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Contain the Speed - Youth Football Defense
This is rule one and if you wish to have any success, you have to find a way to shut down the opponents speed. Every team you face will have a speed back, quarterback or receiver. Some teams will even have more than one.
The defense you use to accomplish this comes from your scouting report. From the scouting report, you will know if the upcoming opponent has mediocre speed or not. When scouting, you will get a “heads up” if the upcoming opponent has that God given, greased lightning speed, we all fear.
I have run a base 3-4 defense for the past decade, and I am happy with the flexibility it offers. We can contain the opponents speed with
- Defensive Ends
- Outside Linebackers
- Cornerbacks
- Safeties
I can use any or all of the above players to contain the opponent’s speed. I can disguise who I am using for the containment, and if need be I can use multiple positions to contain the “super star”.
Most youth defenses will try to contain the offense with the Defensive Ends, and that is OK if the opponent has comparable speed to your team. If you decide to go with this approach, you will need to have your best two players playing the End positions.
Whatever defense you decide to use, make sure you learn all the adjustments for containing speed to the outside.
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