3️⃣ Takeaways from the Regular Season
Dec 06, 2022 7:00 pm
Coach ,
Looking back at a season allows you to find something important to learn from. Whether that is evaluating your own team and finding the strengths to build on or weaknesses to shore up, or learning from what helped other teams turn their fortunes around, there is plenty to learn from 2022.
Here’s three takeaways from this season:
#1 Play fast - tempo is a lifestyle
Tennessee vaulted back into the national spotlight with big wins throughout the season including a win over Alabama. They finished at 10-2 after a 7-6 record in 2021.
The Vols became known for their fast-paced explosive offense led by offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, now the new head coach at South Florida. The offense finished the regular season ranking #1 in total offense with 538.1 yards per game and #1 in scoring offense with 47.3 points per game.
Playing fast wasn’t something the Vols just talked about. It permeated everything they did. Their teaching started with refined and efficient mechanics of getting to the ball and lining up fast so they could go-go-go.
The best teams take nothing for granted and coach every detail. A big part of speeding things up is the in-game mechanics of their players to get lined up and snap the ball ASAP. He explains how they do it in this video (click on image for video):
#2 Fix it with fundamentals
Illinois turned around its fortunes from 5-7 in 2021 to 8-4 in 2022 with a huge emphasis on fundamentals.
Success always starts from the top, and it’s certainly true for the Illini. Head Coach Brett Bielema sets a strong foundation upon fundamentals which he calls Football 101. They practice these daily during ILLINI Drill.
With a focus on the fundamentals that make a difference on game day, the foundation is laid for the defensive staff to create a tough defense, and under defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, they did just that. They were in the Top 25 in nearly every defensive statistical category.
#1 Scoring 12.25
#1 Turnovers gained 30
#1 Team Passing Efficiency Defense 89.77
#2 Total Defense 263.8
#5 Passing Yards Allowed 165.4
#6 1st Down 178
#7 3rd Down .290
#8 Rushing Defense 98.4
#11 Red ZOne Defense .741
On the offensive side, the Illini produced one of the nation’s top rushers in Chase Brown (#2 with 1,643 yards).
Here is Coach Bielema explaining Illini Drill for the Skills (click on image for video):
#3 Strong Relationships Win
After winning a national championship in 2019, LSU fell on hard times ending 2021 at 6-7. New head coach Brian Kelley quickly righted the ship taking the Tigers to a 9-4 finish including a spot in the SEC championship team.
A big aspect of that was improving the culture. They build their culture around strong relationships.
Connection is so important for the health of team culture. As Associate Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator at LSU Brian Polian points out,
“Relationships lead to winning!”
It took Coach Polian 20 years to really figure that out and he explains the importance of relationships here (click on image for video):
Video: Relationships are the Reward
Whether it is the mechanics of running an uptempo offense, the emphasis on fundamentals or the impact made by developing strong bonds within your team, each of these teams and coaches proved that focusing on details of the aspects of the things you deem most important will result in positive results.
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski