R&B singer/producer Akon founded the Konfidence Foundation to increase public awareness of the conditions in Africa and to provide underprivileged African youth with access to learning and recreational environments equipped with modern technology, educational materials, recreational resources, and health and wellness services.
The foundation concentrates their efforts in Senegal, in hopes that it will one day serve as the international platform to empower individuals, communities, and nations with the tools needed to build the Africa of tomorrow.
Akon recently partnered with singer Peter Buffet on the relaunch of the website, Is There Something I Can Do? Visit website here.
Buffet (center) and Akon also participated in the United Nations' 2009 commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, on March 25, 2009 in NYC.
You scout an opponent’s defense to find out what it has done.
I suppose. But what you need to figure out is how a defense is coached, how it can be played against you.
To scout, you take everything you already know, then you watch tape hour after hour. You hope that gradually their scheme will come into focus and you can begin to piece together a game plan.
As an example, you want to know how you can go through the top of their pass defense. You analyze how they coach the ‘lid.’ You watch the feet, the turns, the positions on receivers. If you are fortunate, you find a young player who is vulnerable if you go around him to his inside and then run on his toes; or, a leading backfield tackler who can be sucked up by a TE’s block and who won’t be close to a post route.
These examples are not of what defenses they have played in certain positions or situations. They are of specific ways to beat specific defenses. When you have the specifics, you do not want to take a 60 percent chance that your play will face the defense it will beat. You want a 100 percent chance that the play you practiced against a defense will be run against that defense.
Scouting? It is a whole lot more than naming defenses and listing when they have been played.
And here's a couple of bonus quotes from a discussion with Coach Smith from Crimson Confidential:
[Homer Smith] The spread offense today features the running QB. Defensive problems come from not having a tackler ready for the QB at the line of scrimmage. . . . As long as running QBs keep winning the jobs, the spread will be the formation of choice. Someone has to tackle the QB. If that someone is looking for a post pass, the QB is going to have running room.
[. . .]
[MLH] Who do you think is the best offensive mind in the NFL today?
[Homer Smith] I just don't know. I think the best minds are in college.
You’ve probably never thought about this before, but how many yards do you think the average QB gets on his median pass attempt? The answer is zero, and for most of NFL history, it was less than that. 2008 was the greatest passing season of all time (by adjusted net yards per attempt), but even this past season, the median pass attempt probably went for only one or two yards.
The average completion percentage was 61% while the sack rate was 5.9%; this means that on every 1,000 dropbacks, 59 times the QB was sacked. On the remaining pass plays, 574 times (61% of 941) of the time the QB completed a pass. So only 57.4% of all pass plays were completed, and surely a bunch of those completions went for negative yards or no gain.
In 1998, the completion percentage was 56.6% and the sack rate was 7.2%; this means only 4.8% of all completions would need to go for no gain (or worse) to make the median pass attempt be zero (or negative). In ‘88, the numbers were 54.3% and 6.8%; only 1.2% of completions would need to go for no gain (or worse) to make the median pass attempt be zero (or negative). In ‘78? A leaguewide completion percentage of 53.1% coupled with a sack rate of 7.9% meant that 51% of all pass plays did not gain yardage even ignoring all completed passes for negative or zero yards.
Passing is high risk, high reward. The large gains offset the risk, which is why teams average more yards per pass than yards per rush. For the passers, frequency of success isn’t nearly as important as quality of the success.
What about rushing? Just the opposite. In modern times, most RBs have a median carry length of three yards. I suspect that’s been the case for the majority of RBs for a long time. LenDale White and his 3.9 YPC last season? Median rush of 3 yards. Adrian Peterson and his 4.8 YPC? Median rush of 3 yards.
Found some old notes from Bill Walsh on the drop-back pass. Oldie but a goodie.
Notes on the Dropback passing game in the West Coast Offense From a 49ers coaches meeting:
(A) Three Step Drop -Takes advantage of a bad defensive adjustment. -Receivers = five steps.
1. Hitch and Quick Out:
- Adjust splits to break in or out. - Don't lead receiver - throw at his hip. - Throw outs to LEFT and ins to the RIGHT (from all drops). - When throwing to the right, step towards the receiver on the 3rd step. - 3 quick steps when throwing out. (WR 8 yrd split). - Best place to throw quick out is from SLOT formation. (to SE). - 3 big steps when throwing hitch. Throw to middle of the receiver. When receiver catches the ball, he pivots to the sideline and runs to goalline. (WR 12 yrd split).
