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Written by Roderick Rogers 9/4/2024 A few weeks ago, the last blog discussed that press coverage was designed to disrupt the route and the receiver’s timing in hopes the pass rush could get to the quarterback before he throws the ball. We explained the importance of the defensive back's stance as well as alignment. Can we go a little deeper this time around? Did you realize that there is a difference between press coverage and jam coverage? How DBs Can Improve Their Jam Press Alignment Press is more about the alignment of the defensive back on the receiver. There is a soft press alignment about 1 ½ a yard away from the receiver. The hard press alignment will put the DB within a yard of the receiver.  I teach my DBs to make the decision on the press alignment they will rely on after watching film on the receiver and the style of their release. Is the receiver a mover meaning the step forward on the snap. Usually, the bigger receivers and tight ends are mover. They are afraid to be touched by the DB at the line of scrimmage because they trust their strength. The smaller receivers like to shake because they aren’t comfortable with defenders' getting hands on them and getting physical. These guys will dance at the snap hoping that your feet will move you out of position for a clean release.  It’s not just about lining up and using your athleticism, be smart by studying your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Give yourself the advantage like the top defensive backs that you see have outstanding performances verses the competition. The Jam Technique The jam is what the defensive back does when aligned in the press position. There are different kinds of jams that you should know about to help you win against your opponent. The quick two hand jam, which some players will not show by keeping their feet parallel in the stance while others will give it away with a staggered look.  Off Hand Jam Another kind of jam is the off-hand jam that I really like. It really helps for receivers that take the easiest path for the release. The jam allows you to open your hips in the direction of the route runners release. The near hand jam is great for those defensive backs who love to redirect the route runners. For example, if a receiver tries to cross the face of the DB to attack leverage at the line of scrimmage, the defender will post a strong hand and resist hard. That means if I am inside leverage on the receiver, I will post my inside hand to make the receiver go around. You take the chance of your hip locking with this technique so be careful. Conclusion Now that you understand the difference between press and jam, it's time for you to go to work and perfect these techniques. In the next blog we will discuss kick step, motor, and gather techniques. Stay connected to us each week for information that will help you become elite. References Press-man coverage technique and the jam explained - Big Blue View (70) How DBs Can Improve Their Jam - YouTube

Written by Roderick Rogers 8/29/2024 Your visual acuity is one of your most vital senses. If you would like to become an elite defensive back, then your eyesight will be extremely helpful. I am speaking of your ability to have disciplined eyes and unwavering focus throughout the reps. The eyes will facilitate rapid decision-making and enhance situational awareness, both of which are pivotal in keeping track of both teammates and adversaries on the field. Why are your eyes so important? A defensive back, who gets caught looking in the backfield as a receiver slips behind them, will cost the team. Each time the ball snaps, defensive backs are given an individual challenge, and you need to stay focused on that battle with your eyes. It doesn’t matter if you are a safety reading your run/pass keys or a corner performing coverage on a wide receiver.  I’ve spent a lot of my life watching and playing football. From experience, many times I would miss a tackle after losing eye contact with the ball carrier's hips. Others will close your eyes right before contact and open them to see that the person with the ball has eluded you. How about the fade or go route, when the defensive back has their back and eyes turned away from the ball trying to track the receiver, never having vision on the quarterback and the location of the receiver at the same time. Often times, that doesn't turn out well for the defender. They end up getting head topped or not able to make a play on the pass, which can turn into a touchdown score for the offense putting your teammates behind at important points in the game. Another example is when a safety starts chasing the football, that is in a running back's grasp and loses sight of the ball only to eventually learn that the ball carrier redirected and reversed his direction back to the other side of the field. What I am trying to explain is this, the minute you lose focus on the football field and your eyes are undisciplined, you will take yourself out of position and mistakes follow. When you continue to make the same mistakes over and over, you will eventually lose you spot on the depth chart and ultimately surrender your spot with the organization. This game is tough and requires you to keep a satisfactory performance, building the team up with your abilities. Football is a game built to get you distracted and focused on the things that do not matter, rather than locking into your responsibility. Do not fall for the bait, instead make it a point to get your eyes on your task and keep them there. If you do so, more than likely you will experience success. All Eyes DB Camp, Chad Wilson, speaks about in his article, the importance of visual tracking exercise to develop eye discipline and their ability to track moving objects. One activity is tracking a ball with your eyes as it moves from hand to hand or tracking the flight of a bouncing tennis ball. Another exercise is following the fingers of another individual as it moves around, forcing your eyes to work on visual focus.  