Having a simple Defense when...

that is a good point raised, sport21ram.

I think conventional wisdom tells us to play "conservative offense, aggressive defense" because it is all about ball control / possession. Go bananas on defense, blitzing with an emphasis on pressure, then milk the clock on offense with really passive calls. "They can't win if they don't score" type thinking...just don't let the offense screw up.

However, I am of the mind (having once thought that way) to be more in favor of "aggressive offense, passive (bend-but-don't-break) defense". Use the possession of the ball for what it was meant for....taking shots at the end zone. "set the table" on offense, where you can control / dictate matchups quite a bit better and on defense sit in simple zone/man concepts, playing it 'safe'.

I think the way to get 'good' quickly is to make sure your defense is at least 'solid' and don't short-change it. However, it really isn't that difficult to do that (ESPECIALLY if you are running something similar at JV, Frosh, MS levels)....as long as you have depth on defense, you should be able to get away with lining up in C2 & C3 (really simple concepts) nearly every down. Why? Because what your defense does is 90% dependent on the formation you are defending (you HAVE to adjust!). For every different formation you are faced with, you are adding a "new" defense essentially. For 10 formations, you have 10 'defenses' in C3. You want to run C2 as well? Now those 10 formations become 20 (defensive) concepts for your players.

I really don't believe you can neglect the defense for the sake of scoring points, you just don't HAVE to be 'complicated' on defense to be good. So long as the kids can adjust to any formation out of base (C3) and tackle - you SHOULD be fine.

On offense, you really need reps and go over all the scenarios so everyone is on the same page.

I guess what I'm saying is.....I agree with you.

I guess we fall into this category. I wouldn't say we over concentrate on Offense, we have a full O and D day each week with team D on O days and vice versa. I would say we have a simpler D because quite frankly we don't have a true Defensive guy on staff. I have the title of DC but in truth am an O guy at heart. We are a 50 cov 3 base some times 52 w $ sometimes a 53 look. We put in some special stuff on D when needed, like a veer team or stud wr. But our main concern is not to be confused and tackle well. Like Brophy said if we know where to line up and know how to tackle then we will be fine. Our big thing is to be sound, run to the ball, and not be confused so the guys can go out and play ball. Thats just the way we do it and it has worked well so far.

It's funny, I'm an offensive minded coach so I spend nearly twice the amout of time practicing offense compared to defense. What I've found is that our Defense sets the tempo, creates the spark with big stops & turnovers, etc... Our offense is hit or miss at times & can come & go throughout the game while the defense is pretty much the consistant performer.

For both Offense & Defense I try to keep things as simple as possible & re-use as much learning as we can. Sometimes that may mean we don't have an answer for everything but that's what in-game adjustments are for. I'm vary much a believer in hanging your hat on something & just trying to be better athletes & execute better then the other team. Don't get too cute so players can fly around. I'd rather make mistakes at full speed then standing still in confusion. Sure there's flaws with it but I understand what they are & can work around them pretty well.

I am a DC, and it gets kind of hairy when it's not equal time.

We don't get spring ball. And our preseason is very short comparatively. I do like keeping the defense simple and easy to understand and I like taking a lot of thinking out of it and more of it becoming a reaction. I may have 3 coverages and 4 fronts. All built off the same principles. It's just simple but very versatile.

Taz

We keep our defense simple because we do not want our players having to think much. The more they have to think the more chance the reaction will be slow. We go into a game looking to stop the best 3-5 things our opponents does and/or the player. At the top level you have more athletes so you have to play against better but as you go down to smaller schools it is different.

We want to know if you can beat us with your #2 WR or the 2nd or 3rd back. Defense is about forcing teams to do what they do not want to do. In Super Bowl 25 the plan was they wanted Thomas to rush for over 100 yrds because it ate up clock. Against the Rams they want to hit Faulk on every play. If a team can beat us with their 5th and 6th best plays then ok but we like our chances better. Keep it simple and just get real good at it. Its the same concept behind Air Raid except on the other side of the ball.

Coach: One of the great advantages of the 2-Level defense, to my mind, is that while it is extremely coaching (and scouting!) intensive, it is dead simple for the players to learn and execute.

I can get all concepts installed in 10 days, and after that it's drill, drill, drill -- which tends to leave more teaching time for special teams and offense.

Give me an offense that moves the chains consistently and eats clock and I'll give you 75% of the practice time. If your offense is no good, chances are your defense will be too. A ball control offense is a GREAT defense. An opponents offense can't score if it doesn't have the ball.