Interesting Air Raid Insights from TX high school coach

[Jetstream Green]

The only reason I can see his playbook being put to a video format might be the different fluid concepts inherit in one play which does not exactly mean the play itself is simple but the foundation. Meaning it might be easier to digest a play looking at a interactive design than a series of flow charts while also possibly even showing the progression of a play in response to a defense since it appears one play can morph to the defense... I guess lol

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

Kingsbury isn't alone in the room. He's got coaches Vance Joseph, James Saxon, Jeff Rodgers, Sean Kugler, and Tom Clements all with 13-21 years of NFL experience to help out.

I'm with you on that. Tom Clements called the plays to win that SB ring Aaron Rodgers has. He knows what works & will let KK know what plays from the air raid offense to use. KK will adapt, he's all about scheming week to week. Now he has a DC that will attack & keep the team in games, for once in his coaching life, he will not have to worry about the other side of the ball. Just worry about the offense being efficient. I'm excited about the potential of this team.

 

[THESMEL]

Don’t matter unless we can establish a bread and butter run game - where they know it’s coming and can’t stop it because we’re are just that good at it - you know like billy Jack - I’m going to take my left foot and kick you on the right side of your face - and their ain’t a damn thing you can do about it.

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

Wait, has it been reported somewhere that there’s literally no written playbook for the cardinals?!? Did I miss that?

That's been a misconception of the air raid offense for yrs. It was said in the 90's when Hal Mumme coached Tim Couch at Kentucky that there was no playbook, that Mumme played sandlot football. Basically go find an open patch of grass & wait for the pass. This so isn't true. Mumme laughed at all the people that said those things. The playbook isn't thick, for his original version of the offense that is. He said there's about 20-30 plays with each play having different formations & motions out of that particular play. Basically disguising the play that looks the same in formation but is a totally different play. SEC defenses had trouble with it, they knew James Whalen (he was a TE) was going to get the ball & they still couldn't stop him because of the way Mumme disguised certain plays. The problem with the air raid when he used it at Kentucky wasn't the effectiveness of it, the problem was Mumme never had a defense & never worried about that side of the ball. He always thought he could out score the other team. This offense as does any offense requires a decent to good defense, it is a scoring offense. We have a good DC now with talent on that side of the ball so I think we will surprise some teams. When Tim Couch was drafted by the Browns #1 overall in 99, all the natl media talked about the Kentucky air raid playbook compared to an NFL playbook. Yes it was alot thicker back then & probably still is, but the offense being run in the NFL today is more like the air raid than ever before. We shall see soon how this all plays out.

 

[Solar7]

I think that pro teams watch film and so they have BOTH. There are two drawbacks that video presents that you don't get from written materials:

1) Written materials can provide multiple dimensions at once. Here's the Browns' 2000 offensive playbook. Here's a page from the playbook (page 252 of 554(!!!)):

You must be registered for see images attach

That's 10 variations of the same play (Ride 136/137). If you're a different position (RT vs LG, for example), you're being shown what your responsibilities are. There's a greater density of information here than you would get from a video, which can only show one instance of a defense, for example. Each play is 7-12 seconds long. So in what it takes me to scan for my position on 10 plays, I'd have to watch over a minute of video.

2. Written materials are (generally) random access, while video materials are (generally) read-only. I opened this playbook and flipped to page 15 then 29 then 125 then 252 to find what I wanted. If this were a video, I'd be able to skip over to 2:23 or whatever, but I don't have a context for where I'm headed.

Yes, if I'm learning how to re-set the oil light on my Honda CR-V, I'm going to run to video. But, if I want a handbook to study and be information-dense as well as searchable, I need text.

As I said, listen to the podcast to hear from someone who has been seeing spread/air raid concepts for some time and has been watching defensive coordinators try to adjust and defend it. I happen to believe that Goff is an extension of McVay.

This is quite possibly my favorite post on ASFN, ever. Really well done.

 

[kerouac9]

That's been a misconception of the air raid offense for yrs. It was said in the 90's when Hal Mumme coached Tim Couch at Kentucky that there was no playbook, that Mumme played sandlot football. Basically go find an open patch of grass & wait for the pass. This so isn't true. Mumme laughed at all the people that said those things. The playbook isn't thick, for his original version of the offense that is. He said there's about 20-30 plays with each play having different formations & motions out of that particular play. Basically disguising the play that looks the same in formation but is a totally different play. SEC defenses had trouble with it, they knew James Whalen (he was a TE) was going to get the ball & they still couldn't stop him because of the way Mumme disguised certain plays. The problem with the air raid when he used it at Kentucky wasn't the effectiveness of it, the problem was Mumme never had a defense & never worried about that side of the ball. He always thought he could out score the other team. This offense as does any offense requires a decent to good defense, it is a scoring offense. We have a good DC now with talent on that side of the ball so I think we will surprise some teams. When Tim Couch was drafted by the Browns #1 overall in 99, all the natl media talked about the Kentucky air raid playbook compared to an NFL playbook. Yes it was alot thicker back then & probably still is, but the offense being run in the NFL today is more like the air raid than ever before. We shall see soon how this all plays out.

