1. Offensive Line splits are tighter than three feet.

Here is the interview with Georgia Tech starting quarterback from 2008-2010, Josh Nesbitt.  In 2010, Josh lead Georgia Tech to the nation’s #1 rushing offense (323 yards/game).

_____________________________________________________________

What are the biggest QB coaching points on Triple Option?

Josh Nesbitt: Quarterback’s must learn how to step—their eyes must be in the right place—the quarterback must give himself time to read #1 and #2 at the same time.  The quarterback is always reading the area.  The quarterback needs to do this so he can see everything!  Get your steps down—get your eyes in the right place—if #1 takes the dive, pull ball and get downhill fast!

What are the biggest QB coaching points on Midline Double Option?

Josh Nesbitt: Patience!  The quarterback must make sure his feet and hands are quick.  Read #1 carefully—be patient with reading #1!

What are the biggest QB coaching points on Counter Option?

Josh Nesbitt: Know where the pitch key is (#2).  Be quick with the footwork and the pivot; however, recognize #2 immediately!

What are the biggest QB coaching points on Triple Pass?

Josh Nesbitt: Quarterbacks must begin to look at the safeties when they come out of the huddle, and know how the safeties will rotate.  Throw to the playside A-back if the safety doesn’t backpedal.

What are your three favorite passes you threw throughout your playing career?

Josh Nesbitt: Rocket Pass- (same routes as Triple Pass).  I like all half-roll pass/run options.  The best routes to throw off half-roll are smash routes and outside comeback routes.

What is your thought process when reading the stack on Triple?

Josh Nesbitt: Read the area!  Expect the Easy Stunt FIRST!  See both guys at the same time.  Play what you see.  Yes, you must read #1 and #2 all the time at the high school level!  You can do anything with enough work!  Read the stack at the high school level!  Put in enough work doing it!

Did you find it difficult to run Midline as a triple option?

Josh Nesbitt: No it was not.  The play is the same as triple option except the reads come faster! Be patient on read, though!  React off 1^st read—get footwork down and react!

What were your favorite running plays?

Josh Nesbitt: Counter Option, Counter Speed Option, and QB Follow (Solid Rebel) on the Goal-line.  We ran Counter Speed Option in 2008-2009 to get the ball in Jonathan Dwyer’s hands.  I liked the play because it’s about getting the ball outside—it’s one read and go!  Get around the block and get downhill.

What is the most important thing you learned about playing the quarterback position from Coach Johnson?

Josh Nesbitt: No matter how bad the game is going, the game can turn around at any moment.  It takes one play to turn the game around—be patient!  Also, know you are going to take a hit, get up when you get hit, and live with getting hit!

What is Coach Johnson’s biggest point of emphasis in executing the offense?

Josh Nesbitt: Do your job!  Only do your job!  Worry about your job!

At the camp the staff and players learned the intricacies of the offense and came away with the confidence needed to compete with the toughest schedule our team has seen in years. Statistically we finished 6-4, qualified for the state playoffs, rushed for over 2600 yards, had a plus 70 edge in total offensive plays and set the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback at 1,103.”

– Mike Mancino, Head Football Coach

To Counter Option or Not to Counter Option?

Counter Option Count System (as defined by the Flexbone Division-1 colleges)
#1- First DL from 4i out. (PT block)
#2- Pitch Key – Next man outside #1
#3 – Run Support

The Quarterback and B-Back fake triple option to one side, and then the QB/BSA run a double option to the opposite side.

Flexbone Division-1 schools run Counter Option when the Backside Inside Linebacker tackles the B-Back on triple option.

So, when Counter Option is run, the Backside Inside Linebacker will tackle the B-Back and then the ball is run to the opposite side where the Backside Inside Linebacker is not able to pursue and make the tackle.  Obviously, one would conclude that Counter Option is a must play for the Flexbone Offense.

However, there are high school coaches who do not agree.

Here is why.

In 48 states (all U.S. states other than Texas and Massachusetts), the Backside Guard cannot cut #1.  #1 will end up outside the tackle box and a block below the waist will result in a penalty.  Obviously, the thing to do is to trap #1 if #1 comes that hard up the field and the QB will run up the field while the backside A-Back adjusts his option route.  Many coaches feel that this takes too much work, and that this play becomes too “expensive.”

Look at the alternatives.

Counter Iso is a play that some Flexbone coaches will run.  This is where the Triple Option Dive is faked and an isolation occurs with the playside A-Back v. Playside Inside Linebacker.  The issue here is the amount of time the Offensive Line has to hold their blocks.  Running a standard isolation play is difficult enough–but now there is a fake AND THEN an isolation play.  Navy has not run this play in a very long time because of the previous sentence.

