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You Have to Finish the Play

By: Chad Wilson
Owner – All Eyes DB Camp

How many times have you done everything you needed to do at the snap.  Your eyes were in the right place,  your footwork was on point,  you drove on the man like you were supposed to but when the moment of truth came,  you dropped the football and got a P-B-U instead of an I-N-T?

Dropping an interception is no laughing matter especially when the offense is in scoring position on the football field or they turn around one play later and convert a third down into a first down.  Add up all the dropped interceptions in your career and write that number down.  It can be depressing.  One thing I have learned over my career as a player,  coach and now trainer is that the elite players of this game don’t drop many interceptions.  Just being in position is not enough.

If you want to call yourself one of the best to play this game then you must take the ball away when the quarterback makes a mistake.  Guys who are satisfied with just being there and knocking the ball away are doing a disservice to their team and themselves.  Every time you give your offense another chance at a possession you increase your team’s chance at winning the game.  The more times you can take over possession of the ball in your opponents territory the more likely it is that you will walk away victorious.

Many defensive backs spend a good amount of time working on their footwork but precious few actually work on catching the football.  Maybe some of their footwork drills incorporate catching a football at the end but when you carefully consider how much time you spend catching the ball versus how much wide receivers spend catching it,  you’ll realize that you don’t have much of a chance come game time.

Whatever amount of time you are currently spending catching the ball,  I am telling you to double it.  Perhaps there are too many other things you have to go over during practice for you to catch as many balls as needed.  You must make up for that lost time with post practice work.  Catch balls at your face,  catch deep balls,  catch balls that you see late,  catch balls over your shoulder,  catch balls that are low.  Make catching the football a priority because when the ball is in the air on game day and approaching both you and a wide receiver,  fortune favors the one who is most prepared.

Keep this in mind the next time you head out to a training session.  You do all of the work that you do so that you can intercept the football.  That is the ultimate prize for the defensive back.  When you think about it that way,  it just makes sense to prepare yourself vigorously to receive that prize every time a quarterback feels the need to give it to you.

Check out this video on improving your ball skills from my YouTube Channel:

4 Ways Linebackers Can Help the Secondary in Pass Coverage

By: Chad Wilson
Owner – All Eyes DB Camp

You’ve heard the saying “It takes a village to raise child”?  Well,  in that same vain,  it takes a whole unit to stop a passing attack.  In this article,  I am going to talk about one third of that unit and how they can help the back third in slowing down passing attacks hell bent on ruining your stat sheet.

Linebackers can be forgotten souls in the attempts to slow down big time passing attacks.  Often times the talk is about the amazing pass rush or the outstanding lockdown coverage by the cornerbacks and safeties.  Few times do linebackers get noticed unless they are getting handled in 1-on-1 coverage by a running back or tight end.   The truth of the matter is that linebackers are a big part of holding the quarterbacks in check and here’s how they can do that.

(1)  Pre Snap / Post Snap communication

When everyone is on the same page,  the defense has a tremendous chance at doing what it is designed to do.  Getting on the same page has a lot to do with pre-snap communication.  Linebackers must talk to the guys around them and that includes the cornerbacks and safeties.  Communicating motions, cut splits and odd alignments are the first step in getting them defended.  When playing in a zone,  talking to the defenders around you to communicate when a player is entering their zone is a must.  When teams align in a bunch or nasty sets and you’re in man coverage,  reminding a cornerback or safety of the rules in their combo / banjo coverage could go a long way in preventing a receiver from running all alone down the football field.

(2) Get Your Pass Drops

Ask any defensive back,  especially a safety,  what their pet peeve is when the quarterback takes his drop and he’ll tell you that it’s the linebacker not taking his.  Some linebackers act like they have a shock collar on around their necks that will activate once they move beyond five yards from the line of scrimmage.  We’ve all seen the linebacker who retreats exactly five yards deep and starts buzzing his feet like he’s doing something.  He’s doing something alright,  he’s letting the dig, over, crossing and curl routes sink in behind him and put pressure on the safeties and corners.

