THERE ARE SEVERAL key points that must be emphasized to develop your defensive backs. These points must be carefully studied by your players and continually practiced in order for them to be mastered.
1 Stance
Bump Alignment. The DB’s feet must be parallel and should be no more than shoulder-width apart. His knees should be bent with hands above the knees at a ready position.
The chin should be over the knees. The feeling should be much like sitting in a chair. Stress to your DB that he must maintain a narrow base. This narrow base allows for better movement.
Normal (Off) Alignment. The DB’s feet should be shoulder-width apart and his inside foot should be placed on the heel of the outside foot with the hips slightly pointed toward the sideline. His knees should be bent with hands above the knees at a ready position.
The chin should be over the knees. The feeling should be like sitting in a chair. Stress the importance of maintaining a narrow base.
2 Alignment, Position
Bump Alignment. Most of the time it’s best to bump from inside position. The DB should allow the receiver’s inside leg (the leg closest to the quarterback) to split his crotch. When using an outside-bump technique the DB should align on the receiver’s outside leg.
The DB’s hands should be up near his chest area. It’s crucial that the DB crowd the line of scrimmage. The DB should be no more than 2 yards from the offensive receiver, as he’s attempting to align as close as he can without being offside.
Normal Alignment. The DB must understand that he can align in either an inside or outside position. The inside position tells the DB that he will shade the inside shoulder of the receiver. If he lines up on the outside position, he’ll shade the receiver’s outside shoulder.
If the DB has safety help (safety in the middle of the field), it’s normally better to have him align with inside positioning. This alignment puts the DB in better position on quick inside routes by the receiver.
There are cases where you can alter this alignment to confuse the offense (for example, have the DB start outside and move inside on the snap of the ball). The DB will align from 6- to 7 yards away from the receiver — not from the line of scrimmage.
The DB’s hips should angle toward the sideline so that he can see the formation, the QB, his coverage responsibility and the receiver. He should angle his hips the same way for both inside and outside positions.
This coverage is especially strong against inside routes when the DB aligns inside. It’s also strong against outside routes when he’s aligned in outside positioning.
3 Back-Pedal
The most important point of the back-pedal is to be ready to play before the snap of the ball. The DB must get into position for his coverage so that when the ball is snapped he’s ready to act — as well as react.
The DB’s inside foot should be placed on the heel of the outside foot with the hips slightly pointed toward the sideline. His toes should be slightly turned in as if he were pigeon-toed. The DB should be on his toes with eyes on the receiver.
On the receiver’s movement, the DB should lift his inside foot and step back while pushing his body backward with the outside foot. This gives him the ability to run in reverse. Simply stated, this is what back-pedaling is.
When working with your DBs, this movement should be done at slower paces until it becomes a well-coordinated movement. Some players have quick, choppy steps and others will have a slower-paced back-pedal. Neither is better than the other. What’s important is that the DB cover the greatest amount of distance in the shortest time.
It’s important to realize that this movement requires that the DB keep his chin over his knees and must have a slight lean forward to maintain a low center of gravity.
If the DB feels himself starting to fall backwards in his back-pedal, it may be because he is too high. Have him bend his knees more and make sure that he has proper balance with his stance (chin over knees, etc.).
Pay close attention to the movement of the DB’s arms. Just as in forward running, proper arm movement will help the DB increase his back pedal speed.
4 Interception Point
Teach your DBs to break to the point where the ball and the receiver will meet. This point is called the intercept point.
The DB must be careful not to overrun the ball or break behind the ball. In his drive to the ball, the DB must move in straight lines. Never make rounded breaks and drives. The ball should always be caught at the highest point.
Your DBs must be adept at judging angles so that they’re able to meet the ball at the highest point before the opponent is able to grab it.
If the DB gets to the interception point and isn’t able to make the pick (“Pick” is the common term used by today’s secondary.), he must secure the tackle. The standard that DBs are measured by is the interception.
5 Drive
Drive is the transition from back pedaling to forward motion. It’s crucial for the DB to accomplish this movement in the most efficient manner possible. Your DBs must understand that the offensive players probably know their routes and that coverage success is dependent on his ability to react to these routes as quickly as possible.
Careful film study of your opponent will enable the DB to learn his opponent’s movements. This will allow the DB to gain an advantage on the opponent because he’ll be able to react quickly to the receiver’s routes.
When driving on an outside route, the defender will plant on his inside foot, point his outside foot toward the intercept point and explode toward it.
The opposite is true when driving on inside routes. The DB should plant on the outside foot, point with the inside foot and drive toward the intercept point. It should be noted that the DB should not look back at the QB until he has reached the intercept point.
6 Developing A Mindset
Many people feel that the DB’s number one job is to stop long passes and to make sound tackles on long runs. However, the most important job of any defensive player is to get the ball back for the offense — period.
Defensive linemen and linebackers are near the ball all the time, but normally there are offensive linemen protecting the ball carrier. Plus, ball carriers are taught to grip the ball so as not to allow a defender to cause a fumble. DBs have the best chance to force a turnover because the QB releases the ball on a pass and it belongs to no one. Great DBs believe that the ball belongs to them. They need to think that they have just as much right to the ball as the receiver.