1. Have you ever noticed how high school football teams primarily defense their opponents offense as if they were playing themselves? Crazy? While a variation of the spread offense and a more sophisticated passing game is trickling down to the high school level, most high school coaches either do not know how to scheme a passing game or they simply do not have the athletes who can throw and catch a ball.

    If one is certain the other team is ineffective throwing and catching the football, their is no need for two safeties. And, if the opponent has a potent running game, there is no need for two safeties. That is when six to eight defenders and multiple alignments and blitz schemes seems common sense. One week the Louisburg Cats get three first downs when their opponent puts eight defenders "in the box" and blitzes. Their single safety was no more than 6-7 yards off the line of scrimmage.

    The following week, a good, formidable 4A team shows up with a current traditional 4-3 alignment and two safeties 8 yards off the line of scrimmage. The Cats beat them rather easily. Did that opponent’s coach not watch the film of the previous week or, when scouting Louisburg, not see the Cats were not going to beat them passing? Go figure; The 4A State Championship game a couple years ago was a example of a coach recognizing this drill. Louisburg was facing Andale, and had thrown eight balls a game throughout the season . . . hardly considered a passing team. Andale’s coach decided that the if the Wildcats were to defeat his team, it would not be by running the ball. His defensive scheme was just that, stop the Cats ground attack. He was right, Andale won!

2. Another moronic coaching approach surfaced this week, i.e. Mike Leach at Texas Tech secluding a player in a dark shed or closet with a trainer "guarding" the door! Apparently the player was diagnosed with a concussion [by a physician] and had an elevated heart rate. It seems the coaches didn't think so, and even though the player was not an integral part of this year’s team, they decided a punishment was in order. The real "kicker" was after being suspended by the University, Leach decides to sue his employer with a restraining order so he can coach his team in a bowl game. The University of course fires him! What an idiot! Mike Leach will have a harder time finding another coaching job as opposed to Mangino and a few other football coaches who have been fired for misbehaving in one way or another.

3. NCAA Division I football is "out of control". I have addressed this issue before from different perspectives. However there is a "law of nature" it's a fact and it is guaranteed. When human behavior corrupts itself, there comes a "tipping point" often from some obscure direction that causes that behavior endeavor to implode. From a historical perspective these "tipping points" seem to be escalating in speed. The IT breakdown in the early to mid nineties, the sub-prime mortgage breakdown in the early to mid 2000's. The grid-lock in Washington congressional and senatorial behavior [that tipping point has not been reached yet, but it will!] The once richest country in the world with a second class medical delivery system [that tipping point has been reached]. As always the change, outcome takes some time to get traction.

    For big time college football, the tipping point is near. I believe the announcers on a recent bowl game stated "that only 20+ NCAA D-1 schools [there are over 100] could financially carry the money investment to be or stay competitive. How does that going to work? The tipping point can't be many years off!

4. Back to a simpler issues. Football games are played in the fall and from the beginning into more severe weather conditions there frequently is an unruly wind to deal with. When a team wins the coin toss at the beginning of the game, why don't more teams defer so they can make sure they have the wind at their back in the fourth quarter. "Nerves" at the start of the game can interfere with the execution of an offense, but more importantly frequently field position and the necessity to pass becomes extremely important in the fourth quarter.

    Winning the coin toss and getting the ball first most often does not decide the outcome of the game. A favorable wind can be a big asset if the team needs to score or stop the other team from scoring and my guess is more important deciding the outcome than getting the ball first. Coaching a 12 year old youth football team a few years ago, I always deferred if my team won the coin toss. 12 year olds are going to be anxious early [not good for an offense] and I had a kid that could pass and a couple that could catch if I needed to move the ball in chunks. Plus, we never lost or barely gained yardage if we had to punt. The other team did. Field position!

5. Let's talk speed, my favorite characteristic in an athlete or team. As I have pointed out before, coaches at all levels do not understand NEUROmuscular. If the neurology of muscle movement is not understood then the coach or his strength and conditioning staff will be lost in designing a training program to increase an athletes or team speed. And I am not talking just linear, straight-a-head speed. Lets look at how most coaches approach the lunge, either as a conditioning exercise or warm-up prior to competition. In neuromuscular, training with slow movements means just that, conditioning the athletes neuromuscular system to be slow, a slower athlete or team. The solution is simple.

    Coaches love squats. The bigger number they can post for their athletes gets their juices moving. Now the problem for those misplaced juices! For speed "equal time and work" training and conditioning the hamstrings, glutes and lower back, the spinea erectors is critical for major increases in speed, particularly top-end, optimum speed. The muscular connection consisting of the hamstrings, glutes and spinea erectors, with emphasis on the hamstrings are referred to as the "Sprinting Engine"! Back hyper-extensions are not the appropriate training. The training fulcrum must be the knee to focus on the hamstrings. The solution is simple.

    Unless something goofy happens in the remaining bowl games and play-offs for the Super Bowl, Bright Lights will turn it's attention to other sports and events/issues surround those sports.