1. ALL PLAYS WILL CARRY A NAME AND A NUMBER. THE NAME IS FOR THE USE OF THE BACKS SO THAT THEY WILL CARRY OUT PROPER BACKFIELD MOVEMENT. THE NUMBER TELLS EVERYONE WHO IS GOING TO CARRY THE BALL AND WHERE HE IS GOING TO RUN (THROUGH WHICH HOLE).

2. EACH RUNNING PLAY HAS A TWO DIGIT NUMBER. THE FIRST NUMBER INDICATES WHO IS TO CARRY THE BALL (WHICH BACK - THE QB IS NUMBER 1, THE WB IS 2, THE FB IS 3 AND THE TB IS NUMBER 4); THE SECOND NUMBER IS THE HOLE THROUGH WHICH HE IS TO RUN.

3. EACH PASSING PLAY HAS A THREE DIGIT NUMBER. THE FIRST NUMBER INDICATES WHICH PASS PROTECTION TO BE USED, THE SECOND NUMBER IDENTIFIES THE PASS ROUTE OF THE INSIDE RECEIVER, AND THE THIRD NUMBER IDENTIFIES THE PASS ROUTE OF THE OUTSIDE RECEIVER.

4. ANY HOLE MAY BE OPENED BY SEVERAL DIFFERENT BLOCKING ADJUSTMENTS. THESE BLOCKING ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE DETERMINED FOR THE MOST PART BY A CALL MADE BY THE QB IN THE HUDDLE.

5. ALL BLOCKING ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE DETERMINED BY APPLYING A SET OF "BLOCKING RULES." ABSOLUTE MASTER OF THOSE RULES IS ESSENTIAL.

6. OFFENSIVE FORMATIONS WILL BE CALLED BY THE QB WHEN HE CALLS THE PLAY.

7. WE WILL BE ABLE TO BLOCK OR OPEN 10 HOLES. BY UTILIZING OUR BLOCKING VARIATIONS WE MAY BLOCK EACH PLAY BY SEVERAL METHODS.

8. EVERYONE MUST KNOW WHERE EACH HOLE IS LOCATED.

OFFENSIVE HOLES AND SPACING

1. THE HOLES ARE DETERMINED BY THE SPACING OF THE OFFENSIVE LINEMEN.

2. THE HOLES ARE NOT OPENED AT A STRICTLY DEFINED SPOT BUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN DEFINITE LIMITS.

3. THE HOLES TO THE RIGHT OF THE CENTER ARE GIVEN EVEN NUMBERS, AND THE HOLES TO THE LEFT OF THE CENTER ARE GIVEN ODD NUMBERS.

4. THE SPACING OF THE LINEMEN AS INDICATED IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR BACKFIELD TIMING IN COORDINATION WITH LINEMEN BLOCKING.

THE HUDDLE

1. THE HUDDLE IS CALLED BY THE CENTER.

2. THE QB DOES ALL THE TALKING IN THE HUDDLE.

3. THE QB CAN EXPEL ANYONE FROM THE GAME WHO, IN HIS OPINION, IS A DISTRACTING INFLUENCE TO THE SQUAD.

4. NEVER LEAN ON ANYONE IN THE HUDDLE.

5. ALWAYS KEEP A GOOD DISTANCE BETWEEN EACH OTHER IN THE HUDDLE.

6. THE OFFENSIVE PLAY BEGINS WHEN THE QB GIVES THE SIGNAL TO BREAK THE HUDDLE. THE SPEED, DETERMINATION AND SNAP THAT WE LEAVE THE HUDDLE WITH, WILL DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF SUCCESS FOR EACH PLAY.

7. THE QB WILL REPEAT THE PLAY TWICE, CLEARLY AND PRECISELY, NO GARBLED WORDS.

8. AFTER THE QB CALLS THE PLAY THE FIRST TIME, THE CENTER, SE, AND WB LEAVE THE HUDDLE EARLY TO TAKE THEIR POSITIONS IF WE ARE CALLING A FORMATION WHERE THE SE AND WB WILL BE SPLIT WIDE. IF NOT, JUST THE C LEAVES THE HUDDLE EARLY.

9. AFTER REPEATING THE PLAY A SECOND TIME THE QB WILL SAY, "READY. ." EVERYONE WILL CHANT "BREAK!" CLAP THEIR HANDS AND SPRINT TO THE BALL.

