Developing Power, Explosionđź’Ą and Skill in Your Players
Mar 09, 2022 6:28 pm
Coach ,
Watching the biggest of men display their power, explosion, and athleticism at the NFL Combine may be the area most worth digging into to understand the development necessary to move a big body that way.
12 offensive linemen turned in 40 times under 5.0 seconds and 7 defensive tackles were 5.0 or better. Only two of these 19 athletes were under 300 pounds (both were 290).
That’s very impressive but I’m sure the first thought is that “it doesn’t matter what a big man runs in the 40.”
The 40-yard Dash for Linemen - So What?
True, they rarely run 40 yards on a single play, and of the primary attributes that are needed in the trenches, straight-ahead speed probably isn’t listed in the top three, but it does matter.
Why? Because a big body that can move that fast must be powerful and explosive.
Tony Holler has studied the development of speed and power in the big men whom he calls the “Big Cats.” The main premise to understand is that speed amplifies power. He loves to point this out by showing JaDaveon Clowney anchoring the 4x100 in high school. I’ve shown this video before, but here it is in case you missed it (click on image for video)
VIDEO: JADAVEON CLOWNEY-SPEED AMPLIFIES POWER
As mentioned, Coach Holler likes to call the linemen “Big Cats.” It projects the mindset of athleticism rather than sloth. Training linemen for speed has huge benefits for their game performance. As he pointed out with the Clowney video, speed amplifies power.
He also points out that slow linemen fatigue faster. This certainly is an issue when we want to win in the 4th quarter. Holler explains the benefits and rationale behind making speed training for the Big Cats a priority in these next videos that start here (click on image for video):
Video: Big Cats should be speed trained
OL Skill Development
Skill development matters as well. These linemen are taken through drills that show their skill in protecting the passer, run blocking, engaging blockers, and as well as defeating them.
For the last two seasons, Tampa Bay OL Coach Joe Gilbert has been tasked with protecting the GOAT Tom Brady. He has a simple method for developing the skills necessary to keep the Goat off his back.
Super Bowl LVII Champion OL Coach Joe Gilbert of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers likes to keep it simple in how much he teaches. For OT pass protection it boils down to Set Lines, Punch, and Mirror. He explains the why behind his progression here(click on image for video):
Video: OT Protection Techniques
One Technique he uses in Pass Pro is the Pillar Punch. It allows your offensive linemen to play long and keep defensive linemen at a distance while stopping them with a strong punch.
Coach Gilbert strongly believes in teaching the Pillar Punch which he learned from Browns assistant OL Coach Scott Peters. He explains and illustrates with drill video how he has adopted the punch here (click on image for video):
Develop the Hips
Former NFL offensive linemen Mike Pollack prepares players for the draft by teaching them how to use leverage and engage the most powerful part of their body, their hips.
He explains how he does that in this video (click on image for video):
DL Skill Development
For interior defensive linemen, skill is necessary as well. Of course, it’s not blindly firing off the ball. There’s much more to it. Antoine Smith, now the DL Coach at Temple has divided the skill development into 5 areas which he explains in this video(click on image for video):
Attack and Control with get-off and knockback are key to stopping the run. Staying square is an important skill that Coach Smith explains with game video here (click on image for video):
The Engaged Tackle
Fordham assistant Vince DiGaetano has extensively studied the ability to win a short area of space on the field. Most defenders in the box face situations when they are at short range and power is not 100%, and they can’t cleanly get off of the block. He calls this situation where the defensive lineman must get off a block and make a play the “engaged tackle.”
How important is coaching the engaged tackle? 70% of a defensive lineman’s tackle is made while engaged with a blocker. A linebacker will have this situation about 30% of the time.
For Coach Dig, the Gap One Arm Tackle is the starting point for training a defensive lineman to make plays while engaged with a blocker. He explains it here(click on image for video):
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Taking this to the practice field and execution on the game day starts with effective and applicable drills. The One Arm Tear Drill is one of Dig’s favorites. He illustrates it here (click on image for video):
What’s this look like in-game? Coach Dig breaks it down here (click on image for video):
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As I mentioned in yesterday’s email, there’s a lot to take away from the NFL Combine in terms of developing our players to improve their performance on the field.
Hopefully, the information shared by these coaches today helps spark some ideas that you can utilize both in the off-season and when it’s time to hit the practice field.
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski