Defensive Fundamental Drills vs. Today’s Offenses Part II
By Jeff McDonald, Defensive Coordinator Wesleyan University Feel free to email (jmcdonald@wesleyan.edu) or call (860-685-2909) anytime with any questions or feedback. Jeff McDonald Defensive Coordinator & Recruiting Coordinator Wesleyan University Football Freeman Athletic Center 161 Cross Street…
Defensive Fundamental Drills vs. Today’s Offenses Part I
By Jeff McDonald, Defensive Coordinator Wesleyan University While all defensive fundamentals are important to teach and drill, we have found a few in particular that are the most important when facing today’s offenses. With the spread and run/pass option…
Using Pre-Practice To Improve Your Underneath Zone Coverage
At the end of every year we always look at drills that came about for whatever reason during the season. This year we felt like we were not getting our hands on the ball enough in zone coverage. So we started…
Playing Coverage in 3rd & Short to Medium Situation and No Cover Zone
I was really excited to get a couple of questions from my last blog. Going to use this latest blog entry to answer the questions. One of the questions deals with the “No Cover Zone” of five yards or…
Simple Ways To Disguise Your Defensive Front’s Alignment & Assignment
During this offseason I have spent more time then in the past listening to offensive coaches as opposed to the usual of just going into hear defensive coaches speak. This has paid real dividends for me hearing offensive coaches talk…
Disguising Run Support and Pressures with Your Linebackers
Last off-season I spent more time than normal listening to offensive coaches, and not just at clinics, because this past off-season we had an offensive coordinator to hire. This gave me a great opportunity to listen to the different candidates…
Effectively Disguising Coverages (Part I)
This past off-season I spent more time than normal listening to offensive coaches discuss their strategies. Not just at clinics, but also in our office because this year we had an offensive coordinator to hire. This gave me a great…
“Whiteboard Wallpaper” Your War Room / Office this Offseason
I was tired of a small and overused white board that had been in my office for years. It was too small for me to put anything of significance on and had been used so much that the middle of…
Powering Through the “Lulls” of Preseason
Recently I sat down with a fellow coach, and with August upon us, the discussion turned to the upcoming preseason. The main topic was the lull that most of us experience scheduling-wise during preseason. That is, a week into preseason…
Using “The Rule of Threes” in Coaching
Paralysis by analysis. It happens to our players when they are thinking too much on the field and not reacting. They are slow to react and you can see the wheels turning in their heads. I once heard former Boston…