DB Coaches get fed up with athletes who have amazing talent but never in the right place because of the poor eye focus. You need to be able to play what you see but how can you do that if your focus is on the wrong thing. Many players will make mistakes because they are responding to what they thought they saw or what they believed was going to happen. My college coach at the university of Wisconsin would have a saying for the safeties on the team and that was “Sit, see it and then React,” which kept us from chasing our gut and attacking what we see. Reference Fix Your Eyes on More Interceptions with these 5 Techniques, Author Chad Wilson Fix Your Eyes on More Interceptions with these 5 Techniques - alleyesdbcamp

By Roderick Rogers August 21, 2024 Originally, press coverage in football was known as bump and run. Press coverage was designed to disrupt the route and the receiver’s timing in hopes the pass rush could get to the quarterback before he throws the ball. If you cannot either widen the release of the receiver or disrupt the route within the first three yards, then there is no point in being up tight to the line of scrimmage. Press coverage requires patience, eye discipline and some aggression. Ohio State Corner in Press Coverage Stance and Alignment Stance is an important part of being a great press man defensive back. Notice that the defensive back is square to the in front of the receiver. Based on the alignment of the route runner, you should have either inside, outside or head up leverage. Inside leverage allows you to stop inside breaking routes such as slants, curls and dagger (digs) etc. Aligning outside of the receiver means you want to protect yourself from outside break routes. We coach defensive backs to line up head up with the receivers that we tag as movers. The reason why is this, on the snap of the ball, the route runner will step forward into the DB allowing the player to get hands on early. Back to the stance, DBs in the tight coverage should have feet parallel and even with legs just outside of the shoulders on both sides. Knees should be slightly inside (leaning towards one another) with the pressure being placed on the inside of both feet. Some coaches allow cornerbacks to drop one foot slightly backwards like a staggered stance in off coverage. I do not prefer that stance because it says to the receiver that one side or the other, depending on which leg is back, will be easier to get the DBs hip open. I require the DB to have the square stance, with a determined leverage, and squatted with forward body weight meaning head over feet and knees. Your head should be on the same level as the route runners' mid sections (abdomen, hip) with a flat back. Posture to me is extremely important. The eyes of the defender should be up and focused on the hips of the player he is defending. Things go wrong when the DB doesn't have proper eye discipline throughout the entire rep. Another important thing to remember is feet and putting most of the weight on the toe box (also known as the ball of your feet). Stay off the heels, stay off the heels, and for the last time, STAY OFF THE HEELS. Your hands and arms should be either up or hanging slightly in front by the knees ready to strike if needed. The last part is a tight and hard press versus a soft and loose press.  The hard press is when you're within a yard of the line of scrimmage, tight on the receiver. This is an aggressive style of press, and the intention is for you to get your hands on right now. If you miss, after shooting the hands to disrupt the receiver, the rep can turn into a track meet on turf with you chasing the receiver throughout the rep.  The soft press allows you to align a yard or a yard in a half away from the LOS to give yourself space to stay on top. In this situation, you are allowing the receiver to execute all of the moves while you wait for him to start moving up field getting into the release. The route runner can do all his dancing early, but he has to eventually get into the release to stay on time for the quarterback. All you are doing with the soft press is resetting the line of scrimmage. You still need to get your hands on the receiver to get the quarterback and route runner out of rhythm.  Next post, I will talk more about the movement in press coverage such as kick step, motor, gather etc. Keep following our post to learn more about playing the technique which will help you improve your game. We have plenty to share about the defensive back position to assist you with becoming elite. Denver Broncos Safety Brandon Jones is one of our clients at Athlete Strategy Defensive Back Create your personal profile at www.athletestrategy.com Join our weekly discussions and classes online.