yznx3e
Sophomore Member
Posts: 142
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Post by yznx3e on Nov 25, 2006 9:04:45 GMT -6
Assuming you don't line up beat what do you guys focus on the most? We took over a program that had not lifted in over a year and basically got run over this year. We spent more time on tackling drills than anyone in the country. Still we just got run over. We have to invest time in the weight room I know. But in the offseason what else can we be working on or at least selling to the kids? Any little secrets like towel pull ups to improve grip are also welcome.
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Post by coachcalande on Nov 25, 2006 10:11:50 GMT -6
alignment, assignment and gang tackling are things to really stress. Fundamentals and Pursuit are so important. But without a doubt, defense is about athletes. You are going to have to make athletes out of them.
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Post by wildcat on Nov 25, 2006 11:27:35 GMT -6
Aside from having great athletes, I would say preparation. If you put together a good gameplan and have a good idea of the other team's tendencies, you have a decent shot of playing well.
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Post by brophy on Nov 25, 2006 12:08:29 GMT -6
aside from tackling and movement (pursuit)
I'd say gap integrity / gap fits.....you can do anything you want but if you void gap responsibilities you are setting yourself up for heartache
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coachf
Freshmen Member
Posts: 15
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Post by coachf on Nov 25, 2006 14:32:20 GMT -6
I agree with all of you guys, but I think wildcat said it best. Have them prepared. We did a great job of preparing our kids this year. If they weren't so prepared we would have been getting killed worse than we did. OBviously, you need the athletes, but I think good solid preparation and playing responsibly make a big difference.
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Post by fbdoc on Nov 25, 2006 17:29:45 GMT -6
Don't back off on your tackling! When it comes down to it - someone is going to have to tackle the ball carrier. The only goals we talk about with our players read as follows:
1. Do Your Job
2. Give 100% on every play
3. Be a Physical Player
4. Play Smart - no mental errors
5. Run, Block, & TACKLE!
Every one of those is totally dependant on us, rather than the opponent. And just as important - not one of the goals requires any size, speed, or strength!
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Post by phantom on Nov 25, 2006 20:38:31 GMT -6
Physically, I think that quickness, particularly change of direction, is is most important and is something that can be improved in the offseason. Speed helps a lot and can be improved to some extent but you really have to play the hand you're dealt there. Hand strength is also important and there are numerous ways to work that. The best defenses that we've had have been very football smart. Have informal, small-group film sessions where you point things out.
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yznx3e
Sophomore Member
Posts: 142
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Post by yznx3e on Nov 25, 2006 23:09:27 GMT -6
Will increasing live reps in practice help us? I mean live full to the ground tackling during unit. We rarely do this against our starting RB and our JV backs just don't give us a great look.
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Post by PSS on Nov 25, 2006 23:20:10 GMT -6
Stance, alignment, key, and responsibility are 4 things that we stress daily. If you don't do these things correct along with tackling and pursuit, you will get beat defensively.
As far as the live reps, we go live against our #1s and #2s in team just because the jv doesn't give us a decent look 100% of the time. In run shell and pass shell we will go against our jv.
Perhaps you may want to look at personnel and put more speed on defense.
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Post by kcbazooka on Nov 26, 2006 7:29:10 GMT -6
yz - I feel for you -- in fact when I looked at your post I had to check to see if I wrote it. Very frustrating isn't it -- you have to keep stressing TACKLING. and as you know you have to convince them to hit the weightroom. So many times weak kids will back off from making a tackle because (probably rightly so) they are afraid of getting hurt by those that are stronger than them. We struggled this year and usually had people in the right position but they could not bring the ballcarrier down. We too did tackling drills out the wazoo. We didn't do much all live in practices because we were short on numbers as it was. Finally convinced to go live during week 7 and we get our #1 rB hurt. lots of catch-22's out there. good luck and don't give up (probably talking to myself as much as you!)
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Post by CoachJohnsonMN on Nov 26, 2006 7:44:23 GMT -6
I don't know what kind of space you have, but these can be done in a hallway. Position specific routines are great. It is tough to work on tackling this time of the year but why not work on the other necessary skills now. When the season starts, you have perfected many skills and can move onto the glaring needs.
