OVERVIEW

• GET YOU AS MUCH USEFUL INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE

• RUN THEORY
• CAN FIT INTO ANY OFFENSE

• WHAT HAS EVOLVED?

• HOW IS THE GAME BEING IMPACTED TODAY

• DESIGNING RUN GAME SYSTEM

• WHAT WE DO & WHY WE DO IT

• HOW WE DO IT
 WHAT HAS EVOLVED?
• TWO MOST INFLUENTIAL COMPONENTS THAT
EVOLVED IN THE RUN GAME:
• VARIOUS TEMPOS & HOW THEY IMPACT DEFENSES
• THE UTILIZATION OF SPACE AS A RESOURCE

• RULE CHANGES

• COMPOUNDING WAYS TO MANIPULATE DEFENSES

• BEST AVAILABLE PERSONNEL

• FRONT vs SECONDARY MATCH-UPS DISCREPANCIES

• YOUR FRONT VS THEIR FRONT
• YOUR SKILL VS THEIR SKILL
 “SAME DIFFERENCE”

• 2x2 FORMATION
• 3 DIFFERENT BALL CARRIERS
• 3 DIFFERENT LANES
• 1 BLOCKING SCHEME
• QB DISTRIBUTES THE BALL
• PITCH IS “SHOVELED” NEARBY
 “SAME DIFFERENCE”

• 2x2 FORMATION
• 3 DIFFERENT BALL CARRIERS
• 3 DIFFERENT LANES
• 1 BLOCKING SCHEME
• QB DISTRIBUTES THE BALL
• PITCH IS “OVERHANDED” TO SPACE
 HISTORY & INFLUENCE

• BEEN FORTUNATE IN COACHING

• DIVERSE COACHING BACKGROUND
• WORKED WITH GREAT COACHES
• COACHED IN MULTIPLE SYSTEMS
• BEEN EXPOSED TO DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FOOTBALL

• COACHING MANY POSITIONS HELPED ME DEVELOP

• MORE EFFECTIVE & MACRO-MINDED

• OLD SCHOOL vs NEW SCHOOL

• BORN & RAISED IN TWO-BACK, PRO-STYLE OFFENSES
• GOT INTO COLLEGE COACHING WHEN SPREAD RUNS HIT THE SCENE
• PLAYED RECEIVER BUT AM O-LINE COACH BY TRADE
 2012 ROSE BOWL
• OREGON VS. WISCONSIN
• WAS THERE A WAY TO UNIFY THESE CONCEPTS?
 TEMPO: MY THOUGHTS
• VARYING TEMPO IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO PREPARE
FOR DEFENSIVELY

• ALWAYS EASIER TO SLOW DOWN, RATHER THAN

SPEED UP

• MORE EFFICIENT PRACTICES

• SPECIFIC VARIABLES DETERMINE WHEN TO USE TEMPO

• COMPLEX DEFENSES
• PRESSURE PACKAGES
• BEST PLAYER(S) ARE OUT OF THE GAME
• AFTER BIG PLAYS
• SUDDEN CHANGE
• CREATE SLOPPY READS, FITS & TACKLES
 STANDARD TYPES OF TEMPO
• HUDDLE – STANDARD
• HUDDLE – SUGAR
• HUDDLE – QUICK
• NO HUDDLE – SIGNAL
• NO HUDDLE – WRISTBAND
• NO HUDDLE – VERBAL COMMUNICATION
• “LOOK” OR “GLANCE”

STANDARD COMMUNICATION PROCESS

NOISE

ENCODING MESSAGE DECODING

SENDER RECEIVER
MESSAGE CHANNEL MESSAGE
 FINDING THE RIGHT TEMPO

• AN EXTENTION OF THE REST OF YOUR OFFENSE

• UTILIZE THE SAME YOU WOULD USE

• PERSONNEL
• FORMATIONS
• PLAYS

• FLEXIBILITY TO USE TEMPO WITH

• PERSONNEL
• FORMATIONS
• SITUATIONS
• PLAY CONCEPTS
 IMPACT & INFLUENCE

• EVERY SNAP & EVERY PLAY DESIGN IS BEING INFLUENCED

• DOWN & DISTANCE
• FIELD POSITION
• SCORE
• TIME
• PERSONNEL GROUPS & FORMATIONS
• DEFENSIVE SCHEME
• DEFENSIVE STRENGTH (SCHEMATIC)

• REPS GET SPREAD THINNER & FASTER THAN YOU THINK

• DOING LESS GETS YOU MORE
 OFFENSIVE STRUCTURE

• HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE BALANCED

• MISCONCEPTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS

• CONSTANT BATTLE BETWEEN:

• REMAINING SIMPLE TO OUR PLAYERS
• APPEARING COMPLEX TO DEFENSES

• SHOW MANY LOOKS, RUN FEW PLAY CONCEPTS

• CARRY VARIANCE WITHIN PLAY CONCEPT

• MAKE THE DEFENSE DEFEND AS MUCH OF THE FIELD AS

POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES
 UTILIZING SPACE
• BREAK THE FIELD INTO THREE LATERAL ZONES
• WHAT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO GAIN 6 YARDS?
• ADJUST FOR SITUATION
• SEE THE RUN GAME AS:
• INSIDE DRILL COMBINED WITH TWO OKLAHOMA DRILLS

