Football: Chess Not Checkers
Share
Featuring: Marcus Klund — LB Coach, Calgary Stampeders
Podcast: Football IQ — Mastering Defensive Strategies with Marcus Klund
Website: americanfootballiq.com
"It's chess, not checkers. It's a constant back and forth — and you've just got to make sure you're making more moves than your opponent." — Marcus Klund, CFL Linebackers Coach
Introduction
Marcus Klund has spent over 20 years coaching football. He's currently a linebackers coach and run game coordinator in the CFL, working with the Calgary Stampeders — a league where the field is wider, only three downs are allowed instead of four, and the chess match between offense and defense has its own distinct rhythm.
When Doug Brady sat down with Klund on the Coach and Coordinator Podcast, the conversation landed on something that every serious player and coach needs to hear: football is not a game you master. It's a game you study forever.
That's not motivational talk. That's a blueprint.
The Chess Match Nobody Sees in the Stands
Most players approach football like checkers. They react to what's in front of them. They see a gap, they hit it. They see a route, they run it. Simple, instinctive, one-move-at-a-time.
Chess players think differently. They see the board. They read the opponent's setup before the play unfolds. They anticipate the next move while executing the current one. They're not just playing their position — they're processing the entire field.
That's the difference between a good athlete and a football player with real IQ.
When Klund talks about "one move at a time," he's not talking about slowing down. He's talking about clarity. The player who panics tries to make five moves at once. The player who processes the game — who has done the mental reps — sees the right move clearly and executes without hesitation.
Football punishes hesitation. If you're still thinking when the ball is snapped, you're already late.
The Mindset That Separates Good from Great
Here's what separates the coaches and players who reach elite levels: they never stop learning.
Klund said it directly — after 20-plus years of coaching, he's still picking up new things every single day. Not every season. Every day. That's not humility for its own sake. That's a philosophy that drives constant growth.
Most players hit a level — JV, varsity, college — and think they've arrived. They stop asking questions. They stop studying film the way they did when they were trying to earn a spot. They stop being curious. That's when football IQ plateaus.
The players who keep climbing treat every practice, every film session, and every conversation with a coach as a chance to pick up something new. Not five things. Not ten. Just one thing. Klund said it clearly:
"If you can pick up one thing, it's a win. You ain't got to pick up five or ten — if you pick up one thing, it's a win."
One concept. One technique. One recognition key. That's all it takes — if you stack those wins over a career.
How Coaches Build Football IQ at the Elite Level
Klund's approach reflects something American Football IQ has always believed: the mental side of football is trainable, and it requires reps just like any physical skill.
Elite coaches go to clinics. They visit other programs. They talk ball with people outside their circle. They ask questions that might seem basic because they know the basics are where mastery lives. You'll never pick up that one thing if you don't put in the time and effort to get out, meet people, and talk football.
That same approach applies to players. Watch film with intention. Don't just watch your own highlights — study the defense, the coverage rotation, the linebacker's alignment, the safety's pre-snap movement. Ask your coaches what they're seeing on the other side of the ball.
The players who understand why a defense lines up a certain way, or why a play call is designed to attack a specific coverage, are the players who react fastest on game day. Because they're not processing it for the first time under the lights. They've already seen it a hundred times in their head.
That's the mental rep. And it's exactly what separates playing fast from just playing.
Why Football IQ Changes Everything
Confidence on the field doesn't come from being the fastest or the strongest. It comes from knowing.
When a linebacker knows what formation tells him a lead draw is coming, he attacks with confidence. When a corner recognizes the receiver's stem, he's already breaking on the route. When a quarterback identifies the coverage before the snap, the whole offense plays faster.
Recognition drives reaction. And reaction drives results.
Klund's message — that football is a constant cat-and-mouse game, a back-and-forth chess match — isn't abstract. It's a call to study the game at a deeper level. To understand the why behind every play, every formation, every coverage shell. Players who commit to that study don't just become better athletes. They become smarter ones. And smart football players have longer careers, make better decisions under pressure, and lead their teammates because they see things before others do.
"We don't sell cards. We sell mental reps." — American Football IQ
Final Thoughts
Marcus Klund has been coaching football for over two decades and he's still learning. That should tell you something.
The game rewards the curious. It rewards the prepared. It rewards the player who treats every rep — physical or mental — as a chance to get better. Football is chess, not checkers. The players who understand that don't wait for the game to come to them. They read it. They anticipate it. They see the field before the play unfolds.
Train the brain the same way drills train the body.
Want more content like this? Follow American Football IQ on Instagram, catch the latest on X, subscribe on YouTube, and check out the American Football IQ Training Flashcards on Amazon to start building your mental game today.
Podcast Source
| Clip | Football: Chess Not Checkers |
| Full Podcast | Football IQ — Mastering Defensive Strategies with Marcus Klund |
| Guest | Marcus Klund, LB Coach, Calgary Stampeders |
| Website | americanfootballiq.com |
© American Football IQ · See the field before the play unfolds · americanfootballiq.com