A coach goes to the blackboard and draws a diagram of a football field, along with the defenses we expect Georgia to use on the hash mark, in the middle of the field, on the goal line, and in a short yardage situation. On the board the coach will also list the backfield personnel, so the quarterback will have an opportunity to use his men properly. To digress for a second: the quarterback uses the wrong judgment if he calls for sweeps with a slow backfield, does not employ the best blocker to block, etc. The quarterback must know his offensive personnel thoroughly.
The coach then explains to the quarterbacks, who are observing what he is writing on the blackboard, the condition of the field, wind, and the other tactical factors. It is now time to play the game with a particular quarterback.
The coach will select a quarterback and say, for example, “Georgia kicked-off to us and we returned the ball to the 25-yard line on the right hash mark.” The coach will plot the position on the diagram. The quarterback will then take into consideration the defensive alignment we expect Georgia to employ in this particular section of the field, and the quarterback must call a play accordingly. If he makes what the coach considers a good call, the coach will say, “You made four yards on the play. It is now second and six.” If the quarterback makes a bad call, the coach will say, “You lost three yards on the play,” and he will explain why the call was a poor one. If the quarterback takes too long in calling his play, he receives a five yard penalty. When the quarterback makes a very good call, the coach gives him a long gain or a touchdown.
By using this game, a quarterback can learn to call plays by anticipating defenses in areas all over the football field. He also learns to use his personnel properly. We have found this game at the blackboard has helped our quarterbacks tremendously.
While one quarterback is playing the game, the other quarterbacks are listening. If the boy at the board fails to make a first down, he must punt, and the coach appoints another quarterback to take over. After each play the coach will plot the position of the ball on the diagram, and the players learn to know which defenses to expect. We have found, with other things being equal, the quarterback who has the mental ability to sustain the ball for a long drive and a touchdown will usually be your best quarterback.
We also spend quite a bit of time going over situations. The coach will cite a specific situation, and then say, “What would you do in this situation?” The situations are usually the clutch ones, and should the quarterback select the wrong answer in the game it is likely to lose the contest. Even though you drill the quarterbacks there is no fool-proof method of making certain they will always make the right decision. The following example will illustrate my point.
Early in September during our 1959 season, our backfield coach, Phil Cutchin, was going over situations with our quarterbacks and said, “We are playing the University of Houston (our second game). We are ahead by six points. There are five minutes remaining to play. We are on our own 18-yard line. It is a first-and-10 situation, and Houston is playing a 5-4 defense. What would you do?” One quarterback said quickly, “Coach, I would throw a corner pass into the sideline.” Phil answered, “Yes, and they would intercept the pass, return it for a touchdown, kick the extra point, and we would lose the game, 7-6.” The quarterback saw his mistake and said he was glad we had gone over this particular situation.
Three weeks later the same quarterback was faced with almost the identical situation, except that we were ahead by three points. The other factors were the same as previously cited. What did the quarterback do? He threw the corner pass into the sideline, and Houston intercepted it. Fortunately Houston did not score! The point I am trying to make is your quarterbacks will still make mistakes even after you have worked with them.
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.