Most people that have had experience playing and coaching the game of football would agree that an open field tackle, which sounds simple, can in reality be one of the most difficult tasks to perform on game day. Countless variations of the ‘open-field tackle drill’ have been created, altered, and improved. While those drills have definite benefit and should be utilized frequently, there may be another way to lessen the amount of big plays created by missed tackles during a game.
I have just completed my fourth season of coaching at the FBS level. While I am lacking the experience that most coaches possess, I have done my best to learn and absorb as much as possible. Every year I have been coaching I have noticed the same problem emerging – open field tackling is a problem for teams and the problem gets worse as the season progresses.
Each year during spring ball and fall camp we take a number of steps to help address this problem. During any kind of team period we require all eleven defensive players to finish each play by running to where the ball was thrown or to where the ball carrier ended up. If all eleven defenders do not run to the ball, practice stops and every defender on the field at that time is required to do five up-downs. They then huddle, break, and line-up for the next play. While five up-downs may not seem like much, they add up quickly, especially during the August heat. Players learn quickly that it is much easier to just run to the ball. Another benefit of this application is that the players begin to police their teammates, and they start holding each other accountable.
While this requirement lasts throughout fall camp, it does not continue once we begin the regular season. This is due in part to the fact that the practice schedule becomes much more limited in the regular season. Every rep taken in practice becomes that much more meaningful when you are preparing for an opponent. Many coaches do not like the idea of losing reps in practice because they are up-downing their players due to the fact that they did not run to the ball. One could also argue that this is overdoing it on the players’ legs. They have been running hard since fall camp, and by adding that extra running during practice, they will not be able to gain anything back before the game.
Those are some obvious downfalls of enforcing the ‘run to the ball’ rule, but let us take a closer look at these downfalls. While they are valid, I believe a strong argument can be made for running to the ball. As far as losing reps, I will concede that you may lose one or two during practice. But often you will find that after a play, the defense is waiting for the scout offense to look at the card, find their position, and get lined up. It is during this time that the rule will be enforced. That is, after the previous play is run, before the scouts are lined up to run the next one. Five up-downs are brief enough that they do not take much time, but difficult enough so that they enforce your point. I would also argue that a few lost reps in practice is worth it to have a defense that is swarming to the ball every play on game day. The second downfall of the rule is that it can cause extra wear and tear on your players’ legs. While this may be true, it is also extremely important that your players are in game-ready condition throughout the season. Most coaches condition their teams once or twice early in the week to help keep their players fresh and prepared for game day. I would argue that you can remove conditioning by controlling the tempo that you practice at. Defensively, you can enforce this rule and that should provide enough conditioning for your players. And, if you reach a point where they are not huddling to do up-downs, then they are all running to the ball every play. That should be plenty of conditioning for any defense.
The most beneficial part of the run to the ball rule is that it is habit forming. While your players may struggle with it at first, it will eventually catch on and they will begin to carry the behavior naturally. Most coaches believe that everything you do on the football field should be done at full speed. Running to the ball is a component of that philosophy. How many potential touchdowns have you seen prevented due to a defensive unit that has eleven helmets flying to the ball every play? An entire defense that runs to the ball with extraordinary effort every play will give themselves the chance to compete with each team they play.
About the author: Blake Malsam is currently a defensive graduate assistant coach at the University of Idaho. He attended Whitworth College playing both defensive back and wide receiver before transferring to Idaho. Malsam recently completed his Master’s Degree in education.