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Have a Next Play Mentality

You kind of missed the jam at the line of scrimmage,  the receiver got a step on you and you are in chase mode.  You are running like a bat out of hell to catch up but you’re not reeling him back in.  In the midst of your panic you become faintly aware of the buzz of the crowd.  ‘The ball is coming’.  As you stride with seemingly a ton of hope wrapped around your legs,  you see the ball fall into that wide receiver’s hands and he’s off to the races.  You’re moving in slow motion now having an out of body experience.  You can’t believe this is happening.

If you have played the defensive back position,  you have experienced what I just described.  Perhaps it wasn’t just like that but you have given up a big play and or touchdown.  The moment that receiver hits the end zone,  the mindset must be on to the next.  For those who have not played this position or the game,  that thought might seem careless.  However,  for those of us who have,  that mindset is about survival.

In this day in age where common folks get to make their voice heard on social media as many times as they want and in as obnoxious a fashion as they please,  it is tough not to give thought to what some people may have to say about the play you just gave up.  Not to be rude but who the %$#@ cares what a fan who has never walked in your shoes thinks about what you are doing out there?  Three people matter when you are out on the field:  your coaches,  your teammates and yourself.  The one person you are in control of though is you and I am telling you that you must forget that play quicker than it happened.

Here’s the plus side to giving up a big play.  It’s an invitation for the offense to try you again.  This is a good thing unless you decide to remain hung up on the error you made.  If your mindset is not “they got lucky” then you might find yourself unlucky.  Of course,  you have to quickly learn from what happened on the play in question.  Was it a miscommunication in the coverage?  What is it an error in technique?  Quickly determine what the problem was and file it away.

What you can’t do is go shaking in your boots and have PTSD.  As I mentioned before,  the offense is coming again.  If the thought of that makes you sick to your stomach then you might not be built for this.  If that thought excites you then you are on your way to being the playmaker that your team needs.  Certainly you don’t want to be a guy that gives up big plays on the regular but you must realize that they happen.  When they do,  you must get excited about what’s coming next.  What’s next is an opportunity and you must be prepared mentally to take advantage of it.

So after you give up the big one,  tighten up on your technique,  get some positive energy in your mind and prepare yourself to be the man when the quarterback rolls the dice in your direction and comes up ‘snake eyes’.

How Do I Cover a _______ Route?

One of the most common questions I get either by email or in my DM’s on Instagram ( @alleyesdbcamp ) is,  “coach how do I cover a <insert route>?” This understandable but head scratchable at the same time.

Covering one specific route is like trying to lose body fat in just one area.  That’s not how that works.  Unless you know for sure a route is coming or you are just going to ridiculously over play a route then the answer to covering a <insert route> is to improve your fundamentals on covering all routes.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way,  let’s talk about three key ingredients to covering routes.  Cover your bases on these three things and you are going to put yourself in pretty solid position to cover that route that’s giving you trouble while not giving up just about every other route in the route tree.   Let’s face it,  I could tell you that the way to cover a go route is to turn around and start running back when the ball is snapped.  However,  you will undoubtedly begin to suck at covering the hitch, slant, quick out, curl, comeback, dig and probably the post.  You’ll be on the bench until the offense is facing a 3rd and 35.

First thing you must pay attention to when playing coverage is your alignment.  I could argue that this is the most important but unfortunately it’s one that many guys take for granted.  I can’t tell you how often I see guys line up at five or six yards when they are in off man coverage or line head up in press when they should have outside leverage.  If you align wrong,  you will be singing a sad song.  Know what your leverage is,  line up at the proper depth and know where your help is located.  If you don’t know what those things are supposed to be then you better find out quickly.

Second,  get your eyes in the right place.  “Coach I keep getting beat inside on the slant when I am in press.”  Rest assured that your eyes are in the wrong place when the ball gets snapped.  You are either looking at the receiver’s head or shoulders.  This gives you a late read on his movement and that allows him to take your leverage away from you.  If you are in outside leverage and you are supposed to have help inside then a slant is not the worst thing in the world that can happen to you.  Even in man coverage,  there are some routes you have to be willing to give up and some others that are an absolute no no.  So for instance,  giving up a slant route in 2 man is a sin.  Giving up that same route in Cover 1 is not as frowned upon.

Finally,  make proper use of angles.  The truth of the matter is that you win with angles in man coverage.  Being able to cut off routes, get to the upfield shoulder or merge into hips when the ball arrives is all a function of you taking the right angles.  This is the case whether playing off man or press man.  Taking the proper angle to cut off routes or be at the hip when the ball arrives should be your aim at all times.  Always be aware of the angles you are taking.  Don’t chase jams in press when the receiver is gone already.  That’s a good way to end up in chase mode.  Don’t break underneath routes in off man when you should be breaking for the upfield shoulder.  Understand angles,  apply them and watch how you are solid against the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9 and all other funky routes the offense throws at you.

I go more in-depth on eye discipline, alignment and angles with all of the members of my member’s area.  It really is a master class on playing defensive back.  Check it out and consider joining if you want to take your game to it’s highest level.  Click here for the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area.

Safeties: Survey the Land

I saw a recent interview with Davante Adams where he was discussing what he does when he comes to the line of scrimmage.  According to Mr. Adams,  he puts on his Terminator mask,  scans the DB and determines the many possibilities available to him to win at the line of scrimmage.  Adams may be a little drunk with success at the moment but it got me thinking,  this is what safeties should be doing when they line up.

As a safety in the post or on the hash,  you have a unique vantage point as you set up behind your teammates.  As the deepest man on the field,  you can essentially have a clear view of every member of the offense.  To you,  things can literally look like they do on film.

With this being the case,  a safety should scan the formation and determine the number of possibilities from the offense.  Many young safeties just take their spot on the field (hopefully at the proper depth) and just sit their waiting to react to something.  When you are playing right you are anticipating the moves by the offense instead of being caught on your heels having to react to everything they do.

Anticipation is a by product of film study.  However,  the film study must translate to on field performance.  To do that,  a safety must take careful note of what is happening in front of him.  Like Adams,  you should be putting your Terminator mask on and scanning the enemy.  How many backs are in the backfield?  Where is the tight end located and how is he aligned?  What are the splits by the wide receivers and what do they mean? Furthermore,  safeties should be reading the uncovered linemen pre-snap to get clues.  Finally,  a careful examination of the quarterback as he gets ready to call the cadence could be the ultimate tell.  Heck,  the quarterback is doing the same to your defense when he comes to the line of scrimmage.

Guess who the safety is on defense?  Yes,  you guessed it,  the quarterback.  Use your eyes to scan the offense and collect data.  From there you can cancel out possible plays and zero in on a handful of things that can result from the information you gather.  After you have done that,  it becomes easier to call out any coverage checks,  communicate with defenders and move guys into position.  On top of that,  you can get the jump on plays you expect to come after your suspicions are confirmed with the action post snap.

Above all other things,  intelligence is a must for a safety.  Show me a non-intelligent safety and I’ll show you a defense that has to be simple.  If you are very simple on defense then you are really relying on your athletes being better than your opponent’s.  At some point,  you will find out that isn’t always the case.  That’s when the trouble starts.  Don’t limit your defense by not being smart enough to study,  intelligent enough to understand what you are seeing and not savvy enough to line up your fellow defenders.  Survey the offensive landscape and pick up the clues.

Control Your Body Language

Ever felt like a coach had it out for you?  In your mind,  you don’t cause any problems,  you do everything you you’re supposed to do and you don’t suck,  so why are you not playing?  It could be this funny little big thing known as body language.

Talk to a player about his body language and it will quite often fall on deaf ears.  It’s simply not something that guys focus on but boy are you going to wish you did pay attention once things start going downhill.  When you are a player there are some things that just don’t enter your mind.  I used to be there.  I got older,  I stopped playing and then started coaching.  Body language of players started shouting at me. I remember wishing that I had coached football first before playing it.

Unfortunately,  I was not able to be a coach first and that’s typically how this thing works.  However,  the next best thing I can do is write articles like this one to help out those enough who are smart enough to read them.  A coach will get as much or more clues from a player and his readiness to play from his body language as opposed to what he actually says.

