Winning the War in the Trenches

LSU\'s enhanced techniques for the defensive line.
by: Curt Block
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The first thing LSU D-Line Coach Earl Lane impresses on his guardians of the trenches in pre-season is that their contributions are just as vital to the Tigers success as the guys who change the scoreboard. “What I emphasize to my players right at the outset,” Lane says, “is the importance of the positions they play. When most people use the term ‘skill players’ they’re talking about quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. I want my guys to know we’re skill players as well. Footwork, counts, hand and eye coordination are all part of a skilled player. We have to work to enhance our techniques and ability. What we do is just as important as a quarterback taking snaps or receivers using their hands to catch the ball. We’re all skilled players.”

After reviewing the definition of skill, Lane hammers home the significance of attitude and teamwork. “We talk about where we want to take our team and what are we willing to do to get there, in terms of a work ethic both on and off the field and putting in the extra time. The importance of a coach is to help players discover the importance of unit and team. I tell my guys about the importance of four guys working together as if they are one. We’re not looking for a single guy to get a tackle or a sack. We want our unit to help our team be the best. It’s all about attitude and unselfishness.

“We want to be as quick and aggressive and violent as we can possibly be. When I say violent I don’t mean it in a negative way. I want my guys to be quick getting off the ball and making contact into the offensive linemen and creating a new line of scrimmage by knocking him backwards off the snap of the ball so we can control the line. It’s something I talk to them about all the time.”

Lane must be doing something right. LSU ranked number one nationally in D I-A rushing defense in ’06. He knows not every coach is blessed with such a cohesive group and suggests a way to handle a problem player. “A coach can holler and scream all he wants but the most effective way to get through to someone not doing his share is through his peers, especially if you have senior leadership. They can pull a guy aside and tell him ‘This isn’t about you. It’s about us and we need you and you have to fall in line.’”

The headline that captures Lane’s practice time strategy would read, ‘Be Prepared, Be Specific.’ Once the head coach decides how to divide the limited time a team has with its players, the defensive coach usually winds up with approximately 48 minutes. If time is precious, how it is utilized is vital. In the midst of a career that spans three decades of defensive coaching, Lane has definite ideas about what he wants.

“My practice time is constructed as a progression. The first 12-15 minutes are devoted to stretching and non-contact drills. We work on quick-hand drills, pass rush moves, hand placement, blitz and stunts and footwork in terms of steps. The next phase is about 15 minutes of individual work on sleds, tackling and our get-off drills before getting to the group part of the session.

Preparation

“You must structure your practices to get the most out of the time you have. You don’t want to waste time by having kids just standing around. I tell my players ‘Don’t burn daylight.’ That’s what I call wasted practice time. Make sure you are prepared before you get to practice. If you aren’t, you’re cheating your kids.

“I’m a big believer in film. We film everything in practice whether it’s individual or group work. You can tell a kid all you want about what he’s doing wrong but until he sees it himself it’s sometimes hard for them to understand. I tell high school coaches to film all practices. You don’t need a lot of money to get a video camera. Everyone can operate a camera, your team manager, your grandmother or cousin. That’s all it takes to film a practice.

“One of my pet peeves in my career is not using time properly. When you put your practice schedule together be sure the work pertains to the game you’re preparing for. Don’t do a drill just because someone else is doing it. They must be position specific and something that’s going to help your guys. I tell my players they will never have to do a drill that doesn’t encompass what they’ll be doing in a game. If it doesn’t pertain to their position or a game, we’re not doing it.

The Three H’s

Defensive coaches emphasize the three H’s: hats, hips and hands. “The key is the hip explosion and then bringing your hands and your hat,” says Lane. “I’m big on footwork, quick hands and working on key reads. Key reads mean defensive linemen reading blocking schemes of the offensive lines and being able to react and allow us to attack the line of scrimmage and pursuit of the ball.

Get OffS

“I have specific drills that are called ‘get-offs’ to work on hip explosions (See Diagram 1). Those explosions can come out of a six point or four point stance. Your first power and movement comes through your hips. That’s where you get quickness and power. Our drills emphasize hips, hands and feet. The guys are very strong and powerful but the most important weapon for a defensive lineman or a rusher is the get-off (speed off the line of scrimmage). If there’s anything an offensive lineman fears it is speed and quickness coming off the line. One of your most important tools is your hands and punch into the offensive linemen.