Counter Speed is a play that Georgia Tech ran a lot when Jonathan Dwyer was the B-Back.  Dwyer was an incredible B-Back and Coach Johnson stated that this was a way for Dwyer to get more touches; however, Georgia Tech still ran Counter Option as their staple Counter off Triple Option during this time.

Counter Trey is a play that is seemingly effective–Fake the Triple Option dive, and hand the ball to the Backside A-Back following the Backside Guard and Tackle; however, there is a problem.  If the B-Back does not have a serious collision with the Backside Inside Linebacker, the BILB can scrape to the Counter Trey side and make the tackle, virtually untouched.  If the Backside Tackle pulls through the hole and blocks the Backside Inside Linebacker, what about the fold player (Johnson term for outside linebacker)?  The fold player will be unblocked.  This is why Coach Johnson got away from running this when he was at Navy.

So coaches–What do you think about Counter Option?  If you are a playcaller, are you running this play as part of your Flexbone Offense?  Ivin Jasper, Offensive Coordinator at Navy has stated this is a non-negotiable play to take advantage of the backside inside linebacker tackling the dive on triple option.  Learn how to run the Counter Option the right way–at your 2013 Flexbone Association State Championship Football Camp.

Pre-Snap Procedure

1. Get the formation and play from the sideline.

2. Snap-Count- use huddle discipline and leadership skills to call the play.

3. Direction- at the line of scrimmage, identify the read and option key. Check to Midline if there is a 3 technique

or Double Option if there are two playside defenders from a 3 technique in (ex. double eagle).

4. Execute the play.

Reading the Triple Option

The design of the Triple Option allows the offense to gain an advantage in numbers because the offense can READ defenders instead of blocking defenders.  Pressure obviously falls on the shoulders of the Quarterback to successfully eliminate the Read and Pitch keys so the offense can free blockers to eliminate pursuit players on the second and third level.

Read Key- The read key is the defender that will tell the Quarterback if the Quarterback must give the ball to the B-back or keep the ball.  The read is defined as the following:THE FIRST DOWN LINEMAN FROM A 4I OUT.

Pitch Key- The pitch key is the defender that will tell the Quarterback if the Quarterback must keep the ball or pitch the ball to the backside A-back.  The pitch key is defined as the following: THE NEXT SUPPORT DEFENDER PAST THE READ KEY.

The Quarterback must know who the Read Key and who the Pitch Key are every time the Triple Option is run.

Author’s Bio

Lou Cella is the Co-Owner of the Flexbone Association.  Over the last three years, Lou has assisted in the turnaround of numerous high school football programs through the Flexbone Association Football Camp system.  Bayfield (CO), Falls City (TX), Grayson County (KY), Johnson (NJ), Lakewood (SC), Petaluma (CA), Piedra Vista (NM), Poland (ME), Riverwood (GA), San Benito (CA), Seminole County (GA), Straughn (AL), Temple City (CA), and Timmonsville (SC) thrived just months after Lou served as their Flexbone Association Camp Director.

______________________________

Currently, Lou is completing his Doctor of Psychology, Sports and Performance Psychology Specialization.  Lou becomes Dr. Cella, Sports Performance Psychologist in 2014.  He can be reached at  570-332-0265.

______________________________

http://www.tripleoptionfootball.com

Ask about our consulting.

The lowest three-day football team camp cost at $70/player… is right here.

The opportunity for a free camp… is right here.

A 30-hour online course with video clips of the Flexbone and Triple Option offense… is right here.

The opportunity to run the Flexbone and Triple Option the right way the FIRST time… is right here…

With your 2013 Flexbone Association State Championship Football Camp.

Call  (570) 332-0265 for more information.

______________________________

In 2012, After Hosting their Flexbone Association Football Camp, Reedsburg Improved their Win Total from Two (2) Wins to Six (6) Wins and Won a Playoff Game.

“We hosted a Flexbone Association Camp at Reedsburg HS last summer, because we wanted a camp where we got the most bang for our buck.  The guys at the Flexbone Association were very accommodating and worked with our schedule.  Our players were able to eat and sleep at home, go to work, get in their lifting, and receive quality instruction and a lot of repetitions in a short period of time.  Scott Jazdzewski and crew did an excellent job of keeping things simple and coaching up the details.  The result was a playoff berth for the first time in 3 years.”

 –Brian Pottinger, Head Football Coach

Paul Johnson gives you exactly what you need on how to execute the three phases of the Triple Option in a 2009 article.  Now, you know exactly what you have to do to execute the dive, keep, and the pitch.

