Bob Schnelker would've been proud

As most know, one of my passions is coaching youth sports, and my favorite sport to coach is Football. This year the Bloomington Association that my son Jake plays in had a draft (instead of a blind draw). Apparently they thought this would make things more fair. Why? Because the good coaches know the good athletes, the bad coaches don't know them or don't care.

At the conclusion of this year's draft, I walked out with '85 Bears, except my QB doesn't say a word. Our team cruised through the first half of the season 6-0 (winning by an average score of 40+ to zero)....allowing only 1 TD.

(this is where the story gets interesting) In game 7, my Walter Payton/Mike Singletary comes down with H1N1. Despite him out, we are leading 16-12 with 2:30 left in the game. I just need to get 1 first down and its over. The other team is crowding the line big time, so I decide to throw a bomb to Willie Gault (aka Jake Zosel) and end it right there. My QB fakes the dive, but the RB runs into him as he's throwing. Pass picked off, they take it to the house, we lose 18-16. 6-1....kids crying, the other team celebrates like 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team on Red Bull.

Fast Forward...we get Payton/Singletary back and run the table to the Championship yesterday. And we play the team that "beat" us.

At no point in my coaching career have I run such a Vanilla offense in my life as I did yesterday...as the title of the blog states it would have made Bob Schnelker blush (former Vikes OC who was under constant scrutiny for bad/conservative play calling).

We threw the ball 2 times (normally we air it out 12-15 times). We ran 4 different plays (no misdirection, no reverses, no hook and ladders, no double passes, no waggles, no spread, no wildcat, no pistol) and won in workman like fashion 34-7. While calling plays, I felt like Steve Sax on a grounder to second, every time I had the down-out-and up called, I'd see that kid takin' it to the house in the previous game and I couldn't spit it out. Instead it was Dive, Sweep, Dive, Crossbuck....touchdown. Dive, Sweep, Dive, Crossbuck....touchdown.

So the next time you're watching a game and your team's Offensive Coordinator/Head Coach stays conservative....cut him some slack. I now know what's in their head....and it ain't pretty.