1 2 3
 DESIGNING & GAME PLAN
• FINITE AMOUNT OF SNAPS IN A GAME
• CANNOT RUN EVERYTHING

• “SFS” (SHORT, FAST, & SIMPLE)

• IF YOUR PLAYERS’ HEADS ARE MOVING; THEIR FEET ARE NOT

• NEVER TRY TO “OUT-SMART” THE OPPOSING COACHES

• EVERY COACHING STAFF HAS PLAYERS THEY WISH

WERE NOT ON THE FIELD
• FIND THEM
• ENGAGE THEM
• CREATE MATCH-UPS USING PERSONNEL AND/OR CONCEPT
 OFFENSIVE DESIGN

• WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN?

• RARELY, IF EVER, DO WE ADD DURING THE SEASON

• WHAT FITS YOUR PERSONNEL?

• DO WHAT THEY DO WELL

• DOES THE STAFF HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE & TIME TO

TEACH IT?

• BE FLEXIBLE & WILLING TO ADAPT

• BOTH SIDES OF A WAR ENTER WITH A WINNING PLAN
 STRUCTURING RUN GAME
• BE ABLE TO RUN & PASS FROM EACH FORMATION &
PERSONNEL GROUPING

• DO YOU HAVE PLAYS FOR EACH SITUATION?

• REVIEW PREVIOUS SEASON

• CARRY COMPLIMENTARY PLAYS

• KEEP EVERYTHING AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE

• TEACH CONCEPTUALLY
• OFFENSIVE TERMINOLOGY
• DEFENSIVE RECOGNITION
• PLAY FAMILIES
• COACHING POINTS
• RULES & ASSIGNMENTS
 OUR RUN GAME
• TWO RUN FAMILIES
• GAP
• MAN (ZONE)
• RB & QB CARRY THE BALL

• RPOs
• BUILT-IN PERIMETER SCREENS
• TAGGED ROUTES
• ANY SKILL PLAYER CARRIES THE BALL

• COMPLIMENTARY PLAYS
• POWER READ
• MISDIRECTION
• RPO VARIETY
 QUANTIFY CORRECTLY

• ANYTHING WHERE THE OL IS ACTUALLY BLOCKING A

RUN PLAY
• HARDEST THING TO GET OVER
• WHERE THE BALL ENDS UP DOESN’T CHANGE THE INTENT
• WHO CARES WHAT THE “STAT GUY” LABELS IT?

• BALL DISTRIBUTION
• REPETITION & SIMPLICITY IS KEY – THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE
• HARDER TO GAME PLAN AGAINST
• ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE FAVORABLE MATCH-UPS

• WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO USE ALL 11 PLAYERS?

• LET YOUR PLAYERS DO WHAT THEY DO WELL
• LINEMEN BLOCK & SKILL PLAYERS CATCH & RUN
 NUMBERS LIE
TOTAL SNAPS: 936

RUN GAME: 612 (65%)

• INSIDE (358)
• RPOs (153)
• COMPLIMENTS (101)

PASS GAME: 326 (35%)

WHY IS JOHN STOCKTON IN

THE NBA HALL-OF-FAME?
QB CONFERENCE MVP
263-391 : 3,758 YDS : 34 TD
 GAP SCHEME (SAMPLE)

• ALL-PURPOSE, VERTICAL PUSH, PHYSICAL CONCEPT

• THREE BASE RUNS FROM THIS SCHEME
• POWER
• H-BACK EXCHANGE
• GT
• WE CAN ADD PLAY VARIETY WHILE USING THE SAME
BLOCKING SCHEME
 TERMS
• A-SPOT
– FIRST LEVEL-2 DEFENDER HEAD-UP, TO BACK-SIDE, THE CENTER

• B-SPOT
– FIRST LEVEL-2 DEFENDER PLAY-SIDE THE CENTER

• WHAM
– THE BLOCK ON THE PLAY-SIDE C-GAP DEFENDER

• WRAP
– BACK-SIDE PLAYER WORKING UP B-SPOT
 GAP SCHEME (1)
RIGHT

“A-SPOT” “B-SPOT”

WRAP WHAM
SINGE BACK GAP GAP
 GAP SCHEME (2)
RIGHT

“A-SPOT” “B-SPOT”

WHAM

WRAP
SINGE BACK GAP GAP
 GAP SCHEME (3)
RIGHT

“A-SPOT” “B-SPOT”

WRAP WHAM

BACK GAP GAP

 CHAIN OF EVENTS
• PLAY CONCEPT HAS A DOMINO EFFECT

• WHAM (C-GAP DEFENDER)

• WRAP (MAKE THE WHAM CORRECT)

