DON MEYER: "First, it must be understood that play 'hard' on defense is not nearly enough and not as important as playing 'smart.' The term 'TEAM DEFENSE' equals a 'system of play.' To be successful, players must believe in your system of defensive play."Coach Meyer's teams all play at the highest level defensively and the most important thing for us to understand as coaches is that there is a reason for how well they play. And that reason is both simple and complex. It is simple in that the formula used doesn't change. Coach Meyer's three phases for good defensive player include:
1. Belief in themselves (aids aggressiveness)
2. Belief in teammates (good helpside defense)
3. Believe in system (that it will defend all situations)
The key to the belief is the ability to teach. You must be able to break down the defense and teach it's key components. You then have to incorporate the whole method approach to link the individual phases of good defensive play. What I think is really important is that you players just not know "what" to do, but "how" to do it. And I believe that they go to another level defensively when they understand "why." Good defensive play takes time -- and it should...just like anything good in this game you don't arrive at it overnight. It also takes great maintenance. We are constantly breaking down our defense the entire year. I think people would be surprised to see us practicing in March and see some of our drill work.
