Outside Linebacker Drill Work

You need basic stance & movement drills and getting off of blocks. If you blitz work some blitz tech, B or C gap blitz and edge blitz. Check the thread I started last year on disrupting receivers routes. We went to this technique and alignment and played some very good defense last year. This was new last year rather than dropping into zone and we played the best pass defense we ever have.

We played cover 3 using this technique and mixed in some cover 1. For the OLB it was the same, so we worked on jamming recievers at the LOS, getting as physical as possible. Take away the inside release. In cover 3 if receiver released outside then he was ours man to man. We worked on cutoff angles on these routes and staying over the top of outside release routes. We even carried the Wheel route from #2 with the OLB and our corner knew if #2 was on an outside release then he could jump #1 man to man. This enabled us to be able to disrupt at the LOS, and play the curl/wheel combination.

Every defensive practice starts with a team Hamburger/Oklahoma period or whatever you call it. Use your hands and defeat blocks. Do not be content to trade one for one. In the summer and pre-season we would work more base hands drill vs. sled or breakdown mirror movements vs. Receivers releases.

What I will do different this year is play more man to man just to lock in on receivers in the passing game. We were having a lot of success just playing Cover 3 with the OLB's disrupting receivers but some route combinations in the last game would have been better covered with man to man.