John Curtis Christian School (LA) Head Coach,
over 540 career coaching victories - only the second high school football coach in history to reach 500 wins;
Distinguished member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Hall of Fame (2015);
2012 Louisiana Class 2A State High School Champions (26 State HS Football titles total);
the consensus 2012 High School National Champion; 2012 USA Today National HS Coach of the Year
Coach Curtis has seen a return to the 3-man front 50 defense in recent years. His presentation covers technique, linebacker play and secondary concepts, and is a good tool for the coach looking into the 50 defense. Curtis emphasizes the outside linebackers in the defense as drop defenders, which opens up many opportunities. A quick nose guard that can guard the run and pass brings an anchor to the defense. When defensive tackles play tight, they must still be able to contain. The two ends must anchor the line of scrimmage and play a tight, 7 technique. The inside linebacker lines up on the outside shoulder of the guard and needs to be in an aggressive, downhill, attack position. Teamwork is essential, as the front must keep people off the linebackers so they are free to make plays. The next teaching progression deals with the split backs, both linebackers will be in slow read. The guts of the defense are the three down linemen. Read attack is based off the release of the linemen you are lined up against. In the secondary, the strong safety gets his run read from the tight end's release.
58 minutes. 2007.
FD-02828B: with J.T. Curtis,
John Curtis Christian School (LA) Head Coach,
over 540 career coaching victories - only the second high school football coach in history to reach 500 wins;
Distinguished member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Hall of Fame (2015);
2012 Louisiana Class 2A State High School Champions (26 State HS Football titles total);
the consensus 2012 High School National Champion; 2012 USA Today National HS Coach of the Year
With its popularity, the Wing T has become a focus of defenses all over the country. Coach Curtis details the technique and teaching points the make up his winning defense against the Wing T. The trap, buck sweep and waggle play are all weapons that must be stopped by the defense. Blocking schemes in the trap are diagrammed using the white board. A key is the tackle, who must make the trap before the offense gets started. Also, forcing the ball in helps eliminate the guards from the play. The quick fake and quick option are two attacks that must be stopped by the defense. The misdirection counter play is presented in a detailed manner, including responsibilities of all players. Good offenses are using the slot, double and power to score points. Coach Curtis shows how the 50 defense can be utilized to stop all three attacks.
37 minutes. 2007.
FD-02828C: with J.T. Curtis,
John Curtis Christian School (LA) Head Coach,
over 540 career coaching victories - only the second high school football coach in history to reach 500 wins;
Distinguished member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Hall of Fame (2015);
2012 Louisiana Class 2A State High School Champions (26 State HS Football titles total);
the consensus 2012 High School National Champion; 2012 USA Today National HS Coach of the Year
Using a variety of assistant coaches, Coach Curtis begins with the base package for the 50 defense. In the Doubles Out of Under, the defense works to get the free rusher alone against the runner where he can make big plays. Also, it uses a combo concept if the receivers run crossing routes. Trips Out of Under and Trips Out of the Gun are different looks for the 50, which is diagrammed on the white board. Walking the ends out to space is the key to this defense. It gives you more options and different looks. In the nickel alignment, Curtis emphasizes lining up your free rusher to the running back's side. Defending the empty set is another emphasis of this base package. The blitz is an option but instead, Curtis changes the location of the rush. The hash mark game is also a favorite aspect of this defense. The goal is to shrink the area to the boundary from 17 feet to just 10 feet. Players must be athletic enough to be able to wall receivers to the boundary. When players understand general concepts, the added elements of the defense add to its strength.
45 minutes. 2007.