Defense

Defensive Philosophy:

The philosophy of the defense is to be more aggressive, more physical, and execute better than the opponent’s offense each and every week. We will be extremely relentless in our pursuit of the football and execute our assignments with aggression and determination. We will mentally wear down the opposing offense and put them into down and distance situations that allow us to eliminate their options and aggressively attack the few options they have left. Physically and mentally asserting superiority is a goal for each play.

Each and every snap, the goal of the defense will be to take the ball away from the offense. Football games are won by the team who takes the ball away from the other team the most. The aggressiveness, physicality, and execution of the defense will force the offense to make mistakes, which increases the likelihood of a turnover. Ripping and tearing at the football while it is in an opponent’s possession, as well as flying and swarming to the football while it is in the air will create pressure and turnovers.

The defense will be sound in the fact that it will account for each and every gap in the run game, and every possible receiver in the pass game. Each player will have a specific responsibility to the defense, which if executed, will turn the defense into a force to be reckoned with. On first and second down, we will play almost exclusively zone coverage in order to stop the run. On third down, we will be aggressive in our attack which will include a variety of blitzes and stunts with man coverage to put pressure on the quarterback and stop the ability of the offense to pass the ball.

In the red-zone, the defense will play a combination of man and zone, depending upon the offensive tendency to run or throw in the red-zone. We will turn up our aggression and physical play to not allow points to be scored in the red-zone against us. We want no touchdowns to be scored when we are in the red-zone. Forcing an offense to kick a field-goal each time they are in the red-zone is depressing and demoralizing to the offensive team. This feeds into our philosophy of physically and mentally wearing down opponents with our defense.

The defense will play relentlessly with aggression and execution for 48 minutes each night. Their tenacity and mental toughness will set the tone for each game and remind everybody that DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Defensive Goals:

1. Physically Dominate Each Game

2. Force at Least 3 Turnovers Each Game

3. Allow <25% of 3^rd Down Conversions

4. Shutout the Opponent Each Quarter

5. Allow <25% Touchdowns in the Redzone