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Kick Slide Your Way to Better Press Man Reps

By: Chad Wilson

I see it all levels of football. A defensive back is lined up in press man, he panics on the wide receiver’s movement and then he just turns and runs. Once this happens, it’s a win for the wide receiver. The pass may not get completed but he has put himself in a great position to catch a thrown football than if you would have denied him the “free release”. In this article I am going to tell you how to charge the WR a fee for exiting the line of scrimmage and not giving him anything for free.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a free release is when you allow the wide receiver to go by you in press man without having to really change his path or disrupt his timing. Another term for this would be “opening the gate”. One of the big reasons this happens is because the defensive back may not have been taught what to do when the wide receiver declares his path and seeks to get beyond him. After this reading this article, you will no longer be able to make such a claim.

One of the best ways to widen a WR’s release at the line of scrimmage is to use a kick slide. Using a kick slide will stop you from crossing over and opening your hips too soon and allow the WR to go by you too skinny. If you have ever watched a basketball game and watched a player defend the man with the ball to keep him from driving to the hoop, you may have noticed a kick slide. This would involve keeping hips and shoulders square while taking shuffle steps to move with the ball handler. This is primarily the same when playing press man vs. a wide receiver. At some point he is going to want go by you the same way a basketball player with the ball will attempt to do vs. a defender so he can get to the hoop. The WR will want to get by you to get to the field behind you and to his landing point for the pass. The better that defender is at staying square, the less chance he has of getting crossed over by the ball handler which can be quite embarrassing.

A good kick slide will keep you in front of the wide receiver longer and give you a better chance of getting hands on him should he decide to change direction. To execute a solid kick slide, there are three key components.

(1) Good Stance

It all starts with your stance. If you are not properly prepared to move then you will fall behind the WRs release and your kick slide will likely never happen. A poor stance will make you panic and cause you to open your hips too quickly. So, it is important that you have your knees bent and your chest out in your stance. The bent knees prepare your thigh muscles to activate and push in either direction once the WR moves outside of your frame. The chest out keeps you in a power position so that you can move explosively left or right or throw your hands with power should that WR decide to come right at you.

(2) Kick at a 45 degree angle

While in some cases, it is good to slide left or right straight across, we don’t do that with a kick slide. Shuffling at a 45 degree angle is ideal in the kick slide so as to not get caught at a bad angle and end up in chase mode. By sliding at a 45 degree angle, you give just enough ground to stay close to execute a jam while not opening too much to allow the WR to explode past you. Being able to kick slide 45 degrees in one direction and then plant to move back in the other direction suddenly is a great skill. This skill must be practiced often and it involves good upper body mechanics. Once again, keep your chest out but also keep a rigid upper body. Don’t let your shoulders drift outside of your hips as you kick slide. Doing so will make it difficult to get your body to head in the other direction should you need it to.

(3) Don’t Crossover and Don’t Click

As you kick slide, it is important that you don’t bring your feet together. Clicking means having your feet collide with each other as you are shuffling. The reason you don’t want this to occur is because at that very moment that your feet are together, the WR may change direction and you won’t be able to. The same goes for crossing your feet over in your kick slide. Placing one foot behind the other to execute your slide could be detrimental if the WR changes direction while your feet are in that position. Should this occur, at best you will have to take one extra step to then change direction or even worse you fall down trying to change direction while your feet are crossed. It is always best to keep your feet apart while you are executing your kick slide.

Focusing on those three elements during your kick slide will keep you in a good strong position. This will force the wide receiver off the line he would like to run, disrupt the timing and the spacing of his routes. If you are doing that consistently then you are putting yourself in good position to defend the passes that are being thrown to your man.

Check out the video below that I made on having a great kick slide. For more information and detail on playing press technique the right way, join my member’s area where I have well over 100 videos on drills, technique, coverages, analysis and more. Click here for the All Eyes DB Camp Member’s Area

3 Ways to Affect the Game without an Interception

One of my secret pet peeves is hearing a defensive back who did nothing during a game tell me he couldn’t make a play because "they didn’t throw to my side".

By: Chad Wilson
IG: @alleyesdbcamp

One of my secret pet peeves is hearing a defensive back who did nothing during a game tell me he couldn’t make a play because “they didn’t throw to my side”. Every time I hear that, in my mind, I am thinking that’s a cop out.

True playmakers don’t think that way. If they practiced all week to play a game, they are damned sure going to get paid when game time comes. So whether or not the offense decided to actually target your side or your area, the fact still remains that an entire football game was played on the same field you were on so it’s time for you to show up. Simply running and staying with your man when a play has clearly gone elsewhere is not being the best you can be.

With that in mind, some defensive backs may not actually be aware of ways they can become a factor in the contest even when “their man” is not being thrown the ball.

(1) Have Good Coverage

Well, first of all, you can affect the game by providing solid coverage especially on a team’s top wide receiver. Taking away a team’s top weapon can severely hamper the game plan for an offense. However, this doesn’t just apply to man coverage. When you are in a zone, be where you are supposed to be consistently. Abandoning your zone to do someone else’s job is not the way to go. Being in your area and communicating well to your teammates can put them in the proper place as well. This can either set your teammates up for an interception or in most cases, set the front seven up for a sack. Either one of those results are a win for the defense and helps your team move closer to victory.

(2) Make Tackles

This seems elementary but some defensive backs, cornerbacks in particular, think their play is over the moment the ball is thrown or run somewhere else and not to their man. That is not the case. When the play goes away from you, it is time to leave your man, get to the football and make a play. Good things happen to those who run to the football. When a ball is completed or run elsewhere, there’s a chance that you can sprint to the football and scoop up a fumble before a member of the offense does. You never know when that fumble recovery turns into points that turns the game around. The next thing is getting off of blocks when the play comes your way and making tackles. For cornerbacks, just because your coach told you that you are sticking one man in particular in the game does not mean that you get to not doing anything else. Making no effort to defeat a block by the WR you are covering on a run play and allowing the ball carrier to get a first down is you not doing your job. It also sets up another chance for the offense to attack you and possibly get a key play in the game. There’s no joy in locking down your receiver if your team loses the game.

(3) Force Fumbles

Without a doubt, this is a huge way to affect the game. Anyone who watched Tyrann Mathieu play ball for LSU knows this. While offenses may have wanted to avoid him, they could not because Mathieu would show up on a run play, dig his hands into a ball carrier’s arms and rip the ball out. IN two seasons at LSU, Mathieu forced 11 fumbles and recovered eight of them. On top of that, he ran back two of those recovered fumbles for touchdowns in key games his final season. While teams were avoiding him, he didn’t just sit back and watch the rest of his teammates play, Mathieu ran into the middle of the action and either made tackles or caused fumbles. There are plenty of stats out there to suggest that a team that forces a fumble in a game wins a majority of them. The more, the merrier when it comes to fumbles.

Kicking back and taking the night off when plays aren’t coming directly at you is not the way to go. You only have but so many games each season and in your football playing career. Your mentality has to be go 100 mph every time your are blessed to take the field. Make the most of every contest and every opportunity. What you will learn once you adopt this mindset is that the ball has a way of coming to you when you hustle. Do all you can to get your team to victory.

This One Thing at Safety Can Help You Make More Plays

By: Chad Wilson
IG: @alleyesdbcamp

For the casual observer of the game of football and defense in particular, playing safety is easy. When folks compare what appears to be the job of a safety to that of a corner, the instant feeling is that it seems way easier than life on the island. I am here to tell you that it is not.

However, the purpose of this article is not to compare the two positions. For now just take my word on it when I say both positions are tough as hell to play especially in this day of age where everything, including the rules, are geared towards more offensive production.

What I will address in this article is one aspect of playing safety that many playing the position, including young ones, tend to neglect. That aspect is taking the proper angles. Many times, I see safeties getting wrapped up in what is happening in the backfield or directly in front of them and put themselves at a disadvantage when it comes time to execute their assignment.

One of the biggest places where this shows up is when playing coverages that require a safety to play deep like Covers 1, 3, 2 and 2 man. Focusing on Covers 2 and 2 man, it is important that safeties playing these coverages get depth on the hash when the ball is hiked so that in the event that a medium or deep pass is thrown, they are coming downhill or at worst, lateral to the thrown football to make a play. This seems elementary to most but here’s what happens.

Whether your defense requires you to read the release of the wide receivers or key the quarterback, many safeties get too distracted by what is happening and allow the action to slow down their pedal. When this happens, the safety fails to get the proper depth and then they are put at a disadvantage when the ball is thrown. Either their lack of depth now requires them to turn their back and run to the thrown ball or their angle to a medium throw is not what it should be and they have trouble defending the pass.

The trick in cover 2 and 2 man is to get enough depth to keep the routes being run underneath you and not allow them to get beyond your peripheral vision. Your peripheral vision is the part where you can see things out of the corner of your eye. If you allow the routes to close in on you too fast you will lose sight of one or more of the wide receivers. It’s almost like watching TV and having someone walk off the screen. If you can’t see them, you have no idea what they are doing.

When the safety loses vision of the wide receiver, he will then feel the pressure to open up towards that receiver. This opens him up to disregarding another route he may be responsible for. Often times this is all the quarterback is waiting for to make his throw. You open up left and he throws to right. If you are able to stay square longer on the hash then he has to hold the football and guess what you would do. The longer he holds the ball, the better chance the pass rush has to get to him and the longer the throw he has to make. The longer the throw, the more chance it would be off the mark and fall into your hands.

The same falls true for Covers 1 and 3 as a free safety as it requires you to have a deep middle of the field. Getting your proper depth there allows all the routes to stay in front of your and in your view. Now when the ball is thrown, you can take a more solid angle towards the ball to make a play on it.

So as you are practicing and playing coverages that require you to be deep, focus on doing just that. Get your depth in these coverages and watch how much easier it is for you to move towards the thrown passes and make plays. This will work. I guarantee it.

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5 Sure Fire Ways DBs Can Improve in Practice

BY: Chad Wilson
IG: @alleyesdbcamp

Practice, practice, practice. It makes perfect as they say. This could also mean that practicing wrong can make you perfectly wrong when game time comes. We don’t want that right? In this article, I will talk about five things defensive backs can do in practice to make it perfect in a positive way.

Right now, most of you are in the middle of practices daily for the games coming up on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I played this game so I know that practices can get monotonous, aka “boring” (file that way for your ACT / SAT exam). Going through the same drills, periods and plays every day can lull you to sleep, stunt your progress and lead to poor performance. That will happen only if you let it. Here are five ways to avoid this taking place with you.

(1) Bring Energy

Sure this sounds simple enough but make it a focus. Regardless of how you feel that day, if you are going to practice, make it a point to do it with energy. There are 24 hours in a day and practice is only two hours of it. If you can’t get hyped and focused for two hours then success is far away from you. Speak to yourself in the locker room as you get dressed. Don’t listen to the teammates that are saying they don’t feel like practicing. Joining in on those conversations will sap your energy from you. In fact, encourage them to bring energy with you to today’s practice. They may not like you doing that at first but when it yields positive results, they’ll change their mind.

(2) Set Goals

Most guys set goals for the season. That’s a big long term goal. Studies show that the best way to achieve long term goals is to set up short term goals to keep you on course. By setting goals for each practice, you give yourself something to reach for. Reaching for something keeps you focused and engaged. This will undoubtedly lead to better practices. Better practices lead to better games and that will certainly help you achieve your season long goals. So, take 5-10 minutes out of your day to set goals for that day’s practice. Say to yourself stuff like, I want at least one interception today, I want zero coverage busts or I want to touch the ball carrier on every play in the team period. Those are just examples but imagine wanting to be able to look back at the end of practice and say you accomplished most or all of those. Make practice goals.

(3) Take Mental Reps

This is where a lot of guys fall short. The only time most players are engaged and focused are when they are either in the drill or in the period taking reps. Some of the best learning you will do in practice is from watching others and listening to the coaches. Some guys are really good at certain drills. Watching them perform them while you are waiting for your turn can help you learn what you need to do to improve. Other times, there are players doing things wrong. Watching them and then listening to the coach correct them will prevent you from making the same mistakes when it’s your turn and wasting your reps. (ps, it angers your coach to have to repeat himself to multiple players). Learn while you wait by observing others.

(4) Focus on Detail

When it comes to playing defensive back, success comes from executing the little things. Having your eyes in the right place, placing your hands in a specific spot on a WR and using your feet in a certain way can make the difference in you being an inch away from an interception or actually making the play that wins the game. Focusing on the small details in every technique being taught or coverage being explained will eliminate all those inches that you will will be short of come game time. The more you execute the details, the more efficient and faster you will be on game day.

(5) Stay After Practice

Last but not least stay late and put in work. The best way to master a skill is to repeat it over and over again. How do you think you learned how to tie your shoes or ride a bike? Yes, you guessed it by doing it over and over again. The same applies to your defensive back technique. Is there something you are struggling with constantly? Help yourself by staying after practice for 10-15 minutes each day to improve. Is there a technique that is crucial to playing the kind of defense your team is running? Then stay after so that you can master it to the point of doing it without thinking or your eyes closed. Doing this after practice will make you better during practice which in turn makes you lights out when the game comes.

In closing, everyone wants the glory but few want the pain. Giving it your all in practice using these five things as a guide will 100% make your practices better. If you want the praise and the clout for being a baller on game day then you have to take the steps during the week to make that a reality. Give these things a try and let me know how it works out for you.

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Doing This In Practice Keeps You From Being a Great DB

By: Chad Wilson
IG: @alleyesdbcamp

We’re talking about practice. The word and term practice took on a whole new meaning when former NBA great Allen Iverson went on a rant in front of reporters about the lack of importance of practice.

Many misunderstood Iverson’s rant as blowing off practice as a key ingredient to success. Iverson was often misunderstood during his playing days. I’m obviously not here to try and tell you what was in Iverson’s head but for any of your familiar with it and took it the way that it was widely interpreted, I am here to tell you don’t do that.

Practice is an important element to a player and team’s success. In anything in life, preparation is key and that most definitely relates to the game of football. However, let’s not just skim the surface of that statement in this article. For defensive backs, there are some parts of practice that are more fun than others. 7-on-7 is probably the most fun, followed by team pass period and some contact loving safeties enjoy inside run if they are involved in it. However, in both my playing and coaching career, I have learned that the individual period is the part of practice that is most commonly disliked. That sucks you know why? Because the individual period is the most important part of practice.

Here are some of the reasons why players don’t like it. It’s early in the practice and you aren’t fully into things yet. The drills can be tiring. It often involves much of the same drills every day so it’s boring. The coach is typically able to watch everything you are doing as opposed to other periods where you may get away with being lazy. Here are the reasons why the “indy” period, as it is called, is the most important. It gets your juices flowing so you can perform to your best for the rest of practice. The drills build the strength and endurance of the muscles you need to develop. It allows you to practice drills repeatedly so that you can master them for the game situations. You get more attention from the coach therefore you are getting the best and most intense coaching of practice during this period.

I was a player once. I had those days when I was not looking forward to the indy period. However, I can say that I typically liked it more than most players. I realized early on that it was a chance for me to master certain skills to the point of not having to think about them in other parts of practice and more importantly in games. I did not like having too many things to think about in the game. The more singular my focus, the faster I was able to play.

Once I became a coach, the individual period took on a whole new meaning. As a coach, you see a whole lot of things your players can and need to improve on. This is the case even when you have a group of All Americans. As a coach, it is often a fight to get enough time in the schedule for your indy period. You are trying to correct as many of the mistakes in techniques that you can with a limited amount of time. I am here to tell you that there is never enough time when you are a coach. When the horn sounds to end the period, you always come away feeling like you didn’t get it all done. Therefore, you tend to get really pissed off when a player or players either go through the drills half assed or just plain mess them up wasting the limited time you do have.

If you want to end up on your coach’s bad side, try “dicking around” (that’s a legal football term) during his indy period. If your coach has a viable replacement for you, he will definitely look into using him. Your technique and knowledge of the system is a direct reflection on your coach. The individual period is where he teaches that the most. If you don’t look good, he does not look good and he will have to eventually get you out of there or severely limit your role.

If you want to reach your peak as a player, you have to take your individual period seriously. Play whatever mind game you have to with yourself to love it. What you do repeatedly in the individual drills and period is what you will eventually become. Going through the motions in your drills during the indy period will eventually make you a mediocre, half assed, going through the motions player. It’s only a matter of time before it catches up to you. If you want to be the best then seek a way to improve on those drills each and every time you do them. You can back pedal smoother, you can get out of your breaks faster and you can definitely catch the ball more consistently even if this is your 10th year playing the game. Start doing that from now and watch how consistency will start breeding results.

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Safeties Need This One Thing Over Everything Else

By: Chad Wilson – All Eyes DB Camp

I have written several articles about safeties and what it takes to be elite in this blog. Playing safety isn’t just about one thing but there is this one thing that I would take over everything else if I had to boil it down to just one. This article is about that one thing.

When people think about safety play they usually think about one of two things and that is either ball hawking or hard hitting. Don’t get me wrong, having those two things are definitely a part of making a player elite at the position . However, I am talking about that one thing you need over everything else. Furthermore, having those two things I just mentioned are born out of the one thing I say you need over all the others and that is intelligence.

You can be the hardest hitter and have the best hands but if you don’t know where to line up, where to go to and what is coming, those things are literally useless. You won’t often find yourself in position to get that big hit on a ball carrier or wide receiver without intelligence. Furthermore, lack of intelligence may cause you to hit a player the wrong way or go for the big hit instead of the pick. Lack of intelligence will often have you in the wrong spot so those great hands that you have won’t see the kind of action that could help your team much.

There’s nothing worse than a defense that can’t line up right in the secondary or continuously busts coverage. While coverages can get busted for a number of reasons, they seem to get busted less often when a safety or both safeties are working with a high IQ. Many times corners get zeroed in on what’s right in front of them. After all, their job could demand that they get in a WRs face and be everywhere he goes. That can make their focus very microscopic and they may miss things. That’s when a safety has to come in and give the alerts, check the coverages and redirect a cornerback’s focus.

Of all the positions in the secondary (corner, nickel and safety) playing safety can be the most difficult one for a freshman. Safeties are literally the last line of defense and must make sure that everyone is lined up right and alert them of what may be coming. This should be an indication to you that experience and intelligence is key when playing safety.

So how do you acquire this intelligence? The same way you acquire all intelligence and that is through study. Some safeties have been playing football for such a long time that they can pick things up cerebrally. Other safeties may have spent some time playing on the offensive side of the ball so they can recognize the movement of an offense and figure out what is coming. Whether you have these traits or not, you can certainly do yourself some big favors by studying your opponent and offenses in general.

Studying your opponent allows you to pick up on their tendencies and give your teammates a clue of what’s coming. You must know your team’s playbook inside and out. You also have to know the game plan each week. A safety fully aware of the game plan is a defensive coordinator’s best friend. After all, the rules don’t allow the defensive coordinator to be on the field with you so guess who’s the coordinator? The safety. There may be times where the coordinator has made a mistake or the offense has done something unexpected. A high IQ safety can fix it on the fly simply by knowing the game plan, the opponent and the playbook.

Having the ability to make the quick changes, notice the movements of the offense and what the entire unit should do about it makes everyone better. Most of all, it makes the safety better and thus he’s able to make more plays consistently. Kansas City’s Tyrann Mathieu is not out there balling off of his elite speed and outstanding measurables. His 5’9″ stature and mid 4.5 speed is not what athletic freaks are made of. What allows the “Honey Badger” to be everywhere the ball is located is his elite football IQ. If his play doesn’t inspire all players short and tall to crack open the playbook and rev up the film study then being elite is just not your thing.

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When Studying Film, Don’t Forget the Quarterback

By: Chad Wilson – All Eyes DB Camp

First of all, let’s hope you are studying film. If you aren’t doing that then you can go ahead and start counting the days until your defensive back / linebacker career is over. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about a crucial part to the game that a lot of guys fail to study and that’s the quarterback.

Often times in our studies of the opponent, we get caught up in formation study, down and distance recognition, route combinations and releases by the wide receivers for my press man junkies. Lost in all the film prep can be the guy who calls the plays in the huddle. Guess who makes the whole thing go on that side of the ball. Yes, the quarterback. He’s the one with all the girls, money and responsibility. As he goes usually so goes the offense.

Quarterbacks are under a tremendous about of pressure every game. As such, they need certain comforts and security blankets. Finding out what those things are so that you can get a clue or take them away from him can upset his flow and give yourself an advantage. Studying the quarterback intensely can reveal little things that may seem silly at first glance but could be very important. There have been quarterbacks who will lick their fingers on pass plays. There are others that will look two or three times during the cadence to the side they want to throw to while only looking once to the other side. Little silly things like that can mean an awful lot during the course of a game.

Once in studying an opponent as a coach, I noticed that a certain highly productive quarterback was only comfortable throwing to his right. It was astonishing to watch and I didn’t want to believe it. However, after five game films of seeing the same thing, I was forced to believe it. Every time the ball got to the right hash, the coach would call a run play, jet sweep or quick screen to get the ball back over to the left hash so they could run their pass offense. Off of that nugget, I dialed up edge pressure consistently off the left when the ball was on the right hash along with a couple cloud coverages and corner blitzes to ruin the screen and jet sweep game. It worked and the QB had a bad day.

Sure, all of the other things I mentioned need to be studied but the most important guy in pads on the offensive team is going to be the quarterback. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t develop a book on what he likes and dislikes. Knowing these things can help you formulate a game plan that makes him uncomfortable and the entire offensive unit inefficient. Pressure in the face or off the edge can rattle certain quarterbacks. Other QBs may stare down wide receivers all the time or in certain situations. Do your best to crack the case and find what makes him tick. The prize may just be a big time defensive performance vs. a guy who never saw it coming.

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4 Keys to Covering the Back Out of the Backfield

By: Chad Wilson – All Eyes DB Camp

One of the most menacing things to defenses over the last few seasons has been the running back’s involvement in the passing game. If you’re playing a ton of zone, he becomes a check down that runs for first downs. Play him man to man and with one wrong move he could go 80 yards for a touchdown. This article will show you how to protect yourself from the latter.

As we all saw on Sunday, San Francisco’s Raheem Mostert toasted the Arizona defense for 71 yards on a simple route out of the backfield. Of note was Arizona having super athletic “defensive player’ rookie Isaiah Simmons covering Mostart man to man. No matter how athletic you are, if you aren’t deploying the proper technique vs. a route running back, you will have major issues. The principles I am going to detail for you in this article are easier said than done, however, there are few, if any alternatives. When mastered and executed properly, your value as a defensive player rises dramatically.

(1) Stay Square to the Line of Scrimmage

This one is the hardest of the four. The reason for that is that it takes courage. Having a back screaming out of the backfield at you without the ability to open early and match his speed down the field is nerve wracking. However, opening early and closing yourself off to one side or the other is what the back feasts on. Many of the routes out of the backfield are option routes. So when you open to the left, they go right and vice versa. The longer you can stay square and patient, the longer you delay his decision and ruin the spacing + timing of the route.

You can achieve this objective in two ways. First you can set up and shuffle side to side as the back approaches according to his left to right movement. This is more of a “catch technique”. I recommend this for the more physical types. The other method is the “scooch method” where you give ground slowly while staying relatively square. This allows you to buy time and attempt to close on any breaking route while giving yourself some insurance against a route that goes vertical. I will expand on the details of the scooch technique in a future article. I recommend this technique for guys who have good feet and may be a little less physical than say a hardcore linebacker. Ultimately, you defeat the wide amount of space the back has by remaining square in it. A soccer goalie does not defend the wide net by facing one way or the other. He defends it by staying square until the ball is kicked.

(2) Think Contact

Whether you are using the catch or scooch technique, the mindset should be make contact. If you are in high school or college where the rules of play are different then the contact you seek can be more intense. If you are a pro where contact beyond 5 yards is frowned upon then you will have to adjust your technique slightly. Either way, if you don’t have the mindset of “make contact” then you will undoubtedly open too early and allow the back to play you. By that I mean he will most often attack your back and spin you around putting you in bad position. To make contact you have to think “contact” like a baseball player in the batter’s box. If he doesn’t think contact, there’s a good chance he’ll bail out of the box and won’t have any chance of striking the ball with his bat.

(3) Use Your Help

This is where knowing the coverage and the situation comes in. It’s also how smart football players win in the game of football. Each coverage has it’s help built in. Cover 1 has help in the post and sometimes in the low hole. 2 Man has help over the top on either hash. Bracket coverage has help either inside or outside. Even cover 0 has help in that the ball must come out quickly. A dumb defender lines up without knowing where the help is. A smart one is aware of it and guides the back to that help. For instance, a player knowing he will have a robber in the middle of the field could stay square but on the outside shoulder of the back releasing. This should induce an inside release where you can now squeeze the back to the robber forcing a pinpoint throw by the QB or offensive disaster will ensue. A defender with no inside help should switch to inside leverage and force the longer throw to the sidelines.

(4) Maintain Eye Discipline

Finally, the most important of them all. Keep your eyes low. This is also hard to do but ultra critical. As a play unfolds and there is such a delay before the back reaches you. It is difficult not to peek at the QB or raise your eyes to the head and shoulders of the running back. I understand all of that but I am here to tell you “DON’T DO IT!” The moment your eyes get high, get ready to get ran by. Keeping your eyes low on the hip of the back allows you to zero in your focus and react quicker to his change of direction. This puts you in better position to mirror him, get close and make contact. Once your eyes start rising you start seeing too many things. You will be mesmerized by what may be unfolding behind the running back. You will be caught up in the head and shoulder fakes that move much faster than a hip. It will also lead to panic. If you can train your eyes to get low and stay low at least until contact then you will see a dramatic increase your ability to cover backs out of the backfield.

As I said, these things are easier said than done but if it were easy then anyone could do it. Like all skills on the football field, they will require some extra time, effort and drilling to master. However, master it you must if you want to be elite.

Check out this clip of Simmons in coverage vs. Mostert and ask yourself based on this article what things he could’ve done better.

I have more information on catch technique and man coverage + more in my Member’s Area. I highly recommend that you join if you are serious about reaching your potential as a defensive back. It’s well worth the investment. Click here to join.

Dynamic Duos: Troy Vincent & Bobby Taylor

Sometimes you just have to go hire guys to help you out with a problem. No this is not the beginning of the script to a mafia movie but back in the 90’s the Philadelphia Eagles, along with the rest of the league, was getting hit mob style by some guys from Texas. To handle the problem they had to go get some guys and that’s who we’re going to talk about in this article today.

The 90’s were known as the Cowboys era in the NFL. Three times from 1990-1999, the Cowboys raised the Lombardi Trophy and popped the champagne. There were many strong elements to those Cowboy football teams but the trio known as the triplets (Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin) got the attention. It was rightfully so given how well they produced. Another important part of those Cowboy championship teams was wide receiver Alvin Harper. Harper combined with Irvin to provide a formidable force out wide that forced teams to keep safeties back to handle their downfield prowess. Irvin checked in at 6’2″ 207 lbs. and was easily the most physical wide receiver in the league. Harper was 6’3″ 210 lbs. and made a living just taking the ball off the top of the head of defensive backs.

Front and center for all of this greatness were the Philadelphia Eagles who watched their fellow NFC East foe consistently win the division and everything else. After three straight seasons of this, Philly started acquiring talent to match the problem. Most notably was upgrading the size of their cornerbacks to deal with the basketball team Dallas was working with every Sunday.

In 1995, Philadelphia Eagles drafted Bobby Taylor a 6’3″ cornerback out of Notre Dame in the 2nd round. Taylor was not a guy that racked up a lot of INTs for the Fighting Irish (5 career total) but he was remarkably athletic for his size and would thus serve the purpose for the Eagles. Taylor would pay immediate dividends providing tough coverage on future Hall of Famer Michael Irvin in their matchups his rookie season. Overall, he was solid as a rookie totaling two interceptions and bringing a tough bump and run presence to Philly. The problem for the Eagles as it pertained to their nemesis the Cowboys was that while Taylor was the tallest cornerback in the league and up for the task with one of the Cowboys’ wide receivers, the corner opposite of him, Mark McMillan was the shortest in the league at 5’7″. McMillan, who had a solid career, was at a disadvantage against either Harper of Irvin. With that in mind, the Eagles moved to gain another important piece.

In 1996, Philadelphia picked up Troy Vincent in free agency after a solid start to his career with the Miami Dolphins. Vincent at 6’1″ 200 lbs. was built for the task. Already a tough bump and run style corner, Vincent was coming off back to back five interception seasons and was full of confidence. Together with Taylor, Vincent and the Eagles finally started putting the clamps on the Cowboys offensive attack. What Philadelphia found is that Vincent and Taylor weren’t just good against Dallas, they were good versus everybody. This dynamic duo started making big cornerbacks a thing in the NFL.

