Fundamentals of RB Play Clinic

I recently did a Clinic on Fundamentals of RB Play.  Big thank you to Shane Prosser for allowing me to present and for putting on this clinic for all the Ball Coaches in Australia!

Ball Security Refresher Course

It's all Ball Security these days!  Perhaps you need a refresher course!

Thanks to Chris at Smart Football for giving me a refresher course with this article link.  After reading the article I realized, "I was wrong!  There is a better way to hold on to the football!"  Let me show you the old way that I learned from a national championship coach:

How Georgia Lost the SEC Championship - RB Pass Pro

You either win with fundamentals or you get beat with fundamentals.  Georgia was reminded of this bitter lesson in the 2012 SEC Championship Game that saw them battle toe to toe with defending national champion Alabama.  They valiantly drove down the field in the last minute, only to see the clock run out because of a tipped pass in an awful and surreal ending for the stunned Bulldogs, who expected to be able to see Aaron Murray throw two plays into the end zone with the ball at the 8-yard line and 15 seconds left (Chris Brown at Smart Football analyzes the clock logistics of the play here).  The tipped pass by Alabama LB, C.J. Mosley, was seen as horrible luck, but really the play was preventable with proper fundamentals from the RB position.

RB Blaster Drill and Sideline Drill

Wrist above the elbow!

The RB Blaster and Sideline Drill both work Ball Security, which should always be the primary focus of the RB Coach. The Blaster Drill can be done with players on each side punching at the ball if you don’t have a Blaster machine. You can also incorporate this into your ladder drills with players on both sides trying to strip the ball out.

RB Boom Drill

Boom, sucka!

The off-arm is an under-utilized weapon for the RB. Most RBs know how to use the stiff-arm to keep a defender away from them; however once the defender is right on the RB, the Boom Drill is what we want our RBs to use to help them to run over the defender or break the tackle.  We teach our RBs to use this right upon contact or immediately after contact to help gain separation from the defender trying to tackle them.

RB Stiff Arm Drill

The Stiff-Arm is a violent weapon that RBs of all sizes can use to attack defenders and gain a leverage advantage.  It is similar to the Boom in the Boom Drill in that both techniques use the hand that is not carrying the football, but the Stiff-Arm is more of a long-distance weapon to keep a defender away from the body.  The Stiff-Arm Drill in the video emphasizes an upward motion with the heel of the hand, but it can be a downward punch to a defender trying to hold on, as well, as LaDainian Tomlinson illustrates above.  Hall-of-Fame RB Jim Brown describes it in this excellent article on the Stiff Arm: "If the person is not up on you, you can actually extend your arm fully and sometimes if he is coming low, you can put your hand, the stiff-arm, on top of his head." 

RB Spin Drill

One of the top RB drills that my players most like to practice and use is the Spin Drill.  One man simulates a defender who over-pursues just a bit and then the RB spins inside him.  Players are really able to tighten up their spin by doing this drill and are able to execute the Spin move with confidence in game situations.  It is also important to emphasize that the RB secure the ball tightly to his body just in case a defender hits him in his "blind spot" as he spins in the opposite direction.  Here it is:

RB Tire Juke Drill

The Tire Juke Drill is one of my favorite RB drills in that teaches a valuable skill and is fun to do.  The juke move requires a back to be able to plant and accelerate once and then again in the opposite direction to lose a defender or "break his ankles" as the younger generation like to say.  This requires the core strength to keep the RB's body weight balanced and the core strength and explosive calf strength to accelerate on his first step.  Like I said before, all great backs, big and small, have one thing in common: quick feet.  Rudi Johnson was a big back but he moved his feet exceptionally well for his size as you will see on the video.

RB High Knees Drill

The High Knees Drill is a great way to teach backs to drive their knees up while running to help them break tackles.  The best cut-up is at the end of the video of former 49er great, Roger Craig, as he demonstrates his high knee running style in ripping off one of the more memorable runs in NFL history.  As with any RB drill, proper Ball Security must always be emphasized. If I may critique, the RBs in the drill cut-ups have below average technique, because they should always have their wrists above their elbows while running the ball.

RB Quickness and Agility Drills

There are many different types of running styles, but all great backs have one trait in common: quick feet.  These quickness and agility drills should be a priority for the RB Coach.  A key coaching point for any agility drill is for the athlete to have a low center of gravity.  This allows the RB to be able to change direction quickly.  Good core strength and explosive calf strength also allows a RB to stick his foot in the ground and make a cut and accelerate quickly (see the cut on the run beginning at the 4:19 mark). 

RB Balance Touch Drill

I will be sharing some RB Drills in my upcoming posts from a dvd I made for my RBs a couple of years back.  The actual drills were done by former Auburn RB Coach Eddie Gran.  He's one of the best coaches I have ever met and has coached some good ones: Deuce McCallister, Rudi Johnson, Heath Evans, Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, and Monterrio Hardesty.  I added a few cut-ups on the video to go along with the Auburn cut-ups that he already had and put them in slow-motion so you can really see the skill being performed. 

The Balance Touch Drill is a good drill to start Indy time with to help your guys get loose and for them to get reps performing a very useful and important skill for the position.  If a RB is stumbling, he can put his hand down (balance touch) and keep on running instead of falling down.  This may not seem like much, but it is often the difference between scoring and not scoring, as you will see for yourself on the video. 

Ball Security

It's all Ball Security these days!  Perhaps you need a refresher course!

I had originally posted these videos on Brophy's site but I am posting them again since Yahoo deleted the original videos. I believe Ball Security is one of the worst taught fundamentals in football and in my experience I have seen that Ball Security can win or lose 1-2 games a year. The most important thing is to not just stress it during pre-season—Ball Security must be drilled and emphasized year-round.