Defensive Line Play

Coaches--It can be hard teaching your young linemen to play D line the proper way. The natural reaction is to just break through the line and try to kill the quarterback, right?? But what about the draw play, or the fullback who hits the hole so fast that a charging lineman runs right by him? Teach the kids the proper technique of hitting their man and then locating the ball. This allows your linebackers the time to find the ball carrier also since they aren't getting hammered by the O line. Also, teach your ends to take the outside route to the backfield so that he doesn't get jammed inside and give up the sweep. Remember, a D linemen's job is not to just take off and charge into the backfield. Don't let the parents of your D linemen insist that their son should be getting into the backfield more. Sure they will occasionally get lucky and get a sack or a terrific looking run stop. But they will much more often lose containment around the end or watch as a back runs right by them and around the linebacker who is now getting blocked by the O linemen. A good D lineman will jam his man, find the football, and then do some damage. A coach who insists on good fundamental D line play will get better results than a coach who just says, "go get that QB"