Running Back Pass Protection Progression Drills

At Salve Regina, our running backs have many philosophies. One of them that they take great pride in and stress the most is to “protect the ball and protect the QB”. I will go through some of our pass protection techniques that we do and how they build up into a progression. 

SHUFFLE
    One of the more important and stressed techniques in pass protection is having the proper shuffle. We want to be in a good football position with flexion in our ankles, knees, and hips. Pretend like there is a ruler between our feet and a rubber band around our ankles and we want to take 6-inch steps. With this, we won’t click our heels together and we won’t gallop or take steps too big in our shuffle. Players also tend to get into trouble when they cross their feet and when they hop because in both instances they don’t have great balance, power, and the ability to redirect. They are the most important elements in pass protection. We do the mirror dodge drill as one of our early drills in the progression to maintain a proper shuffle and proper leverage on the defender (See Diagram 1).
 
SHUFFLE-STEP-PUNCH
    When we shuffle to the defender, we always maintain good leverage and angles. We tell our players to pretend like there is a camera on our lower back and we always want to keep that camera pointed at our QB. As we come to the defender, we want to STEP first and then we want to PUNCH. We step first so we keep good balance and to have some force behind our punch. When we punch, we want to have our elbows in tight to our ribcage, thumbs up like “The Fonz”, and hands inside. We want to think of the punch as more of a “jab” and not a windup because if we wind our hands all the way back, the defense has the opportunity to engage first. As we step, we want to step with our outside foot first and split the crotch of the defender. We step with the outside foot to have the ability to redirect and also not to be vulnerable to the inside. When we punch, we don’t want to be overextended and out of control. If the back heel comes off the ground, you are probably overextended and have your head over your toes. We want to try and keep our arms at 90 degrees and have rods of steel (See Diagram 2). Once you have gone through this, then you can have the defender rush upfield after the punch and have the running back shuffle with him. The running back doesn’t use his hands again because he is focusing on keeping that camera pointed at the QB. 
 
JAB THE RUSH
    ‘Jab the Rush’  is a good way to work on the step-and-punch and is a great way to get used to punching a defender who is coming in on you. A good coaching point when we step is to anchor the back foot in the ground to keep good balance. We, again, also want to stress that our back heel doesn’t come off the ground and become overextended. ‘Jab the Rush’  is also a great drill because it forces our running backs to be strong with their hands when they punch (See Diagram 3). Once you have gone through this, then you can add the defender rushing upfield and have the running back keep a good angle while maintaining a good shuffle without using his hands. 

 
ENGAGED WITH SHUFFLE
    These techniques work well once you have engaged the defender. Partner up on one line and designate one side offense and the other defense. Offensive player will get into engaged position with elbows in, thumbs up, and hands inside the breastplate. The defender on command will rush upfield to one side and the running back will shuffle to that side and keep his camera pointed at the QB. Have them re-load and work the defender to the other side and then switch. Make sure that the running back always steps the foot to the side that the defender is coming from first and not to cross his feet. The running back also wants to keep his head back and not get his over his toes and be overextended (See Diagram 4).
 
 
ENGAGED  VS. THREE MOVES
    Another part of the progression once we are engaged is working the shuffle and good pass protection vs. an outside rush, inside rush, and the bull rush. Partner back up on one line and, on the command, the defender will rush upfield and the running back will use the proper shuffle. The defender will then come back to the inside and the running back will need to push off the outside foot to maintain the proper shuffle and leverage. The running back wants to make sure he pushes off that outside foot and not to pivot because he will open up his hips and give the defender an easier path to the QB. In worst case scenarios, we tell our running backs that, if they get beat to the inside, they should drive their helmet into the near armpit of the defender. The inside hand should be on the near breastplate and the outside hand on the near hip to wash the defender down and not give up penetration. Once the defender executes his inside move, he will then bull rush upfield. At that point, the running back needs to re-sink his hips and get his weight on the inside portions of his feet to stop the charge. We re-sink the hips to make sure we stay lower than the defender and keep our hands inside.