Subject: Practicing Situational Football
Date: October 12, 2026

Wins and losses are often decided on situations. The team that’s most ready for the situation is usually the team that comes away with a win.

How do you get your team ready?

Back in the day, we used to put the football in the middle of the field to run plays in practice. We’d kill the grass in one spot over the course of a few weeks.

Then move to a new spot, and start killing that grass.

Run the play. Then bring the ball back to the same spot.

No situation. No game context. Just plays.

Oh, and the practices were 3 hours long… or more.

If we were struggling in a specific situation, we’d just add a practice period.

10 minutes of 3rd & Short Offense. Put the ball down, same old dead grass spot, and challenge the offense to get the first down.

Check the box. We worked on the situation.

Other situations, no quite so obvious or frequent, just went on the Thursday Practice Script.

2-minute drill. End of half. Goal Line Defense. They all get their minute or 5 minutes of fame. Nothing more.

This is not how to win situations on Game Day. This is not the JDFB Way.

Your team needs to master the situation. This is your opportunity for an edge.

When it’s 3rd & 3, you want your players to look to the sideline like they don’t even need the play call. They already know.

Been there. Done that.

If you master the situation, you have the edge. You have the confidence to execute. To win the game in the big moments.

You don’t just cover it. You own it.

What most coaches are doing every week is simply covering the situation.

Checking the box.

They’re trying to cover every situation. Every possible event.

But you can’t do it. You cannot MASTER them all.

This week, identify the situation that can make the biggest impact. The low hanging fruit.

Then make it the FOCUS of your practice planning.

Need ideas? The new Coach’s Edge Workshop this month is my Situational
Football Audit. I created a tool to identify the focused situation and build it into your practices so your players master it. JDFB Gold and Platinum members can watch it right now:

Join JDFB Premium Coaching Systems Now >>

~ Joe Daniel​