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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.

He’s Too Fast, I Can’t Cover Him

Unless you are a track star playing the cornerback position and are faster than everyone in the universe,  you have been in the headspace that the title of this article suggests.  You see the receiver that was blazing across the screen in the film you watched this week.  He’s jogging out of the huddle to your side and his calves are bigger than hell.  Perhaps this happened at a 7-on-7 event so you had no warning like game film.  He simply came off the line a couple times and you knew you had a chore on your hands.

The mental warfare that can take place when you are in this situation can be intense.  How are you going to defend this wide out?  Jesus,  how will you defend yourself?  When I entered training camp with the Seattle Seahawks,  they had a stable of wide receivers that could have held their own in an Olympic 4×100 meter event.  Rookie Joey Galloway had run a 4.18 forty while at Ohio St.  Michael Bates was a silver medalist in the 200 meters in the Olympics.  We also had another receiver that was a two time 100 and 200 meter champ while at Hampton University.  Another rookie,  James McKnight was a track star in high school.  While I was no slouch in the speed department,  thinking about the sheer lineup of quick footedness I was going to face on just about every play could drive you nuts.

Have no fear,  you have a gun in this fire fight and it’s called technique.  If playing football out on the edges was all about speed then every Olympic 100 meter champion would be making mega millions in the league.  The reason Usain Bolt is not the all time leading receiver in the NFL and Tyson Gay is not All Pro cornerback is because they did not have the technique for football,  they knew track.  What do you know?  Football.  What do you really need to know, the technique for playing defensive back.  I am pretty sure 4.5 Richard Sherman would have had his way vs. 4.”whatever” Usain Bolt if he was lined up in front of him playing receiver.  The point being made here is that technique wins.  Technique neutralizes the effects of speed.

Unlike Usain Bolt,  the receivers you are going to go up against are much more educated on the game of football.  So if you get a fast wide receiver,  chances are he won’t just be fast.  That receiver is likely going to have technique too.  This why it would be important for you to be at the top of your game technique-wise.

Society loves to hype the physical attributes of athletes.  Some of that is certainly warranted.  There are people out there that can do some amazing things with their body naturally.  However,  the game of football and the position of defensive back has been littered with guys that won on good sense and technique.  Football is a game of angles.  Beating a man to a spot,  cutting off his path and changing his direction are the things that make up victory in the individual battles.  If your plan up until now was to just win on your physical attributes then I am here to tell you to change your plan.  Man can not live on his physical attributes alone.

You may be a track star too, with big calves and gold medals around your neck.  That might help you lock down the Tyreek Hill types in your league.  However,  if that’s all you’ve got to win those battles,  God help you when the “Route God’ comes out of the huddle and jogs over to your side.  Your gun just ran out of bullets.

If you want to know the advanced techniques of playing defensive back along with the coverages, strategy and more to help you win in coverage,  check out the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area.  It’s the place for you to become elite.  Click here for more info. 

The 5 Essential Moves of a Defensive Back

There are some things in life you just can’t get around.  Times will change but certain things will stay the same.  This happens in the game of football too and it also applies to defensive back.

As offenses have evolved and rules have changed,  the schemes and tactics to defend them have adjusted.  Mankind had to adjust to the invention of the radio,  the television and the Internet.  Despite that,  there are certain things that don’t change and when you know what those things are,  you can have a leg up in life and on the football field.

In this article today,  I am going to go over the five essential moves,  every defensive back must be able to execute to win consistently in coverage.  I am sure some will read the list and have their own opinion about other moves that should be a part of the list.  I am certainly not here to discount your opinion but I am bringing you this list with the power of 40 years of playing, coaching and training the position.  Over time,  I have found these things to consistently be necessary for a defensive back’s survival.  Furthermore,  all other moves seem to be born off of these five core movements described below.

(1) Back Pedal

Yes all you who are trying to cancel this movement.  I am talking to all of you coaches and trainers out there that insist on having your athletes prematurely turned and playing into the hands of the wide receivers.  Back pedal is still king.  Being able to gain ground with your eyes forward while having the equal ability to break to your left or right is the essential task of the position.  Being able to back pedal gives you that ability.  Whether you are a safety playing on the hash or in the post or a cornerback playing off of a wide receiver in zone or man,  being able to stay square with a smooth / fast back pedal will make you a covering God.   Start turning your shoulders too fast and you will be food for any good wide receiver or quarterback.

(2) Weave

Weaving is the cousin of the back pedal.  You must keep it all in the family.  Back pedaling only allows you to go straight back in a line.  At some point,  a receiver attacks your leverage or moves laterally.  Being able to weave allows you to stay square while covering ground left or right.  Staying square allows you to efficiently change direction if and when you need to.  If a receiver moving laterally means you have to turn your shoulders then you will put yourself at a disadvantage when he changes direction.  If a receiver realizes this causes you an issue then they will repeatedly set you up with lateral movement to attack your back.  A good weave takes that power away from the receiver.

(3) Hip Flip

Even with the greatest of weaves,  you will have to open up at some point.  When you do open up and run,  many times the receiver will change sides in an effort to attack your blindspot (your back).  Being able to flip your hips allows you to keep your eyes on the receiver.  There will be times when you will have to speed turn and take your eyes off of the receiver or the quarterback but the better your hip flip is the less times you will need that.  You never want to go blind in coverage and having to speed turn is exactly what that is.  The better your hip flip,  the less times you go blind on the football field.

(4) Breaks

If you are back pedaling or running then you will undoubtedly have to come out of your breaks.  The speed at which you can come out of your breaks is everything for a defensive back.  Needing more than the required amount of steps or failing to be able to execute the break properly will lead to you watching a lot of balls get caught by receivers.  Eventually you will have to watch those balls get caught from the sidelines.  If you are a defensive back and you are not good at coming out of your breaks then are you really even a defensive back?  No breaks no DB.

(5) Kick Slide

Yes I know you were wondering about press coverage.  Press is important (not nearly as much as some believe) and there is one important movement that one must be able to execute to be good at it.  Kick slide is that move.  Much like the weave,  being able to move laterally with a wide receiver’s release off the line of scrimmage gives you the ability to widen their release.  Doing this changes the shape of the route,  disrupts the timing and allows you to get more physical with the receiver.  That is the essence of press man coverage also known as bump and run.  The whole reason that it was invented was for the elements I just described.  As time has gone on,  receivers have gotten more skilled in their releases.  As such,  being able to move laterally upon their attempts to get up field is a must if you want to have any consistency playing press coverage.

That isn’t all there is to playing defensive back of course but at the core of the position are those five moves.  Everything you need to do in terms of movement will start with these five things.  Master these moves and you are on your way to being good at the position.  If you are struggling in one or more of these movements then my message to you is tighten up.  You have to get the basics down before you progress to anything else.

If you are interested in knowing how to master these moves and learning the advanced techniques of playing defensive back along with learning coverages and other key parts of the position,  check out the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area.  Your path to being elite awaits you.  Click here for more info.

 

How to Structure Your Indy Period for DB Coaches

I was recently asked by a new coach how I thought he should put together his individual period that he will get while coaching defensive backs at a middle school.  It was a simple questions but a great question.

The truth of the matter is that many defensive back coaches just aren’t sure what to do with the precious and vital 15-25 minutes that they get with their group of defensive backs everyday.  Show me a defensive back that is part of a well structured individual period every day at practice and I will show you a defensive back that performs well on game day.

I have written before in this blog on the importance of the individual period in practice for defensive backs.  Next to offensive line,  it is the position group that involves the most unnatural movements of anyone else on the field.  Everyone else is running forward or throwing a ball or doing mostly things that normal human beings do in any other sport.  Not defensive backs.  Back pedaling,  running sideways and guarding another many while looking at their lower body is not normal.  Because of that,  working on your craft on a daily basis in practice is crucial.

So here’s the deal.  I am going to break down for you how an individual period should look for you as a coach.

The first 7-10 minutes should be filled with core drills that you perform each and every day.  This should be 3-5 drills that mimick the moves that your defensive backs are going to be performing the most in your defense.  So,  if you are a team that relies heavily on press man coverage then the majority of those drill should involve that concept.  If you are a quarters team or heavy zone team that plays off of the receivers then your drill should involve a lot of off the ball footwork,  coming out of breaks, etc.   Your individual period should allow your players to be an auto-pilot on game day with their movements.  This only happens if they perform the same drills over and over.  It’s like tying their shoes.

Next 5-10 minutes should involve one,  at the most two,  skills that you need your players to learn that day.  Perhaps there is something new that they will be doing in this week’s game in a coverage you plan on running.  Or maybe your players are struggling consistently with one particular concept or movement.  You should spend this time trying to teach it or correct it.  Don’t go using this time trying to cram in a bunch of drills or new concepts.  The players won’t pick it up because you would not have spent enough time on it.  There are few things on Earth that fly by faster than a position coach’s individual period.  Pick a concept or technique and hammer it so that they get it.

Next 5-10 minutes,  should involve you praying and thanking the Lord because you never get this time.  If somehow you do then you can either spend that time going over scheme if you have a complicated one or continue to hammer home on the element you were going over in the previous 5-10 minutes.  You should be striving for total understanding and mastery not introducing a million new concepts.  Remember that a good amount of your players whether you are on the high school or college level are still learning.  Many college defensive backs either just got moved to the position or did not play it in high school.   Chances are the ones who did play it in high school likely weren’t too “coached up”.

I coached ball so I understand that sometimes your individual period will get hijacked by the need to go over a defensive installation.  There’s nothing you can do about that.  However,  if you are spending your individual period each day going over scheme and not spending time teaching the players the techniques they need to excel in the scheme then you will be forever frustrated.  That’s like showing a construction worker the floor plan then handing him an empty tool bag and telling him to get to work.  That house won’t be built right no matter how well that floor plan was drawn up.

One final note,  pick the most important skill for your players to master in your scheme and encourage your players to stay after practice for 5-10 minutes doing it.  Over the course of a week that’s 30-60 extra minutes of skill development.  Over the course of an entire season that could be 15-20 hours.  Imagine getting an extra 20 hours to coach your group of players?

Wide Receivers Love it When You Do This

There is the cat and mouse game that is played in every football game out on the edges between the wide receivers and the defensive backs.  Receivers are trying to deceive the DBs and the DBs are trying to dictate to the wide receivers how things should go.

In the middle of that chess game is a myriad of techniques being used by both to get the desired outcome.  In recent years,  I have watched defensive backs willfully fall into the hands of the receivers’ schemes by doing this one thing that all receivers love to see.  That thing is giving the receiver their back.

There has been this growing movement over the least decade to remove back pedaling from the defensive backs’ tool belt.  Coaches and players alike think they have re-invented the wheel and are state of the art by turning defensive backs sideways and having them run down the field from the onset of the play.  The mindset,  as a result,  has become turn and open in almost all coverage situations. Because of that,  wide receivers are having a field day.

I am certainly aware that offenses have gotten more wide open and rules have become more restrictive for defensive backs.  Those two things have led to the explosion of pass offense that we have experienced over the last 10 years.  However,  a big contributor to this passing yardage quest has been the deployment of poor techniques by defensive backs and those that coach them.  Every receiver is taught to get the DB’s shoulders turned when they are running their routes.  For them to win,  they need to do this whether they are facing off man or press coverage.  The best way to combat this is to stay square as long as possible.

Despite the winning formula being the ability to stay square,  more and defensive backs are turning early,  turning often and eventually spinning around,  giving their backs to receivers.  This practice is providing them with a sense of joy.  Along with the turning and running,  DBs have grown fond of speed turns.  I blame Instagram as spinning in drills around cones has a certain cinematic appeal to it that gives the algorithm a woody.  However,  when the game comes and the spinning starts,  the real person catching a raw deal is the DB that thinks he has eyes in the back of his head.

Nothing says winning to a receiver like seeing the back of a DB’s helmet.  If you want to get more W’s in coverage,  ditch the speed turns,  learn how to weave,  pedal and remain square as long as possible.  Being able to do this takes the pressure off the DB and returns it to the receiver.  He does not have all day to run his route.  He can’t not make 100 moves to get open and there are rules when it comes to timing and depth that receivers must observe.  When you open too early,  run out of there too fast and otherwise surrender to the receiver’s wishes,  you allow him to run the routes exactly the way it looks in the playbook.

Our number one job in coverage as defensive backs is to play big,  disrupt routes and upset timing.  When you turn sideways you reduce yourself,  you become inviting and make receivers happy.  We’re not in the business of making a receiver’s day.  Work on your staying square skills.

If you are looking to take your game to the elite level then you owe it to yourself to join the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area.  Whether you are a player, coach or parent of a player,  you can benefit from the nearly 200 videos and posts in the member’s area designed to raise your game and defeat passing games at all levels.  Check it out,  click here.

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