Refresh of an Old Drill

The blockers job is to dissect which defender is the most dangerous man to make the tackle first and block him.

Drills which utilize the Vision-Decision-Action cycle are valuable in preparing players to move beyond the diagram and learn how to succeed in the chaotic environment that a football play presents. While at Notre Dame college, the #4 team in NCAA Division II in 2018, I saw a drill that had many components I liked.

The drill started with two players on offense and two on defense on the backs as illustrated in the diagram below. I should note that I am not a fan of the one-on-one tackling drill with players starting on their backs. There are much better and safer ways to teach tackling as outlined in our Shoulder Tackle and Advanced Tackling Systems. I would note that starting on players on their backs is not necessary to create the elements of a VDA drill. I would suggest starting players turned facing away from each other as a better alternative, especially at younger ages.