Folks who don’t know any better, love to tell you that the 4-2-5 Defense is a ‘Spread’ defense. It’s just not true.
Listen to this episode of the Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic out how to adjust your 4-2-5 Defense to defend the rugged 32 personnel attack of a T-Formation Offense.
It’s a tough call to make. You want to coach. Your players want to play. We are all competitors.
In this episode of the JDFB Quick Clinic, I’m answering a listener question on how to know when it’s the right time to forfeit a football game.
Consistency is the key. Coach Simple, Play Fast, Win.
In this episode of JDFB Quick Clinic, I’m answering a listener question from Mike on how we coach the Inside Linebackers in our 4-2-5 Defense to fit the Iso block on a lead play, or the pulling guard on a Power.
Putting together a great defensive game plan can win your football team some games. But what do you do when it’s not so easy to game plan?
Some teams just don’t have an identity. They run a little bit of everything. Or change every week.
That makes it really hard to create a defensive game plan. The good news is, they probably won’t be able to master a new defense in just a few days of practice.
We stick to the rule of staying simple with your defensive game plan when the offense is complicated. Your players execute the scheme better, while they are trying to figure out a whole new way to play.
In this episode, we’re answering a listener question on how to put together your defensive game plan when the opponent runs a ‘Flavor of the Week’ offense. When you just have no way to predict what you’ll see.
This question was sent into my email. You can send your questions for the JDFB Quick Clinic to me at joe@joedanielfootball.com.
Listen to this episode of The JDFB Quick Clinic to learn about how to prepare your defensive game plan for these opponents. I’ll go through the 3 things you need to focus on most to have success.
In this episode, I also mentioned The 4-2-5 Defense System and my 3 video series on the Foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense. You can get instant access to that download at https://425defense.com/podcast right now!
There’s nothing worse than watching your Middle Linebacker dance around 5 yards from the line of scrimmage, while the opponent runs an Iso right at him. The single most important skill for Linebackers is to get going downhill fast!
Many coaches will try to fill the Linebacker’s head with a million different ‘What If’ scenarios. Then he’s standing there dancing while he tries to figure out which one this play is.
So the coach does the only thing he can think of… he calls a blitz. Heck, at least your guy will be going somewhere!
That’s step one. In this episode of the JDFB Quick Clinic I’ll talk about step two. How to get your Middle Linebackers to play downhill with simple, fast reads. And the ability to make a play even if the ball isn’t run directly at him.
This question was sent into my email from Chris. You can send your questions for the JDFB Quick Clinic to me at joe@joedanielfootball.com.
If you have young linebackers who are not aggressively attacking the run, learning how to simplify your linebacker reads will help get a better result. Listen to this episode now to find out how!
In this episode, I talked about my 4-2-5 Defense System that is part of a JDFB Insider subscription. You can get an introduction to that System with a special 3 video series I’ve put together. And there’s no charge to use it. Visit http://425defense.com/podcast to get instant access to the first video now.
Many coaches are putting their best athletes at Quarterback in High School and Youth football today. You’ve got to have a plan for how to contain the Quarterback to win those games.
Once upon a time, most Quarterbacks were just a distributor of the football. Hand it off. Quick passes. Drop back passing. He wasn’t a weapon. Now, a lot of Quarterbacks are their team’s primary weapon!
This question was sent in by Chris to my email. You can email your questions to me any time at joe@joedanielfootball.com to be discussed on the Quick Clinic.
The issue is those Defensive Ends losing contain on a Quarterback who is more athletic than them. How do we coach it so that we make the best athlete on the team, into nothing more than a drop back passer?
I’ll talk about how teaching your Defensive Line their pass rush rules. This is the first key to containing the Quarterback on your pass rush.
Then we’ll talk about how to drill this skill in practice, and how to work more Scramble work into your Team sessions.
In this episode, I mentioned a really important tool that I’ve started using this year called the Scout Team System. You can get all the details on this at https://www.coachdrive.com/order-sts. I strongly recommend this product, as it has really helped us get more from our scout team on both sides of the ball.
Offensive Line blocking technique is not natural. It’s not something that your players are just born with. You have to teach it.
That means they need to learn who to block, and how to block them. It’s a lot of learning and technical, tedious repetition. Takes a special dude to be a great Offensive Lineman.
And then, somewhere in all that scholarly coaching… you gotta get some kids who want to be a little nasty. Finish the block. Drive their guy to the ground.
This is where I see coaching completely fail. A lot.