When you are a coach you know that if you ask a player if he’s ready to play, he’s going to tell you “yes” 9.5 times out of 10.  I am not necessary saying that players lie.  Sometimes players just aren’t ready to play and they don’t realize that.  Coaches rely more on reading a player’s body language to determine their readiness.

Most coaches will tell you that they are more nervous as coaches before a game than they ever were as players.  As a player you feel you have more control over the outcome..  As a coach,  you can feel totally helpless.  For this reason,  most coaches will go with guys they trust the most over guys who are “talented”.  How do coaches gauge trust,  through body language.

So if you’re a guy that likes to look down at the ground or in the other direction when your coach is talking then he’s going to have trust issues.  He’s not sure if you heard him and he’s not trying to find out on game day if you did or not.  If you are the player that hangs his head every time he gets beat on a play then coach is not too sure that you will be able to keep it together when you allow a catch in a game.  There are also players who tend to look like a nervous wreck when it’s their time to take reps.  I can assure you that a coach isn’t playing that guy.  If you’re nervous then your coach is nervous and everyone’s throwing up.  No bueno.

If you want to get playing time then outside of the obvious like know your alignment, assignments and techniques,  control your body language.  Look your coach in the eye when he’s speaking unless it’s during a play.  Show some command when you are out on the field.  Display confidence at all times and part of that is going to be knowing your assignments.  Next,  defensive backs get beat.  It’s part of the job description.  Don’t turn into a mental case because a receiver did what receivers do and that is catch a ball.  Line up with confidence on the next play.  Finally,  have some energy when you are out on the field.  Guys who line up in competitive situations and don’t attack it with energy give off the impression that they don’t want to be there.  Why would a coach play a guy that doesn’t want to play?

Your body speaks when you are at practice and in games.  What is it telling your coach when you are out there?  Be aware of what it’s saying and make sure it’s saying “put me in coach”.  I guarantee you that your coach is listening.

These Reps Will Raise Your Game to the Next Level

It’s that time of year,  practice is in full go and by now some of the excitement you may have felt in the early going is giving way to the fatigue and repetitiveness of camp activities.  While this may be true for everybody,  only a small handful of defensive backs do what I will describe today and they get an edge because of it.

If you are like most players at practice,  you do you reps when it is your turn and then you jog to the back of the line or off to the sidelines and await your next turn.  While you are there you let your mind wander.  Perhaps you will occasionally play over in your mind what just happened during your rep (especially if you did it wrong) and within a few moments your brain is on to something else.

I don’t know if you realize it and it may not seem like it but the majority of your time during practice is spent waiting.  You are either waiting for your next turn in Indy or for the next time your group goes in during 7on7 or team.  Most guys waste that time and like I said,  it’s the biggest amount of time you spend.  The common defensive back is only active mentally when they are involved physically.

If you want to be a really savvy DB that improves fast,  make use of that downtime in between reps.  Early on in camp and the season,  spend your time in indy waiting for your next rep going over in your mind how to master the drill.  Perhaps you even go through the steps off to the side as a rehearsal until it is your time to go again.  Sure this may require some energy but you only have 1:30 to 2 hours to get better.  When you think about it,  that’s not that long to focus.  Once you have reached the point of understanding how to do the drill spend your downtime watching guys who are better than you at the drill.  Study what it is they do to make them so good at it.  This way you learn from both the coach and the other players.  When you master the techniques you win the reps.  When you win the reps you make big plays.

When it comes to 7on7 and team periods,  early in the year,  spend the time hearing the calls made by the defensive coordinator.  If you are new to the defense and still learning it,  imagine yourself playing the play with the call that was just made.  Few things will help you learn the defense than doing this.  You are literally stealing reps by using your mind.  When you do this,  you will quickly begin to understand where everyone is supposed to be on each call made.

Once you have learned everyone’s job on defense,  spend your time in between your reps studying the offense.  It doesn’t matter if it’s your own team’s offense.  Learn the offense and how it works.  Pay attention to where guys line up,  what the quarterback says and what plays come as a result.  Understanding your team’s offense will give you an understanding of offense in general.  When you acquire that understanding,  it becomes easier to figure out other teams’ offenses.  Studying film becomes easier and things start to make more sense.

