At the end of every year we always look at drills that came about for whatever reason during the season. This year we felt like we were not getting our hands on the ball enough in zone coverage. So we started to use pre-practice drills to improve our skills in this area and increase our emphasis. We did this through simple pre-practice drills where we worked in the top routes we would see from the offense that week. The result was a season where we more than doubled the total number of interceptions and passes defended from the previous two years combined. We were not just drilling movements (backpedal, crossover, etc…) with a ball being thrown, but instead concentrating each week on the opponent’s top routes and the underneath zone player that would be attacked or put in conflict by those routes.
Drilling Route Combinations in Pre-Practice. In previous blog posts and articles I have discussed breaking down the opponent’s top five run plays but it is more than worth it to do the same in the pass game. What are their favorite routes in 2×2 sets and 3×1 sets? From there you can decide how to use pre-practice to help your underneath coverage prepare for those routes and the conflicts they will create. Here are two examples of common routes we see and how we drill them in pre-practice.
Whip Route – In attacking the curl vs a cover 2 defense, more often the not we see a whip route by #2 with a curl or 10 yard in by #1. Versus this route we want the LB not to vacate the curl by being influenced out by the whip route. See Diagram 1
The pre-practice drill we run to work this route is pictured in Diagram 2. The LB drops to the curl, the next LB runs a whip route at the LB. We over exaggerate this by actually having the whip route physically tag the LB with his hand. In our Curl drops we do not want our LBs to be influenced out of the zone so a 10-12 yard dig or curl can be thrown behind them. So as soon as the whip route runs to the flat the ball is thrown over the LB’s inside or outside shoulder by the coach or another LB where a dig or curl would hit at 10-12 yards. The LB gets used to the Whip route always following with a ball aimed at a spot behind him. We are trying to build the habit of not being influenced out and catching the ball when it is thrown to him completing the interception.
Teaser route– High low routes are common in the pass game, drag a receiver at 3-5 yards to hit a receiver back behind for a 10-12 yard gain. See Diagram 3.
So this year we took advantage of pre-practice to work defending this concept with a very simple drill. LB drops to his coverage zone, next LB runs a drag route 3 yards deep from the line of scrimmage. As soon as the route comes into the LB vision, the ball is thrown slightly to his right or left or over his head for a depth of 10-12 yards where the Dig would be located. See Diagram 4. With this drill we are trying to build the habit of expecting the ball to be thrown off that drag/teaser route to the dig area. Not being influenced short to the Teaser but instead playing the Dig first and letting the ball bring you down to the teaser.
Play Action Pass routes– Because we are so aggressive vs the run, it is a must every year to drill play action. During the pre-season we drill the sense of urgency in the underneath defenders to turn and run to their zone. But during the season we make it more specific to our opponent. What routes does our opponent run out of play action. Are they running a 10-12 yard dig behind the LBs? Or are they running little sit downs by one of the #2 receivers? We find that most teams will either use play action to take a shot down the field or to attack the middle of the field in the 10-12 yard area. See Diagram 5. So we want to make sure going into any game our underneath coverage players know where the route will occur when they recognize play action.
In the pre-practice drill to work this we will have the LBs start downhill to the LOS off the QB/Coach. The next two LBs in the drill will be positioned at 10-12 yards deep. Depending on the team we are playing, they may drag across at that depth or just sit and find the open spot. The coach will then give the pass signal and the LBs will turn and run to find those routes at 10-12 yards before turning back to the QB. See Diagram 6.
Use pre-practice to your advantage to emphasize a skill that needs to improve for your defense. For us this year it was getting our hands on more balls when in zone coverage. Then use what your opponent will attack you with to drill your players for success.
As always thank you for taking the time to read this article and please feel free to email (jmcdonald@wesleyan.edu) if you have any questions about this article or anything else related.