A good uptempo offense presents one of the toughest challenges for a defense. Coach Matt Tschetter, defensive coordinator at Wartburg College, and his staff actively use strategies to handle this fast-paced, high-pressure style of play. They focus on conditioning the defense to keep up with the tempo, simplifying communication, and drilling game-like tempo in practice. Coach Tschetter’s methods have proven effective. Here’s how you can prepare your defense to handle these relentless attacks.
Conditioning and Physical Preparedness
One of the biggest demands of defending an uptempo offense is the sheer physical toll it places on defenders. Conditioning plays a huge role in making sure your players can keep up with the pace. Practices should emphasize simulating the speed at which the uptempo team operates. Consider these strategies:
- Double huddle system: Run two scout teams at once, with each positioned on different hashes. As soon as one play ends, the second team is already lined up, forcing your defense to sprint to the next play without a break(Transcript tschetter).
- Pursuit drills with double whistles: After the first whistle, players must sprint to the ball as if it’s been thrown. The second whistle signifies the end of the pursuit, ingraining the habit of running to the football while conditioning your team to always be ready to go(Transcript tschetter).
By ramping up the intensity of these drills in practice, you can simulate the speed and chaos of a real uptempo game, ensuring that your defense can keep up when it matters.
Streamlining Communication
With less time to communicate between plays, complex check systems may not be feasible. Instead, the focus should be on simplifying the defense without sacrificing its effectiveness. Consider the following adjustments:
- Simple, universal calls: Create a defensive system where the calls are easy to understand and quick to execute. For example, limit the number of adjustments based on formations (e.g., 2×2, 3×1) and make sure every player knows their assignment inside out.
- Fast, clear communication: Establish a system where even if you get the call slightly wrong, the entire defense is still executing the same call. It’s better to be wrong together than right individually, as the speed of uptempo offenses leaves little time for corrections.
Utilizing Practice for Speed
Incorporating periods into practice that simulate the uptempo style of offense will help your defense adapt to the pace and reduce mental fatigue:
- Good-on-good attack tempo: Run your first-team offense against your first-team defense at a high pace, ensuring both sides are accustomed to the speed of play. After every play, move the ball up and get lined up quickly, regardless of the previous result.
- Walkthrough with tempo: Even in walkthrough periods, have your defense line up against two scout offenses positioned back-to-back on the same hash. This practice forces your defense to quickly transition between plays, helping them get lined up and ready with minimal downtime.
Keeping It Simple
Uptempo offenses thrive on creating confusion by using a variety of formations, motions, and shifts. To counteract this, simplify your defensive menu:
- Fewer defensive plays: Reducing the number of different calls allows your players to focus more on execution than on thinking through their assignments. Players can react faster and more confidently when they know exactly what they need to do, even if the offense moves quickly.
- Limiting checks: Rather than having a lengthy list of checks for each formation or motion, streamline your check system to cover the most critical situations. This minimizes the likelihood of communication breakdowns as the offense changes alignments rapidly.
Adapting to Formations and Personnel
Uptempo offenses often use a single personnel group and a wide range of formations to keep the defense off-balance. Therefore, your defensive plan should account for the versatility of the offense:
- Mix up coverages and looks: While keeping the defense simple, it’s essential to avoid getting stuck in the same look on every play. Make slight adjustments, especially in coverage, to take away the offense’s first read. This allows your defensive line more time to pressure the quarterback.
- Substitute smartly: Know when and how to rotate personnel, especially on the defensive line. Quick substitutions need to be coordinated and efficient, ensuring fresh players get on the field without disrupting the defensive flow.
Creating Chaos in Practice
As much as possible, make your practices chaotic to mimic game conditions. Central College’s tempo offense presented a unique challenge due to the fast pace, constant motions, and formations. To prepare for this, you can:
- Push the scout team: Your scout team must be running at full speed and presenting different looks as quickly as possible. If they can run plays even faster than the uptempo team you’re facing, your defense will be more than ready for game day.
Putting it All Together
To defend an uptempo offense, focus on conditioning your players, streamlining communication, and organizing practices efficiently. Simplify your approach, condition players thoroughly, and run relentless practice reps to ensure your defense handles the chaos of uptempo teams and matches their pace and execution on game day.
D3 Defensive Coordinator of the Week
Matt Tschetter was honored as the Week 3 D3 Defensive Coordinator of the Week presented by Hansen Ratings. Chris Winter is the Head Coach of Wartburg, and Coach Tschetter is assisted by Alex Polloack, Ethan Lape, and Jason Splitt.
Notable Stats from their Week 3 win:
Matthew Tschetter | Wartburg | 10-6 vs. Central
- Central has only been held to 1 score twice in last 20 years
- Forced 3 turnovers in first quarter, including Wartburg’s only TD on a fumble return
- Opponent’s lowest offensive output since 2003
- Opponent 20% on 3rd downs
- Gave up 0 points on two short fields in second half
- Allowed 1.2 yards/rush
