How I Teach Press Man Coverage

There are Few Things More Technical in the Secondary than Playing Press Man Coverage.  It’s a high-risk game for defensive backs, mainly cornerbacks. One wrong move and you’re dead. However, when your pressman coverage is on point, it can smother the most explosive passing game. With that in mind, let me break down how I teach Pressman coverage to the guys that I train.

I break pressman coverage down into four stages and apply drills to work on each one of those stages. The four stages are stance & alignment, technique, exit, and finish. Below I will discuss each one of those stages.

Stance and Alignment

As they say, success begins with your stance and your alignment. A lot of what I teach in press man has some roots in playing and teaching baseball. Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things that you can try to do in sports. In the process of trying to master that and teach it to others, you can develop some pretty good nuggets for teaching press man as some of the principles are the same.

When you’re in the batter’s box, trying to get a hit off of a pitcher, your stance becomes everything. If you are not comfortable and in a position to strike with power when the ball comes, your success will be very limited. Similarly, if you are aligned incorrectly in the batter’s box, your chances of getting a hit become severely reduced. The same is the case in pressman coverage. If you’re in the wrong stance, or have the wrong alignment, rest assured, you’re going to lose the rep.

In the video, I have highlighted before I speak on the principles of having a good pressman stance. Of course, adjustments can be made based on the player and their comfort level. However, the core of what I am speaking of holds true. You want to be in both a comfortable position and a powerful position. A wide receiver moves off the line of scrimmage are sudden. Being powerful in your stance will allow you to match those sudden moves.

Alignment is crucial for keeping leverage in terms of your width versus the Wide Receiver as well as your depth. Many cornerbacks align too close. Others will align too far and find themselves in something known as “no man’s land”. Finding your depth is important and it is something I have spoken on in this member area. Check out the videos below:

About Press Man Stance
•Find Your Proper Press Man Stance 

Discussing Depth in Alignment
• Check Your Depth in Your Press Man Reps

Technique

There are two basic techniques when it comes to pressman: hard press or soft press. I personally prefer a hard press as I believe pressman coverage should be aggressive in nature. However, there are situations that call for soft press and players who will prefer that technique.

In teaching and training corners, I work drills for both techniques so that the athletes can apply both when necessary. Either way, being able to switch up your technique gives you an advantage over your opponent.

The links to the videos below will show you drills I use for both techniques.

Hard Press Drills
• Kick N Get Up Drill
• Hard Hands Drill

Soft Press Work
• Soft Press Man Drill
• Motor Mirror Press Man Drill

Exit from Line of Scrimmage

This is the area where most coaching and training are lacking. A majority, if not all of the work in pressman coaching, focuses solely on the technique at the line of scrimmage. However, if a player is not taught how to properly exit the line of scrimmage with the Wide Receiver, when they push vertically up the field, reps that started off well can end bad.

For this reason, drill work is needed to develop proper exit technique and strategy. It is as important as anything else you will do in pressman. Defensive backs must know how to put themselves in the proper position during the route to be a factor at the end when the ball arrives.

Teaching and drilling only the technique at the line of scrimmage would be like a 100 m sprinter only working on starts and expecting to consistently win races. Sure, they will start well, but they will often be defeated in the middle and end of the events.

I place an emphasis on getting vertical up the field when a receiver exits your frame. It is important to try and keep an over-the-top relationship on routes. The only time when this is not as important is when you are in the red zone or you are in 2-man coverage.

Any DB wants to try and end the rep within the first 5 yards of the play. This is very unrealistic, especially against better receivers. Defensive backs must be schooled on what to do after the receiver has dealt with the jam or mirror process.

These drills below work on this part of press man:

Slide N Get Up

The Finish

If you’ve played, coached, or trained defensive backs long enough, you are well aware that you can win a rep for 90% of it and still have the Wide Receiver catch the ball.

It is important to work on finishing drills as a defensive back. Receivers nowadays are better at making the catch even when the defensive back is on their hip in good coverage. Knowing how to position yourself and use your body, as well as your hands, to finish a play is important.

For this reason, drills are needed to work on these factors. The finish is just as important as the start. Below are a couple of drills I use to teach defensive backs how to be in the proper position once the ball arrives in a pressman rep.

Finishing Drills

• Defend the Fade Drill
• 4 Cone Mirror Drill

In Conclusion

Breaking down your pressman coaching and training into different steps aids you in your success. As you can see, each stage requires a certain set of skills. Breaking it down into parts and using drills to emphasize it will allow you to learn it best. As with anything, we are trying to create good habits. Simply going out and just trying to teach or learn it all in one motion can be overwhelming. When you break it down into stages, it becomes a little more digestible and also allows you to diagnose where your problems may be. Once you’ve done that, you can spend a little bit more time on the stages that are weakest.

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alleyesdbcamp

Owner at All Eyes DB Camp

Chad Wilson is the founder of All Eyes DB Camp and a former standout defensive back for the Miami Hurricanes. After an elite collegiate career, Wilson spent a season with the Seattle Seahawks before transitioning into coaching. A 3-time Florida state champion defensive coordinator, he has spent over 20 years developing the "All Eyes" blueprint that has produced NFL All-Pros and stars like Xavien Howard, Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell, Minkah Fitzpatrick and more. His coaching system is proven at the highest levels—his own sons, Quincy and Marco Wilson, both excelled as starters in the SEC before being drafted into the NFL.

Chad is the author of "101 DB Tips"—The Ultimate DB Reference Guide. You can find more information on the manual and how to order your copy in the sidebar and footer of this page.

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