Musings on coaching methodology shared from two good coaching threads from CoachHuey.com
Coaching the DetailsComprehensive Skill Sheet (for player metrics)I believe it is important to identify all the duties (and thus all the skills) required of the players of your defense.
Part of technique/fundamental responsibilities that is most important (IMO) is being clear about what NOT to do (what ISN'T important to the position).
It is one thing to say what to do, but defining the limits of that responsibility is just as valuable.
We call this, WIN (What's Important Now).
W.I.N.
What's
Important
Now
What is the most important thing for a specific position? What is the one thing that could make (this position) look bad?
The bubble LBs main job, his immediate threat is Iso. He should look for (expect) that FIRST on any play with 2-backs
And more importantly, what is NOT important.
A cover 3 corner really has no concern on immediate run (support), so throwing that into his logic-string on play keys is only going to slow him down.
Most of the time there is typically only 3 things a position really needs to worry about vs certain formations (understanding his role at a particular time).
Eliminate the fluff be elucidating the only thing that matters ("you can only be threatened by lead iso F on an inside angle") and nothing else matters until this threat is clearly eliminated. This creates a binary logic algorithym - very clear metrics on what is important (based on eliminating everything that isn't).
Ever see "Platoon" and Willem DaFoe's character starts stripping Charlie Sheen's character of superflous gear?
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
Don't give your players worthless shit to carry into a game/play.
Don't defend the planet....just concern yourself with your house first, your neighborhood second.
This comes by compartmentalizing the field with dividers for DBs, gap control based on back alignment with LBs, etc......reduce the amount of elements that a player can be forced to hesitate over.
How do you eat an elephant?
One piece at a time
Most textbook drills exist in a vaccuum environment with no context. They may enforce hip leverage but not ball leverage/fits. With linebackers, for example, you have to set the parameters of the scrape,"Here is 'power', on THIS key, you should push off the outside foot to shuffle twice into opposite B gap" (rather than just chase ball).
He should be in position (not out of his AO) and be ready for tackle or spilling.
I would look into the efficiency of the teaching methods and that the drills they are doing have real-world/ contextual applications. A kid may be a world beater in a drill, but have no idea how to apply that skill set to what he sees on the field.
How consistent is the "next play" concept with what (skill sets) you have already built. If a new defense has no connection with what was previously ran, the kids will be lost (ie; C3 is just like C1, except......C3 is just like C2, except.....)
TEAM DEFENSE
Personally, I would see EVERY defensive player as interchangeable parts. They ALL have to have certain skill sets to perform at a modicum of competency on defense.They all must be able toTackle, defeat blocks/escape(leverage), and hustle.Those tenets would be reinforced as the blessed trinity EVERYDAY, even if for only 5 minutes. It is a psychological ploy to get the players to believe in their ability to do these, as well as reinforce their importance.
GROUP DEFENSE
Once these 3 prerequisites are founded, you can move onto the minutiae of position skill set. Get-offs, drops, angles will be different for each group, but the basic LB technique of taking on a lead block would remain consistent.
INDY DEFENSE
The position-specific technique portion for a player is built upon the proceeding 2 elements. This is where you would concentrate on the double-teams a nose would face and which hand he should have down and what leverage he needs to maintain
I want to say that most of this stuff, I have personally outlined (for myself) and it is the 3 articles on my sitekreator page (spells out the how's and why's of what I have done)