Coaches decide to just berate their players into getting mean and being aggressive. And if the player doesn’t do it, it’s because he’s soft.
Not for me. Not good enough. We’ve got a problem, and we need to solve it.
In this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’m answering an email question from Chris. You can email your questions to me at joe@joedanielfootball.com for the Quick Clinic, too.
The problem is that his guys just aren’t finishing blocks. And it’s a problem that I am very familiar with.
I’m sharing my 3 Step Plan for getting your Offensive Line to finish their blocks. Listen now to learn all about it!
In this episode, I also mentioned my Offensive Line Coaching Formula course. It’s available exclusively as part of JDFB Insiders. You can get instant access right now at https://joedanielfootball.com/membership.
The Shovel Pass and Shovel Option Play are becoming increasingly popular in High School Football. You better have a plan for defending it!
If you're not seeing the Shovel Option yet, it'll be coming to your town soon. This is the trickle down from the NCAA and NFL where the play as gotten a lot of highlights lately.
At the heart of the Shovel Option, though, the play is pretty simple. On paper, anyway. It's just a Triple Option.
Tyler sent this topic in via Twitter @footballinfo to help his 4-2-5 Defense team shut down the Shovel Pass. The scout offense was eating up his 1st Team Defense all week.
In this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I'll talk about how you defend the Shovel Pass - whether it's Power blocking or Veer blocking, or anything else - with the 4-2-5 Defense.
We'll also look at the purpose behind the Shovel Option. Where did it come from? Why does it work so darn good? And what should our players be looking at so they are ready to shut it down?
In this podcast I mention The 4-2-5 Defense System. You can get my 3 video series on the foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense System at no charge right now, when you visit http://425defense.com/podcast.
Sometimes, you just have to accept that a penalty will not be called. Even if it should be.
On this episode of the JDFB Quick Clinic, I’m answering a great question from Cameron, who sent his question in on Twitter @footballinfo.
The question is simply this: What do you teach when the defenders are cutting your pulling linemen?
We run into this a lot running The Pistol Power Offense System. Teams want to cut the H-Back or Guard who is kicking out.
And that’s illegal. But my experience is, you can’t expect it to get called. You certainly ask for the call… but don’t expect it.
Too bad, so sad. The longer you harp on it with the officials, the more the game is getting out of hand.
Instead, we better have some answers that we actually have control over. And that’s what you’ll when you listen to this episode of The Football Coaching Podcast!
I talk quite a bit about The Pistol Power Offense System in this episode. If you want to study this complete Offensive System right now, you can get instant access today. Visit http://pistolpoweroffense.com to get all the details and get started today.
Great coaches are always learning. Always looking for new ideas and new ways to get more from your players.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to know where to go for those ideas. There’s a lot of information on the internet. It’s hard to know what’s good and what’s bad.
I’ve even heard about this one guy who does two podcasts, writes a blog, has sold some eBooks and recorded a few videos. And then had the nerve to name a website after himself.
Anyway, back to the question at hand - Andrew sent me a great question on Twitter @footballinfo. He’s looking for some good coaching books!
Books are still my favorite way to get information. Especially when you want to go in-depth on a topic. Back in Episode 113 of The Football Coaching Podcast, I talked about the best football coaching books I had come across in my search: https://joedanielfootball.com/113.
On this episode of the The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’ll pull the absolute top books from that list, as well as update it with a couple of my more recent favorites.
And then I plug my own books. Which are available only as part of JDFB Insider. Check out https://joedanielfootball.com/membership to learn about all of the benefits of being an Insider!
In the Pistol Power Offense System, Power is obviously one of the staple plays. If you’re going to run a lot of Power, you better have a Counter run play.
To keep it simple, our Counter run play is designed with the exact same blocking scheme as the Power play. Only two player’s assignments change.
But the look does change.
In today’s Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’m answering a listener question on blocking the Counter run play against an Odd Front defense.
Specifically, the question was about the 3-4 Defense. But the rules are the same, and they’ll apply to any other Odd front. The 5-2 Defense, or the 3-5-3 Defense are going to be blocked basically the same.
If you want to learn more about the blocking scheme for the Power series in the Pistol Power Offense System, I’ve got an exclusive video series available for you right now. I’ll break down the Power, Counter and Power Pass in those 3 videos. And there’s no charge to you. Get access to those videos right now by visiting http://pistolpoweroffense.com/podcast.
This is always a struggle. Every Defensive Line Coach has faced it.
Pad level. “Fire out low and hard!”
