Our Kicking Game Techniques
The over-all kicking game is probably the most important phase of
football. In considering the work to be done on the practice field, I
probably place more emphasis upon the kicking game than any other coach.
I feel I cannot have a sound football team unless we have an extremely
sound kicking game. We thought the kicking game was important during the
period when we played two-platoon football, but now it is more important
than ever before under the present rules governing the game of football.
THE PUNTING GAME
I am certain our players are “sold” on the kicking game, and take
pride in it. If a player takes pride in something, he will do it well.
Incidentally, we work on our kicking game every Tuesday during the
regular season. Previously we waited until Thursday to work on our
kicking game, but we found our boys were tired the day of the football
game, probably as a result of so much running on Thursday. We use the
kicking together with our kick-return game in our pre-season practice as
a conditioner. We feel we can get sufficient running from our kicking
game to get our players in good physical condition. At the same time we
are developing this important phase of the game.
_The Punter_
Instead of merely talking to our players about their individual kicking
game assignments, we go on the field and rehearse everything over and
over again. This is also true of any unusual situations that might
confront the punter at various times during the game. We also time our
punters. I believe it is possible to over-coach the kickers, however, and
this is not desirable. I know from past experience. When we tried too
thoroughly to coach our kickers, we found we were probably doing more
harm than good. At least, we were not getting the desired results in
comparison to the amount of time we were devoting to their instruction.
As an illustration, I had Bob Gain at Kentucky, an All-American tackle,
who as a freshman was a terrific kick-off man. By taking only three
steps he could boot the ball out of the end zone when he kicked-off.
Unfortunately we over-coached him and by the time he was a senior he
would run 10 yards on his approach, and could only kick the ball 35 yards
on the kick-off.
Another illustration relates to Clayton Webb, a very fine punter whom
I had at the University of Kentucky. As a freshman he could “hang” the
ball in the air for a relatively long period of time when he punted. Yet
during his senior year I felt we had coached him down to a 29.4-yard
average on his punts. Consequently we now do very little coaching of the
kickers.
We like to have our punters use the step-and-a-half method, taking the
first (half) step with the kicking foot, then a full step with the
non-kicking foot. We ask our punters to hold the ball 18 inches in
front of the hip over their kicking foot. We watch our kickers closely,
time them, and try not to over-coach them if they are kicking well in
practice. However, we do have a meeting with our kickers to review every
situation that might confront them in a game. We want our punters to
know what to do under such conditions, always taking into consideration
the tactical situation. Merely talking about these problems is not
sufficient training for the punters. They must be placed in various
confronting situations and must have the opportunity to react to them on
the practice field if they are to perform with proficiency in a game. An
example will illustrate my point.
One of my former assistants at the University of Kentucky played under an
extremely intelligent football coach, a Phi Beta Kappa honors graduate.
The coach had gone over many situations on the blackboard, but had never
taken time to actually rehearse them under game-like conditions. This was
a typical situation: Assuming that a team had the lead in the game, if
on the third down that team was forced to kick from behind its own goal
line, should the punter receive a poor snap from his center and be unable
to kick, he should pick up the football and either run with it or throw
an incomplete forward pass. The team was playing Michigan State, and the
score was 7-6 in the fourth quarter. The other team was backed up to its
own 2-yard line. The punter said that as he lined up to punt he knew
exactly what to do if he received a bad pass from his center. The pass
was poor, the punter picked up the ball and threw it up into the stands.
Unfortunately the play was not an incomplete forward pass, but was ruled
a safety as the ball went out of the end zone _behind_ the goal line, and
Michigan State won, 8-7. I am not criticizing the punter nor his coach
as both are extremely capable men, but merely citing what can occur if
a kicker is merely _told what_ to do but is not given actual experience
under game-like conditions practicing it.
Our procedure is to put the ball on our 2-yard line, inform our kicker of
what could occur, then give him the “works.” We load up and rush hard,
give him a bad pass, etc., and our punter must react properly to the
situation, always being cognizant of the tactical situation.
Since I have been coaching, one of the few punts we have had blocked was
at Texas A & M when we were playing Rice Institute. The situation was as
follows: third down, senior punter, poor pass from center. Instead of
attempting to run with the ball, since we still had fourth down in which
to kick, my punter tried to kick then. The result was a blocked punt. In
fairness to the boy, I must assume the responsibility for the blocked
punt. We had not done a good job of coaching the punter since he did not
react to the situation properly. Nevertheless, the mistake was costly.
_The Center_
The most important person in our kicking game is our center. We believe
if he can snap the ball back to our punter at a distance of 13 yards with
a perfect pass in six-tenths of a second, we won’t get our kicks blocked.
I believe about 98% of all blocked kicks have resulted from imperfect
passes from the center to the kicker. Incidentally, as a coaching point,
if the center makes a poor pass, your kicker should inform him of this.
