Author: James Taglienti

The speed option is an easy concept to understand. Offensive line leaves end man on line of scrimmage unblocked, QB reads EMLOS and makes keep or pitch read. Texas A&M has a twist on how they run speed option because of their use of outside zone. Because A&M employs outside zone blocking in their stretch lead play, they run their speed option off that same action. The twist is a read of a second level defender instead of a lineman. The result is a simple play that looks exactly the same as another play the defense saw but attacking a…

Conference realignment can make everyone crazy, especially if you’re not in the SEC or B1G. The SEC and B1G are the only stable conferences, and speculation runs rampant they’re going to poach teams from the ACC, Big 12, and Pac-12, in that order. Florida State to the SEC! Clemson to the SEC! UVA to the B1G! Oregon to the B1G! It is all fun to speculate about, and since we’re in the football offseason, speculating on conference realignment is a common pastime. Reddit College Football even has a weekly thread dedicated to the topic which existed prior to USC and…

In breaking down Jimbo Fisher’s pro-option offense, we’ve already look at the triple option, the QB draw, and the various passing concepts. Today we’re going to look at a play near and dear to any offensive line coach’s heart, the counter play. A&M runs multiple versions of counter, but CG Counter Read comes with a twist, a backside read option. Play Concept The counter play is a pretty simple basic concept. Two players pull from backside to playside, first puller kicks out the end man on the line of scrimmage and second puller leads the ballcarrier into the hole by…

The Las Vegas Raiders made history earlier today when they announced the hiring of Sandra Douglass Morgan as their new team president. Morgan is the first Black woman to become president of an NFL team in League history. https://twitter.com/Raiders/status/1545138003101642752 Who is Sandra Douglass Morgan? A leader with a stellar background in business. Educating Douglass Morgan B.A. Policial Science, Communications, Nevada-Reno, 1999 J.D., UNLV Boyd Law School, 2003 Douglass Morgan At Work Associate, Parker Nelson & Arin, 2002 MGM Resorts, litigation attorney, 2005 Deputy City Attorney, North Las Vegas, 2008 Assistant City Attorney, 2013 City Attorney, 2013 Director of External Affairs,…

In the 1983 comedy classic Trading Places, Billy Ray Valentine is a street-smart hustler who becomes a commodities trader.  In a pivotal scene, Valentines advises Mortimer and Randolph Duke to hold off on buying pork belly commodities contracts because owners are panic-selling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCwBXLcdSPQ Valentine advising patience ends up saving the Dukes a ton of money and announces his arrival as a financial savant. Pac-12 leaders would be wise to heed Valentine’s advise today. Greg Swaim is reporting Arizona State, Arizona, and Colorado already agreed to join the Big 12 in principle. https://twitter.com/GSwaim/status/1544869627188154369 If Swaim’s report is true, UA, CU, and…

Stretch is a bread-and-butter play for teams that run outside zone. Stretch lead simply means you’re running stretch with a lead blocker. Texas A&M sometimes runs stretch lead from split backs, which is what we’re looking at today. Play Concept The play concept of stretch or outside zone is fairly simple. All offensive linemen block outside zone and the RB takes the ball from the QB and runs outside their blocks. The aiming point for the RB is the outside leg of the tight end strongside or ghost tight end weakside. Your ballcarrier is reading the tight end or weakside…

No one knows the future of college football right now. Notre Dame might join the B1G. Oregon and Washington might join the Big 12. The Minions and Gru might join the ACC. Everything is up in the air right now.  What is not debatable is that the College Football Playoff should not be affected by conference realignment. Four-Team Format Does The Job The four-team format of the College Football Playoff does what it was designed to do, ensure the two best teams play for the national championship in a one-off game. The College Football Playoff is a plus-one system. The…

It has been noted previously that Jimbo Fisher uses Air Raid concepts in his pro-option offense. The Air Raid concepts are adapted to fit into A&M’s use of run-pass option plays, too.  Fisher is basically taking the useful trends in the spread offense and fusing them with option concepts. There are those who criticize Fisher’s offense as being ‘archaic’ and ‘too old school’, but others might term the practice of combining old school and new school concepts as  ‘innovation’. Y-Cross Concept The Y-Cross concept isn’t a new one, it is a staple in Hal Mumme and Mike Leach’s Air Raid…

The curl-flat concept is a pretty basic passing concept run at all levels of football, from high school to the pro ranks. Also known as the Hank Concept, the Curl-Flat is a two-man route attacking the flat defender.  When run correctly, the flat defender is put into a bind where he is forced to make a decision, and whatever decision he makes is wrong. Curl-Flat Concept The curl-flat concept involves an inside receiver and an outside receiver, so it is can be run from virtually any personnel group. The inside receiver runs a flat to the sideline and the outside…

Texas A&M’s pro-option offense includes the ability for the QB to turn any play into a run-pass option. Jimbo Fisher makes life more difficult for opposing defenses by including the triple option in his playbook. The triple option is an old-school football concept that dates back to 1964 when Bill Yeoman at the University of Houston invented the veer offense. Emory Bellard’s wishbone and Paul Johnson’s flexbone are also triple option offenses. Triple Option Concept The triple option requires two reads from the quarterback, a give-keep read inside and a pitch read outside. In the veer, wishbone, and flexbone, an…