SCOOP BLOCKING: PART 1 - WHY WE SCOOP

Scoop blocking is the most important block in our arsenal. While many coaches focus on playside blocking
techniques, I feel like the backside blocking oftentimes is more critical to running the Flexbone offense
successfully. On the frontside, we usually have a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 blocking situation with the numbers in our
favor. On the backside, however, we are usually faced with a 3-on-3 or 3-on-4 situation while also being out
leveraged.
There are 2 main reasons as to why we SCOOP as opposed to Seal & Wheel or utilizing some type of "Down"
or "Back" scheme.
1. To get an extra hat playside (Center or PSG) and cut off backside penetration.
2. To get defenders "cut" and on the ground to try to slow them down and stop their upfield charge.
The main plays that we utilize Scoop blocking are Veer, Zone Dive and Toss. It is important that you work
diligently on improving your scoop blocking. This is where 90% of our cuts come from, which helps to slow
down those DL. We need to slow the DL from coming upfield and attacking us every play. I really stress to
my OL that we need to get the DL on the ground as often as possible early in the game. If the DL are coming
hard every play, then our job is going to be tougher and our B back is not going to have a very fun night. We
want to get the DL on their heels worried more about protecting their knees, shins and ankles, than they are
about trying to tackle the dive. If we can get them on their heels, then we will have an easier time running the
ball. Youve probably read some of the complaints about cut blocking from opposing coaches (Virginia Tech,
Rutgers and Notre Dame) when playing against Navy and Georgia Tech. None of the techniques that we teach
are illegal. We teach techniques which are consistent with rules of our governing body, be it NCAA or NFHS
rules. We dont teach hi-lo blocking and we work hard to cut block correctly. We take a lot of pride in it.
"DIRTY" TECHNIQUE
Every year it seems that I have an Offensive Lineman that doesn't want to Cut block a defender. Some have
felt that it was a "dirty" technique or an attempt to injure. Others have felt offended because they thought I
didn't have confidence in them to Man block the defender. In every case, I've had to teach the rationale as to
why we Scoop block and utilize Cut blocks.
I've had to respond to this allegation of "dirty play" on more than one occasion from my own players and
opposing coaches. My response to this is simple. We are going to play as hard as possible within the
framework of the rules. When I've had OL tell me their uncomfortable cutting because they felt it was "dirty"

or that I was asking them to hurt the opponent, my response to them has been this, "Do you think the defenders
are going to take it easy on our QB or B-back? Those defenders are going to try to hit our Backs are hard as
humanly possible." That has usually put the technique in perspective for them. We are not out to hurt anyone,
but we are definitely going to legally get defenders on the ground.

SCOOP BLOCKING: PART 2 - TECHNIQUE

ALIGNMENT/STANCE/SPLITS
In my opinion, Offensive Line play begins from the ground up. If we have a bad stance, alignment or split,
then we're going to have some problems doing our job. I try to stress to our players the importance of stance,
alignment and splits. We start off with 3 splits and adjust according to the skill level of our players. If we are
having a ton of run-throughs on the backside, then we might adjust (tighten) the split a bit. We generally are
going to avoid that at all cost in case we want to check into a different play where 2 splits might not work as
well. Do everything you can to keep a minimum of 3 splits on the backside. Before changing the splits,
check the OL depth off the football. We want to be as deep as possible without getting called for being in the
backfield. This will help with your scoops and releases. By being further back off the ball, it gives our OL a
chance to get in front of the defender before making contact.
I get asked quite often about "smart splits." While "smart splits" might work for some people, they generally
don't work too well for us. The main reason that we run into problems with them is because we check our
plays at the LOS. If we change to a different play or run the play to the opposite side, our "smart splits" have
suddenly become "dumb splits." We're also in 3 point stances, so we're unable to adjust our splits once we're
in our stance. If we were 2 point in the Gun or Pistol, then maybe we could do it. Due to these concerns, we
try to maintain 3' splits at all times.

STEPS
The 3 types of SCOOP blocks that I teach are a tight scoop, regular scoop and a slice scoop. We use the tight
scoop (called a SOLE at Navy and a VEER Scoop by Kenny Wheaton) when the defender is aligned tight on
our backside shoulder (3 tech on BSG or Shaded Nose on Center) and no threat to our playside gap. The steps
for tight scoop are 45-90. We use a regular scoop when trying to reach a DL to our playside gap. The steps

for regular scoop are 45-60-90 and then tunnel (throw body upfield vertical). We use a cut scoop when a
defender is so far inside that our only chance is to go flat and try to throw on him. Our steps for the cut scoop
are 30-30-45 with an emphasis on 3 steps to the cut. We want to explode our body and uncork it through our
ankle, knee and hip joints. They should extend both arms, lead with the facemask and attempt to bear crawl
out of it.
COACHING POINTS
The first point of emphasis is obviously the steps. I used to teach my guys the 30-60-90, and 45-60-90 stuff,
until I realized that most of them had no idea as to what that meant. I showed them the J shaped path that I
wanted them to run and even put down those plastic spot dots that lie flat on the ground for them to follow. I
told them to aim for the football and turn up on their path. That worked a lot better. As usually happens, I
heard Kenny Wheaton talk about Scoop blocking and I stole his term, "Run through the back of the football."
The second point of emphasis is that we want to ensure that the OL are not popping up out of their stance.
They still need to gain ground and have that "falling forward" feeling. The 3&3 Drill that I use really helps
with this. If the OL is popping up (legs straighten and hips go up), this will slow us down and we will not
cover as much ground. Consequently, this will lead to us missing blocks. It also increases the chance of
getting called for an illegal block. Officials dont like to see an OL pop up and then dive down at a defenders
legs or knees. I try to teach my OL to stay low through the entire SCOOP. We want to lead with our
facemask. We are aiming for thigh pads, but sometimes we will take knees, shins or ankles if thats all we can
get. The important thing is that theyve got to get going and run. Theyve got to go fast and outwork people to
make these blocks work. Its all about effort.

Play going to the right (Veer, Toss, Zone Dive). Left side on the Scoop.

SCOOP BLOCKING: PART 3 - DRILLS

There are 3 main SCOOP drills that we do. We also do 2 other drills to get the OL used to the type of pad
level and "get off" that we're looking for in all of our blocks. I work almost all of our drills in the chutes
(bascially two 10' X 10' squares of pipe or steel tubing joined together to form a 10' X 20' chute with six 4'
legs).
TRAINING DRILLS:
1. BEAR CRAWLS - This helps to improve the shoulder strength of our OL and also get them used to the type of
forward lean we're looking for when they come out of their stance. We run our Bear Crawls down the long part
of our chute (20') and go with 2 guys at a time. It usually becomes a race (loser does 2-5 up-downs).
2. 3&3 DRILL - OL will come out of their stance and sprint for 3 steps and then Bear Crawl for 3 "hand" steps and
then try to sprint the rest of the way to a bag or dummy lying on the ground. The biggest key is that they OL need
to feel like they're constantly falling forward on this drill, almost out of control. This drill will be in the short part
of the chute (10') and we'll go 2 guys at a time (left square of chute first and then I'll move over to the right
square). OL will start with their body outside of the chute, hand even with the edge. This is also usually a race.
First guy to touch the bag wins. Loser does up-downs.
3. SCOOP 3&3 - Same concept as the previous drill, but now we are going to take Scoop steps with it instead of
straight ahead steps. It would be 3 Scoop steps, 3 Bear Crawl "hand" steps and then sprint to bag. We do these in
our chute. See the picture below for drill setup.*****Drill Setup for Scoop to the right: Two lines of OL. One
OL on Middle near leg of chute (inside of it) with butt cheeks on the chute leg. Another OL on the Left near leg
of chute (inside). Short board placed at a 45 degree angle towards the Middle far leg of the chute for the Left OL
and towards the Right far leg of the chute. Stepover bags will be placed outside the far end of the chute at the
edge. The should be placed 5' or so from the Middle far leg and the Right far leg. At the far end of the stepover,
we will place a hand shield (ours will standup on their own) right inside the stepover (between the stepover and
the chute leg).

SCOOP DRILLS:
1. Hand Shield - We put a defender on the outside edge of the chute with a hand shield. The defender holds the
hand shield in one hand and lifts both hands away from his body 45 degrees extended. The OL begins the drill in
the chute, aligned on the defenders empty hand. On the snap count, the OL will take the 45-60-90 steps past the
defenders body and then try to tunnel upfield through the hand shield. I want them to throw both hands and their
body upfield like Superman. If they hit the ground, I want them to bear crawl out of it and get running.
2. Towel Drill - A lot of people run this drill outside the chutes, but you can also do it inside the chute. You can do
it with 2 or 3 OL at a time. Navy has some cutups of them using 3 OL (Center, Guard, Tackle) working together
on it. Towels that have been taped up are used for players to grab with their backside arm as they rip on their 2nd
to 3rd step. Under the chutes, we normally work the drill with 2 OL at a time. We'll work them both sides,
alternating as they rip thru and pick up the towel. You could do the drill with 3 OL at a time, but I'd probably
only go in one direction at a time. If you run 3 at a time, then the Center would align on the middle leg of the
chute, Guard on the middle of half of the chute and Tackle would align on outside leg of chute. Players would
Scoop towards the interior of the chute.
3. Cut Drill - For the Cut scoop, we work a cut drill in the chutes, as well. We place a cut bag on top of a stepover
bag. We lean the cut bag against the edge of the chute so it stands up by itself. The OL line up in the chute and
on the snap count they execute the Cut steps. For tight scoops, we usually work those in a group drill outside the
chutes where we can go over certain defensive looks. Again, we work very hard to ensure both OL are making
contact through the hip to thigh area. This helps to cut down on hi-lo calls and it also helps us get more
movement on the DL. Our lead man on the tight scoop also has a better chance to come off to the next level when
staying lower.

Links to Video:
Scoop Drills - http://www.hudl.com/presview/240108
Game Examples of Scoop Blocking - http://www.hudl.com/presview/262127