I Can Remember A Few Times Like This...

Yeah, back in the day, when leading with your head was just called "getting your hat on the football," I had a few discussions like this. Ahhh, memories... (or the lack thereof, lol!)





Coach Smith

Commitment.

"There are a million excuses not to get things done, but the true winners in life just get on with it." -STS

If you haven't heard of De La Salle High School and Head Coach Bob Ladouceur in Concord, California, then you need to crawl out from under your rock and take a look at the links below. You might want to start here. And here.

The following speech by Coach Ladouceur to his incoming freshmen is a textbook example of what coaching should be all about.

Strategic goals are great, but what are you doing on the tactical level everyday to make those larger goals a reality?

"The most import person on my staff is the weight coach." - Bob Ladouceur

Where's Waldo (or Coach Smith)?

 

"Whatever happened to ol' Whats-his-face??"

Well, I've decided to end the "suspense" and let you guys know what's been going on with me this past year.  Some of you have expressed an interest and genuine concern about me through email these past several months, so I thought I'd just go ahead and let you know in the quickest way I know how...  by posting here on Veersite.

 

The Present.

First let me address my job situation.  It's really very easy to explain; I don't have one.  Rightly or wrongly, I decided that I would rather take a year off than get involved in a bad situation.  It's unfortunate that it happened so late in the hiring cycle, but I'll live.

Right now I'm simply substitute teaching on occasion and living on savings.  I help out around my grandmother's and mother's house.  I did help Coach Roark in the box at a few Middlesboro games this season, but I was unable to attend practices on a regular basis and even attend all of the games.  But I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to coach this year even though I wasn't employed as a teacher. 

In fact, if I can get my grandmother's garage cleaned out (without either one of us keeling over), and if I can help my mother finish some home remodeling, then I will consider this year a success. 

I have toyed with the notion of getting back into the computer graphics business, but I know deep down that coaching football is where my heart is.  I could have sat around feeling sorry for myself (and I did for a while) but my grandfather Bob had a great saying for just such occasions. 

"Son, you can find sympathy between shit and syphilis in the dictionary..." 

Remembering that saying of his -and what he expected of me as a man- put it all in perspective.

 

The Future.

A couple of coaches have contacted me this week concerning openings both at their schools and at others.  I'm currently looking at HC and OC positions in North Carolina, Alabama, and Florida.  I'm sure that there will be jobs opening up here in Tennessee in the coming months as well, but I've come to the decision that I will go wherever it takes to find a program where I can stay and make a difference.

I apologize for the long absence, but it was a necessary one.  There are times you have to step back, take a deep breath, and assess where you are and where you want to be. 

 

F.Y.I.

I'm gathering up info and material concerning the Option as well the complementary plays that go with it.  Since I'm not on a regular schedule, I've actually thought offering my services to coaches in teaching their staff and players the option.  The thoughts of making more friends in out coaching fraternity and helping more teams run the offense that I've come to know and love (and hopefully keep you from reinventing the wheel in the process) doesn't seem like a bad thing to me. And if I can make a few bucks and stay out of the "PoorHouse," then its all the better! 

But no matter what, I will always be more than happy to chat thru email or on the phone concerning any and all things football. 

If you are interested, I'm game.  I have a feeling I'm going to be putting some miles on the Pathfinder in the next few months applying for some jobs.  Who knows, I might be passing by your neck of the woods.  Shoot me an email at coach.steve.smith@gmail.com or call  423.546.0431 and we'll work out the details.  Meanwhile, I'll still be posting here on Veersite so be sure to visit again.  I think the first thing on my agenda will be to re-up some old Veer clips to a more reliable hosting site and relink to them here on Veersite. 

 

Sincerely,

Coach Steve Smith

The difference between the Wing T and the Veer.

I was asked in the comments section " ...So what is the difference between the veer and the double wing system? I personally am a wing-t man..."

Well, for starters, the Wing T pretty much blocks every defensive player at the point of attack. The Veer leaves at least one and usually two defensive players unblocked at the point of attack. These unblocked players are accounted for by the "reads" made by the QB. The player that isn't covered by those two defenders (the QB and two running backs) will get the ball if the Veer QB does his job.

Below is a diagram of a Wing T sweep as best as I can remember it. I haven't ran the Wing T in over 13-14 years. It's kind of fuzzy.



As you can see, every defensive player playside is either down blocked or picked-up with the trapping guards. Once the QB fakes to the FB and hands to the HB his only responsibility is to carry out a good boot fake.

In the Veer, the Outside Veer in this case, you can see in the diagram below that the end man on the LOS isn't blocked and neither is the CB.


As the left HB dives, the QB opens and faces out. He extends the ball straight at the DE and steps toward him. The HB, whose heels were 4 yards from the tip of the football is running for the inside foot of the tackle as fast as he possibly can. The DE must decide in a split second whether to tackle the diving HB or wait for the QB. The angles taken by the backs and the line splits dictate that he must commit to either the dive or the QB keep... but not both.

If the DE squats or even better, comes hard up the field, the QB leaves the ball for an extra split second and the dive back takes it since it is there. The ball is handed and the HB hits up the field on a track which will take him to the hash, then the numbers, and then the sideline on his way to a touchdown.

If the DE collapses hard down and into the LOS, the QB pulls the football and proceeds around the collision of the DE and HB... and then gets upfield. The CB is read now for the pitch. If the CB takes the QB, the QB will flip the ball to the trailing HB who is maintaining pitch relationship at a 5 to 1 yard ratio. If the CB stays outside to take away the pitch, then the QB tucks the ball and keeps it on his way to the Veer lane. As you can see in the diagram, all three of the backs on the 12 Veer are darkened to signify that any one of the three may end up with the football. On 929 (am I remembering that correctly, lol?), the HB is the only one darkened since it is predetermined that he will get the football.

The Veer was developed to utilize undersized but quick offensive linemen who primarily double-team or veer release to block LBs at the point of attack. Backside linemen either cut-off (scoop block) or simply cut the remaining D-linemen. The deception of the Wing T lies in the QB reversing and hiding the ball from the defense as the play develops. The deception of the fast-mesh Veer is that the plays hit so fast to either side that the Dlinemen and LBs have a hard time finding the football since the dive hits so fast north and south. And if the defense collapses down to take away the dive, it will look up to find the QB or pitch back streaking down the sideline.

I hope this helps answer your question concerning the two offenses. Thanks for the interesting question.

Coach Smith