ALL GOOD COACHES want to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their defense. While most coaches correct their players after games, a better way to evaluate their performance is to grade them while watching game films.

Grading is an advanced technique that will enhance your players’ ability to play better football. Used properly, it could provide new insights into how well your players are actually playing.

Time-Consuming Process
The problem with grading players by evaluating game film is that it takes time. For one coach to grade an entire defensive game of 50 plays, grading all 11 of his defensive players, means that he’ll be watching the game film 550 times. This assumes that he’ll have seen everything in one viewing, with no rewinds — a task I’ve never been able to do!

The only way around this time-consuming problem is to have your position coaches grade your defensive players. Not only will this cut the film-time demands, but it will also strengthen your staff.

Saving Time
Before you tell your players that you’re going to grade them by evaluating game film, be sure you have the time available without taking away from next week’s game preparation. For full-time football coaches, this isn’t a problem.

But for coaches with second and third jobs, time constraints can really cut into grading.

My solution is to at least grade all the games you lose and grade the great defensive performances just to be sure they were as great as you thought. You must grade losses to be sure there were no major flaws in the preparation of your team. The good coaches are going to study their team’s mistakes anyway, so why not save some time and grade them at the same time?

Grading The Right Way
Before you can grade a player’s performance on a given play, you must know the defensive call for the play being graded. This won’t be a problem if you chart your defensive calls on the sidelines.

Use call sheets while you’re evaluating film to see if the player being graded executed the proper defensive techniques. If you’re trying to figure out the defensive call from watching film alone, it’s impossible to grade. Key mistakes can often look like a correctly executed defense, when actually the technique was incorrect for that particular defensive call.

Grading Defensive Linemen
Grade five items for your defensive lineman for each play.
    -  Correct Alignment.    -  Proper Technique.
    -   Pass Rush.               -  Plugging Assigned Hole.
    -   Defeating Blocks.

You must evaluate all five defensive line items because, in most cases, three or four of these items occur on every play.
List all five categories on a spreadsheet. For each of the five areas, a player gets a one or a zero in each space for each of the graded categories. A one indicates the player accomplished the task correctly. A zero indicates the task was not accomplished correctly. A critical mistake is denoted with an asterisk.

On my grade sheet for defensive linemen, I also record (but do not grade) pass-play sacks, pursuit paths, solo tackles, assisted tackles and missed tackles.

See CHART: Defensive Lineman Evaluation Sheet.
While this sheet works for me, there are other categories that you may want to grade for the defensive linemen.

Suggestions include: move on movement, delivering blows, fighting pressure, proper pursuit path, etc. — if it’s critical to your defense, then grade it. Adapt the grade sheets to meet your needs and program.

A simplified grading approach is to grade achieved assignments or failed assignments and then track the tackles made and/or if the tackle was made in the player’s area of responsibility.

Grading Linebackers
When evaluating your linebackers, grade their performance in the following areas:
    -  Alignment.           -  Keys.
    -  Pass Reaction.    -  Plugging Assigned Holes.
    -  Defeating Blocks.

The LB gets a zero, a one or an asterisk in each category. It’s also important to record passes attempted and passes completed in the LB’s area of responsibility, solo tackles, assisted tackles and missed tackles. 

Although I don’t grade it as a separate category, some coaches grade “scallop” (correct LB technique as the various gaps are threatened, keeping shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage). However, I consider reaction to a key and plugging the hole to mean the same correct technique.

See CHART: Linebacker Evaluation Sheet.

Grading Defensive Backs
For defensive backs, watch the game film and grade the following aspects:
    -  Proper Alignment.     -  Key.
    -  Pass Reaction.          -  Run Support.
    -  Rotation.

Grades in each category are one, zero or an asterisk. For me, the categories key and pass reaction cover man-coverage techniques, while rotation covers zone-pass techniques.

It’s also important to record pass attempts, pass completions, solo tackles, assisted tackles and missed tackles.

SEE CHART: Defensive Back Evaluation Sheet.

Noting Errors
When you’re evaluating and grading your players, it’s necessary to use consistent terminology when noting errors. Using the same terms will keep you unbiased and avoid charges of playing favoritism. Plus, it’s always good to have consistency in your terms and notes for the benefit of your fellow coaches, players and yourself. Coaches spend a lot of time in the film room, and whether you’re watching game film or scouting future opponents, there’s nothing worse than confusing yourself by using different terms for the same thing.

It really helps players learn what you expect of them and what an error actually is.

See CHART: Error Verbiage For Player Evaluation.

Grading Comments
It’s always important to give honest and critical feedback regarding defensive player performance that your players and fellow coaches can read. At the end of your grade sheet, jot down comments under three headings.

1.  Coaching Points. Write down your thoughts concerning correct techniques, game situations or anything else that needs coaching attention.

2.  This Week You Need To Work On. List items such as defeating blockers, plugging holes at the correct time, reacting faster to keys, etc.

3.  Summary. Give the graded player your thoughts about the type of defensive game that they played. Always try to be positive here — unless there’s no other alternative.