Jamming receivers help

I'll probably take you up on the offer to call. I'll be interested in your footwork and visual keys for starters.

Coach,

We are on the balls of our feet feet moving SLIGHTLY so as not to be caught flat footed by the "foot fire" technique of the receiver as he releases. if you sit on those steps, that is what you will be doing as he releases in a flash past you!

Coach Easton

Sincerely hope this helps you, it is how I have coached for a lot of years now. Glad to help anytime, just call or ask right here.

Coach Easton.

Tiger One,
By saying first Down Hill step when jamming are you saying his first step inside?
Coach L

Coach,

I usually play a tight man pass coverage (Against an on the line receiver, the DB in on the line. Against an off the line receiver, the DB mirrors his depth) with an inside shade on the wide receiver. When I teach my DB's to jam I tell them to hit with the inside hand on the shoulder and the outside hand to the throat or sternum area. Like you say, I teach then to hit hard. Recently I heard of another technique where the DB is taught to get the inside hand into the receivers inside armpit. Have you any thoughts on the effectiveness of this technique verses the hand to the shoulder technique?

Additionally, my HC worries about run support by the DB's when we go to man coverage. I generally have the DB's focus on the receiver, not looking back at the QB. When the receiver looks up for the ball, the DB looks up for the ball. At times my DB's get "run-off" by the receivers, but they recover and make plays. Do you have any techniques to improve run support by the DB's from this type of man man coverage? Even if it means changing alignment rules.

Thanks,

Coach V

COWBOY48,

Here is how I align, in the event you want to give it a try: we have a 5 and a 3 tech on the backside- a 3 and a 7 tech on the frontside- we roll the corners up and play hard man under(bump and run)with inside leverage. We stack the LB's between the guards. We place our twin safties at 3 yds deep off the LOS and 5 yds wide from the TE on the frontside and from the backside 5 tech. We set the FS in the MOF at 12 yds to balance everything up. We stem to a variety of techniques to stop the bleeding on the line or wherever the situation calls for. We crash our DE's about 99% of the time and we play tough assignment football when we face an option team, which at our level we do not see but maybe one time a season. Just my way, but it has helped us to a record of 76 wins-23 losses-1 tie for regular season play with two Division Championships, 7 playoff wins and the 1994 AFL Super Bowl Championship while elevating 31 players to the next level of professional football including the NFL, the CFL, the NFL Europe League the Arena 1 and af2 leagues. I know it works! Didn't mean to come on too strong, but am totally convinced that if you have the right personnel in the right places, it is a great defense!

Coach Easton

Cowboy,

My "Dawg Backs" (SS"S) are better athletes than just being either a DB or a LB. These guys have to really be able to bring the funk on run support, run with WR's, TE's, Cover backs out, etc. THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ALL.

Yes, they often times cover TE's as we are a total man coverage team(bump and run) and only come out of it if we are forced out of it by superior speed which doesn't happen to us very often. That means they will always have the #2 receiver be it a slot or a TE.

We do not take our FS out of the middle of the field, EVER. I do not believe in that at all. Our safety plays "solo zone" for the most part, which frees him up to go wherever he is needed. We will walk our LB out and try our best to manhandle him (#3) and not give him access to the pattern at all, if possible! If he escapes our FS will jump him, yes. He is reading this matchup all the way for just such an emergency, but we do not align him over the TE ever. I know this is a popular method of the new 30 looks, but I don't run that look. To me a LB's main job is to stop the run, the DB's to play the pass. But, my SS's have to do both with total aggressiveness, speed, and talent! For your last question in the last paragraph of your post, like I say we are a total man scheme team. No matter what set we look at, we are going to roll up and play hard man straight across the board! I do have some 16 coverages that incorporates man under and zone deep, (but all of our coverages are really combos as we are never going to play zone under unless absolutely necessary) zone on one side, man on the other,etc. Out of the 16 we utilize 9 pretty much every game. I do have a disguise cover 2 that I patrol the LB's underneath in zone and revert both safties into different areas of the field that has proven very effective for us over the years. 2 years ago we got 9 INT's out of this coverage alone. We run and throw out of some 22-23 formations counting just one side, and you have to have coverages to compliment every front
in order to be sound.

Coach Easton

Lazy or super quick, our technique never changes. The CB's stay with #1 as we have our twin SS's to handle any other threat that may develop.

We have never seen a TE outside of a WR, but if we did it would not make the slightest difference as CB is going to have #1 and SS is going to have #2 and a LB is going to have #3. You see, coach, we do not break the rules! We have a plan if things are not working for us, but that is generally not the case.

No, we never employ any kind of slide, revert, shuffle, etc. WE ARE TOTALLY FOCUSED ON THE RECEIVER AND HIM MAKING HIS FIRST DOWNHILL STEP. If the receiver is dead in front, we thrust with closed hands and aiming point is his breast plate just below the heart! Almost identical technique to our OLM vs. DLM.
Most often he will be at an angle to your DB's outside as you are playing inside leverage. Our first contact is with inside hand to his rib cage! Almost simutaneously, his left hand will punch the receivers outside shoulder and try to turn him if we are more physical than he is (like a LB on their # 3) IF NOT, WE DO NOT BREAK CONTACT FOR ANY REASON AND LIKE ELECTRICITY, TAKE HIM WHERE HE WANTS TO GO WITHOUT A BIG FIGHT, JUST DESTROY HIS TIMING WITH THE QB AND RIDE HIM UNTIL THE WHISTLE BLOWS!!! I REALLY STRESS MAINTAINING CONTACT, BECAUSE WE ONLY HAVE 5 YDS. TO ESTABLISH CONTACT, AFTER THAT IT IS ILLEGAL, BUT AS LONG AS YOU MAINTAIN ORIGINAL CONTACT WITHOUT HOLDING, YOUR FINE.

Coach Easton