so much for that
book reviews
Coaching The West Coast Quarterback, By Al Borges
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As you may or may not be aware, our offensive coordinator wrote a book. I finally got my hands on it thanks to Michigan's ILL Department and wrote up a short summary/review of it. Take from it what you will.
Title: Coaching The West Coast Quarterback
Author: Borges, Alan. Borges, Keith.
Publisher: Coaches Choice
Published: 2002
ISBN: 1-58518-341-5
Length: 120 pages
What This Book Is:
This is the kind of book I'd expect a high school offensive coordinator to be reading, along with giving his quarterbacks a copy of it. It does assume you already know the fundamentals and as such is light on the drills. The book tells you what kind of stance the quarterback should be in, but doesn't provide instruction for how to correct a quarterback's stance. That's left for other instructional videos (Borges also made a series of videos that carry the same title as this book).
What This Book Isn't:
This isn't some magical key into the mind of Al Borges. This book is written solely about the West Coast offense, long before the rise of the Gulf Coast offense (see snoopblue's diary on the Gulf Coast Offense).
Still Borges spent a lot of time on the West Coast and the West Coast offense definitely played a formative role in how Al Borges does things. Plus the book has value by itself, if you're a coach, it's worth at the very least paging through it.
Interesting Random Fact:
The only copy Michigan's ILL service could find is from the Library of Congress. So we don't own a copy of the book, nor does any other B1G school.
Preface and Chapter 1, The Fundamentals of QB Play:
The book opens up with a lot of the stand lines about what you want in a quarterback. You know standard stuff like leader on and off the field, toughness, etc. The most interesting part here I found were the quotes:
'Intelligence is important, but a great work ethic can overcome much of what some players lack in natural "smarts."''He [the QB] should know exactly how his coach thinks and be able to regurgitate it verbally at the drop of hat.'
The first quotation pretty much sums up Jason Campbell. At the risk of taking too much from a single sentence in the book, it does show a willingess to engage in development projects with high schools who have the talent and work ethic but no the smarts. The second quote is fairly standard, as every OC out there wants to mind meld with his QBs, but not ever coach uses regurgitate in their writing. Another point for Coach Borges.
One interesting comment though that did come out of this section is:
"Keep in mind that the quarterback does not look over 6' 4" and 6' 5" linemen. He is seeing and throwing through windows in the pass rush."
In other words, good line play can compensate for a shorter quarterback. Assuming the line knows where the QB is looking, it is their job to clear guys out of Denard's field of vision. Clearly it helps if the QB is taller, but in the book Borges specific states he values mobility over the QB standing tall and looking over linemen. An interesting fact to trot out next time you're stuck around family who want to complain about Denard being a midget.
Also in this section Borges covers the "Sprint Out" concept. Throughout the entire book, he stresses the idea of a mobile quarterback that can add an extra threat with his legs as being desirable. Although he does seem to be talking about more about a Tate Forcier kind of quarterback: pass first, use your legs to buy time, and then run for a few yards if needed. Also throwing the ball away is stressed as something that should be done as opposed to forcing the pass. You can tell the book was definitely written before the rise of the quarterbacks like Denard. The overall tone of the book though does suggest that even if we get RoboMorris, he'll be running more frequently than RoboHenne did.
We even get a little bit of option ball out in the book. Although it is merely two pages tacked on to the end of the capture on fundamentals. The main take away on the option is that "When executed precisely, the option can be low-risk and very productive." He only covers the speed and dive options though in this book.
Chapter 2, Philosophy of the Passing Game:
One of the concepts that Borges mentions here is that half the passing yards should come through the air and half the passing yards should come via yards after catch. So who knows, the days of the tiny little slot ninjas with cloaking devices might not be over. Borges also stresses the concept though of always having a deep threat wide reciever who on any play can be hit for 6 points. In terms of WRs Borges has three:
Hands Guy: Dependable at catching the ball.
Deep Threat: Can get six points
Route Runner: Most likely to be open.
From there the book goes into a review of the Delta, Flood, Option, China, Crossing, and One on One concepts. Also overthrowing or "putting it where only the good guy can get it" is stressed. So Denard's overthrows are actually a sign he is learning from Borges, although accuracy would be even better.