The most misused reps by a football player are mental reps.  Too often guys let their minds wander.  Stay engaged and remain focused at practice.  This is not physically hard and it’s a low impact way to get better fast.  Give this a try at your next practice and watch what it does for you.  You will wonder why you didn’t start doing it sooner.

I Saw These Two GOATs on the Field At the Same Time and It Changed Everything

I know what you came here for.  You came here for a story on how I witnessed a game long 1-on-1 battle between the greatest cornerback and greatest wide receiver in NFL history.  Sorry to disappoint you but don’t leave.  What I am going to testify to will enrich your mindset.

I have had this saying for 32 years now.  It simply goes like this “success is not an accident”  I didn’t take it from a book or off of a caption on some picture.  It literally came into my head as I stared out of the head coach’s window at the University of Miami in January of 1995.

I had completed my senior season at the University of Miami and was in the weight room prepping for pre-NFL draft workouts.  The city of Miami was fortunate enough to be hosting the Super Bowl that year and fortunately for me it was featuring my favorite player,  Deion Sanders.  Sanders had left the Atlanta Falcons and joined the San Francisco 49ers that season.  He also enjoyed what I believe was his best year as a pro.  This was prime Prime Time in 1994.  He racked up 6 interceptions and returned them for 303 yards including three touchdowns.  Add to that he bitch slapped former teammate Andre Rison in a much publicized fist to cuffs in his return to the Georgia Dome earlier in the season.  Deion was already a legend before he arrived in the Bay Area but in this season he became legendary.

To my great fortune,  the San Francisco 49ers were using our facility to practice and prep for their matchup against the San Diego Chargers.  On this particular day,  a couple of us players in the weight room decided to go up to head coach Dennis Erickson’s office to watch them practice.  What I saw blew my mind.

Leading up to this,  I was of the impression that Deion Sanders was largely successful because he was blessed with 4.2 speed,  elite jumping ability, long arms and a go get it mentality.  There was no social media then so there was little out there about his work ethic.  There were no video taped workouts in 4k that I could view from my smart phone.  What I witnessed on the practice field told a story.   Prime Time took none of the things I mentioned for granted.  He competed on every snap in practice.  When the play was away from him during team period,  he sprinted across the field to get to the ball carrier.  Why?  He was in year six of a career in which he already made multiple All Pro and Pro Bowl rosters and been named Defensive Player of the Year.  He had already proven his point.

Working across from Prime Time was Jerry Rice.  Rice had already cemented his legacy as the best in the game by this point.  He was in his 11th year and had done everything thing a single player could do in the game.  Unlike Deion though,  Rice’s work ethic was highly publicized.  Running hills, perfecting routes and catching bricks from his dad was all a part of his legend.  However,  he had already spent over a decade in the game and was playing in his 4th Super Bowl.  This had to be old to him by now.   Not a chance.

I had never seen anyone practice like Jerry Rice did that day.  It was borderline OCD.  Rice would catch a pass during team period and sprint all the way to the end zone every time.  He would then run back down and be ready for his next snap as the 49ers didn’t waste time at practice.  They weren’t going to wait for Jerry,  that next play was getting run.  They didn’t have to wait,  he was there,  in his stance and ready to go.  When the first unit came off of the field,  you would think he would take a knee and recover.  Not this man.  Rice grabbed a trainer for what I thought would be to get an I.V.  No,  he had the trainer throw him footballs non-stop until it was time for him to go back out on the field.  It was insane.

For their final act,  when the whistle blew to end the period,  Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders sprinted to the next field for the upcoming period.  They were seemingly racing to the field.  Our time to be able to watch the practice was up and I remember stepping away from the window thoroughly impressed,  if I could used that word.  Immediately in my head,  I thought “success is not an accident.”  It is a mentality that drives a conscious series of decisions that are focused on getting what you want.  Then I thought,  I should hit a casino and put everything on the 49ers because there ain’t %$#@ the Chargers are going to be able to do about this.  This turned out to be right as the 49ers blew out San Diego 49-26.  Rice had a touchdown and Deion had an INT.  Neither of those things were just luck.

