AFL Coaching 101: Private Clock Managing Tutor Available For Hire
Adam Markowitz
Monday March 21, 2011
Are you having problems managing the clock in your Arena Football League games? Need a helping hand? Just ask the Guru! Professional Clock Manager for hire! Guaranteed to win you three more games per season, or your money back!
Sure, if I passed that ad out to the 18 coaches in the AFL, I'd probably get laughed at... But maybe I should be taken just a tad bit more seriously...
It wasn't all that many years ago that head coaches across the AFL were intelligent creatures. With 1:00 to play in the first half, a coach would do everything that he could to make sure that his team got the ball last at the end of the half so that his team could either pile on two straight TDs or avoid having two straight TDs scored against it.
All of a sudden, it seems like the art of the onside kick has totally been lost. Sure, we have seen a number of "surprise" onside kicks over the course of the first two weeks of the season, but we really haven't seen that kick at the end of the first half used only to try to get the ball back one last time over the course of the half. What's worse is seeing teams start with the ball on their own 5 or so with a minute to go and still not being the team that gets the ball last.
Unfortunately, this "clock management" creature started to go out the window last season, and it has totally left now. But don't worry, I'm here to help!
As a preview for my services for hire to the coaches around the league, I'm offering this free tutoring session available for the public. Coaches and non-coaches alike can attend. No RSVP needed.
Every course that we take in life, whether it be a seminar, a college class, or what have you, needs a motto. The one for this class is simple.
POSSESSION IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IN THE AFL
Okay, so that's a pretty blunt statement. Sure, if you've got Eric Ward throwing ducks all over the field, you're not going to win too many games, and if you've got the offensive line for the New Orleans VooDoo, managing the clock won't help you either. However, the vast majority of these teams that are running up against each other have the exact same type of talent on it, and most days, the two teams will be evenly matched. Possession of the pigskin is quite possibly the only thing that would separate the two teams.
In this instance, you have to make sure that you can squeeze every possession out your opponent as possible. No, I won't tell you that you should onside kick every single possession and hope for the best (though I wouldn't do anything but onside kick if I were a coach... but that's just my preference), but there are definitely some measures that need to be made.
Rule #1: Never Burn Timeouts
Just don't do it. Don't. Take the five yard penalty and regroup that way. Timeouts are too valuable, especially in the second half. And for the love of the man upstairs, don't ever take a timeout from inside your own five yard line. Does it really make a bit of difference if it's 1st and 10 or 1st and 12? C'mon, let's be logical here.
Rule #2: Do Whatever You Can to Get the Ball Last at the End of the First Half
If you're kicking off with less than a minute to go and you have all of your timeouts left, you're darn tootin' that you should be onside kicking. If you get the ball back, great. If not, buckle down and play defense, use your timeouts to stop the clock if need be, and get the ball back. If you fail and allow the TD, who cares? You get the ball back and make sure that you're the last one to score.
Got the ball with a minute left? Why not try taking a knee and burning a down to keep that clocking running? Nothing says you can't do that in the first half, winning or losing. Afraid that your opponent is going to call timeouts? Drop your quarterback back and just have him wing one into Row X in the upper deck to eat up 8-10 seconds. Just make sure that you leave yourself with enough downs and enough time to pull off a couple of plays, and score with less than 10 seconds left on the clock. Don't score when you can. Score when you have to. Tell your quarterback or fullback with the ball to fall down at the one yard line to keep that clock moving if there is 20 ticks left in the half. That 20 seconds could be the difference between winning and losing.
Rule #3: Don't Kick Field Goals at the End of the First Half
It's a bad idea. Sure, if you're within 30 yards or so, and your kicker is going to boot the ball over the net, awesome. However, if there is any doubt in your mind about it, just throw one up in the air and see what happens. If it gets picked off, it gets picked off. Just make sure you tackle the guy. It's still only three receivers on three defenders if you're that far down the field. Statistically, a lot more can go wrong on a kick than a pick. You could get called for kick catch interference, which would extend the half by one play, or even worse, your field goal team, chock full of linemen who are slow, are going to have to try to tackle a return man.
Rule #4: How To Kill the Clock at the End of the Game
Sure, we all know that the AFL has made life a living hell on teams that are ahead in games. You've got to gain forward yardage to keep the clock running, so the knee is out of the equation. To make matters worse, you have to go forward with three linemen blocking five guys. It's just not a pretty formula.
So try this instead, assuming that you have the field position available to do it... Take the fastest guy on your team, and put him in the shotgun. Snap him the ball and just let him run around.
You could do this one of two ways. You could have him utilize the entire field, giving him more space to run around in, which would free up anyone on the field to cause chaos. If you need to take 30 or so seconds off of the clock, this is a great idea. Anyone with speed should be able to take six or seven seconds off the clock, depending on where you are on the field, and then should be able to wing it away to eat another second or two. Wash, rinse, and repeat three more times, and the game should be over.
Or, you can do the new, hip thing. Take your man and let him just drop straight back. Notice I said straight back. As long as he stays inside of that tackle box, even if he's 40 yards behind the line of scrimmage, the jack linebacker and the DBs have to stay in their positions. Odds have it, the jack is going to go wandering, and you might be able to kill the clock, and get an illegal defense call, which would give you an automatic first down. Again, wash, rinse, and repeat until the game is over. There is no way that you should kill fewer than 30 seconds doing this in four downs.
Oh, by the way, telling your linemen to hold isn't a bad idea either. If you get caught, you get caught. Unless I'm mistaken (and I must admit that I'm not totally sure about this), I don't think teams on defense can take the penalty and put time back on the clock. I think only teams on offense can do that. If that's the case, hold away. Just mug the defensive linemen. Who cares if they all get called for holding? Your quarterback can kill the rest of the clock if your OL just keeps tackling the opponents' DL.
Is it cheap? Sure. But will it win you games? You betcha!
If you're up more than two points on the final play of the game, you can have your quarterback just run straight backwards through the end zone for a safety as well. No harm. You'd still win the game.
Oh, and one other tidbit... If you're inside your own territory, why not just try running some offense? This game is built in such a way that you should be able to throw and complete passes. If you can't do that, you aren't going to win games anyway.
These few tips should always be in the back of your mind when you're coaching in a game, as they are concepts that are easy to comprehend that can make a real difference in your team's performances. Use these theories, and you too, can be a successful clock manager.
Want more help for private tutoring on specific, in game situations? I only charge $300 per game. That's a 25% discount on what you're paying your useless backup quarterback!
Class dismissed.