What So Many People Get Wrong About Man-to-Man Coverage
I’ve been around football since I was about nine or ten years old, playing from grade-school all the way through college. I played in adult flag football leagues after that—for the camaraderie sure, but mostly in a vain attempt to relive the glory days of my youth. I gained further insight as a high school football coach, gleaning bits and pieces of football knowledge from my fellow coaches.
We’ve all probably been around football in some form or another; as a player or coach, a cheerleader or parent or zebra, or maybe even as a kid playing two-hand-touch football in a backyard or playground, or sometimes in that big field adjacent to your neighborhood—the one with the big oak tree in the middle.
The concept of backyard football in those days was simple enough.
On offense, one person was the quarterback, and everyone else went out for a pass: no linemen, no blockers, nada.
On defense, one person counted to six or seven or eight-Mississippi before being allowed to rush the quarterback, while everyone else defended someone going out for a pass. You picked someone out on the opposing team, then chased them around relentlessly until their quarterback either completed a pass — hopefully not to the person you were guarding — or was sacked or intercepted.
