In this episode, from the 2nd Annual Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic, Ron Roberts, now the defensive coordinator at Auburn, talks about multiple defenses and the different pressures they utilize. He shares the three things required to play great defense, the analytics of scoring, how to deal with difficult formations, and more.
Listen On:
Ron Roberts is now the defensive coordinator at Auburn University. In this segment from his presentation at the Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic, Coach Roberts encapsulates what any defense should focus on to excel on the field. In an era where we have become inundated with information, Coach Roberts cuts right to the core of leading a top-performing defense.
It’s something that he’s been able to pass on to other coaches. He has an impressive coaching tree, including Dave Aranda, Patrick Toney, who made the jump from being co-DC at Florida to the NFL as secondary coach with the Arizona Cardinals, Austin Armstrong, who at 29 is the youngest Power 5 coordinator at Florida replacing Toney, and Pete Golding, who left Alabama to take the defensive coordinator position at Ole Miss. He had served as the defensive coordinator at Alabama for five seasons and began his career as a GA for Coach Roberts at Delta State.
All of those coaches who learned from Ron Roberts learned to build the foundation of their defenses on the philosophy which Coach Roberts shares in this segment.
Follow Ron Roberts on Twitter @CoachRonRoberts.
Show Notes:
>Mental Toughness
>Physical Toughness
>Take Away What They Do Best
>Effort
>Are You at Your Best When the Best Is Needed?
>Analytics of Scoring
>Creating Havoc
>Making Calls
>Skill Analysis for Each Position
>Winning Edge Takeaways and Ideas for Implementation
Additional Ron Roberts Episode:
Ron Roberts Course:
Download Ron Roberts Presentation
To gain access to all presentations from this year’s Lauren’s First and Goal Clinic, plus ten additional presentations per month, go to LFGF2023.coachesclinic.com.
The Winning Edge – Takeaways and Ideas for Implementation:
1) Know What It Will Take to Be the Best
Put together goals that if accomplished will make you the best in your league or division. There’s a lot of goals that you can copy and paste from clinics. But what Coach Roberts puts together is a specific road map to become the best. It will take a little bit of research from past seasons to paint a clear picture for your staff and players of what the best defense looks like.
2) Study Yourself Extensively
Today’s technology provides the opportunity to look at yourself and opponents in a number of different ways. Start with a set of questions, which are identified to help you understand both what makes your defense successful and what makes your defense vulnerable.
It allows you to do two things. First, you can focus on the calls that are most successful. Coach Roberts identified what allowed them to make TFL’s. He knows what those movements are, and then during the year by weekly opponent study, he knows when to call them. Second, it helps you identify the skills to work on for each position that will enable you to play your defense the best you possibly can.
3) Identify Skills for Each Position
Identifying skills will help each position coach focus the work they do and the drills designed to build skill. Time is always a critical factor, so having a very focused list of skills and drills will help you save time every week when the game plan comes together and then must be carried over to the practice plan and honed on the practice field.
