I actually finished a book! (Dan Gonzalez – Concept Passing)
I must say that I hate reading books. I am a fast reader, enjoyed it as a kid, but reading books just bores the life out of me now. The last time I finished a book was 10 years ago when I was in 8th grade. Once I got to High School I began hating reading, both for school and for pleasure. I went through HS and my entire undergrad without reading books, even textbooks.
I have started a couple of coaching related books, thinking they would be interesting enough to captivate me but they never are. I can read threads of coachhuey.com all night but something about sitting down and reading a book is almost unbearable.
The fact that I finished this book, and in 24 hours, speaks to how well written and interesting it is. I must say that this is the first time I have read this book, but it will not be the last. The diagrams help to “flesh out” what Gonzalez is saying but there is so much content that I do not think you can truly soak it all in on the first read through.
Gonzalez gives a thorough break down of his passing scheme. He begins with a break down of his terminology, the importance/use of formations and personnel groupings within the concepts, and pass protections.
Gonzalez then goes in to each of the 9 pass concepts… he refers to them by name and by number. Each is given a digit number, that when partnered with the pass protection gives the play. Plays in Gonzalez’s system use a 2 digit number, the first gives the protection, the second the base pass concept. They have many backside tags and route alterations to add on to the concepts. To be honest I think there is too much for a high school offense. The way he offers it up, if you did everything then yes, you could beat every single coverage under the sun, as well as every single adjustment from every single defensive player imaginable. The problem is I think it is just too much to teach to 16 year olds, and I think it puts too much on the QB. That said, the base concepts, with a tag or two is definitely doable and would provide the basis for a very effective HS passing game.
I am going to give a very brief description of the 9 concepts within the book.
Drag Concept:
Very similar to Air Raid Shallow, some tags/variations add a mesh look.
Vertical Concept:
4 verts, but Gonzalez teaches a seam read from one slot WR, as well as streak read routes from the outside WR. I really like the way he teaches it much better than how we have taught it for the last 2 years.