In timing the center’s pass, we have had very few centers who could snap
the ball in less than six-tenths of a second. I recall, however, there
was a center at the University of Georgia who could get the ball back to
the kicker in four-tenths of a second. This is the exception rather than
the rule, however.
We time our centers in their work every day. As a point of interest,
the coaches are not with the centers when we are timing them. We put a
defensive man over our centers as we want our centers to pass the ball
and then block a man, rather than keep their heads down, watching the
ball going back to the punter.
_Timing the Punter_
We want our punters to get the ball away within one and three-tenths
seconds from the time the ball hits their hands on the pass from center,
until their foot makes contact with the ball. Gene Henderson, one of
my kickers at Texas A & M, could get the ball away in one second. Babe
Parella at Kentucky could also get the ball away in a second when
punting. Here once again these are more exceptions than the rule.
I stated previously we wanted our kickers to use the step-and-one-half
method of punting. We are not too concerned if he doesn’t follow this
method, _providing_ he kicks well. Nor are we too concerned about his
method of holding and dropping the ball and other individual techniques,
_providing_ he kicks well and gets the ball away in one and three-tenths
seconds or less. If our kicker is a 3-step kicker, who kicks well and can
get the ball off in the prescribed time limit, we merely move him back
an extra yard. Frankly, we don’t believe we’ll ever get a kick blocked if
the center gets the ball back in six-tenths of a second or less, and the
kicker’s time does not exceed one and three-tenths seconds (total time of
one and nine-tenths seconds), _providing_ the defensive men are bumped
and not permitted to have a straight run directly at the kicker.
When talking about the punting game, one must realize the importance of
the length of time the ball is in the air _over_ the field of play. We
want our kicker to be able to kick the ball in such a manner that it will
remain up in the air and _over_ the playing field for a period of four
seconds or more. Consequently a kick of four seconds’ duration in flight
will be about a 40-yard punt. We are not interested in an 80-yard punt,
as we cannot adequately cover such a long kick. The following example
will illustrate my point.
I had a player at one time who could literally kick the football a
country mile. Yet his kicking was very erratic. I recall he kicked the
football 78 yards _out-of-bounds_ in a game against Tennessee, and later
in the fourth quarter he kicked the ball 80 yards _over_ the end zone
line. In another football game, he kicked the ball 70 yards, _out-kicking
his coverage_, and the opposition returned it for the game-winning
touchdown against us. My point is that he was too good a kicker for us.
The _average net gain_ is the most important thing in punting, not the
total distance the punter kicks the ball. A punt 40 yards from the line
of scrimmage with no return is a 40-yard kick. A 60-yard punt returned 50
yards is a net punt of 10 yards. We are interested only in the _net gain_
of the play.
If the kicked ball can remain in the air for four seconds and if it takes
one and nine-tenths seconds to get the punt away, there is a total period
of time of five and nine-tenths seconds expended. If our linemen block
for one second on the line before releasing to cover the punt, they will
have approximately four and nine-tenths seconds to cover the ball. A
fast lineman can get downfield a good distance in four and nine-tenths
seconds, though I don’t know of anyone who can cover 60 or 70 yards in
this period of time. As you can see, this sort of thing allows a team
time to get the ball, set up a wall, get a couple key blocks and run
one back for a long gain or a touchdown merely because the punter has
out-kicked his coverage. Therefore, we are not interested in how far
the punter kicks the ball, but we are vitally interested in how far the
opposition returns our punts. I shall discuss this particular phase of
the kicking game in greater detail shortly.
_Practicing the Punting Game_
During the regular scheduled practices, we work on our defensive kicking
game at least one period two days a week, and sometimes three days a
week. These periods never have a time limit, and they are our last drill.
Our reasoning is two-fold. First, the boys are tired and in order to get
proper execution and coverage we insist they give that “little extra,”
which I feel is so important in order to build a winner. Secondly, the
boys know there is no time limit and we are going to work on this phase
of our football program until we do it to my satisfaction. Therefore,
they strive extra hard to get perfect execution and coverage so we can
end practice. We feel if the boys can learn to execute the kicking game
perfectly while they are tired, they will do it perfectly during the
actual game.
OUR SPREAD PUNT FORMATION
Before discussing the techniques of our spread punt, I would like to tell
you how we adopted it. I related previously that Tennessee defeated my
1946 Kentucky team with a punt return. In 1947 a number of teams hurt us
badly by returning our punts. In 1948 the University of Mississippi ran
back punts for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
Our Mississippi game bothered me a great deal. At the time we were
using only the tight punt formation. I was searching for another type
of formation which would give us better coverage. I had never used the
spread punt, but we had played against Tulane and Vanderbilt, both
of whom had employed spread punt. Woody Woodard, while at Southern
Methodist University, had an exceptionally fine punting game, and I
was considering changing to his system. However, while coming back
from Chicago one weekend with “Scrappy” Moore of the University of
Chattanooga, he sold me on trying the spread punt. He gave me his spread
punt blocking rules. I adopted them, and since 1949 we have used the
spread punt formation. The results have been very favorable as far as
we are concerned. As an illustration, we made a study of our punting
game and we found that during the season we went for eight games without
having our punts returned one inch. For the entire season our punts
were returned only one and four-tenths yards. During our 1950 season,
the average yards returned per game from our punts was four-tenths of
a yard, and we recovered five mishandled punts. The following season
our opponents returned our punts for an average of one and four-tenths
yards per punt, and we recovered three mishandled punts. Since we tie
our kicking game in with our defensive game very closely, you can see
that spread punt coverage has been much more satisfactory for us than
the tight punt formation and coverage which we employed prior to 1949. I
shall discuss our spread punt coverage shortly.