Paul Calvisi has said multiple times that Kingsbury didn’t bring a playbook with him from Tech.

 

[Timm Rosenbach]

Paul Calvisi has said multiple times that Kingsbury didn’t bring a playbook with him from Tech.

Jurecki had to explain numerous times on the Cover 2 podcast to Craig Grialou and Wolfley. I don’t understand how people think that the Cardinals will be running some Mickey Mouse college offense

 

[Dr. Jones]

offenses like this (or McVay, or Reid) are not predicated on complexity. They are truly basic concepts with hyper aggressive window dressing. They present the football to the defense in highly confusing ways and expect them to react accordingly. This misdirection causes weakness, and then offense then exploits that specific weakness.

Then you throw in the increased tempo we keep hearing about and man.......We are going to be in for a show my friends....... And absolute barn burner of a show.

And if Kyler turns into our version of Steve Nash....... Things could get real good...... real quick.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

Paul Calvisi has said multiple times that Kingsbury didn’t bring a playbook with him from Tech.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but wouldn't Texas Tech's playbook be proprietary information of the University, and not of Kliff Kingsbury?

Look, K9, your concern about the complexity of our future offense has been noted. Since K2 is an unknown quantity, and also based on the information from your dutiful research, your concern is reasonable.

But that fact of the matter is, neither you, nor I, nor anyone else on the planet, outside of those working at Hardy drive, have any idea about the ultimate structure of K2's scheme.

So let's not try to manifest a boogyman, just so that we can scare the kids on the board (please sir).

 

[Krangodnzr]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but wouldn't Texas Tech's playbook be proprietary information of the University, and not of Kliff Kingsbury?

Look, K9, your concern about the complexity of our future offense has been noted. Since K2 is an unknown quantity, and also based on the information from your dutiful research, your concern is reasonable.

But that fact of the matter is, neither you, nor I, nor anyone else on the planet, outside of those working at Hardy drive, have any idea about the ultimate structure of K2's scheme.

So let's not try to manifest a boogyman, just so that we can scare the kids on the board (please sir).

No. Playbooks are not proprietary. The coach has one that he takes with him from job to job.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I think all of this IS a legitimate concern, but I'm sure excited to see it unfold.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

kerouac9 do you really think that a paper can show more "looks" than a video playbook. From my perspective, as I had to do some "how to" video is 10 time easier to show every nuance than write it down. It is very difficult to achieve the full spectrum of nuances just by writing it down. A picture and more so a video is often easier and much more recognizable if you see it "live" and even if it is as easy to understand as the video, if people encounter it "live" they sometimes need some tries to recognize it and adapt it, and exactly that is "lost" time.

Really just my expierience on an other field than Football but, I could imagine it works for football as well. And by the comments of Fitz, recognizing the play and react properly is the key to Kingsburrys offense and if that is so, than it will if not really to easy, always challenge other defenses. And not every D has 2 Top Corner and so on.


And for me the Rams didn't loose because of Bellichek destroying McVay, but much more Bellicheck showing up and destroying Goff. Bellichek uses himself many concepts of the Air-Raid maybe that helped him to see the real problems that Goff has overall. But till the SB no one could stop the concepts of the Air-Raid used in the NFL language, so I'm not sold on it that the D solved that problem yet and since these isn't the old days were D are allowed to use physicality and NFL probably wanting more high octane offenses ... I think D will not stop it that easily without a real sound D and a real good one so maybe 1-3 teams can stop it and the rest of the league has to adapt on a high scoring game or fail miserably. But still this is my perception of the whole thing.

Yeah, considering no one (to my knowledge) on this board has seen the video playbook it’s tough for me to understand anyone criticizing it. In fact, K9’s position is starting to sound a little like “get off my damn lawn with that infernal technology magic, ya damn kids!”

Just bc there have been written playbooks for decades doesn’t mean that’s the optimal manner in which to teach or convey concepts and responsibilities. In fact, in today’s age with techno-kids, I’d argue it’s not and will continue to disappear into the ether as old men begun getting replaced with younger head coaches.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think that pro teams watch film and so they have BOTH. There are two drawbacks that video presents that you don't get from written materials:

1) Written materials can provide multiple dimensions at once. Here's the Browns' 2000 offensive playbook. Here's a page from the playbook (page 252 of 554(!!!)):

You must be registered for see images attach

That's 10 variations of the same play (Ride 136/137). If you're a different position (RT vs LG, for example), you're being shown what your responsibilities are. There's a greater density of information here than you would get from a video, which can only show one instance of a defense, for example. Each play is 7-12 seconds long. So in what it takes me to scan for my position on 10 plays, I'd have to watch over a minute of video.

2. Written materials are (generally) random access, while video materials are (generally) read-only. I opened this playbook and flipped to page 15 then 29 then 125 then 252 to find what I wanted. If this were a video, I'd be able to skip over to 2:23 or whatever, but I don't have a context for where I'm headed.

Yes, if I'm learning how to re-set the oil light on my Honda CR-V, I'm going to run to video. But, if I want a handbook to study and be information-dense as well as searchable, I need text.

As I said, listen to the podcast to hear from someone who has been seeing spread/air raid concepts for some time and has been watching defensive coordinators try to adjust and defend it. I happen to believe that Goff is an extension of McVay.

This entire post evidence a great ignorance about what technology is capable of these days. We incorporate almost all of what you’re talking about in some format in our presentations that are iPad based with our clients and our biz is 1/1000th less visually oriented than is football.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

This is quite possibly my favorite post on ASFN, ever. Really well done.

Lol. Welcome to the grandpa club.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but wouldn't Texas Tech's playbook be proprietary information of the University, and not of Kliff Kingsbury?

Look, K9, your concern about the complexity of our future offense has been noted. Since K2 is an unknown quantity, and also based on the information from your dutiful research, your concern is reasonable.

But that fact of the matter is, neither you, nor I, nor anyone else on the planet, outside of those working at Hardy drive, have any idea about the ultimate structure of K2's scheme.

So let's not try to manifest a boogyman, just so that we can scare the kids on the board (please sir).

I would be shocked if any coach (college or nfl) signed away the IP rights to their playbooks.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I think all of this IS a legitimate concern, but I'm sure excited to see it unfold.

Anything new is obviously a concern due to the fact that failure is the norm at the NFL level. But those that disrupt the norm successfully tend to have the greatest upside. They are the innovators. And they tend to continue their disruptive ways once they establish some level of success because others are more willing to be flexible in listening to, and implementing, their “crazy” ideas. Of course, not all innovation works. Most doesn’t. Have to hope your talent identification picked the “right crazy” to which to hitch your wagon.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Anything new is obviously a concern due to the fact that failure is the norm at the NFL level. But those that disrupt the norm successfully tend to have the greatest upside. They are the innovators. And they tend to continue their disruptive ways once they establish some level of success because others are more willing to be flexible in listening to, and implementing, their “crazy” ideas. Of course, not all innovation works. Most doesn’t. Have to hope your talent identification picked the “right crazy” to which to hitch your wagon.

I'm comfortable with the gamble because elements of the air raid are already being used successfully in the NFL.

I'm not even close to the first person to say this: college football is exporting concepts to the NFL now. It's the testing ground for new concepts.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

No. Playbooks are not proprietary. The coach has one that he takes with him from job to job.

Wow. I'm surprised, and thank you for educating me Krang and Ouchie.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Wow. I'm surprised, and thank you for educating me Krang and Ouchie.

You have to remember, typically the coaches have the lions share of leverage in negotiations in sports. While the jobs are obviously desirable and competitive, the teams desperately want the best coaches.

 

[kerouac9]

Look, K9, your concern about the complexity of our future offense has been noted. Since K2 is an unknown quantity, and also based on the information from your dutiful research, your concern is reasonable.

But that fact of the matter is, neither you, nor I, nor anyone else on the planet, outside of those working at Hardy drive, have any idea about the ultimate structure of K2's scheme.

So let's not try to manifest a boogyman, just so that we can scare the kids on the board (please sir).

That goes both ways, but I see plenty of posts from you about how great Murray is going to be.

Anything new is obviously a concern due to the fact that failure is the norm at the NFL level. But those that disrupt the norm successfully tend to have the greatest upside. They are the innovators. And they tend to continue their disruptive ways once they establish some level of success because others are more willing to be flexible in listening to, and implementing, their “crazy” ideas. Of course, not all innovation works. Most doesn’t. Have to hope your talent identification picked the “right crazy” to which to hitch your wagon.

I actually don't think this is true — at all. Chip Kelly was a disruptor; what did he win? Mike Leach was a disruptor; what did he win? Billy Beane and the "moneyball" philosophy was distruptive; what did the Oakland As win?

Meanwhile, Nick Saban is the most dominant force in college football with a 3-4 defense with a bunch of big dudes up front and a bunch of fast dudes in the back. The Pats play more 2-TE sets than anyone. I'd argue that it's actually the second-generation who are the engineers that integrate innovation into an existing paradigm that harvest the success. Those are the Sean McVay's and Kyle Shanahan's — they understand the pro game on a cellular level and then fold the innovative systems into that matrix.

 

[kerouac9]

Yeah, considering no one (to my knowledge) on this board has seen the video playbook it’s tough for me to understand anyone criticizing it. In fact, K9’s position is starting to sound a little like “get off my damn lawn with that infernal technology magic, ya damn kids!”

Just bc there have been written playbooks for decades doesn’t mean that’s the optimal manner in which to teach or convey concepts and responsibilities. In fact, in today’s age with techno-kids, I’d argue it’s not and will continue to disappear into the ether as old men begun getting replaced with younger head coaches.

Are you being purposely obtuse? I don't care how the information is delivered (that playbook could just as easily be a 2000-slide powerpoint deck), but what's important is the amount of detail necessary to create and install the offensive system. I'm quite certain that most NFL playbooks are in presentation styles that players can flip through.

Video works because it SIMPLIFIES concepts that are otherwise complicated. You and I both understand that it takes HUNDREDS of pages of text — written text — to create a 22-minute TV show. That if you went into production with a 50-page script, it would be an utter mess and impossible to do.

The challenge to me is whether the foundational, not fun, building-10-different-blocking-schemes-for-each-defensive-front has been done before February of 2019 for this offense.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

That goes both ways, but I see plenty of posts from you about how great Murray is going to be.



I actually don't think this is true — at all. Chip Kelly was a disruptor; what did he win? Mike Leach was a disruptor; what did he win? Billy Beane and the "moneyball" philosophy was distruptive; what did the Oakland As win?

Meanwhile, Nick Saban is the most dominant force in college football with a 3-4 defense with a bunch of big dudes up front and a bunch of fast dudes in the back. The Pats play more 2-TE sets than anyone. I'd argue that it's actually the second-generation who are the engineers that integrate innovation into an existing paradigm that harvest the success. Those are the Sean McVay's and Kyle Shanahan's — they understand the pro game on a cellular level and then fold the innovative systems into that matrix.

See I don’t think Kelly was a “successful” disruptor.

And Leech was absolutely successful, but you still have to have the parts to go to the next level. See Riley at Oklahoma.

And you don’t think belicheck was a distuptor? He absolutely has been in terms that you might not recognize, from management of his staff, to management of talent and the draft. He’s stayed on top due to three things: (1) Brady, (2) excellent in-game tactician, and (3) his out of the box organizational management.

As for Saban, sometimes just having the cheat codes to the best talent in the country creates an unlevel playing field.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Are you being purposely obtuse? I don't care how the information is delivered (that playbook could just as easily be a 2000-slide powerpoint deck), but what's important is the amount of detail necessary to create and install the offensive system. I'm quite certain that most NFL playbooks are in presentation styles that players can flip through.

Video works because it SIMPLIFIES concepts that are otherwise complicated. You and I both understand that it takes HUNDREDS of pages of text — written text — to create a 22-minute TV show. That if you went into production with a 50-page script, it would be an utter mess and impossible to do.

The challenge to me is whether the foundational, not fun, building-10-different-blocking-schemes-for-each-defensive-front has been done before February of 2019 for this offense.

Honestly I’m not being purposefully obtuse but I am failing to grasp what you’re trying to explain.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Are you being purposely obtuse? I don't care how the information is delivered (that playbook could just as easily be a 2000-slide powerpoint deck), but what's important is the amount of detail necessary to create and install the offensive system. I'm quite certain that most NFL playbooks are in presentation styles that players can flip through.

Video works because it SIMPLIFIES concepts that are otherwise complicated. You and I both understand that it takes HUNDREDS of pages of text — written text — to create a 22-minute TV show. That if you went into production with a 50-page script, it would be an utter mess and impossible to do.

The challenge to me is whether the foundational, not fun, building-10-different-blocking-schemes-for-each-defensive-front has been done before February of 2019 for this offense.

Or maybe most NFL playbooks are in a style most of the 50 year old coaches are comfortable with?

Until I hear otherwise, I'm not going to automatically downgrade a new way of presenting information. These post-millenials that make up the vast majority of the NFL are very different than you or I. I was born right at the end of Gen X and I have a hard time associating with millenials.

 

[Cardsfaninlouky]

Paul Calvisi has said multiple times that Kingsbury didn’t bring a playbook with him from Tech.

That may very well be true. It could be for a couple of reasons.
1. He knew that Tom Clements was gonna review his offense to see what would & wouldn't work in the NFL from the air raid.
2. He knows the plays so well that he didn't feel the need to bring a playbook, has the confidence to teach the offense to each player. It's a little hard to believe that though, there has to be a playbook for players to study but what do I know lol?