There’s an elephant in the room if you play DB. If she isn’t there now, she’ll be there shortly. Sooner or later if you play DB, the elephant is going to show up. That Elephant’s name is touchdown and you invited her. If we don’t address the elephant she will either get larger or have babies and while Elephant’s can be cute, we don’t want any of that.
What am I talking about? I’m talking about getting beat while playing defensive back. That’s either for a touchdown or a really big play. It happens and this article is here to tell you what to do when it does happen because it will. Here are 3 things you need to do after getting beat for a big play while playing defensive back.
1 – Quickly Figure Out What Went Wrong
The common thing told to DB’s is that you have to have a short memory and forget about the play. Sure, this is true but not right away. After you get beat, you need to quickly determine what went wrong and why you gave up the big play. Let me put an emphasis on “quickly”. This is why defensive backs need to have awareness. The best defensive backs make mistakes but what makes them great is that rather quickly they know what went wrong and can fix it. Knowing what went wrong is crucial as the situation most likely will present itself again.
2 – Block Out the Noise
After getting beat, the wide receiver, if he’s like 80% of them out there is going to be in your ear, hoping to get in your head. Close the door on your ear. You will hear him because you are not deaf but don’t listen. In your mind, this guy got lucky and won’t be so the next time around. Some time the noise comes from your teammates on the scene or in the huddle. If the noise isn’t coming in some form of constructive criticism, meaning information that can help you in the next situation, block that out too. This may also apply to a coach. If your coach is prone to venting and yelling without yielding information that can prevent another setback then unfortunately you will have to block him out too. You can take all the yelling at halftime, after the game or in the post game film session. You need the proper mindset for the next play, series, etc. during the game.
3 – Focus on the Next Play
After you have made your quick assessment of the situation gone bad, file away the information you picked up and store it for the next time the situation comes up. What’s more important now is focusing on what may be coming on the next play. Your mind still has to be on the other team’s tendencies, your team’s game plan and what your responsibilities are. Dwell on the last play too long and you fall short in all of those areas. You don’t need me to tell you that this could lead to another elephant showing up on the scene. Too many elephants and you become a clown and the gridiron is no circus. Get focused on what’s next and you can make everyone forget that you got beat as you high step down the sidelines with a pick six.
Just some thoughts from experience that you can use in a situation that you will find yourself in some time soon. It’s inevitable that you will give up catches, long plays and touchdowns while playing DB. What’s important is that you balance those off with your fair share of big plays too. Follow the steps above and you have a good chance of making that happen.
Chad Wilson is the owner of All Eyes DB Camp and author of "101 DB Tips". He played college football at the University of Miami and briefly in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks. Over his 15 year high school football coaching career, he tutored over a dozen Division I defensive backs and as a trainer has worked with NFL All Pros, first round draft picks, college football All Americans and Top 10 ranked high school football prospects.
