First and farmost, attitude is everything. If you don’t actually have 7 players who believe you can actually win, then this isnt worth reading and the rest of your game isn’t worth playing.
Most teams I have played on, in this situation, would try and load the Defensive line with the top defenders. However, your goal isn’t just to stop the offense and gain possession, but to actually catch the disc in the endzone. So loading your defensive unit with pure defenders might not be the best way to make the comeback a reality. Instead, I would put a majority of the top defenders on, but also 2-3 of the smart offensive players (most likely handlers). In club, players are more experienced, more versatile, and more confident, so this doesn’t apply quite as much, but for college, this seems to be an important component.
The main justification for placing a average defender, but good offensive player, on at a crucial point of the game is that having the normal defensive unit doesn’t seem to have been working so changing things up is a necessity, let alone, scoring now has more weighting on the d line than before. The oppositions O team is probably playing loose and in their element having a substantial lead late in the game, so putting some breaks on the board is necessary to make them tighten up and lose some confidence. Also, having 2 solid offensive handlers step onto the D line will give some patience and set the pace upon getting the disc. The D-team may be feeling the pressure to put breaks up which will cause the Defensive O to not play their game. Placing some offensive players changes the psychology, mentality, and attitude of the line and can help get them out of the rut they may previously have been in.
Overall, you have to change a losing strategy. Whether it be on offense or defense, you always have to adapt to help make the team play to their potential.
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