Cougar Football (7-2): Super Bowl Bound!

[Poli]

My third year as a 9/10 coach...this year looks to be interesting with my team having perhaps five of the town's best kids together already. However, after that, the talent pool is low and is stretched out amongst four teams.

The draft is Friday, we'll see how we fare.

[BYU 14]

Nice, good to see this back. I will soon be starting my silver anniversary coaching thread.

[Poli]

I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous about this season and draft. Going into the draft, I'd have to say I'm going to have the best five protected players.

That is, if no one objects to my protected five. I have the parental permission from all five. Three cannot be touched regardless under coach protection...leaving two on a questionable status.

Brennan is my lone holdover thus far from last season. I'd love to add another player or two from last season's squad. However, I have had four of the boys I drafted last season (including poor Andrew) not show for camp this year. I'm really disappointed in that.

Joining Brennan are four of his baseball teammates. They played basketball and baseball together this offseason. In basketball, they won the local basketball 10U championship, going undefeated in the process. In baseball, they won the state's little league 10U championship on Monday.

Alex will be playing 1 or 4 back for us. He's in his first year and his dad will help me coach. His dad is new to football as well. Alex is fast, fast, and fast...and played select hockey up until this year.

Logan played for the White Cougars last year and is just as fast as Alex. Whatever Alex isn't playing, Logan will be. Logan drew raves yesterday for his hitting.

Tyler played for the Red Cougars last season. He's more of a fullback type. He'll play 3 back for us and his dad, a former HS coach, will assist me.

Finally, big Nate will be on the line for us. It's Nate's first year as well, but he has all the tools to be a fantastic blocker. I could probably get his dad out to help as well.

So far, eight of the possible fifteen players that can be protected have been identified...and probably more like nine.

Of my kids, I'm certain they won't try to protect Nate. I worry greatly about Logan. I'm tempted to say Logan's protected under coach protection and try to dangle Alex out there. I think they'd leave him alone.

Going into this draft, I'm looking for linemen. A few kids interest me, but one has already been protected. The biggest kid, Tommy, I will stay away from. Bad parents, bad work ethic, and grossly overweight means he probably wouldn't fit in well with my no huddle concept.

Instead I'll be looking at boys like Nolan and Chase. We don't have a lot of size to choose from so I'll be drafting linemen early. I'm going to take a scale to practice Thursday and get unofficial weights on the boys.

[Poli]

Two of the other coaches expressed interest in all but Nate (who never showed to camp...a combination of his hand injury and his grandmother passing)...but in the end I came away clean with my five protected kids.

I draft 2nd in the 10 year olds...which is great, because I won't pick until the 7th round since I forfeit my 2nd through 6th rounders with my protected kids.

I draft 3rd out of 4 in 9 year olds. Not bad, I'll be drafting that entire draft where as each of the other three teams have forfeited at least two of those rounds through protections. So I'll get the 3rd best available 9 year old and then get the 5th and 6th ones as well.

The 9 year old crop, though, is weak. I have no idea who I'll draft in that group.

[Poli]

Nolan made it through the protection phase. If he makes it past the first selection, I will likely take him.

[Poli]

The draft went surprisingly well, in my opinion. For the record, any mention of weights are unofficial. I had my girlfriend out at practice Thursday weighing every boy as they came over to my station. That's the first time anyone has done that and I had more than a few people looking over at us for that. I'm always looking to gain that advantage. I felt knowing the boys weight would help me in deciding if a kid really was "too small" or not.

As I explained earlier, I had the second pick overall in the 10 year olds, but wouldn't pick again until the 7th round. With a weird-like snake draft, I would be the third team selecting in that 7th round.

The Silver Cougars, coached by Terry G, selected Noah W as the first pick overall. I passed on Noah last year because he was slow and didn't seem aggressive. He wasn't in my plans at all.

I was going back and forth between Nolan M and Daniel M myself. Daniel weighed about 10 pounds more and actually went through my agility drills faster than Nolan. Both are first year players. However, I know Nolan and his dad through baseball and basketball this offseason. Nolan's a hard worker and a straight A student. I know he'll give me 100%. I selected Nolan.

