WR: Defeating Press Technique

X&O Labs' Coaching Research Report #110510

The Wide Receiver Study:

Winning the Line of Scrimmage Battle

Using Hands and Feet to Negate Press Coverage

By Mike Kuchar

Senior Research Manager

X&O Labs

mikek@xandolabs.com





It must be noted that our original intent with this report was to provide research on receiver route technique on the quick game with the purpose of preparing coaches for the various 7-on-7 tournaments this summer. But as we started compiling our research, we've found an outpouring of requests for defeating press coverage. Apparently, this was something coaches see a ton of in the summer. As coaches, much of what we do is based on monitoring and adjusting to circumstances. So, we had to pull a "quick-180" and center this report on defeating press coverage and winning the line of scrimmage battle.



So we figured, what better time than now to publish a report on defeating press coverage. Most colleges have wrapped up spring ball and are beginning to have player passing workouts while the high school level is in the process of picking their roster for the numerous upcoming 7-on-7 competitions. We realize that many of you will see a ton of press coverage in 7-on-7, and perhaps significantly less during the season. After all, with no defensive line to get after the QB, teams have to find some way to put pressure on decision making.



After conducting our research on defeating press coverage, we found that the key in doing so relies on the proper use of hands and feet. Not surprised? You shouldn't be. Every essential fundamental of the game relies on the utilization of those two extremities. In any case, the goal is to beat the defensive back off the line of scrimmage, and with the help of coaches around the country we'll show you how.



We understand that there may be different kinds of press coverage - like a pure cloud cover two corner - so for the intentions of this report, we are focusing solely on man-to-man bump and run with no access to a stem of any kind by a receiver (Picture 1). Can't see the photos? Click here.

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Case 1: Redefining the Stance

What our research found is that the majority of coaches will either teach a different stance when encountering press or spend more time developing a certain aspect of the stance (like the difference between the front and back foot). For example, 73.6 percent of coaches will have the inside foot up in their stance, especially when lining up against press. Receivers need to be comfortable when encountering press coverage. Many times, the younger players get tensed or nervous with a defender less than a yard away from their nose.



The majority of coaches, 54.1 percent teach an 80/20 weight distribution, meaning 80 percent of the receiver's weight is on his front foot. The idea is to not rock back or false step. With the weight heavily distributed on the front foot, receivers are now able to "roll over" their front foot and get into the route. We couldn't tell you how many coaches have likened their stance to a sprinter coming out of the blocks during a sprint. Mike Hart, the receivers coach at South County Secondary School (VA) even tells his receivers to turn their inside foot in about a quarter of an inch in order to roll off the ball.



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Po Pomajzl, the wide receivers coach at Grand Island Northwest High School (NE), takes it to a whole other level when teaching the stance to his kids. He actually takes them through a progression (starting from their knees) to make them understand the importance of stance.



Coach Pomajzl's WR Stance Progression:

* Player starts on his knees
* Bring inside foot up so the heel is even to the back knee (Picture 2) Can't see the photos? Click here.

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* Put hands shoulder width apart on the ground in front of your inside foot (Picture 3) Can't see the photos? Click here.

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* Raise your butt up assuming a sprinter's stance as if coming out of the blocks
* Raise your torso up to a 45-degree angle (Picture 5) Can't see the photos? Click here.

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* Hands are in front of torso with elbows bent at 90-degrees and hands relaxed (Picture 6) Can't see the photos? Click here.

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* 90% of weight is on the front foot
* This stance can be adjusted slightly depending on the WRs height and leg length
* Player looks down the LOS to the QB/ball
* At the snap the WR drives his back knee forward pushing off his front foot (no false steps)



In order to emphasize the importance of not false stepping, Dabo Sweeney, the head coach at Clemson University, reinforces that the weight of the front foot should be on the ball of the foot, and not the toe.



Researcher's note: If players don't understand where the ball of the foot is, tell them it's where the shoelaces start. It's helped me in my clarifications.



"I don't want the receiver up on his toe. I want the weight on the ball of the foot as if I were in a chute," says Dabo Sweeney. "We want to drive off the back foot and roll off the front foot. The receiver needs as much weight as it takes to keep him from picking up the front foot at the snap of the ball. If the balance is not right, the receiver will pick up the front foot."



Sweeney will often remind his players, who have NFL-caliber talent, that when they compete in the combines, the clock starts when they move. A false step or hesitation could bring down that 40-time and eventually cost them millions of dollars.



We've also found that the stagger is just as important in a stance. Many coaches will narrow the base of their wide receiver's stance when encountering press coverage. He doesn't want as much stagger in his stance because he has to get his feet up under his body quicker to execute whatever move he is using. Jason McManus, the former receivers coach at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, teaches more of a 90/10 ratio with 90 percent of the weight being on the front leg. He tells his receivers to lean their chin over their front knee, and lower their pad level with the arms at the ready. But he varies his stance into two different types - a base stance, which means one against "open access" where a receiver can get a clean release and one against pure press coverage with no access.



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Base Stance (Picture 7) Can't see the photos? Click here.

* Inside foot up - 90 percent lean
* Feet shoulder width apart
* Weight on balls of feet of front foot
* Chin over front knee
* Hide jersey numbers, keep shoulder down

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Press Stance (Picture 8) Can't see the photos? Click here.

* Inside foot up - 60 percent lean
* Feet must be able to come to parallel (this helps with balance)
* Hands at the ready

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Case 2: Initiating Foot Movement

We'll state the obvious here - it all starts with stance. But once the stance is established, the feet must come next. Of course, there are different ways in which a receiver can move his feet to get release (we will explain many below) but when compiling our research we found one common thread regarding the use of hands and feet: the hands, eyes and feet must all work together. They must work in conjunction with one another in order to be successful defeating press. It's important to remember that a line of scrimmage battle is a line of scrimmage battle, regardless of the position. Much like a defensive lineman, a receiver must have a plan to attack the defender based on his positioning and ability. While this may vary depending on the release of the route, what we decided to is break down the most used releases in regards to moving the feet (no hands yet):



Foot-Fire Release (35.5% preference among coaches)

* Description: The receiver is attacking the defensive back's technique up field taking him opposite of where he wants to go. The feet of the receiver go up and down at a rapid pace to generate movement to get into the stem of the route.
* Positives: The foot fire technique is one of the more popular methods receivers will use to get open. Most of the coaches we spoke with teach this progression to their receivers to get free.
* Negatives: It doesn't always mesh up with quick game timing, so most coaches will use it to run intermediate routes. The receiver can spend too much time on the foot fire and not get into his stem quickly enough.
* Drill Work: North Texas wide receivers coach Nick Quartaro works a foot-fire drill with five cones set up in 45-degree angles. Each cone is set up approximately one yard from each other. The receiver begins the drill by starting a quick foot-fire to each cone. Once reaching the cone, he wants to stick his foot and foot-fire to the next.



One-Step Jab (29.4% preference among coaches)

* Description: Also used as a "dead leg" technique, a receiver will step opposite of where the route is intended. For example, a receiver would step outside on an inside route and inside on an outside route.
* Positives: If done quickly, the move can be vital. It must be paired up with some form of hand to hand combat - either a club and rip or club and punch. The idea is to "sell" the opposite stem and turn the defensive back's hips and shoulders.
* Negatives: Sometimes defenders will choose their leverage (inside or outside) forcing a receiver to go opposite. In this case, it's recommended to take leverage where you can get it.
* Drill Work: Partner up a wide receiver and defensive back. Rotate DB's leverage (inside or outside) and have receiver work the one-step jab. In order to emphasize the footwork, Sweeney first teaches this drill to his receivers with his hands behind his back.



Speed Release (24% preference among coaches)

* Description: A speed release is a release at all costs. A receiver must now take whatever angle he needs to in order to get underneath or outside of the defensive back (depending on the route).
* Positives: There is rarely an identification of the route from a defensive back's standpoint. It could be various stems, or even a running play and the defensive back cannot identify it, putting him in a difficult spot to defend.
* Negatives: It's essential that a receiver gets back on his step immediately after taking his speed release. If not, the route is lost.
* Drill Work: One-on-one drills are preffered. You must, however, emphasize getting off the ball as fast as possible.



Two-Step Jab or Double Move (10.7% preference among coaches)

* Description: This is used on a defensive back who may over play the first step. The receiver fakes in the direction he wants to go, then shifts his weight to the inside and explodes back to the outside. It's not necessarily an actual step inside; it can just be a subtle weight shift to be effective.
* Positives: It's an effective set-up technique after working the one-step jab continuously. Once a defensive back starts to over play the one step jab, the receiver can now execute the double move.
* Negatives: It's a technique that is difficult to master, particularly at the high school level where players lack experience. On the weight shift, a younger player can be off balance and lose his footing, deterring the timing of the route.
* Drill Work: Works best in one-on-one situations particularly in intermediate routes.



Squirt Release (Reader Request)

* Description: Another release most commonly used on slant plays, particularly if the defensive back presses the receiver with an inside technique. The receiver fires off the ball and on the third step, he explodes through the inside of the defender and turns him. When the receiver gets the defender turned, he has up to four yards to win on the route. He has to stick his outside foot in the ground, get his hips turned and gain ground and get vertical with the inside foot.
* Positives: Again, it's all about using the defensive backs momentum against him. The squirt causes the defensive back to get on his heels, instead of his toes.
* Negatives: It's another higher level technique to learn, mainly used for advanced receivers. It can be combined with a fade route as well. If the defensive back sits on the squirt, the receiver can plant his inside foot and is gone on the fade route.
* Drill Work: When Sweeney teaches the squirt he does it with two bags. The first bag is four yards off the line because that is the point the receiver wants to fire through the inside shoulder of the defensive back. The second bag is at the point the receiver wants to get his foot in the ground and force himself vertically by the defender.



Case 3: Winning the Line of Scrimmage With Hand to Hand Combat

Once the feet move, the hands must follow. We can't emphasize enough the coaching point that the hands must work in conjunction with the feet. While the feet are vital post-snap, many coaches feel that hand placement is even more important. In fact, 60.8 percent of coaches feel the hands are more important in getting a release off press coverage. The hand placement techniques can be used with any of the footwork we discussed in the prior case. When working on this report, we found a lot of similarities with the techniques a defensive lineman would use on his pass rush. Many coaches, including Ventura College (CA) head coach Steve Mooshagian spent a sufficient amount of time watching the other side of the ball at practice. As a young coach at Fresno State University, Mooshagian would visit with his defensive line coach Mike Wauffle - who has since won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants - to pick up tips on what he told his defensive line.



There may be numerous hand techniques used to get off the ball, but we've selected the top few based on our surveys. We recommend that all of these techniques be drilled consistently and without bias. Like defensive lineman, these receivers need to know all of the techniques first before making a decision on which one best caters to their ability.



Club and Rip or Swipe - (59.3% preference among coaches)

Similar to a defensive lineman, here the receiver will fake in one direction, then club and rip by defender (Picture 9). Can't see the photos? Click here. For example, if a receiver wanted to release inside against an inside leverage defender, he would step outside and club with his inside hand simultaneously on the first step. On the second step, he will bring his outside hand and rip through defender gaining the desired leverage.

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Sounds simple, but different coaches teach various aiming points on the swipe. Eric Struck, the receivers coach at Washington High School (SD) talks about slapping the elbow of the defender. "We feel that we just want his shoulders to turn. That is our goal, and the elbow collapsing gives us the best opportunity to do that," says Struck.



Mooshagian teaches to swat at the bicep instead to get the defender's body turned. "We almost want to grab and turn that bicep," he says. "The other arm will dip and rip so my shoulders are now turned. It limits the surface area for the defender to make contact with. But the key is to stay tight to the hip of the defender; we can't run away without getting up field."



In order to teach this Mooshagian will have a cone set up five yards down field and two yards outside the receiver's initial alignment. Now the receiver works his club and swipe, but must get into his step for five yards and can't let defender knock him more than two yards off his stem.



Chop Technique - (38.6% preference among coaches)

This technique can be done with one or both hands. The receiver wants to violently collapse the hands of the defensive back. He does this by using the bottom of his forearms to slam down on the tops of the forearms of the defender (Picture 10). "We talk about breaking the defenders forearms," says Brian Flinn, the receivers coach at Villanova. "We want our hands six inches from our facemasks. When we see hands we knock them down with either a double chop or a chop and club." Can't see the photos? Click here.

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Club and Swim - (2.1% preference among coaches)

Just as the swim move is becoming obsolete among defensive line coaches, so is the same technique with receiver coaches - yet another parallel between the two positions. The punch has now replaced the swim technique. It's a technique that Mooshagian has been coaching since his days earlier in the decade when he mentored receivers like Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh with the Cincinnati Bengals. Mooshagian feels that this is only a move for taller receivers because with smaller receivers the outside arm could be caught on the exchange. He wouldn't even let his receivers use the technique unless they were over six feet tall (Picture 11). Can't see the photos? Click here.

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"We want to swat at the bicep with the opposite arm," said Mooshagian. (Note: opposite refers to the arm opposite the intended release. If a receiver wanted to release inside, he would swat with the outside arm and vice versa.) "Then we want to follow through with the swim with the other arm. We always talked about reaching through a window to grab a bag of candy; that was our coaching point. He had to almost grab the shoulder pad of the defensive back"



Case 4 - The End Result: Getting the Defender Stacked

Regardless of the footwork used or the hand placement used, every receiver's goal is to get the defensive back stacked where now he is caught in a trail position. When this happens, the receiver is in total control of the route. On vertical stemmed routes such as the fade, seam or corner route, the ideal position is to be in a vertical stack which means you are directly on top of the defender (Picture 12). On horizontal stemmed routes like digs, drags and posts, the ideal position is to be in a horizontal stack which means you are hip to hip with the defender (Picture 13). When using the methods explained above, this position could be quickly attainable against press coverage. Can't see the photos? Click here.

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Concluding Report

Perhaps Mooshagian said it best when he said that defeating press coverage is a learned art that must be repped continuously even if it doesn't present itself daily. "We maintain what we use and we lose what we fail to maintain," he says. "We have to practice all these techniques every chance we get. It doesn't matter if we're seeing press or not. Some defenses will do it more in training camp or 7-on-7's (if relative to high school) then back off when the season starts. But somebody will press at some point. And you have to have a fail-safe plan when they do." Our hope is that we've provided you with enough of a plan in this report to prepare you to defeat press coverage.



For questions or comments on this report, please contact Mike Kuchar, Senior Research Manager, X&O Labs, at mikek@xandolabs.com.