Untitled - Fast and Furious Football

154 FOOTBALL COACHING STRATECIES
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Kicking Game Gimmicks That Work
JIMWALDEN
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When I talk about tricks in the kickins same,
some coaches r€act with skepticism. That is, un_
til they see th€m work and rcatize these gimmicks
arc based on fundamentals and the el€ment of
surprise. Certain gimmicks can help a punt team,
a kickofYt€am, and a PAT teanbe more successful.
Punting
We put our best players on the punt team_ We
have on€ punt where we only use our first offensive
team. A mistake most coaches make is with
the perconnel on their punt coverage t€ams. They
tend to play six or seven defensive backs on the
punt teams, putting those playem in situations
they donl se€ in the other part ofthe same_
What does coverage mean ifyou do;,t get the
punt of Play the peopte that will a[ow you ro
ger thc punr ofl Wc aran r going ro ptaj d those
defen.rr e baeks hecause rhcy ofren d^n r wanr to
block the opponent's linemen and linebackers.
Any good punt team will
. avoid getting kicks btocked,
. cover effe(tively, and
. maintain possession ofthe ball.
The third point is where we differ fron most
teams. There arc two situations when the ball
can change possession during a live ptay. One is
on a punt and the oth€r is on an interception. So,
we want to put people on our punt team that will
be covering a pass interception. Some coaches
don't work on change ofpossession on the inter_
ception, because they arc aftaid they'll get 6ome_
one hurt on the plav
Punt Team AIignmen[ and
Strategy
In our punt alienment, we line up the ends wide
to the outside. We typically play our No. 2 eB in
the upback position. This year well play our starting
QB be€ause he has played that position for
th€ past two years, and he knows what to do at
that spot.
We use three formations. We use a no.mal,
unbalanced, and motion fonnation. Il we pur a
man in motion, we have him nD his rcgutar coverage.
Ifthe wing goes in motion, the eB wiu take
his responsibility on the contain.
The fakes we use are as fotlows. The upback
can thmw the ball to the punter, either end, or
either slotback. The punter can thmw the ball to
the upback, either end, or either slotback. When
is the last time you told one ofyour defensive playels
that they had the punter ifthe ball is snapped
ro lha upback I know. you np! er I houshr of rhar.
Youd bettcr be rhinkrng abour ir ify;u ptay us,
because I m goins ro throw the ba ro hin-.
Very seldom do we ever throw the ball to the
split ends. However, som€one will forget to cover
the split end in a game, and the play will be uper
We tell the punter to always look at the ends. If
the defense tells the rushers not to go until they
see the ball go by the upback, you can have the
punter mal{e the pass.
ODe other thing we do is move our players to
change the formation. We move the running back
up on the line, move the Bplit end back one yard
on the opposite side, ard make our tight end €ligible
It becomFs a trips fonnation '
sce Fisure Ir.
Thib iq a frighrening sight l,o most rerffn ttsdrnb.
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FIGURE I
T.ips left flare ro punter
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