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Becoming a Complete Back: Teaching Your RBs to Protect Your QB

by: Mike Williams
Assistant Head Coach , Running Backs, University of Tennessee-Martin
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During my career I have had the privilege to coach some outstanding running backs in high school and college. I have been fortunate to coach backs who have given me their undivided attention and were excited about reaching their potential as complete running backs.

    Several of the backs I have had the opportunity to coach went on and played in the NFL. Tony Smith, Chris Buckhalter and Harold Shaw all had successful careers. All of these young men were good athletes but had technique and fundamental flaws when it came to being a complete back. They were good rushers and receivers but there is definitely more to being the complete back. A glaring weakness with most of the backs I’ve coached was their inability to protect the quarterback. Every offense I have been involved in had backs in the protection; most of the time the back was mismatched because of size, the angle of the blitz, knowledge of where the blitz was coming from and the momentum of the blitzer. In order to get on the game field at the University of Tennessee-Martin as a running back there are several things a back must do in order to play:

1.    Protect the football – no fumbles
2.     Protect the Quarterback – no sacks or pressures
3.     Know the offense – no mental mistakes
4.     Play physical
5.     Be a great receiver
6.     Practice and play with intensity
7.     Be a leader on and off the field

    Protecting the quarterback is critical to the success of any offense. We work extremely hard on the proper fundamentals and techniques to be the best pass protectors in the nation. We teach pass protection in our offense one-way. We are going to attack the blitzer. We never try to catch or position block a blitzer. We teach our backs to use their hands and explode up and through the blitzer. I discourage a cut-block on drop back protections. Some may ask ‘why?’ Well, when you cut block, several things can happen. One, you can make a great block. Two, you can miss the man. Three, you can cut and the blitzer can fall into the quarterback and cause an injury. Two out of three are bad!

    We do drills every practice to improve our ability to protect the quarterback. Some of the drills are low intensity and some are high intensity drills. We always do a progression to maximize the results. Normally in a five-step protection we will block linebackers or blitzes coming from the secondary. First we inch closer to the line of scrimmage without giving the defense a key. We always scan the defense and point to our protection. We point on run plays as well even though it means nothing. When the ball is snapped we will take a six-inch check step with our inside foot and burn our eyes on the potential blitzer. The check step allows us to stay square on the potential blitzer, read the blitz, get closer to the blitz and consistently gives us an inside/out advantage in the protection.

    When we detect a blitz coming we sprint to the block point with bend in our ankles, knees and hips. We are prepared to shoot the hands into the breastplate and explode up and through the defender. We want to punish the blitzer. We always want our inside foot near the QB and our outside foot will split the crotch of the blitzer. Our objective is to make contact as close to the line of scrimmage as possible. By making contact close to the line of scrimmage we can constrict the blitzer and reduce the area he has to make us miss. We want the outside half of our body to make contact with the inside half of the defender. After initial contact and no separation, we will maintain pressure and drive him outside and away from the QB. To get the movement we must have a wide base for balance and move our feet in a sewing machine-like manner, taking a series of very quick short choppy steps. If there is separation on contact, we will recoil and continue the drive block away from the QB.

    One of the key components to being a great pass protector is to see what you are about to hit. We stress using the eyes and concentrating on the belly button until we are close enough to step on the toes of the blitzer. We focus on the belly button to avoid the head and hip fakes common in most blitzers. Once we get to the toes our eyes go immediately to the target which is the inside number on the breastplate. We shoot our hands aggressively into the breastplate. You cannot hit something you do not see. We teach big eyes!

Common Faults in Pass Protections:
1.    Not getting a pre-snap read (locating your blitzer)
2.     Failure to take a check step
3.     Failure to meet the blitzer at the line of scrimmage
4.     Not exploding on the rise
5.     Failure to take away the inside
6.     Failure to shoot the hands aggressively on the inside number
7.     Failure to keep a wider base
8.     Failure to keep the feet moving at all time
9.     Failure to recoil after separation
10.    Getting over extended

    We do a drill progression every day to improve and prepare for the game or practice.
    Below is a short list of the progressions we teach to protect the quarterback.

