I’ve been reading some things lately about thinking “outside the box,” and it has me wondering about how this applies to football. One of the first things we get used to hearing when we attend clinics is, “I didn’t invent any of this, I stole it.” When’s the last time you heard of someone honestly inventing something in defensive football? More often, we hear that there are “no new ideas” in football.
The obvious exception to this is the A-11 Offense. Now, the A-11 is effectively outlawed in High School Football – and was never legal under NCAA rules. But let’s commend those guys for taking a risk, for getting innovative, and for finally coming up with something new. Hold on, don’t get excited A-11 Coaches – I don’t like it. I’m not joining the crusade to bring it back. It took advantage of a loop hole in the rules, and was not in the spirit of the game. I am completely in favor of the loop hole being closed. But big-time respect for inventing something in the game of football. (now back to the drawing board, fellas!)
So with the A-11 Offense behind us, what have we learned? Scan the rule book for some sort of loop hole? I don’t think so. In defensive football, though, we need not look for advantages in the rule book. The rule book is on our side. There are no rules for alignment. We have an infinite number of formations that can be run, with any type of player we so choose.
The Offense is limited. There is a 53 yard stretch of field that they must come across to gain yardage. They can create but so many gaps for the defense to defend in the running game. There are no more than 5 eligible receivers to cover in a given play (yes, even the A-11 has just 5 that are eligible!). There are lots of limitations on the good guys.
But here on the “dark side”… we can do so much. Why don’t we do more? Is there “something new” still out there in defensive football? I certainly don’t have the idea, at least not right now. But it certainly seems like we are limiting ourselves. We almost always use between 3 and 5 Defensive Linemen, 2 to 5 Linebackers, and between 3 and 6 Defensive Backs. And their alignments are pretty predictable. There are exceptions, but not much. I suppose it will take some sort of shortcoming of talent at one position or another, or some extreme problem with a new and innovative offense, to create that next new defense. But when the time comes, we need to be ready to think outside of the box, become innovators in our sport, and develop a new way to play defensive football.
After all, necessity is the mother of invention…
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