Thirteen boys would disappear off the board before I selected again. Among those thirteen were two of my boys from last year: Grant H and Jacob G. I wanted both on my team but I knew with the way the draft was going to go this year I didn't have a chance of getting at least one. I was upset to see both go.

I am now up with the third pick in the 7th round. Two boys are on my mind. Both are first year kids. One, Matt R, is tiny but highly recommended by Brennan P's family. He played second base during the little league championship tournament. He displayed excellent quickness and desire in the two practices he attended this past week. I'm honestly surprised to see him here.

The other boy, Jordan H, is a lineman. I went to high school with his parents. Seems like a good kid. The two friends from church that came in to help on Tuesday liked him as well for his attitude. I checked his times, they were a little slow. I gave him some credit for being a first year player and maybe not knowing what all we're looking for in the drills. I was surprised to see him here as well.

The Silver Cougars were taking two boys after me and then it would be my selection again. I decided to take the boy I felt Terry might take if he was available and went with Matt R. Terry drafts two kids and leaves Jordan H open. I select Jordan in the 8th round. At this point, it felt like a bonus. I expected to only get one decent lineman out of the 10 year old draft, I feel I got a steal with Jordan in the 8th.

Honestly, I guess I failed to realize how few boys were left, though. Two more of my Cougars from last year get swept up, Michael R and Jon M. Michael I think needed a new team. His best asset is his hands and I just don't throw the ball a lot. He was better served on another team. Jon, well, I'm sad. Totally not a football player, Jon sparked a new play in our playbook last year...the 32 Wedge Jon Special Pass. Jon was about 55 pounds last year and just not much of a football player. This year he's about 70 pounds or so, but still not a whole lot there. I can't imagine why he wasn't one of the last kids to be picked again. I was totally disappointed to lose him.

Until I saw who that left me. Joshua B was still on the board. How?? Joshua put in some nifty times during my agility drills and weighed 84 pounds. I was a little surprised to see him in round 7, and then in round 8. Considering who was left, taking Joshua was a no-brainer.

With just four players left after that, I was forced to pick between the last two boys when the Silver Cougars swiped two off the board.

One is a kid who's coach last year told me to stay away from. I remembered him last year as getting aggravated when I had to ask him for his name a few times in camp. Not to be outdone, he displayed the same aggravation this year when I asked him for his name. The other is a kid even my girlfriend noticed on Thursday as being incredibly lazy. I went with the Trenton J, the lazy one. 88 pounds and apparently his mom's a coach of some sort. I felt it was better than dealing with the bad attitude kid. Plus, I listen when a coach doesn't recommend a kid.

That closed out my 10 year old draft.

I felt I came away very well. One more skill kid who came recommended, two linemen, two tweeners in the 80 pound range. I'm hoping Joshua turns into a defensive kid and Trenton at worst becomes A gapper fodder in the defense as well.

[Poli]

The 9 year old draft was also known as "The Poli Show". With the snake draft, I picked 3rd overall in the 9 year olds, but I also had 5 of the first 9 picks and 6 of the first 12 picks.

My first pick is Hayden V. Hayden's brother, Hunter, was a thorn in my side last year. I know Hayden has some of that attitude, but he's just a little smaller. Okay, a lot smaller. Under 60 pounds. Hayden shouldn't expect to see the football and better get ready for some A gap responsibilities or show me some great coverage skills in the secondary. To break into that secondary, though, he'll have to force me to sit Logan U or Alex J, and I doubt that works out well for him. I think I could play him at left end on offense. We'll see how he works out. I took him more because I know his dad now and I know the boy. The boy asked me if I'd take him and think he'll work his tiny butt off for me.

I went Zach L for my next pick. A true tweener, he came in at 100 pounds but kind of slow. I envisioned center for him. I pick again immediately and take Kaleb S, a small statured, 111 pound lineman. With my right side of the line filled out with 10 year olds, I began working to patch the left side. I see him as a left guard for me.

Round 4 and it's me again. I take another lineman just because I can and for insurance in case Kaleb, Zach, or Jordan just don't work out. Welcome to the team, Brandon F. 120 pounds, he posted decent agility for his size. Looking at my depth on the line, I'm very happy. I was afraid I would end up having to play one or maybe two under 100lb type kids on the line and now I have five big boys on the squad and one sitting at 100 pounds.

