Scoring on Defense

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Every college football fan in the country knows that today, November 17, 2016,  Alabama is #1 in the College Football Playoff rankings and Ohio State is #2.  What the average fan might not know is that these two programs are also #1 and #2 in the country in defensive touchdowns scored, with Alabama scoring ten TDs on defense and Ohio State scoring six. Sure these programs have incredible athletes, but that’s not the only reason they are scoring on defense at a higher rate than the rest of the country.  Urban Meyer, the Head Football Coach at Ohio State, attributes his team’s defensive scoring success to the fact that they place extreme emphasis on scoring on defense.²  I couldn’t agree more and in this blog I’ll discuss a couple of simple ways to emphasize scoring on defense.

Terminology is one way a program can place emphasis on scoring on defense.  How, you ask. I’ll give you an example.  When I played football the term we used to communicate an interception on the field was Bingo.  Bingo meant nothing to me other than what I was supposed to yell when I intercepted a pass.  Today, I teach use of the term Score when we intercept a pass.  Score has meaning that a player can easily connect with. Not only does it tell the rest of the team you have the ball, so go block for you; it also tells you that now your job is to score a touchdown.  Score is a term used throughout every drill in practice and we reinforce the term with phrases like “we’re never satisfied with just a take away, we must score,” or “the offense never practices tackling, so there is no way they should be able to tackle us.” An original catchphrase I like to use with players I coach goes like this, anytime I shout “the ball is in the air,” they must respond “it’s mine,” thus reinforcing emphasis on taking the ball from the offense.

Positive reinforcement is another way to place emphasis on scoring on defense. For example, Alabama has a belt, similar in appearance to a boxing champion belt, that comes to practice with and hangs in the locker of the player who is responsible for the most takeaways.¹

Alabama and Ohio State sit atop the polls today largely due to their scoring defenses. Defensive coaches can and should place exceptional emphasis on scoring on defense and two easy ways to accomplish this are (1) through terminology and (2) through positive reinforcement.

References:

¹Lupoi, T. (2016, June). Alabama Defense. Speech presented at San Angelo Coaching Clinic, San Angelo.

²Seger, E. (2016). Inside The Process Ohio State Took To Make Returning Interceptions For Touchdowns Such A Frequent Act. Retrived from  http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2016/11/76412/inside-the-process-ohio-state-took-to-make-returning-interceptions-for-touchdowns-such-a-frequent-act

Leadership - A Must Have Attribute

Last week I read a college football coach vacancy announcement online.  The minimum requirements listed in the announcement included the following:

·  The ability to maintain discipline…

·  Thorough knowledge of NCAA rules and regulations…

·  Be able to make informed decisions…

·  Demonstrated ability to maintain and protect the fiscal integrity…

·  Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain positive and professional relationships…

·  Demonstrated ability to work effectively with individuals…

Certainly all of these are valid football coach requirements, but I couldn’t help feel that arguably the most important requirement, leadership, was missing.

In this week’s blog, I’ll provide two definitions of leadership and briefly discuss how they relate to coaching college football.  I’ll close this blog with my own original definition of leadership as it pertains to coaching college football.

Definition #1: Arguably the leading authority on leadership, the US Army, defines leadership as “influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.”² Leadership is at the core of what college football coaches do daily and the demonstrated ability to lead others should be the single most desirable attribute of a college football coach.  If a coach can adequately articulate purpose and adequately motivate players, he’ll be on the road to coaching success.

Urban Meyer, Head Football Coach, Ohio State University

Definition #2: Urban Meyer, in his book Above the Line, masterfully states that “leadership is influence based on trust that is earned,” and goes on to describe a leader as “someone who earns trust, sets a clear standard, and then equips and inspires people to meet the standard.”¹  While similar to the Army definition, Coach Meyer adds and emphasizes trust, meaning that when a coach shows the player he genuinely cares about him as a person, the coach earns trust and thereafter has a much greater ability to inspire that player.

My Definition: Leadership, in my own words as it pertains to coaching college football, is a coach's ability to get players to want to do what is required. Many people have ability to, through a variety of tactics, get a player to put forth tremendous effort, for example. It is a totally different thing to get a player to understand why tremendous effort is required and to genuinely want/desire to put forth tremendous effort.

However you define leadership, it is an essential attribute of the college football profession and, in my humble opinion, should be included as a minimum requirement for any college football coach vacancy announcement.

References:

¹Meyer, U. (2015). Above The Line. New York, NY: Penguin Press

 ²United States (1999). Army Leadership, Field Manual 22-100, Washington, DC: Headquarters, Dept. of the Army. 

Man-Press Technique Part 2 of 2

This is part two, of my two-part blog, on Man-Press Coverage.  Part one covered alignment, stance, key and start.  Part two will cover eye discipline, hip movement, hand placement, the kick-step, the mirror technique, playing the hands, and playing the ball.

·  Eye Discipline: The defender’s eyes are focused solely on the inside hip of the receiver until the receiver raises his hands to catch the football.¹

·  Hip Movement: When the receiver releases off the line of scrimmage he will have to open his hips either inside or outside because the defender’s body position will prevent him from releasing vertically up the field.  The defender opens his hips in the same direction the receiver opens his being sure not to open to such a degree that the receiver has an unobstructed vertical release up the field. ¹

·  Hand Placement: Simultaneous to opening his hips, the defender raises his off-hand (if opening to the right it would be his left hand) with his thumb facing upward and elbow locked in full extension, aiming his hand toward the chest of the receive and ultimately allowing the receiver to run into his locked hand/arm.  The defender immediately drops the arm after contact with the receiver.  When executed properly the defender will now be his arm-length distance up field of the receiver. ¹

·  The Kick-Step: Once the defender opens his hips he must be prepared to move in the same direction as the receiver without crossing his feet, he does this using a single shuffle motion, referred to as a kick-step.  The kick-step enables the defender to be in position to respond if the receiver tries to change direction and/or cross his face. ²

·  The Mirror Technique: Once the receiver has declared his release and the defender is running with him, the defender’s eyes remain pierced on the receivers inside hip, the defender mirrors any and all receiver hip and feet movement. So, if the receiver dips his hips, the defender dips his hips.  When the receiver gathers his feet, the defender gathers his feet.  When the receiver breaks, the defender breaks, etc.¹

·  Playing the Hands: When the ball is thrown to the receiver, the receiver must stop using his hands to help run and move them into position to catch the ball. The defender will see this action, because the receiver's hands pass his hips while running, and when he does he thrusts his hand(s) between the receiver’s hands prohibiting the receiver from catching the football.¹

·  Playing the Ball: There are situations where the defender earns the right to look back for the ball instead of playing the hands.  One such situation would be when the defender is in-control of the receiver.  Being in-control is defined as the defender having his hip in front of the receiver’s hip and the defender having body contact with the receiver.  When in-control, the defender can look back for the ball with the intent to catch it while maintaining body contact with the receiver so he can detect any fading off or back shoulder throw action.² This technique is sometimes referred to as leaning into the receiver, although the leaning in is not always literal rather it simply means to maintain physical contact with the receiver.

It should be noted here that what I’ve described above is general technique that can be, and often is, altered depending on a litany of variables to include athletic ability, body size/style, field position, the game situation, opponent tendencies, etc. When executed properly, the Man-Press technique described in this two-part blog will lead to consistent effective coverage and improved overall pass-defense.

References:

¹Bedford, V. (2015, June).  Texas Secondary Play. Speech presented at San Angelo Coaching Clinic, San Angelo.

²Martin, D. (2015, April). UCLA Secondary Play. Speech presented at UCLA Coaches Clinic, Los Angeles 

Man-Press Technique Part 1 of 2

In previous blogs I’ve discussed establishing philosophy in a college football program, how to ascertain required effort from within a college football program, provided suggestions on how to create easy to learn terminology, provided a five-step process to acquiring correct pre-snap alignment and executing proper assignments, described tackling techniques, and described block defeat techniques. In this week’s blog I’ll discuss the man-press coverage technique. Man-press is an approach to man coverage wherein the covering defender, typically a defensive back, is aligned near the line of scrimmage and directly across from the receiver he's assigned to cover intending to disrupt the timing of the opponent's passing game by dictating the receivers release.¹ At the snap of the ball the defender covers, or follows closely, the receiver intending to prevent the receiver from catching any passes thrown to or near him. In part one of this two-part blog I'll describe the man-press defender's alignment, stance, key, and start.

·  Alignment: The defender aligns himself slightly inside the receivers he’s assigned to cover and approximately a yard and a half off, or down field, of the receiver.³ I teach defenders to put their nose on the receiver's inside eye to help establish the correct inside shade alignment.

Proper Man-Press alignment and stance²

·  Stance: The defender stands across from the receiver with his feet armpit width apart, his weight evenly distributed on the inside balls of both feet, his knees are slightly bent to the point that his knees are directly over his toes, he bends at the waist on a 45 degree angle to the point that his shoulders are over his knees, his back is flat, his elbows are bent slightly, his hands are relaxed and head is up facing the receiver. When properly executed this stance results in the defenders nose over his toes.²

·  Key:  The key for any defender playing man coverage his assigned man.  Prior to the snap, the defender locks his eyes onto the inside hip of the receiver.  That hip becomes the defenders pre-snap key, i.e. what he is looking at just before and after the snap to help him determine what technique he will employ to accomplish his assignment.

·  Start:  Now that the defender is properly aligned and in the proper stance with his eyes on his key he is ready for the ball to be snapped and for the receiver to release from the line of scrimmage. The defenders starts by taking a four inch hop-step backwards moving his feet outward to shoulder width, leaving the rest of the defender's body staying generally in the stance position.

It should be noted here that what I’ve described above is general technique that can be, and often is, altered depending on a litany of variables to include personnel ability, field position, the game situation, opponent tendencies etc. In part 2 of this blog, I will describe the technique involved in playing man-press coverage after the start which will include; hip movement, hand placement, the kick-step, eye discipline, the mirror technique and playing the hands.   

References:

¹donkeypunch22. (2013, July 2).  DB Play Man Press Coverage by Chris Ash @ Iowa State 2011 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJdXTzkoVfE

²Martin, D. (2015, April). UCLA Secondary Play. Speech presented at UCLA Coaches Clinic, Los Angeles

³Wilson, B (2011, August). Fundamentals of Press-Man Techniques for Cornerbacks. Retrieved from http://www.gridironstrategies.com/articles01.php?id=867

Defeating Blocks

In last week’s blog I opined that tackling is the most essential defensive fundamental in college football and discussed two tackling techniques. It is rare; however, that a defender has an unobstructed path to the ball carrier.  In most situations the defender must beat, or defeat, a block attempt before he can execute a tackle. In this week’s blog I will discuss what I feel is the second most essential defensive fundamental, defeating blocks.

There are two categories of blocks, (1) a high-block, often referred to as a stalk-block and (2) a low-block, often referred to as a cut-block.

To defeat a stalk-block the defender must attack the blocker with his hands, while thrusting his hips upward and into the blocker much like he does in the chest tackle. The defender seeks hand placement on the blocker’s chest. His hands are approximately six inches apart, his thumbs are pointed upward and his elbows are locked in a fully extended position. Once the defender has engaged and has control of the blocker he can now focus his attention on the ball carrier to determine how he will disengage the blocker. The defender disengages using the push-pull technique meaning he pushes the blocker with one hand while pulling the blocker towards him with the other hand.¹ Executing the push-pull technique enables the defender to throw the blocker out of his way as he starts to pursue the ball carrier.

An Alabama linebacker practices defeating the cut-block2

An Alabama linebacker practices defeating the cut-block²

In the cut-block, the blocker is attempting to throw his body into the defenders legs and knock the defender to the ground.  The defender defeats this block attempt by forcing the blocker to the ground while keeping the blocker away from his legs. The defender seeks hand placement on the back side of the blocker’s shoulder pads. His hands are approximately six inches apart, his thumbs are pointed inward and his elbows are locked in a fully extended position as if he’s executing a close-grip bench-press action.²  Once the defender has pinned the blocker to the ground he can now re-focus his attention on the ball carrier. 

Tackling is, in my opinion, the most essential defensive fundamental in college football. Close second is block defeat. Players must be able to defeat the stalk-block and the cut-block. The techniques described above are simple and easy to execute. I suggest drilling these techniques daily during pre-season camp and at least once a week during the season. It is important to note that whether defeating a stalk or cut-block the defender must focus all his vision and attention on the blocker throughout the defeat.

References:

¹TheOzonedotnet (2013, March 19). Ohio State WRs Take on DBs in Blocking Drill [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE0nXpqtv9M

²Champlin, D. (2014, September 29). Watch Alabama OLBs work on avoiding cut blocks, Sept. 29, 2014 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6S-2JzkRM8

Tackling

While there are many fundamentals associated with the game of college football, tackling is arguably the most essential.  Think about it, just about every football play ends with a tackle, or an attempted tackle. To be an effective college football defense you must tackle well. In this week’s blog I will discuss two fundamentally sound, and safe, tackling techniques that can help produce consistent, effective and safe tackling in any college football program.