Backside A-Back

_____ Cadence is “Ready, Sethike”, and the Backside A-back leaves on “Ready.”

_____ Backside A-back gets 1 1/2 steps into the play before the ball is snapped.

_____ Backside A-back’s option route is five yards behind the Quarterback.

_____ Fast A-back will get wider in relationship after A-back sets five yards behind the Quarterback.

_____ A-back will take three more steps and turn up with Quarterback.

_____ When backside A-back catches the pitch, he will run wherever the blocking seam is.

B-Back

_____ He is the dive aspect of the play.

_____ B-back is five yards from front of the ball, and he can move up in alignment if he is slower.

_____ He must know interior Offensive Line blocking scheme.

_____ B-back has his backside toes curled in stance to prevent false stepping.

_____ 1st step is 6 inches.

_____ Takeoff is full speed through the ball, just like a plane.

_____ B-back’s aiming point is inside leg of guard.

_____ He reads the action key and breaks behind the center if there is a 0 technique.

_____ He does not bend back with “Ace” call (Center/Guard Double Team).

Quarterback

_____ Reads #1 and Options #2.

_____ He gets his 2nd step in ground and stares at read.

_____ The decision to give is made when the B-back is past his front foot.

_____ Gives ball if #1 does not take B-back–#1 must be able to get his head in front of the ball.

_____ Running Quarterback—when in doubt, pull it out.

_____ Non-running Quarterback—when in doubt, give.

_____ If #1 and #2 come hard, the option turns into a toss sweep. The Quarterback will get his 2nd step in the ground  (need this to create space from the defender) and option off #2.  If #2 does not come he will keep the ball. When #2 turns his shoulder to Quarterback, he will pitch the ball with his thumb down.

_____ Practice versus the easy stunt (2-1 exchange).

Scoop Blocking/Backside Blocking: Part One

by Mark Kleinpeter, Former Offensive Line Coach/Athletic Director, United States Naval Academy

While many coaches focus on playside blocking techniques, I feel like the backside blocking oftentimes is more critical to running the flexbone offense successfully. On the frontside, we usually have a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 blocking situation with the numbers in our favor. On the backside, however, we are usually faced with a 3-on-3 or 3-on-4 situation while also being out leveraged. In this article, I’m going to discuss some techniques, drills and ideas that I find are important to improving your SCOOP blocking.

It is important that you work diligently on improving your scoop blocking. This is where 90% of our cuts come from, which helps to slow down those DL. We need to slow the DL from coming upfield and attacking us every play. I really stress to my OL that we need to get the DL on the ground as often as possible early in the game.

If the DL are coming hard every play, then our job is going to be tougher and our B back is not going to have a very fun night. We want to get the DL on their heels worried more about protecting their knees, shins and ankles, than they are about trying to tackle the dive. If we can get them on their heels, then we will have an easier time running the ball.

You’ve probably read some of the complaints about cut blocking from opposing coaches (Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Notre Dame) when playing against Navy and Georgia Tech. None of the techniques that we teach are illegal. We teach techniques which are consistent with rules of our governing body, be it NCAA or NFHS rules. We don’t teach hi-lo blocking and we work hard to cut block correctly. We take a lot of pride in it.

Author’s Bio

Right here is why you will dominate the Odd Stack.

Option Count- #1 is the player covering the Playside Tackle (the 4 technique in this situation), #2 is the player on or past #1 (the linebacker stacked on the 4 technique in this situation), #3 is the player on or past #2 (outside invert/spur/dog/linebacker/90 technique in this situation)

Alignment- Get wider!  Four foot splits for guards and five foot splits for tackles.  When they stack, we want wider splits.  Remember, we get wider, that’s FOUR people we are taking farther away from the play and allowing our quarterback to read the playside stack with more time.  This is vital.

Assignment

PWR- Blocks the Near Deep Defender.  In this case, it’s the cornerback.

PA- Blocks #3.  In this case it’s the outside invert/spur/dog/linebacker/90 technique

PT- Veers outside to the safety (does not touch #2 because #2 is in the count).

PG- Base to Ace.  In this case, the PG moves straight ahead and waits for the Mike linebacker to cross his face.  The PG walls off the Mike.  If the Mike goes away, go to the safety.  Do not touch the outside stack unless the linebacker crosses your face!

C- Scoop.  The center veers past the 0 technique through the A gap to the second level.  If the 0 slants that hard he will simply take his backside arm, throw his backside arm across the chest of the 0, and the B-back will bend into the backside A-gap off his dive path.

BG- Scoop.  In this case, the BG will cut the 0 technique, unless the 0 slants so hard the BG has to turn up to the 2^nd level when he reaches the C’s near shoulder.

BT- Scoop.  In this case, he will run to the PG’s near shoulder and turn up to the 2^nd level.

BA- Option Route.

BWR- Cutoff

QB- Give #1, Pitch #2

B- Dive Path, bend if 0 technique slants on or past the guard.

Are you ready to dominate the Odd Stack?

The runners in Bayfield’s triple-option attack have praised their offensive line all year long, and that’s music to head coach Marshall Hahn’s ears. “When I read those comments in the paper, it makes me smile because you can see those guys are getting it,” he said. “They get … the whole team idea.”