Any linebacker worth a damn in the passing game knows deep drops equal interceptions.  Besides,  linebackers like to hit.  Isn’t it a whole lot easier to boom a guy when you take a deep drop and come downhill on a shallow route?  That definitely beats chasing a dig route when the ball has been thrown over your head.  You want to force the quarterback into making mistakes?  Take a deep drop into your zone and work your way down from there after the ball is thrown short.

(3)  Use Your Help in Man Coverage

Yes,  we know,  man coverage is not really your deal.  This is why most man coverages that involve the linebacker being on the field have help built into it. In the rare occasion when there is no help then best believe all hell is being unleashed on the quarterback in the pocket so your services as a man to man mercenary will only be needed for a couple of seconds.

Whether it’s a full on zero coverage blitz or something with help,  it is important to know where your friends are.  Know the coverage beyond the fact that it’s man to man.  Some guys just hear man and they think it’s them and the receiver with no one else in the stadium.  You him and 100 x 53 yds of grass.  That’s not the case.  Study the intricate parts of the defense and understand where the dropper is that you can funnel your receiver to for some assistance.  It could be a safety deep in the post or on the hash.  It could be a linebacker or safety posted up in the low hole or another defender you have combo coverage with.

Even when the coverage is zero and the defense is bringing six or more,  knowing that the sidelines or back line of the end zone are your friend is important.  Make sure you are playing the proper leverage to decrease the chance of a completion and a big play that will most likely require a defensive back to go run down.

(4)  If You’re Blitzing then Blitz

The only thing worse than the five yard pass drop by a linebacker is the two yard blitz into the line where you stop the moment you meet resistance.  In the words of the immortal R. Kelly “I’m fighting for my $&@# life man!” Defensive backs are out there doing their best to lock down some super twitchy,  highly athletic ball magnet.  They can’t do it forever so I know you are disappointed that the guard sniffed out your blitz or that the running back won’t mind his business but please continue applying pressure.  If the guard is barreled chested like Quinton Nelson,  work through half of him and get around him to at least make the quarterback move off of his spot.  If it’s the running back ruining the fun,  turn into a bully and push him into the quarterback’s lap to force an errant throw.  Whatever you do,  don’t just stand there in “no man’s land” where you aren’t in coverage but you aren’t rushing the passer either.  You might as well be standing next to coach with a headset on at that point.  Work through the adversity and help the secondary out by affecting the quarterback.

These are some simple but very effective things you can do as a linebacker to increase your worth when the balls start flooding the airways.  Being able to do these things with consistency and efficiency also makes it more likely that you will be on the field during obvious passing downs.   Effective linebackers do these four things on a regular basis.  Be a part of the village.

Keys to Playing Zone Defense the Right Way

Most cornerbacks that you run into will tell you that they prefer to play man coverage over zone coverage.  There are a number of reasons for this.  One is because they think it shows their worth at the position.  Second,  it’s because zones can be confusing and require a little more discipline than man coverage.  Intelligent corners don’t think this way as they know that zone coverage is necessary and can provide a pretty big payoff for guys that know how to run it.

When you are young (little league / high school) and you are athletic,  there is temptation for coaches to just have you do what is best at the moment and that is use your athletic superiority to dominate the opponent by playing man coverage.  What gets lost sometimes on coaches at that level is that part of their job is to teach the young athlete the game.  Unfortunately,  the desire and for some,  the pressure to win,  will lead them to do only what is necessary to win the game and not so much what is for the long term development of the player.

As a result of what I just described,  the young player grows into a mature player that struggles with the intricacies of playing zone coverage.  The biggest issue out of understanding the coverage is having the discipline to play it and cover their zone.  When offenses are plotting on secondary members by running routes in front of them or taking a player that is in one zone and running him off to another,  being where you are supposed to be can become a big problem.

Athletes who struggle in zone usually have one of two major things happening to them.  One is they don’t totally understand the coverage and or they don’t understand what it is the offense is doing to them.  To be more effective in man coverage,  you have to be willing to play zone.  However,  a coach is not going to be willing to run zone if his players are not disciplined.

The first thing you have to understand when playing zone coverage is that you are now covering with your mouth.  Whereas man coverage is all about your feet and your hands,  zone coverage forces communication into the equation in a big way.  When a player leaves your zone,  you must resist your man tendencies which is to chase and activate your zone intelligence which involves you telling your teammate that he is coming.  Learning to communicate is a big key to excelling at zone coverage.

The next thing you have to do is totally understand the zone coverage.  Of course you are going to know what your job is or I assume your coach won’t have you out there.  However,  understanding who has the surrounding zones will prevent you from being tempted to move into a zone that is not yours.  Understanding that the linebacker has the flat when you have the deep 1/3 will make you less likely to jump a route in the flat and instead call out to the linebacker that there is a player there.

Finally,  knowing what the offense is trying to do will allow you to plan ahead as the routes unfold.  Being able to plan ahead gives you the anticipation you need to remain in your zone.  Knowing that a team likes to run a seam route by the slot WR when the outside receiver runs a dig will keep you from chasing the dig when you should be helping on the seam.  Knowing that the route combo is coming will do wonders to keep you out of a zone belonging to someone else and in the zone that you are supposed to patrol.

If you are struggling with your zone coverage,  try taking care of the three things that I described in this article.  Before that,  understand why it is you may be struggling to play zone coverage in the first place.  Knowing these things will really help you in getting the problem corrected.

If you want to increase your knowledge of zone coverages and offensive concepts,  join the All Eyes DB Camp member’s area.  I have a ton of info and videos on those topics in there.  

Be As Deep as the Deepest

If you played defensive back and safety in particular,  you have likely had a coach tell you this when discussing a coverage.  “Be as deep as the deepest”.   There’s nothing worse than getting a ball thrown over your head as a defensive back and knowing that there is someone from the other team back there all by hisself.

For safeties there are a number of coverages in which being deep as the deepest would come into play.  If you are a true free safety then this likely applies to all of the coverages that are in your team’s playbook.   Whether you are in Cover 2, Cover 3 or something similar,  your job as a safety in those situations is to be the man furthest out from the quarterback.   First of all,  you want to discourage the throw from the quarterback and second you want to be there in the event that he develops the courage to launch one.

Most defenses are set up to take away the big play from the offense and make them “earn” their way down the field.  This means not blowing a coverage on defense that puts you underneath a receiver running deep through your secondary.  While it is important for you to know all of the coverages in your team’s playbook,  it is extra important for you to pay attention to the ones that require you to be the last line of defense.

Some defenses play Cover 3 from a two safety look meaning both safeties start off on the hash.  One of those safeties will be dropping down after the snap,  while the other will be rotating to the middle of the field or otherwise staying deep.  Other teams will play split coverages which means one coverage will be played to one side of the field while another coverage will be played on the other.  Often times one side will have a safety deep and the other will have a safety down.  In both of these scenarios,  it is not uncommon to see miscommunication as to which safety will be down and which safety will be up.   In both of these situations,  it is of extreme importance that the two players communicate with each other as well as with the defensive backs to their side of the field.  When in doubt,  stay deep and / or call out what you are doing.  It is better for you to be right and have the offense know what you are doing than to keep your responsibility a secret to the offense but make a mistake.

Another common thing that happens in coverages where a safety is supposed to be deeper than the deepest is getting caught up with what’s happening in the backfield or directly in front of him.  When the coverage requires you to be in a deep zone,  the quarterback handing the ball to the running back should not be your concern.  On a coverage like that you are not the primary force meaning you aren’t supposed to be the first one responding to a run play.  The quarterback handing or faking the ball to the running back should not stop your feet or your movement to your deep zone responsibility.  Reacting late to the run play is not an error.  There are several men that the running back needs to get through before he gets to you.  Let those men do their jobs.