So,  if you are ever around me and hear me say “success is not an accident” you know where it came from and remember why I said it.  You get in life what you focus on.  Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice were gifted by God to play but they did not take any of that for granted.  They are immortalized in the profession for having done it.

4 Things Every Press Man Corner Needs to Be Elite

Playing press corner is a demanding job.  We are all aware of the kind of athleticism the position requires but what are some of the less notable requirements that one needs to excel?  IN this article we will talk about exactly what those attributes are and how they help you win.

Eye Discipline

I consider this to be the most important of the attributes.  (No shock,  the name of the site is All Eyes DB Camp). As I’ve told the guys that have played for me and that I’ve trained,  you can play the game with an ankle sprain.  You can play with a cast on your arm but you can’t play if your vision is impaired. You can’t cover what you can’t see.  Victory at the line of scrimmage awaits the player who has the discipline to focus on the proper area of the receiver once he moves.  Virtually all corners playing press can line up and look the receiver’s hips before the ball is snapped.  Less corners are able to keep their eyes in that spot once the ball is snapped and even fewer are able to maintain that focus as the routes move further down the field.  The defenders that are really good at press all have that ability.  Being able to maintain focus as the action starts allows you to mirror a wide receiver’s moves better.  Eyes in the right spot allow you to notice the change of direction sooner and thus be in better position to react.  If there’s one thing a defensive back should commit to improving it’s eye discipline.  You could never have too much.

Solid Lateral Quickness

More and more these days,  receivers are finding ways to move press defenders side to side at the line of scrimmage.  They are also skilled at getting outside of a defender’s frame and exploding upfield.  Lateral quickness has always been a necessity as a bump and run corner but never as much as right now.  Along with the increased size and athleticism of wide receivers today,  their knowledge of beating press is at an all time high.  There is no shortage of receiving teachers impressing on their pupils ways to move away from aggressive press defenders and separate at the line of scrimmage.  With that being the case,  the ability to move side to side must match the improvements that receivers are making.  On top of that,  being able to suddenly change from one direction to another has never been more essential.  Sure,  developing speed should be a part of the defensive back’s development but doing so without the addition of acquiring lateral quickness is not ideal.

Strong Hands

I’ve always called the hands the icing on the cake.  Here’s we know about icing.  It may be last but it sure is important.  After the eyes and the feet have put a defender in solid position,  it’s time to strike.  If the strike is weak you run the risk of the receiver winning the rep.  Weak hands make for weak jams.  Thumping a receiver in the chest or shoulder changes his plans.  Over the long term,  it defeats his spirit and takes him out of character.  Eventually the receivers’ moves aren’t as crisp and his timing is not as sharp.  Wide receivers feel like they can deal with your body being in front of them but when a defensive back’s hands start thundering into their posture,  route running stops becoming as much fun.  The other place where strong hands make their mark is when the ball arrives.  The stronger a defensive backs’ hands,  the more balls he catches.  The stronger a defensive backs’ hands the more force he generates when he punches through the hands on a reception to cause a pass break up.  All defensive backs should aim to develop strength in their hands by training their grip and their press power (push ups!).

Route IQ

Finally,  no man excels at sport without instincts.  Physical traits are cool but if you want to stand on the mountain top your brain must lead your body.  A defensive back that has a good idea of what’s coming either before the snap or during the route,  stands a good chance of defending it.  Route IQ is best developed through experience and repetition.  However,  through studying,  a player can speed up the process.  Watch film,  watch games and study offenses to up your IQ.  Gaining an understanding of how offenses work will give you the ability to defend them better.  That’s just common sense.  A punch anticipated is a punch avoided.  Build your anticipation by studying the moves of your opponent.  Be obsessed with knowing their moves, their thoughts and their plans.  When you know them better than they know themselves,  the fun as a press defender really starts.

If studying is what you want to do,  join me in the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area.  Nothing will up your IQ faster.  Close to 200 videos on everything you need to reach elite status.  Get more info here.

