Post by Coach Campbell on Jan 3, 2013 18:23:14 GMT
Football Game Plans for Defense
By Nicholas Bragg
In all levels of competitive football, the defensive game plan plays a major role in the outcome of that week's game. A mediocre team that has scouted their opponent excessively throughout the week and practiced their game plan daily will holds a definitive advantage over a championship team going into a game with little to no plan of action. Understanding how, when and why these game plans are built is essential to any football player, coach or fan.
Significance
Your plan on defense during a game directly affects whether your opposition will gain any yards, and ultimately, score points. A well prepared game plan will put the players on the field in the correct spots during the majority of the plays on the field. An ill prepared plan will constantly put players in congested areas, while leaving the opposing players open and in prime position to score. The overall goal of a defensive game plan is to allow the opposing offense little to no opportunities to put points on the board.
Opposition
Every game plan is devised after watching in-game film of your upcoming opponent, and analyzing their tendencies during specific situations. If your opponent is a pass heavy team who likes to run three to four wide sets on the majority of their first downs, then your defensive game plan will most likely involve sending in five to six defensive backs on first down to counter that tendency. Unlike many offensive game plans which can vary little from game to game, defensive game plans can sometimes look completely different from each other in every game.
Considerations
Your defensive game plan is also contingent on the talent and skill sets that your defensive players possess. If you have strong but slow players at the linebacker position, but outstanding players throughout the defensive line, you will probably use a 4-3 defensive scheme to take advantage of that. If you have a strong set of safeties with solid zone coverage skills, and two hard hitting cornerbacks who are lacking in the speed department, you will be more inclined to run a cover 2 defense over a man-to-man defense.
Misconceptions
Your defensive game plan can be perfect in every way, to the extent where your defensive players know the opposing offense so well that they can call out what play is coming next before the snap, but if the players don't execute on the field, the game plan can look abysmal to the untrained eye. The game plan is only half the battle, as the players and the plan must meld together during the week through practice, film study, repetition and on-field drills.
Communication
Coaches are the masterminds behind every plan, and the players are the on-field generals that execute said plan. Communication between the two has to be clear and concise from the crack of dawn on the first day of practice until the time clock reads all zero's at the end of the game. Coaches must always have a concrete grasp of every intricacy involved in the plan, and they have to be able to relay that plan to their players with zero information falling through the cracks. Thus, meetings that take place on the field as well as in meeting rooms are crucial to the success of a defensive game plan. Solid tackling and proper pursuit angles are just basic fundamentals, the game plan is what determines the failure or success of the team.
By Nicholas Bragg
In all levels of competitive football, the defensive game plan plays a major role in the outcome of that week's game. A mediocre team that has scouted their opponent excessively throughout the week and practiced their game plan daily will holds a definitive advantage over a championship team going into a game with little to no plan of action. Understanding how, when and why these game plans are built is essential to any football player, coach or fan.
Significance
Your plan on defense during a game directly affects whether your opposition will gain any yards, and ultimately, score points. A well prepared game plan will put the players on the field in the correct spots during the majority of the plays on the field. An ill prepared plan will constantly put players in congested areas, while leaving the opposing players open and in prime position to score. The overall goal of a defensive game plan is to allow the opposing offense little to no opportunities to put points on the board.
Opposition
Every game plan is devised after watching in-game film of your upcoming opponent, and analyzing their tendencies during specific situations. If your opponent is a pass heavy team who likes to run three to four wide sets on the majority of their first downs, then your defensive game plan will most likely involve sending in five to six defensive backs on first down to counter that tendency. Unlike many offensive game plans which can vary little from game to game, defensive game plans can sometimes look completely different from each other in every game.
Considerations
Your defensive game plan is also contingent on the talent and skill sets that your defensive players possess. If you have strong but slow players at the linebacker position, but outstanding players throughout the defensive line, you will probably use a 4-3 defensive scheme to take advantage of that. If you have a strong set of safeties with solid zone coverage skills, and two hard hitting cornerbacks who are lacking in the speed department, you will be more inclined to run a cover 2 defense over a man-to-man defense.
Misconceptions
Your defensive game plan can be perfect in every way, to the extent where your defensive players know the opposing offense so well that they can call out what play is coming next before the snap, but if the players don't execute on the field, the game plan can look abysmal to the untrained eye. The game plan is only half the battle, as the players and the plan must meld together during the week through practice, film study, repetition and on-field drills.
Communication
Coaches are the masterminds behind every plan, and the players are the on-field generals that execute said plan. Communication between the two has to be clear and concise from the crack of dawn on the first day of practice until the time clock reads all zero's at the end of the game. Coaches must always have a concrete grasp of every intricacy involved in the plan, and they have to be able to relay that plan to their players with zero information falling through the cracks. Thus, meetings that take place on the field as well as in meeting rooms are crucial to the success of a defensive game plan. Solid tackling and proper pursuit angles are just basic fundamentals, the game plan is what determines the failure or success of the team.