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Post by Bornthrilla on Apr 7, 2005 17:15:07 GMT -5
I know somebody mentioned this before but it is a pretty good read so I'm posting it again. It even has some additional visual aides that are kinda cool. www.americanfootballmonthly.com/Subaccess/Magazine/2004/jul/blue_death.html Family. Above all else, the one element that most contributed to our success as a team and as a defensive unit was a family atmosphere brought to the program in the Spring of 2003 by our head coach, George Small. More important than the success experienced on the football field was the way that kinship maintained us as we endured the passing of one of our young and most talented players, Herb Dixon, this past off-season. Together, we are moving forward and working this spring to build on our 2003 MEAC championship and NCAA Division I-AA playoff season. Our efforts on the defensive side were aided by a number of factors. The one that we had no control over as a defensive staff was the fact that our offense averaged almost 35 minutes of possession per game. The offense made it possible for our defensive personnel to play with the type of intensity and passion for getting to the football that we as a defensive staff demand. That commitment to relentless pursuit lent itself to 35 takeaways in 13 games played. And maybe the easiest factor to control as coaches was the decision to play a 30 front. The defensive coordinator’s willingness and ability to adapt his 4-3 package, which he had been coaching for over 20 years, led to the rejuvenation of North Carolina A&T’s “Blue Death” Defense and a #3 ranking in total defense for all of I-AA football. |
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Post by Bornthrilla on Apr 7, 2005 17:17:35 GMT -5
PURSUIT
We begin every practice with a pursuit drill. There are many variations of the pursuit drill. Some use “rabbits” and others use cones. Some are set against an entire offensive front, while others such as ours are not. Some are done as a conditioning drill during the preseason, and others are much more a part of a defensive unit’s true identity and thus done on a daily basis.
Above all else, our pursuit drill is an attitude drill. This will set the tone for the entire practice. It is therefore imperative that it be done with emotion. Now we believe very strongly that as you move your body the mind has no choice but to follow. Thus it does not matter if the players fake being enthusiastic. If they act like they are passionate during the drill, then they are much more apt to have the type of practice we need to be successful. One thing is for sure: if the coaching staff allows for an unenthusiastic pursuit drill then the same is likely to occur the remainder of the practice.
Our pursuit drill is setup with the defense on the sideline in their respective huddles. The first defensive huddle followed by the second team and then the remainder of the players make up a third defensive huddle.
Starting on the five yard line, five cones are set-up every five yards placed at the bottom of the numbers on each side of the field. The defensive coordinator is with the ball at the three yard line. Directly behind the defensive coordinator is the staff’s youngest defensive coach. He has to be able to somewhat simulate a tailback in the ‘I’ set. A defensive assistant is stationed in each corner of the end zone about three to four yards past the goalline and just outside the bottom of the numbers.
The defensive coordinator begins the drill by calling out the first defense. The first team sprints out onto the field in a loud and enthusiastic manner. If they are not making enough noise, then they are sent back and the next group is called out. It is amazing just how contagious the fervor of the first team is on the remaining huddles.
A defensive call is made and the team breaks the huddle – enthusiastically. The coordinator signals the offensive strength, and all defensive calls are made along with hand signals as the players rush to their respective alignments. A cadence is called out and the play begins on the defensive coordinator’s movement. A toss to the left or right (the running coach need only get to the numbers before returning the ball to the defensive coordinator in preparation for the next team) gives the defense their direction of which cones to attack.
Diagram 1.
The primary support and alley/pitch player go directly to the coach stationed on the playside. The defensive linemen attack one yard across the LOS and then break off to their designated cones. The linebackers take two shuffle steps before breaking for their cone of responsibility. The backside player responsible for BCR (Boot, Cutback, Reverse) must take three “seek” steps directly backwards before sprinting for his designated cone. The defensive backs take their initial read steps and then break directly for their cones. The backside primary support player is the touchdown saver and must go around the very last cone. (See Diagram 1)
Once the players arrive at the end zone coach, they gather around the coach with their feet chopping. Not until the last man gets to the huddle does the coach break down the enthusiastic huddle and then send them back to the sideline. They start together on the sideline and are not finished with the drill until they are again all together on the sideline.
A variation to the normal toss left/toss right is for the defensive coordinator to drop straight back and throw a pass downfield. Upon recognizing the straight drop back, all yell “pass” as the defensive line attacks with their hands up and the backs and backers drop deep into their zone of responsibility. The ball is thrown and all eleven defenders yell “ball” as they turn and break on the ball. The defender nearest the ball must go up and get the pass at the highest point possible. “Fire” is the call made once the ball is in our possession and then the intercepting defender is led into the end zone down the near sideline by all ten of his teammates except for two defensive linemen who make sure they secure the quarterback (defensive coordinator).
The huddle in the end zone is now made on the intercepting defender. The defense celebrates together as a family and they break themselves down before heading to the sideline together. The intercepting defender must hand the ball to the nearest coach just as he would hand the ball to a referee on game day.
We do spend a considerable amount of time teaching this drill at the outset of each Spring and Fall. We do take a great deal of pride in the daily routine of doing this drill. And we do believe wholeheartedly that the defensive front and secondary coverage call would not mean a thing without relentless pursuit to the football. It would, therefore, be a complete waste of time if all the good concepts encompassed in the pursuit drill were not carried over into the rest of our practice.
On every single play that we run in practice – whether it be full speed, 1/2 speed, inside drill, skeleton drill, or team – our players are required to get to the ball. They either make the play or touch the helmet of the teammate who made the play. Our players sometimes need to be reminded of this requirement, and we as a defensive staff have found ways to jog the memory of our players without taking away from the number of reps we run in practice. We have in fact gotten to the point where our players are now making sure they remind themselves of exactly what it means to get to the ball. And they do it with genuine enthusiasm.
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Post by Bornthrilla on Apr 7, 2005 17:18:19 GMT -5
TAKEAWAYS
The 2003 edition of the “Blue Death” Defense had a total of 35 takeaways. Included in that number were 23 interceptions, four of which were taken for a touchdown and two fumble recoveries that were also returned for touchdowns.
A major contributing factor to that number is, of course, our pursuit to the football. There are also a number of drills we do frequently in order to constantly put in the players’ minds the fact that we expect to not only get takeaways but we expect to score points for our team.
The first drill is a strip drill that we do during a tackling circuit. This drill begins with three lines. The line of ball carriers is stationed on the sideline. The two other lines begin at the top of the numbers.
The ball carrier stands directly in front of the beginning cone and then chooses to attack either one of the two cones stationed at the top of the numbers. If the ball carrier attacks the right cone, then the defender stationed on the right cone is the tackler. The defender on the left cone will strip the football.
Diagram 2.
The tackler takes on the ball carrier with his chest and makes sure to grab cloth thereby securing the tackle. The other defender gets to the ball carrier as quickly as possible and finds a way to get the football loose. The drill starts and ends on the coach’s whistle. (See Diagram 2)
A few coaching points are for the ball carrier to be sure not to relinquish the football too easily. The tackler must be reminded that his sole job is to secure the tackle. He can not be permitted to attempt a strip or even a swipe at the football; that is the second defender’s job. Once the whistle blows to end the drill, all three players rotate clockwise to the end of the next line.
Diagram 3.
The second takeaway drill is done by our defensive backs on a daily basis. This drill is an emphasis on footwork as much as it is on getting the takeaway. The defensive backs go one at a time and our DB coach acts as the quarterback. There are four aspects to our “passing tree” drill: (1) 90° break. (2) 45° break. (3) zone-turn break. (4) man-turn break. (See Diagram 3)
The 90° break begins with the defensive back in a good stance. On the coach’s (quarterback’s) movement, the defensive back begins taking his read steps. This is a three-step drop by the passer. Once the back recognizes the “indicator” (quarterback’s front-hand coming off the football in preparation to make the throw), he breaks at a 90° angle for the interception point.
After intercepting the pass, the defensive back breaks upfield full speed and continues until he hands the coach the football, just as he would hand the ball to the official after scoring a touchdown.
The drill continues in similar fashion through the 45° break, zone-turn, and man-turn. The coaching point on all three of these breaks is for the defensive backs to make the interception at the highest point possible. On the zone-turn, the defensive back will turn in towards the quarterback as he breaks deep and accordingly will turn to the outside for the man-turn break.
Also, it is important for the defensive back’s to be taught how to catch the ball with their hands and not the body. We want to continually dispel any thoughts that our defensive backs – and linebackers for that matter – are athletic guys who simply can not catch as well as offensive receivers and running backs.
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Post by Bornthrilla on Apr 7, 2005 17:19:46 GMT -5
TRANSITION TO A 30 FRONT
We went through the 2003 Spring Drills as a straight 4-3 defense. It was evident early on that our strength as a defensive unit would lie in the athleticism of our linebacker corps. However, throughout the spring and summer we merely toyed with the idea of making a switch to a three-man front.
Fortunately, our defensive coordinator did recognize just how much the 3-4 front would benefit us, and we committed to the overall change by the second practice of summer camp.
Out of our 30 Front, we will, in most cases, be utilizing a four-man rush. The fourth rusher can certainly be designated by a defensive call. However, we will usually allow the coverage call along with the offensive formation determine exactly where our extra rush man will come from. If the defensive end is to the side of the fourth rusher, then he knows that he can inside rush versus pass. (Diagram 4)
If the outside linebacker is removed by the formation (tight slot for instance) then the inside linebacker will make a “change” call to the defensive end indicating that he must stay on a contain rush. (See Diagram 5)
The offense will certainly want to attack the bubbles created over the offensive guards. As a change-up, we will get into a “Tough” front which serves as a very efficient short yardage/rush defense. (See Diagram 6)
Stack “Wham” allows us to get into a Tough front after the snap of the football. This stunt call proved very beneficial versus veer/midline option teams. (See Diagram 7)
The two stunts served as a way for our defense to again bring only four rushers while at the same time causing a good amount of indecision in offensive pass protection. Stack Stab gave us a good way of attacking zone schemes without losing contain. The defensive end engages first. He then can loop outside versus pass in order to contain, or he may be free to fold over with run action away. (See Diagram 8)
Slam is a strong side stunt that helps bounce off-tackle plays thereby allowing us to utilize our team speed. We feel confident that if the offense is forced to attack us in an east-west manner, then we will in the majority of cases gain the advantage. (Diagram 9)
Our most utilized blitz throughout the 2003 season was also our most simple concept. What the Double-Go will get you is a one-on-one with a linebacker versus a running back. Again, we are confident that we will win those types of match-ups the majority of the time. (See Diagram 10)
The stunt, blitz, and coverage possibilities out of the 30 front are virtually without end. We do, however, try to keep the overall package as limited and simple as possible. This is because it does not matter what defensive front, stunt, or blitz we run on any given play as long as all eleven get to the ball – enthusiastically
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About the author
Don Houser
Don Houser begins his second season this fall as Defensive Line Coach for North Carolina A&T. He also is Director of Football Operations and Recruiting Coordinator for the Aggies who finished last fall as MEAC Conference Champions. Houser previously coached at Youngstown State, Clarion University and Houston. You can reach him at dwhouser@ncat.edu
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Post by Bornthrilla on Apr 7, 2005 17:26:23 GMT -5
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