Back Pedal – Return Drill for Defensive Backs

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Because of some of the changes in our coverage this year (specifically, where the Corner’s eyes need to be), we will be doing more back pedaling with our corners this year. In years past I have been a big fan of the Open Slide technique – and continue to be – but it does not fit our current coverage schemes as well.

In looking at back pedal technique, and how to back pedal, we needed to look at what can hurt you the most from the pedal, and what can help you the most.

  • My biggest concern with a back pedal technique is if your cornerback cannot open his hips up fast enough, and the receiver is able to run by him. We can solve that by backing the corner up, but that creates more space for the receiver.
  • From the back pedal position, the corner’s ability to work his eyes from the Quarterback to the Wide Receiver on a 3-Step Drop is the biggest asset. He can break on the 3-Step game and find the receiver for the tackle, or even better – intercept the ball and take it to the house. [Read more...]
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Movement Drills for the Defensive Line

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We talked about working with Linebackers on Transition Drills in a different article here. The truth is, all of your defensive players need to work on Movement & Transition Drills. These are drills that work your players on moving around the field, changing directions and changing footwork as they would do in a typical football play.

There is some basic footwork drill value in traditional bag work, where players run over bags laid on the ground. But these drills are a building block. It is pretty rare that a player just has to shuffle sideways on a play and then it’s over. He probably will have to change direction, defeat a block, etc. That’s where your Transition Drills come in.

We break the skills a Defensive Lineman needs down into a few pieces:

  1. Stance & Get Off: Having a proper start, reacting to ball movement.
  2. Strike: Attacking the blocker and controlling him.
  3. Engage & Escape: This is where most of the block reads come into play. Once we diagnose the play, we’re off to make the tackle.
  4. Redirects, Transition, Pursuit: Once we get off the block, how do we get to the football?
  5. Pass Rush Moves

These are the skills that are specific to Defensive Linemen. We’re not including Tackling and Takeaways here, because they are skills every player needs. When we build drills, however, we may have them performing a Defensive Line skill, then making a tackle.

The focus here is on those Redirects, Transition and Pursuit. We want to teach our Defensive Linemen to move. You may want to start these drills from a stance, or from a fit position (adding in the Escape), or from a variety of other positions. You need to work some form of these drills every day, so get creative with it. Think of anything your guys may have to do, then practice it. I’m giving some examples of Movement & Transition drills here, not a complete list.

Bend – Chase – Shuffle

The first Defensive Line movement drill is a pretty simple transition drill. This is very similar to what we would do with any other defensive position group and could be worked as part of a circuit. [Read more...]

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Gator Roll Tackling Drill Video

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This video goes with our Gator Roll Tackling Drill. You will see both the drill, as we have been working it recently, and a couple of clips from practice where the roll tackle is used in Team situations.

A couple of things to note…

  1. We have not been doing this drill much, only the last few weeks. Sometimes you realize you are doing something wrong when it becomes a necessity to change. We have had a rash of injuries and now have a number of smaller, younger players playing significant plays for us. The gator roll tackle adds another tool to their toolbox when they need to get down bigger, stronger Varsity players.
  2. Our practice field is absolutely destroyed.
  3. Those are not my Graduate Assistants holding the bags. That’s the Head Coach and the Offensive Coordinator. The Defensive Coordinator (me) is holding the camera. Welcome to the glamorous world of High School Football. [Read more...]
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Drilling the Gator Roll Tackle

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Finding pictures of a perfect roll tackle is tough. Photo by SD Dirk from Flickr.com.

One of the biggest issues we have as defensive coaches has always been, and will always be, improving our tackling. As long as you have at least one missed tackle in a season, you will look for ways to get better as a defensive unit at tackling.

We employ a number of different drills in our tackling circuit, and I have written a number of articles on how we teach tackling. We stress the feet, the eyes, and most importantly, we stress safety.

In a Region where the players are constantly getting bigger and faster, safety is a top priority. We have been riddled with injuries this season and some of the players we are playing at this point may not be as physically ready to face up a 250lb ball carrier trucking away at 4.6 speed. How do we keep them safe?

This season we have introduced the Gator Roll tackling technique into our tackling circuit. While some coaches question the safety, I consider this an inflexible, if not uninformed, viewpoint. We took time to find a way to incorporate the Gator Roll Tackle into our player’s toolbox while teaching the proper, safe way to perform it.

Technique the Gator Roll Tackle

The Gator Roll, for those unfamiliar with the term, is used when tackling a player at an angle. The prevalence of Spread Offenses, bigger ball carriers, and a faster game, means we spend a lot of time making tackles in space. Often, we’re doing it with smaller, faster players on defense. [Read more...]

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Teaching Run Fits with Limited Contact

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As the season wears on, football games and practices start to take a greater toll on our player’s bodies. As coaches, we need to be aware of this and adjust appropriately.

That is not always an easy task, though. Your natural inclination when the kids are not tackling well is probably not to tackle less in practice. But truthfully, that may be just what those fatigued muscles need.

That doesn’t mean we stop practicing though! Lets get creative, cancel the Bull in the Ring period for your next practice, and get better – both physically and fundamentally.

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