One of the biggest and certainly most rewarding challenges we face as coaches is protecting a lead when the game is on the line. Offensive experts, talking heads on TV, and coaching gurus are constantly talking about the two-minute and four-minute offenses to describe an offensive team that is attempting to win a close game. Which begs the question, what about the D? Although I don’t have a catchy slogan, I have a few strategies to close out the game from a defensive standpoint.
#1 Create a title for your Defense – Look at the title of the article. It takes a “V” to get a “W”. In other words have a “Victory” defense. We do not refer the end of the game defense as a “Prevent Defense.” Rather, we prefer the term “Victory.” Our players know that when we go into “Victory” we are not retreating but we are going in to close out the game.
#2 Practice end-game situations often – We practice “Victory” every Thursday. I stole this idea from Ed DeGeorge who was my collegiate coach at Beloit College. We practiced a “two minute drill” every Friday in college. It was extremely competitive. We went first offense vs. first defense, second offense vs. second defense and down to the third offense vs. third defense. The offense got the ball at their own 40-yard line with two minutes remaining and one time out.
It was this drill that got everyone’s blood flowing, created competition, and helped build pride in our respective units. At the high school level we often vary the drill. Sometimes I will give the offense two minutes and two timeouts. Sometimes I might put the ball at the defenses’ 30-yard line and give the offense 30 seconds without any timeouts.
What you do is up to you; however, practicing different situations lets your players become familiar with stressful moments before they happen on game day.
#3 Make sure your players know the situation – Our Eagle linebacker gives a down and distance call on every play in the huddle. This becomes more challenging when the offense is hurrying or isn’t huddling. Therefore, we make sure our kids understand the chains. Don’t assume they know. In the pre-season we will bring the chains out for some practices so kids can see how the ball is marked, etc. Make sure they know the time remaining, score, and the number of timeouts your opponent has remaining. Also, remind the players that the clock stops in high school on first downs. Some high school players are playing football for the first time. This helps them get a grasp of the situation when the game hangs in the balance.
#4 As the coach, know what the offense needs to tie or take the lead – This is not as simple as it sounds. Keep in mind they give offensive coaches wrist cards to figure out when to go for two points. While our offense has the ball I’m already playing out the scenarios, especially as it approaches fourth down. If we have a lead of eight or less, that is going to certainly change my play calling especially if I can be beat with a touchdown. In this situation, I’m less willing to yield cheap yards. I might bring more pressure in this situation or I may play some man-to-man coverage as the offense gets closer.
What kind of kicker do they have? If we are ahead by three points or less and they have a good kicker, that will have a major impact on how I call the game. How many times have we watched an NFL team or college team yield huge chunks of yardage by playing zone only to see a kicker come out and boot a chip shot in the last five seconds of a game? As a result, if the team has a great kicker, I may take a chance to avoid overtime or take the kicker out of the game.
Finally, can I trade a score for time? What if you are ahead by 14 points with three minutes left? Here, I would avoid man coverage and make the offense earn every yard by playing zone. Time is on your side in this situation so allowing them to burn all of their timeouts and taking two minutes and 30 seconds to score isn’t the worst thing. Now it comes down to an onside kick and an offense with no timeouts and very little time. Coaches can certainly debate how to play out these scenarios; however, what cannot be debated is the necessity of having a plan that has considered various situations.
#5 Avoid “Bonehead” mistakes – Make sure your players avoid “bonehead” mistakes and costly penalties. The late hit as the player is going out of bounds, the interception that is nullified because of a late hit on the QB, the careless facemask penalty, etc. You don’t want your players playing passively. However, you want to avoid avoidable penalties.
We constantly preach to our players that we don’t want to give our opponents anything. Penalty yards coming with no time off the clock often result in a new set of downs that will simply kill you. Remind your players of playing smart in other areas. Practice knocking the ball down on long throws rather than tipping it up. Spend time working on gang tackling and getting off the pile slowly. Finally, make sure all defenders know to get on the ground after an interception.
These are just a few ideas you might consider as you prepare on how to address game-ending situations. The most important thing is to have a plan and make sure your players are prepared and understand your objectives. Game-ending situations place the pressure squarely on the offense as they have the score, time, and the “V” all working against them.
About the Author: Jimmy Grant is entering his 13th season as DC at his high school alma mater, Fallston HS (MD). Prior to returning to Fallston, Grant was a Graduate Assistant at Beloit College (WI) where he also played outside linebacker from 1992-1995. Grant also holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Beloit as well as a Master’s Degree in Science from California University (PA).