Diagram 1

“We use sleds and bags and their progress into linemen to get control and separation. Pad levels are key here. We want to be sure their helmets are always underneath the chins of the offensive linemen. Our pads must always be lower than their pads. We have a change of direction drill where you use your eyes to read your keys while pursuing the ball (See Diagram 2). We always work on hitting the sleds to improve hip explosion, running our feet and getting separation with our hands for locking out. I use sleds that are low built to be sure that we’re not standing straight up, have our knees bent and the pad levels are down. I like sleds that can move where you get separation and lock outs because offensive linemen are taught to hold. Once a defensive lineman gets his hands on his man you’ve got to press him, lock him out and get separation as quickly as you can or you won’t get off a block. You do a progression of sleds first and then go to live contact against a man.

Diagram 2

Inside and Out

“The main difference between the work of defensive tackles and ends is that interior linemen work more on combo or double team blocks. I like to work very hard on that with our nose tackles. Things happen a little quicker for the inside guys. We’re an aggressive style of defense. The most important things defensive linemen must learn is how to attack, read on the run and move quickly. We do a lot of key work whether it’s half speed, three-quarter or full speed. I use all three progressions for our line.

“Teaching reading on the run is done through repetitions. It’s something that has to be done every day. We start out by setting up a blocking scheme among ourselves at three quarter speed. Then we come back later and work against our own offensive line or scout team at full speed. Here I give them the same exact blocking schemes so they get to run through it a number of times and get used to the speed and movement.

Importance of Film

“Looking at film is another big key. I try to break things up for my guys by looking at different blocking schemes. For instance, if we’re going to be playing a team that likes to run a lot of traps I’ll show them about ten-twelve clips of traps that we may be going to see against our next opponent. Same thing if they’re a power team. We’ll break it down between a strong power or a weak power. Same for zones if a team is going to use certain splits. We can often tell exactly what’s going to happen before the ball is snapped.

“We learn that by looking at film before you see it on the field. As an example, if the offensive guard is in a one-foot and half-foot split which is really a tight split, that normally means we’re going to get what we call a combo block that is either a double team or a power slip. So if we see a tight split we may not be absolutely sure what’s going to happen but we have a pretty good idea of what’s about to come. Then the offensive guard knows how to attack it, how to play it and how to send it to the gaps. It’s a similar situation for our defensive ends. If the offensive tackle is lined up in a five technique alignment we look inside to see if there is a two and a half or three-foot split from the guard which is a large split. At that point he can be pretty sure they’re set up for a draw or toss sweep where the ball may wind up coming inside. Then he can attack his offensive lineman and keep his leverage and gap of responsibilities under control. Leverage is keeping our pads underneath their pads. Once we get our hands on the offense we want to be sure we get a violent punch and then we can leverage our gap by squeezing him down depending on what type of block we get.

Drilling for Success

“Once the season starts I have different drills that teach the same thing. Seasons get long after you start in August but repetitions are important to get us where we want to be at the end of the season, which hopefully is in January. It may be boring but it’s necessary. Pass rushing is of utmost importance to a defensive line. In the early going I have a number of drills I call ‘Hoop Drills.’ They teach pass rush, leaning and spinning the knees to be as tight as possible to the corner of the edge of the offensive lineman (See Diagram 3). It involves a series of circular movements in and around a dummy. Those are drills I do early in the season. Once we get into the schedule I back off of them a little as we get banged up and the ankles get a little sore and they’re more tired. Then I find some other drills that teach the same basic concept and the same techniques but are not as hard on the ankles and knees.

Diagram 3

“We have our inside one-on-one drills or board (as in planks) drills. The one-on-ones are just as the name implies. It’s where both guys are trying to knock the other back. However, I want my guy to get off first, get off lower and knock the defense back off the end of the board. The board teaches a player to keep his feet shoulder width so you can get spacing and a good base to drive the guy back. Two-on-one drills require a different technique. With a double team the defensive man must be sure to get off the ball first and knock the initial player you are opposite backwards before the second man can get on you (See Diagram 4).

Diagram 4

Footwork

“Everything starts with the hips first because that’s where your power comes from. Once you come out of the break your feet have to be underneath your armpits so you have balance and power. Once you have contact and get your feet started you must have continuous movement. Young players often stop moving their feet once contact is made. Once you stop moving, the O-lineman is going to eat you alive. Even after your key tells you where the ball is, you must still be moving your feet pursuing the ball.”

Earl Lane has coached at all levels. Whether it was in youth ball, high school, college or his stint in the pros with the Buccaneers, the coach emphasized the same things. “It always comes back to techniques and getting your pre-snap reads.” His mantra: “Play fast, play hard and above all else, play smart.” Which is another way of saying, use your skills.

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