John T. Reed’s football coaching blog

Copyright by John T. Reed The last drop kick in the NFL was in 1941 until Doug Flutie’s fooling around in a meaningless game on New Year’s Day 2006. People say the drop kick stopped being used because of a 1934 change in the shape of the ball which made its bounce less dependable. The ball was made skinnier to facilitate passing. The drop kick is still allowed by the rule books at all three levels: high school, college, and pro. No holder Does it have any real advantages? Not many. Mainly, it eliminates the need for a holder. Indeed,...

The late Bob Carroll, executive director of the Professional Football Researchers Association, complained that my place-kick “punt” play was boring. I disagree, but that got me to thinking about a number of football plays that are truly boring. There are two types: non-competitive plays plays where the result is almost always the same Non-competitive plays Non-competitive plays are those where the team in possession of the ball is not trying to gain yards or score. No one paid $50 to see that. It’s supposed to be a game, which is, by definition, competitive. Result almost always the same During the...

They are putting the tee 25 yard from the goal posts for one-point PAT now in the NFL. I suggested exactly that in an article years ago. Does that mean they got the idea from me? I doubt it. But I do not recall reading about anyone else suggesting it. Had I read such a thing, I would not have written it on the ground it already had been written about. It seems to be working out as expected, making PAT kicks no longer a certainty. But what I want to do here is direct your attention to the rest...

Other than surprise punts (erroneously called “quick kicks”), no high school or pro football team should ever have punted in the history of football. No college team should ever have punted in history prior to the adoption of Rule 8-4-2-b and the simultaneous addition of the exception to Rule 6-3-7 in 1978. Except for surprise punts, no high school (that plays under the National Federation of State High School Associations rules——Massachusetts and Texas high schools reportedly use NCAA rules) or NFL team ever should punt again. NFL teams should eliminate the punter from their rosters. Why? The rules at all...

Copyright John T. Reed I was once asked by a youth coach what size coaching staff is best. It's a question to which I think a lot of people need to hear the answer. Would you believe one coach? That's right, I think the coaching staff of a youth football team should be one person. Bear with me a bit and I will explain. I will also acknowledge that you probably cannot get away with one. OK, two then. You may think I am kidding or trying to be funny. I am not. If you hire assistants, it is about...