I’m watching the CFL game, and I can’t believe what I just saw.
It’s heavy pressure, to be sure.
I need to rewind it a few times to see who is actually coming off the Boundary Edge.
It’s the Halfback and the Corner.
This play already has my attention.
But what type of Coverage are they playing behind it? Looks like Cover 4.
But if the Half and Corner are both Blitzing, who’s covering the Deep Zone to the Boundary?
That’s the Will Linebacker!
Now that’s interesting. What a cool football play.
Should I put it into OUR playbook?
It needs to pass a few tests first.
Does it FIT what we do?
There are lots of interesting plays out there.
Blitzes, Coverages, Stunts, Fronts.
But just being “interesting” doesn’t mean I need to add it to our Playbook.
The first question I ask myself: “Does it FIT into our system?”
And sure, you can force anything into your system if you bend the edges and distort it enough.
But how much adjusting will it take to make this work?
Do our rules hold up? How many exceptions do we need to make to accomplish this?
This is an important starting point.
Can our players execute these assignments?
I’m watching a Boundary Corner and Boundary Halfback Blitz the Quarterback.
Does that fit with our personnel? Can our guys do that?
(If any of our players are reading this, yes, I believe you can.)
But this should be asked of all aspects of a new play. Our job is always to put our players in a position to succeed.
Installing a neat new play might cause some excitement and let us have a bit of fun, but is it really setting us up for success?
If the answer is no, I would make the decision right here that this play is not for us.
Do we need it?
This is what it all comes down to.
Even if the play in question passes the first two tests flawlessly.
Does this new play give us something we don’t already have in the playbook? And is it something we NEED?
Sometimes, the answer is yes.
Perhaps we don’t have a good way to get heavy pressure off the Boundary Edge. Then maybe this play is worth a deeper dive.
But if we already have a way to accomplish this, do we need to add another?
Maybe, if our old way has become too stagnant and predictable.
But maybe not.
And if we DID add the new play, I would strongly consider taking the old one out. At least for the time being.
Final Thoughts
If the new play doesn’t pass the tests, that doesn’t mean I throw it away.
I’ll often draw it up and keep it in a secret folder.
Perhaps it will fit well against a specific opponent down the road. Or maybe, when our personnel changes in a few years, this play might be a better fit.
And if the new play does pass the tests?
Even better!
Two DBs off the Boundary Edge?
Sounds fun to me!
All the best,
Jon Svec
Defensive Coordinator
St. Francis Xavier University
X-Men Football
IG: @jonsvecx
Twitter: @jonsvecx
To read more, check out the Canadian Football Chalk Talk e-books series, which includes: Defensive Basics, Linebacker Toolbox, and Modern Pressures.