Coach ,

The average play is 5 seconds long and you must accomplish these 5 things no matter what the call is, no matter what position you are in.

The “55” is universal. It is a Blue Devil’s mantra.  It is representative of not only how they attack the game, but life. It is one of the main pillars of David Cutcliff’s culture at Duke, and it is preached by his coaching staff and lived by his players.  They even grade film based on the “55”

What are these 5 things that must happen every 5 second play? Here they are:

• Alignment
• Assignment
• Effort
• Execution
• Finish

Co-DC and Defensive Line Coach Ben Albert explains it here (click image for video):

From “Duke Defensive Line”

Co-DC Matt Guerrieri identifies the 55 as one of the key things they need to accomplish. To him Alignment, Assignment, and Effort are coached hard early in the year, and as the season wears on it’s all about Execution and Finish.  He talks about that and their focus for spring ball here:

From “Duke Defense - Creating Culture and Teaching Methods”

Former assistant, now an analyst for the Philadelphia Eagles took the 55 a step further developing a 55 for his presnap process for his corners:

From “Man Coverage - The Cheetah Technique”

Head coaches like to talk about culture a lot.  Ultimately, they rely on their staff and players to carry that plan out.  Having something that is very tangible like the “55” is certainly a sound way to ensure that everyone is doing what they need to make the team successful.

What are the foundational aspects that you want to see on every play?  Think about that and how you communicate and evaluate those as a coach.  I’d love to hear about how you do that in your program.  Let me know.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski