patrick taylor🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

#airraid It’s a pirate’s life for me. #justcall6 Air Raid Disciple, Seen some big wins, suffered some big losses…still standing. Air Raid 🏈

[Luke Falk @coachlukefalk]

When people think of Coach Leach’s Air Raid offense, most think of the passing attack, the spread-out formations, and the insane statistics. Which are all true.

But the real secret sauce was the structure: Less is more. Specialize.

Most offenses try to do everything. They want every formation, every play, every answer for every defense. As a result, they become like Applebee’s: they have everything, but they aren’t truly great at anything.

They become: "The jack of all trades and the master of none."

Leach didn’t buy into the norm. He had few formations, few core concepts, and dressed them up to be run over and over again. That allowed his coaches and players to become masters at what they ran.

They specialized. They eliminated overthinking. They executed.

And as a result, his offenses were usually near the top of college football and consistently produced at a high level.

So how does this apply to you?

If you’re a coach, build an identity.
Decide on the core concepts you believe in, then start eliminating everything else. There are a lot of great ideas and plays out there, but it ultimately comes down to execution. And you can’t practice everything.

If you’re an athlete:
Are you trying to work on everything?
A pitcher trying to develop seven different pitches instead of mastering two or three you can dominate with?

If you’re in business, Air Raid your business.
Are you trying to do it all—offering too many services, chasing too many directions?

How can you condense your business so you don’t confuse your audience, dilute your message, or spread yourself too thin?

What actually moves the needle? Double down on that. Cut the rest.

To close this out, I’ll give you one of my favorite Leach quotes when it comes to the Air Raid:
“You have to have a great capacity for boredom.”

You don’t have to do everything.
You just have to do a few things at a high level—and execute them over and over again.

That’s the Air Raid!

#MindStrength #AirRaid

[Drew Piscopo 🏴‍☠️ @DrewCPiscopo]

https://t.co/NNNGhZAl6A
New @thecoachtube is Live.

Included:
🏴‍☠️ Full 2008 concept cutups
🔴 All-22 of every game
⚫️ Original game scripts
👆 Downloadable Excel breakdowns of every play, concept, tendency & situation

A complete look into the mind of the🏴‍☠️in 2008

[College Football Zone @CollegeFBonX]

The hefty lefty, Jared Lorenzen was one of Kentucky most exciting players ever. He was a 4 year starter at Kentucky and threw for 10,354 yards and 78 touchdowns.

[patrick taylor🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ @patrick_taylor4]

Popped up in my memories. What a clinic it was a few years ago. Catching up with @HalMumme and watching Coach Leach in Spring Ball. Along with great friends, and football! 🏴‍☠️ forever.

[Kurt Warner @kurt13warner]

What it means is that there are lots of elements to playing QB: throwing, presnap read, post snap read, throwing technique, having to make different kinds of throws, anticipation, etc…

So a guy that is asked to ‘play quarterback’ more is a guy that has all of those elements in the offense they are being asked to run & have to do the variety more often!

Does that make sense?

[Pace N Space @PaceNSpace2]

"Offense is trying to create space. That's what an offense tries to do, is create space — If you can create space, you can do lots of good things.
Defense is trying to restrict space... everything you do on offense should be designed to create space."

- Mike Leach

[patrick taylor🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ @patrick_taylor4]

@CoopKeston @CoachIvany @DrewCPiscopo

[patrick taylor🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ @patrick_taylor4]

@CoachIvany Snake is a mesh variation. It is a unto itself. RDY/LRY Rita/Lisa are screens

[Chad Johnson • GameDay Systems @Coach_ChadJohn]

I just finished an offensive line manual I wish I had early in my career.

Not more plays. Not more scheme.

Just a simple system:

– Indy
– Technique
– Combos
– Fixes
– Friday adjustments

No fluff.

Comment “OL” and I’ll send it.

[Drew Piscopo 🏴‍☠️ @DrewCPiscopo]

QB wrist plan sheet

Leach’s game call sheet (8.5 x 11 word document) had a little more—situational calls—

But, this is what the QBs carried: open field, red zone, goal line, and 2-point plays

Simple/Efficient

Very cool that @SawRobertson12 still keeps one on him

Respect 🏴‍☠️

[Kurt Warner @kurt13warner]

This is good stuff & I would just add “there is NO perfect gun footwork that ties into WR steps” like under center!

So GUN timing is more MENTAL timing than physical… so the mind should lead the feet in gun, instead of feet leading like under center!

[Emily Austin @Emilyaustin]

Coach John Calipari is absolutely spot on here.
Why would a coach recruit and develop an American high school kid for 4 years when the system now rewards grabbing ready-made pros from overseas, the G League, or the NBA pipeline?
If we don’t fix this, we’re killing the entire purpose of college sports.

[Tom Lemming @LemmingReport]

The great Mike Leach explaining to me what he looks for in a quarterback. He was the GOAT when it came to developing and coaching quarterbacks.

[patrick taylor🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ @patrick_taylor4]

@DrewCPiscopo @CoachTatum90 @PaceNSpace2 @MSUBobcats_FB @Run_TheDamnBaII @TheLastFullback @FilmHistoric @txhsfbchat 💯 @DrewCPiscopo Old 60 combo coverage. Got to have progression inside the concept. Probably a fast ball to the H on the slant.

[Wide Zone Warriors @WideZoneWarrior]

Been running gap schemes against odd fronts with these rules for years!

Don’t solo block a play-side tackle down on a 3T/4i when the guard has to double the nose. Arc the tackle out, and kick/trap the B gap! The angles are exponentially better.

#WideZoneWarriors

[Drew Piscopo 🏴‍☠️ @DrewCPiscopo]

There’s a lot of good football out there.
The problem is, you can’t be good at all of it.

[Jamy Bechler @CoachBechler]

MIKE LEACH ON EMBRACING HARD

"Nothing is really fun unless it's hard ...

You're pushing yourself. All of a sudden you're making great plays.

You're doing things that you've never done before...

Never hope that it's easy."

~ via @WSUCougarFB and @DrewMaddox

[Kurt Warner @kurt13warner]

Another fascinating question to watch OCs answer is, How are you going to handle pressure?

I see some teams approach by leaving more guys in to block… I used to hate this bc that meant less guys to put pressure on backend & also just bc you leave a TE in doesn’t mean you are more solid on the interior or it can put a good pass rusher on a lesser pass blocker! But of course, I can understand the theory…

I used to like to get more guys out, force the other team to cover the whole field & possibly get big plays on short throws! Get the Rb out when they expected him to protect & force them to adjust… yet I understand the idea many think it exposes OL & QB!

Or do you go right down the middle with a chip or presence by extra body?

Gotta know your QB & OL… Gotta know the strengths & weaknesses of both & have a plan for them!

I know I processed well so the 5 out was what I loved, but also felt it gave me an outlet to get rid of ball and not take sacks, even if I was throwing it away! Send 2 guys out & usually down the field and I see a lot more sacks taken bc QB has no where to save himself!

Lots of good “Food for Thought”!

[Luke Falk @coachlukefalk]

“Respect Everyone, Fear No One.”

That was another “Leachism” posted all over our football building—and it’s critical when it comes to how you prepare and how you perceive the game ahead.

When I was a college coach, we played a “lesser” opponent. Our QB had just come off an incredible run and had been named National Player of the Week a few weeks prior. This game though? He was… fine. Average.

From the outside, he played well. But he and I both knew it wasn’t his best.

After the game, he pulled back the curtain: “I overlooked this team. I didn’t prepare like I should have.” He’d let the perception of the opponent dictate his preparation. He didn’t respect them.

Fortunately, we still won big that day. But when I was a player in college, I wasn’t so lucky. Twice I lost to FCS teams (yes, twice). The root cause? Walking into those games thinking, they’re just an FCS team… not USC, Oregon, or Stanford.

That mindset got us punched in the mouth.

On the flip side, you can’t fear your opponent either.
In my first career NFL start, we were facing the defending Super Bowl champions—the New England Patriots. The night before the game, one of our coaches, who’d been in the league for over thirty-five years, put up their defensive rankings (which I recommend not doing if you are a coach):
-First in Pass Defense
-First in Turnovers
-First in Rush Defense
-First in Points Allowed
-First in Sacks
-First in EVERYTHING…

Then he said, “Wow! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

“Wow” was right! Not to mention they also had the greatest quarterback and coach in NFL history. We walked into that game, or at least I did, beaten in our minds before we even
took the field.

So how do you protect yourself from falling into either trap?
Focus on what you can control.

In college, we’d get detailed scouting reports: “6'4", long wingspan, very fast, great hips—avoid throwing at him.”

I stopped reading them. I’d just watch film and make my own notes. I focused on my job and responsibility.

The beauty? Coach Leach didn’t care about the external either.

His philosophy: Do your job. Execute. Kick their ass.

It freed me from obsessing over certain players, conference awards, or NFL projections.

Most games, I didn’t even know the names of the guys I was competing against until I’d see them drafted months later and think, “Oh yeah, that guy was pretty dang good!” There
were a few exceptions, of course, like Vita Vea, Buddha Baker, Harry Gaines, and Harrison Phillips… Those guys were damn good.

This type of mentality was at the core of Leach’s Air Raid philosophy and worked the same way. Stick to your identity.

Run your stuff. Prepare the same, whether it’s David or Goliath.

Respect Everyone. Fear No One.

Nobody’s better than you, and nobody’s less than you. Treat
every opponent the same.

Keep your preparation the same. And focus only on what
you can control.

#MindStrength

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