10 Things OCs Do That Make DCs Uncomfortable

Dec 3, 2017 | Offense, Game Planning

By Adam Hovorka
Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
Schreiber High School (NY)

Introduction

Do you want to know what will make a DC uncomfortable? This report will explain from a defensive perspective the things that any offense can do that will bother a defense and in turn can give the offensive some sort of advantage. Each of the ten ways to make defensive coordinators uncomfortable listed below have one thing in common; they create confusion and doubt.   

We surveyed ten defensive coaches, and these are some of the things that we found are keeping them up at night. 

10) Trick Plays

Reverses, double passes, throwbacks to the QB, and so on. Coaches keep on running these trick plays because they work. So why do they still work is the real question. First, they usually have really good players getting the ball in space. These trick plays should be tied into the offense’s base plays and protect those base plays. If you run a lot of stretch; a reverse off of that same look protects that play.  As defensive coaches, we always stress getting to the ball and pursuit. Tricks work against teams that pursue hard and stress getting to the ball. An added bonus is that the defense will see your trick play on film and pursue a little less diligently and spend time defending the trick play and a little less on your bread and better plays.

9) Play with A Tight End

Tight Ends create unique problems for the defense from an alignment and personnel perspective. The defense has to figure out if they want align certain personnel to the TE or just have players play a side regardless of TE location. Offenses can create great matchups by using the TE in the run game and pass game alike. TE’s create an extra gap in the run game while still having the threat of 4 or five receivers in a pass route. For teams that like to blitz, TE formations create a little bit longer edge and can give the offense one more pass protector while forcing defenses to still account for the TE as a receiver. Teams that run any form of split field coverage have to make a decision of where to put the extra player with the TE. If you do not have a TE simply put your 6th best lineman there or best bigger WR. 

8) Compressed and Stacked Sets

Defensive coaches like to have easy alignment rules for the players to follow. Compressed sets really bother those alignment rules. This creates some doubt in kids and makes kids play slower.  It also creates some nice blocking angles for wide receivers. Compressed sets tend to bring more defenders closer to the football and one missed tackle and there are no defenders near the sideline.  Stacked sets should force outside players to widen out or risks being out leveraged by the formation. This makes it easier to run the ball by removing a defender from the box simply by formation. Stacked and compressed sets also make it difficult for teams to play man coverage. If a team is living and dying with man coverage these are two musts for any offense.