I am of the belief that nothing can create momentum (or lose momentum) quicker than a big play with your punt return unit. Whether it’s a blocked punt or a big return, a big play here can swing the pendulum in your favor fast. One way that I aim to create those big plays is through simplicity.
Our punt return/block unit will align the same way, whether I’ve called a block or a return. Doing this allows our players to only have to remember one alignment that week, as well as keeping the opponents’ punt unit guessing as to whether or not we are coming after the kick.
When I install this unit in camp, I start vs. a traditional, “spread” punt alignment:
In our league, we face a different punt alignment just about weekly, but I think the traditional alignment is a good place to start. From there, we can vary our alignment week to week, based on how our opponent lines up. The key to our alignment is that we are balanced. The opponent cannot tell, pre-snap, if we are in return mode, or block mode. I believe this also helps us with our own fake protection. Having a punt successfully faked against you can create another, negative, momentum swing.
During the installation portion of this unit, I install 3 returns (one each for right, left, and middle), and 3 blocks (right, left, middle again). We like to name them similarly. For example, our returns may be male names (i.e., Roger, Larry, Mike), while the blocks may be female names (Rachel, Laura, Mary). We’ve used countries/states, cars/trucks, etc. Throughout the season, I like to keep the game plan a bit slimmer. We typically go into a game with 2-3 returns and 1-2 blocks. I’d rather get a lot of quality reps on a smaller number of schemes than get 1 or 2 shots at a lot of different plays.
Our philosophies with this unit are simple. First, in the return game, catch the ball. A big return can be a huge play, but a muffed punt and/or a punt which rolls for additional yardage can be big plays for the opposition. We do not call our guys punt returners; we call them punt catchers. Once the catch is secured, we ask our kids to get us 10 yards (a first down). Anything on top of that is a bonus. If we decide to attempt a block, I’m satisfied if we can partially block a kick, or even just force a bad/short kick due to our pressure. We were able to get a hand on 5 punts this year, and each time we created a positive scenario for our offense.
Finally, our general rules for this unit are as follows:
1. ALWAYS have someone forcing the kick. You do not want the punter to be able to hold the ball and allow his coverage unit to get a good start toward your returner. You also never know when there will be a bad or dropped snap.
2. Unless it is desperation time, and we’re sending everyone after the kick, we always have at least two players assigned to “fake patrol”. These players do not do anything until they are positive that the ball is going to be kicked.
I hope something in this post can be useful to you and your team. Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!
As always, I love to hear from other coaches. I can be reached at wrussel1@norwich.edu.