So watching college football today the announcers always make a statement like “That drive took 10 minutes so the defense got a good rest”. How is that rest only beneficial to the defense and not for the opposing offense?
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Let’s look at a specific situation, and extrapolate…
The linemen way over on one side. They are face to face, offense and defense. The offense knows exactly where the play is going, in this case it’s a sweep to the opposite side. So right at the snap, he kinda has to pretend for a second, and once the play is in motion, he’s basically done. The entire play, from the huddle to the whistle to the next huddle to the next snap, is a rest period for him. A full 60 seconds with virtually no energy expended, for him to catch his breath.
The defensive lineman has no such luxury. He doesn’t know anything about the play. He’s going 100%. He’s trying to get past the offensive lineman. He’s trying to get at the QB. He’s watching the RBs, reacting to fakes, looking for play action. And now that the RB is going the opposite direction, he’s in all out chase mode. He returns to the huddle after a 15 second wind sprint, all while the guy opposite him stood there with his hands on his hips. Then he gets to do that again. And again. And again.
After this drive has gone on for 12 plays, which one do you think is going to be more effective at pushing the other guy around when the ball is coming right him and it matters most?
And so it goes with every position. If I’m the outside WR, any play not coming my way is a break for me. I throw a quick block, maybe act like I’m trying to get open for a few seconds, then my work is done. But not for the cornerback assigned to me. He’s 100%, regardless of the play. He MUST react to my every move. And he MUST sprint to the rush. The second he doesn’t, I’m going right through him for a wide open TD. So after he’s chased me a few times, ran a blitz, chased the QB on a scramble, and sprinted to a handful of rushes to the opposite field, and all I’ve done during that time is ran 3 routes, which one of us is going to have the advantage on the next deep bomb?
TLDR – offense knows the play, and knows when they can go 25% and catch a breath. Defense doesn’t, and is going 100% on every play. The longer the drive goes, the more that advantage stacks up
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