After a couple of seasons of Taylor battling injuries, Vincent and Taylor really began their strong run in 1999. In the first year keeping the statistic “passes defensed” both Vincent and Taylor appeared in the top 20 in the statistic. In 2000, the duo had their finest season together. Vincent was third in the league with 22 passes defensed to go along with 5 interceptions. Taylor was 6th in the league in passes defensed with 20 and added 3 interceptions. They spearheaded the defense for a Philadelphia team that finished 11-5 and made it to the second round of the playoffs. 2001 saw their strong play continue with Vincent leading the league with 27 PBUs and Taylor adding 17. The pair would go on to play solid defense for the Eagles for two more seasons before going their separate ways. Vincent and Taylor’s success led to a trend of cornerbacks becoming bigger and taller in the NFL. Before there was a Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, there was Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor.

Check out other dynamic duos like this one on Sam Madison and Pat Surtain

3 Things Great DBs Must Have

So you want to be a great defensive back right? Well, as I have told you in countless articles on this site, it’s going to take some hard work. Playing DB is not easy but the thrill that comes with the success one achieves by mastering the position has few equals in the feeling department.

Defensive backs have thrived at the position with all kinds of different attributes. Some have been tall, others not so tall. Some have been vicious hitters, while others would just get you to the ground without trying to end your career. Despite the contrasts in tools and styles, there are some things that I have found to be constant in all of the defensive backs that we have called great. In the interest of giving this article a focus, I have narrowed down those tools to three of what I have found to be the most important.

(1) Athletic

Notice I did not say fast. However, I am not saying slow either. There have been some great defensive backs that have not had World class speed (far from it). This does not mean that they weren’t athletic. You simply can’t be at the top of playing this position and not be athletic. Typically the guys who weren’t fast had some solid change of direction or leaping ability. These things fall under the category of being athletic. Chasing a wide receiver around the field requires that you not be born with two left feet. Having outstanding speed will certainly be a major plus but being athletic is an absolute must. What you will find out about many defensive backs is that they played multiple sports in high school and many of them were exceptional in another sport other than football. If you are going to defend the air ways you have to have some bounce to you.

(2) Awareness

Can you survive at defensive back without awareness? Yes you can but you won’t ever be called great. You can be a hyper-athletic speed guy that the rest of the secondary or some coach will have to babysit. This kind of player will eventually drain the energy of the people around him and will get called a bust. Deion Sanders, Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed, Charles Woodson, Rod Woodson, Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman, you name it, all would get high marks in the area of awareness. Some of these guys were all time athletes but didn’t choose to just rely on that. They coupled that athleticism with outstanding instincts to be in the right place at the right time. Some others on the list of names I just rattled off had some physical shortcomings but made up for it with a football IQ that was off the charts. You simply can’t be the best at this game without knowing what’s going on around you. Athletic talent can only take you so far.

(3) Ball Skills

The easy thing to put as the third skill would be something heroic like a “tremendous burning desire to win.” That sounds good when said with a deep voice over a symphonic melody. That kind of stuff goes without saying for all players. I wanted to be specific to playing the position of defensive back. As such, great defensive backs have really good ball skills. How many times have you been frustrated with a player who doesn’t get his head around on deep balls or makes a habit out of dropping can’t drop interceptions. This does not happen with great defensive backs. Many of the greats could have made a living playing wide receiver. Even the ones who don’t or didn’t have 5 star hands, at least know how to track the ball and get a hand on it so that the wide receiver they are covering can’t. Ball skills don’t just involve the actual catching of the ball but also involve tracking and judging the ball as it arrives. Guys who struggle with that eventually have to find another position or sport.

So that’s it. Now ask yourself how you measure up in those very important defensive back skills? Whether you have a shortage in those areas or not, you need to be making sure that you continue to work on those skills. The good thing about these three skills is that they are things you can control. I did not say you needed to be tall or have exceptional speed. Those things might be hard for you to obtain from a genetic standpoint. Everything I mentioned in this article can be achieved if you are willing to put in the sweat equity to obtain it. Time to get to work.

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