When I was hired to be a defensive coordinator and took over a struggling defense 15 years ago, one area we had to fix was our tackling. Along with building a system of tackling accountability I wrote about in a previous post, we also had to teach our guys to get the ball carrier to the ground. We made a decision to teach tackling in three phases.
1. Pre-Contact Phase
2. Contact Phase
3. Post-Contact Phase
Before I get into the three phases, I want you to understand why we emphasized tackling. The year before I took over we had given up nearly 40 points per game. The biggest issue was bad tackling. Think about your own defense. Is there anything more frustrating than missed tackles? Everyone does their job, you have a tackler in place, and he misses the tackle. We did not want to miss tackles and give up yards after contact. We simplified what we were doing on defense, allowing us to focus on fundamentals. We focused on the Three T's: Technique, Tackling, and Takeaways.
Teaching Tackling
Contact Phase
We started teaching tackling first by teaching the contact phase first. We wanted our players to know how to properly contact a ball carrier as this would better help them how to get into position to make contact. We put the players partnered up down the 30, 35, and 40 yard lines on two knees. They would drop their hips, and load their hands. We would give the command, "ready, set" to get them into this position. The figure below shows how the players would be set up on grids. We would have then lined up sideline to sideline, with coaches stationed intermittently spaced.
Next, we would teach them how to make contact. They would get knee to knee facing each other, half shaded. They would both be on their knees. The first drill was called Hips and Hands. We would say "ready" and they would load their hands and sit back slightly. Then we would say hit. They would shoot their hips and hands. We wanted their hips to explode up and forward, and their hands to shoot through the sides of the offensive player. We wanted the tackler's elbows tight to the body. We constantly repeated "eyes up" on each tackle. We wanted the hands to shoot vertical, not "around" the ball carrier.
When they shot their hips, we coached them on how they contact the ball carrier with their upper body. Contact was made with the front of the shoulder pad. We wanted their eyes up through the tackle. We wanted them to contact the ball carrier with the front of the breast plate. We didn't want them to contact with the arms, or with the top of the shoulder pad. When they contact with the arms they are going to lose the tackle, and give up yards after contact. When they contact with the top of the shoulder pad, the head drops down. This is a safety issue. We wanted the eyes up. Our goal was to contact the hip of the ball carrier with the front of our shoulder pad. This meant we had to have good knee bend.
The next drill was called squeeze. We would say ready, and the tackler would load their hands. We would say hit, and they should shoot their hands and hips forward and up, and we would then say squeeze. We wanted them to grab the back of the shoulder pads and squeeze. We wanted to pull the ball carrier to us and squeeze him tight.
We would work these drills alternating contacting with the left breast plate and right breast plate. We wanted to make sure we stayed square, and kept our eyes up.
Once we felt comfortable teaching the contact phase from our knees, we would stand up. We had the ball carrier and the defender 2 yards apart. On the command load, the tackler would load his hands and begin to shimmy his feet. He was moving them quickly, closing space on the ball carrier. Once he was about to step on the ball carriers toes, he would shoot his hands and hips. He would contact with the breast plate, and squeeze the ball carrier.
We would make sure we alternated contacting with each breast plate. with our eyes up. We wanted them to be confident tacklers, regardless of which side the ball carrier was on. We wanted to get a minimum of 10 really good reps for both people before we progressed to anything else. We wanted them to be thick on contact, meaning we wanted them to contact with their inside number on outside number of the ball carrier. If you are thick on a tackle, you are going to generate more force. If you are thin on a tackle, you generate less force. You also tend to fall off the tackle.
Once we felt comfortable with the contact phase, we progressed to the post contact phase. Everything we did was about control, and breaking the tackle into small parts.
Post-Contact Phase
What happens after you make contact is very important for completing the tackle with the minimum amount of yards gained. We had three coaching points. First, we wanted to get square after contact. You aren't always going to be able to square up a ball carrier before contact. Once contact was made, we wanted to work to a square position. This made it harder for the ball carrier to drag us for extra yards. Second, we wanted to run our feet. We we wanted drive the ball carrier backwards. Third, we wanted to bring our hips. Bringing our hips helped us to get him to the ground. This was important to completing the tackle. While we brought our hips on contact, the hips tended to fall back after contact. Emphasizing bringing the hips through the contact phase into the post-contact phase, helped us to secure the tackle and drive the ball carrier backwards.
We would do a drill called run your feet. We would fit up on the tackle, already square. On the command run, the tackler would run the ball carrier backwards. During this phase we emphasized bringing your hips. While we want them to bring their hips on contact, we must have them keep their hips on as the ran their feet. Many missed tackles happen because the hips are back. We wanted them to bring their hips through the entire post-contact phase.
Next, we would progress to a drill called Get Square and Run. This is where we would fit the ball carrier at an angle. On the command "get square," we wanted the tackler to bring his hips and run his feet, working on getting his hips squared up on the ball carrier. This was a vital part of the post contact phase. Too often tacklers run their feet without getting square. They give up unnecessary extra yards after contact. They also end up falling off the tackle, which leads to big plays for the offense.
Third, we did a drill called run and lift. We would fit the ball carrier square, and run our feet. As we ran our feet, we would bring our hips as if we were finishing a dead lift. We wanted to lift the ball carrier off the ground. The player simulating the ball carrier would lightly jump to help the tackler lift him off the ground. A key coaching point in every one of these drills was called telling our guys to "keep your eyes up."
Fourth, we did a very competitive drill called "get him to the ground." The tackler would fit the ball carrier at the 2 yard line. The job of the ball carrier was to try to do everything he could to not go to the ground. The job of the tackler was to get him on the ground outside the end zone. We emphasized the squeeze, bringing the hips, and running the feet in this drill. This can be a very grueling drill to do, so we are not going to do a ton of reps of this everyday. In camp, we are going to do this drill 3 to 5 times each player, every single day. During the season, this was a Tuesday competition with 1 to 2 reps per player.
Hit Stick Drill
Once we felt comfortable with our contact and post-contact phases, we began to use a drill called Hit Stick. This was the favorite drill of our players. We would bring the high jump mat out on the field. The ball carrier would stand right in front of the mat with his heels touching the mat. The tackler was 1 yard away. We gave two commands, load, and hit. On load, the tackler would load his hands and begin to shimmy his feet with a good base and great knee bend. We wanted his eyes up. As he stepped on the ball carriers toes, we would command Hit. He would shoot his hands and hips, and start to run his feet and bring his hips and lift. The ball carrier would then end up on his back on the high jump mat. This was a safe way to teach our players how to make a driving tackle.
When we did the hit stick drill, we never were more than 4 yards from the ball carrier. The reason is that we wanted this to be a safe way to teach guys how to be explosive with their hips. The high jump mat meant the ball carrier was not going to get hurt hitting the ground. The players loved this drill and got excited for it. We did this drill two days a week in season, typically on Tuesday and Wednesday. During camp this was an everyday drill.
Pre-Contact Phase
Once we got comfortable with our contact and post contact phases, we taught our pre-contact phases. This was where we taught leverage and angles. A big part of tackling is pursuit angles. A big reason tackles are missed is because players don't understand leverage and angles. We wanted them to understand how our pursuit ties into our success in tackling. Too often, coaches don't put these to aspects together. They are completely related, and players must be taught that when we pursue well, we give ourselves a better chance to tackle well.
Force Angle Tackle
The first drill we do is Force Angle Tackle. We are going to work this drill where the ball carrier is inside of us, and we want to keep him inside of us. We are going to put the ball carrier 5 yards from tackler, with the tackler 4 yards outside the ball carrier. The ball carrier will work on an angle upfield. The tackler will close space. When he gets two yards from the ball carrier, he will shimmy his feet and load his hands. Contact should take place 2.5 yards from where the tackler started. Below is an illustration of the drill.
We want this to be a successful drill, so we don't have the ball carrier making any moves or juking. This is a controlled drill, but we don't want players to be lackadaisical. A keep coaching point is closing space, keeping eyes up, and being "thick" on the tackle. Being thick on the tackle means we want to have our breastplate just off the midpoint of the ball carrier. We don't want to make contact on the edge of the ball carrier. If we are not square on contact, we want to get square as we enter the post contact phase.
Sideline Tackle
The next drill we do is a sideline tackle. This is a similar drill, where we teach the sideline is our friend. We want to track the inside him of the ball carrier, making contact with our outside breast plate. This keeps the ball carrier from being able to juke us. If he tries to cut back, he cuts back into the tackle.
A key coaching point is to close space vertically. We don't want to run laterally as the ball carrier gets more yards. We want to take an angle the closes space both horizontally and vertically if possible. Our defensive line will do sideline tackle one time a week. They rarely have to make a sideline tackle, so we don't spend time practicing that skill. We would rather have them working specific drills to simulate what they will do in a game.
The first time we do this drill we do it with out the ball carrier cutting back. The second time we do this drill we have the ball carrier cut back. We want the tackler to get comfortable keeping his leverage. One reason players miss tackles on the sideline drill is when they lose inside hip leverage. They work too far across the ball carrier, giving the ball carrier space to cutback inside of them. Remember, the sideline is your friend.
Four Dots
The next drill we do is called 4 Dots. This is one of my favorite drills to do. This teaches open field tackling. The tackler is 8 yards from the ball carrier. We are going to have the tackler start the drill by buzzing his feet. The ball carrier then goes directly at one of the cones on an angle. The tackler closes space working to the inside hip. The ball carrier can progress to the cone, or he can cut back to the inside. He is not allowed to juke. This is a one-cut drill. We are teaching our tackler maintain leverage and tempo the near hip. If we works too far over the top, he will lose leverage.
As your players get more comfortable, we will increase the size of the box. The key is to give your offensive players landmarks to run to. This gives you control on the drill.
Cutback Tackle
The cutback tackle drill is how we teach our players to make a tackle when a player cuts back into them. We are going to put the ball carrier 5 yards outside the tackler, and the tackler 5 yards deeper than the ball carrier. We put a barrel 7 yards from the ball carrier. The barrel simulates a force defender. The ball carrier is going to run lateral, working towards the barrel. Then he is going to cut back inside. We want the tackler to lateral run, meaning stay as square as possible while working laterally. He must make sure he trails the ball carrier's near hip, so he is in a position to make the tackle when the ball carrier cuts back.
This is a great drill to teach cutback angles. This drill helps your players to not overrun the ball carrier who might be running lateral on a sweep play. This is particularly important for your linebackers and safeties. We also work this drill with our defensive ends.
Two Man Force Cutback
A great drill we did brought two players into the drill. The outside player was the force guy. The inside player was the cutback player. This drill taught our guys how to squeeze the ball as force players, while teaching a second player how to play the cutback.
The goal of the force guy was to keep his outside arm free while squeezing the ball carrier. The cutback player wanted to make sure he trailed the near hip. The ball carrier could cut back at any point. We wanted the two defenders to be square when they contacted the ball carrier. This drill helped us to understand leverage and angles when working in tandem.
Adding A Blocker
You have to have a set of drills where you work on shedding a block and making a tackle. This is vital to being successful on defense. Rarely is a player going to make a tackle without being blocked. We added in a set of drills that taught our guys how to get off blocks and get into position to make tackles.
Shed Tackle
We worked a Shed and Tackle Drill that was great for our players to learn leverage. We would have an offensive blocker fit up on the defensive player. We would fit one side or the other of the defender. The defender had to shed the block TO LEVERAGE, then make the tackle.
How many times have you had the ball get thrown to the perimeter on a fast screen or bubble, and the corner jumps inside? If he doesn't make the tackle, he has given up the sideline for a big play. Or, you have a force guy defeat a block inside, and the offense ends up with an explosive play because their is no help. With this drill we are teaching our guys to shed blocks and maintain their leverage.
The picture above shows the drill with a defender aligned directly across from a blocker who is fit up on him. We always want to fit to leverage. The defender is fit with outside leverage. He is going to shed the block, step through, and squeeze ball carrier from outside in. We are coaching him to shed to keep leverage. The key here is that the ball carrier doesn't move until the block is shed. Then the ball carrier works straight ahead. We want the ball carrier to be 5 yards back, 1 yard inside the blocker.
We do the same drill with the defensive line, emphasizing gap integrity. If you are the B gap player, and you shed a tackle and jump into the A gap, you are stressing our gap integrity. Now, someone else has to do your job. This drill allowed us to simulate game situations where they are going to have to defeat a block and make a tackle in their assigned gap.
We always structured this drill for each position group. Corners are going to work bubbles and fast screens. Safeties are going to work sweep plays. Linebackers are working isolation and power.
Lead/Iso Tackle
This is an important drill for your inside linebackers. We are going to do this drill with a linebacker, lead blocker, and ball carrier. The lead blocker can be a Fullback or Guard. We are going to give the linebacker a leverage point of box or spill. Box means he takes on the outside hip of the blocker with his inside arm. Spill means he will take on the inside hip of the blocker with his outside arm. The purpose of the drill is to teach our linebackers how to dispose of a block and make a driving form tackle in a controlled environment.
The key with this drill is to work your shed tackle drill first. Then, progress to having your linebackers have to attack the blocker before shedding and tackling. We want our linebackers to have fast feet, keeping their base as they attack the lead blocker. When we contact the blocker, we want to knock the blocker into the hole. This takes space away from the ball carrier, and makes it easier to defeat the block. Our emphasis on this drill is the driving tackle. We want to drive the ball carrier backwards.
Spill Tackle
This is a defensive line drill that we really liked. We would have a defensive lineman, two offensive linemen, and a ball carrier. The first offensive lineman would block down. The defensive lineman would execute his ball get off, putting violent hands on the offensive lineman, trying to flatten him. His eyes would go down the heel line finding the player coming to trap or kick him. He would shuffle, staying square, before wrong arming the trapper. As he finished his wrong arm, the defensive lineman would get vertical and square up the ball carrier.
This was a great drill for the defensive line to work, as it emphasized any trap, wham, or power concept. We would teach this in parts. We would start with the squeeze. Then we would progress to the spill. Then we would progress to the spill and tackle. Then we would put the whole drill together. You don't have to go through this entire drill the first day. It might take two or three days of working parts before you put the whole of the drill together.
These were just a few of our favorite drills that we felt benefited us the most when it came to tackling. We had several additional drills, but the drills illustrated above formed the foundation for how we taught our players to safely and properly tackle an opposing ball carrier. Each drill allowed us to put players in situations just like they will see in a game. We are able to coach the details, and allow drills to build off each other.
Key Points
A big coaching point is the tempo of the drill you are doing. Too many times I watch teams do tackling drills and they are going through the motions, reinforcing bad habits. You must be intentional on every rep of every drill. Never sacrifice getting more reps for more bad reps. The biggest mistakes I see are guys with poor hip position. They don't bend their knees, their eyes are down, and they keep their hips back. There is no point doing a drill that emphasizes bad habits.
You must coach the details of tackling. Yes, the big picture is important, but coaching the details is the difference between average and elite. Coach the guys on their hips, every single reps. If their hips are back on contact, make them redo the drill. If their eyes aren't up, make them redo the drill. The reason we scaffold our tackling instruction is to give us the opportunity to coach each part of the tackle and the details that go with it. By coaching in phases, we can break the tackle down into the simplest form.
It is also important that you teach tackling within your individual drills. You can't just do a tackle circuit and call things good. You need to spend time tackling throughout the season in your individual groups. And during tackle circuit, adjust the drill for each position group. Defensive linemen do not need to do an open field tackle drill. They rarely have to tackle in the open field. With the defensive line you might work a second cutback tackle drill. Make sure the drills you are working fit the position group working the drill.
Additional Resources
When I was a defensive coordinator we focused on being well prepared. When I speak at clinics, coaches always ask about our defensive organization, and how we save time on the weekends. I decided to make our defensive game planning packet available to coaches!
Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents.
https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/ These are what we used to post 6 shutouts when I was a defensive coordinator. Defensive coordinators at all levels of football are using this. Again, it is less than $13 right now!
A few years ago I was speaking at a clinic about our game planning and an FBS coordinator asked me after the talk to go through what we do. I shared with him our offensive game planning resource and he used it through the spring. He emailed me back that it was a game changer. It was an honor to have him use these documents. After speaking at clinics and hearing that more coaches didn't know where to start, I decided to make these available.
It includes everything from a scouting report template, to practice plans, to a two-sided color call sheet, and more! Each of the nine documents are fully editable and customizable! Order today and start preparing for your first game right now! At one time this was $99, but it is available right now for less than $13!
Here are a couple of screen shots to show you what our call sheet looks like:
This shows you a small portion of it. It is a fully editable, customizable two sided call sheet. It gives you the ability to better organize and be prepared on game day. It helped us to be better play callers on game day. There are eight other fully customizable documents! Some of the top high school programs in the country use this, as do several college programs!
When I was a defensive coordinator we adapted this to our defensive preparation!
Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents.
https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/ These are what we used to post 6 shutouts when I was a defensive coordinator. Defensive coordinators at all levels of football are using this. Again, it is less than $13 right now!
And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams!
https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/ This helped us to build dominating special teams!
I wanted these to be available at a very reasonable cost. These can help you to be more successful on the field and more efficient in the office!
Over the last several months, I have stepped out of my comfort zone and wrote a new book about faith and purpose. The book is available as a paperback on Amazon, and as an eBook for the Kindle App. The cool thing about the Kindle app is that you can read the book on any device. I invite you to read it, and discover the power you receive when you make a decision to walk with the Lord. Here is a link to the book: Finding Faith
Since publishing the book, I have received numerous texts, calls, and emails, from people who are going through similar trials and tribulations. They were feeling many of the same things I was feeling. The found comfort in the book. They also found they had a desire to change and to live better. They wanted more joy.
I would invite you to read the book and discover the possibilities that God has planned for your life.
Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points!
https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint
All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points.
The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season.
My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts.
https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint
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