News of the Day 7/31/08

Wrinkle develops over fantasy college football ESPN - CBS Sports is trying to provide college football fans with the same entertainment NFL fans have become addicted to. Only in its new and improved version of ...

Fantasy College Football's Ripple Effect Wall Street Journal - By NANDO DI FINO This year's most unheralded fantasy football sleeper doesn't play for the Lions. Or the Giants. You can have 30 more guesses and you ...

Penn State football: Guilty as charged? Orlando Sentinel, FL - By now you may have seen ESPN's Outside the Lines look inside the weekend furlough program that has become Penn State football and leaves us to confront the ...

Thomas unique as a 'Hall' monitor for fellow inductees - NFL ESPN - By Chris Conetzkey They will make a unique entrance into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame: Redskins defensive back Darrell Green (left) and wide receiver Art ...

13-year-old dies after football practice in Snellville Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA - By EILEEN DRENNEN Jahceem Xavier had just completed his first official football practice Monday evening when the 13-year-old collapsed from what officials ...

Marsh football games set for Aug. 23 Indianapolis Star, United States - The Marsh Indiana Invitational is a high school football and community celebration featuring four football games between selected Central Indiana high ...

Fantasy college football - the name game ESPN - CBS Sports is trying to provide college football fans with the same entertainment NFL fans have become addicted to. Only in its new and improved version of ...

3 MSU football players plead guilty SportingNews.com - (AP) -- Three Mississippi State football players, who the school announced have been readmitted to the university, each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor ...

Football: Favre, Packers president talk Ottawa Citizen, Canada - Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy met with Brett Favre and his agent James "Bus" Cook yesterday. Murphy flew to Mississippi on Tuesday night for ...

Football transactions The Canadian Press - Movements in the world of football Wednesday: National Football League MIAMI DOLPHINS-Signed CB Chris Roberson. Waived CB Scorpio Babers. ...

Horne had community talking about Warrior football Dot, AL - Both Bennett and Martin knew Dale County Football Coach Todd Horne. By Lance Griffin MIDLAND CITY — A wide-eyed Todd Horne walked into Marshall’s Sandwich ...

Rosecrans names Pottmeyer as new head football coach Zanesville Times Recorder, OH - By DAVE WEIDIG • Staff Writer • July 31, 2008 ZANESVILLE - Scott Pottmeyer, a veteran Muskingum Valley League assistant football coach, is getting a shot at ...

Former Miami Univ. Football Player Faces Charges WHIOtv.com, OH - Police said 21-year-old Zachery Marshall entered two unlocked dorm rooms and held a pillow over the face of one of the women sleeping in May. ...

FAU extends Schnellenberger through 2010 Sports Network -Boca Raton, FL (Sports Network) - Florida Atlantic extended the contract of head football coach Howard Schnellenberger through the 2010 season on Wednesday. ...

Iowa football: Hawkeyes not forgotten by tailback Cotton DesMoinesRegister.com, IA -Other father-son combinations to play football at Iowa include Bill and son Doug Reichardt; Jerry and sons Jay, Jim and Joel Hilgenberg; and Mike and Jim ...

COLUMN: It’s an issue about race, not racism Times-West Virginian, WV - He was unflappable, thoughtful, polite … not exactly the Chad Johnson or Terrell Owens of college football. “In my knowledge of West Virginia baseball, ...

Georgia Southern starts football season with lots of 'unknowns' Atlanta Journal Constitution, "When you get here you have to commit everything you do to football. You've got to get guys to grow up. Guys who have been around know what it takes and we ...

Michigan State, Duke surprise in football recruiting USA Today - recently impressed at the Football University Top Gun Camp and the EA Sports Elite 11. Baker was one of the most complete players at the three-day Top Gun ...

Shurburtt: Coaching stability a boost to Florida State's ... ESPN - By JC Shurburtt AP Photo/Jim Lytle Florida State was the first high-profile program to name a head coach in-waiting when the school named offensive ...

HOOTENS.COM KICKOFF CLASSIC : Bentonville will host football ...Arkansas Democrat Gazette, AR - 5 hours ago“ Our community has really pulled together, and this is something we can look forward to on a football night.” Teams from Northwest Arkansas have been a big ...

ENMU plans football clinic Clovis News Journal, NM - PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University’s football coaches will host a coaching clinic and a women’s “football tutorial” at 6 pm Monday in Room 2 of ...

UCF football training camp preview Orlando Sentinel, FL - The UCF football team begins 2008 preseason practice coming off the most successful season in school history. The team broke numerous records and claimed ...

What does college football's winningest coach think of Alabama's ... The Birmingham News - al.com, AL - So the winningest coach in college football spoke to me in bed for this article on Hart. How great is that? (Columnist Ray Melick also had this interesting ...

LSU football keeps bar raised Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN - If those two players were on this year's team, defending BCS national champion LSU likely would be a favorite to repeat as college football's best team. ...

Iowa football: Free tickets for flood victims, helpers DesMoinesRegister.com, IA - Victims and those who supported victims of recent natural disasters in Iowa are eligible for free tickets to home football games at the University of Iowa, ...

News of the Day 7/29/08

Baker, Taylor kicked off Nittany Lions team - College Football ESPN - AP STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State defensive tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor have been kicked off the team. Team spokesman Jeff Nelson said Wednesday ...

Hiram College Football Adds Five to Coaching Staff Terrier Athletics, OH - HIRAM, OHIO -- The Hiram College football team will not only have a host of new players this season, but the Terriers will also welcome five new coaches to ...

A lifetime of fast running: Darrell Green goes into Pro Football Hall The Canadian Press, Va. - And then played football for the first time in the 11th grade, then both sports as a senior, and again at Texas A&I. Green didn't stop running when the ...

UM ranks in columnist's top 10 most-hated football programs MLive.com, MI - ESPN's Mark Schlabach has taken the time to rank the 10 most-hated college football programs. The list is chocked full of programs with long histories of ...

Football: Synthetic fields declared safe from lead Los Angeles Times, CA - You may have notice over the past few years that artificial turf has quickly become the playing surface of choice for most Southland football programs. ...

Old-School Coach With New Ideas New York Times, United States - Interviews, insight and analysis from The Times on the competition and culture of college football. AP Poll USA Today Stewart preached to his Mountaineers ...

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Spartans get top recruit, lose Rigan Detroit Free Press, United States - Michigan State added another recruit to its 2009 class, getting a commitment from 6-feet-8, 290-pound offensive tackle David Barrent of West Des Moines, ...

Thomas Tapeh: Healthy. Happy. Home. Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - Tapeh's life story is well-known among Twin Cities football fans. Born in Liberia, he moved to the United States at age 9. He knew little English and even ...

Daily Mail to release inaugural Preseason All-State Football Team Daily Mail - Charleston, WV - On Friday, the Charleston Daily Mail sports staff will release its inaugural Preseason All-State Football Team. The watch list will be announced three days ...

College Football: Top Six Story Lines Heading Into The 2008 SeasonBleacher Report, CA - 2 hours agoIt’s inescapable this time of year—that intense feeling of anticipation for college football. At this moment, as most programs prepare for the start of ...

