Football analysis and strategy from Chris B. Brown
Smart Notes – Clemson’s Offensive Playbook, Lamar Jackson’s Passing, Belichick, Match Quarters
-
Smart Notes – Clemson’s Offensive Playbook, Lamar Jackson’s Passing, Belichick, Match Quarters
Clemson’s offensive playbook. I’ve now had a few different sources send me Clemson’s offensive playbook from 2013 under then-offensive coordinator (and current SMU head coach) Chad Morris. From 2012 to 2013, the Tigers — led by quarterback Tajh Boyd and featuring weapons like DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Tajh Boyd and Martavis Bryant — averaged over…
-
Smart Notes — Harbaugh’s Coaches Clinic, Mouse Davis R&S Tapes, Twitter, Toenail Fungus
Clinic season. Springtime is when coaches get together and — to some extent against their own interests (though not entirely) — share information on the ins and outs of their schemes, personnel strategies and general program management. Sometimes this involves one staff visiting another, but the backbone are the clinics, where (typically) college and sometimes…
-
Smart Notes — Christian McCaffrey’s Halfback Option, Holgorsen’s Power Football, Belichick on Marv Levy, Emory & Henry Formation
McCaffrey’s Y-Stick, Halfback Option Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey narrowly missed out on the Heisman trophy in one of the most competitive races in recent years, as McCaffrey, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Alabama’s Derrick Henry each had remarkable seasons, with Henry taking home the trophy. But McCaffrey might be the most intriguing one of the bunch as he has tremendous…
-
Smart Notes – Defending Packaged Plays, Baylor’s Lazy Offense, Buck Sweep, Murder
Defending Packaged Plays. Packaged plays are among the most deadly tools in the modern offense’s arsenal. These plays, sometimes also referred to as run-pass options, combine different types of plays into one while giving the QB the option to choose; they are a type of read-option that don’t require the QB to run the ball…
-
College Football Playoff: Should the Committee Pick the “Best” or the “Most Deserving” Teams?
While the College Football Playoff is an improvement over the old BCS system it, unsurprisingly, has not done away with controversy or debate regarding the identities of the top teams in the country. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee released their first ranking today, and the predictable result was a lot of back and forth…
-
New Grantland (Shootaround): Alabama’s Spread Offense and Requiem for Mike Leach
I participated in Grantland’s shootaround following week one of the college football season, and I wrote about Alabama potentially embracing the spread offense and the inauspicious start to the season by Washington State under head coach Mike Leach. Some excerpts: But Saban also likes winning, and after troubling losses to Texas A&M in 2012, Auburn…
-
Smart Football Round-Up 9/2/2015
In connection with the start of the season (and the new book), I’ve been doing some Q&As and podcasts. Below are some links: Solid Verbal Podcast: Talking defense and the start of the college football season with Dan Rubenstein. RotoViz Radio: A fun discussion with Josh Norris and Matthew Freedman about trends in the NFL, quarterback…
-
Amazon drops Kindle price of The Art of Smart Football to 99 cents
Amazon has dropped the price of the Kindle edition of my new book, The Art of Smart Football, to 99 cents. My old book, The Essential Smart Football, is also only 99 cents right now. Note that you can read Kindle books on non-Kindle devices by downloading the free Kindle app for your computer or…
Read more about Amazon drops Kindle price of The Art of Smart Football to 99 cents
-
The Smart Football Glossary
Football is bathed in jargon. Other sports have their wonky terms but anyone who even casually watches a football game is bombarded with a cascade of code words, while even experienced fans usually can’t make heads or tails of what coaches and players say to each other on the sidelines. Some of this is inherent…
-
Audio Round-up — The Art of Smart Football
I’ve spent the last few days doing a few selected podcasts and radio hits (and there’s more to come). They were all fun; links are below. Fieldgulls podcast with Danny Kelly and Kenneth Arthur, talking Seahawks, Russell Wilson, keys for coaches, and how defenses are defendiong the read option. Blatant Homerism podcast with Allen Kenney…
Read more about Audio Round-up — The Art of Smart Football