Every Defense has a Weakness

I have been receiving many emails about youth football defenses.  And many of the emails ask about specific weaknesses of the 6-2 and 7 Diamond Defenses.  Like most things in life, one size does not fit all. 

Every defense has a chink in its armour.  If the offense finds this weakness then you must adjust and do it quickly.  I learned my lesson last year against a really good Highlands Ranch Colorado team.  They ran to the C gap just about every play and beat us by one TD.  If I could have adjusted my defense, we would have won that game easily. 

So this year, I run the 6-2 Wide and 6-2 Tight Defenses as my base defenses.  If I have a team that runs wide and does not have a good power game, I start with the 6-2 Wide.  If the team has a good power game up the middle I run the 6-2 Tight with my Big D-Tackles over the B gaps.  From these two base defenses I have 20 stunts, blitzes and pass coverage calls.  I can attack just about any gap with these calls to adjust for my defensive weakness on a specific play. 

We beat a team the other day, and we then saw the coach scouting another game that we were also scouting.  We heard him say to another coaching staff that we played sandlot defense.  He commented that we were all over the field, and they did not know whom to block.  We shut his team down in the second half and they did not score.  I guess this is sand lot football.  Or better yet, smart football. 

Out of the two base defenses, I can adjust into multiple defenses.  And what’s amazing is that my 5th grade players can make these adjustments and remember all the hand signals.  Expect more and you will see the benefits.

So coaches, don’t settle on one defense.  You don’t run just one play on offense.  Find one or two good base defensive fronts and develop stunts and blitzes to overcome your potential weaknesses.

Good luck this season.  Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!