As part of their specific routine, each of the following can work on:
DB: backpedals, 45/90 degree breaks, coming up for a tackle
LB: downhill scrape, zone drops, hand shield drills
DL: 5 yd starts, pass rush moves, hand shield drills, shedding blocks
We have all of our players do agility (dot drills or ladders) every day, plyos/position specific moves twice a week, & reaction drills twice a week. My favorite reaction drill is Tennis Ball Reaction. This is a goalie drill for hockey. A player will face a corner of a room in a squat position. He should be about 5 feet from the corner. A partner will line up behind him and throw the ball (medium strength) so it can bounce any way. We usually have the players throw 2 sets of ten to each other. This turns into a competition and we set up brackets in the summer (playoff setting). It's great for a DB/LB's hand-eye coordination.
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Post by CoachJohnsonMN on Nov 26, 2006 7:48:00 GMT -6
Forgot the most important part: The players must catch the tennis ball with one hand (can not secure ball against body). Player is allowed one step in either direction but must stay in squat position
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Post by groundchuck on Nov 26, 2006 8:58:45 GMT -6
Aside from having good athletes with some speed I would say the #1 thing is preparation. To me that is an umbrella term meaning alignment and assignment for the kids and a good gameplan for the coaches. I have been told 90% of defensive mistakes occur presnap. I don't know if it is quite that high but that is what we tell our kids to hammer home the point.
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Post by fbdoc on Nov 26, 2006 9:10:48 GMT -6
Re: Live tackling. We don't do a lot of it just because of our numbers but when we do, we split our kids into 3 ability groups of about 10 each so everyone is going against a similar talent - that way they're using good skills (fit rip wrap drive) and not just ducking clutching and praying! We also have a one-man tackle sled that we wear out. We use it every day with every kid.
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Post by chiefscoach on Nov 26, 2006 9:15:53 GMT -6
Tackling, Tackling, Tackling! That's defense. Yes you want to be fast, aggressive and all of that and you need to be in order to have consistant success,but Tackling is the single most important aspect when it comes to Defense. 2005 6A state champs in Florida (who we have the pleasure of playing every year! lol) shut down faster more athletic teams by just tackling extremly well. If the other team completed a 9 yard pass, it was a 9yrd gain not a 10 or 11 yrd gain.
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Post by blb on Nov 26, 2006 9:16:12 GMT -6
The number one thing for a good defense to me is being able to Stop The Run and all that it entails (stance, alignment, explosion, block protection, reaction to keys, pursuit, tackling). If you can't do that. nothing else matters.
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yznx3e
Sophomore Member
Posts: 142
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Post by yznx3e on Nov 26, 2006 9:41:15 GMT -6
I have to share this story. As a new staff we fell into the trap of playing the best looking kids. We really didn't know the kids well enough to choose starters based on character. So we struggle along with some good looking kids that wouldn't hit a soul thinking to ourselve we just gotta keep coaching them up. Finally, because of injuries we turn to Shaun on the sideline and say get in there at OLB. They run at him the first 2 plays and he makes perfect form tackles. They throw in the flat on third down and he makes tackle to force 4th down. Not a great looking kid but looking back on it he was always in the weight room in the summer and left the field last after every practice. I even had to run him off one day after practice when he started doing form tackling on his buddy without a coach. I will go to war with that kid this year. He will be lucky if I ever take him off the field. Just gotta find 10 more like him.
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Post by groundchuck on Nov 26, 2006 11:02:34 GMT -6
Yeah, tackling is "kind of" important too.
You can't play defense if you can't tackle.
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Post by coachbb on Nov 26, 2006 11:42:56 GMT -6
It doesn't make a difference how much you work on tackling if your kids don't make the tackle. Getting stronger is a function of becoming a better tackler. Oh, and forcing turnovers helps too.  |
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Post by tog on Nov 26, 2006 13:40:26 GMT -6
doesn't matter if they can make the tackle if they can't get into position to do so
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Post by coachjd on Nov 26, 2006 13:49:20 GMT -6
6'-3" 220 lb MLB who can run 4.6 and eats nails for breakfast!!! How many of us have one of these? Not us!!
