Good question, Roo! In all of my years of playing, I can honestly say I DESPISE playing mirror-imaged Defense. It goes against everything FOOTBALL stands for.
In REAL life - and THAT'S the #1 problem in this hobby - if the Defense has 8 guys in the box, the Offense DOESN'T run! If there are 7 defenders on the O's left, then they most likely will run right. Otherwise, it's just a smash 'em up, crash 'em up rugby scrum. YUUUUCCKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!
Also,
Running with or without a FB and
Defending the run starts with "Which style?"
I started to go into a step-by-step, but decided that the easiest way to defend the run is to let your players play their positions! DL have to keep the OL off the LBs and DBs gotta clean-up what the LBs miss. If you play the laughable 10-1, then that cannot be achieved. Actually playing recognizable 4-3s and 3-4s and layering the LBs and DBs will give anyone a good starting point.
When an OL is left unchecked, he creates a gap/hole for an LB or S to plug. It also weakens the scrumline a tad.
Since we all play differently, I would say to practice against that one or two run plays that seem to give you the most trouble. Find the chink in the armour and learn to crush it when you see it again! Orrrrrrrrr, run the same play against the other guy and see how he stops it!
Gimme a specific play and I can break it down for ya more specifically. But for now, here's an example of a dominating LDE being double-teamed, which frees up the LB to make the play. Click on the link below. :rolleyes: