow the blocks of the offensive line.
In next month’s article, I will elaborate more on the three remaining screens, the Flare Screen, Screen Right/Left, and our Middle Screen series.
The Screen Game Continued…
Dec 31st
by Anthony Pratley
In last month’s article we covered some of our most basic screen plays, the bubble screen and the swing screen. This month I will cover the remaining three pieces of our screen game: The Flare screen, Screen Right/Left, and the Middle Screens.
The Flare screen is perhaps the easiest for us to teach, and surprisingly it is probably the most effective. With our Flare screen, we simply tell our HB to flare out to the flats, and we will quickly throw the ball out to him in the flats. Depending on the play side call, we will have our slot and WR block man up. Our offensive line will hit and release the Defensive Linemen inside and get to the second level. As I mentioned, this is very easy for us to teach, and in many cases is a very simple play to run. The only adjustment to the Flare screen that we can make is against man to man coverage. We will sometimes have our Slot and WR crack on the linebacker and try to get a two for one block.
The second screen that we will discuss is our HB Screen right and left. This is the traditional screen pass that everyone and their brother use. We put our own little spin on it of course, but don’t use it as much as we should. We will begin by showing a Veer to the play side. The HB will try and avoid contact and slip off into the flats. The QB will show veer and then boot out away from the play. Our Offensive Line will block for two counts, and then we will have our C, G and Tackle to the play side release to second level. The HB’s job is to avoid contact and get behind the OL to the flats. The QB will come off of his bootleg path and throw back to the opposite flats. The coaching point here is that we don’t want our QB to take a true boot path. This will be more of a drop back pass path getting depth and shortening the throw for the QB. As I mentioned, we have not run this screen very effectively in the past, but plan on using it much more this season.
The final type of screen that we run is our Middle Screen series. We can call our Middle Screen series for any of our skilled positions. Normally we run it as an H Middle Screen, but we can also call it for our slots or for the Wide Receivers. The key is that ALL 5 Offensive Linemen will block for 2 seconds and then release to second level. The Center is responsible for the Screen Spy player. The Guards and Tackles will take second level players such as LB or Safeties. The player called will take a hard step up field and then plant and run BEHIND the line of scrimmage to the middle of the formation where our Center snapped the ball. The QB will take a deep drop and then look to throw the ball over the heads of the DL. The key is to get air under the football so it can’t be intercepted by the DL. (Yes we have had it happen.) If the screen is run with our HB, the HB will show pass. He will then “slip off his block” and work his way to the center behind the line of scrimmage.
We don’t use screen passes as much as we should, because they are a fantastic way to neutralize a blitzing defense or a defense with too much speed! Just a quick reminder, I am very interested in hearing from you! Please don’t hesitate to submit an article to http://www.pistolspreadoption.com.
No Huddle Game
Dec 31st
by Mel Skillman
CALLING PLAYS
A few years ago we were in a 7 on 7 contest that was run on time. It took us awhile to call a play so I decided we needed a quicker way and one the defense would have a hard time with what we said. That’s when we went cowboy and indian. We are almost an inner city school so it was very foreign to my players also. This is what we now use.
Quick game – Indian tribes examples – Apache -slant – shoot (These are all for the left side)
Mohawk – hitch – hitch
Cherokee -Fade – out
Crow -Fade-Fade
Fox -Hitch – corner
Pawnee -Shallow – out
Viper – double slant Like snake fangs.
Some other things we call.
uncovered -Bandit, Bandit Throw the bubble
WLB blitz Nazi, Nazi Have a set combo ready.
Tunnel screens Gee/ Hawe like driving a team of horses.
Stay screen Mt up/ Steer you mount the left side of a horse bulldog a
steer off the right side.
fake screen throw it deep. Coyote, Coyote Makes defense howl.
You can see how these mean nothing to the defense.
If the routes are mirrored we call white. If we want to sprint to the route we call red if going right
and blue if going left. We can also bootleg to all of them by calling color and adding Cowboy.
Cowboys wear boots right. If you call boot even dumb defenses will catch that.
Some other terms that you could plug in. Renegade /Loco Rawhide / latigo
Possee/ outlaw Cochise/ Geronimo Rifle/ Lance Colt/ Remington Bullet/ Arrow
Rope / lasso
You can see it takes a little while to teach but the players love it and it sure speeds things up.
We even have a play series that follow the same idea. We call ” Tonto” and now we have three
plays in one. For the young guys Tonto was the sidekick of the lone ranger.
Newbury, OH
Lacey, WA
Salem, IN
Greeleyville, SC
Waldron, AR
South Lyon, MI Coach--Jerry Skupin 
Aurora, IL Coach--Mike Percie 