As an interesting side, Borges estimates that if the defense rushes six that it is unlikely for them to all remain blocked for more than 3 seconds. So if you are trying to raise a young quarterback run some drills to make reads and release within 3 seconds.
Chapter 3, Reading and Understanding
Chapter 3 is the diagram heavy chapter of the book. Covering reading the defense, hot routes, and the like. The most interesting part starts on page 40 with the contours of the defense. The contour of a defense is created by drawing a line from the one side of the field to other, connecting the defensive backs. So if all the safeties and corners are at the same depth you would have a flat line. As they move up or down you get peaks and valleys. The quarterback can guess the style of defensive coverage (three deep, two deep, man, etc) based on how the defensive backs are lined up. Although Borges does point out that a good defense will always run out of the same contour or change on purpose to bait the quarterback. A defense will poor coaching will tip its hand by changing the contour of the defense depending on the called play.
A good example of this would be when we'd push Kovacs up and create a contour that suggests we're blitzing Kovacs. We of course did just that with great success, but other times we'd have Kovacs drop and set him up for a pick. This might also help shed some light on the whole "Martin drops into coverage" thing we tried. You blitz Kovacs and then the QB throws in the direction of the blitz reflexively, but Martin is there to swat the ball.
In this chapter Borges also covers the different defensive aligments (4-3, Bear, etc) and their weaknesses. A common theme here is Borges seems to view a lot of the defensive sets as vulernable to inside-out. That is a runningback or tight end moving out and catching the ball, possibly with WRs to block and create a screen. As mentioned in snoopblue's review of the Gulf Coast offense, Borges likes throwing to running backs. Here we see the same theme covered repeatedly. Earlier when talking about receivers Borges stressed that you must have a running back with good hands.
Borges also discusses how a defender who is backpedaling and flatfooted is always a threat because the QB never knows how well he'll jump. Borges really stresses you have to force the defenders into some kind of lateral movement that creates either a leading or trailing window for the ball. Consider for a moment on the bubble screen, if the DB doesn't backpedal off the WR (because they plan to play bump, bail or kick), you're left with a defender who is flatfooted, which Borges hates. Coupled with his love of inside-out, I can understand why he might have some objection to the bubble screen, if that area of the field is weak Borges appears to prefer to send a TE or a RB into it and throw to them. Take that for what you will and of course keep in mind the age of this book.
If you were lurking around the board earlier in the season you might remember a few debates on how our DBs always seemed to be a step behind the WRs. Some of the other posters did an excellent job explaining trail coverages. On page 69 of the book Borges provides a great rundown of both DB and Safety play techinques, including trail and robber. Someone with more patience than myself and access to the torrents from two years ago should consider going back and checking to see if we were frequently changing defensive contours (thus tipping our hand) and if we altered techinques frequently. Borges specifically mentions good defensives will frequently vary techinques. Each techinque has a set counter the WR can undertake, so good defenses will alter them. Bad defenses will not and thus make it easy for the WRs to adjust.
So a defense that rarely changes contours (or changes them to bait) but frequently changes techniques (bump, bail, engage, kick, backet, etc) is a well coached defense. Defenses that do the opposite are not. I think next year I'm going to watch a lot of Michigan games and then Arizona games and see if I can spot the difference and thus prove that Gibson is a terrible, terrible, coach.
Last Third Of the Book:
The last third of the book is a specific breakdown of various routes, the footwork involved in them, and the theory behind audibles. I'll gloss over it as it is mostly mechanics. Once again though definitely something to have any future QB you are trying to raise read.
One interesting section is on page 103 where Borges breaks down third down decision making. He does not say anything like "center it for a punt and play defense", so we're definitely out of the DeBord era for what it is worth. Here also is where Borges stresses he expects the QB to be able to run for 3 or 4 years and get the first down. However you only run if you have a clear lane, scrambling is solely to buy time for the pass. I'd imagine his time around Denard may have made him rethink that last bit.