10. HUDDLE COMMANDS: DURING EACH HUDDLE THE QB WILL GIVE THE TEAM FOUR COMMANDS: 1.) THE FORMATION, 2.) THE PLAY, 3.) THE STARTING COUNT, AND POSSIBLY 4.) THE WAY IN WHICH THE PLAY WILL BE BLOCKED.

OFFENSIVE STARTING COUNT

1. WE USE A NON-RHYTHMIC SERIES OF COMMANDS TO START AN OFFENSIVE PLAY.

2. WHEN WE BREAK THE HUDDLE, EVERYONE WILL SPRINT TO THEIR POSITIONS AND GET INTO THEIR STANCE IMMEDIATELY.

3. THE QB WILL "PREREAD" THE DEFENSE FOR ANY SPECIAL KEYS FOR THE PARTICULAR PLAY CALLED.

4. THE FIRST COMMAND IS A HARD "GO!"

5. NEXT COMMAND: "SET." THIS COMMAND IS SOMEWHAT DRAWN OUT.

6. THE FINAL COMMANDS WILL BE, "HUT-1, HUT-2, HUT-3."

7. THE BALL CAN BE SNAPPED ON ANY ONE OF THESE COMMANDS, AS LONG AS ALL TEAM MEMBERS ARE MOTIONLESS FOR AT LEAST ONE SECOND BEFORE THE BALL IS SNAPPED. ONE PERSON MAY BE IN MOTION BEFORE THE SNAP, AS LONG AS HE IS IN MOTION ONE FULL SECOND OR MORE BEFORE THE SNAP, AND HIS MOTION MUST BE PARALLEL TO OR AWAY FROM THE LOS.

8. FIRST SOUND: WE MAY RUN OUR PLAYS ON THE "FIRST SOUND" OF THE QB. WHEN THE PLAY IS TO BE RUN ON THE FIRST SOUND, THE QB'S FIRST SOUND IS TO BE - "HUT-1!"

AUTOMATICS

1. THERE ARE TIMES IN THE GAME WHEN WE WILL WANT TO CHANGE THE PLAY AT THE LOS. THIS WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE QB.

2. BEFORE EACH HALF, WE WILL DETERMINE A "LIVE" COLOR, FOR EXAMPLE: BLUE. THIS MEANS THAT IF THE QB CALLS THE COLOR BLUE AT THE LOS, HE IS CHANGING THE PLAY FROM THE ONE THAT IS CALLED IN THE HUDDLE. WHAT PLAY WE WILL RUN WILL BE BASED ON THE SCOUTING REPORT AND PRACTICE THAT WEEK. LET'S SAY HE CALLED "BLUE 48." THIS WOULD MEAN THAT WE WILL RUN DIVE OPTION 48 RATHER THAN THE PLAY THAT WAS CALLED IN THE HUDDLE.

3. THE BALL IS ALWAYS SNAPPED ON THE COUNT OF ONE WHEN USING AN AUTOMATIC.

4. THE SEQUENCE FOR THE QB'S LINE CALL WOULD BE:

A. CHECK - CHECK - CHECK

B. BLUE 48 - BLUE 48

C. GO - SET - - HUT 1

5. IF THE SNAP COUNT IN THE HUDDLE WAS "FIRST SOUND," WE WILL RUN THE PLAY THAT WAS CALLED IN THE HUDDLE.

GOLDEN RULES OF OFFENSE
Most Coaches have a set of "Golden Rules" when it comes to what a "good" offense should or should not do. The fact is there is no unified list. Which is better, a ball control offense? Control the ball with the short passing game or the power running game? Is defense more crucial then offense. While it may be true that "if they don't score, they can't beat you," it is conversely true that if you don't score, you can't win either. So balance is the answer then? Well, not if your ineptness is balanced. Surprise? While the element of surprise is always cherished, a team would surely find minimal success if it ran the ball on a majority of third and tens, and passed deep down field on every third and one. A well coached team is one that reflects the head coach's philosophies and tendencies during game situations. If a head coach believes strongly that his defense should "carry" his team, then care to guess where the majority of his "special" athletes are assigned starting positions? The coach thereby scripts that his defense will be the strong point of his team. The amount of success his team has validates or devaluates his reasoning among his employers. I stress Ten Golden Rules a good offense should practice.

