You should get the 2nd string in as soon as possible, you never know when that 1st stringer is going to go out hurt!! Throwing the young guys in in the playoffs can be overwelming if they do not get a chance to get the butterflies out soon...and you may be surprised by some of these kids performances during a game. Some of them are just gamers, they play better than they practice!!!!

Everyone has a different way of doing it. I remember a game that a team was up 33-6 in the 4th quarter and the other team came back and won 35-33. It is not easy to always know when you haev to take the foot off the gas pedal. I would like to think most head coaches have cultivated a sence for this based on their experiences.

^ I agree...

I think you also have to consider what the needs are of the winning team. Are certain players coming off an injury and need the reps? Does the team need to learn how to play a full (or almost a ) full game? Does the team need to work on certain things in anticipation of upcoming games? One could argue that the losing team has put themselves in the embarrassing position and that is not necessarily the winning's team problem. The primary focus of the winning team is improving their team, I would think, not worrying about their opponent's feelings. I don't know that there is a bright line between right and wrong on this. Keep in mind that sportsmanship is not confined to just the game itself. It is the acts and comments leading up to a game and afterwards as well.

 

I agree! Well said! Some people on hear have never been in the trenches having to prove themselves to find a spot on the 1st team. When you get the opportunity to play, you give it 110% with respect for your competition. Most times it's at the end of the game and looks like a team is running up the score and sometime a team just runs up the score. It's football!!!

I agree! Well said! Some people on hear have never been in the trenches having to prove themselves to find a spot on the 1st team. When you get the opportunity to play, you give it 110% with respect for your competition. Most times it's at the end of the game and looks like a team is running up the score and sometime a team just runs up the score. It's football!!!

 

Nobody, that I have seen anyway, has ever asked players to give less than 100%. That being said, not running your whole playbook in a blowout does not prevent players from giving 100%. Having played under Coach Schneider, and now watching Coach Eviston, I know that it is possible to win and still leave your opponent w/ dignity. It's not a sign of weakness.

When does it become the losing teams job to get starters out of the game? 99.9% of the time the team winning pulls starters and losing team leaves starters in. By then tempers are up because of the beat down and it becomes an opportunity for the starters to take it out on the babies. Maybe the coach on the winning side should call a timeout and mass-sub like they do in basketball. That lets the other team know they are calling off the dogs. If the losing team doesn't reciprocate, then bring you #1s back in. It has to work on both sides.

Dead on for me

 

Please, just remember that in two weeks. :irked:

What about when winning team puts in young players and losing team leaves in seniors and inevitably some of them start taking out frustrations on freshmen, injuries result. I have witnessed it happened several times where losing coach is more concerned about lessoning deficit than returning favor by removing a few of his tougher players also.

 

It is hard to judge a coach on the other sideline, you don't know what he sees, or situation he is in. He has to do what is best and safe for his team first.

I've been on both sides of a blowout. To me it stings just as much to have the winning team ostentatiously stop playing. Its a slap in the face when the better team pulls all its starters in the first half and start running two dive each play. It may keep the score down, but its not football. The kids on both teams showed up to play a football game. Neither gets any better if one stops playing.

 

The only taboos for me are fake punts and onside kicks by the winning team. Other than that, each team should play its game, run its offense and play its starters until they have played enough. You can practice six hours a day and it still doesn't improve a team as much as one game against a real opponent.

 

Now, with that said, under most circumstances, if the clock is running at the start of the second half, I think it is best practice for the winning coach to play his starters no more than one series on offense and defense. I would rather substitute a few at a time rather than as a mass. On offense, leave the starting line or the starters with a top sub or two in until the losing team subs its defensive line.