- Log in to post comments
Look for Chris Felton’s weekly columns over the course of the football season. Felton, who is providing color on WNPV 1440 AM’s high school football broadcasts, boasts 10 years of coaching experience at the high school level and two years at the collegiate level. Felton spent eight years coaching at Central Bucks West and one year each at Pennridge and Central Bucks East. He also had coaching stints at Delaware Valley College and Gettysburg College. In his weekly column, Felton will not only be sharing his insights into the game itself but also attempting to familiarize fans with the game.
Where are we at heading into league play?
Non-league schedules serve a purpose. Whether it's to provide "tune ups" or provide your player with a true test, teams enter into contracts with non-league opponents for specific purposes. There is a value to each game. Neither team would agree to schedule the other if they thought that they were getting the short end of the stick or if they were not getting anything out of it.
Sometimes it is difficult to compare teams after non-league play because the competition and purpose of each team is so diverse. But you can be certain that at this point the coaches know where their teams are at and where they feel their team will end up.
So after three weeks, what do we know? Now I must warn you there is some playoff talk.
And to be honest, talking about playoffs in September is sort of like giving someone your Christmas gift list in September.
It's nice, it's interesting, but it's also sort of annoying, and usually you change your mind.
1. Abington is the real deal. They will be seeded high in the playoffs, and they may even end up being a top seed. They have to be the odds-on favorite to win their conference. Of course, Neshaminy will have something to say about this on Friday. I know that Abington loves being in the underdog role. Sorry, Ghosts but for the rest of the year you are the lead dog and everybody knows it.
At this point they are the best team in the area. They have a great defense and an explosive offense led by QB Ken Cropper.
2. North Penn has playmakers on offense a solid and improving defense and an excellent coaching staff. However, they have made mistakes in their two loses, and more importantly, those mistakes have come back to hurt them. The second half of the St. Joe’s Prep game was difficult for North Penn fans to watch. North Penn had no answers for Skyler Morninweg. But if you could take one major positive from the game, it is that there was no quit. It is true that this North Penn team may be missing some pieces that they may be accustomed to having, but let's see what they do have.
A. There is talent on this team - Ralph Reeves, Corey Ernst (how many high school quarterbacks have you heard of throwing for over 348 yards in a single game?), Dan Gervitz, Kyle Mayfield, Shane Watson. There are others as well. There is enough talent on this team to finish 8-2 but not enough talent to compensate for the many mistakes that were made in the first 3 weeks.
B. They have character- there is no quit in this team. They play hard and still have confidence. They know that they need to improve in areas, but they should also know that when they eliminate their mistakes, they will be a top team in the area.
C. They have their backs against the wall. If a small animal backed in a corner is dangerous, how about a team that hasn't lost a league game since the realignment?
In short they have the talent, but they have to put it together for league play.
3. Central Bucks South is a dangerous football team. They run the spread offense as well as anybody in the league. No team knows how to use the field as well as the CB South offense. They understand and utilize spacing concepts in both their running and passing attacks. Their passing attack is led by Virginia-committed QB Matt Johns. They have a running attack led by Dan Brown and a defense that appears to be good enough to get this team to the playoffs. They are in a great position to go 9-1 or 8-2 and get into the playoffs. The Titans have a huge game this week against North Penn. The winner has the inside track to a conference championship.
4. Council Rock South needs to be recognized for their defense as much as their offense. They run the 3-5 as well as anybody in the league. The 3-5 combined with their triple option on offense and some different approaches on special teams makes for a long week of preparation for their opponents.
5. Souderton is 1-2, but they will get better every week. They have been in this position before, but unlike previous years, 6-4 will not get you into the playoffs. But by the time we are seriously talking about playoffs, the Indians will be playing their best football.
6. We know that there are some big offensive playmakers out there. Here are a few that I have seen in person or on film:
--Ken Cropper. The Abington quarterback runs the zone read as well as anybody. Additionally, he runs well in between the tackles. Abington's QB Trey works very well when they can force defenses to play with one linebacker on the middle.
--Zac Gravelle. The Quakertown quarterback has the prettiest long ball in the league. Like Cropper, he can beat teams with his feet as well as his arm.
--Ray Schreiner, Abington running back. For the zone read offense to be effective, you need to have two legitimate threats. Abington's second threat comes in the form of Ray Schreiner.
--Anthony Delegal, Wissahickon running back. This player is the real deal. He is a coast-to-coast player who is a scoring threat anytime he touches the ball.
--Kyle Mayfield, North Penn. Mayfield is a talented running back that had a breakout game in week one. I predict that before the end of this season he will be talked about in every football office in the SOL.
--Brandon Shippen - shifty Norristown running back. This Temple recruit can dominate a game by himself.
--Josh Benard, quarterback from Central Bucks East. Josh has been a bright spot for the Patriots. Teams better be prepared for Benard. His speed is extremely deceptive.
--Matt Johns, Central Bucks South quarterback. Virginia recruit. Excellent vision in the pocket. Best mechanics of all quarterbacks. Great deep ball and good timing on crossing patterns such as mesh. Difficult to sack - can buy more time with legs. Best pure quarterback in the league.
With all the great quarterbacks in the Suburban One League, defensive coordinators will have to burn the midnight oil preparing and designing methods of putting pressure on the quarterback.
Coaches' section (x's and o's section for coaches and anybody else who wants to read about x's and o's)
I would like to encourage you to e-mail me (Christopherjfelton@gmail.com) or blog on the site so that we can have dialogue and share ideas.