Tranghese leaving Big East in fine football shape USA Today - A successor has not been named, but the next commissioner will find a football conference that has solidified itself among the six leagues that get ...

HERE TO STAY: Monterey football team rallies around wounded teammate Monterey County Herald, CA - By JOHN DEVINE Monterey's Joey Christensen, supported by a cane, stands under a goalpost during Tuesday's varsity football practice. ...

Iowa football: Hawkeyes land second-generation running back DesMoinesRegister.com, IA - Barrent mentioned off-field troubles by some Iowa football players as a reason for changing his mind. “I’m not looking at Iowa like it’sa bad place,” Jordan ...

NDSU Single-Game Football Tickets Go On Sale Friday Morning NDSU Bison Athletics, ND - FARGO, ND--Single-game tickets for North Dakota State University’s six home football games go on sale this Friday, Aug. 1, at 8 am at the Bison Sports Arena ...

Football Brief Bowling Green News, OH - The BGSU football contest versus Pittsburgh will kickoff at noon inside Heinz Field on Aug. 30. The game will be carried live on ESPNU, giving the Falcons ...

Football and recruiting tidbits: 7/30 GamecockAnthem.com - Read inside as GamecockAnthem shares the latest scoop on the USC football team and several top Carolina targets on the recruiting trail. ...

UK football recruit Rumph won't report this fall Kentucky.com, KY - By Chip Cosby University of Kentucky football signee Donte Rumph will not report to the team for fall practice Monday. UK Coach Rich Brooks said last week ...

Three coaches released, Dale County High football players return ... Dothan Eagle, AL - And after one of the schools’ hardest nights in its history, officials said the football team agreed to go back to weightlifting and drills today to prepare ...

School board delays OK of McQueen football drug tests Carson Times, NV -By Cyndi Loza • cloza@rgj.com • July 30, 2008 McQueen High School football players are enjoying the benefits of a looming proposal to randomly test the ...

Patriots’ rookie DBs are eager to help out Boston Herald, United States - Even though it’s training camp, and it’sa grind and it (stinks) some days and you hate it, you’re playing in the National Football League. ...

3 MSU football players re-admitted Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS - STARKVILLE — Three Mississippi State football players who left school after they had “indirect” involvement in an on-campus gunfire incident in the spring ...

All-Star Football: North Rallies For VictoryTyler Morning Telegraph, TX - 3 hours agoIn the 74th annual THSCA All-Star football game, the North rallied from 15 points down in the final two minutes to defeat the South, 16-15, on Tuesday night ...

College football countdown: Nos. 111-115 Washington Times, DC - The football these days? Not so much. Longtime coach Joe Novak retired after last season, and Northern Illinois hired Southern Illinois' Jerry Kill to take ...

UW football: Shaughnessy a candidate for national award The Capital Times, WI -University of Wisconsin senior Matt Shaughnessy has been named Tuesday to the preseason watch list for the Ted Hendricks Trophy, given annually to the ...

Former Titan Put Down Football Helmet For Firefighter's Helmet NewsChannel5.com, TN - A former Tennessee Titan has put down the football and picked up firefighting. Former tight end Erron Kinney has become a firefighter with the Brentwood ...

Great expectations for Pitt football Beaver County Times, PA - By Eric Hall You not only garnered third place in the Big East football media preseason poll, you got a first place vote. That’s what you get when a ...

UConn football not the team to beat WTNH, CT - Newport, RI (WTNH) -- College Football season is fast approaching. The UConn Huskies have everyone right where they want them. Returning 19 starters from ...

St. Francis Ranked No. 3 In NAIA By Sporting News College Football ... WANE, IN -Fort Wayne, Ind. -- Two of the top three teams in the Sporting News College Football '08 magazine NAIA Preview Top 10 are in the Mid-States Football ...

Two Orange Football Games Highlight BIG EAST Network Broadcast ... SUAthletics.com, NY - Two more 2008 Syracuse football games will be televised. The Orange BIG EAST Conference season-opener against Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome on September 27 ...

SEC FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: Getting their fill of Phil Arkansas Online, AR - By Tom Murphy (Contact) HOOVER, Ala. - Tennessee represented the Eastern Division in the SEC Championship Game last year, won 10 games and edged Wisconsin ...

College football has its 'watch-out' games on opening weekend Los Angeles Times, CA -College football's winningest program also had an Appalachian asterisk. Upset potential: Miami hasn't been Miami for years and might be looking ahead to ...

College Football: Ohio State Tops Columnist's College Football ... Bleacher Report, CA - Which college football teams are poised to be the teams to beat in 2008? Paul Augustin gives his preseason top ten. by Paul Augustin (Columnist) A ...

BIG EAST FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY Hartford Courant, United States - By SHAWN COURCHESNE Courant Staff Writer EWPORT, RI - — It comes as no surprise, but in the midst of one of the biggest moments in his college career, ...

Hate Meter: The Sun BeltESPN - The Owls have only been playing football since 2001, which makes all those storied programs look a little sad. 4. Louisiana-Monroe -- Yeah, we all know you ...

Star Connetquot High athlete dies from crash injuries Newsday, NY - Stan Hartnett, 18, of Ronkonkoma, a former co-captain of both the Connetquot High School football and lacrosse teams, underwent surgery at Brookhaven ...

News of the Day 7/29/08

McFarlane Toys Heading to Canton for Pro Football Hall of Fame ... MarketWatch - TEMPE, Ariz., July 29, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- McFarlane Toys will make its 4th consecutive appearance at the 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame (HOF) ...

Die-hard fans love football, look for hope at open Lions practice Detroit Free Press, United States - Three fans sat in the stands and talked football: Carlos Payne, 28, of Detroit, an AT&T repairman who hadn’t seen the Lions live since he was in New Orleans

"Sunday Night Football" to be streamed on Web Reuters - By Paul J. Gough NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC and the NFL will stream online the complete "Sunday Night Football" season, the first time a complete ...

Two suspended from Razorbacks football Seattle Post Intelligencer - Fayetteville, AR (Sports Network) - Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino announced Tuesday that two members of his football team will be suspended for the ...

2008 Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Predictions Point-Spreads.com, FL -Penn State will once again be among the most solid teams in the Big Ten Conference, but College Football Predictions Expert Dave Price feels its schedule ...

Ohio State, USC top targets of fans' ire - College Football ESPN - By Mark Schlabach The college football team fans love to hate? The discussion used to begin and end in South Bend. But Notre Dame's drop in the polls also ...

Ute football: Notre Dame finalized; USU nixed Salt Lake Tribune, United States - By Lya Wodraska The University of Utah has finalized its date with Notre Dame for the 2010 football season. But the game with the Irish comes at the expense ...

It's college football season already? San Jose Mercury News, USA -The Bay Area college football season begins this week and the big story is . . . the Bay Area college football season begins this week. ...

College Football Teams You'll Need to Watch TheStreet.com - August is almost here, and with it comes the new college football season. Last season brought more upsets and general mayhem than perhaps any other season ...

College football: Looking ahead because there's no going back Los Angeles Times, CA -Preseason begins as a means to an end, but it's what's in the middle that counts. Aug. 5: UCLA's first practice begins at Spaulding Field. ...