• RUNNER (FOLLOW THE WRAP)

GAP ASSIGNMENTS (POWER)

PST GAP TO A-SPOT

PSG GAP TO A-SPOT
C BACK
BSG WRAP
BST SINGE
S WHAM
T MESH - FOLLOW WRAP
QB DROP NEAR LEG - RESPONSIBLE FOR MESH
 GAP 1 (POWER)
OVER UNDER

W M W M

R N T E R T N E

S S
Q Q
T T
ODD STACK

W M W M S
B R N E R N E

S S
Q T Q T
 MAN SCHEME

• ALL-PURPOSE RUN, VERTICAL PUSH, PHYSICAL CONCEPT

• ALL BLOCKS ARE ASSIGNED BY NUMBER
• IF YOUR MAN IS A LINEMAN, BASE HIM
• IF YOUR MAN IS NOT A LINEMAN, STEP AT YOUR THREAT
– UNCOVERED: STEP AT YOUR ASSIGNMENT
– COVERED: STEP AT MAN ON YOU ON THE WAY TO ASSIGNMENT
• PLAY VARIETY
– BLOCK BSE
– BLOCK BST
– READ BSE
 MAN SCHEME
RIGHT

-3 -2 -1 0 1 2
 MAN ASSIGNMENTS

PST 2
PSG 1
C 0
BSG -1
BST -2
S BACK-SIDE (DEPENDS ON PLAY)
T J-PATH TO MESH, READ FIRST PLAY-SIDE DL
QB POP & PIVOT – MESH & MAKE READ
 MAN
OVER UNDER
-2 0 -1 1
W M W M
-3 -1 1 2 -3 -2 0 2
R N T E R T N E

S S
T T
ODD STACK
-1 1 -2 0 1
M S W M S
3 -2 0 2 -3 -1 2
W R N E R N E

S S
T T
 BASE DRILL

• DT
• A-GAP OR B-GAP LB LB

• DE
• TIGHT OR LOOSE
• SQUEEZE OR BRACKET DE DT DT DE

• LB
• A-GAP OR B-GAP
• FLOW TO BACK
• SCRAPE OR RUN THRU

Q
 RPO SYSTEM

• SYSTEM

• TERMS

• RULES
 BUILT-IN RPOs
• AUTOMATIC ON ANY INTERIOR RUN PLAY
• GOAL IS TO GET THE BALL ADVANCED DOWN THE
NUMBERS
• TYPE OF RPO IS DICTATED BY HOW MANY RECEIVERS
ARE DETACHED
• 1 DETACHED = HITCH/OUT
• 2 DETACHED = NOW/BUBBLE
• 3 DETACHED = BUBBLE
• MOTION = MUBBLE
• SPLITS VARY BASED ON THE SPOT
• CAN TAG ADDITIONAL ROUTES
• LIMIT YOURSELF – EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER
 BENEFITS OF RPOs
• HIDES SPLITS

• PULLS DEFENDERS OUT OF THE BOX

• COMPROMISES RUN FITS

• “MUBBLES” ARE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE

– EASY READ FOR QB
– NIGHTMARE FOR DEFENSES

• BEST PLAY ACTION ON THE MARKET

 RPO THROW TYPES
• CLEAR
– PRE-SNAP
– EASILY DEFINED

• FLASH
– WANT TO MANUFACTURE A BETTER LOOK
– PLAY FAKE TO GET THE DEFENDER TO COMMIT

• FOLD
– LEAST COMMON, HIGHEST REWARD
– RUN REGULAR READ PLAY
– THROW COMES OUT LATE
 COMPONENT DRILL

X Y
S Z
Q
T
Q Q
 QB GAP RT (1) - FLARE

X Y
S Z
Q
T
Q Q
 GAP RT (2) – POST

X Y
S Z
Q
T
Q Q
 GAP RT (3) – BASE

X Y
S Z
Q
T
Q Q
 MAN LT - BASE

X Y
S Z
Q
T
Q Q
 MAN LT - BASE

X Y
S Z
Q
T
Q Q
 MAN LT - POST

Y S
Z X
Q
T
Q Q
 CONCLUSION
• GREAT OFFENSES ARE UTILIZE TEMPO & SPACING
• DON’T LET THE STAT GUY SCARE YOU OFF

• THEY MAKE LIFE EASIEST ON THE OL

• CARRY FEW SCHEMES
• FIND EASY PLAY VARIATION & COMPLIMENTARY PLAYS

• KEEP THINGS SIMPLE & CONSISTENT

• TAKE THE YARDS THEY ARE WILLING TO GIVE YOU

• LET ME KNOW IF WE CAN HELP YOU IN ANY WAY

• SINCERE THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU & THE AFCA

• VERY PERSONAL OPPORTUNITY TO ME
 THANK YOU

CONTACT INFORMATION

MATT DRINKALL
HEAD COACH
COYOTE FOOTBALL

KANSAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

100 EAST CLAFIN AVE.
SALINA, KS 67401

@DrinkallKWU