Coach ,

I remember the morning of the first game of the year. Whether I was a player or coach, I could walk out the door and just smell that it was football season. Many high schools across the country will be teeing it up tonight. It’s such an exciting time of the year!

The cliche has always been that defenses are ahead of offenses early in the year. With everything that offenses do know to stress a defense, I’m not so sure that it holds true anymore.

Whether it’s finding success on defense early to propel your team to a win, or establishing week-in and week-out consistency of performance, finding an edge on defense will definitely make the cliche “defense wins championships” hold true.

With that in mind, I want to share three ideas I have picked up in clinics that I believe can make a difference for your defense in 2022.

#1) Negative Plays Make a Huge Impact on Scoring% in a Single Drive

Much has been made of Mike Eayrs (Green Bay Packers) study of explosive plays years ago and how a single explosive on a drive greatly increases the chances of a score.  

That effect is also true with negative plays. A single negative play (TFL or Sack) on a drive decreases the chances of the offense scoring drastically. It’s basically the inverse of an explosive on offense.

Big XII Champion Defensive Coordinator Ron Roberst explains the percentages and how he thinks about creating negative plays here (click on image for video):

Video: Create Havoc

#2) Teach Yoru Players to Watch Film with a Purpose

We are coaches. By definition, we are film junkies! Don’t expect that to be true of all your players. Regardless of how much time they watch film, you want it to serve a productive purpose that will help them win on game day. Florida State Defensive Coordinator Adam Fuller explains how the Seminoles do it here (click on image for video):

Video: How to Watch Film

#3) Make Technology Work for You

The season is a mental and emotional grind. You can find ways to steal back time for you and your staff by making the advances we have seen in technology work to serve you. Having a plan that makes it simple for your staff and frees up their time will pay dividends over the season, and you will have a staff that is fresh and energized when you hit the playoffs. It’s something that Rob Pomozak, Head Coach at St. Charles North has thought about and put into action with his staff. He explains it here (click on image for video):

Video: Making Your Game Plan Virtual

The details make a difference.  Whether it’s planning for plays that make a huge impact, giving our players a better focus, or being more efficient as coaches, the winning edge comes in the details of how we go about doing our jobs.

Have a great 2022 season and good luck!

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski and the Coaches Clinic Community