Pressure on QB:
All defensive coordinators love blitzing - it is in their nature. There are various types of blitzes - run blitzes intended to stop the run, speed blitzes off the edge, blitzes that attack and confuse Specific blocking schemes that in many cases are designed to use the offensive lineman's rules against them. There are blitzes that overload one side of the line or blitzes that attack specific areas where the QB will set up to pass call launching points. There are field blitzes, boundary blitzes, and check with me (choice) blitzes.
There are blitzes that utilize man-to-man coverage and blitzes that utilizes zone coverage. The combinations are almost endless which is probably one reason why blitzes are so much fun to learn or create.
All good defensive coordinators know what type of blitz to send and when to call it.
But a blitz is a gamble. It is high risk and high reward. Defensive coordinators are dedicating additional scarce resources to the pass rush at the cost of something else. Therefore, it must be a calculated risk. Using information from film to know when and what to call is the key. Miscalculations can have devastating impacts for the defense - big plays and loses.
On offense, coaches want to avoid wasted plays- these are normally plays that are destined to fail schematically because the offense is outmanned at the point of attack. On defense, defensive coordinators need to avoid wasting players. For example, you wouldn't blitz up the middle on third and long if the opponent has a tendency to roll out or move the pocket to the outside in those situations.
With all that being said about blitzes, e-mail me if you would like some ideas or blitz schemes.
Now here is the kicker - the best defenses are the defenses that generate pressure by only sending three to five rushers (most blitzes will send anywhere from five to eight). Even Dick LeBeau, the Steelers Hall of Fame Defensive Coordinator, learned to maximize pressure on the QB by only sending five players. This is the zone blitz.
By only dedicating three to five players, this allows defensive coordinators to allocate those additional players to other needed areas and to keep necessary levels or spies.
So what is pressure? Believe it or not, there are about 10 definitions. With regards to football, I like the following from dictionary.com: to force (someone) toward a particular end; influence: They pressured him into accepting the contract.
Using this definition of pressure does not need to mean sacks or hurries (although they are nice). Instead, pressure, in my opinion, is any time you can force the QB to make a decision that he would not otherwise make.
Many QB coaches break down good QB play into 4 R's:
Rhythm
Release
Rush recognition
Reads
If a defensive coordinator knows the 4 R's of good quarterback play, they can focus on them when developing schemes to influence quarterbacks to make a bad decisions. In other words, creating pressure on the quarterback.
Rhythm- rhythm is a combination of timing between the quarterback and the receivers. The depth or type of quarterback drop is coordinated with the receiver patterns. A well-designed and well-executed passing attack is like poetry in motion- literally. Just like in song and poetry there is meter, in football there is footwork. You must disrupt footwork for the quarterback to get to his launching point. If he is a drop-back passer, defenses must collapse the pocket from either outside-in with defensive ends or from inside-out with great bull rushing defensive tackles or quick defensive tackles that can beat offensive lineman out of their stances. The key for both is great ball get off. Defensive lineman should be keying ball. For sprint out passing, come off the edge. When on the hash, come from the field. Attacking launching points and forcing the quarterback to change his footwork is half the battle. Next, on the back end, linebackers and defensive backs need to disrupt patterns. Get your hands on receivers, but never let it disrupt your drops. Also, reading the quarterback's eyes and getting onto passing windows will cause the quarterback to hold the ball longer.
Release - one of the most important components of proper quarterback mechanics Is proper release point. Proper release point may be the difference between a perfect strike, the ball sailing over receiver's head, or the ball bouncing off the turf. If release point is so important for quarterbacks, then defenses should look for ways to manipulate it. The best way is to teach your pass rushers to get their hands up when the quarterback's long arm (non-throwing arm) comes off the ball. When that happens, pass rushers need to get their hands up and in the eyes of the quarterback.
Also, when in zone, defenders should plant point and burst to the ball immediately when the QB's long arm comes off the ball.
Rush and attacking protections - Great defense get pressure with four. They do so by attacking blocking schemes. In high school, there are some basic schemes – three-step fire blocking, drop back, slide, 1/2 slide, and sprint. You can beat these protections with only four, but you need defensive linemen with great ball get off, and defensive coordinators need to attack the weaknesses of the scheme. Also, good defenses disguise what they are doing up front - they show and go, they show and don't go, they don't show and go, and they don't show and don't go
In four-man fronts, mix it up
Twist
X
Edits (t/ends)
Loops
Many defensive coordinators give their DE a 2 way go. For those who worry about contain responsibilities, remember you can make the DE right with a looping defensive tackle or a second level defender.
On passing situations get the defensive line into sprints stance. Additionally, defensive coordinators can sub in quick linebackers for defensive linemen (the Packers won the Super Bowl running pyscho personnel, which is one DL and six linebackers).
Run out of a three-man front and bring the fourth man from the second level. This makes it more difficult, but the defense is still only sending four.
And, of course, you can blitz. If defensive coordinators decide to blitz, they don't need to blitz everybody. Instead, blitz five but attack only specific segments of the line.
Reads - mixing coverages - disguise. Good defensive secondaries mix up their coverages. Many teams mask their coverage by showing one type pre snap and then playing another post snap. Others show the same shell regardless of coverage being played. I used to tell my defenses - hold the shell for as long as possible and practical. Besides shell and masking coverage, how else can defenses mask their coverage? Vary your alignment vertically and inside and outside, change how many players are on the roof, and tell your defenders to switch up where they are looking. Normally, in zone, defenders are looking at the QB pre snap, and on man, they are looking at their man. Occasionally, have your perimeter players change where they are looking.
If the SOL is going to turn into the year of the quarterback this season, then it must also turn into the year of the pressure.
Until next week.
Good week and good football.