DBs Getting Blocked is Not Ok

We are certainly growing up in a me era.  Everyone is worried about their individual well being,  their status,  their brand and their stats.  I am not here to get political or philosophical but this attitude has swept into the biggest team sport in the World,  football.

The message in this article is primarily for cornerbacks but safeties need to hear this as well.  Some prominent cornerbacks have been quoted as saying “they don’t pay me to make tackles.”  Those guys may have been right.  You’re not those guys.  Football is a team game and good defense is good when the team plays as a unit.  With all of that said,  it’s not ok for you as a defensive back to get blocked on a run play or screen and let the ball carrier race down the field.

With that in mind,  let’s talk about some ways that we can avoid being a pillow on run plays that disappears when things get physical.  Sure,  I know that there are times when you are in man coverage,  locking on to a receiver and there is a run play.  Those are the hardest situations to become a tackler.  However,  because it’s hard does not mean that you don’t try.  Too often I see defensive backs in that situation succumb to the block.  They do this by staying engaged with the receiver making little to no attempt to separate while they watch hoping for someone else to make a tackle.  That’s not how this thing works.

First of all,  when you do this,  the offense is getting yards rushing the ball.  If that is successful,  they will continue to do it.  This means less balls in the air and less opportunities for you to make the kind of plays you love to make.  Second,  every time that receiver dominates you on a block he gains more confidence in the thought that he’s better than you.

When you are in man,  running down the field with a receiver and realize that it’s a run play,  your first job immediately is to separate.  This means get your hands inside of his,  put them in his chest and extend (that’s why we bench press in the weight room).  Aside from assisting in you getting away from the receiver,  it gives us a good chance at getting a holding call.  Next,  we must quickly determine the side of the receiver we need to be on to make the play or turn it to our help.  Once we’ve done that,  it’s time to work to get there.  With your hands inside,  tug on the side of the shoulder you need to defeat.  Then step around that side and work to get beyond the receiver.  From there,  you should do your best to attack the ball carrier.  Often times,  this results in the receiver pulling a jersey and producing a holding call.  That means that no matter how far the ball carrier goes beyond that point,  the ball is coming back to that spot and then 10 yards back from there.  That’s a big win for the defense.  None of this happens if you just stay locked on to the receiver’s block and be a spectator.

When secondary members are in zone coverage,  we have better opportunities to attack the ball carrier.  For starters we recognize that it’s run sooner.  Second,  we have the advantage of seeing the ball carrier’s path while the receiver can not.  With this in mind,  there are two things we can do.

First,  which is more tactical,  we can redirect the receiver away from the area the runner is headed to.  The wide out has no idea where the ball carrier is.  If there is enough time and space,  a cornerback can run to the inside moving the receiver and then dart back outside to get to his leverage point and make the play.  This allows the corner to potentially be unblocked or close down the lane that the ball carrier has to run through. This can happen even if the cornerback eventually gets blocked.  Both of those things are a win for the defense.  Safeties can do this as well with caution.  A quick move as the ball carrier is approaching to move the receiver can open up things to make an open field 1-on-1 tackle.

Second,  we can do the more traditional thing which is quickly get to our area and force the run from that angle.  When we do this,  we are most certainly going to have to engage the receiver or lineman that is attempting to block us.  When encountering a skill position player attempting to block us,  we have a number of ways to engage and separate.  We can use a rip technique,  a swim technique or a push-pull method.  In the video at the end of this post,  I demonstrate some of these methods.  They are very effective in either gaining separation or drawing a penalty.

Anyway you look at it,  you need to be active on run plays as a member of the secondary.  Giving up explosive run plays is a surefire way to lose a ball game and to not see very many passes from your opponent.  When all 11 men on defense are committed to erasing any play that offense runs,  you end up being on a great unit where everyone gets to become a star.  That’s the best way to build your brand.

Don’t Forget the Football

This one may sound crazy but bear with me and I think you might agree.  There are so many components to being a defensive back.  Eyes, hands, feet,  body positioning, mirroring the release, reading the routes,  determining the formation, tackling.  The list goes on and on.  Lost in all of the sea of information and assignments can be this very important element,  the football.

