Yes, It's Still Time For A Rule Change

Last year at this time I wrote an article/blog stating that it was time for a rule change in football. I'm going to repost parts of that blog because I feel just as strongly about the subject. To lead into this post let me explain. The University of Illinois will be hosting Louisiana Tech, coached by Sonny Dykes, this Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Coach Dykes has done a fabulous job at Tech and has a fast moving high octane offense that is hard to stop. They will be running a no huddle and pass oriented offense that might throw the ball 50+ times. The play clock will be stopped a lot on incomplete passes and players going out of bounds. The average L. Tech game lasts 4 hours and 10 minutes! That's too long. I love football but that is too long. What can be done to speed thigs up a bit? Here are excerpts from a Sept. 5, 2011 blog that I wrote. (Get ready, it's radical)

You’re going to think I’m nuts. You’re going to think I’m advocating football blasphemy but it’s time to keep the clock running on incomplete passes. Oh, not completely keep the clock running, but start the clock once the ball has been spotted in place for the next down. Exactly the way we do the clock for setting the chains. Hear me out, my friend.

We have to think logically. Think back to the games origins (imagine) and try to figure out WHY the clock was stopped on an incomplete pass. They had to have a reason. The only logical answer is they stopped the clock to chase down the ball. The thinking must have been, “Let’s not run the clock while we’re retrieving the ball”. They probably didn’t have as many refs as we do now nor as many footballs and ball boys. It may have been time consuming to chase the ball down. Now, why the rules makers didn’t restart the clock when the ball was ready for play from the very beginning, I don’t know. Help me on that if you can.  At any rate, there is no reason why the clock can’t be started when the ball is ready for play.

Why do we need this rule change? Because with passing attempts going up at all levels it’s starting to take too doggone long to play a game. Particularly at the pro and college level once you add in TV timeouts and the like. A team that throws three incomplete passes in a row might burn ten seconds and that in turn extends the game too much. I propose stopping the clock on an incomplete pass and then restarting it once it’s ready. Will that change some strategy? Sure, but so what? A good coach can still manage the clock with timeouts and utilizing the sideline. Remember, the clock can be stopped by going out of bounds although I can’t think of the reason for that. Another story some day. And what about spiking the ball? That will make that strategy useless you say.  Good. I think it’s dumb anyway. Spiking the ball looks like a fumble to me. My proposal would speed up the game and still allow for strategy in stopping the clock.  

Well, there you have it. What do you think? Give me your comments or go to the Chiefpigskin forums and start a thread. I'd love to hear if you think I'm crazy or if I might be on to something.  Have a great weekend coaching, playing, and watching football.

Footballs Impact

You think football coaches have a lot of influence? Heck yeah, we all know the positive impact a good coach can have on a large group of young men. A lasting impact over a lifetime. But I was reminded of the influence football and football coaches have had in other areas as well.

I was reading an article in the Champaign News-Gazette in which new Illinois football coach Tim Beckman was quoted about his practices. Beckman said, "Our typical spring practice is going to be fast. Constant coaching. We'll coach from stretch to that last whistle. We're going to coach effort. We're going to coach football. We're going to coach enjoying this game we are blessed to play. We're very organized. It's all on paper and ready to roll. Our coaching staff knows it. I'll be as gung ho as ever. We're going to compete in every drill we do. Our practices are fun. They’re fast, but they're fun. You're going to work your tail off. When we get off that field after two hours, they're going to understand they worked for two hours. There's no downtime. We don't have that."

Now I know that's pretty typical for most football practices. But it does point out the fact that football coaches are among the most organized and time efficient people out there. They have to be. How else do you get 100 guys ready to work in such cohesive units? And that knowledge of time management has spilled into other fields as well. I know when I was a head wrestling coach I borrowed some ideas that I learned on the football field. I tried to have a well-organized, fast-moving practice to really challenge kids.

But it appears baseball has learned from football also. I was listening to the radio the other night and Mike Shannon, the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals was talking about how spring training these days is much different than before. "I think baseball has learned a lot from football coaches," said Shannon, "the way they become much more organized with no wasted time." I thought that was a pretty good compliment to football coaches and I know other areas of sport and even business have learned from the football world. I think we can all be proud of the positive impact that football has had in many areas of our society. And the thing is, we just keep learning on how to get better. That's what makes sites like Chiefpigskin.com so great. There are hundreds of free videos to help coaches keep learning and keep getting better.

Punt Return Philosophy

"Every time a kick hits the ground, it lessens your chance of winning."
-Murray Warmath, former Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach

A few weeks ago I wrote of hidden yardage on special teams. I've read a few things and heard a few things lately on punt return that I would like to share with you. As stated earlier, the University of Illinois has hired a new coaching staff and one of their priorities is to improve special teams. The coach that has been charged with this task is backfield coach Tim Salem, son of former Minnesota head coach Joe Salem. Coach Salem is determined that punts will not hit the ground. "If we need two people back on punts, that's what we’ll do. But we're not going to spend a lot of time on punt returns. Illinois only had 20 punt returns all season. That's less than two per game. We’ll have one primary return, and practice the devil out of it. Catch the ball correctly and make 10 yards. That's a first down. That's the goal."

I like that philosophy. And I'm always amazed that I just keep learning. I’ve spent just about my whole life in football and that's the first time I've heard of that philosophy, not the part about catching the ball, of course, but the part about trying to get at least 10 yards on every return because that's a first down. I think that's a good way to look at it. Now here’s the thing. At the pro and collegiate level you pretty much know what you’re going to get as far as a punt. A high, spiraling, good hang time, 40 yard punt. You can practice that over and over and the returners HAVE to catch the ball.

OK, now the typical high school scenario, especially small schools. You’ve watched the punter on film and are pretty familiar with how he punts. Then you also watch him in warm-ups before the game. Looks like between 30-35 yards every time. OK, we’re ready. The first time your opponent has to punt, your returner is 35 yards deep. The punt is away and it’s a low knuckleball drifting left. It goes about 28 yards and your returner has to make a quick decision. Does he try to catch it at his knees or let it go? He knows you’ve harped on him to CATCH THE BALL! He trys to catch it but muffs it and…well, you get the picture. It’s not so easy to catch some of those high school punts on Friday night. Never the less, it’s going to be a part of the game and you’ve got to be ready. What are some of your philosophies? I know this, it can sure be an adventure. Give me some of your thoughts if you get the chance and keep checking www.chiefpigskin.com for more ideas on all phases of football.