One boy goes off the board, another smart mouthed boy I would never have drafted, and it's my selection again. I go with another tweener for the line since I have Hayden V and Matt R for backups at the skill spots. I pick up Griffin M. Griffin showed up at 96 pounds and looked decent enough for me to take a chance on him. Backup for the line and possibly a tight end.

Two boys go off the list, one that I had thought about taking unfortunately, and it's my pick again. Having addressed size, I decided to go after a few smaller boys in the second half of the draft to give me some options at tight end. Enter Jacob M and Garret R from rounds 6 and 7. Jacob is a 60 pounder with decent times and Garret is an 80 pounder. I had decent times on him but I wasn't convinced on him in camp. Still, looking at what was left in a very weak 9 year old draft, he may have been the BPA.

Three selections left for me and we're sifting through about 11 kids under 70 pounds...a few of them under 60, and one 120 pound boy with no athletic ability. I'm going to have to take three light weights and throw them in the A gaps, I have no choice. I will not take that 120lber.

I come away with Dylan B, Levi R, and Keith G. Keith will be the new Jon M I have a feeling. Carefree and super light, he doesn't have the mold of a football player...but his mom stopped me Thursday night and thanked me over and over for working with him in camp. I took Dylan because he wasn't afraid to jump into contact despite his small frame and Levi because he was the fastest of the five kids left when I took him.

[Poli]

Terry of the Silver team asks me after the draft to trade Levi to him. Levi is his nephew and nothing very special. He trades me a ten year old first year player for Levi. Sherard A is an interesting boy. A year older and 20 pounds heavier than Levi, their times were similar in dashes, but Sherard took him in change of direction drills.

I tried working the Red Cougar coach, Jacob K, to get two of the three kids I had last year back. I worked relentlessly and got Grant H from him for Zach L. He wouldn't budge on Jacob G.

Grant's dad has told me he'd like Grant to play running back this year. Grant's close to the weight limit, but not over. I promised his dad Grant would get opportunities to carry the ball this year. He had a couple of touches in one game last year. I'm hoping to give him at least a carry or two each game. I love the kid and his family.

Thus the White Cougar draft is complete.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Poli

Thus the White Cougar draft is complete.

Yes, you read that right. Orange was not an option for us this year.

Color choices were Silver, White, Red, and Gold. I heard gold looked terrible. My protected parents requested "anything but red". Silver was taken by Terry. White Cougars, here we come.

[Poli]

With the trades for the 2 ten year olds, we now have 12 ten year olds and 8 nine year olds. With a weak 9 year old crop, I'm very happy about this.

Spoke to nearly all of the parents already. One nice surprise is Sherard. It turns out he's played two years of rugby in England. Gotta like that experience.

[Poli]

All but Kaleb and Trenton's parents have been reached at this point.

It looks like tomorrow's practice, our first, will be canceled due to excessive heat.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Poli

All but Kaleb and Trenton's parents have been reached at this point.

It looks like tomorrow's practice, our first, will be canceled due to excessive heat.

How hot is it down there? I am sure humidity factors in, but we got our first practice in today in bone chilling 106 degree heat

[Poli]

100 degrees, index of 112.

[Poli]

Practiced canceled, we'll convene tomorrow, Thursday, and Saturday.

[Poli]

1 hour practice today to try and avoid heat. 19 kids there, Logan out at a Christian camp.

We introduced the kids to each other, we talked about our stretches and went through them...finishing with our tackling progression.

Last 15 minutes we had 5 games of Deer Hunter.

We've got a really good team out there. Perhaps the best I've had yet.

[Poli]

We had two more practices this past week. I had one without pads, the other with.

Without pads we had 19 boys there. We did more agility type work and timing and finished with a game of Hawaiian football. Joshua B. is super fast. He ran a 3.3 20 yard dash...pretty darn good at that age. I believe the fastest I had other than that was 3.47. We'll have to look at getting him the ball on the jet sweep.

I've entertained starting the season out with our jet sweep package. Joshua, Alex, Hayden, Logan, Matt, and Jacob all looked pretty quick over the two practices. I figure we can sweep to one side and sub out the sprinter. Sweep to the other and sub. Rinse and repeat.

