Shrink Your Kickoff Coverage Field
Obviously the game of football is evolving when it comes to special teams and kickoff coverage. As the NFL begins the new version this season, it will inevitably trickle down to college football and high school football. Here is an important point though. Not yet. The very first football play you will have to coach in a game this season will take place on a kickoff field.
Unless you have a kicker who can drill the football through the endzone every time, it would be wise for you to shrink the field for your kickoff cover unit. Your opponent’s kickoff return unit understands this too.
Whenever we see a team kickoff and the ball ends up anywhere close to the middle of the field we cringe. Let’s face it space is not the coverage team’s friend. The best athlete on the field is about to have the ball in their hands. Your kickoff team is still 20 yards away from him. If you can shrink the field on the kickoff return team the odds are going to greatly improve for you and your kickoff coverage.
It Is Our Guess That NFL Kickoff Coverage Teams May Still Shrink The Field
From our perspective, we don’t even care if our opponent knows the direction we are kicking the ball. Who cares if they know where you are going to kick it? This only matters if you feel like you can line up balanced and kick it away from a special returner.
Looking For The 3-2-6 Defense? Right Here.
You are normally better off just making sure your coverage team restricts the field with their initial alignment. This also shortens the trip down the field in the process. One of the first college teams we saw do this very well was an Urban Meyer coached Ohio State team. They were playing Purdue and their alignment made it obvious where they were going to kick the football.
The New FirstDown PlayBook Scouting Report Templates Are Huge Time Savers
Another big coaching point for any coverage team is that you cover the football and not the field. How many times have you seen a kickoff where the coverage team has everyone in their lanes. However, the returner creases them, making about half of the coverage team irrelevant.
Many of the coverage players are nowhere near the football. This is going to be an issue in the NFL this season too as many of the coverage players will never have a chance to fold over the top to create a second line of defense. I suspect that even in the NFL they will still shrink the kickoff field with directional kickoffs. We will see,
Related: FirstDown PlayBook Just Made Your Kickoff Practice Scripts A Lot Easier
If you coach high school football, college football or even youth football, you may want to gain an extra man to the football you can also send an extra defender to the ball with a “rover” call. This should be one of your more intuitive players who can diagnose what is going on as he runs full speed to cover. There will always be at least one key you can give him that will tell him to trigger as the Rover or stay in his normal coverage lane.
Are You Protecting Your Coaching IP?
Obviously if you do this there is some coaching that has to go on with the R2 and R4. Their contain and shoulder leverage responsibilities become even more critical with this approach. The contain principle of “deep as the returner, never deeper” is in full force here.
Remember That Your Kickoff Coverage Is A Defensive Play
Kickoff coverage is a defensive play and should be looked at as such. You wouldn’t be happy if as a defensive coach had to play every play from the middle of the field. The same thing applies here. Shrink the field and put some of the accountability on your high school football kicker. Covering with speed and toughness will still be as important as anything you coach on this team. However, you will be surprised at how much faster your team will play when you cut down the field.
