What Is an Offensive Drive?
An offensive drive is “the sequence of plays made by one team during which they attempt to move the ball downfield and score points.” In other words, an offensive drive is a series of plays designed to get the offense closer to scoring points or getting into field goal range.
The offense usually has four chances (or downs) to advance ten yards or more before turning possession of the ball to their opponents. Possession also changes if they fail to gain ten yards on any given down.
The Goal Of An Offensive Drive
The goal of an offensive drive is simple: get into scoring position and score points. An effective offense will mix up different plays that allow them to gain yards in multiple ways—such as running, passing, or trick plays—and keep their opponents guessing. This strategy allows them to maximize their chances for success and hopefully find themselves in a position where they can score points on each possession.
How an Offense Can Maximize Their Scoring Opportunities
Have a Good Game Plan: You need to know what plays you want to run and how to attack the defense. A good game plan will put your players in a position to succeed and give them the best chance to score points.
Execute Your Plays Well: This means having good timing and execution on both offense and defense. Moving the ball down the field will be very difficult if your players are not on the same page.
Use All Of Your Weapons: This means getting the ball to your playmakers in space so they can make things happen. You must also ensure you are running the ball effectively to keep the defense honest.
Prepare For Anything: The defense will throw different looks at you throughout the game, and you need to adjust on the fly. You also must execute your plays in adverse situations, such as when you have poor field position or the defense is selling out to stop one aspect of your offense.
Good Sense of Clock Management: This means knowing when to run out of the clock and when to try and score points. If you can master the art of clock management, it will go a long way in helping your team win games.
Factors That Influence An Offensive Drive
Several factors influence how successful an offensive drive can be for a team – from the skill level of their players and coaches to weather conditions, game timeouts, injuries, etc.
Defensive playcalling can also significantly impact an offensive drive’s success – if a defense can guess correctly what play an offense will run next. They can adjust accordingly and potentially disrupt any progress made by the offense during that particular drive.