Pads day wasn't so bad outside of horrible tackling form. It was the first day, I keep telling myself that, so I hope it gets better this week. 16 Power is installed. It looked good on air.

It'll look better this week.

18 Sweep and the 22/32 wedges get installed this week as well as the defense. I'm contending with 10 year old open house from the school and the heat, but we should be okay.

If I can teach the five or six boys that are trying to pull people down by their shoulder pads to stop that I'll be more than happy.

Beside that, defensively I'm pretty happy. I project Brennan to be my Monster...the linebacker/safety type that's going to be about 5 yards off the ball. I think Alex and Matt/Hayden are going to be good at the corners for me. Logan and Ty should be my boxing ends. Nate will take a linebacker slot (which in my defense lines up directly over the TE) but I may have to have open tryouts for the other spot.

My DTs and A gappers will fill out the lineup. A gappers will be Keith and Trenton to start. Keith is small and Trenton...well, he's a headache. I let my two weakest start the game and play the first and second downs. That way I can sub better kids in on 3rd down.

[Poli]

Rumor is Trenton's family is considering pulling him out of football.

I believe this is proof there is a God.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Poli

Rumor is Trenton's family is considering pulling him out of football.

I believe this is proof there is a God.

LOL, actually that proof will come if the peskiest parent I have had in all my years of coaching goes one day without having to bend my ear after practice about his son and all that he knows about football.....Just one day!

[Barkeep49]

Glad to see this back. I hope some of the 9 y/o surprise you.

[Poli]

Yesterday's practice dealt with defense. With the heat and humidity, I had problems keeping all of their attention. I went through explaining player positions and had to repeat myself to a number of players.

Tackling, outside of of maybe 8 players, was still weak. Better than Saturday, but still not very good. We have our "jamoboree" next Saturday. We have to get better. Trenton continues to do whatever he wants...there's not a sense of any improvement or desire with him whatsoever.

Barkeep: Here's an update on my eight 9 year olds:

Kaleb improved the most on his tackling. He's also looking to be my center. I like his attitude. He's short and heavy, but I like the kid.

Hayden is a tackling machine despite being about 57 pounds. He's got that Rudy-like heart. He's not afraid to tackle a boy over twice his weight and he absolutely will bring that boy down. I don't know where he fits in offensively for us outside of being a sprinter on our jet sweep set. Even then, I'm likely not going to give him the ball. Instead, he's likely just going to carry out a fake.

Brandon has good parents. Thus far, that's the best thing to like about him. He pulled himself out of the center competition, opting for the easier left guard position. Tuesday I had to remind him nearly every time to get his feet set properly. He also has problems getting comfortable in a 3 point stance. I have to work with him more on that. He likely won't be at practice today.

I haven't seen Griffin or Dylan since our first practice. They'll be back next week from their vacations. At this point, I'd say Griffin has every chance to be that left guard over Brandon. Dylan is likely an A-gapper on defense. I don't know I can use him offensively outside of as a left end.

Jacob M seems like a good athlete but I don't think I have his full attention yet. He'll compete at corner or linebacker for us defensively. He'd see more time offensively if we weren't so talented in the backfield. Like Hayden, he'll see most of his time as a sprinter on the jet sweep. Both boys could see time at left end if need be.

Garrett has been a little frustrating. He doesn't know the boys on the team and appears to be shy. He has enough weight to him I can use him at tight end. If I see some athleticism out of him, I'll use him at linebacker. If not, he'll fill in the rotation of A and B gappers.

Keith might be my favorite, though, just because I like tiny guys. I hate having them on my team but I like them just the same. Keith has zero talent but lots of heart. When I told Keith and Trenton they'd be starters at A-gappers....Keith was shocked and super happy. I'm certain he'll do his best.

Trenton, well, let's just say he didn't look thrilled at all.

I'll update the 10 year olds during the weekend.

We have offensive minded practice today, though I'm scheduling some tackling in as well. We've got our wedge, sweep, and power installed. We'll work on some passing today.

[Poli]

We did toss in a little jet sweep action at the end of practice on Tuesday. I really like the look of it. It's got me thinking of using a codeword or two in our no huddle to signal "jet sweep" to the left or right.

[Poli]

Wanted: 9 or 10 year old boys that understand that we must block anyone that is in our inside gap. Must be willing to play left guard, left end, or center.