Defense is an attitude, its a mentality. Our defense sounds like a lot like many that have been described. Instead of bend but don't break, we were like a cheese grader this year. We struggled tackling, struggled getting off blocks, and struggled playing with an attitude. What I cannot understand, is at times we were shut down on defense (never for an entire game) Watching film the past few weeks and trying to see what was the reason for us becoming shut down at times, the only thing I could come up with is the amount of effort and desire they played with. Is it the attitude??? We had to play more kids both ways this year than we ever had, is this apart of it? Just trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. Any input would be appreciated.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2006 11:06:39 GMT -6
We talk about "Play Fast". We don't have so much in our scheme that thinking slows us down. We go through run fits from every alignment, blitz, stunt, etc. until it is natural. We get ourselves great reps and a great number of reps in practice because I script everything. It takes me a lot of time to get it done, but I script our skelly, our walk-through, our inside run, our perimeter run, our team time, etc. and the various coaches stick to it. They do a great job of getting quick turns.
I feel like on Friday nights our defense plays a little faster than the competition because of the confidence they have from doing it over and over and over. With hesitation, all is lost.
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Post by coachdawhip on Nov 28, 2006 21:24:41 GMT -6
I prefer gang tackling, so I have to say alignment, assignment & then pursuit.
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Post by biggroff on Nov 28, 2006 22:30:55 GMT -6
I am not a football genius but I will throw in my 2 cents worth. I feel that 75% of playing good defense in high school is 2 things...
1) Lining up correctly to the formation ( WE SPEND 10 MINUTES OF EVERY PRACTICE JUST ALINGING FROTNS AND COVERAGES TO FORMATIONS...No plays, no snaps, just alignment)
2) Know what your responsibilities are.
I don't know how many times I have seen a team give up a touchdown because the alignment was bad or the players did not know the coverage or the stunt.
I would put these two things above tackling. I am not saying that you don't need to tackle. We work tackling every day we are in pads. We stress tackling every time we line up wether its scout team or first team. But if you have a kid who is a great tackler but has no idea how to line up or what his assignment is he won't tackle anyone. If a kid is lined up correctly he will at least get his body in the way of the ball carrier.
If a kid know what he is suppost to do before the play he will play confidently and thus play at the top speed he is able to play at. I feel this is just a natural instinct of a kid...to play fast because they feel good about what they are doing. I feel that my job as a DC is to make sure I don't confuse the kids and have them loose this natural edge that comes from confidence.
We have been very successful with this philosophy playing with very average athletes We have given up less than 18 pt/game every year for the past 10 years...reguardless of talent. Not an earth shattering stat but I have coached some extremely average group of athletes some years. I have only had a great group of athletes 2 or 3 times the past 10 years.
There was a commment earlier in this thread about 90% of successsful defense taking place before the snap...this is a great statement. I totally agree.
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Post by biggroff on Nov 28, 2006 22:33:10 GMT -6
I am not a football genius ( I did sleeep at a holiday Inn!!) but I will throw in my 2 cents worth. I feel that 75% of playing good defense in high school is 2 things... 1) Lining up correctly to the formation ( WE SPEND 10 MINUTES OF EVERY PRACTICE JUST ALINGING FROTNS AND COVERAGES TO FORMATIONS...No plays, no snaps, just alignment) 2) Know what your responsibilities are. I don't know how many times I have seen a team give up a touchdown because the alignment was bad or the players did not know the coverage or the stunt. I would put these two things above tackling. I am not saying that you don't need to tackle. We work tackling every day we are in pads. We stress tackling every time we line up wether its scout team or first team. But if you have a kid who is a great tackler but has no idea how to line up or what his assignment is he won't tackle anyone. If a kid is lined up correctly he will at least get his body in the way of the ball carrier. If a kid know what he is suppost to do before the play he will play confidently and thus play at the top speed he is able to play at. I feel this is just a natural instinct of a kid...to play fast because they feel good about what they are doing. I feel that my job as a DC is to make sure I don't confuse the kids and have them loose this natural edge that comes from confidence. We have been very successful with this philosophy playing with very average athletes We have given up less than 18 pt/game every year for the past 10 years...reguardless of talent. Not an earth shattering stat but I have coached some extremely average group of athletes some years. I have only had a great group of athletes 2 or 3 times the past 10 years. There was a commment earlier in this thread about 90% of successsful defense taking place before the snap...this is a great statement. I totally agree. |
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Post by brophy on Nov 28, 2006 22:38:14 GMT -6
I am not a football genius but I will throw in my 2 cents worth. I feel that 75% of playing good defense in high school is 2 things... 1) Lining up correctly to the formation ( WE SPEND 10 MINUTES OF EVERY PRACTICE JUST ALINGING FROTNS AND COVERAGES TO FORMATIONS...No plays, no snaps, just alignment) 2) Know what your responsibilities are. I don't know how many times I have seen a team give up a touchdown because the alignment was bad or the players did not know the coverage or the stunt. I would put these two things above tackling. I am not saying that you don't need to tackle. We work tackling every day we are in pads. We stress tackling every time we line up wether its scout team or first team. But if you have a kid who is a great tackler but has no idea how to line up or what his assignment is he won't tackle anyone. If a kid is lined up correctly he will at least get his body in the way of the ball carrier. If a kid know what he is suppost to do before the play he will play confidently and thus play at the top speed he is able to play at. I feel this is just a natural instinct of a kid...to play fast because they feel good about what they are doing. I feel that my job as a DC is to make sure I don't confuse the kids and have them loose this natural edge that comes from confidence. We have been very successful with this philosophy playing with very average athletes We have given up less than 18 pt/game every year for the past 10 years...reguardless of talent. Not an earth shattering stat but I have coached some extremely average group of athletes some years. I have only had a great group of athletes 2 or 3 times the past 10 years. There was a commment earlier in this thread about 90% of successsful defense taking place before the snap...this is a great statement. I totally agree. this plus 1000! |
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Post by okpowerspread on Nov 28, 2006 23:34:25 GMT -6
Tackling is weight-room and want too. That being said, your kids have to know with out a doubt where to line up and how to. The quickest way to take aggression from a defense is to make them unsure. One thing that we have done in offseason to really light a fire under our kids is compete. . .and I mean compete at almost everything. Even if it means full contact duck-duck-goose. We compete and teach them to hate losing. You'll see a marked inprovement when they have sacrificed and invested time and energy in the weight room.
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Post by Coach Geordie on Nov 29, 2006 3:56:37 GMT -6
Technique, Scheme, Mentality
Technique - being where you need to be (gap penetration, shedding blockers, movement) and tackling when you get there
Scheme - having just enough to deal with what teams do on offence. You don't need more.
Mentality - It's the next play that matters.
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Post by tvt50 on Nov 29, 2006 6:10:53 GMT -6
STOP THE RUN!
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Post by edwardslv on Nov 29, 2006 8:41:37 GMT -6
Several thoughts. Most of which have already been said.
1) Off-season work must be about more than physical growth. Mental toughness and teamwork are learned here, as is effort, perseverence, etc., which is what D is all about.
2) In my biased opinion, you always want to overachieve, regardless of talent level. That being said, you must raise the kids' football IQ. They must learn how to scheme and adjust. In many ways, I do not buy into the KISS philosophy. Obviously I don't want my kids confused, but I also want to be able to do more than line up and play a base D all night. Teach them football.
3) Our D has talked about something we call "A-2-Dog" and I think D is about that simple. I am sure I stole this from someone.
A = Alignment. They must know where to align on each play. This goes back to what I already said about football IQ.
2 = Your first 2 steps. If a kid is aligned correctly & takes his first 2 steps correctly then he's well on his way.
Dog = Run like a scalded dog. Intensity and aggressiveness are critical, but only after A & 2.
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