That never really works, by the way. Just screaming something about playing low has probably never solved the problem in the middle of a game.
I may be in the minority, but I don’t think chutes and sleds and all the other tools and toys out there really help that much either. Maybe over the longer course of a player’s career they do. But not in the short term.
If you’re in the middle of the season and your guys aren’t playing low, short term is what you need.
Then what do you do to get your defensive line to play low?
In Episode 85 of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’m answering a listener question from Rob about how to get the Defensive Line to play lower. And how to do it fast!
I’ll give you my ideas on what really has an effect on the pad level of your defensive linemen. And what is just a total waste of your time.
We’ll look at tools, toys, stance, coaching points, and more on how to solve the age old defensive line coaching problem.
Before you get real excited, I’ll burst your bubble. This is not an easy problem to solve. And there is no ‘quick’ fix for it.
I go in depth on teaching Defensive Line Play in my 4-2-5 Defense System. To get an introduction to the 4-2-5 Defense System, visit http://425defense.com to sign up for an exclusive 3 video series on coaching the foundations of the 4-2-5 Defense.
It might be the worst thing that could happen during your season. Especially for your players.
No one wants to be in the situation where a Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator or Defensive Coordinator is being fired. But it does happen. The situation comes up.
For a variety of reasons. It might be performance, it could be a clash with administration, or it may be something worse.
Sometimes the coach just leaves, too. Seen that happen as well.
Whatever the reason, you’re going to need a plan. A way to push forward and salvage this season for the players that are left behind.
And always remember, that’s who it’s about! Do all that you can do so that this group of players has the best possible experience they can.
In this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’ll share my ideas on what to do when the Head Coach or a Coordinator loses their job.
This question was sent in by a podcast listener on Facebook. You can send me your questions for the JDFB Quick Clinic to joe@joedanielfootball.com.
Does your team need to make some changes? You can check out JDFB Insider right now for 14 days for only $1. Visit https://joedanielfootball.com/tryit to get Instant Access to the complete JDFB Insider library of coaching systems.
Spring Football Practice has this kind of mythical aura about it around the country. Some states allow it in High School Football, while others don’t.
Those of us who don’t have it may long for the opportunity to work with our players for an extra few practices. Coaches who do have Spring Football Practice will strive to maximize those extra reps.
But is it a good idea? Is it the best thing for your players?
In this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, we’re going to talk about Spring Football Practice. Is it a good thing for your football players? Or for football coaches?
Listen to Episode 83 to hear my thoughts!
There’s nothing more important in your passing game than pass protection for the Quarterback. Like everything else in football, it all starts up front.
What’s the best pass protection scheme to use for your big guys? There’s a lot of options.
Big on Big. Half-Slide. Full Slide. Turnback protection.
5 man protection? 6 man? 7 man? When do you need to max protect for him?
Seems like the big questions that need to be answered. Of course, this doesn’t even begin to touch on protection techniques. That’s a whole different, and much longer clinic.
Leo sent in a great question for the JDFB Quick Clinic and it’s the one we’re answering on today’s episode. You can send in your questions to joe@joedanielfootball.com.
Beyond just deciding what style of protection to use, you have to look at how everything works together.
The timing of the routes. The route releases. How long will the Quarterback have?
In the Pistol Power Offense System, our pass protection is tied into the Quarterback reads and receiver releases. You need a QB who can look at some simple keys in the defense, and check the protection if necessary.
Doesn’t take a lot of teaching. But he has to get used to it early. And you have to stay on top of it as a coach.
Listen to this week’s episode for the short version on pass protection for your offense. Then check out The Pistol Power Offense System at http://pistolpoweroffense.com for more in-depth teaching on how to tie your protection, routes and QB reads together.
To get an introduction to The Pistol Power Offense System as my special gift to you, check out http://pistolpoweroffense.com/podcast. Enter your email address there. I’ll send you a 3 video series on the Power, Counter and Power Pass series of the offense, at no cost to you.
The weak side of the 4-3 Defense has been the source of a lot of questions. I may be a little different in the way I want that backer to play.
From the ‘spin down’ technique, to the wider alignment than most coaches would play. Differences in pass coverage. Preference on personnel. I’ve got some ideas that don’t match up with what I see in a lot of places.
That’s OK though. I feel pretty good about them.
Today’s JDFB Quick Clinic has a great question about how the Will Linebacker in the 4-3 Defense should take on and defeat blocks from Logan.