[Poli]

The boys are now weighed in with the exception of Griffin. He'll have to attend the weigh in on Wednesday...I have no idea how that will work since I'm working with a different team that day.

That team will be a bunch of 9 year olds that will be scrimmaging September 2nd in the Edward Jones Dome during halftime of a Rams preseason game. I'll be coaching and on the field for a portion of the scrimmage.

It appeared Trenton may go AWOL when he initially didn't show up for the weigh in. I called his mother and it went straight to voicemail. I got caught up in hope that he may quit/be removed from the team until his mother got in touch with me today. He made the weigh in.

Rats.

Practice this week is Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday due to the Wednesday practice with the 9s. Saturday is our jamboree.

I've got a full slate over the next two weeks with youth and high school ball.

[MacroGuru]

So Poli,

Is Trenton just not motivated to play and being forced to by his parents OR is he lacking of talent?

[Poli]

Both, sadly.

[Poli]

No huddle wristbands are in. We're going to shelve them until Tuesday, however.

Trenton and Keith both showed remarkable improvement tackling yesterday. I was very pleased. Griffin and Dylan showed for their first practice in pads as well (both on vacation last week) and both did very well. Again, very pleased.

Brandon is regressing. He's showing poor form and lack of desire. His parents told me he's afraid to hit, which is a shame because he's one of our bigger boys.

Keith and Trenton's parents came up to me last night complaining about a coach. Trenton's more than Keith...Keith's parents were more complaining about Keith being near Trenton, ironically.

Trenton's parents tried to talk down to me. I set them straight. If my ten years in the Navy did nothing else for me, it taught me how to take control of a situation like that in a heartbeat. I let them know right away that I wouldn't accept that and in a nice, tactful, way.

[Poli]

We scrimmaged on Tuesday to see where we were as a team and we were very sad offensively. Our blocking was very poor...particularly on the wedge. It gave me something to work on today (Thursday). Not only was the blocking poor, but the players were lost across the board.

That said, defensively I was pretty happy.

Trenton's parents were at it again Tuesday. They got into Joshua's parents' heads and I got a storm after practice. Joshua failed to impress for two plays and got yanked. He played quite a bit on defense but I was asked a ton about why he wasn't playing on offense.

I explained why and offered my coaching services out for the next two days. I won't allow Trenton's parents to ruin this team for me. I worked with Josh on understanding our plays and what to expect for an hour yesterday and today before practice. He's improving.

Today's practice was half line nearly all day. I was determined to get our offensive line some work and we did better.

Josh is looking better as well.

I did have Garrett's dad ask me to help Garrett out. A 80 pound end, this kid has failed to impress me so far. His dad was talking about Garrett not wanting to practice and wanting to quit...so I gave his boy some positive reinforcement today.

I followed up with a phone call after practice. All is right in Garrett's world. All is right in Josh's world. Even better? No complaints from Trenton's family as Trenton got a heavy dose of offensive line work as well.

You know what? He didn't look that bad either.

[MacroGuru]

Good.....stick to the guns with the parents and do what you are doing...focus on the kids and their skill sets...Is Trenton coming around and liking it now? It almost sounds like it if he is getting better...

[Poli]

I think he is. He's definitely trying now. Effort is everything in my book.

I offered out my free time to the parents if they want their boys to have more individual attention. So far three of the parents have asked...and I just sent the text messages out less than an hour ago.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by Poli

I think he is. He's definitely trying now. Effort is everything in my book.

I offered out my free time to the parents if they want their boys to have more individual attention. So far three of the parents have asked...and I just sent the text messages out less than an hour ago.

Awesome!

[Poli]

We have a scrimmage Saturday in our league's Jamboree.

We play defense against Terry's Silver Cougar team for 15 minutes and offense for 15 minutes against Stacy's Gold Cougar team.

We did well against Silver on defense Tuesday. I haven't seen anything on Gold's team.

[Poli]

Wow, did we do a great job!

Defensively, we were straight insane. We didn't allow a play over 5 yards. We didn't allow a first down. We probably made half our tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

I broke the 15 minutes of defense up into three sections. Our "starters" played the first 5. I moved a few starters around for the 2nd five minutes and subbed out five boys. For the last 5 minutes, nearly all of the starters emptied out for subs. Still, we dominated.