_Spread Punt Line Splits_
The main advantage of using spread punt formation is that the defensive
team has a difficult time holding up your coverage. A team can cover its
punt much wider. If a team can spread its men across the field as they
are covering a kick, it is very hard for the receiving team to return the
ball for a sizeable gain.
The splits in our offensive line are determined largely by the size of
the men. We want our guards to be split about one and one-half yards from
the center. These splits also will be determined by the physical size of
our backfield men whom we place in the gaps to each side of the center,
two yards deep. If the back is a small man, then the guard will cut down
his split to approximately one yard. Conversely, if the back is a large
person, the guard can widen his split to approximately one and one-half
yards. Our tackles will split from their guards one and one-half to two
yards. Each tackle must be able to block the second man outside of his
guard. Our ends can split out as far as they wish, providing they can
block back all the way to the tackle if a situation arises warranting it.
The ends usually split out about two yards, as illustrated in Figure 85.
Our up-backs line up in the seams between the guard and center, about
two yards deep, as was explained previously. The personal protector will
line up five yards deep, and will be on the right side for a right-footed
kicker, and on the left side for a left-footed kicker. His depth will be
13 yards. The type of spread punt we employ is illustrated in Figure 85.
[Illustration: FIGURE 85]
_Spread Punt Blocking Rules_
We do not believe a defensive lineman will ever get a straight run at the
spot where the kicker’s foot meets the football if our players occupy
their proper positions, unless the defensive man comes from the outside
of our protection. For this reason, we feel it is not necessary for our
players to block for more than a second before going down under the punt.
Our players are instructed to count, “One thousand and three,” then
release downfield covering the kick.
The rules which our players use in protecting our punter apply to the
blocking of any man who is within one yard of the line of scrimmage. We
do not feel an opposing player can block a kick if he is more than one
yard off the line of scrimmage, even though we do not block him. Our
spread punt blocking rules are as follows:
_Center_—The center should make a perfect pass to the kicker, snap up his
head quickly, and cover the kick immediately. We do not want him to block
anyone.
_Guards_—Our guards will block the first man to their outside, and they
must keep their inside foot stationary. If a guard steps laterally with
his inside foot as he blocks, he will leave a hole through which a
defensive man can sprint and block the kick. After he has blocked the
first man to his outside for a period of one second, which I explained
above, he covers the kick downfield.
_Tackles_—If there are two men lined up between the tackle and his
adjacent guard, he will block to his inside. If there are not two men
between his position and his adjacent guard, he will block the first man
to his outside. After he has blocked for one second, he will cover the
kick.
_Ends_—Each end will block the first man to his outside, _unless_ there
are two defensive men between him and his adjacent tackle. If there are
two men between his guard and tackle, he will block the first man to his
inside.
_Up-Backs_—The up-backs block anyone coming over their territory between
the guard and center. If no one comes through their territory, they delay
slightly and cover the kick.
_Personal Protector_—He looks up and down the line for the most dangerous
man to the kicker, and then blocks him as he rushes.
These spread punt blocking rules apply to any defense and provide the
most protection at the spot where the ball will be kicked. The basic
principle for the linemen in carrying out their assignments is never to
move the inside foot. If the lineman makes contact with the defensive man
and throws him off-balance, then he can cover the kick immediately. The
up-backs take a good stance with a wide base and uncoil at anyone coming
through the inside gaps. The personal protector can use any type of block
he wishes, but we prefer the butt block or the cross-body block when
protecting the kicker.
_Spread Punt Coverage_
We want the first man down under the punt to dive at the safety man’s
Adam’s apple, really “unloading” on him if possible. He may leave his
feet if necessary in order to accomplish his objective. For illustrative
purposes, Figure 86, let’s assume that our center is the first man
down under the punt. We want him to try to beat the football down the
field, and tackle the safety man high when he touches it, or force the
safety man to fair catch the football. We want our guards to go down and
assume positions indicated in Figure 86. Our left end and right tackle
will go down and set up five yards outside of the safety man, and five
yards away from him. We set our right end out about 10 yards, and he
is our “sprinter.” His assignment is to sprint straight for the safety
man, and force the safety to fumble the ball, if possible. His line of
direction has a second purpose, too. Since he is in an excellent position
to catch the football should the punter fake the punt and pass, the
defense must adjust to him and cannot merely permit him to run a diagonal
course downfield every time we have a punting situation. If the defense
continuously ignores him and doesn’t adjust to him when he covers punts,
sooner or later we are going to hit him with the pass for a sizeable gain.
