We found these football training drills to be effective and fun.  They are actually based on a basketball drill and defensive formation called the 2-2-1 (some basketball coaches call it the 1-2-2, it is just the perspective from where you look).

Here’s the drill:
We rotate our LB’s at the top of the key. LB covers top of the key and left to right of the top key.
CB’s are placed at each side of the free throw line. They cover inside and outside that line.
Our Safety’s are placed at the bottom covering the basket. They cover the CB’s and anything to the deep corner’s.
We pass the football around the court and our backs move in the direction of the ball and close in as the ball is caught and passed.

It’s a great football drill for our backs. Here are the advantages:

  • The CB’s on many of our drills intercept the balls as they anticipate and cover the pass.
  • The LB’s focus on the ball and are quicker moving to the ball.
  • The Safety’s focus on the ball and cover open areas as well as moving to the ball.
  • It’s a great football footwork drill too. Plus, our backs have fun with this drill.

On the high school level, we brought in our basketball coaches to teach this 2-2-1. For fun, we usually conclude this drill with a little “One on One Defense! and yea, we actually play a little basketball while we’re at it! It’s fun, it improves their skill’s on the field– IT WORKS!

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