Things to work on:

Recognizing who to cover/formations.

Staying as close to the ball without crossing the line of scrimmage.


On offense we fumbled away the first snap. Fortunately, we get the ball the entire time and get the ball immediately returned to us. Alex then takes the ball on the sweep and scores, untouched, from 40 yards out. We would have two more scores called back due to illegal blocks over the next five minutes.

After the five minute mark, I subbed in six boys. This five minute period was marred by Brandon leaving the field when he wasn't supposed to. He left the field and took his helmet off. With clock running, I was stuck waiting for him to finally get back on the field. His lackluster effort to even return angered me enough that I sent him immediately back off. Logan, my starting 4 back, returned to the field as the right tackle and stayed there the rest of the two periods.

Bad snaps marred our last ten minutes, but we did get some good yardage. It was also very interesting in that I had all 19 boys (Nolan was out on a family thing) play at least 5 minutes. I had boys playing different positions as well...just to see what I'd get out of them. For example, Logan needs to be on that line somewhere if he's not in at 4 back. I need his tenacity. Grant played some power tackle as well.

A few things came out of the offensive side:

Brandon is just about a joke. He got called for holding Tommy M, the league's biggest and slowest defensive lineman, 20 yards away from a play. Couple that with his leaving the field, I'm not very happy with him.

Logan has to play somewhere at all times.

I have to work on our open field blocking.

I have to work on wedge blocking.

I NEED A CENTER WHO CAN SNAP A FLIPPING FOOTBALL.


Overall, I was told by former parents (waiting for 11/12s to start) that our team dominated the scrimmages and looked the best out of our four teams. I was very happy to hear that but I know we have a lot of work to do.

I will say this, quite different than last year's jamboree, which made me sick.

[Poli]

Installed our Touchdown Kick Return and our "Block 'Em Up and Spread 'Em Out" kickoff team.

We have so many talented speedsters it's ridiculous!

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Poli

Installed our Touchdown Kick Return and our "Block 'Em Up and Spread 'Em Out" kickoff team.

We have so many talented speedsters it's ridiculous!

Speed is a wonderful thing!!

[Poli]

We play South County 1 at our place at 2pm. This is the team I beat to end the regular season last year.

South County and I don't exactly get along. In fact, I hate them.

If I have a chance to put up 90 on these guys, I'm taking it.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Poli

We play South County 1 at our place at 2pm. This is the team I beat to end the regular season last year.

South County and I don't exactly get along. In fact, I hate them.

If I have a chance to put up 90 on these guys, I'm taking it.

LOL, just remember the great rule of coaching Karma

Good luck buddy, sounds like you have a talented squad, looking forward to a great season.

[Poli]

Yeah, they took the chance to beat up on my scrubs last year. It's karma time for them, not me.

[Poli]

Starting lineups as of right now:

Left end: Griffin
Left guard: Kaleb
Center: Grant
Right guard: Nate
Right tackle: Jordan
Power tackle: Nolan
Right end: Garrett
1 back: Alex
2 back: Brennan (BP)
3 back: Tyler
4 back: Logan

We're loaded with 1 and 4 types (Matt, Josh, Hayden, Jacob), thin on 2 and 3s. It may be something where I tell Logan to spell either 2 or 3 and bring someone else in at 4.

Linewise, Garrett's our weakest and I hate that. He's a big boy, near the weight limit to play there, but he's soft. Sherard is going to play there sometime in the game, no doubt about it.

Trenton and Dylan will likely sub in at left end and left guard at some point. Brandon is our other sub on the offensive line but I don't want to use him there.

[Poli]

I can't run a 43 Reverse correctly to save my life, but the kids love 47 sweep. Killing me.

Defensively, we're:
A gappers: Keith/Trenton Dylan/Brandon
B/C gappers: Nolan/Kaleb Jordan/Griffin
DE: Logan/Ty
LB: Matt/Nate Grant top reserve and to split time with Nate. Sherard and Garrett have to steal some plays as well from LB and DE.
CB: Alex/Hayden Jacob/Josh
Monster/Safety: Brennan Logan and Ty are the backups here.

[Poli]

Kickoff team is my fastest ever.
Brennan kicks.

