Morrison Special Teams Finding Hidden Yardage (& Points) in the Special Teams Cory Bielema Head Football Coach Morrison High School

Special Teams Philosophy  Force opponent to crack under pressure.  Force opponent to spend extra time in practice.  Force them to execute perfectly on not losing the game.  Expect to make big plays.  We set a high standard of expectation for our performance and effort level. Our philosophy is based on an aggressive approach to put pressure on our opponent in all phases of the football game.

KICKOFF

“4 man cover” Find coverage players Good summer/shells drill Excellent conditioning Coverage keeps the ball in front & inside. “4 hand tap” – no 4 hands, coverage team repeats. No hand on returner = cover the next one. Tapped Returners go to coverage line, Tapping coverage players go to return line.

“3 on 3 Wave” Find players who can & will do… 1.Be Physical4. Fight of blockers 2.Block on the move on the run 3.Run hard with the ball5. Tackle on the run Coach chooses teams of three. Both groups have turns of Off. & Def. After each player runs the ball, sides switch. Game over after 6 total runs.

“Rodeo Drill” Enhances lane responsibilities Excellent conditioning 8 seconds to rally around the correct cone. C whistles & points to cone 3 seconds after kick – players 2-9 do NOT run to the ball. #1 & #10 always sprint to the cone on their side – they are responsible for ball retrieval

KICK RETURN

Triple Option Kick Return Align front 5 along the 50 yard line (Use tallest player to help conceal the QB) Align Ends on the 35. One should have good blocking skills, other should have speed. Align the QB on the 30. He needs speed and great hands. Alignment of the Returners will vary.

Triple Option Return–Left Wing Return The front 5 must defend against onside kick first. LG, C, RG, RT sprint to approximately the 30 yard line. They center the formation in front of the QB - form a wedge & protect him.

Triple Option Return–Left Wing Return LT swings wide left 7 loops back. His job is to attack the 1 st man to react to the reverse. LE is responsible for kicking out the sideline defender.

After the kick, QB turns toward deep backs, slowly works his way toward the ball. The RE works to get to the same depth as the QB. The QB’s responsibility is to receive the ball & hand it off to the RE Triple Option Return–Left Wing Return

The Right returner is responsible for anyone who reacts off the wedge. The Left returner does the same for the other side. Should L or R receive the kick, M would trade responsibilities. Triple Option Return–Left Wing Return

M’s path should bring him to the right side of QB. When M is 5 yards away, QB yells “Go” signally the front line to move wedge left. To ensure the handoff is not forward, M hands the ball off after passing QB & extends his arm backward. M continues his path after handoff – should look like a middle wedge return.

QB now hands the ball to the RE approaching from his left. The RE should be at full speed at the mesh. QB continues fake to the right sideline Timing and precision are essential! Sell the wedge.

Triple Option Return–QB Right Return

Triple Option Return– Middle Return

PUNT

“15 Points Drill” Enhances our competitiveness Enhances our directional punting Excellent conditioning Scoring: G-5 yard line = 3 points 6-10 yard line = 2 points yard line = 1 point +15 yard line = 0 points End zone or Out of Bounds = 0 points Earn 5 points from each area L/M/R

PUNT RETURN

Punt Return Base return Jammer Technique Align 1 x 1 inside leverage Don’t give up the inside Must get a hand on Gunner Dog Technique Align on LOS 3 yards outside slot Attack outside shoulder of slot Make sure ball is kicked On return side, attack & drive slot – then find the punter Away side, peel down call side & seal inside NO ROUGHING PENALTIES

Punt Return Base return Line & Linebackers NT shades side of return. Line attacks and drives LB’s eye on personal protectors – watch for fakes Once punted, peel to the wall Returners Catch everything Off-returner blocks first off-color jersey

Punt Return “Cone drill”

Punt Return “Catch drill”

Punt Return “Group”

PUNT BLOCK

Punt Block

EXTRA POINT

Swinging Gate Gets the huddle out of the way of the kicker/block placement. Opportunity for points if Defense is napping. Minimal time to install – “One more thing” for them to prepare for

Swinging Gate Count players over & to the right of the ball: If less than 4 = run option right If more than 4 = run screen left Screen Left

Swinging Gate Count players over & to the right of the ball: If less than 4 = run option right If more than 4 = run screen left Option Right

Swinging Gate Count players over & to the right of the ball: If less than 4 = run option right If more than 4 = run screen left Kick the Extra Point

Swinging Gate Many option from the Swinging Gate

Swinging Gate Many option from the Swinging Gate

“Sideline or Goal Post” Enhances our set up for quick FG Enhances our kickers focus Excellent conditioning

PRACTICE

WEEKLY PRACTICE TIME Game week  Monday Rodeo Drill(10 min) KR vs. air (7 min) Punt groups (7 min) 15 points (15 min) Conditioning  (KR & PR to the sideline)  Tuesday Punt vs. scout (7 min) PR vs. scout (7 min) Conditioning  Wednesday KO vs. scout (7 min) KR vs. scout (7 min) Sideline or Goalpost (10-15) Conditioning  Thursday Special Teams Script (30-45) PAT/FG/Hurry up FG (10 min)  Friday Walk thru / Depth chart

SITUATIONS SCRIPT

KICKOFF  Regular  Onside (Must & Surprise)  Squib, Pooch, &/or Short  Free kick after a safety (Kickoff or Punt)

KICK RETURN  Regular  Return Squib, Pooch, & Short  Onside - Must (hands team)  Onside - Surprise  Free kick after a safety (Kickoff or Punt)

PUNT  From our End zone  Taking an intentional safety  From Hash marks  From yard line  Bad snap  Executing fakes

PUNT RETURN  Receiving punts deep in own territory (10 yard rule).  Rushing punts when opponent is backed up to his goal line.  Reacting to fake punts.  Defending the punt swinging gate  Executing punt block

P.A.T / FIELD GOAL  Swinging gate  Bad snap (FIRE)  From Hash marks  From 10, 15, 20  Reacting to blocked kick