The Script

Guys,

I just wanted to post this for those of you who would like to know a little more about what Koobs is doing with the script and how it works in prep and on game day. 
TB

An inside look at how Denver's 'Script' works
September 26, 2000
Paul Attner
The Sporting News

                        It is last Saturday, 18 hours before kickoff against the Chiefs, and the Broncos gather for a meeting in a suburban Denver hotel, where they will spend the night. For the offense, the next 30 minutes will be particularly significant. For the final time this group will be reviewing "The Script," that mysterious, ever-changing list of 15 plays the Broncos use to orchestrate the opening part of every game.

                        If each contest is, in reality, a weekly term paper for the Denver offense, then The Script serves as a thesis. It helps to energize both players and coaches and forces the team to focus on what plays should work best against this next opponent. This is the feel-good part of the game plan; if The Script is effective, usually the plan winds up working well, too.

                        On this night, the theme is two-edged: Be patient, and protect the ball. The Broncos know their division rival intimately. The Chiefs' defense is physical and resourceful. It rarely surrenders big plays, so Shanahan and Gary Kubiak, his offensive coordinator, emphasize the need for long drives. And they also know, because they will be starting reserve quarterback Gus Frerotte instead of the injured Brian Griese, the team must guard even more than usual against turnovers.

                        "We've got some long calls for Gus (in the huddle), and you guys must listen and help him out and get out of that huddle efficiently," Kubiak tells them.

                        "We've got to stay on schedule. We want to stay out of third-and-12 or -14. We need lots of third-and-5 or -6s. And it's crucial we protect the ball. They are one of the best ball-stripping teams we play. No early mistakes."

                        This is the first year that Kubiak has called the Bronco plays. Shanahan, one of the game's elite offensive minds, gave up those duties, hoping it would enable his longtime assistant to emerge from his boss' shadow and help him get a head coaching job. But this has been an especially tough week for Kubiak, who doubles as quarterbacks coach. Griese had been outstanding in the first three games, the highest-rated passer in the league, but he hurt a shoulder the week before against Oakland and can't throw. The veteran Frerotte joined the club in the offseason as a free agent and still isn't deeply versed in the Broncos' intricate offense.

                        Kubiak has confidence Frerotte can perform well enough to win, but this is the first time they have been through The Script together. The coaches have strived to make sure they call plays that will allow him to excel. They want to make him feel comfortable quickly, but they warn him constantly not to force any passes. And most important, they don't want him to feel he must carry the team by himself.

                        In the meeting room, Kubiak slowly works through The Script play by play. Shanahan sits in an audio-visual booth located between the offensive and defensive rooms. He runs a control panel that allows him to listen to both rooms. He turns up the volume as an assistant puts up individual diagrams of each play on a screen and Kubiak uses a laser pointer to discuss the intricate elements, emphasizing adjustments in routes, reads, audibles and blocking schemes. Most of his reminders are directed at Frerotte, who sits by himself in the middle of the room, feet propped up on a chair. Frerotte nods his head frequently. Teammates follow along in their playbook; some take notes. None takes his gaze away from the screen.

                        The first two plays will be runs, giving Frerotte time to settle down and disperse some of his adrenaline. But Kubiak also doesn't want the players to think the coaches are afraid to let Frerotte throw. So the next three calls will be passes. The review is rapid, filled with the jargon of the Broncos' offensive play-calling. The adjustments even on a simple running play are mind-boggling. It is this attention to detail that necessitates the hours of meetings every week, both for players and coaches.

                        By the time the review is finished, Kubiak wants every player stimulated by The Script. "We've got touches for everyone, the receivers, the tight end, the fullback, the running back," he says. "They can't sit there and say, 'I've got nothing to do for the first five plays.' They get involved immediately." Kubiak expects his players to leave the meeting and focus on those first 15.

                        "Gus, it is your turn," Kubiak finally tells Frerotte. "This is what you are here for, buddy."

                        By the time Frerotte and the offense touch the ball Sunday, the Chiefs lead, 7-0. The Broncos begin as had been scripted, calling two straight running plays for Mike Anderson, who again is starting for Terrell Davis, who is just coming back from an injury. The Script now calls for a pass, H 2 Smash 'Y' China; Frerotte connects with wide receiver Rod Smith for 23 yards. Kubiak, sitting in an upstairs booth, is relieved. His new quarterback has passed his first test.

                        For the next seven plays, Kubiak stays within the framework, if not the order, of The Script. No reason to change. He bypasses one run call that doesn't seem suited for the defensive schemes being employed by the Chiefs. And once he uses the fourth play on The Script, he bounces around a bit among the listed plays, starting to respond to the feel of the game.

                        Indeed, The Script works so well on this first possession that by the 11th snap, the Broncos are in the red zone, with a first-and-goal at the Kansas City 6 after a 15-yard completion to tight end Dwayne Carswell. Now Kubiak leaves The Script and turns to a prioritized list of plays Denver wants to call inside the 20. Kansas City stuffs two runs, and Frerotte is pressured on third down and throws away a pass toward fullback Howard Griffith. The Chiefs are giving Denver some new third-down blitzes; they are trying to unnerve Frerotte. The Broncos have to settle for a 22-yard field goal despite a 14-play, 79-yard drive. At least they produced the long possession Kubiak wanted.

                        Shanahan first became enamored of The Script when he was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma. In 1975, he attended a football coaches convention in Chicago. Bill Walsh was a guest speaker; his topic was The Script. To the young Shanahan, Walsh's lecture was mesmerizing. It all made perfect sense, coming as it did from an acknowledged creative force. Here was a way to introduce a theme to your players, to crystallize and summarize your offensive thinking in 15 plays, to throw both your best and your most reasoned plays at the defense.

                        "I can remember the moment to this day," says Shanahan, sitting in his office, 48 hours before Sunday's kickoff. "I was this young kid, just getting started. What Bill said really caught my attention. It was so reasonable, so intelligent."

                        Shanahan eventually wound up working for the 49ers, where he served as offensive coordinator for three years, perfecting not only the nuances of Walsh's West Coast philosophies but the intricacies of The Script. It has become the absolute of the Denver game plan. The Broncos wouldn't dare leave the locker room without it.

                        "We use it because it works," says Shanahan. "It's been proven over time. It's not fail-safe, for sure. Sometimes, when a team comes out and defenses you entirely different than you expected, you have to acknowledge it and change. And out goes The Script. But the vast majority of the time, you are able to stay with it and use it."

                        The Broncos' Script always has 15 plays, all predetermined and written down on their game-plan sheet that the offensive coaches carry on the sideline. But as the first series against the Chiefs demonstrated, that doesn't mean each of their first 15 offensive plays in every game is on The Script. The coaches move off The Script according to the game situation. Inside the opponents' 20, they will switch to their best red-zone calls. On short yardage, particularly on third down, they will move to another set of calls. If they are backed up inside their 10, they have a specific list for that problem. Depending on third-down yardage, they have yet another set of calls.

                        But as much as the contest allows, they will methodically push through the 15 plays. They will start each series picking up The Script from where they left off the previous possession, occasionally skipping a play or two if their personnel on the field has changed or if Shanahan and Kubiak feel a later play is absolutely perfect for that particular occasion. Yet it is the discipline that comes with The Script that encourages Shanahan to remain with it if at all possible.

                        "If we follow it and don't get off of it at a moment's notice, it serves to break our tendencies," he says.

                        So let's say the Broncos face a second-and-15. The next play on The Script is a run. The defense likely would expect a pass, but Denver will stick with the run. And if the defense blitzes and the Broncos catch them right and their inside blocks work, it could lead to a big play. And opponents who break down the tape afterward have to wonder what Denver will call the next time in the same circumstances.

                        In the opener this season against the Rams, the Broncos decided not to risk a big mistake on the first series in the noisy Trans World Dome. So The Script called for an initial three running plays. On the third one, they needed 5 yards for a first down. The Rams, with reason, anticipated pass. And blitzed. Which the Broncos anticipated. Their scripted run, a sweep by Davis, got outside the containment and gained 12 yards. And the crowd quieted noticeably, allowing the Broncos to successfully move to the next phase of The Script, which included two straight Griese completions. They wound up scoring, just as they scored on their first possessions in earlier games against both the Falcons and the Raiders.

                        Besides this anti-tendency plus, The Script serves other major functions for the Broncos:

                         It allows the coaches to gain insight into how the defense will react to various formations and personnel packages. For the Chiefs, Kubiak had tossed up 15 different alignments in those 15 plays -- "every formation in the freaking book" -- hoping to see every check-off and change Kansas City has planned for the Broncos. After each series, the offensive coaches receive a packet of pictures showing two pictures of each play that was just run. One picture shows the snap, the second is a second after the snap. They study these pictures and determine how the Chiefs reacted. Even if the particular play on The Script didn't work, the coaches can make adjustments with a particular formation that they can exploit later in the game, either because of a weakness in the defensive structure or because of a particular defender who they believe is vulnerable.

                        "What we see in the first 15 goes a long way to helping us be successful in the third and fourth quarters," says Kubiak. "We go in thinking the defense will react in certain ways to what we are doing. Then we, in turn, react to how they react. So even if we don't get any scores because of The Script, or even if we don't do much, it is still extremely valuable to us. That's what people don't understand."

                         Secondly, it forces the coaches to sum up their game-planning into a neat package. They had 60 passes in the Kansas City game plan. The Script contained the eight very best of those passes. Shanahan doesn't want to come out in a grab-bag approach, where you have dozens of plays ready to go and just pick and choose at random.

                        "It's a matter of specific organization," he says. "It makes you wrap things up and focus your thinking. If you can't verbalize what you want to do, it probably won't work." This is the climax of intense study. And here are our results of all our study; let's see how they work.

