I was thinking that I needed to get Alan and Lily together, and we should convert this form to something more dynamic. I was also thinking this was what the defense should be doing in reverse. I was sure they were, but here they were just showing me what they do for my position. It would be nice to be able to have a laptop in the booth and pull up third and long and see their tendencies when we set up in trips, for example.
I thought of another great use. During the game, have the software available and one of the coaches input what was happening on each play. You could run a comparison between what we expected and what they were actually doing. It might find differences we could use to make adjustments.
I raised my hand.
“Dawson.”
“Coach, do you use the same forms for the defense?”
“Good question. No, we don’t,” he told me, and then he turned to one of the assistants. “Go over to BJ’s office and have them get you the forms they use when watching game film. Have them make enough copies for everyone.”
“Thanks, Coach,” I said.
“The next section asks about their defensive backfield. There is a slew of questions here. This is especially important to your receivers. Your answer tells you who their best cover guy is and why; who is their worst and why.
“The next is how do their safeties cover the run? Are they in a cover four, and are going to be aggressive in run support? Are they soft, playing cover two? How do they play? Can we dictate what they’ll do based on our formation?
“How do the safeties cover the pass? Can we get somebody matched up and run a vertical route? Are they too loose and do we need to throw the ball underneath?
“When do they blitz? Down and distance? Where does the blitz come from? What area of the field and situation? Knowing when and from where it’s likely to come is sometimes the difference in a game.
“Next is, can we get mismatches in our formation? Be careful with this one. I’ve never seen a good receiver who doesn’t think he can beat a defender. Think about this. Could we get a safety to cover a wide receiver? Could we get a big tight end covered by their smallest corner?
“Next we figure out how you tell what coverage they’re going to be in. Look for keys that you can go to and know how they’re setting up. It’s better to know it before the play than to try to figure it out on the fly.
“What are our keys to run an audible? I’m not a guy that likes to call an audible, but if a play isn’t going to be successful, I sure don’t want to waste it. So every week you should have three to five audible plays so you can get out of a bad situation and turn it into something that has a chance.”
Coach Braun ran us through the rest of the sheet. He then brought up game film and would freeze it before the snap. We would write down our observations. It made looking at game film so much easier. I was seeing things I never had before. If I learned nothing else this trip, that just made it all worthwhile.
THE AFTERNOON WAS SPENT running drills and then we played seven-on-seven. Since there were only eight quarterbacks, we each got to play with three different teams. It was fun playing with the different players. My teams went 2–1. We would have gone 3–0, but John was a referee and said I took too long to throw the winning touchdown.
Afterward, there was dinner and then free time. We had to be back to the dorm by eleven o’clock. The university had several student activities. The student union had bowling, darts and pool. They had an open swim at the aquatic center. There was a movie theater within walking distance.
The chaperones were taking a majority of the guys to the student union. Coach Hope had promised everyone pizza, so that sold it. John had taken me aside and told me that he was thinking of joining Theta Chi and they were having a little get-together with Chi Omega. I told Jim, Wolf, Mike and Bill, and they all agreed to go. Since my guys are complete dumbasses, I had to give them all condoms. John said he had his own, which floored me because I thought he had a steady girlfriend who was coming here to be with him.
When we got to the party, John introduced us to Boomer and Jaycee.
“Guys, tonight is mystery-date night. No one gives out a real name, we all use nicknames. So if you’ve got one, great; otherwise, we get to give you one.”
When it came time for Mike, I shouted out “BMOC.” He flipped me off but got stuck with it. They gave me ‘GQ,’ and I about choked when John got tagged with ‘Player.’
I was relieved when Jaycee told us we couldn’t drink. They had plenty of coolers of soda. Boomer warned us not to touch the ‘Mind-Wipe Punch.’ That was for the girls. We were early, so they had us help set up. They showed us the ‘Make-Out Lounge.’ The room was set up with screens and beanbag chairs. At 9:00 on the dot, twenty Chi Omega sisters showed up en masse. Since it was summer school, Theta Chi only had eleven members present, so my teammates and I helped make up the difference.
I was mentally evaluating all the women. They came in all shapes and sizes. They talked Jaycee into being the DJ and the music started. The girls were in a good mood and it seemed they might have started drinking before the party. I was contemplating the tall brunette with a killer backside or a perky blond who put my teeth on edge because she was so hot. One of the fraternity members asked the blond to dance, so I went over to the brunette.
“Would you like to dance?”
“Not yet, but look me up later. I have some matters I have to take care of. While you wait, could you dance with Sure Thing?”
I looked at the girl she was indicating. She blushed when the tall girl said her name. The girl was Emo-looking with pink and purple highlights in her hair. She even had black nail polish. She was last on my list; but if there’s a list, don’t you have to work through it? What the heck. I would just work it in reverse order.
“Sure, I’d love to,” I said which got a nice smile from the tall girl.
We went out on the dance floor and she did this little move where she would put one hand up and the other on her tummy as she wiggled her hips. Her moves had me wanting to put my hand on her tummy.
“So I take it you didn’t pick out your nickname.”
“No, Stork thought that it would be funny. How did you get GQ?”
“I model part-time,” I told her.
“Anything I’ve seen?”
“I’m currently on TV in the Red commercial.”
“I thought you looked familiar. Take your shirt off.”
“No, not happening. I get teased enough by my friends. I don’t need to do it again,” I said.
“I suppose you take your shirt off a lot,” she goaded me.
“Too much. Sooo, let’s change the subject. How come you look Goth?”
“Funny story; I lost a bet.”
“So tell me ...”
“Nope, not until you lose the shirt.”
The song ended, so I walked Sure Thing back to her sisters. Stork was talking to two other sisters. The conversation seemed intense, so I cut my losses and got another soda. I checked the crowd and I was proud to see all my guys were talking to girls.
As I tried to figure out what to do next when a Theta Chi came up and introduced himself.
“Hey, call me Major for the night,” he said as he shook my hand.
“GQ,” I offered.
“I like that one. Was that your real nickname or did someone give it to you?”
“John, I mean, Player, gave it to me.”
“Player’s a good guy. He told us he was bringing some of the players from the football camp. They all seem to be hooking up. What’s your story?”
“The girl I was interested in seems to be busy.”
“That would be Stork. She is striking, and I could see the two of you hit it off. I think they’re having some internal house problems and she’s trying to get them resolved. You might want to set your sights on someone else,” Major told me, and then he pointed at Sure Thing. “I saw you dancing with her, is she a bit too different for your taste?”