Answers To 7on7 Empty Formations
Right or wrong, when you are a defensive coordinator and you walk out onto a 7on7 football field, you know that you are in for an unfair competition. Offensive coordinators may bristle at the notion that the playing field is tilted in their favor, but common sense would back up the defensive coaches on this one.
Having said this, we don’t think that anyone, on either side of the ball thinks that 7on7 competitions are a waste of time or anything. Anytime you can get out on the football field and play the game, it’s a chance to get better.
Defensive coordinators have to be careful though to make sure that their defensive players don’t become frustrated. This can happen before the ball is ever snapped in an eleven man football setting. Good defensive coordinators also need to guard against is creating defenses that are designed just to win at 7on7 competition. This ends up hurting the very players you are trying to improve.
Bad habits are hard to break once the fall arrives. As we just mentioned, the main reason for participating in 7on7 is to get better for the regular season. If a coach approaches this correctly, they can get both goals accomplished during 7on7 season.
More FDPB: Varsity Dual Protection Rules
We spoke with a high school coach this week who was getting ready for a 7on7 tournament. He was trying to get as prepared as he could for the many different empty formations he was sure he was going to see. We pointed him to this valuable section in FirstDown PlayBook.