2. Slant:
[Ed. Note: QB reads the flat defender -- if he retreats for the slant throw the flat/shoot route; if he takes the shoot throw the slant in the window]
- Slant pass is a big chunk play. - 12 yrd split - 5 to 7 steps and break. - Slant is best weak. - Throwing strongside you should use dropback and weak flow. - Throw ball to middle of receiver and above his waist - if anything slow him up to catch it. - Receiver should always be aware of relationship between corner and safety. - Hop inside and come under control in hole. - Ball should be caught 1 ft. in front of receivers numbers. - Vs corner inside - go full speed and break across his face. - Always practice 1/2 as many throws to outlet as primary.
(B) Five Step Drop - Ball control, timed passes; good on 1st and 10, 2 and 6, 3 and 4. - Receivers run 10 - 12 yrd routes.
3. Square-out:
- WR 8 yd split. - Square out = 5 quick steps - don't lead WR. - 9 out of 10 square outs are thrown to the LEFT. - Throw square out into short field and away from rotation. - If LB crosses throwing lane - throw the outlet route. (Practice with coach catching primary and anyone catching outlet - hands up indicate who to throw to.)
4. Square-in:
- Prefer to throw square in to the RIGHT. -5 Steps and hitch step. -WR sells GO pattern. Inside release, outside push, plant outside foot and start in. -WR 12 yd split. -QB 5 BIG STEPS - HITCH and throw on time. WR does NOT keep running. Catch ball no more than 3 steps inside original position. (keep ball in middle) -WR catches ball and runs straight upfield. -"Square-in, wide Flare, wall off."
[Ed. Note: The square-in is addressed in the video below by Ron Jenkins.]
5. Flanker Post:
- Prefer Big, smooth WR. - WR 12 yd split. - QB 5 BIG steps and Hitch. - ALWAYS throw RIGHT. - WR break into hole in the zone. - Attract FS weak to create hole - throw ball inside corner and past SS - TECHNIQUE is outside.
6.Curl: -5 step timed.
-Throw to middle of WR. -GREAT vs middle LBer defender - if WR is not open go to outlet immediately. -WR 12 yd split. [Ed. Note: Video below.]
(C) Seven-Step Drop -Bread and Butter BIG chunk offense.
7. Go pattern: -- Only to fastest WR.
-Practice 4 to 1 to fastest WR over other WR's. -WR 12 yrd split. -DON'T THROW AGAINST THEIR BEST DB! (Scout their personnel) -Throw GO in conjunction with plat action. -Keep the length of the throw consistent. -7 step hitch and throw. -Practice throwing to a spot with WR standing there. -Don't throw if DB is deeper than WR when you hitch step. -Measure distance with WR full speed than practice stationary. -WR: release inside than out - chase DB step on his toes and run by him - keep DB in his backpeddle - look DB in the eyes NOT past him. -At 8 yds, be 1 yd inside, next 8 yds be 1 yd outside. -When thrown inside the 25 yd line change to 5 step drop. -Throw GO RIGHT more often than left. -Vs Cloud throw in hole (only vs stationary DB) 5 Step drop.
8. Deep Comeback:
-Only when DB is turing and running away. -WR 12 yrd split. -20 yds full speed - plant and come back. -7 step and hitch step and throw to spot. -Ball should be released as WR is planting foot. -WR always keep elbows and arms in running position. Just before you break, drop head and dig (pump hands).
Briefly, notes from Crowton (I think back from his Louisiana State days) on what he tells his quarterback's to look for before the snap.
(1) Scan the coverage. Is it man or zone coverage? Are there two safeties, one safety, or no safeties?
(2) Check the perimeter and the edges of the box. How will I be protected? Will I be protected?
(3) Point to the "hot" defender away from the protection call. You are identifying the defender that must come to create a "hot" throw away from the call side. This is vital if you do not have a built in "hot" receiver to handle a 4th rusher backside.
Another common method (popular with the Airraid types) is to integrate the number of safeties into the snap count. I.e. "Go! 2! 2! Set, Hut!" This way the QB has to look.
You just put your vision out there, and you'll get the readers you deserve.
Thanks to all the readers (and especially commenters); Smart Football's hits have been steadily rising so someone out there is reading. As another bit of blog news: I finally bought "smartfootball.com." The rights haven't been all transferred so the address doesn't work yet, but I'm almost there.
As former college football coach and general football historian Homer Smith once wrote, “Tom Osborne understood what made option plays (and other run plays) work and what had stopped them. So, he ran them — he ran almost all of them — but only when they would work. He checked to them versus vulnerable defenses. His smash mouth runs, run action passes, and QB runs kept defenses from mirroring properly against his options. The result was staggering totals of rushing yards. No matter how successful the options, etc. had been in their individual heydays, they were never better than when Coach Osborne “played a medley of tunes.” What would stop it? The only thing that could stop Bill Walsh’s passing attack, which was retirement of the man who made it work.”