CMU football again picked to win MAC Detroit Free Press, United States - BY CHRIS LAU • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • July 29, 2008 The Chippewas won the last two MAC titles and the MAC News Media Association touted them to grab ...

Stanford football training camp San Jose Mercury News, USA - 24-23 in one of the biggest upsets in college football history. But Stanford won only two of its final seven games and finished 4-8. ...


UVA Football Players Arrested NBC 29 News, VA - Two University of Virginia football players have been arrested at a downtown Charlottesville nightclub. Junior offensive lineman Will Barker and redshirt ...

Oklahoma DE English out indefinitely after appendectomy - College ... ESPN - By Tim Griffin Preseason Big 12 defensive player of the year Auston English is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery for an emergency appendectomy last ...

My Top 10 College Football Experiences Bleacher Report, CA - Michael Bergman's college football bucket list. Read, then you must go at some point in your life! by Michael Bergman (Member) Here's a list of 10 things ...

Bucs Ranked Second In Juco Football Poll KBTX, TX - The 2008 NJCAA/JC Football.com pre-season football poll ranked Blinn College as the second best junior college team in the country behind defending national ...

City approves University of Richmond's plans for on-campus ... Richmond.com, VA -Approval by the City Council allows the project to remain on schedule to open for the 2010 football season. "Our new facility will provide outstanding ...

Michigan State Spartans Big 10 Conference Preview 2008 College ... Sports-Odds.com, FL - Michigan State Spartans Big 10 Conference Preview 2008 College Football Predictions: MSU finished last season with an overall mark of 7-6, and 3-5 against ...

Pokes Report For Football KTAK, WY - The 2008 college football season will kick off for the Wyoming Cowboys when they take the field for their first practice on Monday, Aug. ...

LC picked 5th in preseason American Southwest Conference Football poll Alexandria Town Talk, LA - Louisiana College was picked fifth in the preseason American Southwest Conference Football poll released Monday. The poll is voted on by league head coaches ...

New Verbal Commitment For Gator Football AM850, FL - Several internet sites are reporting today that the University of Florida football team has received a verbal commitment from Greer, South Carolina tight ...

College football has its 'Watchout Weekends' Los Angeles Times, CA - College football's winningest program also had an Appalachian asterisk. Upset potential: Miami hasn't been Miami for years and might be looking ahead to ...

Are you ready for fantasy football? Middletown Journal, OH - By Jessica Heffner We're looking for fans and businesses that are gearing up for their own fantasy football drafts. Tell us your story. ...

Five prospects vie for No. 1 spot in ESPN 150 - Football Recruiting ESPN - By Tom Luginbill The initial ESPN 150 for football's Class of 2009 will be released in one week (on Aug. 5). And while the Scouts Inc. crew -- Craig Haubert ...

Smith snatches two TDs as Jags top Seahawks - NFL Football Recap ESPN - (AP) -- Linebacker Mike Peterson grabbed the football, took two steps toward the sideline and heaved it as far as he could. His toss fell a few feet short ...

Football opponent previews-University of Southern California ... OSU - The Lantern, OH -The nation's most anticipated college football game of the 2008 season matches up the two most prolific coaches as well as the most winning programs of the ...

Butler Football to Start Season as #1 KSN-TV, KS - By Jessica Oakley BUTER COUNTY, Kansas, July 28, 2008 -- Defending national co-champion Butler is the pick atop the NJCAA/JCFootball.com preseason poll. ...Butler tops preseason juco football rankings The Wichita Eagle

Ohio State football: Wells reminds Griffin of Brown, too The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH - Everything Griffin did playing football back then he patterned after Brown. Now you can add Griffin to the list of football experts who see Brown in Ohio ...

Q&A with Butch Davis, Part III Pack Pride - With the new timing rules do you anticipate more plays in a college football game? “I think it will probably be about the same to be honest with you. ...

NFL's youngest owner is learning football KFVS, MO - While he and his three siblings shared equally in their father's vast estate, only Clark has chosen to take an active role in football. ...

2008 Football Previews: Kickers and Punters And the Valley Shook, LA - by Richard Pittman on Jul 29, 2008 1:00 PM CDT in Football Here's a guy you've probably never seen with his helmet off. He's Colt David, #6, a senior kicker ...

Lloyd Carr: On attrition with Rich Rod, Michigan Stadium, his ... Detroit Free Press, United States - Here are the highlights: “I’m excited to death about watching our team at Michigan and watching college football and pro football and another season. ...

Fantasy Football

Here’s some advice for your fantasy football team Kansas City Star, MO - I used to love fantasy football. Remember when I wrote a magazine devoted to fantasy drafts? I miss doing that. Those magazines were irreverent and fun and ...

Fantasy College Football's Ripple Effect Wall Street Journal - By NANDO DI FINO This year's most unheralded fantasy football sleeper doesn't play for the Lions. Or the Giants. You can have 30 more guesses and you ...

Fantasy Football Impact Report: Santonio Holmes RotoTimes.com - By Jeff Hoffman In just his third season in the Steel City, Pittsburgh wide receiver Santonio Holmes appears ready to take the title of No.1 receiver away ...

Wrinkle develops over fantasy college football ESPN - CBS Sports is trying to provide college football fans with the same entertainment NFL fans have become addicted to. Only in its new and improved version of ...

Fantasy College Football's Ripple Effect Wall Street Journal - By NANDO DI FINO This year's most unheralded fantasy football sleeper doesn't play for the Lions. Or the Giants. You can have 30 more guesses and you ...

Fantasy college football - the name game ESPN - CBS Sports is trying to provide college football fans with the same entertainment NFL fans have become addicted to. Only in its new and improved version of ...

Fantasy football sleepers that could breakout Newsday, NY - You're deep into your fantasy football draft, and the clock is ticking. You're examining your notes as you try to choose between a perennial underachiever ...

Fantasy Football Focus: Chicago Bears Bleacher Report, CA - Fantasy football drafts are just around the corners and Russell Ivanac is going team-by-team through the NFL breaking down the fantasy value of each team. ...

Fantasy football player rankings Dallas Morning News, TX -By JOHN McFARLAND / AP 1. Tom Brady, New England: 4806 yards, 50 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 2 TDs rushing, eight 300-yard games. ...

Fantasy Football's Top-Five Players at Each Position Bleacher Report, CA - My favorite part of the year, Fantasy Football season! So, to help my fellow fantasy footballers out, I am going to give you the top-five players at each ...

Are you ready for fantasy football? Middletown Journal, OH - By Jessica Heffner We're looking for fans and businesses that are gearing up for their own fantasy football drafts. Tell us your story. ...

USA TODAY Sports Weekly Publishes Special Edition: Fantasy ... MarketWatch -The Sports Weekly Fantasy Football Guide '08 gives fans the latest player rankings, capsules, and team analysis. All the latest fantasy information players ...

Out of the Box thinking on Running Backs Sports Network - By Drew Fedesco, Contributing Fantasy Football Writer Winning in fantasy football is a combination of preparation with a heavy dose of luck. ...

Fantasy Football Focus: Chicago Bears Bleacher Report, CA - Fantasy football drafts are just around the corners and Russell Ivanac is going team-by-team through the NFL breaking down the fantasy value of each team. ...