Offenses are also designed to distract defenders.  To do this,  they will often run a receiver in front of a defensive back to draw his attention away from another one that is running behind him.  Defensive backs at all levels get caught by this.  However,  the most disciplined safeties are rarely ever fooled by this.  A firm grasp of your responsibilities and careful film study will keep you away from getting caught up in this mistake.  Beware of the shallow route being run in front of the deep defender.  Nine times out out of 10 it’s a hoax.

I hope that this has cleared up for some what being deep as the deepest means and has been a refresher for the vets who have been made to look like amateurs by getting caught in the scenarios I described in this article.

Know the Lingo. How to Learn the Defense Fast

One of the biggest keys,  if not the biggest key for a defensive back’s success is not only knowing the defense but understanding it.  Knowing the defense is knowing where you are supposed to be on a certain coverage.  Understanding the defense is knowing why you are supposed to be there.  Your ability to grasp the latter comes from learning the lingo.

If you are not familiar with the term lingo,  it basically means the terminology used by a certain group of people.  In this case,  the certain group of people would be the current team you are playing for.  It would be very difficult for you to thrive as a citizen in France,  if you don’t understand the French language.  Likewise,  it is very difficult for you to thrive in a defense if you don’t understand the terms that the team uses to describe what the offense is doing and what your responsibility is.

First of all,  you have to have a common understanding of football coverages as well as run gaps.  At it’s core,  football is a very simple game and is basically an exercise in mathematics.  There are but only so many run gaps and there are but so many areas to be covered in pass defense.  A team can either run the football or throw the football on a given play.  Pretty simple right?  The complication of the game comes when teams attach terminology to tell it’s personnel where to go and what to do. Different teams have different terms they use to describe the same thing just as the french have a different word for car than American do.

Being able to learn a particular team’s defense or adjust to new coverages and responsibilities that are added is enhanced when you have a firm grasp of the basics.  This is because you are going to attach the new terminology to the basics on everything.  At the end of the day,  the coverages are all the same.  There are covers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.  Everything outside of that is born from those six coverages I just laid out.  So for example,  some of you have never heard of Cover 6.  Well,  I didn’t mention Cover 6 in that list did I?  The reason I didn’t is because Cover 6 is the combination of Covers 2 and 4.  Cover 2 to one side of the field and Cover 4 to the other.  It makes things a whole lot more simple when you are able to say that instead of adding something new,  I am instead just tweaking something that I have already learned.

For those of you who may not have heard of Cover 5 because not all teams call it that,  Cover 5 is 2 man.  The offense has 5 eligible wide receivers.  Five defenders underneath will cover those 5 receivers while two safeties will stay deep over the top.  You see how much more simple that is to understand?

I once sat in a coach’s clinic where Nick Saban was a speaker.  He spoke for 45 minutes about a coverage that he really liked.  If I’m not mistaken,  it was called “Seattle”.  Fifteen minutes into the presentation,  after he had laid out the responsibilities for all of the defenders,  I realized that Seattle was Cover 3.  So for the next 30 minutes I could focus on the tiny details he had added onto the basic Cover 3 instead of saying,  I now need to add Seattle to Covers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

So,  morale of the story here is,  nail down the basics of coverage and then gap responsibility.  Then attach any new lingo being used to those basic coverages.  It will speed up the process of you learning all the new tricks that a current coach,  a new coach or a new team will throw your way.  Inside of the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area,  I break down all of the basic coverages on defense in a simple way that you can understand.  You may want to consider joining – Click here.

4 Things That Make An Elite Nickelback

With all the footballs filling the air in recent years because of the advancement of passing in the game of football,  one position has gained more importance than ever before and that is the nickel back.

There was a time when most teams deployed 21 personnel (2 backs, 1 tight end and 2 WRs) for the majority of the game and only in third down passing situations did they bring in a third wide receiver.  In time,  that third wide receiver required a similar body type to cover the extra wide receiver and keep him quiet.  That third body type became known as a nickel back because he was the fifth defensive back.

Now,  that third wide receiver no longer needs to wait for third down to be on the field.  A majority of teams deploy a third wide receiver most of the time.  Others bring on a fourth wide receiver in passing situations while others are primarily a four wide receiver team.  This means nickel backs are standard players on the field and as such,  they should be on point if the defense is going to be successful.  So with nickel backs being so much more important now than ever,  let’s take a looks at four things nickel backs need to be elite.

(1)  Quickness

We all know what the typical slot wide receiver looks like.  It’s usually a Cole Beasley,  Robert Woods or Cooper Kupp type.  These type of wide receivers are extremely quick,  crafty and elite change of direction guys.  To cover them,  a nickel back will need to be the same.  Having a great ability to change direction is very important when covering in the slot full time.  Routes from the slot position can be very tricky when you factor in the whips, dirties and returns.  In addition,  just your simple routes happen very quickly.  The ball gets to a slot wide receiver a whole lot faster on the slant and out routes.  Being able to determine the route and break on it quickly is a must.

(2) Physicality

Nickel backs are typically smaller types ranging from 5’8″ to 5’11”.  These are not the sizes in football that we equate with toughness but it is essential as a nickel back.  One of the major reasons for this is because although they are smaller in size,  they are playing closer to the big people.  Because nickel backs are lining up on slot wide receivers,  this means they are also in the run fit when the ball is handed off to the running back.  Essentially,  the nickel back has replaced a linebacker.  So when teams get smart and want to amp up their run game with nickel personnel on the field,  it is the nickel back that must grow some balls to take on blocks and wrap up ball carriers.

In addition,  some teams will also throw a bigger slot wide receiver into the game play to take advantage of a perceived mismatch.  Putting a big body on a smaller body gives the offense an advantage at the catch point.  A nickel back will need a certain amount of toughness to bang up against the big slot WR and make plays on the ball when they arrive.  If you are soft in the slot,  a team will eat your lunch by creating this 1-on-1 match up.

(3)  Awareness

When you are in around the line of scrimmage things happen rather quickly.  So not only are you tasked with locking down a wide receiver but you are also part of the run game.  This means you must quickly decipher intersecting routes along with pulling linemen and backfield play fakes.  The action inside happens at break neck speed.  If you are slow on processing reads then you are severely limited as a nickel back.   Your coach will only really be able to use you in man to man situations and that will basically tell the opposing team what you are doing.  It won’t be long before they come up with route concepts intended to beat man coverage and confuse you.  If you want to be a reliable nickel back then you have to continue to maximize your understanding of offensive football.  Being able to see a play unfold and react in a hurry will make you an A+ defender.

(4)  Patience

Now that I have gassed you up on how quick things happen on the inside,  I do feel the need to tell you that a great nickel back will also have to have patience.  Yes,  I know,  on the surface that does not seem to go together but allow me to explain.  Part of understanding what is happening on the other side of the ball is having the patience to not move out of position when they are attempting to fool you.  Whether that is a slot wide receiver giving you 700 head fakes to get you off of your leverage or it’s the quarterback faking a hand off to then throw a bubble screen,  having the patience after reading your keys is vitally important.  Being over zealous to make a play can quite often lead you to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Good nickel backs believe what they see when their eyes are in the right place and have the patience to wait for the play to come to them.

As you can see,  a nickel back is in need of a range of different skills.  Once an after thought of a position,  a nickel back has accelerated past being a common player on the field to one of the most important guys on the defense.  It is important to get off the field on third down when you are playing in games and most of the time,  the nickel back is tasked with making that happen.  If you want to be valuable to your team and your defense,  go about sharpening and or acquiring the skills mentioned in this article.

3 Things Safeties Can Do to Help Out Cornerbacks

Great secondaries play together.  Great defenses play together.  This means that what one man sees so does the other.  When one mans sees it,  he communicates it to the next man.  Any plus unit that you have ever witnessed work has had a great working relationship between all of it’s members and had great leadership.  Last month,  I talked about 3 Things Cornerbacks Can Do to Help Out Safeties.  In this article,  we will discuss 3 things safeties can do to help out their cornerbacks.

1 – Communicate the Calls

Ask any cornerback and they will tell you that there’s nothing worse than standing out on the edge with the receiver ready to come at you,  the quarterback ready to receive the snap and you have no idea what coverage they are in.  Sure,  I know a lot of times in this situation the call has come in late from the coordinator.  However,  the primary job you have as a safety the moment you get the call is to communicate it to the corner to your side and then anyone else who needs it.  It doesn’t matter what you do on a given play if the corner has no idea what’s going on.  Your great coverage won’t matter if the corner is sitting in the flat because he thought it was Cover 2 when Cover 3 was the actual call.

It is in your best interest as a safety to a) communicate the call quickly and b) know the defense so that you actually know what the call is.  Sometimes the coverage is dictated or changed by the offense’s alignment and or motion.  If you don’t know the playbook or the game plan,  you may be unsure about the call.  When you are unsure about the call you are hesitant to communicate to the cornerback and now he has no idea what defense he’s in.  Certainly that makes his job harder and it won’t be long before he’s asking the coach to get you out of the line up.

2 – Be in the Spot

Whether it is man or it’s zone,  a cornerback is hopeful if not relying on you to be where you are supposed to be.  One of the biggest pet peeves for cornerbacks is the mythical double team that doesn’t happen in quarters coverage when the safety to his side loses his threat.  Over time,  corners have learned to not depend on it but when you get a safety who reads his keys and gets there,  it makes all the difference in the world.

Similarly,  coverages like 2 Man are designed to have a cornerback give up his instinct to be on a wide receiver’s hip and instead let him beat him up the field.  When a corner plays this right in expectation that the safety will have him over the top,  it’s best you be there.  Playing cornerback has a lot to do with ego.  Getting beat deep by a wide receiver in 2 man because the safety “saw something” and wasn’t there can destroy trust like a suspect Instagram DM in your girlfriend’s account.   As a safety it is important to know the coverages thoroughly and be where you are supposed to be.  Cornerbacks are told to play to their help and maintain their leverage.  For them to have trust in what they are being coached to do,  you must be where you are supposed to be.

3 – Fill the Alley

Run plays are not a cornerback’s favorite play.  9.5 times out of 10 the cornerback must fight off the block of a wide receiver and / or pulling guard before they get to the prize of tackling the back.  As such,  cornerbacks have their place where they are supposed to fit.  Quite often,  that fit is outside where they are asked to turn a running back back inside to the defense.  In many coverages,  the safety is responsible for that area right inside of the cornerback on a run play known as the alley.  When a safety is slow to fill that area or continues to miss tackles there,  the run plays usually strike for big yardage.  What results from this is the cornerback trying to do the safeties job.  This means that he starts trying to go inside of wide receivers’ blocks or duck under offensive linemen’s charges.  When that results in the corner getting pinned inside,  the run plays usually go for massive yardage if not touchdowns.

Typically,  the cornerback gets blamed for a run play that breaks for big yards around the edge.  To avoid this embarrassment and type of offensive attack,  cornerbacks who can’t rely on safeties start acting erratic.  As a safety,  you can avoid this by showing up in the alley with bad intentions.  Not only will it allow the cornerbacks to play the blocks the way they should,  it may make the running back hesitant to keep going in there because…. “they just not gone want that.”

Sometimes cornerbacks when asked what would they rather have,  a great safety or a great pass rush answer “a great pass rush” because corners are greedy by nature.  They think great pass rush means more interceptions and this may be true.  However,  I have found that the corners who have played with great safeties almost always answer “great safety” to that question.  What answer would your cornerbacks give to that question?