It is not possible for a coach to get the type of coverage on kicks, as
illustrated in Figure 86, unless he stresses the fact to his players that
it is extremely important for them to spread out in order to maintain
proper positions in “spreading the net” for the receiver. They must
sprint at top speed in covering kicks. We do not want our left end and
right tackle to make any tackles in our punt coverage, as they merely
turn the runner into the other men. We want our six men to go down and
get set in a football position three yards from the football and then
guard the safety man. In assuming a good football position, we mean a
position in which the player’s eyes are on the safety man, his tail
is down, back straight, and his feet apart. If we have six men down on
the safety man, guarding him, he will have no place to run. We want
to drive the safety man back and forth, searching for a place to turn
upfield, and then we’ll move in on him. We refer to this as our _One-Six
Formation_. We want our up-backs to go downfield and take the positions
of linebackers behind our six-man coverage, as illustrated in Figure 86.
They must be in a position to defend against the return up the middle. We
want our personal protector and punter to take halfback positions to the
outside behind the one-six-two coverage formation (Figure 86).
[Illustration: FIGURE 86]
We spend a great deal of time giving our players practice in executing
their assignments on blocking and covering from spread punt formation.
I can assure you that merely talking about their assignments and
responsibilities will not obtain the desired results. I think we do a
good job of covering punts simply because we work on this important phase
of the kicking game so much.
As I mentioned previously, we do our kicking work last, not setting
a definite time limit on it. When our players are covering punts, we
blow a whistle and everyone stops. We want to find the players in their
proper positions when covering the kick. If they are not covering to our
satisfaction, we merely do it over and over again until we get the type
of coverage we want. The boys actually put the pressure on each other to
get perfect coverage, consequently we generally spend about 10 minutes
instead of 20 minutes covering punts.
OUR TIGHT PUNT FORMATION
The only time we kick from a tight punt formation is when we are backed
up inside of our own 3-yard line and it is impossible for us to kick
from a spread formation since our kicker cannot get the sufficient depth
of 13 yards which we think is necessary. Therefore, we always tell our
quarterback we should _never_ kick the ball from behind our own 3-yard
line. His objective is to get us out to at least the 3-yard line so we
can employ spread punt. Assuming we can’t get out to the 3-yard line,
then we will have to use tight punt formation. When we are definitely
going to kick the ball out-of-bounds as we do on occasion, we kick from
tight formation.
Because I feel we cannot cover the kick very well from tight punt
formation, the quarterback will always designate in the huddle the
direction the punter is going to kick the ball—“Punt from tight punt;
kick to our right.” This tells our linemen in which direction they should
sprint after they have blocked their men. It also affects the blocking
assignments of our ends. Figure 87 illustrates our tight punt formation
and coverage on a kick to our right. Our blocking rules are as follows:
_Interior Linemen_—Our interior linemen will line up in a tight formation
with very little splits. They all have one blocking rule—inside gap N/T
over, which means they will block a man if he is in their inside gap; if
there is no one playing that position, they will block the man playing
over them. They must all block for one and one-half counts, when using
the tight punt, then release and cover the kick quickly.
[Illustration: FIGURE 87]
_Ends_—The ends will be split out about two yards, and they have definite
assignments. If the quarterback indicates in the huddle the kick will
be to the right, then the right end does not have a blocking assignment
but he must cover the kick immediately. He must get good width and make
certain the ball carrier does not get outside of him. The end playing the
position on the opposite side will block the defensive end. If the kick
is to the left side, the ends merely exchange assignments.
_Up-Backs_—They will line up about two yards deep and in positions behind
their respective offensive tackles. Their assignment is to keep their
inside foot in place and block the first man who shows outside of our
offensive tackle. They must make the defensive man come to them. They are
going to protect their area.
_Personal Protector_—He lines up about one and one-half yards behind the
right up-back, and his assignment is to block the second man outside of
our offensive tackle or the first man outside of our up-back. When he
makes contact with the defensive man, he forces him to his outside. He,
too, must keep his inside foot in place. If we are going to kick the ball
to our left after the ball has been snapped, he will cross over and block
the first man who shows outside of our left up-back. He covers wide to
the side he blocks on.
_Kicker_—The kicker is back nine yards, and after he kicks he immediately
covers to the side opposite he kicked the ball.
The tight punt coverage is practically the same as we use on our spread
punt, but the linemen are so close together it is difficult for them to
cover wide. Our center cannot leave quite as quickly as on spread punt
and we hold our blocks a little longer. Otherwise everything is the same
on the two punt formations.
