Get to the Football !

By: Chad Wilson
All Eyes DB Camp

They say defensive backs are the best athletes on the field, but they should also be the best-conditioned players. I’m going to tell you why.

As defensive backs, all we do is run on the football field. This includes special teams, where we make up most of those lineups. However, my focus here is strictly on playing your position on defense.

As I watch film of young defensive backs on the high school football field, there is one common theme: fewer than half of them, especially cornerbacks, run to the football the way they should.

Too often, defensive backs shut down their engines the moment they realize it’s a run play that isn’t coming their way or a pass play going to the opposite side of the field. As a whole, this mentality does not work for a winning defense, and it certainly limits your ability as a player.

A defensive back’s mentality should be to hunt. When the ball is snapped and the play begins, this is our chance to go and kill our prey. It’s not a selective process. Every time the offense snaps the ball, it poses a threat to your team, the outcome and your existence. Your mindset should be to extinguish that threat, no matter where it is.

Point blank, someone dressed in the opposite colors is trying to move toward your end zone. They must be stopped.

Far too often, I see defensive backs who are all too happy to remain engaged with a blocker. They only activate when the run play comes directly at them or when the defenders closer to the ball fail to make the play. Too often, this results in extra yards and big plays that didn’t need to happen.

Two things happen in just about every football game: tackles get broken and balls get fumbled.

If you are not active and running to the ball as a defensive back, one of those outcomes can ruin your unit’s objective, while the other can result in a missed opportunity.

Defensive backs who make it their goal to get to the football on every play typically don’t miss tackles. They are already close to the ball carrier when he slips out of a teammate’s tackle. The defensive back who is close to the play does not allow the runner enough space and momentum to also elude his tackle attempt.

Defensive backs who run to the football are also more likely to force and recover fumbles. There’s nothing worse than watching a teammate knock the ball loose, only for a member of the offense to recover a ball that you could have secured if you had hustled to the play.

As an experiment, watch the offensive linemen the next time you watch football. Notice how many of them, especially the good ones, follow the play once the ball is in the hands of the running back or receiver.

They do this for two reasons:

A) To provide an additional block that could spring the runner free.

B) To be available to recover a fumble if one occurs.

This same mentality needs to be adopted by defensive backs.

If you or the unit you coach struggles with this part of the game, I have some very specific ways to correct it.

In my latest post inside the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area, I discuss ways you can improve in this area, both as an individual and as a unit. The methods I discuss were put into practice with great success when I was coaching defensive backs and coordinating an entire defense.

To get a look at how my units played, check out the video below. Then join the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area to read my latest article and access more than 300 posts designed to help you improve your game as a defensive back.

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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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