Don’t Get Lost Defensive Backs. Read Your Keys

By: Chad Wilson
IG: @alleyesdbcamp

Imagine a blind man trying to play football.  How much do you think he would be worth on a field playing against a bunch of other guys who can see? Not much I would gather.  We’ve seen guys playing with broken arms and heavily taped ankles or feet however,  the only guy with a patch over his eye is on the side of the Las Vegas Raiders’ helmet.

When you don’t use your eyes properly while playing  you are essentially blind in a football sense.  As a defensive back your most important asset on the field are not your legs that you ran the 4.4 forty with or the hands that you used to bench press 315 lbs.  The most important asset are the eyes you use to relay the information to the brain that tells your hands and legs what to do.

One of the most important things your eyes are going to be used to do are read your keys.  Eyes are used to key the hip movement of a wide receiver in man to man coverage which gives you keys to what type of route you may be getting.  Your eyes are also used in zones to key the route combinations the offense is running so you will know who will be in your zone and will have to cover.  Your eyes will also be used to key a quarterback to see where he may be looking and ultimately throwing the ball.

In some situations,  your eyes will be used to key the movement by an offensive lineman right after the ball is snapped.  That movement will give you a pass or run read which signals to you what your assignment will be.  As you can imagine,  knowing the things that I mentioned would be rather important.  Far too often,  defensive backs,  particularly young ones,  are on the field playing blind.  They will have their eyes in the backfield watching the play like they are watching the game on TV.  More often than not,  the action in the backfield is not the key they should be reading.  Most misdirection and false reads come from the heavy motion in the backfield after the snap.

If you want to be successful as a defensive back,  it is ultra important that you focus on the keys that your coach has given you.  Or follow the keys that you have picked up on film.  Often times a complicated or tricky play by an opponent can be quickly determined by reading a certain player on the offense.  When that key player is not focused on after the ball is snapped, the trick  ends up being on you.

In closing,  if your key in a zone coverage is the #2 receiver then that’s where your focus should be once the ball is snapped.  If you’ve been told on a certain play that you should read the high hat / low hat of the offensive linemen then that’s what you should be focused on.  Trying to play football at a high level without reading the important players on the offense when a play is being run,  severely limits your chance at success.  Playing an instrument or singing when you are blind can work quite nicely.  Trying to play blind on the football field,  not so much.

The Most Important Film You Will Ever Watch

If you have been on this blog, or on my YouTube Channel or my Instagram page you have most likely heard me talk about watching film.  Watching film is critical to your success.  A sturdy knowledge of your opponent each week will certainly put you in the right position more than not when the game arrives.  However,  there is a big opponent and an important piece of film that every defensive back must watch and not too many do.

Sometimes we get so consumed with who we are going to face that we forget about our biggest opponent which is ourselves.  The road to controlling our opponent goes through us so it only stands to reason that we would pay attention to what it is we are doing.  I often get messages on YouTube and Instagram with young defensive backs asking me how to defend specific routes.  The question usually goes something like this: “coach I am having trouble covering slant routes any tips?”  The answer to fixing that problem most likely is studying yourself on film.

By studying,  I mean studying.  A lot of guys will watch film of themselves the day after the game but few guys study themselves.  You must breakdown your film the way you breakdown film of your opponent.  You know how you study every little move of the wide receiver from splits to which foot he has up?  You must do the same of yourself.  How is your alignment?  How did your feet move?  Did your drop your hands?  What are your eyes doing at the line of scrimmage?

The careful analysis of your game should be every bit as detailed as that of your opposition.  The little things that you pick up about yourself allow you to be clear on what things are working for you and what needs to be corrected.  Each week,  you are going to work to correct those things during practice so that you can perform better with each passing game.  This can only happen if you are taking detailed notes on what it is you are doing each and every game.

If you are fortunate enough to be at a high school that films practices you should take advantage.  Most high school football players won’t watch their practice film.  If they do watch it,  they don’t do so for any quality amount of time.  You are leaving good plays on the table when you fail to do this.  Each day of practice gives you an opportunity to sharpen your skills and execution.  You can best do so by watching what it is you did the day before with a careful eye.  Look at your movements during practice and make a note of things you would like to improve the next day.  It will certainly help you practice better as you will find yourself setting goals for each session.

