Football analysis and strategy from Chris B. Brown
LSU Hires Dave Aranda as Defensive Coordinator
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LSU Hires Dave Aranda as Defensive Coordinator
Aranda is an excellent hire for Les Miles and LSU. From LSU’s release: “This is a great hire for us,” Miles said. “Dave has an outstanding track record of producing some of the best defenses in college football. We’ve seen him up close and understand how difficult it is to have success against him. “He’s…
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Mastering the Sack
I recently stumbled across some pretty nifty cut-up videos of NFL sacks, which highlight the effort, techniques and schemes that result in losses for offenses. It’s an understudied area, as sacks and pressures that move the QB off the spot and force bad throws or decisions are often seen as results rather than processes: it…
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Pete Carroll explains how his Seattle Seahawks team tackles better and with reduced risk of head injury
I don’t think I need to explain how crucial tackling is to football, nor do I need the explain the serious concerns our developing knowledge about brain and head injuries poses to the future of football. Recently, the USA Football, with the support of the NFL, has begun putting out a series of videos and…
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Translating Nick Saban: Three Plays from the BCS Championship
Nick Saban did the full ESPN car wash today, and ESPN, to their credit, fit in a brief bit of actual football talk as they looked at three plays from the BCS Championship game against Notre Dame. The segment is definitely worth watching: Although there was good information here, the segment was also a bit…
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Bear Bryant’s 6-5 Goal Line Defense
Courtesy of Kleph (click to make larger):
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Nick Saban Doesn’t Teach Backpedaling?
Former Alabama and current Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick caused something of a stir when he told the media that he “never backpedaled at Alabama.” Apparently, this is something Bengals coaches value, as Kirkpatrick had to learn to backpedal. Some fairly questioned whether this was hyperbole — How do you not teach defensive backs to…
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Greg Schiano on recovering fumbles: “Squeeze your butt cheeks”
From an old clinic lecture by former Rutgers and current Tampa Bay Bucs head coach, Greg Schiano. I think I prefer “scooping and scoring.” We also have our players perform the recover drill. In this drill, we stress three aspects: covering the points by surrounding the football; covering the ball in a fetal position so…
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Nick Saban on Bill Belichick’s Hybrid/Subpackage Defenders: “Star” and “Money”
Good stuff from Saban on the history of Belichick’s hybrid or subpackage defenders, “Star” and “Money”: If the video doesn’t start there automatically, jump to the 5:30 mark. Hat tip to reader Corey.
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New Grantland: The Evolution of the Hybrid Defender
It’s now up over at Grantland: More recent is the rise of the true hybrid safety/linebacker, players seemingly designed to provide answers for players like Gronkowski and Graham. This is the next logical step from Johnson’s method for building Miami and the Cowboys. Instead of taking high school safeties and making them linebackers, coaches are…
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Only four plays in football?
While reading through some old defensive materials, I came across this quote: There are only four plays in football and they happen in this order: Perimeter Run 3-Step Pass Pass Inside Run Agree or disagree? Is that helpful to think of things in that way, particularly as a defensive coach or player?