Since he didn’t mention what the coverage is, I made an assumption that we’re using the Quarters Coverage that I teach in our 4-3 Defense System. You can get instant access to the entire 4-3 Defense System when you become a JDFB Client. Visit https://joedanielfootball.com/membership to get all the details.
I’ve posted a video that goes in depth on the different Quarters Coverage checks that I talk about in this episode. If you’re not familiar with them, you’ll want to check this video out: https://youtu.be/lQPM_3JTHXI
The most important thing to consider, is what the responsibility of the Will Linebacker is against the outside run in your 4-3 Defense. That will depend on the coverage, and coverage check, that you decide to run.
This episode also gets at the heart of my single biggest concern in coaching defensive football today. Don’t get beat outside.
Listen to this episode of the JDFB Quick Clinic right now to hear all about how you can coach your Will Linebacker to defeat blocks and fit the run in your 4-3 Defense!
Defensive Coordinators seeing more and more 10 personnel, Trips formations. Just when you think the Spread philosophy may have reached it’s peak, it… spreads… a little more.
On this episode of the Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’m answering a listener question about defending sprint outs and roll out to the Trips side, with a running back helping to protect the Quarterback.
This is a dangerous situation. If you don’t do anything, the QB can pull it down and run. He’s often the most athletic guy on the field, and we don’t want him running free with the football. Or having all day to find an open receiver.
Then there’s the alternative. Bring up the wrong guy, and you could be leaving a receiver wide open down the field for an easy catch and a huge gain. That’s no good, either.
How do we handle it? Listen to this episode for our rules on defending roll outs and sprint out passing from The 4-2-5 Defense System. It’s a simple run that will keep your defense sound against a tough look.
Want to learn more about my 4-2-5 Defense System? Find out all about the System, and how you can get Instant Access to it right now, at http://425defense.com.
Details are critical in coaching football. If you don’t pay attention to the details, you don’t win a lot of games. And there’s a lot of detail in an Offensive Line stance.
The question is, which details do you pay attention to? What is important, and what is just a waste of time?
Chad sent me a question on Twitter @footballinfo asking whether he needed to worry about which hand his is down in his Offensive Line stance.
Their team is moving from the Wing-T to a Spread Offense. (I know, it made me sad, too.) In the Wing-T Offensive Line stance, they put down whichever hand was comfortable.
In this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’ll discuss whether this detail is something you should be worried about. Something you’re willing to put your time and effort into coaching.
In fact, we’ll talk about whether you should have a hand down at all. I’ve listened to a lot of good coaches lately who prefer a 2-point Offensive Line stance. Maybe that’s the answer?
The truth is, there’s no one right answer. But it’s worth diving into. I’ll talk about all of it in today’s episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic!
During this episode I also told you about the offensive line stance we teach in The Pistol Power Offense System. If you want to learn more about that System, you can get my exclusive 3 video series at no cost. Just visit https://pistolpoweroffense.com/podcast and enter your email address to get instant access.
Every football defense needs to have a plan for defending trips formations. In fact, you need more than one way.
There should be a base plan for defending trips formations. The way you’ll handle these sets when all else fails. Your fall back, and the most solid and comfortable plan.
Then there’s a blitz plan. A way to get pressure on teams lining up in 3x1 formations.
The third way could involve a number of methods, but it’s usually based on game plan. You need to know the strengths of your opponent to do this.
Whatever you decide to do when defending trips formations, you have to make sure that it’s sound. And there’s one simple rule to follow when you figure this out.
Can you defend Speed Option to the weak side? If they run Speed Option and read your Defensive End, or anyone else over there, can you still stop the play?
I see a lot of teams leaving this open to the weak side. And that’s OK, if you’re sure your opponent can’t run it. But if they can, you’ll be in trouble.
Listen to this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic to hear how we are defending trips formations. I’ll talk about some simple alignments from the 4-2-5 Defense System, and how you can be sure you are able to handle Speed Option to the single receiver side.
Want to get the complete 4-2-5 Defense System? You can get instant access for a low monthly rate, with no contract. Visit http://425defense.com for all the details.
It’s my favorite play. And we’re talking about the biggest problem you’ll have running it.
This mailbag question comes from Zach, who’s got the Power run play in his offensive playbook. But the backside linebacker has been giving them problems.
This is a major focus in how I teach the blocking in our Pistol Power Offense System. The BSLB will screw this play up for your offense more than anyone else.
Took a lot of time and adjustments to learn this. He seems like an afterthought when you’re first putting the play in. Then you get smashed in the backfield repeatedly by a guy who does a good job reading the guard.
