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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Offensive positions know the play ahead of time. So, a WR for instance knows it’s a run play and could put less effort off the snap because they know the ball is not coming their waym
On the flip side the DB doesn’t know the place is away from them so they go hard at the snaoz then they realize it’s a rush so the break off their player and run full speed towards the ball carrier.
Now you could say the WR should.playbtiugh at the snap and even if they do, once the DB realize LA and breaks away towards the ball carrier there isn’t much left for the wr to do
One thing I don’t see people mentioning is that defensive players sub out less than offensive players. Oline and QB don’t really sub out, but all the other offensive positions will take plays off. Only guys who regularly rotate out on defense is Dline. Outside of switching to different packages your LBs and DBs will be out there for an entire drive running all over the field.
And the offense controls the ability to make substitutions.
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
I played CB in college and I had to defend every receiver as though the play was called for them or that the ball was being thrown to them. Exhausting as hell!
Offenses can cycle players in and out more frequently than the defense. If your starting receiver is winded then you can pull them out for 3 plays. If your starting corner is winded then that’s tough luck.
The offense is also in attack mode, and inherently is going to score if the defense doesn’t stop them. If a defensive player can’t do their job then the offense can score in one play. Generally if an offensive player fails to do their job then they just lose a down from a run being stopped at the line or the QB throwing it away.
Same way me resting for 5 min allowed me to figure out that its american handball you’re talking about, any and all time to recouperate when you’re not “in control” Will help you react better when something does happen!
The defense in general exerts more as they are chasing guys but IMO the Dline is really where you have guys getting exhausted. Those guys are going full bore on every play trying to run around or overpower the offensive line while the Oline exerts much less energy by blocking. The Oline simply needs a draw on any play to win while a Dlineman needs to win each snap. You rarely see the secondary or linebackers subbed out other than for making some defensive adjustment like inserting a dime package or short yardage. However, most teams will be rotating 3 levels of Dline depth in throughout the game.
Remember when you and your buddies played football as kids? If you were receiver you were always a step ahead. “I’ll run right then juke left when he least expects it. Now my friend D’ing me has to run even harder to catch up.” Likewise if you were D and your friend’s maneuvering quickly, you’re always playing catch-up since he’s changing directions without you knowing when. This is on top of you also looking at QB to anticipate their next move. Now apply this against a D1 athlete who can change direction while running 20mph but also try and predict who Tom Brady is about to drill a football to, all in a few seconds, then immediately line up and get ready to do it again.
Easy, because they have nothing to talk about and have to fill hours of dead air with minutes of real content, that is 100% repetitive. Nothing they say actually even has to make much sense, its just words. Best thing you can do is mute them, second best thing is find something interactive to do with your time.
In every sport you burn more energy playing defense. Chasing the ball or puck will take a lot more out of you
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