In my May article in American Football Monthly, I outlined the everyday drills I use to prepare my d-linemen to read offensive blocks. I sometimes find that they do become robotic in their approach to “The Pit”. So, I use a variation that helps us to change pace. I call this the “Delaware Read Drill (Diagram 1) just so they know that we are getting out of “The Pit” and into another drill.
The Delaware Read Drill is set-up by using three offensive linemen and one defender. The coach stands behind the defensive lineman. Using predetermined signs, the coach gives the different blocks for the D-linemen to react to. For interior people, we use guard, center, guard. For ends, we use tight end, tackle, guard. We go on whistle or cadence to start the drill.
Diagram 1: Delaware Read Drill Set-up
I use finger signs as follows: These apply to both positions
You should mix them up and run through all of them with each player. An example of the drill is in Diagram 2.
| Sign | Means |
| 1. One finger for the offensive lineman and point to the inside of the D-lineman | Drive Block |
| 2. One finger to the offensive lineman and the outside of D-lineman | Reach block |
| 3. One finger to the offensive lineman down inside and point to the guard trap(with trap) | Trap combination |
| 4. Two fingers come together at the D-lineman | Delaware double/Zone double |
| 5. Point out and trap | out pull or arc block with trap |
Position specific work:
| Inside Players | Ends | ||
| Sign | Means | Sign | Means |
| 1.point to guard and motion pull towards center, point to center to cutoff d-lineman | Short trap | Point to TE to pull inside | Counter |
| 2. Add FB-point in pull to guard and point to FB to block d-lineman- | Sweep | Have ends spark, then run these blocks as well |
You can come up with all the necessary signs using all the block combinations and change-up the drill based on your opponent. It is a good way to have the defensive linemen react to unknown stimulus, rather than the routine. This can be done inside “The Pit” area to better enhance spatial understanding.
Diagram 2 Example of a Block Execution:
