We receive many different questions from coaches across the country and like to post some of the more common questions and give our thoughts and opinions. The questions below we received from Pete in Seattle, Washington.
”I coach a youth football team and we are in the playoffs. The team we will play runs to the outside. They are bigger and I need to stop them before they beat my linebackers around the corners or they will score a touchdown.”
This is a common question we receive at every level, as well as every state in our nation. Every coach wants to know how to stop the opponent’s superior speed. There is no magic defense or system that will automatically make your team faster, or them slower, but with the proper scouting and preparation you can look to harness that speed and hopefully slow it down.
The first step is to have a complete, updated and thorough scouting report of your opponent. The key questions are:
- Is the whole team fast?
- Is it just one speed back?
- Is the back just fast or elusive as well?
- Any tendencies for certain plays?
- What big plays make him most comfortable?
- Can our fastest defender match up with him if we use a spy?
Your goal needs to have your defense trust each other and work as a unit. Eleven good players working together as a team will always out perform one stand out individual. You defense needs to take the star player out of his comfort zone. Focus on making him go to areas of the field that he doesn’t like or is not comfortable with. If you can get inside his head, he will take himself out of the game mentally. If this happens he will not be a threat physically either.
If you have a player he you believe can stick with him, use a spy defender. We love to run a spy out of our 34 defense since we can use a safety and the offense doesn’t even realize what we are doing.
Our coach above mentioned using his linebackers for outside containment and I believe this is wrong, especially against a fast backfield. Use your corner backs as outside run containment and roll the safeties into a two deep zone. This is an easy adjustment for your defense, while a hard coverage to recognize for the offense.