Al Golden, former Head Football Coach at the  University of Miami, instructs the chest tackle2

Al Golden, former Head Football Coach at the

 University of Miami, instructs the chest tackle²

The chest tackle, as the name eludes, is an 

extremely effective and safe technique wherein the tackler engages a ball carrier with his chest. Prior to contact, the defender thrusts his lowered hips upwards and towards the ball carrier, striking the ball carrier with his chest with his chin up towards the sky. Simultaneously, the tackler thrusts his arms upward and around the ball carrier resulting in a chest to chest, hug-like position. Tackling with the chin up helps to ensure the head stays out of the tackle and therefore minimizes risk of head injury. The final step to this tackling technique is accomplished when the tackler clenches a portion of the ball carriers jersey in his grip and then drive his feet essentially running through the ball carrier.^.1 The chest tackle is used to tackle a ball carrier in a head-on, or near head-on, tackling situation where the ball carrier has little to no opportunity to cut away from the tackler. Watch a chest tackle instructional video here.

The low-roll tackle demonstrated²

If the ball carrier is running away from the tackler, the rugby inspired low-roll tackle is another extremely effective and safe tackling technique adopted by many successful football programs to include the Seattle Seahawks, who refer to it as Hawk Roll Tackling.  This is shoulder tackle wherein the tackler makes contact with the ball carrier on his thighs.  The low roll tackler is taught to tackle with his eyes on or through the ball carriers' thighs, to keep the crown of the helmet out of the tackle, and to wrap his arms around and squeeze the ball carriers knees before rolling the ball carrier to the ground.² Watch a Pete Carroll narrated instructional video here.

Consistent tackling is essential to quality defensive college football play. Incorporating the chest tackle and low-roll tackle in a college football program will result in not only consistent tackling but also safe tackling.

References:

¹Ruston, R. (2014, August 7). Seahawks Tackling [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLldjE6vvFs 

²(wisconsinhspd). (2013, March 13). Tackling Fundamentals and Safety. [Video file]. Retrived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0HC1uRFaM0

Achieving Proper Alignment & Assignment Execution

In previous blogs I’ve discussed establishing philosophy in a college football program, how to ascertain required effort from within a college football program and provided suggestions on how to create easy to learn terminology. In this blog I’ll discuss how to address two of the most important aspects of defense; achieving correct pre-snap alignment and executing proper assignments.

Defensive breakdowns, loosely defined as plays where the offense succeeds in moving the football due to an error by the defense, are often attributed to blown assignments.³ A blown assignment occurs when a defensive player fails to cover his assigned area or assigned player on a given play. In many instances the root cause of a blown assignment can be traced back to a failure to line-up properly against the opponent.  So how does a defensive football coach go about getting proper alignment and execution from his unit? This simple, 5-step approach, could help; (1) tell them what you’re going to tell them, (2) teach them, (3) show them, (4) walk-them, and (5) rep-them.

An example diagram that could be included in a read-ahead³

In step one of the process, the defensive coach provides a read-ahead document, or hand-out, precisely describing the required alignment and associated assignment for a series of defensive calls versus a series of offensive formations. This read-ahead is generally distributed the night before a scheduled meeting and the players are instructed to have read the document prior to the meeting. Steps two and three (teach them and show them) occur in a meeting room. The coach “teaches” his unit proper alignment and assignment using a whiteboard or PowerPoint presentation or a combination of both.  The coach then reinforces what his unit has read and been taught by showing film examples of proper alignment and assignment execution.

Steps four and five (walk-them and rep-them) occur on the practice field a very short time after the meeting described above. Step four occurs during what most teams refer to as prep-practice, the fifteen minutes or so prior to the formal beginning of practice.  In this period the coach executes a walk-thru of exactly what was covered in the meeting room. He does this by aligning and walking through assignments against a scout team lined up in various formations. The coach signals the calls from the sideline and the defense executes. Some coaches call this a “line-up straight period.”  This period should be filmed, graded and shared with players.

Elite performance requires mental and physical repetitions.² This leads us to the final step in the process, “rep them.” This step occurs in a multitude of situations throughout the practice from position specific drills, often referred to as “Indy”, to group drills like an inside-run period or a 7-on-7 passing drill and most often culminates in some form of team scrimmage activity against a scout team. This is the culminating step in the process, and in many regards the final test of the day, where the player applies what he’s learned under game-like conditions. Here again the session(s) are filmed and later graded so that any and all deficiencies can be addressed.

Achieving consistent proper alignment and assignment execution is not an easy task for a college football defense. A coach that follows the above prescribed sequence of events is very likely to see improved alignment and assignment execution almost immediately resulting in fewer defensive breakdowns and improved overall defensive performance.

References:

¹Bowen, M. (2014, March 28). NFL 101: The Basics of the 3-4 Front. Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2007958

²Meyer, U. (2015). Above The Line. New York, NY: Penguin Press

³Stephens, D. (2012, December 19). Seahawks' run defense: Gap control & assignment discipline.  Retrieved from http://www.fieldgulls.com/2012/12/19/3783300