Ranking The Best Fantasy Football Guides FakeTeams - by faketeams on Jul 27, 2008 3:00 PM EDT in Football Here is a ranking of the various fantasy football magazines on the market. Personally, I have Rotowire, ...

Zaktansky on fantasy football: Manage your own team of NFL players Danville News, PA -Fantasy leagues usually include between eight to 14 members, who each draft a team of professional football players. Each week throughout the season, ...

Fantasy Football Impact Report: Asante Samuel RotoTimes.com - By Mark Hooper The Eagles dug deep to sign free agent cornerback Asante Samuel this offseason, to the tune of six years and $57 million, with $20 million ...

30+ Tools for a Winning Fantasy Football Season Mashable, CA - With NFL teams reporting to training camp in the next couple weeks, it’s time to gear up and start planning your fantasy football season. ...

News of the Day 7/28/08

NFL To Stream Sunday Night Football Live InformationWeek, NY - Sunday Night Football Extra will begin with NFL Kickoff 2008, Thursday, Sept. 4 at 7:00 pm, when the Washington Redskins play the New York Giants. ...

USA TODAY Sports Weekly Publishes Special Edition: Fantasy ... MarketWatch -The Sports Weekly Fantasy Football Guide '08 gives fans the latest player rankings, capsules, and team analysis. All the latest fantasy information players ...

Which city is Georgia's 21st Century high school football Titletown? Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA - Since this is a high school football blog, and since we concede that Valdosta is the all-time football Titletown in Georgia, let’s limit this to Georgia ..

ArenaBowl Soul holds off San Jose to win title 59-56 Seattle Times, United States - ... for another score to lead the Philadelphia Soul to its first ArenaBowl victory, beating defending Arena Football League champion San Jose 59-56 Sunday. ...

Inside Dish: Five-year football players could soon be reality SportingNews.com - The NCAA is getting closer to approving football legislation that would give players five years to compete, effectively eliminating a redshirt season. ...

Jets’ New Video System: A Home Page for Football New York Times, United States - By GREG BISHOP After the Nebraska football program installed a new video system last season, one coach said it saved his marriage. ...

Football rules The Star-Ledger - NJ.com, NJ - It was then revealed that football coach Greg Schiano not only makes $2 million in salary a year but receives an additional $250000 and has an opt-out ...

Trouble finds Penn State, Paterno Dallas Morning News, TX - ESPN's Outside the Lines took an in-depth look Sunday at the off-the-field problems that have plagued the Penn State football program. ...

College football: Oregon suspends LB The Wenatchee World Online, WA - Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti has suspended junior weakside linebacker Kevin Garrett indefinitely from the football program for breaking team rules. ...

Johnson officially named Franklin County football coach The News Herald, FL - By David Adlerstein, Florida Freedom Newspapers Now if Jimmy Johnson, the newly hired head coach of the Franklin County football program can demonstrate the ...

Jets Monday Morning Recap & Ripping Pro Football Talk Most Valuable Network, MA - First however, over at The Jets Blog (www.thejetsblog.com) an excellent article was posted today about the ridiculous anti-Jets bias over Pro Football Talk. ...

Out of the Box thinking on Running Backs Sports Network - By Drew Fedesco, Contributing Fantasy Football Writer Winning in fantasy football is a combination of preparation with a heavy dose of luck. ...

Fantasy Football Focus: Chicago Bears Bleacher Report, CA - Fantasy football drafts are just around the corners and Russell Ivanac is going team-by-team through the NFL breaking down the fantasy value of each team. ...

Is Tennessee Still a Football School? Bleacher Report, CA - Is Tennessee starting to become more of a basketball school instead of a football school asks David Parks. by David Parks (Scribe) In the SEC, football is ...

UVA Football Players Arrested NBC 29 News, VA - Two UVA football players have been arrested at a downtown Charlottesville nightclub. Junior offensive lineman Will Barker and redshirt freshman lineman Dave ...

Fike to offer Gymsitter service during home football games Clemson University, SC - CLEMSON — Going to the big football game, but don’t have tickets for the little ones? They too can enjoy a day of fun in Clemson with Fike Recreation ...

Relatively speedy will do Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - By CHIP SCOGGINS, Star Tribune 1) This is football, not a track meet. We should judge Berrian's speed using game film and not a stopwatch. ...

College Football: The Most Dangerous Game Bleacher Report, CA - ... fans and analysts are already salivating over as we find ourselves a little more than a month away from the start of the 2008 college football season. ...

Adibi will play with a big chip Houston Chronicle, United States - “There are some things you can’t teach in football,” Kubiak said. “There are instincts that you can’t teach. He really has a nose for the ball, ...

QB competitions in NFL are a farce CNN -Football is a violent game and any situation in which the quarterback does not have to be weary of the consequences of that violence is problematic in ...

San Jose's Wilson brings his ring of experience to Raiders San Jose Mercury News, USA - "GB Wilson" made the All-Mercury News football squad in 1999. He had gone by those initials almost since arriving in San Jose at age 5. ...

Chicago bar hosts Hoosier football ndiana Daily Student - Joe’s Bar may be located in Chicago, but its spacious back room Thursday night was all Bloomington for the Windy City’s IU Football Kickoff. ...

NCAA Football '09 better, but still fails to deliver needed features American Chronicle, CA -Every year since 1996 my ritual has been the same: about two months before the start of the college football season, I get the latest version of EA Sports' ...

NFA FOOTBALL: Lockport shocked in loss to SyracuseNiagara Gazette, NY - 15 hours agoBy John D’Onofrio Dave Johnson of the Syracuse Shock isn’t among the most highly-respected coaches in the Northeastern Football Alliance for nothing. ...

Chris Stevens, Xavier High School - NYC

"Running the 1930s Single Wing in only our second year we went 10-1 and were Division, Playoff, and Turkey Bowl Champions! Coach's Office has put all of our program on the same page and the 3 teams in our program have been 38-18 combined over the past two seasons with 3 Division Titles and 2 Playoff Championships!

Please see highlights." Click here for team video highights. Click here for 2007 championship team photo.

News of the Day 7/27/08

Right now, Big Ten football stinksThe Grand Rapids Press - MLive.com, MI - Many of Zook's Big Ten coaching counterparts didn't particularly agree with him at last week's Big Ten football media days. They also are the ones coaching ...

Football News and Notes Conquest Chronicles, CA - by Paragon SC in Football Regardless of how good some may think this team it doesn’t mean that there aren’t some questions. ...

Arena Football League gaining credibility phillyBurbs.com, PA - And one guy they'll be bird-dogging is second-year Soul wide receiver Larry Brackins, the intriguing kind of Arena Football League player who fell through ...

Full-strength Tyrell Sutton sees big things for Northwestern football Chicago Tribune, United States - By Shannon Ryan Chicago Tribune reporter Tyrell Sutton's teammates do not hesitate to search for memories that reflect the Northwestern running back's ...

Cerebral Chiefs center puts med school aside USA Today - The NFL seemed to be telling him the odds against a future in football were long, very long. Whether he would thrive in the academically stimulating ...

Phoenix ready to rise in Frankfort Chicago Sun-Times, United States - Athletic director Matthew Lyke holds a Lincoln-Way North football helmet. Like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the North helmets only have the logo on one side. ...

Kansas State Wildcats Big 12 Preview 2008 College Football Predictions Sports-Odds.com, FL - Kansas State Wildcats Big 12 Preview 2008 College Football Predictions: Not being able to improve from the 2006 season, Kansas State regressed in 2007 by ...

Thirty-two days and counting Charleston Post Courier, SC - By Ken Burger (Contact) SOMEWHERE ON I-20 ” The past week was spent driving up and down this preseason highway to the college football season. ...

Time's not awasting for Davis and North Carolina football Chapel Hill News, NC -Carolina football coach Butch Davis has said "never again" to such behavior. More than a year ago, he underwent chemotherapy for cancer. ...

Brett Favre has a rash. And the only ointment is football. Bleacher Report, CA - by Casey Fenton (Member) Rumors are circulating that retired Packers QB Brett Favre is interested in returning to play professional football once more. ...

Register now for Savage flag football Baltimore Sun, United States - The Savage Boys and Girls Club is accepting registration for its fall Flag Football Season for children ages 6-14. Registration closes at midnight Aug. 31. ...

NFL Opens Up a Bit: To Webcast Sunday Games With NBC; Other ... Washington Post, United States - The National Football League, which has been very protective of its online usage rights, has opened up a bit, and is going to webcast 17 regular-season ...

McAlister, McClain and Washington activated from non-football ... Baltimore Ravens, MD - He was activated from the non-football injury list after passing his conditioning test, a series of 150-yard timed shuttle runs. What was the problem? ...

UK football notebook: Arrests create QB quandary Kentucky.com, KY - ”I feel that Coach Brooks has recruited people who are good football players that also have great character.“ Kentucky received a commitment last week from ...

Football Vols pick up two more commitments WVLT, TN -(WVLT) -- The WVLT Sports Overtime team has learned that Tennessee picked up two more commitments Saturday. The two commitments are Zach Rogers, ...

Football gets the call for Horton NewsOK.com (subscription), OK -A star tailback on the football team, the top guard on the basketball team and an individual state champion in track. This fall at the University of Tulsa, ...

NFL: Four Dolphins say LDS Church missions steeled them for hardships Salt Lake Tribune, United States - And they couldn't be prouder of those two years or how it helped them grow as people, and even as football players. ''People always talk about testing ...

23rd Annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival 2-mile ... Canton Repository (subscription), OH - You must be a registered user to post comments. Your comment will be published at the bottom of the story. Once a comment is submitted, you will not be able ...

Arkansas team wins Hoover 7-on-7 football tournament The Birmingham News - al.com, AL -Saturday's thunderstorms had stopped, but a rain-soaked football still played a role in the outcome of the National Select 7-on-7 Championship at Hoover ...

The Gravitational Pull of Football Strengthens with AgeYardbarker, CA - 2 hours agoBut for we 30-somethings the power and promise of weekend football viewing in the fall seems to beckon in a louder voice with each passing year. ...

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Kevin Wilson, Offensive Coordinator, University of Oklahoma

Coach's Office User Since 1998
"I've been using the drawing, scripting, and practice card features of Coach's Office since 1998. The program has cut our practice preparation time by 70%, giving us more time to view video and work with our players. The support on this software is outstanding. I'd recommend it to any coach."

Coaching Experience
The 2006 offense was balanced with 2,480 rushing yards and 2,682 passing yards. Three different running backs logged 100-yard games and QB Paul Thompson put up numbers that ranked among the top 10 in school history for passing yards, touchdown passes, and completion percentage. OU ranked No. 19 nationally in scoring offense; No. 17 in rushing offense.

The 2005 line produced consensus All-Big 12 pick Davin Joseph as Adrian Peterson again eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards. Three freshmen were integrated as starters.

In 2004, the line, featuring Outland winner Jammal Brown and Walter Camp All-American and Rimington Award finalist Vince Carter, cleared the way for Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson's 1,925 rushing yards while allowing a Big 12-low nine sacks.• The 2004 Sooners, featuring Wes Sims, a sixth-round draft choice by the Chargers, and All-Big 12 pick Joseph, were No. 8 in total offense and averaged 34.8 points.

The 2003 team ranked No. 3 nationally with 42.9 points/game and No. 19 with 439.4 yards of total offense/game.

In 2002, the line had four honorees as Quentin Griffin fell 13 yards shy of OU's season rushing record.

As Northwestern's offensive coordinator, the 2001 Wildcats led the Big 10 in total offense and QB Zac Kustok was conference leader in that same category.

In 2000, Northwestern set 25 school marks while ranking No. 3 nationally in total offense. The co-Big Ten champs were led by Damian Anderson, who rushed for a Big Ten record 193.6 yards per game.

Finalist for the 2000 Broyles Award.• Has helped produce 14 1,000-yard rushers. At OU, both Peterson (1,925 yards in 2004, 1,024 in 2005) and Griffin (1,884 yards in 2002) worked under Wilson.

The art of play calling

A in-depth look at the job of offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt


It's college football fans' favorite pastime: armchair quarterbacking, second-guessing, and complaining about play calling in hindsight.

It's something that will never go away. If a play works, the players are praised. If the play fails, the offensive coordinator is an idiot. It's part of the territory of being a coach, and CSU offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt knows it. While he says he tries to ignore the criticism, he admits he hears it and it can get to him at times.

"You're never good enough. That's part of the deal," said Hammerschmidt, now in his 10th season at CSU--and fifth as a coordinator. "You've got to keep striving to be better. But,
I'm as hard on myself--and I'm sure all play callers are that way--about if it doesn't work, what could you have done to make it work. Like every position in this business, if you're not doing
well, you're getting criticized, and if you're doing well, you're not. So, I think you've just got to work to get better and make it work."

Hammerschmidt certainly works to get better. His job entails much more than simply randomly picking plays off a chart and hoping they work. It's a grueling day-in-day-out grind of preparation that demands an extraordinary amount of time and attention to detail. Take this week for example.

CSU is coming off a hard-fought 21-17 victory over Utah Saturday night at Hughes Stadium, and did so in stunning fashion with the defense stonewalling the Utes at the goal line four straight plays in the game's waning seconds. Rather than celebrate the victory, coaches had to immediately get to work.

Breaking down game tape

The basis for developing 100%;">the game plan each week comes from extensive breakdown of game tape--both CSU's and its opponent's. Most times, coaches will gather after a Saturday game and watch tape from the game for a few hours to grade it, break it down, and prepare it for showing to the players. They'll then get up early Sunday morning and continue with their studies of the previous game until mid-afternoon. At that point the coaching staff will turn their attention to the upcoming opponent for the week. This can get tedious, as the football department typically acquires at least three of the opponent's game tapes and as many as 11. For example, in preparation for the University of Colorado this year, CSU coaches studied all 11 of CU's games from 2004. For Minnesota, the staff had several games, including their Music City Bowl appearance from last year. Coaches watch as much as humanly possible to analyze trends, strengths, and weaknesses of the Rams' opponents.

They then break the game tape analysis into 20 different categories. Graduate Assistants do much of the preparations two weeks before the Rams face an opponent. So, for instance, while
the team is preparing for BYU this week, GAs are already breaking down tape of Wyoming for the October 22 game.

GA Bill McMahon, who graduated from the University of Montana and has served as a defensive assistant for CSU since 2003, is in charge of breaking down offensive game tape. Brian Woll, who graduated from the University of Rhode Island and has served as an offensive line assistant since last season, handles the defensive tape. They also get supplemental help from student assistants Shaun Hunter and Neil Hitchen.

Occasionally, teams will refuse to share game tape with CSU, as Southern Cal coach Pete Carroll did last season. But most do share. When the football office actually receives tape can vary,
however. CSU got Air Force game tape nine days prior to the September 29 matchup with CSU, which gave the GAs a decent amount of time to get to work. Sometimes it arrives later. But as soon as it comes, the GAs import the tape into the computer and get it broken down.

When the time comes for the offensive coaches to begin studying, they'll first analyze opponents' formations. So, for instance, when studying BYU tape this week, they'll look at all of the Cougars' three-receiver/one-tight-end formations, all of their four-wide sets, all of their two-tight-end sets, and every other formation they run. Whatever formation the opponent runs, the
coaches study it, and do so for every game tape they have of the opponent. Then, coaches study down and distance and field position situations. For example, this week, they'll study what the Cougars typically do on first down when they line up in certain
formations. They pay special attention to what the opponent typically does on third and fourth downs, goal line situations, and other special circumstances.

After completing study of the opponent's formations, the offensive coaches break up into individual rooms by around 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Hammerschmidt typically gathers with wide receivers coach Marc Lubick and running backs coach Mick Delaney and they begin by breaking down the defense's coverages and starting to build tape for the players to study. Offensive line coach Darrell Funk typically works by himself and breaks down the fronts that his offensive linemen will face. When completed with this segment, the coaches will have compiled a DVD, which will be given to the players on Monday. The DVD covers every front and coverage scheme they're going to face each week, and the players are responsible for studying it.

But, the coaches' day is not done yet. After several hours of studying coverages and defensive fronts, the offensive coaches join together again for another few hours to watch the blitz tape.
A few weeks ago, when CSU hosted Nevada, the coaches had to break down tape on the Wolf Pack defense, which blitzes 95 percent of the snaps. The coaches watch every blitz that the opponent runs against every formation. By the time the coaches leave Sunday
night somewhere between 11 p.m. and midnight--about 16 hours after their day began--they can chalk up their duties as being halfway done.

Monday morning, the coaches get up and have until about midday before they have to gather with the players to watch the game tape of the last game. So, up until that point, coaches are studying opponents' down-and-distance trends, what they do defensively near the goal line, in the redzone, and from the 3- to 12-yard lines and 12- to 25-yard lines, for example. Coaches will study other situations, such as being pinned deep in their own territory and how defenses play against that.

By Monday night, the coaches study what they call the "self-scout" from past games. The self-scout is an analysis of CSU's own offense and what formations the offense has
typically been running with each personnel group, and what plays have been typically called with those formations or players on the field. The coaches break out these trends and write them on a white board, and GAs calculate all the percentages. For instance, they'll analyze scenarios such as, "When CSU motions the fullback to a strong set, what do we typically run?" The GAs will show that 50 percent of the time the offense has run a handoff off-tackle, 35 percent of the time the offense has run ran play-action passes, and 15 percent of the time the quarterback threw the ball downfield.

"The self-scout basically helps you figure out what your own tendencies are and enables you to try to break your tendencies," said Hammerschmidt, who this week had five self-scout tapes to watch. "About every third game, you try to break your tendencies. You've got to keep a good self-scout going because that's basically what the other defenses are doing. You think like your opponent, who is thinking 'When Kory Sperry is in the game and there are two backs, what are we doing and what do we have to stop it?' We try to stay ahead of that."

At the end of the night Monday, the coaches have to have the game tape studies finalized and have a game plan ready for the players. They'll also set a practice plan for Tuesday through
Friday. Based on the opponent tape that they've watched, offensive coaches can use that information to determine what runs they'll use out of specific formations during practice that week. They figure out which formations and plays need to receive the most repetitions during the week to prepare the players for the opponent's defensive looks. The offense takes about 50-60 snaps in practice each week, and according to Hammerschmidt, the players need to see various plays four to five times each in order to absorb what they are learning. That's why the prior preparation is so important to developing a practice plan.

Same goes for the passing game. Coaches try to show the players every passing route that will be run into every coverage several times per week. It's coached not only on the field, but also in
game tape viewing with the players and in meetings.

All the while, Hammerschmidt is continually working on the week's game plan and ultimately completes it by Thursday. Once finished it is printed and distributed to each coach for review,
commentary, and suggestion.

The game plan

Hammerschmidt has a four-page play sheet that he uses for each game. He and former co-offensive coordinator John Benton came up with the template (see images) several years ago, and Hammerschmidt makes modifications to it each year. He said he has borrowed some ideas from the Denver Broncos, and continually tweaks it to optimize the format to make play calling on the fly a little easier.

The play sheet, which you can see Hammerschmidt toting on the sidelines during each game and referring to in between each play, lists every play that the offense has run during the week that's going to go against the opponent's front. The first two pages of the play sheet chart are broken down by personnel group.

The first page of the play sheet includes boxes for "regular", "police", and "lightning" personnel groups. The regular personnel group includes Kory Sperry and Matt Bartz on the field simultaneously and two wide receivers. The chart lists every play that Hammerschmidt believes will work in that formation, with runs on the left-hand side of the chart and play-action passes, screens, and drop-back passes on the right. So, as long as the regular personnel group is on the field, Hammerschmidt can call plays right out of those boxes. For each personnel group, there are four or five formations with plays for each.

The "police" personnel group involves inserting a B-back in the game, with Jimmy Green or Tristan Walker lining up at fullback and tight end Matt Bartz also on the field. In this
personnel group, the plays aren't quite as flexible, because the formations are more limited due to the style of personnel on the field. The fullback can't split out like Sperry, for example, so
there are typically fewer pass plays and more running plays in the "police" box.

The "lightning" personnel group involves four wideouts (Sperry is sometimes used in that group) and this box is mostly populated with pass plays down the field.

On the second page of the play sheet are CSU's three-tight-end personnel groups. So, if that group is on the field, Hammerschmidt simply calls the plays listed in that box, and varies his calls according to the flow of the game.

The third page of the play sheet focuses on third-down situations. They are listed in the order Hammerschmidt wants to call them. If he sees an opportune chance to throw a wide receiver
screen, fire a deep ball downfield, or run a draw play, he simply finds the according play on the sheet. Of course, he can change on fly if he notices, for instance, if the defense is playing more
man-to-man, which the coaches possibly didn't expect. The coaches might shift gears and call more drags and other plays that work well against the man-coverage.

