A little credit to 7 on 7

[Defcord]

I hate 7 on 7. I am an offensive line guy and a defensive coordinator...BUT our coverages have been sloppier this year and I think a little bit of that is that our mistakes weren't exposed and corrected as well without passing league. I still think the world and my summer would be better off without it, but I also must admit our coverages are a little bit better with it. 

[dubber]

Definitely hurt those first year starters

[coachd5085]

Sept 28, 2020 12:42:53 GMT -6 Defcord said:

I hate 7 on 7. I am an offensive line guy and a defensive coordinator...BUT our coverages have been sloppier this year and I think a little bit of that is that our mistakes weren't exposed and corrected as well without passing league. I still think the world and my summer would be better off without it, but I also must admit our coverages are a little bit better with it. 

I think most of the "hate" directed towards 7 on 7 derives from the adjustments made to bring success in 7 on 7 that are detrimental to players in 11 on 11 tackle football.  I have often posted that scripted and controlled pass skell work with other schools is a very desirable and beneficial thing.  7 on 7 competitions with a scoreboard generally are not. 

[planck]

I don't hate 7on7, I hate 7on7 competitions and traveling teams pretending it's real football.

It's a drill for our dbs, wrs, qbs and rbs. That's all. Like any other drill, if you don't clearly communicate it's purpose and how you intend to use it to improve, it's just backyard football.

[aceback76]

If conducted correctly, it can be VERY useful.  Biggest suggestion is NOT to give QB TOO MUCH time (use a TIMER), & have a method of putting rushers in QB's face (but NOT tackling him).

[chi5hi]

7 on 7 is simply a way to teach offensive pass patterns and defensive coverage(s). You can do that on your own practice field.

Having said that, IMO it whets the appetite of the kids and can keep their interest through summer practice. It's the grownups who have made such a big deal out of it that it has become silly.

Nevertheless it does have a useful purpose. Kids at that age like to go outside and play. This gives them some satisfaction/excitement, and I get to see all of my skill guys go at full speed against others of their own age.

Parents come out and watch...SO...

There have been occasions when daddy comes to me and asks why his little Johnnie is not out on the field. "C'-mon, coach! they're all 5'8" and 180 lbs...why doesn't my boy play?"

I can then remind him... "You watched him in 7-on-7 didn't you...he can't catch!"

[agap]

7 on 7 has always been beneficial for us defensively because we use it as a time to learn the coverages and get better. They keep score but we generally don't care about that; we're there to get better.

[aceback76]

How we like it (DRILL PROCEDURE):

1.  Coach calls pass for QB to run.  At LOS QB Pre-Reads the secondary and tells me the number of Safeties he sees (0, 1, or 2).  He also tells me if middle of field (MOF) is "open" or "closed".  The Safeties will give away everything.

2.  Once the ball is snapped and the QB is in the process of setting up, he keys the "MOF SQUARE" for confirmation of the coverage and the direction of the throw.  Based on this "read", the QB decides which receiver to throw the ball to.  

3.  After each pass, I ask him WHY he made the decision to throw to a particular receiver;  the QB must answer, not by merely saying "the receiver was open".  He should be able to explain to me WHY, given a particular kind of defensive coverage, a receiver was clear to receive the pass.  If the QB does not know this, I will take the QB to the LOS, have the defense get into the same alignment, and instruct the QB to what he should look for in order to determine the type of coverage that the defense had called on that particular down.  We do this every time we PRACTICE "7 on 7".

4.  ADVANCED:  As our QB's get good at the above - a variance we use (to teach coverage recognition of DISGUISES) is to have the defense call a coverage to line up in AND a coverage to move to once the ball is snapped. (I.E. "line up in Cover 2, move to Cover 1").  The QB then calls out the alignment he sees on his  - Pre-Snap Look - "looks like Cover 2".  He then takes the snap as as soon as he recognizes the coverage being PLAYED (BY his 2nd. step in the drop), he calls out "Cover 1".  This teaches all our skill people not only to recognize the coverage but many of the techniques involved in each alignment.

NOTE:  We teach specific READS for both QB's AND receivers (with "clues" for "ID").  We set the "timer" for the same time we allot for 3 & 5 step "timing" passes (UTC OR Gun).