Get in the trenches

Welcome back to another Leech Letter,

It's that time of year again.

Preseason drills are getting posted. And roasted. Somebody's always got to comment. Always something to say. "This is dumb." "Waste of time." "Fire this guy."

Here's one I saw this week.

A coach posted a ball security drill. Ball carrier running through bags while coaches swing shields and try to punch the ball out. Standard stuff.

The comment section piled on. One guy said it's a waste of time. Just make ball security a point of emphasis during team and 7-on-7. You've got plenty of reps to coach it there.

Easier said than done.

Think about what you're actually watching during a team period. Is the blocking scheme right? Is the back's vision right? Did he press the hole and make the correct read? Did he run the play the way it's supposed to look so the counter hits later?

That's four jobs on one rep. Now add "check his ball security" to the list. Every rep. Every period.

You can't coach everything on every snap. That's not a hot take. That's reality for anyone who's actually run a practice.

That's exactly why Indy exists. Pull one small piece of the game out. Isolate it. Rep it until it's habit. Then when the team period comes, you're not coaching ball security. It's already there.

The guys posting "this drill is stupid" are grading practice film from their couch. The coach running the drill is in the trenches solving a real problem with the time and bodies he's got.

Be slow to roast and quick to offer a solution. And if you can't offer one, you probably don't understand the problem.

Anybody can call a drill dumb. Coaches build answers.

Keep the Fire Burning,

Leech