Play sheet Page 3, broken out by third-down yardages
and other yardage situations. (Click to enlarge)

This page has three large boxes that separate third-down plays by yardage, including 3-5 yards, 6-9 yards, and 10-plus yards to pick up a first down. Hammerschmidt has five to six plays listed in each box. Below those boxes are categories for short-yardages (third-and-1 and third-and-2 or 3) with about four plays in each. Within those boxes are "shots" headings, which are plays
designed to go deep downfield. Sometimes on third-and-short situations Sonny Lubick comes on the headsets and asks, "Think we can make it on fourth down? Let's take a shot (going deep on third down)". So those potential plays are listed under the "shot" heading.

Then there are separate boxes for redzone plays (eight to 12 calls), plays when the offense is backed up within the five-yard line (eight calls), two-point plays (about four calls), shots (six
calls), goal line plays (eight calls), and second-and-15 (eight calls).

These categories make it easy for Hammerschmidt to choose a play in seconds during the heat of a game. He doesn't have to think as much about what should and shouldn't work because it has
all been tirelessly analyzed and broken down in game tape studies earlier in the week.

When the game is moving along well, and things are going according to plan, the offensive coordinator can get in a groove. However, should there be a penalty that suddenly changes a
situation from a second-and-short to a second-and-15, it would be extremely difficult to manage without having the plays for that category already broken out and easy to find on the play sheet.
There are so many ways to play a second-and-15, and the first train of thought is to fire the ball down the field to pick up the first down all at once. But, Hammerschmidt calls a lot of plays
that are designed to pick up six to seven yards and create a manageable third down. It's a scenario the offense practices at length and the game plan was thought out days in advance, so
split-second decisions are minimized.

The fourth and final page of the play sheet is the two-minute and four-minute offense. The four-minute offense is based on a situation where the offense wants to get into a personnel set that is able to run the clock down when the Rams have the lead. It's a personnel set that coaches believe the offense can run the ball the best out of.

In the two-minute offense side of the play sheet, there are boxes for specific hurry-up scenarios such as:

• "Dead Final Four" where Hammerschmidt can select from four calls for when the ball is dead, and there are only about 40 seconds left or time for about four plays left in the game.
  
• "Dead Ball with TOs", meaning the offense has a little bit more time to work with because it still has timeouts remaining.
  
• "Live Ball with Final Four plays", meaning the clock is running, and the offense has 40 seconds or less, and the plays have to be called "live".
  
• "Live Ball with Time and TOs", which involves having two minutes left with two to three timeouts.

Play sheet Page 4, broken out by special situations such as "Last seconds, need 10 yards for a field goal attempt". (Click to enlarge)

In each scenario, Hammerschmidt has listed a set of specific plays the coaches feel will work in those situations and can make the call in just seconds.

On right side of the final page of the play sheet, there are categories for the final offensive play of the game, including "Last For Field Goal, Need 10-Plus Yards", "Last For Touchdown, Need 25-Plus Yards", "Last For Touchdown, Inside 50", "Last For Touchdown, Outside 50", and "Last Must Throw at Goal Line".

So, for example, the "Last For Touchdown, Need 25-Plus Yards" play is a non-Hail Mary situation, an was the category used when Hammerschmidt called a "Four Vertical" play for a touchdown pass from Justin Holland to Sperry just before halftime of the CU game. On the "Last For Touchdown, Inside 50" play, Hammerschmidt has a hook-and-ladder, a tip play,
and a Hail Mary. On the "Last For Touchdown, Outside 50", the situation typically means the offense has to go 70-80 yards with only a few seconds remaining. So for example, when the Rams needed a touchdown from their own 20-yard line in he final seconds vs. CU, Hammerschmidt called a play from this box. His selection was a tip play, which nearly worked had Johnny Walker got in the way of the middle safety. Luke Roberts made the tip and David Anderson made the catch, but the safety made what was a touchdown-saving tackle.

Of course, as the game goes on, Hammerschmidt makes observations of what is and isn't working, and can jot down ideas of plays to run later in the game.

Using pre-planned play scripts

Like most NFL teams, CSU will begin the first few series of the game with a pre-planned play script, meaning no matter what is going on in the game, Hammerschmidt sticks to a script of plays. The purpose of "scripting" is it gives offensive coaches a chance to analyze how defenses are going to react to certain offensive personnel groups and formations. For instance vs. CU in
the opener, CSU coaches wanted to see how the Buffaloes were going defend the Rams' no-back sets. So on the second play of that game, Hammerschmidt purposefully put the offense into a no-back set to see if the Buffs took the same approach as the previous year when they checked to a basic defense and got out of some of blitzes. If the Buffs were to do that this year, CSU would shift and go back to a normal formation and try to run a play to catch CU off guard.

Then, later in the script, the offense went back into twins formations (with two receivers on one side), unbalanced formations, and two-back sets to learn CU's reaction.

"You want to see what their basic adjustments are going on with the game," Hammerschmidt said. "You're not necessarily throwing your best plays at them, but you're looking for their formation adjustments and anything that they may have in their game plan that you may be able to take advantage of.

"Sometimes scripts mess you up and we don't do it all the time. We didn't do one for Nevada. Some teams you just know how they're going to line up every game. Nevada lines up and blitzes
every snap from one side or another…they don't really care what you do. But sometimes scripts will mess you up because you don't get a rhythm and don't get used to the game. You're trying to see things and all of a sudden you're 10 plays in and your script isn't going well, just like the Minnesota game. So, then you say, 'let's get to our good stuff' so we go off the script, around Play
6 or Play 8, and chuck a deep ball to Sperry or something, and
that's what we did against Minnesota. When a script isn't going well, you say, 'let's get something going here.'"

Relaying the plays into the game

Now that you know what goes into preparing a game plan, and how the offensive coordinator goes about selecting each play, the next step is how to get the plays relayed into the game to be executed by the players.

First, Hammerschmidt must call a "personnel group" (i.e., "regular", "police", or "lightning") each time he calls a play. Sometimes he'll call for the regular personnel group with Sperry and Bartz and keep that group on the field for a couple first downs. Special teams coach Dave Arnold is responsible for signaling the personnel group calls, so every play the players have to be watching him. Sometimes the offense will change personnel every snap, which works to keep defenses off balance. But, sometimes it's more ideal to keep the same personnel group on the field for an entire drive to keep continuity, tempo, and get something going. So, Hammerschmidt will tell Arnold over the headsets that he'd like to keep the "regular" personnel in the game for six to eight plays to see if they can get something going.

But each time Hammerschmidt calls a play, he first calls the personnel group. An example call is: "Police, King Right, 28 Force". By saying "Police" at the beginning of the call, it tells Arnold to hold up the hand signal to notify the players of the personnel group. The rest of the call announces what play is to be run. There are several ways to relay the call into the players on the quarterbacks--typically Caleb Hanie and Billy Farris--who listen to the calls through headsets and then accordingly relay it into the huddle through hand signals from the sidelines. When using this method, typically one of the quarterbacks gives the "live" signals, and one gives the "dead"
signals. The quarterback on the field knows which of the two backups to watch for the real signals. (Hammerschmidt or Marc Lubick can also relay the play in through hand signals.) Most
teams have a GA with binoculars on the sidelines trying to steal signals or read lips. That's why you see many coaches covering their mouths as they call the play. The coaches also change the
signals every couple of series to ensure defenses can't catch on. The backup quarterbacks practice signaling every day in practice and are able to signal almost every play in the playbook.