                         Most important, it forces the players to focus on the task at hand. By telling them the first 15 plays ahead of time, they are given time to study their assignments on each, including every potential adjustment. So, surprises should be eliminated. And that should eliminate mistakes.

                        "If you are right about the plays on The Script," says Kubiak, "you should really reduce your mental problems. I have a group of guys who are studying those 15 plays like there is no end to them. We shouldn't have any mistakes in the first quarter or in the first half. It makes the players very accountable for those plays."

                        Indeed, The Script is intended to give the Broncos control over the game. Since they also script the first eight plays of the second half (that handiwork is done at intermission), Shanahan and Kubiak are dictating a minimum of 23 plays out of about 60 to 65 a game. Toss in those predetermined calls in various specialty situations -- short yardage, red zone, third-and-long -- and they could have orchestrated 50 percent of their play selections before the opening kickoff.

                        That eliminates a huge chunk of guesswork, and it forces the Broncos to stay with their elite play selections. That is one reason the Broncos annually have one of the league's best offenses.

                        Before their second possession, Kubiak reviews The Script. Davis, who is coming off a bad ankle sprain, looked good enough in practice Friday to get playing time in this game. It's now his turn to come in. Kubiak also likes No. 8, a waggle pass that should work.

                        The Broncos start the series at their own 38, still down by four points. Kubiak calls for the waggle play, Waggle Right 'Z' Out. Receiver Ed McCaffrey goes in motion to his right and runs an out pattern. Smith, split wide left, runs an in pattern. Frerotte rolls slightly to his right and fires back to Smith downfield. The completion nets 14 yards.
 
                         Then Kubiak calls 19 HO Strong. Griffith is split to the left, and Smith and McCaffrey are set right. Davis takes the handoff and cuts to his left. The Broncos catch the Chiefs in just the right defense -- "Those are the times," says Griese, "when you get to the line and say, 'Golly gosh, we've got them'" --and Davis moves untouched through the secondary. He finally is stopped after a 24-yard gain. Two plays later, Davis sprints for another nine and a first down at the Chiefs' 10. But again, the Broncos' red-zone calls don't work. Even with the aid of a 5-yard penalty, they can't get into the end zone. They thought they could overwhelm the Chiefs with runs inside the 5, but Kansas City balks and stops three straight rushes. So, despite a nine-play, 60-yard march, Denver again winds up with only three points.

                        The Script is formalized on Friday. That morning, two days before kickoff, Kubiak and Alex Gibbs, the line coach, meet. Gibbs, the overseer of the NFL's most consistent and dangerous running game, gives Kubiak his list of the best running plays for the Chiefs' game. They talk about his reasons, then Kubiak takes those eight plays along with the eight passes he believes will be most effective, and he works until 8:45 a.m. on a chronological order. He places them according to how he wants to exploit the Chiefs, and adds various formations from which they will be run. He then gives The Script to Shanahan and heads for two hours of meetings.

                        When he returns to his office, The Script is on his desk. Kubiak wonders every week how his boss will grade his handiwork. Sometimes, he has been 15-for-15, other times not even 50 percent. On this day, Shanahan has made three changes. He meets with Kubiak and Gibbs to persuade them on his suggestions. They agree; after all, this is Shanahan making the suggestions. Once practice is finished, Frerotte receives the entire play-call sheet, which includes The Script. The quarterback then takes home the call sheet and begins even more intense study that began with the introduction of the game plan on Wednesday.

                        Still, despite all this preparation, The Script sometimes just doesn't work. During Shanahan's last season in San Francisco, three opponents scrapped their normal defenses and drastically changed their schemes for the 49ers. Shanahan had to toss out The Script after a few plays and regroup.

                        "The year we won our second Super Bowl," says Kubiak, "we played San Diego and they came at us with stuff we didn't expect. We went to the shotgun and almost had to playground it. When that happens, you have to be honest as a coach and tell your players what is going on. Then you try to find a way for them to win. And that day we did."

                        But on this Sunday, The Script isn't enough. It has been extremely effective against the Chiefs. Serving as the basis of the first two possessions, and using all but three plays on the list of 15, it set up two long drives, without any turnovers, leading to two red-zone opportunities. But the Broncos couldn't fully capitalize on either. The two field goals gave them an empty feeling, and gave the Chiefs confidence.

                        The Script gave Frerotte a chance to settle in. But he seemed rusty and unsure of his decision-making as the game wore on, and hesitated too much on his releases. His two fourth-quarter turnovers -- a fumble off a sack at midfield and an interception on his team's last possession -- coupled with a turnover by Smith allowed the Chiefs to rally from a 22-14 third-period deficit to a 23-22 victory. In their first three games, with Griese at quarterback, Denver had just one turnover--and no interceptions.

                        "We did what we wanted to early except score touchdowns," says Kubiak. "When you work that hard and don't get touchdowns, it serves as a downer. It affected us the rest of the game."

                        The theme of the term paper had been successful; the Broncos just failed to write a winning conclusion.

                       Senior writer Paul Attner covers the NFL for The Sporting News.