Purpose: 

To take the techniques we have established in the press man transition drill and apply them to a game-like situation.

Setup: 

Have players pair off with a teammate and form a line, with the first pair stepping up onto the LOS and facing each other.

 

Player transitioning from press off the line into trail technique downfield.
Diagram of players performing the Press Man Trail Technique drill.

Instructions:

  1. On the coach’s signal, the receiver will release to the outside, with the defensive back jamming with the inside arm on the inside shoulder, dropping the back foot and opening up the hips.
  2. As the receiver moves downfield, the defender will run alongside while maintaining contact with the arm they initially jammed with.
  3. As they continue downfield and push the receiver out to the sideline, the corner should look back over their inside shoulder, so that they can see where the QB is looking and anticipate the throw if necessary.

Coaching Tips:

  • Most of the time we don’t want the defender to always be hip to hip with receiver – this is because on a jump ball or under-thrown ball, the receiver can simply push the defender past him and make an uncontested play on the ball.
  • We will ask our corners to play hip to hip sometimes, but it is a much more advanced technique. For example, if the corner is on an island without any safety help, they will need to play more in stride with the receiver, as if they get beat deep it will likely be a touchdown.