THE QUARTERBACK’S GUIDE
In order for a quarterback to be outstanding, he must be cognizant of certain pertinent information relating to his offense, the opposition’s defense, tactical and strategical information, and the principles of quarterbacking and field generalship.
Offensive, Defensive and Tactical Information
The following information is of value and significance to the quarterback:
Information a Quarterback Must Know About His Own Offense:
1. Know your teammates thoroughly, including your best ball carrier, your best blocker, best pass receiver, best faker, etc.
2. Know all of your plays and everyone’s blocking assignments.
3. Know where every receiver is on every pass pattern.
4. Know your best play and pass against every defense.
5. Know and understand how each play fits into a series.
6. Know and remember the plays that are working—keep running them.
7. Know the reasons for the proper line splits.
8. Know the plays the players have the most confidence in.
9. Know the best plays for special situations—draw, screen, etc.
10. Know how to stop the clock.
Information a Quarterback Must Know About the Defense:
1. What defense are they playing?
2. Who is making the tackles?
3. Are they stunting their defenses?
4. What type of pass coverage do they use?
5. Do the linebackers run through?
6. Are the ends crashing?
7. Who is tackling the passer?
8. Who is the best defensive man?
9. Which man can we isolate?
10. How quickly does the secondary revolve?
Information a Quarterback Must Know About the Game:
1. Time left to play is a big factor.
2. Time outs left.
3. Weather and field condition.
4. Know which down it is at all times.
5. Field position.
6. What yard line the ball is on.
7. Which zone the ball is in.
Game Strategy
The following game strategy information is of value and significance to the quarterback:
General Information:
1. Always know score, time to play, yards to go and down.
2. Know your field zones, and avoid giving the ball to the opposition in the 4-down zone.
3. You are playing for a victory, but remember a tie is better than a defeat.
4. Know your own personnel and each man’s capabilities.
5. Know all there is to know about your opponents by studying scouting reports and movies.
6. Know your offense, including the blocking assignments.
7. Be able to recognize any defensive alignment.
8. Understand the importance of field position.
9. Know when not to pass.
10. Know when to kick.
11. Use the wind intelligently.
12. Know when not to try for a score.
When To Kick:
1. When in doubt.
2. Normally for every touchdown lead you have, you should kick a down earlier.
3. Kick early with a strong wind or against a weak offense. From 40 to 40-yard line, kick straight away and high. Inside 40-yard line kick out of bounds.
4. When score is even, or you are ahead, always make safe kick to 3-down zone.
5. Kick early on a wet field; let the opponents handle the ball.
When Not To Pass:
1. When the opponent expects a pass.
2. When you have two downs to make six yards or less.
3. In your own territory, just before half-time.
4. When backed up and you are ahead.
Type Of Pass To Throw:
1. On long yardage, throw short passes or to third man out. Draws, screens.
2. On first down, play passes.
3. On waste downs, play passes, long passes, and screens.
4. When time is short, throw near sideline.
5. When in doubt, throw optional passes.
On Wet Field:
1. Play conservatively and kick early.
2. No difficult ball handling.
3. Avoid bad places on field, also wide plays and cut backs.
4. Do not be afraid to pass.
5. Doubt the wisdom of a quick kick.
When Not To Try For Score:
1. Just before half time, behind your own 40-yard line.
2. When you are running clock out.
3. When you are preparing to give a safety.
4. When you have one down to make first down—go for first down.
When To Try To Score In One Play:
1. When you have mental edge on opponent following a block kick, a recovered fumble, or an intercepted pass in the opponent’s territory.
2. Just before half-time in the opponent’s territory.
3. On waste down in opponent’s territory.
When To Run Your Best Ball Carrier Behind Best Blockers:
1. When you must have a first down.
2. In four down zone going in for a score.
3. Clutch down in danger zone, coming out.
4. Save your best ball carrier in the free wheeling zone.
5. Do not use him first play after a long run.
What To Do On Clutch Down:
1. Fake and give.
2. Some kind of an optional play.
3. Best ball carrier behind best blocker.
4. Waste man effectively.
5. When trying to save time, tell ball carrier to go out of bounds.
Scoring Area:
1. Waste man effectively.
2. Best ball carrier behind strongest blockers.
3. First down inside three—run ball yourself. No ball handling.
4. Make sure that on fourth down you will have the ball in the middle of the field where you can try any type of a scoring play.
