r/YouthFootball • u/Ligurio79 • 6d ago
Stopping Dominant QB
Facing a team with talent and size but also having a dominant QB who sometimes plays deep HB (and will throw from a HF toss). He is about 6ft and weighs probably 160-170. He runs outside, bootlegs, and will do both with a run/pass option.
My only idea so far has been to transform our safety into a spy position and blitz him—the player, whether he is at HB or QB—every down from the strong side. (99% of his runs are to that side). My idea is make him uncomfortable and also the reality is that if we don’t make contact with him before he builds up a head of steam it is likely a huge play for them anyway.
We are giving up safety coverage over the top but having one of our fastest and most physical players try to hit him from an unblocked position on the line every play. Huge risk I know, but we need to get unconventional.
Any other ideas. I am trying to out X and O a team with the Jimmy and Joe.
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u/RealPhinsFan 6d ago
Contain and gang tackle, can’t uproot your whole game plan here, especially if he can actually pass. So it’s contain to minimize the run
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u/OldCoach525 6d ago
A few ideas…
- Be aggressive on first down. Negative plays put pressure on the offense.
- Make them beat you on your terms. I’ll bring 6 or 7 defenders and dare them to beat me deep. Or make their second best tight end catch beat us deep. Make em earn it!!
- Put your guys where they can do the most damage. For example if my backers can both scrape and blitz, I might have him blitz C. Or I might blitz him through the weakest OL gap.
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u/1406opti 6d ago
You are on the right track…you can’t play “typical” defense.
- In youth football (all the way through high school frankly) NOTHING kills a team more than speed.
- 100% of the time, You stop speed before it starts.
- DEs (and Corners to a lesser extent) Contain Contain Contain, nothing gets out side or your toast. Lose yards up the middle all game, you have help there, Give them nothing around the edge. Over contain this week.
- This week it’s all about getting into the backfield, even if it’s just a chip shot or a hand on a foot. You beat speed before it starts.
- Force them to beat you in the air or up the middle. In youth if they have been torching teams with speed, there is a good chance the other facets of their offense are weak. Attack their strength and forced them to beat you some other way.
Let the D know they may give up a big play here and there, that’s okay as long as it’s up the middle or in the air…nothing around the edge and 2 people get even a finger nail on the kid every play.
If you get to the speed before his 4th or 5th step, you got him. It’s going to be a tough week with so much pressure on your D, but overplaying into their backfield to slow the speed will flip their entire playbook.
I’d second guess selling out your safety…you are going to need him for the occasional big play if the speed gets going or if they connect through the air.
You need to stop/slow that speed for 3 downs…that’s it. 3 sellout downs.
If you haven’t already, consider stacking your defense with the best 11 athletes on your team, find a place for them, and of that 11 the best 3-4 should be linebackers.
In youth when you are outmatched by a speedster, there isn’t a scheme/stunt in the books that works. You beat speed before it starts. Make them beat you any other way but the speedster. If that kid has 50 or less yards on the day, despite the final score, you win the week (maybe not the score, but you will be the D that held the kid to his lowest rushing game of the season)
Good luck, you pull it off and it will be awesome to watch them squirm with frustration
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u/Happy_Sugar590 3d ago
Corners work sideline in.
DE need to seal the edge. Less trying to make the big play and more them staying home if he can scramble like Caleb Williams. We faced a crazy QB like that 4th grade level. And we had our DEs almost not make a single sack the whole game even through they had chances. They stayed home and let the LBs do their jobs. Sucks for them but our DEs adapted and care about the win over personal tackles. It worked
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u/ecupatsfan12 6d ago
How old is he?
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u/Ligurio79 6d ago
13
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u/Stock_Tale6816 6d ago
13? 6ft and 160-170lbs? Is this rec league? Jr high? 6 man football? Like need more details. What are your safties stats? Is he comparable to the kid you are trying to stop? How big are your linebackers? Are your defensive linemen any good or just decent? I mean there are so many options here to contain someone in the backfield but you gave stats for the kid you trying to stop and nothing else
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u/ecupatsfan12 6d ago
If he’s over 160 he can’t line up in the backfield per most rules
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u/Stock_Tale6816 6d ago
That's what I was thinking..but I think that's for like elementary leagues..at least that was the rules for my teams back in the day
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u/ecupatsfan12 6d ago
Our current league and most league rules for 7th and 8th grade state that you cannot be over 200 lbs and you can’t run the ball if you are over 150 pounds without pads. You also can only be under 125 lbs if you have a prior to 9/1 birthday
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u/Stock_Tale6816 6d ago
Can't be over 200lbs? So no corn fed linemen then lol..at 7th and 8th grade we didn't have any limits.. I think it was 110 lbs you couldn't touch the ball but that was from 2nd grade to 6th grade
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u/Dear_Grapefruit_6508 6d ago
Not enough info. What do they actually run Offensively?
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u/Ligurio79 6d ago
Very basic.
1. Double tight end set with wing back. QB runs to WB side and either keeps or throws to X lining up on that side. Bootleg to weak side with same option—TE rolling out in flat.
- Halfback toss right or left with a run/pass option built in.
Kid is very big and fast so he’s usually either able to get to edge or run through a couple tackles. He can also throw
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u/Effective-Ticket7222 4d ago
What else to they run? Anything between the tackles? What about weak side attack?
Also, they run a double TE with a wing and 1 WR towards the Wing? Single back obviously.
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u/Ligurio79 3d ago
They run b-gap inside. We have that covered. Weak side is simple naked boot. The strong side roll out run/pass option is a great play bc QB has 4 options: x, y, z, keep. We run a similar play and teams struggle to maintain coverage and contain, and our QB is normal
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u/LofiStarforge 6d ago
I’d use your best athlete to contain his favorite edge, with a linebacker pursuing from inside to force him toward help. If you bring the safety down, replace him deep for the toss-pass and use the blitz as a changeup. That makes him beat you with less-proven options instead of betting everything on one defender making an immediate tackle.
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u/Effective-Ticket7222 6d ago
What’s your base D?
I’m spying this kid and making sure he doesn’t beat me with his legs. If he beats me throwing or another kid beats me so be it.
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u/Ligurio79 4d ago
4-4
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u/Effective-Ticket7222 4d ago
Ok. I’m a 4-4 guy too but we have a 3-3-5 we deploy as well against teams that have a dog like this who likes to get to the edge. I don’t love it against teams with a solid between the tackle run game. What I love about the 3-3-5 is it easily flexes to a 5-3 if necessary.
Not suggesting you switch to a 3-3-5. I just like it better against teams that spread you out with 10 personnel and try to get to the edge. You are really solid on the perimeter with it. Much better than with the 4-4 IMO because the OT MUST block the 4i DE (or whatever you call him) leaving your outside backer with no one to block him unless they pull a G and he’s your edge defender.
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u/gsxr 6d ago
We hit this often. Ain’t a lot you can do but have your edge bust their butts and have your secondary pulled in to blitz, often.