SEP 17th - SCOOP BLOCKING: PART 3 - DRILLS

[Mark Kleinpeter]

Please check out the new blog on SCOOP BLOCKING: PART 3 - DRILLS at the link below:

www.flexbonenation.com/blog/2014/8/23/scoop-blocking-part-3-drills

Thanks,
KP

[Nick Medinger]

Lots of these drills are variations of what I use. I do have a question though, we had an officiating crew that told us that we were blocking illegally when we were cut blocking. They threw a 15 yard penalty (called it a chop block) when my Center cut the Nose on him (no other player made contact), saying that it was because he stood up first and then cut him. They told me that if my players continued to cut that they would hit them with a 15 yard penalty each time. My question is, what do you do when an officiating crew makes these statements to you?

[Mark Kleinpeter]

Sept 18, 2014 10:28:09 GMT -6 Nick Medinger said:

Lots of these drills are variations of what I use. I do have a question though, we had an officiating crew that told us that we were blocking illegally when we were cut blocking. They threw a 15 yard penalty (called it a chop block) when my Center cut the Nose on him (no other player made contact), saying that it was because he stood up first and then cut him. They told me that if my players continued to cut that they would hit them with a 15 yard penalty each time. My question is, what do you do when an officiating crew makes these statements to you?

If your OL go up and then down to cut, that's a penalty. As you can see on the drills, we do them under the chutes, which hopefully eliminates some of those bad habits. We really stress to our kids to swing their hat straight to the target and gain ground. They have to get 3 steps into the ground on a cut. Another common error is when the OL extend their legs at the knee joint (pushing their hips straight up) at the snap rather than gaining ground. Hips go up, body doesn't gain ground. This is another way that they stand up and then begin to move towards their gap, which results in an illegal block, or a total miss because of how long it takes them to gain ground.

The OL literally have to fall forward, leading with their face. This is where proper stance is critical. If their feet are too wide and/or they don't have their weight forward, then they cannot take the proper steps to Scoop block or Cut block effectively. The majority of our drills replicate game situations or techniques that they will use in a game situation. The 3&3 drill teaches them to fall forward and hopefully this carries over. The 3&3 Scoop drill builds on the 3&3 Drill and also adds the element of moving at an angle like Scoop blocks. Our Cut drill is used to replicate a defender in our gap as we are scooping. Hopefully all of that leads to good Scoops.

To get back to your question about the officials. In my experience, I've only had penalty problems with Scooping a 0 NG. This usually occurs when our Center goes PS A gap and actually gets off of the NG, but he's a little bit high, or the NG attempts to horse collar him as he goes. The BSG is running through the ball and winds up whacking him pretty good if he's just standing or holding onto the Center's backside hip. That's usually where our penalties are called. A small amount of penalties occur when a Guard and Tackle go the wrong way, or get mixed up on a play. Guard tries to Base and the Tackle tries to cut.

To combat the hi/lo on the NG, we work very hard with our Center to remain low and Sprint through A gap. Again, the chute works wonders for that. I've also had success by communicating with the officiating crew prior to the game when we play a 50 front and let them know what we are attempting to do. We don't know where the NG is going to slant. We are not trying to double him or high-low him. We are trying to each block a gap. I tell them that the Center is trying to escape up to the LB if possible. I also notify them if the NG has shown a tendency to grab the Center. I remind them that if that occurs, it's supposed to be Defensive Holding. I've had a crew call the NG for it in 2 separate games. If they're a good crew, they usually work with you. With that being said, I've also had a lot of bad crews that throw flags without even warning you about what's happening. They see the tail end of a play and throw a flag. When a crew has brought that up during or prior to a game, I've asked them to make sure that they've seen the actions of the OL from snap to whistle, rather than just the tail end of the play. You might also have your rulebook with you to remind them of the defensive holding.

If they throw the flag, then I usually come back and run Mid Triple, which is essentially a double team by PSG and Center on the NG. After getting whacked a few times the NG usually starts to back off a bit. Early in the game though, we're going to go full throttle and block what's in the gap.