D&D 8 Hole% 7 Hole%1&7+ 90 102&5+ 90 102&3- 100 003&7+ 50 503&3- 65 35C-BACK MOTION:D&D 9 Hole% 6 Hole%1&7+ 95 052&5+ 100 002&3- 100 003&7+ 100 003&3- 100 00Now, even assuming no coaching changes since last season, we have to believe thatthere will be some changes in play-calling based on personnel changes -- but that won'tstop us from using these stats to build our defensive game plan and preparing our callsheets. We will stay fundamentally sound at all times, and not sell out completely tostop one particular play or sequence -- at least, not until we're forced to.Another obvious questions is "what happens if they don't use motion, or use it on everyplay?" Then we're back to the original down & distance tendency chart on page 2.That gives us less precision in planning, but we're still able to plan fairly precisely wherethe ball will end up in any given situation.II. PLANNING THE DEFENSEGiven what we know about Team X's tendencies, we will start to build our game planaround these ideas: Stop the Wedge first. Team X runs it once every three plays. If we can’t stop theWedge, we're in for a long day. Be ready to switch focus from the 2 and 9 holes to the 8 and 7 holes with A-backmotion, or the 9 and 6 holes with C-back motion. If we can force team X to start lining up in Spread and throwing the ball, we'll bemore than halfway to winning. If we can win 1st and second down by keeping them to under 3 yards a carry, wecan dominate 3rd down.80
What adjustments will we make in practice before we play Team X?When Team X lines up in Tight with their normal personnel:‣ We will play linebacker-type personnel at the two outside Second Level (2L)positions -- what Coach Thomson calls "Lou" and "Rose" and I call "Len" and "Ron"‣ We will play our Deep Safety at Free Safety depth -- +8 to +12 -- instead of hisnormal +18 - +20 (youth level -- high school is +25 - +30)‣ We will favor Cover (zone) over Max (man) coverage -- Cover allows Len and Ron tomaintain good outside leverage from a walkaway position‣ We will line up initially in balanced fronts -- 22, 33, 44 or 55; sometimes we willstem to 2 Left/Right or 3 Left/Right, sometimes we won't; if we do stem, sometimeswe will Slant a Tackle and the Nose back toward their pre-stem position, sometimeswe won'tWhen team X lines up in Spread with their passing personnel:We will play our normal DB-type kids at Len and RonWe will play our DS at normal depthWe will favor Max over CoverWe will line up in 33, 44, or 55 and sometimes stem to 3 or 4 Right/Left, andsometimes Slant back to the pre-stem positionsWe may Twist (TNT or TET) in passing situationsWhen we stem against a Tight formation play, we can either stem early, as the QBaligns under center, or else when motion starts. This will mean the shift takes place as,or a fraction of a second before, the ball is being snapped, which we must practicerepeatedly during the week. We will start the game off alternating between stemmingand not stemming, to get the OC thinking, then stay away from it for the rest of thefirst half. We may or may not show stemming again in the game, but we will haveforced the offense to prepare for it in the second half.Here are two examples of how to build a situational call sheet from the bottom up:FIRST and 7+:Overall, Team X runs 2 Wedge 55% of the time in this situation; if the ball is snappedwithout motion, it becomes 100%. Therefore, we must be ready to stop the Wedgefirst. To do so, we must make sure we have as many First Level (1L) defenderscovering the right side of the offensive line as possible. That tells us we can choosefrom among 2 Left, 33, 44 Left, 5 Right, and 55 (see page 14 for 1L fronts). The nextbiggest threat is Super Power, which means we want a good concentration of defensivepersonnel around the C gaps. If a WB goes in motion in this situation, odds are 19-1that the ball is going to the off-tackle hole farthest from the motion back. If we choose81