The second method is running in the plays via the wide receivers. When using this method, the backup quarterbacks can continue to give "phony" signals to keep watchful defenses and opposing coaches guessing.

The QB's wristband with about 50 plays he can refer to in order to call plays. (Click to enlarge)

The third method of relaying in the plays is via a quarterback's wristband (see image), which contains about 50 of the top plays that the coaches liked for that particular game and a lot of the
key passes for third down situations. Each play has a corresponding number and whatever number the coach calls, the quarterback refers to the wristband and calls that play, either in the huddle or at the line of scrimmage.

About 15-20 plays per game are run off the quarterback's wristband, about 30-40 plays are signaled in, and about 10-20 are relayed in via a wide receiver bringing the play from the sidelines into the huddle.

Delay of game penalties

With all of the shuffling of personnel, decision-making on selecting plays, and time required to signal in those plays, it's amazing there aren't more delay of game penalties. Hammerschmidt said most of the Rams' delay of game penalties are not related to personnel shuffling or relaying in a play.

"We haven't really had one yet (this year) going from the sideline," he said. "We did have about 2-3 last year going from the sideline last year for some reason. Sometimes you get into a game and a receiver is tired--he's just run eight plays--and he jogs on and off the field. We're on them all the time to sprint back and forth. That's one of the problems when you run plays off the sidelines (via receivers). I kind of like to signal plays better.

"The (penalties) we've had this year, we're in a lot more shotgun than we have been in the past and we've got some protection things that are a lot tougher for the quarterback this year than we've had in the past. The (penalty) in the Colorado game, was a no-back play down in the redzone. We went to no-backs with five wides and Justin was looking around at the coverage and
I guess just didn't feel good about his protection because they were bluffing a blitz. I guess it was probably because it was a new system and didn't have a good feel. He really didn't need to do anything, he just needed to get the ball snapped, and wasn't watching the play clock. So that play was a little bit on him just not feeling good about the protection.

"At Minnesota, we had a motion that didn't go fast enough on that crucial third-down play. We had a motion that he was trying to send and he didn't get across there fast enough, and again didn't watch the play clock. Even though the receiver was slow, he could have looked at the play clock and just looked up and called timeout. So, two of those plays early this year were on the quarterback not watching the play clock.

But Hammerschmidt said there have been plenty of instances in the past where failed player substitutions have caused delays.

"For instance, if we switch tight ends and try to get Sperry to a certain position to get him the ball--the same thing we used to do with (Joel) Dreessen--you've got to do it with a personnel group, so Arnold needs to give the signal to switch the two tight ends. But, sometimes the kid is tired and he's not looking to the sidelines. We'll have to call a timeout or get a delay of game penalty."

Changing the play at the line of scrimmage

As much preparation that goes into calling the plays, Hammerschmidt still allows his quarterbacks to change the play at the line of scrimmage--in certain situations.

"We let them change some of them--not every play though," Hammerschmidt said. "We've never let them change every play. Probably 60-70 percent of the plays we call are meant to be run. The Broncos don't change any plays. We can't go that far yet; Justin has the ability to probably check 25 to 40 percent of the plays during the game, depending on game plan.

"Sometimes you're rolling and you know what fronts you're going to get and you can scheme it out pretty good and be pretty safe knowing what you're going to get from the defense. Some teams are pretty vanilla. San Diego State, for instance, you don't check anything against those guys. They line up the same way every snap, they've got a couple of blitzes, and they just come after you. They do their deal, and you pretty much know when you call the play what you're going to get. Other teams--for instance, Nevada--we checked some things away from blitzes, maybe a pass to a run or a run to a pass, depending on what you see. So, (quarterbacks) have the ability to do that, but the problem is if you give it to them all the time, all the defense does is disguise and half the time you can't tell what the heck they're in out there and you end up having the quarterback check out of some pretty good plays."

Withstanding the mental pressure

Being an offensive coordinator is not an easy job. Not only are you managing personnel groups and play calling in the heat of a game and being counted on by players, fellow coaches, and fans to come up with a winning play call in a matter of seconds, but you've also got dozens of voices yelling in your ear at all times of the game.

"You've got to try to stay calm," Hammerschmidt said. "The biggest pressure is the headsets. I mean everybody has got a headset on. We must have 100 headsets. Sonny can click over
obviously, and he does that quite a bit. We've got GAs on the headsets, we've got QBs on the headsets…we've got everybody in the box and all the assistants--everybody's got headsets. Some of those situations, everybody wants to throw some idea or comment out there, and remind you of something. 'This is what we did last time.' So, my job is knowing that this guy is supposed to be talking now. A lot of times Sonny comes on in those tough situations. Most of the time the plays you need to call, you just call one and you just go. But the pressure ones are the third downs, the fourth downs, the backed up third downs, the goal line things, all the third downs and key situations, two-point plays, and all of that, the head coach--Sonny--always comes on and says 'Hey, what about this, how about that, what do they play here?' Then two or three other guys start talking when Sonny's talking and it gets to be a mess, and you've just got to tell everybody to shut the heck up. That happens quite a bit."

Hammerschmidt said that the staff has implemented some rules, in large part due to the headset chaos that ensued during last year's goal line fiasco at CU. This year, there are only one or
two coaches who are supposed to talk over the headsets. A primary one is a GA up in the coaches box who reminds Hammerschmidt of what plays he has run in certain situations earlier in a game. But, still there are times--like in Saturday's game vs. Utah when coaches were yapping over the headsets about what to do during the Rams' final goal line stand--when coaches go over their boundaries.

Communication in moderation, however, is crucial Hammerschmidt said. "Communication obviously between the staff is huge. Sometimes somebody gets a feel up in the press box and says, 'Hey, Dan, we're really knocking these guys back', and you may not get that feeling from your vantage point on the sidelines. So, it's everybody communicating together. When (former co-coordinator John Benton) and I were together, I'd say, 'I think they're set up for a good pass here', and John would think, 'We've got to slam three more balls here.' So, it's just communication. Like anything, you're never perfect. You want to be perfect. You can always get
better, and Sonny is always trying to push us to look at ourselves and try to see where we can be better on those play calls, or our situations, or even the game scripts and all of that."

Continually striving to improve and shrugging off the second-guessing

Hammerschmidt is never satisfied with how he calls a game. He's always asking himself what he could have done differently, and how he can get better the next week. Every Sunday, he accepts
constructive criticism, suggestions, and ideas from his boss, Sonny Lubick, and all of the other coaches as they watch game tape together. Everybody discusses what worked well, and what could have gone better.

"Obviously you want to make the perfect call every time, and not everybody does, but if something doesn't work, there's always a better call, and if something works, it's a heck of a call. I know that. But there's always times when you look back at the games and you say, 'Shoot, I wish I would have thrown a screen here maybe, or I wish I would have slammed the ball three more times here.'"

Hammerschmidt knows his critics are out there, and said while he shrugs it off, it can bother him at times.

"It's human nature," he said. "You want to do the right thing and want to do a better job. I always look at myself, what I can do better."

by
Joel Cantalamessa
Managing Editor
Oct 11, 2005