Sometimes the coaches just outsmart themselves. What they think is intuitive cannot be translated into tangible specifics the kids can understand. I’ve seen this way too many times in zone defenses. The kids get so tied up in their zones they forget to actually cover anyone. I watched several of our DBs not even attempt to cover the Bama receivers while they were clearly in their zone. I’m not a fan of zone defenses, but it has to be conveyed you cover the man in your zone until the transfer from one zone to another can take place.
BTW, I have no football experience either, but I played enough sandlot and rugby (26 years) to know this much.