The final thing of note is on page 105 where he talks about the 4 minute offense and how to bleed the clock while moving to score (and ensure the other team won't get a chance for a rebuttal). Borges gets real specific including that the team should unpile as slowly as possible after the running play to further bleed the clock. Definitely interesting as you never hear the talking heads on TV discuss the 4 minute offense.
The book concludes with some basic QB drills like scramble drills and throwing from your needs. Borges does mention footwork is much more important than arm motion. This helps explain why Campbell had a horrible throwing motion but always was good at planting his feet and aligning his shoulders.
Conclusion:
As I said this isn't like some super deep look at the mind of Al Borges or what he'll do here. This is a fairly straightforward "Here is how you run the West Coast Offense" text. That being said I'd encourage picking it up solely for Chapters 2 and 3. Read those two chapters, understand the diagrams, and you'll definitely increase your knowledge of the game. It's not that hard of a book to wrap your head around and you'll walk away with a greater appreciation for it.
By the way if you're a current student, staff, or faculty member, consider taking a moment to fill out a request that the library buy the book. The book itself goes for 20 dollars on Amazon or takes 3.5 weeks to get via ILL (and I'm holding the current copy of it, so you're out of luck). If a bunch of us request it, perhaps the library will buy a copy.
Hail to the Victors 2010 Reviews?
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Just ordered mine but wondered if anyone has indulged yet and what the reviews are? Last year was excellent IMO
BO, by Bo Schembechler and Mitch Albom
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I own too many books. I read…a lot. But I learned the lesson a long time ago that books are heavy, and when you have to move them, 35+ boxes of books is a lot of boxes. Movers charge by the pound. So I now only buy “important” books, i.e. the kinds of books that can only be found in university libraries or literary reviews. As a result, I use my local library…a lot. Sometimes that means waiting for books. I am currently second on the waiting list for Steven Erickson’s new book in his series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. After catching up on my magazine reading, I was left with nothing to read. So I hopped online and started trolling my local library catalogue. And here in London, Ontario, what do I find? None other than the Bo Schembechler/Mitch Albom book: BO. (Warner: New York), 1989. It arrived at my local branch yesterday and from page one it was nothing less that fabulous. He tells story after story after story.
What I loved most about this book were the two chapters that highlight the 1969 season and the 10 Year War. Bo’s stories about his first season at Michigan were fantastic and the parallels to this year with Coach Rodriguez jump out at you again and again.
He brought his entire staff with him from Miami [Not That Miami]. Upon arriving and seeing the facilities and locker rooms Bo’s first response to his staff was,
“Men, we are going to make a few changes here.” [52]
He treated the players like dogs. In the racially charged 60’s everyone got the same treatment. They were all equal…they were all dogs.
Up to that point, spring practice was a series of light workouts. They started two-a-days in the spring. He cursed, he yelled and he kicked them in the butt. When Dan Dierdorf first introduced himself to Bo, he extended a hand and politely offered his name, and in return Bo grabbed a fistful of his midsection and promptly told him, “You are fat.” [53] Turn that boy over to Barwis. Eeeeeeee.
Soon Bo had them doing drills, screaming at them so much that Dierdorf ended up telling a reporter,
“The track team runs less than us. And their coach isn’t as mean.” [53]
He tells the story of how, during this pre-season, the coaches came up with the now famous slogan, “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions.” Some did not stay. And someone wrote in marker on Bo’s sign, which he paid for out of his own pocket, “And those who quit will be doctors, lawyers, and captains of industry.” He then names the player who is now a lawyer and finishes off with:
“Didn’t think I knew, did you, John? You owe me $150.” [55]
He says this about that 1969 team:
“Of all the Wolverines I’ve ever had, they had the most right to resent me; after all they didn’t pick me, they got stuck with me. And I killed them. I ran them ragged. I made them suffer every day of that first maddening season. Somehow, they believed in me. They stayed.” [55]
What Bo did that first season was key off on the Michigan-Ohio game. Bo against his former coach and mentor. Bo figured that gunning for Ohio State would carry his team through all the bumps and hurdles that would come. After beating Iowa 51-6 that year in the second to last game, in the locker room the team did not celebrate, instead a slow, rising chant started among them, “BEAT THE BUCKS, BEAT THE BUCKS…” The coaches joined in, and the scene go so intense that Bo screamed to one of his assistants, “That !@#$% Ohio State better be good—or we’ll kill them.” [61]
Against a team that was labeled “The Greatest Team of the Century” and favoured to win by 17, Michigan was up 24-12 by the half and in the locker room there is Jim Young, the defensive coordinator pounding on the chalk board, “They will not score again!” [67] They didn’t.
Those who stayed were champions.
In the light of the Justin Boren departure and the whole “Family values” thing, another story grabbed me. Bo recounted the time when the team was grumbling a lot behind Bo’s back about practices being too tough. One of the instigators was captain Andy Cannavino.
Bo pulled Cannavino into his office and gave him this speech, by the end of which Andy was in tears:
“Now let me tell you something. When you were back there in Cleveland, at St. Joseph’s High School, Ohio State, where your daddy went to school, didn’t even offer you a scholarship. We brought you to the University of Michigan. The coaching staff made you an All-Big Ten player. Your team mates elected you captain of the team. And you have the audacity to criticize Michigan Football? How dare you?
“I’d like to stand you up before all those guys who played here in the past, all those guys who won championships, went to bowl games, did all the things you want to do in college football, and I want you to tell them that your practices are too hard, that they’re hitting too much, that you spend too much time watching film! And you know what they’re going to tell you? Grow up! Grow up and be a man! And if you won’t, then get the hell out of Michigan football!
“Cannavino, we have one problem on this team, and only one problem on this team, and that is you! And until you change, we will never win. You are the captain of this team. What you say, especially the other players and especially the young ones will listen to. How can you possibly ruin this team by criticizing the leadership here? You are the problem. Understand me? You are the problem! [154]
With tears streaming down his cheeks, the young man left, and the Michigan defense, from that point forward, did not allow a touchdown in 24 consecutive quarters, eventually beating Washington in the Rose Bowl.
Who cares if this is not the best piece of literature ever written, I think next time I am in the MDen, I am going to buy this book and a couple more of Bo’s because these are “important” works. Bo is a great read, especially this year of all years. I highly recommend it.
"The Big House" book review
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So yesterday I used a power failure to finish up reading <i>The Big House: Fielding Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium</i>. I thought I would share a couple of thoughts about the book.
Let me begin by saying that I do think that if you have any interest in the history of the Michigan football program, this book is a definite must read. The prose lacks a certain lyrical flow, but it is more than made up for in the exceptional level of research done. Drawing from Yost's letters as coach, AD, and his personal correspondence, along with extensive excerpts from <i>The Michigan Daily</i>, Dr. Soderstrom gives the reader an exceptional view of what it was like to be a Michigan football fan in the 1920s.
Which leads me to one of my favorite things I drew from the book: In 85 years, Michigan football fans (and college football in general) has changed immensely and at the same time, very little. There were academic wailings about the quality of student that was brought in to be a part of the football team, concerns about a stadium "arms race" among colleges, the concerns over professionalism and its impact upon the sport, concerns about student rowdiness at games and on road trips, the concerns about students using football games as an excuse to get drunk, and my personal favorite, the Daily repeatedly calling out the Ferry Field crowd for its lack of vocal and enthusiastic support for what were some great Michigan teams. So much of college football handwringing today is really nothing more than variations on a theme.
I also enjoyed the insight into Fielding Yost. We need never question where the popularity of the phrase "Michigan man" came from. It's clearly a Yostism. In dozens of letters and speeches, his focus was on the "Michigan man" (and woman, Yost's willingness to embrace a co-educational university and equality in physical education for women is a recurrent theme in the book.) I was also impressed with Yost's tirelessness, particularly in his advocacy for building Michigan Stadium, and the obstacles he was compelled to overcome to build it. Indeed, even the reminder that before it was Yost Ice Arena, it was Yost Field House is worth the time devoted to it, the first Field House in the country.
All in all, I enjoyed the book because I have an interest in the subject area, and the level of research more than made up for any other failings of the book.
Have a good weekend.
Craig Barker
The Hoover Street Rag
