Drill: Roll-Over
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Photo by Craig Jones Getty Images |
Now we are ready to introduce a receiver into the action to teach defensive backs the additional skills they will need to play man-to-man pass defense.
The next important skill is to know and recognize the different patterns that a receiver may be trying to run. The defensive back also must understand the importance of keeping a cushion (not allowing the receiver to get too close to him) during the play, and he must know how and when to leave his backpedal to cover the pattern run by the receiver.
Drill: Pattern Depth Recognition
There are distinct depths in which pass patterns are run by the wide receivers or the right end: short (up to five yards), medium (6 to 12 yards), and deep (more than 12 yards).
Drill: Short Pattern Recognition
In order to do this, the defensive back first must have been taught the names of each pattern he will see. When conducting ht drill, on of the defensive backs will serve as the tight end or wide receiver and will run the patterns called for by the coach. This no only gives the defensive back a proper pattern to see but also teaches the man playing offense the patterns.
By forcing the defensive back to point and call out the name of the pattern, it becomes an easy matter for the coach to tell which defensive players actually are concentrating and recognizing the patterns run.
This drill is set up in the same way as the short-area drill, except now the defensive back must call out the patterns to be run in the medium area (6 to 12 yards). Once again, the player running the pattern, which is called by the coach, will be another defensive back. Remember, these are not coverage drills; they are recognition drills. But the defensive back still should keep his cushion and stay on the proper shoulder when doing the drill. It is not necessary for the receiver to run at full speed right away. As the players' recognition of each pattern improves, the speed of the drill may be increased.
Drill: Deep Pattern Recognition
Once a defensive back has learned to start properly, to backpedal both straight and at an angle, and once he has demonstrated that he can focus on a receiver and recognize the pattern being run, he must learn the proper method of leaving his backpedal, changing his momentum, and running to cover the pattern.
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Man-to-Man Technique
The first skill a defensive back must learn is that he cannot allow the man he is covering to get square (directly in front) on him. Based on the coverage called, the defensive back always must shade the receiver on one side or the other.
At the start of each play, a defensive back must understand that he does not have to think about all the different patterns that an offensive receiver may run at him. Instead, he can brake the patterns down by the depth at which they are fun, concentrating on recognizing only those patters that are run in a certain area.
This drill teaches defensive backs the different patterns a wide receiver or tight end may run in the short area (up to five yards). We want each defensive back, whether a safety or cornerback, not only to recognize the pattern, but also to call out the pattern verbally the instant he recognizes it.
Drill: Medium Pattern Recognition
As soon as the defensive backs have mastered the ability to recognize and call out short and medium patterns, move on to deep-pattern recognition (more than 12 yards). Because we do not want the defensive player to be forced out of his backpedal in this drill, it is crucial in the beginning that the receiver not run at full speed. As in the previous drills, the defensive man in coverage should point out and callout the pass pattern the instant he recognizes it. It is possible that the defensive player will call out two patterns ("post" - "post corner, corner"- "up, up-comeback" - "comeback"). By doing this, the defensive player learns that one pattern is run after the start of another pattern, and sees exactly what the difference is in the running of the two patterns. Remember to change the location of the ball as the drills are run, and to have the free safeties as well as the strong safeties cover the tight ends to learn their patterns.
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The techniques we have covered--stance, start, backpedal, and angle backpedal--all are necessary for a defensive back to master if he is to have success in playing either man-to-man (one-on-one coverage) or zone (assigned area of responsibility) pass defense. These are techniques that can and should be practiced without a receiver in the drill.
In this drill, the defensive back lines up seven yards away from the receiver (played by one of the defensive backs). At the coach's command of "Hit!" the receiver comes off the line, running straight up the field. The defensive back starts his backpedal and calls out the different areas as the receiver runs through them; "short, short, short" for the first five yards, "medium, medium, medium" for yards 6 through 12, and "deep, deep, deep" for the remainder of the run. This is not a coverage drill, but the defensive back should try to keep at least three yards between himself and the receiver during the entire play, and he should attempt to stay on one shoulder or the other of the receiver.
The defensive back must understand that he is looking only for the patterns that are run in the medium area. The instant the defensive player recognizes the pattern, he should point in the direction the receiver is running and call out the proper name of the pattern.
Copyright © Thomas L. Bass 2006. All rights reserved.
The defensive back lines up seven yards from the line of scrimmage. At the start of the play, he begins his backpedal, moving straight back. The instant he knows the pattern, he should point in the direction that the receiver is going and call out the proper name of the pattern.
Finally, the defensive back must realize, when playing man-to-man pass defense, that he must focus on the man he is assigned to cover and that he can look for the ball only when he is breaking with the receiver and is close enough to reach out and touch him.
The focus of the drill is to teach the defensive back to roll over the foot in the direction that he needs to go, rather than planting a foot, stopping his momentum, and stepping in that direction. Starting five yards apart, the coach will give the command "Hit!" and the player will start moving straight back in his backpedal. After the player has covered 10 yards, the coach will point in the direction that he desires the player to run. The coach either will point straight out to his right or left, indicate a deeper angle to the left or right, or have the player come directly back to him. When the defensive back sees the direction that the coach is pointing, he immediately must lean in the direction he desires to go, roll over the foot in that direction, and begin running straight ahead at full speed. In the usual practice sequence, this drill immediately follows the angle backpedal drill.
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