What To Run on Waste Down:
1. Safe, long gainers.
2. Fake-give, or optionals are normally effective.
When To Speed Up Offense:
1. When you are behind.
2. Inside the opponent’s 15-yard line.
3. When you have the wind to your back.
When To Slow Down Your Offense:
1. When you are trying to kill time.
2. Just before the half in your own territory and you are ahead.
3. Fourth quarter, if more than one touchdown ahead.
4. When the wind is against you.
Free Wheeling Zone:
1. Try for long gainer.
2. Use sideline intelligently.
3. Use wind intelligently.
4. Use best ball carrier as decoy.
5. Utilize various formations.
6. Try long gainer on first down and second down and go for first down on third down.
7. Call trick plays that have been set up earlier.
8. Try to keep ball in middle of field.
Quarterbacks Must Remember:
1. Poor field position calls for conservative plays.
2. When you are ahead and the game is drawing to a close, play slowly, conservatively, and very deliberately.
3. When you are behind and the game is drawing to a close, play faster, be more reckless, and get the ball out of bounds to stop the clock.
4. When you are in scoring territory, you must score. Any yardage gained without scoring is of slight value only.
5. Any yardage you make deep in your own territory which does not serve to get the team into the free wheeling zone is of slight value.
6. If you are ahead by 11 points and there is not more than five minutes remaining to play and there is a strong wind against you, it is smart to take a safety instead of trying to punt out from inside your 10-yard line.
7. Time works with you when you are ahead; against you when your team is behind in score.
8. Figure what the defense would normally expect in any given situation, and then do the opposite.
9. If a play fails, you must know why.
Tips for Quarterbacks:
1. You must have genuine confidence in yourself and your ability.
2. You must have the confidence and respect of your team.
3. You must have personality and leadership; then exercise it.
4. You must know the ability of your own personnel.
5. Play the percentages for ultimate team victory. Consequently you must study scouting reports and have a clear picture of the game plan. You must be able to recognize defenses immediately, and be able to direct your attack away from the strength of the defense. You should think with the defensive signal caller by putting yourself in his place. Remember it is a guessing game until you make a gain. After a gain you should be one play ahead of the defense.
6. Eliminate bad plays as they will defeat us. Any play that does not gain is a bad play. Only a fumble or a penalty can stop our offense if you eliminate the bad plays.
7. Run more offensive plays by getting out of the huddle quickly.
8. After a penalty or a time out, have your play called and the team ready to play at the line of scrimmage. Do not follow this procedure when trying to run out the clock.
9. Try to score in one play after a break in an effort to demoralize the defense. Should you follow this procedure several times and not be successful, discontinue it; otherwise, you will demoralize your own team.
10. Never try to score just before the half from deep in your own territory. Run out the clock and get a fresh start the second half.
11. When you are behind, never try to score in one play. Play the game as if it were a tie contest; otherwise, you can be out of the game before you realize it.
12. Normally we like to pass on first down and on a waste down. On short yardage, throw play passes. On long yardage, throw in front of the deep men.
13. First down is your important call. If you make five yards or more, you have the advantage. If you fail to make four yards, the defense has the advantage.
14. On clutch downs and short yardage, run fake gives because the defense must go to the first fake under such circumstances.
15. Remind your line to tighten up on the goal line, and do not call plays that require linemen to pull as the defense may break through and throw us for a loss.
16. Do not pull a play out of the hat. If you are in doubt, run an option run-pass.
17. We will rehearse weekly every situation possible, such as saving time, killing time, giving up a safety, side line offense, etc., so that you will automatically make the right decisions in the game.