Complementary special teams units must work together to maximize their potential.


How do you improve special teams without changing the amount of time you commit to it in practice and meetings? The best answers to tough questions are generally very simple. Here are our answers:

#1 - Create an identity that reinforces the importance of special teams’ role in winning games. It must be clearly defined and easily remembered by players.

#2 - Borrow and incorporate as much as possible from both offensive and defensive components in order to maximize teaching, practice and meeting efficiency. 

#3 - Complementary units must work together, focusing more on techniques rather than scheme.

#4 - Make it competitive, fun, and rewarding.

NOTE: In regard to goal setting, it is better to have fewer goals that are easily understood than to pretend to know or do too much. If we have three goals that players and coaches can repeat back to us, we have created an investment in an identity.

In reviewing and researching defensive, offensive, and special teams’ goals from successful coordinators around the country, we arrived at three special teams musts at Georgetown.
1.  “Own the Possession” - This goal is always 100%.

2.  “Net More, Get More” - This goal can be adjusted from week-to-week but is often based on both our and our opponent’s statistics entering a game.

3.  “Positive S Factor” – More specifically, steal a score or set up a score. Our goal is to be +2 in explosive plays.

Special teams play has been divided into too many parts as opposed to one collective whole. It is our objective to integrate the parts and truly be a unit. The players at Georgetown can remember our “three musts.” This is critical in developing our philosophy and our players mindset in taking the field. I can’t stress this enough. We do use offensive or defensive terminology as much as possible so players have less to learn, but our identity is established.
   
Owning the possession encompasses many things but still boils down to one concept - protect the football at all costs. That is, until the natural change of possession occurs or the opponent is stopped from moving the chains. Ball security, fielding all kicks, playing penalty free or not giving away a possession due to penalty, defending all fakes or fires, and protecting all kicks are all factors in owning the possession. We can cover the importance each week but the bottom line is our players know that each possession is critical and the objective is focusing in a positive manner.
   
Net More, Get More - This is the ultimate measure or benchmark for the four primary units involved in special teams play (punt/punt return/kickoff/kickoff return). We can state each week that we could or should net x amount more than our opponent, but the bottom line is we want and expect that our specialists and coverage units do their jobs. Creating advantageous field position for the offensive or defensive units is part of the job description of special teams play.

The third but equally important goal is what we call the Positive S Factor - to score, set up a score, or steal a score. We expect explosive plays from our special teams and the S-factor demands that we out-produce our opponent in explosive plays. We believe that if we are +2 in the S-Factor, we have given our team a better chance to win.

At the end of a game, I can quickly review the following:  Did we own every possession? Did we net more? Did we make more explosive plays than our opponent?

Traditionally, special teams play has six distinct units. Reality has demonstrated that from a chain of command standpoint, both the offensive and defensive coordinator inherit one unit.

The Field Goal/PAT Unit is an extension of the offense and must be part of that units’ practice time, meeting time, and authority. Fakes and play design should marry the terminology and the philosophy of the offense. Scoring offense is a reflection of the offense and this is a scoring unit. A fake is no different than any other offensive play. It can have a ‘check with me’ component but time needs to be efficiently used in both practice and meetings and the offensive coordinator can accomplish this best.

The same holds true for the PAT/FG Block unit. The goal is to be automatic on any kick located in the red zone or closer while defensively you want to pressure every kick. From a defensive standpoint, this unit must be able to understand and adjust to formations. The use of muddle huddles, tackle over or unbalanced formations, along with shield spread and tight formations must be easily understood and recognized. Accountability in terms of substitutions, play calling, practice, and meetings falls directly on defensive coordinators.

 Special Forces Has 4 Distinct Units

Note:  The use of elite military or law enforcement terms is obviously intended to create an identity among the different special teams. If you take the time to research the tactical descriptions of these actual forces or squads, it is fun to see the comparisons with their football counterparts. You are considered a platinum member of special forces if you start on all four units, a gold member if you are on three units, silver with two, and bronze with one.

The practice and development of these units is coordinated to maximize practice efficiency. For example, if we have 15 minutes allotted for two phases, we will take five minutes to drill techniques together. These drills are competitive and if the execution is good, will not last the full five minutes. Each unit will then have five minutes of scheme work. The intent is to improve the quality of scout teams and the execution of technique. In other words, we are getting good players with technique competing against good players with technique. Players involved in both phases work both technique phases. We also attempt to utilize the same coaches. For example, the head of one unit will serve as the scout coach for another unit.

About the Author: Kevin Doherty begins his second season on the staff of Georgetown University this fall. He serves as the defensive backs and special teams coach. Doherty previously coached at St. Anselm’s College and was on the staff of Harvard from 2001-2009. During that period, the Crimson won four Ivy League titles. He also coached at Connecticut, St. Francis (PA), Marist, Tufts, and Northeastern.