Logan
Josh
Alex
Ty
Matt
Dylan
Jacob
Hayden
Grant
Sherard

We're sprinting for that onside kick!

Kick return is similar. We sub out Sherard and Dylan. Insert Nate for the center of the kick return line and Garrett as the right end on that line as well. We're fast and solid.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Poli

I can't run a 43 Reverse correctly to save my life, but the kids love 47 sweep. Killing me.

Defensively, we're:
A gappers: Keith/Trenton Dylan/Brandon
B/C gappers: Nolan/Kaleb Jordan/Griffin
DE: Logan/Ty
LB: Matt/Nate Grant top reserve and to split time with Nate. Sherard and Garrett have to steal some plays as well from LB and DE.
CB: Alex/Hayden Jacob/Josh
Monster/Safety: Brennan Logan and Ty are the backups here.

You play your B/C gap players in a 4 technique and have them take the OT head on and have them play as 2 gap players or do you slant them?

[Poli]

A gappers and the B/Cs play straight into the gap. Their goal is to shoot through and if they feel bodies hitting them to grab grass and create a pile. B/Cs are told either B gap or C gap before the play. Last year I had success closing to the B gap on the short side of the field and opening to C on the wide side. I'd guess you could say it alternates between 4 and 6 techs, except I'm not teaching that they take on the blocker and react. Half the time in our league the blocker isn't blocking properly anyhow and could give us a false read so we just shoot the gaps.

[Poli]

6 hours till game time.

[Barkeep49]

Bump?

[Poli]

Sorry, BK. Didn't see the bump. I should keep my viewing settings a little longer than two days I guess.

We lost 27-12. Our defensive ends, Logan and Ty, had horrible games. Neither played correctly and it cost us. Outside of four big runs, we played well defensively. We just rely on those defensive ends to contain and they routinely failed us.

Alex had a phenomenal game, despite a lack of blocking by the line. He finished with 15 carries and 159 yards and a touchdown.

Logan had the other touchdown, despite finishing the day with a loss in yardage. Running the sweep to the weakside, he was punished by poor blocking by that side and our 1 backs. There wasn't a single sweep to the left that was blocked correctly.

Ty had a good game at 3 back, providing 25 yards on 6 carries. Brennan had just one carry after penalties wiped out others.

[Poli]

The good news is we have it fixed. We've blown up the Red Cougars and Gold Cougars offensively and defensively in two separate scrimmages. Yesterday's scrimmage against the Gold Cougars was a rout. We "scored" on 5 of the first 6 plays.

A number of boys, unless we get into a rout, will only play defense and it may stick that way for a while.

Brandon has absolutely no motivation to block on offense...routinely holding despite constant work not do so. Matt and Hayden routinely went the wrong way offensively unless they were getting the ball. Hayden, even better, would run the wrong way while getting the ball.

Couple that with my A gapper types of Keith and Dylan, that makes about five defense only players.

Offensively, we've worked our butts off blocking wise and getting that weakside to open up.

Defensively, we're still weak in the middle, where my gappers don't bear crawl. We're looking stronger on the outside, but I worry that Ty won't cut it at defensive end.

The good news is we play St. Gen 2. They lost, 6-0, to South County 2. They play a soft 6-3 defense that's ripe for our power/sweep plays. I'm surprised South County only scored 6. Their offense consists of a soft pro wing (always right) where they run either off tackle right or a play action boot left and a shotgun empty set with three flankers to either side. Out of that set they run a quarterback draw, a quick hitch, and a fake hitch deep pass.

Piece of cake.

Subbing wise, considering I expect a blow out, we're looking to sub by quarters. Most kids will play offense or defense in one quarter, followed by playing offense or defense on the other side in the next.

Exceptions are out there. My five boys who play defense only and three of the kids will play both ways (Logan, Ty, and Brennan).

[Poli]

34-13 Win today. We "allowed" a kick return for a touchdown in the 4th quarter to keep it "close". I put in all the linemen and had one kick it deep. Surprise, surprise, they returned it for a touchdown.

That kept us out of the running clock.

[Poli]

A few weeks back at the jamboree, smothering the running back.

[Poli]

I hate huddling, but when we do, it looks like this.

[Poli]

Taken by my roommate during the game.