He hits backside, frontside… he’s killing you. What’s the plan? How do you handle that guy?
Listen to this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic to find out how we teach our players to block the Power run play, and how we put a major emphasis on controlling that backside linebacker so that the play keep moving the chains.
This episode is sponsored by The Pistol Power Offense System. I’ve put together a video package that will show you the basics of Power series, at no cost to you. Just visit http://pistolpoweroffense.com/podcast and enter your email address to get the first video in that series sent straight to your email inbox!
Today’s listener question is all about a fundamental question for coaching your defensive line.
Spill it or squeeze it? There’s a lot of terms that get used here. Wrong arm the kick out block, or cage it?
Should we get under the block and force the ball carrier to bounce, or turn him back inside?
I’ll talk about my thoughts on this subject, but if you’ve been around me very long you probably know where I’m going.
Never one to assume I have all the answers, and you should always coach what you know. But what I know, is spilling the ball carrier to our force defenders.
Spilling the football is a big part of our defensive systems. It’s just the way I’ve learned football and it makes sense. To learn more about The 4-2-5 Defense System, visit http://425defense.com.
Need more control over your blitzing? Yes. Everyone does.
In our defensive systems at Joe Daniel Football, I teach the use of Field & Boundary calls. It gives you more control over where you’re going to bring your blitzes from - by giving you the ability to set the strength before the snap. Regardless of what the offense does.
On this episode of the Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’ll teach you how to use those Field & Boundary calls in your defensive play calling.
More important, I’ll teach you a much simpler method that works better with kids. And one that you can install right now.
This question came from one of our JDFB Clients who is using the 4-2-5 Defense System for the first time this year. To learn more about The 4-2-5 Defense System, visit http://425defense.com.
How do you get your Quarterback to make better decisions? You teach him to read coverages.
Not just read coverages, but understand them. You’ll find a lot of High School Quarterbacks who have learned how to recognize Cover 3. But have no idea what it means.
In this episode of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’ll give you some tips and tricks for teaching your Quarterback to read coverages. Then you’ll need to teach him what they mean.
QBs that can recognize the coverage, and understand what it means, can start to figure out where they’ll go with the football. Before the snap.
Having that knowledge will lead to better decision making on your passing plays.
In this episode, I talked about some of our passing triggers in The Pistol Power Offense System. You can get all the details on how to get instant access to the Pistol Power Offense System right now at http://pistolpoweroffense.com.
How do you get your Offensive Line to block longer? That’s the big question Offensive Line coaches are always trying to solve in your run blocking indy’s.
And it’s the question we’re answering this week on the JDFB Quick Clinic. How do you get your Offensive Linemen to stay engaged in the block as long as you need?
There’s two parts to this answer. One is in teaching your Offensive Linemen all phases of the block.
First step, position step. Second step, strike. That’s where we get the pop. The movement. Put the defensive lineman on his heels.
Third step is a gather step. Get the feet under you. That’s where sustaining the block starts. You can’t sustain a block if you just “FIRE OUT!” and “BLOCK SOMEBODY!”
That’s not coaching. That’s just yelling dumb stuff from the sidelines.
On the third step the blocker gets his base underneath him. Wide base. Quick feet. Keep the defender covered up.
Then you look for the finish. As soon as that defender turns his attention somewhere else, you finish him!
In Episode 73 of The Joe Daniel Football Quick Clinic, I’ll talk in depth about how to help your Offensive Linemen sustain blocks as long as they need to.
Want more on the Offensive Line? JDFB Insiders get access to the Complete Offensive Line Coaching Formula. It’s a 12 hour course on coaching the Offensive Line, and you can get instant access at https://joedanielfootball.com/membership
I have a VERY important question from one of our listeners for today’s episode. How do you teach your players to use the helmet and/or facemask in blocking?
It’s interesting because this got me a little riled up. That may not take much, but this one is really important.
Not because I think the coaches that are teaching anything involving the helmet are bad coaches. But because we have to stop.
I used to teach hat & hands for defensive linemen. Getting the head across on the tackle. You know, all the old stuff.
When we teach blocking now, as with tackling, it’s about keeping the head out of contact. As much as possible, we’re trying to protect against head trauma.
Tall order in a violent sport. But we have to do everything we can to keep our players safe. And save the sport.
Listen to today’s episode to hear all about why you should never involve the helmet in your teaching, even if you can’t keep it completely out of the contact forever.