Rush?

[Coach Rob 26]

Our league moved the rush line back from 7 yards to 10 yards.

On defense, would you still send a rusher?

On offense, if the defense isn't sending a rusher, how would that change your strategy on play calling?

I've always sent a rusher on defense to disrupt the offensive and hopefully not give their QB time to throw a long pass. I'm concerned if we don't send a rusher, we'll run the risk of getting beat long. The QB has 7 seconds to get the play off, but my experience has been that the refs don't watch that very carefully.

[Coach Marty 0]

I would still send the rusher on D. If it's a run then you just have to coach the rusher to keep a closer I on that and maybe it will squash any inside runs. It'll still put pressure on the QB enough to disrupt a longer pass.

If they aren't sending a rusher I would pass more. With no pressure on a QB (especially if the ref is lax on calling the 7 sec rule) you can pick a team apart if you have a talented QB.

What age group do you have?

[Coach Rob 26]

11-14 yr olds, probably playing in a 12-14 yr old division. I've played in this division a few seasons already. Some of the more mature teams can just rip you apart on the long passes if you aren't sending pressure.

[rushbuster70 16]

At that age I would definitely rush.I would have the fastest kid on the team doing it though.

[GeorgeC 1]

We have the same rules. We would selectively rush, but usually not. It just depended on the opposition team and QB. If your zone is good, often the QB will get frustrated because everyone is covered and throw a pick. Almost every teams rushes, so the refs are not used to having to count the 7 seconds. If you take this "not rush" approach, you'll need to remind the refs at the beginning of the game. When we do rush, we do not send our fastest player. We want our fastest guy in coverage. Also, the fastest guy tends to overrun a QB who can just do a little sidestep.

[Orange 26]

Rush! I'd rush just about every play still.

[whiskey.alpha 5]

Rush! I'd rush just about every play still.

+1

[LemonThrower 1]

my 8 and 9 year olds will pick you apart if you don't rush us.

i would send 2 - the better one to the QB's right and then the worst player to the QB's left for contain. some of the better qbs will roll out from the rush but the 2 man rush accelerated their throws by several seconds.

you may scoff at sending 2 but i usually had a little guy who wasn't much use in coverage anyway so it was a perfect job for him. the better rusher was a guy who was taller but was less cooridinated and not too good at following directions or instinct. this was a perfect job for him as welll. this scheme was very effective at taking away long passes and creating interceptions.

[spider 0]

I think it is a great idea to have it 10 yards. I've never quite realized why it's necessary for an 8 year old to be forced to make a decision in 2-3 seconds.

I think you should mix it up next game and go 50-50 or 60-40 and see what appears to work best. I've found the blitz works great against the pass and eliminates 50% of the opposing coaches pass plays. But does not work so well against the run. especially the misdirection.

[YMCA Coach 1]

Oh, absolutely rush. The extra 3 yards comes out to 9 feet - most kids will cover that in just a fraction of a second, so it doesn't make much difference, in my opinion.

As for offensively, if they're not checking the 7 seconds well, set up pass plays that give the receivers a second or third change of direction - with 7 seconds, I think you could have a receiver do a deep out, then run back inside, and then go deep again. We have 5 seconds before a rush (blitzes can be done once every set of downs), and even with the five count ending in under 3 seconds most times we've still managed to get some pretty complicated plays off.

And with that age group? I'd be afraid to not rush!

[Coach Rob 26]

Thanks for all the input, we mixed it up (which we usually do) and sent a rusher a majority of the time. I think having the rusher back 10 yards was a good call by our league.