MJZiggy
10-07-2006, 05:09 PM
Mike McCarthy column: First 15 gives players blueprint for success
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061007/PKR07/610070319/1989
When Bill Walsh brought the West Coast offense to the NFL, he also brought a new concept related to game planning and play calling known as the First 15 Play Script.
It essentially was a set of plays Walsh would plan to begin the game with, depending on down-and-distance situation, to get his offense into a rhythm and get a look at how the defense was going to react to certain formations and schemes.
Almost every coach running a version of the West Coast offense has continued to put together a First 15. Different coaches use it in different ways, and there's no one way to implement and execute it.
So, I thought I could provide some insight into my philosophy behind the First 15 and how I go about putting it together for the Green Bay Packers' offense.
First of all, I don't refer to it as the First 15 plays. I call it my First 15 thoughts.
It's all about giving the players a starting point with the confidence and understanding to attack the opposing defense.
Like anything you do in life, everybody wants to know, "What's the first thing I have to do?" It gives players a comfort level, knowing how the game is going to start. To me, that's the benefit of the First 15.
It starts with putting together a package of plays in our base offense for the initial first downs, plus second downs of 1 to 7 yards to go.
From there, it branches out into a list of first calls for certain situations  second-and- 8-plus to go, third-and-1 to -5, third-and-6 to -10, third-and- 11-plus.
There are also initial calls for red-zone and goal-line situations.
It's a thought process that goes on during the course of the week, and a lot the selections for the First 15 will depend on the practice repetitions on Wednesday and Thursday. Which plays do the players seem most comfortable with? Which have the best execution? All that factors in.
All the coaches have some input during our game-planning phase early in the week.
Then, in our quarterback meeting on Thursday, the quarterbacks are given a handout to fill out their first plays for different situations and rank them.
Some of that is used as input for the First 15, but it's also used to generate discussion about why certain plays might work and others won't. I'm preaching that to the quarterbacks all the time, that when a play is called, they must know why that play was called and what we're trying to get out of it. It's a valuable piece of the education process, getting the quarterback and the play caller on the same page.
Knowing what plays a quarterback likes is crucial. I tell the guys, "If you like it, I love it. If you don't like it, I hate it." I have plays that I love, but if the quarterback doesn't feel comfortable, it doesn't work. The guy who needs the comfort level with a play is the one calling it in the huddle, not the one calling it from the sideline.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski and I then finalize the First 15.
When I was an offensive coordinator, I'd put it together on Friday night and then present it to the players on Saturday night at the hotel. But I'm not a big believer in making decisions the night before the game, less than 24 hours before the game, so I've changed the timing in a way I think benefits our players.
Now, Jags and I put it together on Thursday night. That gives the players a chance to walk through it during meetings on Friday morning, jog through it at the beginning of Friday's practice and run the plays at full speed during the main portion of practice.
Then we present it to them again with the practice film on Saturday morning during meetings, and talk through it, plus they're handed a printed copy. By noon Saturday, they've been exposed to the First 15 five times.
Everything has been practiced, all the repetitions are in and the players know well ahead of time which plays will be the first calls in various situations. They can continue to mentally prepare after the physical preparation is over.
At that point, we're all set with the First 15 thoughts, and the other plays that have been practiced during the week are worked into the overall game plan.
Now, if the defense gives you some wild scheme with all sorts of blitzing at the start of the game, you have to be ready to look beyond your First 15. It happens once in a while, but if you've prepared a thorough First 15, there will be some plays in there to combat the unexpected.
In the end, the whole idea of the First 15 is to get the players feeling really good about a certain group of plays coming into the game. They know these are the first ones we're going to call, and that's how we get things rolling with anticipation and urgency.
Mike McCarthy is coach of the Green Bay Packers. His column appears each week in Packers Preview.
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061007/PKR07/610070319/1989
When Bill Walsh brought the West Coast offense to the NFL, he also brought a new concept related to game planning and play calling known as the First 15 Play Script.
It essentially was a set of plays Walsh would plan to begin the game with, depending on down-and-distance situation, to get his offense into a rhythm and get a look at how the defense was going to react to certain formations and schemes.
Almost every coach running a version of the West Coast offense has continued to put together a First 15. Different coaches use it in different ways, and there's no one way to implement and execute it.
So, I thought I could provide some insight into my philosophy behind the First 15 and how I go about putting it together for the Green Bay Packers' offense.
First of all, I don't refer to it as the First 15 plays. I call it my First 15 thoughts.
It's all about giving the players a starting point with the confidence and understanding to attack the opposing defense.
Like anything you do in life, everybody wants to know, "What's the first thing I have to do?" It gives players a comfort level, knowing how the game is going to start. To me, that's the benefit of the First 15.
It starts with putting together a package of plays in our base offense for the initial first downs, plus second downs of 1 to 7 yards to go.
From there, it branches out into a list of first calls for certain situations  second-and- 8-plus to go, third-and-1 to -5, third-and-6 to -10, third-and- 11-plus.
There are also initial calls for red-zone and goal-line situations.
It's a thought process that goes on during the course of the week, and a lot the selections for the First 15 will depend on the practice repetitions on Wednesday and Thursday. Which plays do the players seem most comfortable with? Which have the best execution? All that factors in.
All the coaches have some input during our game-planning phase early in the week.
Then, in our quarterback meeting on Thursday, the quarterbacks are given a handout to fill out their first plays for different situations and rank them.
Some of that is used as input for the First 15, but it's also used to generate discussion about why certain plays might work and others won't. I'm preaching that to the quarterbacks all the time, that when a play is called, they must know why that play was called and what we're trying to get out of it. It's a valuable piece of the education process, getting the quarterback and the play caller on the same page.
Knowing what plays a quarterback likes is crucial. I tell the guys, "If you like it, I love it. If you don't like it, I hate it." I have plays that I love, but if the quarterback doesn't feel comfortable, it doesn't work. The guy who needs the comfort level with a play is the one calling it in the huddle, not the one calling it from the sideline.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski and I then finalize the First 15.
When I was an offensive coordinator, I'd put it together on Friday night and then present it to the players on Saturday night at the hotel. But I'm not a big believer in making decisions the night before the game, less than 24 hours before the game, so I've changed the timing in a way I think benefits our players.
Now, Jags and I put it together on Thursday night. That gives the players a chance to walk through it during meetings on Friday morning, jog through it at the beginning of Friday's practice and run the plays at full speed during the main portion of practice.
Then we present it to them again with the practice film on Saturday morning during meetings, and talk through it, plus they're handed a printed copy. By noon Saturday, they've been exposed to the First 15 five times.
Everything has been practiced, all the repetitions are in and the players know well ahead of time which plays will be the first calls in various situations. They can continue to mentally prepare after the physical preparation is over.
At that point, we're all set with the First 15 thoughts, and the other plays that have been practiced during the week are worked into the overall game plan.
Now, if the defense gives you some wild scheme with all sorts of blitzing at the start of the game, you have to be ready to look beyond your First 15. It happens once in a while, but if you've prepared a thorough First 15, there will be some plays in there to combat the unexpected.
In the end, the whole idea of the First 15 is to get the players feeling really good about a certain group of plays coming into the game. They know these are the first ones we're going to call, and that's how we get things rolling with anticipation and urgency.
Mike McCarthy is coach of the Green Bay Packers. His column appears each week in Packers Preview.