OUR QUICK KICK FORMATION
The quick kick is a tremendous offensive weapon which we now employ
frequently, depending upon our particular opponent. We think the quick
kick has helped us win a few football games in the past, and I suspect
it will continue to aid us in the future if we execute it properly.
Consequently we will continue to spend time practicing and coaching the
quick kick. Since we quick kick frequently, this makes our short passing
game more effective as our opponents must play their safety man deeper
than usual.
We try not to tip-off when we intend to quick kick. We try to make the
formation look exactly like our regular running formation. One slight
difference is that we line up our backs slightly deeper than usual
and slightly to their right, as illustrated in Figure 88, if the left
halfback is quick kicking.
[Illustration: FIGURE 88]
_Quick Kick Rules and Coverage_
Our quick kick rules and coverage are very simple, and are as follows:
_Ends, Guards and Tackles_—They block the man on their inside gap, and if
no man is there, they block the man over them. They are trying to form
a completely new line of scrimmage on their first charge about one yard
straight ahead. It is very important these six men penetrate the defense
on their initial charge, in order to give the kicker adequate room to
kick the football.
_Center_—The center’s first responsibility is to make a good snap to the
person who is going to kick the football. Then he blocks the man in the
off-gap—no one there, blocks man over him. As an example, if we have a
right-footed kicker, the center will block to his left, as illustrated in
Figure 88. If the kicker is left-footed, the center would block to his
right.
_Quarterback_—The quarterback acts as if he is going to receive a
hand-back pass from his center. However, he takes a wider leg spread than
usual in order to permit the center to pass the ball directly through the
quarterback’s legs to his left halfback (Figure 88). His blocking rule is
to block the on-gap, i.e., the right gap for a right-footed kicker, as
illustrated in Figure 88, and the left gap for a left-footed kicker.
_Right Halfback_—He has no blocking assignment as he covers the quick
kick immediately.
_Fullback_—He will move over to his right slightly, and his assignment
is to block the first man who shows outside of our offensive right end.
He will step up to meet him, giving the kicker adequate room to kick the
ball.
_Left Halfback or Kicker_—He lines up a little deeper than usual and
moves over about a foot to his right. When the kicker catches the
football, he will rock his weight back to his right foot, leaving his
left foot in place, and pivoting his body to the right. He then takes
a step with his left foot in about a 45 degree angle to the sideline,
and at the same time he will drop the ball (pointing straight down the
field) and kick the ball trying to make contact with it over the arch
of his right foot. After he hits the football, he legswings toward the
goal line. This action will make the ball go end-over-end and cause it to
continue rolling toward the goal line upon hitting the ground.
The quick kick must come as a complete surprise to the defense or it will
not be effective. If the defense knows you are going to quick kick, it
will be more effective to employ spread punt and kick the football. You
would get better protection and coverage from spread formation, though
the element of surprise is not present.
OUR PUNT RETURN
We have never done what I would consider an outstanding job of returning
our opposition’s punts. One reason for this is that it is awfully easy
to overlook this particular phase of the kicking game. I am planning to
devote more time on punt returns from now on.
We feel about punt returns about the same as we do pass defense—you must
either rush or return, and it is difficult to accomplish both at the same
time. Therefore, we try to do one or the other, depending upon the game
situation.
We use a punt return to our left and one to our right, and a return up
the middle to keep the kicking team honest. All of these returns have
proven satisfactory from time to time.
_Punt Return Left_
When we are going to return the punt left or right, we line up in a
strong side defense. Consequently there is no indication of whether we
are returning the punt right or left, or rushing the punter trying to
block the punt.
Figure 89 illustrates our punt return left. Our return rules are as
follows:
_Left End_—He comes across the line of scrimmage about five yards deep
into the offensive backfield, and makes certain the kicker does not get
outside of him in the event the latter tries to run with the ball. After
he sees the kicker punt the football, he turns and swings in behind his
right guard in forming the wall. He will be the fourth man in line and
he must keep his proper distance from his guard. The length of the kick
will determine how far downfield he will go before he sets up. He blocks
anyone who is in his area trying to break through the wall.
[Illustration: FIGURE 89]
We have an imaginary post three yards outside of our defensive left end,
and we want all of our players to swing wide and go around this spot
before going back downfield. If all of the players do this, our entire
line will be running in approximately the same path and our wall will be
set up correctly.
_Left Tackle_—As soon as he crosses the line of scrimmage, he will turn
to his left, go around the imaginary post, and head quickly downfield
becoming the first man in the wall. His block will be a key one,
springing loose the safety man. His depth depends on the distance the
punter kicks the ball.
_Middle Guard_—He follows the same course as the left tackle. He will
be the second man in the wall, and he must maintain the proper distance
between the first man and himself. When he gets into position, he will
block anyone who is in his area trying to break through the wall.
_Right Guard_—Same course as the left tackle, only he follows the middle
guard around the imaginary post and back downfield becoming the third man
in the wall. He should keep his proper distance from our middle guard.
