AFQ X's and O's

Free football coaching strategies, play diagrams, X’s and O’s for coaches at all levels

Latest post



Spread Single-Wing Offense: Basic QB Run Plays

Traditionally, I have always been a Spread Wing-T offensive guy incorporating both versions of the two most powerful offenses on the high school level, the Spread and Wing-T offenses. However, over the last couple of years, my offensive philosophy has…



Oldie But a Goodie

Summer is a great time to go through old materials in preparation for the fall.  July is my month to work on projects and reference manuals from the past while reorganizing where resources are to make them more accessible.  On…



Linebacker Fundamentals – Day 2

Day one we taught the fundamentals of alignment, stance, read step, reacting to run/pass, proper angles, and zone drops.  Day two we want to review the fundamentals you taught on Day 1. Asking your players questions not only allows you…



QB Medicine Ball Warm-up

A few years ago I heard Michigan State QB Coach Dave Warner speak at the Glazier Clinic in Chicago. As with all the MSU staffers, Coach Warner gave a tremendous talk about the many concepts the Spartans run and some insight…



The Process and the Plan

Although Cincinnati is obviously not on the Pacific coast, it’s where Bill Walsh was an assistant coach for the Bengals and coach Paul Brown when he built what has become known as the West Coast offense, long before he led…



The “Jake” LB Stunt – Simple and Effective

Here is information on an effective stunt we have used in multiple fronts over the years.  Credit for the stunt goes to Lincoln North Star (NE) DC and long time friend, Doug Nielson.  The “Jake” stunt involves an inside LB…



Optimal Ways to Run to Zone Schemes – Part 1: IZ to the 1 Technique; OZ to the 3.

Since I incorporated the zone scheme into my offense in 2004, one of the common questions I get is, “Which side is the best to run inside or outside zone to?” It’s also been the topic of many friendly debates….



Linebacker Fundamentals – Day 1

Last week we held our first annual senior high football camp.  Our campers wore their helmets during the camp. It reminded me of my days recently in high school when we were required by the state of Florida to go…



Defensive Weapons

At the University of Sioux Falls, we use three simple words to describe what we call our defensive weapons – EYES, HANDS, and FEET.  When you watch football on television or coach football at any level, and you see players…



The Economical Advantage of Flip-Flopping the Offensive Line

  In 2000, we started flip-flopping our offensive line. In previous years we had spent a great amount of time attempting to be a balanced offense. Our definition of balanced was to be able to run our base plays equally…