Bayfield High School’s two 1,000-yard rushers have been as consistent on the field as they’ve been in their postgame interviews this season.

“The whole offensive line did a good job,” Colt Walker said two months earlier after Bayfield’s 28-3 Mountain League victory over Buena Vista. Walker, the quarterback in the Wolverines’ trademark triple-option offense, rushed for 197 yards in that key conference game.

“Our line was just doing a good job getting to the blocks,” Aaron Velasquez said last weekend after the Wolverines beat Strasburg 27-21 in the first round of the CHSAA Class 2A Boys Football State Championships.

Without fail, Aaron Velasquez (1,349 yards) and Colt Walker (1,063 yards) directly pointed to the offensive line after they posted big numbers in Bayfield’s 10 consecutive victories without a loss this season.

Velasquez rushed for 227 yards in the playoff win.

“The whole offensive line did a good job,” Walker said two months earlier after Bayfield’s 28-3 Mountain League victory over Buena Vista. Walker, the quarterback in Bayfield’s trademark triple-option offense, rushed for 197 yards in that key conference game.

“When I read those comments in the paper, it makes me smile because you can see those guys are getting it,” Bayfield head coach Marshall Hahn said. “They get … the whole team idea.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better group of five kids to do what we’re trying to do,” Hahn said this week.

The Wolverines’ five interior offensive linemen, who are in their second full season together as starters, provide the framework for the unique triple option.

“They are all very intelligent. They understand that without an offensive line, your football team can’t move,” Hahn said.

“They take pride in their blocking … 1,000-yard rushers year after year,”Hahn said of the veteran linemen, who are led by all-conference senior captain Austin Riley (6-1, 180 pounds).

The Bayfield center is flanked on the left side by guard Jon Roberts (6-2, 170) and tackle Kevin Donahue (6-1, 195). Both are juniors.

On the right, Riley is flanked by Nate Goddard (6-1, 175) and Austin McMenimen (6-1, 180). Both are juniors.

Riley is much more than just a center who doubles on the defensive line, according to Hahn.

“Without a doubt, he’s the leader. He’s a great football player,” Hahn said. “He could play anywhere on our team.”

Hahn said during the preseason, Riley ran the fourth fastest 40-yard dash on the team.

Executing their timing-based option-read offense requires concentration and attention to detail in their preparation, said the Bayfield coach who led the Wolverines to their last state football title as a triple-option quarterback in 1996.

“I’ve said before, it’s hard to teach linemen not to block someone,” Hahn said. But often a BHS lineman will release his initial block and move onto the second tier of the defense.

The “read” of the triple option accounts for the first defender, with the Bayfield offensive linemen, such as Riley, ready to block the second wave of defenders.

“They are a bunch of hard-working kids. And that’s a testament to the kids we have … to the kind of hard-working parents they have,” Hahn said.

“And it’s contagious. You see that … and you want to work a little harder,” he said.

The Offensive Line is coached by Bob Bynum, a great friend to the Flexbone Association.

Article courtesy of http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20111119/SPORTS03/711199999/-1/Sports03/Here%E2%80%99s-to-the-O-line

Official 2013 Flexbone Association State Football Camp Brochure

_____________________________________

The Facts About 2012 Flexbone Association Camp Schools

For a limited time, all coaches who invest in their 2013 Flexbone Association State Championship Football Camp also receive a six-hour consultation with Flexbone Association Owner, Lou Cella.

The consultation provides the camp school the opportunity to ask detailed and intricate questions to Lou prior to the camp.

Consultations begin with you and your staff on March 1st.

___________________________

Coaches learn the Flexbone offense as if they have just taken over a program for the first time.

This is what clients learn when they consult with Lou:

Step 1- Meeting with players to cover Flexbone offensive core values.

Step 2- Hire at least five assistant coaches to assist in the Flexbone offense.

Step 3- Obtain the necessary equipment to execute the Flexbone offense.

Step 4- Install and run through the practice system with the members of your football program (players and assistant coaches).

Step 5- Install the Flexbone huddle procedure.

Step 6- Install the Flexbone cadence.

Step 7- Install the Spread formation.

Step 8- Install the Flexbone count system.

Step 9- Install and execute the Triple Option.

Step 10- Install and execute the Midline Option.

and much, much more….

___________________________

Once again, consultations begin March 1.

If your state has spring practice, the consultation provides assistance to get you and your coaching staff ready for spring ball.

Even with the vast success of Flexbone Association camp schools–The Flexbone Association has never offered anything like this in its four-year camp history.

The opportunity to receive a six-hour consultation with Lou Cella is here.

___________________________

Coach, it’s official–after the consultation and the camp–you’re dominating in 2013.

The Flexbone Association leaves no doubt to guarantee your success.

Call (570) 332-0265 to schedule your 2013 Flexbone Association State Championship Football Camp today.