Two-Minute Drill Focus for Friday's Practice
4/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
After dealing with blistering temperatures during the first part of the week, Liberty finally caught a break on Friday afternoon with much milder temperatures inside Williams Stadium for the Flames' 10th workout session of the spring.
During the two-hour workout, head coach Danny Rocco had several areas of focus, starting with the program's passing game. Midway through the practice, Liberty had two seven-on-seven drills, which is not something Rocco typically does during his normal spring practice plan."Today I think we had a good day, as I think we have put together a series of pretty good days here and I'm excited about that," stated Rocco.
According to Rocco, Mike Brown continued to look sharp during the seven-on-seven drills, while Tyler Brennan continued to show improvement and development. "There seems to be a little more precision in the passing game right now, which is a very good thing for us to feel at this time during the spring," stated Rocco.
Following the seven-on-seven periods, Liberty switched gears and reviewed its red zone play calls and started to install its two-minute plans. The Flames are coming off a season where they were one of the best teams in all of FCS football in the red zone, both offensively and defensively.
In 2009, Liberty ranked No. 2 nationally in red zone offense, adding points to the scoreboard 92 percent of the time the Flames crossed the opponent's 20-yard line (41-of-44). Of their 41 scoring drives, 29 were for touchdowns (19 rushing and 10 passing).
Conversely, the Flames were a Top 10 program in red zone defense, as they finished tied with three other programs for a No. 9 final national ranking in the statistical category. Liberty allowed its opponents to score 67 percent of the time when they crossed the Flames' 20-yardline (24-of-36), including 15 touchdowns (nine rushing and six passing).
"The red zone is such a big part of what we do," commented Rocco about play inside the 20-yard line. "We have some very specific concepts, both offensively and defensively, as to how we are going to play when the ball gets down into the red zone."
Finally, Rocco had his squad working on two-minute drills during the latter part of the afternoon workout. "Today was the first day of the spring that we put time into the two-minute drill and the guys looked sharp," added Rocco.
The two-minute drill can be a unique part of a program's play book and for Liberty it is no different. Rocco believes the key to success during a two-minute period is "communication, organization, precision and efficiency."
Offensively, Rocco has changed his team's procedures during a two-minute period, with the goal of managing the clock a little better than the team has done in the past. Because the team goes without a huddle, Rocco says the key is for the team to get lined up quickly and clearly acknowledge the signal coming in from the sideline.
Rocco says that most of the same principles apply when trying to defend the two-minute drill, starting with the team understanding the game situation. During today's two-minute workout, Rocco instructed his blue-clad defenders on how to defend when they are trying to keep an opponent from scoring a field goal or a touchdown.
"For either side of the football, the first thing the team must understand during a two-minute period is to be aware of the game situation," stated Rocco. "Secondly, the key to success is having precise communication, as time is very valuable during this hurry-up period."
Rocco talked with his defense about being willing to give up some yardage during the two-minute period with an awareness of a point where you want to keep the opposing team from being able to advance the football.
However, the fifth-year head coach was open about the dangers of allowing someone to slip past the "softer" coverage and pick up sizable yardage. He clearly reminded his program about the Stony Brook game, where the Seawolves were able to score a touchdown with just 30 seconds left in the contest, which allowed Stony Brook to win the contest, 36-33, and a share of the Big South title.
"It is very important that the defensive players understand the purpose of the call," remarked Rocco about a two-minute defensive scheme. "We are going to make certain calls to try to get a quick throw out of their quarterback, but an underneath throw.
"It is okay when that player is open, as long as we keep him in front of us and we can quickly converge on him," continued Rocco. "We learned a hard lesson last year at the end of the season on the road when we let a player behind us in a two-minute situation. The play cost us a game and an outright championship."
With nearly the entire play book in place now, the Flames will return to the practice field tomorrow morning for their most intense scrimmage of the spring, outside of next Saturday's spring game. The two-hour workout is slated to begin at 10:20 a.m.
During the two-hour workout, head coach Danny Rocco had several areas of focus, starting with the program's passing game. Midway through the practice, Liberty had two seven-on-seven drills, which is not something Rocco typically does during his normal spring practice plan."Today I think we had a good day, as I think we have put together a series of pretty good days here and I'm excited about that," stated Rocco.
According to Rocco, Mike Brown continued to look sharp during the seven-on-seven drills, while Tyler Brennan continued to show improvement and development. "There seems to be a little more precision in the passing game right now, which is a very good thing for us to feel at this time during the spring," stated Rocco.
Following the seven-on-seven periods, Liberty switched gears and reviewed its red zone play calls and started to install its two-minute plans. The Flames are coming off a season where they were one of the best teams in all of FCS football in the red zone, both offensively and defensively.
In 2009, Liberty ranked No. 2 nationally in red zone offense, adding points to the scoreboard 92 percent of the time the Flames crossed the opponent's 20-yard line (41-of-44). Of their 41 scoring drives, 29 were for touchdowns (19 rushing and 10 passing).
Conversely, the Flames were a Top 10 program in red zone defense, as they finished tied with three other programs for a No. 9 final national ranking in the statistical category. Liberty allowed its opponents to score 67 percent of the time when they crossed the Flames' 20-yardline (24-of-36), including 15 touchdowns (nine rushing and six passing).
"The red zone is such a big part of what we do," commented Rocco about play inside the 20-yard line. "We have some very specific concepts, both offensively and defensively, as to how we are going to play when the ball gets down into the red zone."
Finally, Rocco had his squad working on two-minute drills during the latter part of the afternoon workout. "Today was the first day of the spring that we put time into the two-minute drill and the guys looked sharp," added Rocco.
The two-minute drill can be a unique part of a program's play book and for Liberty it is no different. Rocco believes the key to success during a two-minute period is "communication, organization, precision and efficiency."
Offensively, Rocco has changed his team's procedures during a two-minute period, with the goal of managing the clock a little better than the team has done in the past. Because the team goes without a huddle, Rocco says the key is for the team to get lined up quickly and clearly acknowledge the signal coming in from the sideline.
Rocco says that most of the same principles apply when trying to defend the two-minute drill, starting with the team understanding the game situation. During today's two-minute workout, Rocco instructed his blue-clad defenders on how to defend when they are trying to keep an opponent from scoring a field goal or a touchdown.
"For either side of the football, the first thing the team must understand during a two-minute period is to be aware of the game situation," stated Rocco. "Secondly, the key to success is having precise communication, as time is very valuable during this hurry-up period."
Rocco talked with his defense about being willing to give up some yardage during the two-minute period with an awareness of a point where you want to keep the opposing team from being able to advance the football.
However, the fifth-year head coach was open about the dangers of allowing someone to slip past the "softer" coverage and pick up sizable yardage. He clearly reminded his program about the Stony Brook game, where the Seawolves were able to score a touchdown with just 30 seconds left in the contest, which allowed Stony Brook to win the contest, 36-33, and a share of the Big South title.
"It is very important that the defensive players understand the purpose of the call," remarked Rocco about a two-minute defensive scheme. "We are going to make certain calls to try to get a quick throw out of their quarterback, but an underneath throw.
"It is okay when that player is open, as long as we keep him in front of us and we can quickly converge on him," continued Rocco. "We learned a hard lesson last year at the end of the season on the road when we let a player behind us in a two-minute situation. The play cost us a game and an outright championship."
With nearly the entire play book in place now, the Flames will return to the practice field tomorrow morning for their most intense scrimmage of the spring, outside of next Saturday's spring game. The two-hour workout is slated to begin at 10:20 a.m.
Wednesday, May 13
Thursday, May 07
Thursday, April 30
Friday, April 24