Yes,  at it’s essence,  football is a fight on the field amongst 22 men over an oblong object covered in pigskin.  A person who has never seen this game before would quickly come to this conclusion if they were watching a game.  Those of us who have gotten so wrapped up in the details and strategy of the game could quickly forget it.  It is very easy for a defensive back to do so.

At the end of the day,  everything that you are training, studying and drilling is for one purpose and that is for you to get the football.  Have you ever seen a defensive back running down the field covering a wide receiver and never looks for the ball?  Perhaps you have been that guy.  You get so wrapped up in staying glued to your receiver that looking for the prize (the ball) became an afterthought.  Well,  you can’t allow that to be you.

Being elite at this position is most definitely going to involve you getting your hands on quite a few footballs.  They giving starting positions to guys who get the football.  They give out scholarships to guys who get the football.  They pay a lot of money to guys who get the football and they hand out gold jackets to guys who get the football.

As you go about training and practicing for the impending battles that will take place in the Fall,  don’t forget to remember the end goal and that is to get the football.  Don’t just be content with knocking a ball down or that your receiver did not catch the pass.  Taking the ball away when the quarterback puts it up is what should be on your mind.  Train your mind to think this way and watch your body follow suit.

Of course,  you must also work diligently on catching the football.  Sometimes defensive backs get all caught up in their footwork that they forget to work on catching the football.  Understand that receivers catch 100’s of balls per day.  While it is not realistic for you to match that unless of course you are obsessed with greatness,  you have to give yourself the best chance possible to secure the prize when it’s you and a guy in the opposite color fighting for it.  It’s no fun spending the entire week or offseason thinking about the interceptions you dropped.  At the end of it all,  it’s about the ball.

Play the Technique Not the Result

Oh how we love 1-on-1s don’t we? Skip the individual period,  get rid of the team period and shorten the 7-on-7 so we can add another 30 minutes to the 1-on-1s.  Perhaps you are one of those guys who thinks they should arrive at the camp when they start the DB v. WR period.  Yes,  it’s a mentality and we love it.  However,  it can ruin your game.

We love 1-on-1s as defensive backs because of the challenge.  Not only to us physically but our manhood.  It’s me vs you,  let’s see who wins.  While I certainly don’t want to take any of that away from you,  I do need to remind you that football is the ultimate “team” game.  When guys get too wrapped up in the individual battles,  they lose sight of the ultimate goal and that is to win as a team.

What I have seen often as both a coach and trainer is that some athletes want to win the 1-on-1 reps so bad that they will do anything to accomplish that.  This means,  open the gate,  hold, guess on the route along with a host of other things that will not be in their best interest long term.  You will see a defensive back get grade A instruction on the proper principles of press coverage only to fully abandon them when he walks down to the other end of the field for the DB v. WR segment.   Why?  Because he just can’t stand to have that wide receiver catch a ball.

What should be the focus for any and all defensive backs in 1-on-1s is adhering to the technique that they are being taught.  Executing the technique does not mean you will win every rep.  A baseball player can take a perfect swing and still miss a pitch.  What the goal should be is executing consistently.  The more you can keep your eyes low,  move your feet,  keep your leverage and have proper hand placement,  the better you will continue to become.   However,  if your tendency is to change techniques often to win each battle then you will undoubtedly lose the war.

As with anything else in life,  consistency is key.  Over the course of developing consistency,  you will lose battles.  What eventually ends up happening though are those loses start to become fewer and farther in between.  This results in you being the kind of player that not only your teammates and coaches can depend on but one that you can bank on too.

As you are taking your 1-on-1 reps,  do yourself a favor,  evaluate the rep by how good you were able to adhere to the techniques you have been taught not by whether or not the wide receiver logged a stat.  When the pass rush and other elements get entered into the game,  the true winner will be you,  that is if you have had the discipline to apply what you just read in this article.

Looking for the discipline to become the best DB you can be?  Discipline starts with knowledge and the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area is all about giving you the tools to win.  Check it out now if being elite is what you’re all about.  Click here for more info.

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