_Right Tackle_—He will rush the punter from the outside, making certain
the punter actually kicks the ball. Then turning to his left, he will
swing wide, as illustrated in Figure 89, becoming the fifth man in the
wall. He must keep his proper distance from our defensive left end who
will be the fourth man, as I explained previously.
_Right End_—He will rush the kicker from the outside making certain he
actually kicks the ball. He will then turn to his left, and start around
the imaginary post. He will be the sixth man in the wall, and he should
maintain a proper distance between his right tackle and himself.
_Right Linebacker_—The right linebacker will come back to his outside and
block the most dangerous pursuer threatening the safety man. He usually
blocks the offensive left end as he covers the punt downfield.
_Left Linebacker_—He will come back fast to his outside, and his
responsibility is to block out the offensive right end. The others are
blocking toward the wide side of the field. He is the only man blocking
toward the sideline.
_Halfbacks_—They will handle the short kick to their side of the field.
Otherwise they are personal protectors for the safety man if he fields
the kick. They block the most dangerous pursuer who is in a position to
tackle our receiver.
_Safety_—It is very important that the ball is handled in the air and not
permitted to strike the ground and bounce around. Assuming the safety
man catches the football, he should start straight up the field in order
to give his wall time to form and to draw the pursuers into the middle
toward him. Then he swings in behind his wall on the sideline.
_Our Middle Punt Return_
Our return up the middle is very similar to our man-to-man kick-off
return (Figure 94), in that we assign one man to block one man at the
line of scrimmage. Each defensive man is supposed to stay with his
offensive man, as illustrated in Figure 90. We use the same defensive
alignment as when we are going to return the ball to our right or left
(Figure 90).
[Illustration: FIGURE 90]
[Illustration: FIGURE 91]
If we want to be in a balanced defensive alignment, and we know they have
a slow offensive lineman, we will line up in a straight 6-2 defense.
Figure 91 illustrates our alignment and hold-up return if we know the
offensive center is slow. We merely let him go, and our interior linemen
and linebackers hold-up the offensive ends, tackles and guards. Our ends
rush the kicker from the outside, making certain he kicks the football.
The interior linemen and linebackers use the same techniques our
offensive backs use when they are protecting the passer. When they feel
they are losing their men, then they will go into a cross body block. Our
halfbacks will be the personal protection for the safety man. The safety
will field the ball in the air and start upfield. If he sees a hole, he
will break for it on our middle return.
OUR KICK-OFF AND ITS COVERAGE
The kick-off is a very important phase of the defensive kicking game
because of the number of times it is used in a game. As you know, the
kick-off comes at the start of the game, at the beginning of the second
half, and after a team has scored. It is a terrific advantage to get a
deep kick-off with good coverage, and tackle the ball carrier inside
of his 20-yard line. It is important to eliminate the long run on the
kick-off return for several reasons. First, a long run has a demoralizing
effect on the kicking team, and gives the receiving team both a
psychological and a strategical advantage. With respect to the latter
point, if the receiving team gets beyond its 30-yard line, it can open up
with its entire offensive attack immediately. Conversely, if the kicking
team keeps the receiving team deep in its own territory, the receiving
team is forced to run a limited offense, punt the ball or gamble in order
to get out of its own territory.
_Two Types of Kick-Offs_
We employ two different kinds of kick-offs, depending upon the particular
opponent we are playing. As an illustration, if we know the opposition
has two dangerous runners playing deep, we will kick the ball in such a
manner that it strikes the ground and bounces around making it difficult
for either man to control. This tactic also gives us time to cover the
kick properly. On the other hand, if our scouting report reveals the
safeties are only fair runners, then we will kick the ball high in the
air and end-over-end. Of course, if we had a place kicker who could boot
the ball out of the end zone every time, our kick-off strategy would be
simple and our problem would be solved. Kickers with such ability are
difficult to locate.
I suppose our coverage on the kick-off is like that of most other
football teams. We want our men back five yards from the ball in a
3-point stance, all facing toward the football. Our quarterback stands
one yard to the side of the ball and a yard off the ball on the 39-yard
line with his arms raised ready to give the starting signal to the men
watching him. When the kicker approaching the football gets to a point
where the men covering the kick-off cannot get off-side, the quarterback
will drop his arms as a signal for the men to start forward together. We
want everyone but the safeties to cover the kick quickly. Each man is to
protect his own area, and then go to the cut-off point. We instruct our
ends to be certain no one gets outside of them.
We have two safeties not including the quarterback. If the ball is kicked
down the middle, the quarterback is the safety. If the ball is kicked to
our right, our quarterback and left halfback will be safeties. If the
ball is kicked to our left, the quarterback and our right halfback will
be safeties, as illustrated in Figure 92. When our safeties drop out, our
other men will converge slightly to close the gaps. The safety men cover
slowly, and should always be in a position to tackle the ball carrier
before he can score.
Figure 92 illustrates the fullback kicking the ball. If a player other
than the fullback is the kick-off man, he and the fullback would merely
exchange places in the line up.
[Illustration: FIGURE 92]
It is very important that our men going down to cover the kick-off keep
their proper distance from the men on each side of them. If we have two
men covering the kick close together, a good block by the receiving team
could eliminate both of them, and then our coverage would not be sound.
OUR KICK-OFF RETURN
I explained previously the advantages of returning the kick-off. I like
to get this psychological and strategical “jump” on our opposition when
we receive the kick-off; consequently, we attach much importance and
significance to returning the kick-off. We work hard on our returns. We
want a good return so that if we must surrender the ball by punting to
the opposition, we’ll give it to them back in their 3-down zone. By this
I mean they must make a first down in their first three plays or they
will be forced to kick the ball back to us on the fourth down. If we get
a poor return and cannot move the ball and must punt it from deep in
our own territory, we might give the ball to them immediately in their
4-down zone. Now we have increased their chances of scoring by 25% merely
because we did not get a good kick-off return.
_Our Kick-Off Return Right_
Figure 93 illustrates our kick-off return to our right with the men on
the receiving team blocking their “numbers” downfield, as indicated.
Each man on the kicking team is numbered from one through seven from the
outside-in, except the last four men on the opposite side of the kicking
line, i.e., the men on our extreme left in Figure 93. If we know from
scouting reports who the safety man will be, we do not give him a number.
If we don’t know who the safety man is, we instruct our players—if your
man turns out to be a safety, regardless of where you line up, then you
will block the first man to your inside. The deep back who does not
receive the ball will head upfield and block the most dangerous man
threatening the ball carrier.
[Illustration: FIGURE 93]
_Our Middle Kick-Off Return_
We think our middle kick-off return is very simple and actually takes
very little work to perfect it. What we are trying to accomplish is to
wall off the opposition in a solid line. This gives our ball carrier time
to pick up speed and we let him break where the hole opens up.
In our alignment, illustrated in Figure 94, our front line is about 12
yards in front of our back line. When the ball is kicked, our front line
will drop back six yards and get into a good football position, keeping
their eyes on the men they are going to block. When we are using this
type of return, we commence counting from the outside-in on both ends of
the line. The end men are not blocked because we know they are taught
to stay outside. If our scouting report shows they converge and other
men cover the outside, then we will change our assignments to handle the
situation.
[Illustration: FIGURE 94]
We want our blockers to use the same block that our backs use when
protecting the passer. We want them to remain on their feet until they
feel they are losing their man. Then they go into a crotch block. The
deep back who does not field the ball will get in front of the ball
carrier and lead interference. The back who receives the kick-off will
start straight up the field attempting to gain as much yardage as
possible. When he sees daylight in the line in front of it, he breaks for
the opening at his discretion.
If the kicking team places the football on the hash mark to kick-off and
we are employing a middle return, we will count the end man closest to
the football and block him, and disregard the two farthest men from the
ball on the opposite end of the line.
OUR ON-SIDE (SHORT) KICK
The on-side kick, i.e., legal short kick, is one of the best weapons
a team can have when you must gain possession of the ball after a
touchdown. We work on the on-side kick, practicing it every week. If an
on-side kick helps us to win one football game, then it is well worth
all the time we have spent on it.
Previously I mentioned our 1955 game with Rice where we were behind
12-0, with three minutes remaining to play in the game. We scored on
a running play, kicked the extra point, and with the score 12-7 we
still needed a touchdown to win the football game. Having rehearsed the
on-side kick during the week, as we lined up for the kick-off, we knew
our strategy would be a short kick. We recovered the ball successfully
on the on-side kick, then scored with a long pass, and converted the
point-after-touchdown, making the score 14-12. Rice attempted to get
back into the game by passing as time was running out. We intercepted a
pass, scored again, and won the game 20-12. You can see why we are firm
believers in the on-side kick.
Figure 95 illustrates our on-side kick to the left. We line up in our
regular kick-off alignment. When the kicker approaches the ball, instead
of driving through with the toe of his kicking shoe, he kicks the
football with his instep. He merely tries to get a piece of the ball,
sort of punching it left or right so we can go down and cover it quickly.
The end, tackle and center (Figure 95) do not try to recover the ball,
but try to wedge in front of it and wall off the area so the men on the
receiving team cannot get possession of the football. Our halfback comes
down fast and his assignment is to recover the football (behind the
wall). When we kick the ball to the left, as illustrated in Figure 95,
the quarterback will swing in behind the halfback in the event he misses
recovering the ball and the opposition is trying to advance the kick-off.
[Illustration: FIGURE 95]
We also try an on-side kick down the middle with the tackles and guards
(see Figure 95) forming a wall in front of the kicker, who tries to
recover the football.