1. Force the defense to defend the entire field. NEVER allow a defense to crowd the line of scrimmage, stacking eight or ten men "in the box" because you are predictable in calling the run. NEVER allow the defense to flood the zones with extra defenders because you pass eight downs out of ten. The offense should attack ALL areas of the field and force the defenders to "stay at home" thus allowing the offensive coaches to create the basic two-on-one mismatches that lead to success for the offense.

2. Establish the Running Game: Force the defense to respect the running game, taking the teeth out of the pass rush, and you open up the passing attack.

3. Create a Mismatch at the point of attack: Design and run plays to outnumber the defense at the point of attack. Traps, Power Plays, Isolations, Leads, Options, Pick Passes, and a host of other plays can be used to create a situation where numerical or size mismatches can be exploited.

4. Minimize Mistakes: Turnovers and penalties are avoidable through sound practices and preparation. Few things in the game of football are as demoralizing as giving up a score while your offense is on the field. This momentum shift often changes the course of a game.

5. Physically Dominate the Defense: Being strong and physical on offense is not as important as it is on defense - it is MORE important. A dominant offense can break the other team down physically and mentally and control the ball AND the game.

6. Script the opening plays. The number of plays predetermined is not important, only that there is a set offensive game plan in place. These plays are usually a combination of the plays a particular offense has had success with and ones that are expected to produce results against a specific opponent. Using a script can also keep a team from getting "rattled" if the opening moments do not go as planned.

7. Improve the Offensive Line: The Offensive line is the heart of a good offense. Without a sound offensive line all other aspects of the offense collapse. An offensive lineman needs a combination of size, speed, strength, and, most importantly, intelligence. Regardless of how good the line play is, there is always room for improvement, and strengthening the offensive line play during the course of the season is key for post season success.

8. Take Chances: No guts, no glory! All teams find themselves behind at times, and in need of a quick score. It is necessary to practice the quick strike if a team wants to be capable of scoring quickly when the need is present. Throwing the Play Action Pass on first down 30-40% of the time is a good start (at least during the running of the script).

9. Be Disciplined. Know what it takes to be successful and prepare beforehand. Know specific responsibilities and duties and be sure to carry them out--especially when things are not going well, as this is when it is most important. Very rarely does an undisciplined, unconfident team have what it takes to overcome adverse conditions in an hostile environment. Players learn the necessary traits to overcome adversity in practice. Disciple can be rehearsed through substitution drills and special teams drills. Confidence can be gained through rigorous scrimmages and positive reinforcement.

10. Be Prepared. Staff and players should prepare for a specific opponent with a specific game plan. The coaching staff needs to scout the next opponent via proxy, video tape, or in person. Preparation for the next game begins at the final whistle of the previous one. There is no such animal as "game preparation." Game preparation is merely a reflection of the week's practice preparation.

Basically, as I see it, a good offense is capable of both running and passing the football. The key is balance. I believe a good team should run the ball 60 plus percent of the time, yet gain 60 plus percent of its yardage via the passing game. This is possible only if the passing attack is aggressive in throwing the ball down field. When the ball is put in the air, three things can happen, and two of them are bad. Completions therefore must outweigh incompletions and interceptions. The goal of each and every offensive pass play should be at the minimum a first down. In other words, I do not support a short passing, ball control offense featuring 3 or 4 yard passes. The defense should be stretched and forced to defend the entire field at all times. This can only be accomplished if the offense is a perpetual threat all over the field. The running game should attack between the tackles with quick hitting plays designed to minimize defensive pursuit. In general, a good offense should seek to run the ball against a pass defense, and pass the ball against a run defense. This is an important concept designed to limit the linebackers' and defensive backs' effectiveness. When the run sets up the pass, and the pass sets up the run, and the defense is kept on its heels and spread out defending the entire field, an offense should be able to move the football. I do not support the philosophy of "taking what the defense gives you," rather I believe in taking what I want. My offense will not wildly fluctuate each week to fit my opponent's defense. Instead, my offense will only slightly modify each week in an effort to expose weaknesses in the opposing defense. Only by maintaining both the running and passing games can either be expected to individually carry a team if need be in a particular situation.