How to Breakdown Football Game Film
Nov 13th, 2008 by Coach DeLorm
The fourth installment of Coach Dan Levin’s series on football coaching tips for American football coaches from an Australian point of view. If you are a coach and you have some tips that you would like to pass along then please drop me a line using the contact form.
Everyone hears about how football coaches pour over football film day and night, looking for any little bit of an advantage they can possibly get, but few people are actually coached on HOW to breakdown football film. Most coaches I suspect don’t have multiple angles to use, or have fancy computer software to help them breakdown football game film. I know here in Australia, the best we get is a parent’s hand held angle from the sidelines. However, hi-tech software isn’t really necessary to get a lot out of a film session.
The following are pointers on what to look for when you’re watching game film from an American football coaches perspective:
1. Check your own football mistakes.
It’s incredibly hard to see everything that’s going on on the field during an American football game. only afterwords can you evaluate where certain players went wrong and when. Does your American football player miss a block for a reason? Did the defender not read their key? Was there a breakdown in football technique? It’s much easier to correct a problem if the football player sees themselves doing it incorrectly.
2. Check your own football tendencies.
Write down each play, either during the game so you can have it for the football film breakdown session or write them out during the session. Include the down and distance when you called particular football play and the result of it. This will tell you your own tendencies. One of the cardinal sins of coaching football is being predictable. If you find that you call runs on 1st down 90% of the time, other football coaches will pick that up as well. If you call playaction on every 2nd and short, no one will bite on the playaction.
3. Check their football tendencies.
Now that you know your problems, you can focus on the other teams’. Same as scouting your tendencies, look to see what they call and when. Who do they go to in 3rd down situations? What do they like to run on 1st downs? Do they always run strong and counter weak? Identify key players and watch what they do and when. This will help you to pick up keys.
4. Check their football mistakes
What plays worked against them? What are their player weaknesses? Do their CB’s watch the backfield? Do the linebackers over pursue? Do running backs lean one way or another? Find your opponents weak points and exploit them!
