The Drills Report: Fundamental Defensive End Training

T he defensive line is home to some of the knees and hips should be as close to 90-de- largest, most athletic players in sports, gree angles as possible. This ensures that the particularly at the defensive end position. lineman isn’t overextended, which will result in Focusing on the fundamentals of a defensive lose of power when firing out. Once his stance lineman is crucial to properly develop a force is optimized, we then shift our focus to the to neutralize the initial point of contact on ev- alignment of his body on the opposing line- ery snap. man (Photo 1 - Proper Stance) Just as a building is built on a solid foun- dation, good technique starts with a defensive lineman’s stance. An offense has the luxury of knowing the snap count before every play, which is why offensive linemen place only a small amount of pressure on their hands when in a stance. An aggressive lean isn’t neces- sary because they know the exact area they need to step toward in order to make their blocks. To counter this, an opposing lineman’s stance must focus on distributing enough weight on his down hand(s) to allow him to fire out of the stance explosively and deliver a Photo 1: Proper Stance disruptive force to the blocker. We can check for a proper stance by first making sure the A DE should be aligned on the outside half feet are aligned at just near shoulder width of an OL. This alignment plays a big role in apart. Next, check the joints and make sure the DE’s initial contact point. It allows him to they are all bent at right angles—the ankles, engage only half the man’s body and gauge

where pressure is coming from. Set the align- Simulate different blocks by having a DE line ment by splitting the offensive players legs with up on a pad, or lineman. Show him three dif- your inside foot, allowing you to contain him ferent looks: on the outside after he fires out of his stance. • Out Block: Step out directly towards the DE Half-man alignment doesn’t take much time to and apply pressure that forces him outside coach and sets up the next technique: hand placement (Photo 2 – Alignment). (Photo 4) • Reach block: Step slightly back while step- ping across the DE’s body. Aim to place the pad on his outside shoulder and force him in (Photo 5). • Down Block: Step to the opposite direction of the DE and leave him in space (Photo 6). These three blocks will allow the DE to feel the three angles of pressure that will come from a blocker. In every case, the DE should always line up with a half-man technique, an aggressive lean on his down hand, and right angles at his joints while in his stance. Then Photo 2: Proper Alignment he should shoot his arms up at the chest and outside shoulder of the pad. The drill begins After firing out of his stance at a half-man on the OL’s movement and the DE must re- alignment, the DE should extend his inside member to feel the direction of the pressure hand to center of the OL’s chest plate, grab- and press the blocker back where he came bing for cloth or padding, and his outside from. hand should shoot to the outside shoulder. Train this by having the DL repeatedly ex- • When receiving an out block, force the block- plode out of his stance and engage a pad at er back into his gap and hold ground. these two points—middle chest and outside • When being reach blocked, neutralize the shoulder. This should be a key coaching point blocker by using added force from the out- almost every time you practice with a DE. It side arm that’s on the shoulder, swing the gives the DL separation, a key advantage that hips out to regain leverage, and then force will disrupt a block, keep a blocker out of his the blocker back in. chest, and allow him to then focus on one of • When left in space, fill the open gap by the most important things a DE could learn: closing down and looking for additional block recognition. blockers or the ball carrier coming from the inside. Photo 3: Hand Placement Photo 4: Out Block

Photo 5: Reach Block Photo 6: Down Block This allows the DE to maintain his outside pres- ence while jamming the gap that is supposed to open. Coach this by repeatedly showing the DE different combinations of blocks, forcing him to get comfortable with engaging block- ers at different angles, and repeatedly working on his core technique. Many DE’s often do a great job of shooting their hands, but forget to keep their pad level low in the process. Make sure to keep an eye on that and reset the drill Watch the GPS Demo and Tutorial Videos until he can repeat the technique at proper pad level. I try to work this drill just about every time I practice with a DE since it lets me look at every aspect of his technique—stance, align- ment, explosiveness, hand placement, and pad level. Once these fundamentals are instilled in your defensive end, you’re sure to have a force on the edge of your defensive line and a problem for the offense

About the Author: Tamir Dayya is the founder and owner of All Day Athletics, a fundamental football training program and recruitment management service based in Lyndhurst, NJ. A former member of the Long Island University football team, he has played football for 14 years and has sev- en years of coaching experience in 1-on-1 settings. You can reach him at tamir@all- dayathletics.com