Coach ,

It’s one of the most exciting times of the year for high school and small college football - playoff time! With that being said, we look at a few things to help your defense when the game is on the line and it’s win or pack up the equipment until next year.

#1) Hail Mary Knock Down - 

This past week I watched a Hail Mary knockdown that wasn’t in a game that had it would have been executed, it would have been a historic win. The play I am describing was #3 on ESPN plays of the day on Sunday.

Down by 4 with only :22 to go, Mount Union was about to have its 31-year conference road game win streak broken.

They took three plays to get it into the QB arm range for a Hail Mary. The QB scrambled and heaved it to about the 10. The Baldwin Wallace player went up for it, it bounced off his helmet to the two where the Mount Union receiver assigned to play the tip was. He caught it and ran two yards into the end zone for the end of game walk off TD.

It was a heartbreaker for my Yellow Jackets, and highlights the importance of repping every situation over and over again throughout the season. I am not being critical of anyone here, it was one of those unfortunate bounces for BW.

Dan Swanstrom, OC at Penn put together an outstanding clinic addressing all of the occasional situations that occur over a season, with the Hail Mary knockdown being one.

While the head coach at Ithaca, he had his team practice this situation for 3-5 reps each week. He looks for his tallest players with the best ball skills to be on the field for this situation. They worked it in a safe setting where the offense doesn’t go for the ball as it is being practiced. He explains how they do it and shows several game examples in this video (click on image for video):

Video: Hail Mary Knockdown

#2 The Jet Stream Technique

Playing off man invites mesh and under routes. Time and time again, you see these routes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday beating the defense, many times with a big run-after-catch that moves the chains or creates an explosive.

To combat this Vince Luvara teaches a technique they call “Jet Stream.” The defender on the shallow route run takes a path that puts him underneath the receiver and forces a throw over which becomes dangerous for the offense, or as he shows in the example, turns what could be a disaster for the defense into a turnover and a touchdown (click on image for video):

Video: Jet Stream

#3) Neutralize Their Top Receiver

An outstanding receiver can take over the game. That was on display in Super Bowl where Cooper Kupp made play after play when everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball.

Steve Specht is one of America’s top high school coaches and his ability as a teacher of the game shines through. He utilizes a strategy that can be applied in every defense to take away a star receiver regardless of where he may be aligned.

The first step in the process is to identify the key receiver.  In this video, Coach Specht explains how it is done with them using two types of ID, “snake” and “mouse.” (Click on image for Video):

Video: Identifying the Key Receiver

From there Coach Specht has different rules for how they will defend a single receiver, a #1, #2, or #3. He notes that this concept can be utilized with any type of defense.  Here he explains how they will defend the single receiver (Click on image for Video):

Video: Defending the Single Receiver

Whether it’s the key situation, a technique that makes it easier for you and more difficult for them, or taking away their best personnel, the details in the postseason can make a huge difference in determining if you will be putting away the gear on Saturday morning, or getting ready for the next challenge!

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski