Coach Golla

Hello Mr. Golla

I just want to use the opportunity to congratulate you for your d-line videos. They are simply the greatest tapes I happened to put my hands on. It's my 2nd year as a d-line coach and the teachings you provide in your tapes are well detailled and very instructive. You really found a way to explain the techniques and the players you used have very good skills. That helps a lot. Just to let you know that I'm coaching in Canada ( Montreal ) and we don't have much clinics we can attend to. Your tapes greatly compensate for that. Even if our game is a little different, the techs needed to perform on the line are the same. They only thing I need is to find a way to get them more agressive. It's one thing to teach them many techs but what makes the difference is the desire to breach th O-line and get to the ball. Desire is something that you need to get from within. If I had more players ( we are a very small organisation ), I could make them compete for a spot but that's not the case. Anyway, I have a few questions concerning d-line techs.

Because I have small kids and not very strong, they have a hard time performing the push/pull tech. Let's say the DT have the right A Gap ( we don't use the numbering system ) and he's aligned shade IN OG ( left foot up ), should he try to step with his right foot between the feet of the o-line, perform the push/pull and keep his inside arm & leg ready to move in his gap?

Also, is a slant move only good for a pass rush? I like the idea of the lateral / banana step and you seem to use a rip move with your banana step. Can we combine any other move like a salute pin with our banana step in order to vary the techs against the O-Line ( we don't want them to get use to the same move otherwise, they'll adapt and we'll be easy to block )?

Well that's it for now. I'll have more questions as I look and study your tapes

Keep up the good work Mr Golla and you said in the video, the JCFB ( Jerry and Lyle ) site is helping the coaches throughout the nation but it also provide great help in other countries as well.

Thanks guys

Great Stuff!
Coach K, I have been getting skinny versus the double team for 9 years now and it is the best technique I have come across. You must drill this like any other technique, When our kids get a double they are like cats they get skinny to the double team and use their wieght to bring down the base man, keep feet moving and split it. If our momentum stops we do get down and creat a pile taking the base man with us. In the d-line video we have clips of this technique. Im sure its a lot like your technique I will never tell the d-line to get down unless they have to, they are going to make plays.

Coach Yo,
Thank you so much for your complements. When you push pull you do not have to be that strong. Its all the the explosion and your feet. So if an offensive lineman is reaching (trying to take over my gap) I will use my legs and hands to push pull him. If that is not answer your question let me know.

As for move against the offense keep it simple. Use the rip, jerk and a hook saw. Some of our kids only use the rip and jerk. It all depends who your kid is and how much he can learn Master the rip be great at a move. Once the rip is mastered teach rip in and rip out as the counter move. Then teach jerk move. If you have a kid master those then add. You may go 3 years before you add anything else.

If I only had our kids for 2 days I would practice hard on the Every Day Drills 1) dominate leans 2) Hand Rolls 3) Rip Technique
4) Sled ? 5) Explosion Drills Then the stimulus response with only using 1) Base = Squeeze 2) Down = Trap 3) Reach = Push Pull
4) Double = Hip Master those 4 blocks then add if they do master it. If they do not master keep getting reps...

Great questions: I love that we can you in Canada, keep up the good work!

Thank you coach Golla and coach reptile.

Your advices will help me a lot.

Mr. Golla, I was watching your stimulus/response video last night ( again LOL ) and I came up with a few questions:

On a base block, if I understood correctly, you use a 3 pts punch ( eyes on V - hands on chest plate ) and when you say squeeze, do you mean "collapsing the gap" that a MLB is responsible of and keep our gap leg & arm ready to move in our Gap? ( sorry for my bad english - I'm french speaking - nobody's perfect but I understand english very well). Let's say that I'm a RDT and I'm shade In the OG. I'm responsible for the A Gap. If that OG is base blocking me, I'll have to take off, make contact and try to push him out toward the right B Gap. Am I right or did I got it all wrong?

Also, I would like to have more details on the down block. I understand that you need to prevent the down blocker to reach our LB and that you need to watch for a possible trapper. What I really need to know is how exactly do you deal with that incoming trapper ( you talked about outside rip ? ).

Thanks again Mr. Golla. I'm so happy that I have found a great D-Line coach to help me out with techs. I might ask very stupid questions. It's because I never played the game. I'm just a volunteer that loves football and got involved in coaching. I'm 32 and I still have a lot of coaching years in front of me. Most of the knowledge I got is from books and internet. I just hope I won't bug you too much with my stupid questions.

Regards

Coach Yo

< Don't just stand there. Get off and hit someone >

CoachK

I would be very interested in having your advices on the outside rip. How does it work?

Thanks

COACH YO,
Learn all you can but you don't have enough practice time to apply all that stuff to this team. Let them play without burying them with college techs. Bearcrawl low thru gaps respond to pressure, prusue, tackle, strip the ball.

Objective "Destroy the box"!

If you can't resist the lure of trying some of this stuff out I suggest reading Ryans 46 defense book or associated videos. On passing downs they blow in there and often stunt or blitz but on running downs, using a nose guard and two 3 techs shading guards. He has the 3 techs follow only two commands and avoids giving them rules for all the possible blocking combos.

The rules are: 1 Don't be reached - mirror step with blocker - if guard tries to reach you throw your hips out into B gap (at about 45% angle) get your hips back (bent at waist - locked out). The outside hip position adresses control of your b gap, interferes with the rub off block of offensive tackle on lbs, and is efffective vs the double team. Vs the teams you play that will probably be the only reaction they have to train for.
2. If guard steps down - mirror step with him and use inside hand to grab his shirt low just above belt - this second rule is "Dont allow the slip block (to the lb)" the grab will turn you inside - hips once again into b gap" It may well be that at your level a guard will always block your shaded 3 tech and never try to slip to second level. that stuff is all off in a pass situation then shades and techs be dammed just blast the gap. Play pass when they are going to pass, run when they are going to run.

Remember that while it is interesting and informative to try many schemes and techniques, that the players are not really our toys or chess pieces to play with for our preparation for our pro-coaching careers but that we are there not even "to teach them football - which is a vast panorama that we will still be learning about 30 years from now" but rather teach them what they need to know to play the game safetly (proper tackling) and with gusto ( less thinking and reacting more fun - destroy the box, tackle, get the ball).

As Ryan notes even his college team dosen't have the time to rep all the reactions that dad Buddy Ryan used to teach to his pros. Give them as little as they need to function and they may be back for the high school coach.

Mr Golla,

Let's say I'm RDT shade In the OG and have the A Gap. If that OG is trying to reach blocking me ( attacking my right side ), there's a good chance the play will be to my right. Now I know I have to push / pull the OG but do I fight the pressure by pushing with my right and pulling with my left and rip thru the B Gap or do I stick my nose in the A Gap? I'm asking that because if I choose to attack the B Gap and it's already a LB's responsibility, if the RB ( for whatever reason ) decide to cut in the A Gap, I will get screwed right? I just want to know what would be the best move.

Thanks Coach.

Coach Yo

< Don't just stand there. Get off and hit someone >

Coach,
Sorry about the delay. My computer I use is down so I am very much hit and miss... Great answer!! could not say it any better. If your d-tackle is inside shade then the reach is probably going to be more of a down block that you can squeeze then rip off. Coach is right if your player is reached meaning the guard is fully turned on him then instead of push pull you pull push to sling shot by him.
Coach I am sorry for the delay I am trying to get to the internet but having a very hard time.
PGOLLA

Coach,
You always want to get the o-lineman square. If you push up to the right you will rip off with your left arm.