When we try an on-side kick to our right, the principles are the same
with our end, guard and tackle forming the wall while the right halfback
tries to recover the ball.
DEFENDING AGAINST AN ON-SIDE KICK
We also work on defending against the on-side (short) kick because we
know the opposition will attempt to use it against us. The last year
I was at Kentucky, we were playing Cincinnati and I knew they would
attempt an on-side kick. I sent 11 players into the game with the sole
responsibility of recovering the kick and not permitting Cincinnati to
get the football. I wish I could report that we were successful, but
Cincinnati recovered its on-side kick. However, our boys at least knew
we had worked on defending against the on-side kick and we were not
surprised when the opposition used it.
When we are expecting an on-side kick, we want to get our best ball
handlers up close to the restraining line so they can field the ball.
Figure 96 illustrates our receiving alignment defending against the
on-side kick. Our halfbacks and quarterback are at the 45-yard line, with
the fullback deep and the ends in their usual alignment. We put our five
interior linemen close to the restraining line for two reasons. First, we
do _not_ want them to handle the football. Second, we want them to block
or wall off for the man who is going to field the ball. Our quarterback
is our surest ball handler so we place him in the middle, hoping he
will be the one to field the ball. Note the halfbacks are inside of the
end men on the restraining line in front of them. If the ball is kicked
to our left, our front men sprint quickly to a point in front of the
football where they can block the men on the kicking team before they
can recover the football. The halfback on the left side is instructed
_not_ to try to advance the football, but merely to fall on it and get
possession of the football. The quarterback and right halfback swing in
behind the left halfback in the event he mishandles the football. If the
kick were to our right, the right halfback would handle the ball with
the other two backs backing up the right halfback. If the ball is kicked
down the middle, we want the quarterback to fall on the ball, with the
two halfbacks swinging in behind him in the event he mishandles the ball.
Our five front men would block in front of the ball for their quarterback.
[Illustration: FIGURE 96]
OUR EXTRA POINT AND FIELD GOAL PROTECTION
Our extra point and field goal protection are the same with the exception
that on the latter we must cover the kick. Our point-after-touchdown and
field goal attempt blocking rules are as follows:
_Center_—Our center’s main responsibility is to make a perfect snap to
the holder, and then he braces himself and holds his ground. We actually
try to get our center to grab the ground with his hands so that he cannot
be knocked backwards. Should the latter occur, the center would leave a
hole in the line. The center must hold his ground, and he should keep
both feet stationary.
_Guards, Tackles, Ends_—The other six linemen have exactly the same
blocking rules. The guards and tackles do not take splits, so the line
from tackle to tackle will be tight. The ends will split approximately
six inches. None of these men can move their outside foot. It must remain
stationary. They will line up looking in at the football. On the snap of
the ball, the guard will step with his inside foot toward the center.
He will put his head in front of the center’s leg, with his neck firm
against it. The guard must keep his outside leg stationary as the tackle
will put his head and neck firmly against the guard’s leg. The end will
use the same technique putting his neck against the tackle’s outside leg.
We are trying to build a solid wall so the opposition cannot penetrate it
and get to our kicker. We are trying to force the opponents to rush from
the outside, rather than permitting them to rush inside.
_Up-Backs_—The up-backs line up about a yard deep and a yard inside our
offensive ends. They are in a position where they can reach out and touch
the tail of our end on their respective sides. The up-back’s assignment
is to keep his inside foot in place and force the rushers to go wide. He
cannot move his inside foot, and he must not be knocked down. On a field
goal attempt he has wide responsibility to his side of the field. He will
leave as soon as he hears the thud of the ball.
_Holder_—The holder lines up about six yards and one foot deep and his
responsibility is to place the ball on the tee in a good position,
permitting our kicker to get his foot into the ball.
Figure 97 illustrates our place kicking formation. The whole operation
for the extra point or field goal attempt should take only one and
three-tenths seconds. If it takes longer than this, it is likely the kick
will be blocked.
We have our extra point and field goal kickers out 20 minutes early
every day practicing their specialties. We have a set of goal posts
approximately one-half as wide as the regulation width that our kickers
practice kicking through.
[Illustration: FIGURE 97]
DEFENDING AGAINST A FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT
When we are trying to rush a field goal attempt, we never rush from both
sides at the same time, and we always play our 3-deep pass coverage. The
only exception is that our safety will line up a little deeper so he can
handle the ball if the situation warrants it. We are always as conscious
of the fake field goal attempt and pass as we are of the actual place
kick.
We only rush from one side at a time, and it will probably be our
right side if the kicker is right-footed. We overload to that side, as
illustrated in Figure 98, trying to get one of our fastest ends in there
to block the attempted place kick.
[Illustration: FIGURE 98]
CONCLUSION
I think the kicking game is very important as it is tied in closely with
our defensive football. You must be sound in all phases of the kicking
game, as neglecting any one phase can cost you a football game. In order
to have a winner, our kicking game must be sound.