Strong side linebacker drills pdf

As your players master this drill, the next player can begin his run after the. The inside and middle linebacker drills below are designed to build a complete leader to anchor the middle of the defense. One is the outside linebacker olb, whose job is to tackle players, rush the passer, and sometimes drop back in coverage to prevent catches. Sit in the film room with your linebacker and implement these drills and techniques into your linebacker routine and watch your linebackers grow and become a feared force. As was previously mentioned, we incorporate cans as offensive linemen specifically, a center and both tackles. Today im going to talk to you about linebacker drills for stopping the run. This can be done by having great vision, great footwork, and great. A base 43 defense against a three wide receiver offense. Through the accumulation of this information i was able to. Te will explode into big, heavy bag to simulate blocking an opponent. Athome football drills top 5 drills for solo football. He must be able to stop the opponents running game, and he must put significant pressure on opposing quarterbacks. In a 43 defense, the middle linebacker mike is in strong a gap, the strong backer sam is in strong c gap, and the weak backer will is in weak b gap diagram 1. We know that you have found the right drills for your youth football team, and we hope you enjoy using them.

These guys each have a job to do, and the job depends on how they read the play. If the fullback shows hard flow strong, the mike linebacker heads towards the a gap strong diagram 2. Some form of this drill is at the core of every linebacker group. Sam is a common designation for strong outside linebacker, while the other position is usually called jack and is often a hybrid delb. Top 7 keys to coaching the complete linebacker afca insider. The strong side linebacker is responsible for the te in coverage and will be the guy who controls the outside on strong side runs. So his rise to the top of the crop in the nflhes formerly the the highestpaid defensive player in historyis no fluke. Perform them on a regular basis to build a strong foundation that will put you in. As demonstrated in diagram 4, three offensive linemen to the call side are sliding to. The best linebackers must be agile, strong and quick enough to read and react to a play. Field the wide side of the field when the football is snapped from the hash.

The safeties make force calls to their side to determine who the force player is. The 53 defense features a nose guard, two defensive tackles, two defensive ends, a middle linebacker, a strong side linebacker, a weak side linebacker, two corners and a free safety. Set up a ball and cones to show ol spots 2g, feet are shoulder width. At trine our defensive staff is very technique conscious. Everyday linebacker drills you need to be using afca insider. Among football positions, linebacker is one of the most demanding.

Its packed with 27 solo and partner training drills for throwing, defending, ballhandling and scoring. At the snap of the ball, all linebackers must read the play and recognize it as a run or pass. There are four linebacker positions in alabama defensive coordinator kirby smarts defense. The center will declare his responsibility to the strong side, working with the strong guard and tackle. Linebacker manual american football team sports scribd. Inside is a mike linebacker that plays to the tight end, or strong side of the formation, and a willy linebacker that plays to the weak side of the formation. Lb boot camp youth football coaching football drills. Two big points of emphasis crawl ons get to the pile. To be a great linebacker, it is essential to have a coach with strong football knowledge that can be transferred into the mind of the athlete. These linebacker drills prepare him to do his best on stopping the run. Our best overall linebacker is in the middle, our best athlete is our field linebacker and our next best linebacker is our short side linebacker. Running backs widening alignment position to get easier release. Purpose here we look to attack the strong side of the formation, with the sam linebacker coming on a blitz to the. The defensive line will rush their regular gaps, trying to beat their blockers and get to the quarterback.

Inside linebacker techniques and drills to develop them. Where they line up on the field is based on which position they play. These are broken down into a weak side, strong side and middle linebacker. Sam linebacker has walked up to the line of scrimmage, ready to blitz the strong c gap. In this section, youll find our 25 favorite linebacker drills for speed, agility, runstopping, pass rush, tackling, coverage, and interception skills. In this section, youll find our 25 favorite linebacker drills for speed, agility. Alabamas alignment features a nose tackle lined up heads up or over the strong side eye of the center, and two defensive ends lined up over the offensive tackles. Fall on it if theres any doubt at all about whether to scoop or fall on it. Linebacker drills to stop the run joe daniel football. To help with this, and to make things more confusing for people learning the basics of the game, the linebacker. Second is the term hook, which is the second underneath defender inside the cornerback.

He will be involved in a gap exchange with the defensive end, who steps down to replace a down blocking tight end, and wrong arms the kick out blocker. At times, he will also play mantoman coverage on either. When player reaches the end of the bags, he then returns to the starting point, and finishes the drill with a hard fiveyard sprint. A linebacker is a defensive position in the game of american football. To be a strong linebacker, you need to have speed, brains, strength and be a good team player. At times, he will also play mantoman coverage on either the tight end or the number two or three receiver. Plus whats known as a bandit the mike and will are considered the inside linebackers in this formation, while the sam and bandit are the outside linebackers. Typically when a defense goes to a 425 nickel defense, they. Jamal adams breaks down how to use presnap reads to make big plays nfl film session duration. Lb takes half step back with outside foot and narrows stance. The sam linebacker is responsible for c gap strong on runs to his side. Hold stance and fire straight ahead on coachs command. They have major responsibilities defending the run and the pass. All organized into 5 predesigned workout plans you can print out or save to your phone.

The most important drill we do as linebackers is our reads drill. One defines a confined contact region 5 yards wide with practice bags. He motivates his teammates by his desire to be the best player he can be. The weakside inside linebacker is typically called the will, while the strong side or middle inside linebacker is called the mike. Formation the alignment of the eleven offensive players front seven term referring to the four defensive linemen and three linebackers. Linebackers have a demanding role on the football field. Eventually, a successful linebackers fundamentals will be committed to muscle memory and hell be able to position himself to react to offensive threats with maximum speed and efficiency. It requires football knowledge, strength, agility, and a good coach.

Once into the shuffle, player always maintains a great base with feet. They are responsible for stopping the run, covering the pass and rushing the passer. We place him there because he is responsible for the a gap on the strong side or b gap on the weak side, depending on the direction of the play. Behind these guys we have three linebackers, the strong side or sam linebacker sl, the middle or mike linebacker ml, and the weak side or will linebacker wl. Both 34 inside linebackers and 43 middle linebackers have a similar role in the. Linebacker simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Linebacker drills for youth football developing great linebackers. On the strong side, the mike middle linebacker has the a gap, 3 tech dt the b gap, and the sam takes the c. We obviously need inside linebacker talent to win, but it is our opinion that technique is more important than scheme though we believe strongly in our scheme. We can say this though, as a linebacker you need to be strong as hell, fast as hell, and mean as hell. Another great one is to have a friend give commands either forwardreverse and side to side. The outside linebacker who is reducing spills the ball toward the appropriate force player. In a cover 3, there is a strong side postsnap reduction where the defensive line slants on the weak side, while the sam lb blitzes the cgap. Film cutup a group of plays lumped together for convenient film viewing purposes.

The dline wants to free up a large, athletic linebacker corps to make plays all over the field. The default responsibility for the linebacker is to read and react to the open offensive lineman to the lbs side of the field. On occasion alabama overloads the strong side by aligning the defensive end to the strong tight end side lines up on the inside eye of the tackle, while on the weak side, the end. When designing your drills you should use the following words to help in. He needs to provide strong run support and fill his gap on the run, but he also is required to drop in short zones in both cover 2 and cover 3. Strong side means the side of the offense that has the tight end, normally on the defenses left. Stay square, head up and protect your out side leg. The sde 9 will set the edge and pinch the d gap outside the te. Principles, progressions of the linebacker position. They must also be strong enough to defeat moving blockers and agile enough to make tackles in the open field. The outside linebacker on the strong side of the formation is often referred to as the sam. If the defensive line shifts their alignment with the tight ends position e.

The responsibilities of an outside linebacker can vary greatly based on defensive scheme and skills of the individual. Usually, this is a guard but may be the tackle in some alignments. This means that unlike most linebackertype roles, which tend to send the mike to the strength of the offense, the money will rotate to both the strong and weak sides. A bearcat linebacker is tough, aggressive, and confident. Bearcat linebackers give great effort on game day, practice day, and workouts involving the weight room and conditioning aspects. For a linebacker vs ol case, the lb plays back a yard or two and offset to one side of his blocker, to simulate a real situation. Qb takes excessive drop, gets too deep too quickly. Linebacker is not a position, it is a state of mind. The strongside linebacker, or sam linebacker, is a versatile run and pass coverage backer in a 43 defense. The sam, or strong side linebacker, will line up on the same side of the tight end, and his responsibility will be c gap on that side of the field. The linebacker requires the most versatility of all the positions on the defensive side of the ball. If the offensive lineman recoils in pass protection, the lb steps back and to the outside a few steps offering p ass coverage in the short hook zone.

Hat placement should be on the side of leverage linebackers leverage responsibility in the defensive scheme. If a tackle or wingback comes at a linebacker from the side with an angle block, the linebacker needs to lean into the. Why bobby wagner should win defensive player of the year nfl breakdowns ep. The success of a linebacker stopping a run play for minimum gain lies in his ability to read the play and react to it without hesitation. Outside linebackers are usually among the most versatile of defenders on a football field. While facing the drill director, player starts in a 3point stance with legs straddling. The 53 defense offers balance and flexibility youth football. Linebackers must be strong enough to take on a 300pound lineman and make a tackle, but they must also be elusive enough to drop into coverage and make a play on the ball. Being the leader in the middle of the defense in football is no easy job, but somebody has to do it. Backs may align or lean to side they are fakingpulling. Slide protection schemes and technique smart football. Nick sabans alabama pass coverages rileykolste football. The different linebacker positions are broken down by the alignment of the offense. How to be an excellent linebacker with pictures wikihow.

Below are outside linebacker drills for run stopping, pass coverage, pass rushing, and tackling. Defensive line technique and the 43 over front shakin. Diagram 1 if there are two or more wide receivers to a side, the backer to that side splits the difference between the no. The best thing about this defense is that it is strong against all types of offensive attacks. These are broken down into a weakside, strongside and middle linebacker. At the snap of the ball, the sam linebacker will blitz. There are two drills today that im going to use to emphasize the most important characteristics of a runstopping linebackers and the first one would be to defeat blocks. The alignment of the linebackers is determined by the strong side of the offense.

Sean weatherspoon is an example of a strong side lb who can cover tes very well. Inside linebackers teaching reaction part 1 football toolbox. B gap while the rest of the defense players give a. Where this is going to be important is when you play teams that run a lot of power and counter. Using the offensive center the one who hikes the ball as the middle line, the strong side of an offense is the side where more players lined up with the offenses tight end usually among the strong side players. In a 43 defense there are three linebackers on the field in a base set. The strong side linebacker, or sam linebacker, is a versatile run and pass coverage backer in a 43 defense. Some of my favorite drills are box drills where you are constantly cutting at full speed. On command, lb will backpedal, lateral shuffle, or sprint forward upon the direction of. These 5 linebacker drills will get you better fast stack.