Clues to victory in studying film

'Dogs coach Pat Hill watches 8 hours a day.

Published online on Saturday, Oct. 03, 2009

When Boise State coach Chris Petersen was asked Monday morning about UC Davis, the opponent his Broncos were to face six days later, his first words were: "We're still studying those guys."

By studying, he meant watching film.

Film, you see, is a coach's textbook.

"If I told you all the answers to the test were in this book, you'd read it and study it," said Steve Pohl, Oregon's football video coordinator since 1996. "You want to be prepared. Coaches view film as a tool that helps them to prepare for an opponent. It helps them feel good about a game plan and feel confident."

Film is so critical to a football team's success that coaches spend hours poring over it long after the sun sets and shortly before it rises.

Fresno State coach Pat Hill said he spends about eight hours a day watching film. He and coaches across the country eye opponents' game films, their own team's game film and even practice film to find clues that might lead to a future win.

"We won't be able to put our game plans together without a lot of thorough film study, and you can't really evaluate your players without thorough film study," New Mexico State coach DeWayne Walker said.

"There's an old saying: 'The eye in the sky don't lie.' So to me, the more tape you watch, the more familiar you get with the opponent and even with your own football team."

Breaking it down

By viewing and taking notes on film, coaches identify trends and players for which they must prepare and also holes to expose. Coaches also can see areas in which their own teams need to improve.

The film usually is split into thirds: offense, defense and special teams. Then the coaches break it down further: third down-and-short, second-and-long, red-zone plays, etc. Questions are answered. Coaches see blitz tendencies, favorite plays and formations on offense and preferred styles of defense.

"We try to be as thorough as possible to try and give our kids a chance to be prepared on every play," Walker said.

One of the keys Fresno State learned from watching Cincinnati on film was that the Bearcats receivers didn't respond well to cornerbacks re-routing them. Thus, a theme heading into the game was to press and push the receivers off their routes as best and as often as possible.

It's the type of key insight that can be gleaned from game film and also the sort of knowledge teams sometimes try to hide. There have been instances in which teams clip a series or a play from a game film before sending it.

But at least those opponents got 99% of the film. Back in the day, during his first head-coaching job, Dick Tomey sometimes received 0% of his opponent's film.

Now the head coach at San Jose State, Tomey began at Hawaii in 1977. Multiple teams that year shipped film from the mainland via boat, with the footage arriving a week after the game was played.

"It's such a different experience," Tomey said, seeming relieved. "Obviously, the present-day arrangements are much better because you're more assured you're going to get things on time."

Fresno State has experienced some film shenanigans of its own in recent years.

Bulldogs video coordinator Brad Blackstone said Wisconsin tried last season to send film from its game against Akron instead of what Fresno State requested: a contest against Marshall. So Blackstone made some calls and tracked down the footage on his own -- from Marshall.

"They tried to force a tape on us that we didn't want," Blackstone explained, adding that NCAA rules supported Fresno State's cause. "We don't play anything like the [Akron] Zips."