While studying yourself on game film and in practice may seem to be a minor thing,  I can assure you that it adds up.  It is a sneaky way to improve fast and if you don’t think that you need to improve then you are of the wrong mindset.  As the old saying goes,  there’s always room for improvement.  Improvement comes from self evaluation and film is the way you are going to do it.  Now go watch some film.

3 Ways that Cornerbacks Can Help Out Safeties

Chad Wilson
IG: @alleyesdbcamp

In the relationship that exists in the secondary between cornerbacks and safeties we often hear the cornerbacks as the ones who are complaining.  If they aren’t complaining about the safety not being in the post when he’s supposed to be,  they are complaining about not having the help over the top and both of those come when they aren’t complaining about safeties not providing the required help on a double team.

Sure,  I understand,  the safeties are the deepest of the deepest and truly the last line of defense.  As such,  when a team finds the end zone,  most likely they are the ones that are going to have to shoulder the blame.  However,  if you are a coach or a player with any kind of an IQ then you know that breakdowns occur in many places quite often when a big play occurs by the offense.

Some cornerbacks are tough to work with and can make a safety’s job a lot harder than it needs to be.  In that vain,  this article is a basic one for cornerbacks so that they can help safeties perform their job better.  By doing this,  cornerbacks stand to gain because a soundly performing safety makes your job at cornerback easier.  So here are three ways cornerbacks can help out safeties

(1) Know the Checks

When the defensive coordinator is handing out the checks (no not the money) meaning the coverages that your defense will change to when movement occurs on offense,  corners tend to not pay attention.  Cornerbacks do this because they think that all of the responsibility for checks falls on the safety.  However,  smart cornerbacks know otherwise.  Anything that the safety should know,  the cornerback should know.  Knowing this gives the cornerback the power of anticipation.  You can play better when you know the check is coming instead of simply waiting for it to come and then reacting.  Sometimes,  the offense moves late or the safety may make the check late because he’s preoccupied with something else.  Knowing what the check is preps your mind for it so that you can adjust accordingly and quickly.

(2) Communicate the Formations

Yes, we all know that the safeties have a better vantage point aligned 12-20 yards behind the defense.  However,  it is not always that they can see everything from back there.  What is very helpful to the safeties is cornerbacks who communicate what they are seeing from their side view of the offense.

Simply telling the safety “I have 3” can alert him to the fact that you have three wide receivers to your side in case his view is obstructed or he is preoccupied with some other responsibility he may have.  Alerting a safety to a nub (tight end with no WRs) or a wing can be helpful in him getting the checks called and the defense lined up.  The more people communicating pre-snap the better the chance of success.  Call out what you have to your side of the field so that the safety can make the right calls and be in the right places.

(3) Execute the Coverages

There’s nothing worse than the corner that won’t get a jam in Cover 2 especially when there are two vertical routes to his side.  The only thing worse than that is a corner that wants to sit in the flat in that situation with no threat and put the responsibility on the safety to cover two deep routes.  Have that happen enough times and the safety will lose all trust in the cornerback.  Outside of a quarterback trusting his left tackle,  there is no other position group required to have more trust than the safety and corner.

Everything in the secondary is not about man coverage.  Sometimes you must play zone coverage and those can get a little complex.  Don’t be that corner that has no awareness and / or technique.  If you are supposed to be inside and underneath in 2 man coverage then be inside and underneath.  Force the overthrow and give the safety a chance to make a play.  Pay extra special attention to what your technique and leverage is supposed to be so that you can allow the safety to move with confidence.

Most corners,  especially young ones,  get tunnel vision when they line up at cornerback.  They tend to only focus on the man in front of them or on their job only.   Sure,  know your assignment and do your job but be aware of what the safety must do as well.  It takes a whole village to stop a passing attack.  Being knowledgeable and able to communicate will help you build a great relationship with your safeties and lead to all star type performances from everyone.

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