Drills:
1.     Hand/Hip explosion (one-man sled)
2.     Drive block (one-man sled)
3.     Step and punch
4.     Line drill
    A. Downhill
    B. Angle
    C. Head fakes
5.     Mirror drill
6.     Secondary Blitz drill
7.     Live drill vs. linebacker
8.     Pass pro with the offensive line

Drill 1: Hand/Hip Explosion
Setup: One-man double action pro sled

Procedure: Align the running backs in one line. The first person will strike the sled five times on command then roll and spring out when the final command is given.

Execution: The running back will be on his knees with obvious bend at the hips in a cocked postion. The hands will be positioned slightly above the thighs in a cocked position. The face mask will be touching the sled pad. On the command “hit” the back will explode out of his hips shooting the hands aggressively up and through the pad. The hips should unlock and the hands should fire in an aggressive manner simultaneously driving the pad upward to an unlocked position. The back will recoil after the extension and the drill will continue to execute the remaining reps.

Drill 2: Drive block (one-man sled)
Setup: One-man double action pro sled

Procedure: Align the running backs in one line. The back will be in a perfect three-point stance five yards away from the sled. On the command the back will sprint forward exploding out of the ankles, knees and hips while making contact with the face and shooting the hands simultaneously. The timing of the explosion is critical to the success of the drill. The back will explode up and through the sled unlocking the sled and driving the sled for five yards. The back will pump his feet like pistons using a wide base and take short choppy power steps. After driving the sled for five yards in a straight line the whistle will blow for the back to release and sprint past the sled for another five yards.

Drill 3: Step and punch
Setup: The backs will partner up facing each other on a solid painted line.

Procedure: One back will act a as defensive player. The back on offense will work the right side target of the defensive player protecting the imaginary quarterback on his right. We will get eight reps then move to the left and get eight additional reps. The defensive player willl bend at the knees which will force the offensive player to bend at the ankles, knees and hips. We focus on being lower than the opponent. The offensive player will align his outside leg on the crotch of the defensive player. He will assume a low coiled position ready to step into the crotch. He will step into the crotch and shoot the hands up and through the breastplate of the defender, using a jab technique on the command “hit.” The jab is a quick and aggressive eight-inch strike! He will recoil for the next repetition. We will work both sides and the partners will alternate roles.

Drill 4: Line Drill
Setup: The backs will partner up facing each other five yards apart on a solid painted line.

Procedure: One back will act as a defensive player. We will work on protecting the quarterback with the blitz coming downhill, from an angle, and one using a head fake by the defensive player. Since we are doing this drill against each other we normally do this drill about three quarters’ speed to avoid injury. Each player will get two reps at each look. I will tell them which side the imaginary QB is on so I can determine if the back is positioned correctly. Remember, we want to be on the inside of the protection. Attacking the inside half of the blitzer forcing the blitzer out and away from the QB. We stress great technique. The back protecting the quarterback will stay square. He will be on the inside half of the blitzer. He must burn his eyes on the target and explode up and through the defender. He will simultaneously shoot the hands to the target and explode out of his ankles, knees and hips. He finishes the block by taking a series of quick powerful steps driving the blitzer away from the QB.

Drill 5: Mirror Drill
Setup: The backs will partner up facing each other six inches apart. The partners will have three yards between them to avoid stepping on each other.
Procedure: On my command the defensive players will take slide steps to the right about half speed. The offensive player will mirror the defensive player and I will give the command “hit.” On the command the back will punch the proper target and focus on staying square while avoiding crossing the feet over. We are working on the target area, punch and proper footwork. We will slide them to the right and return them to the left. The backs will rotate and the progression will start over.
Drills 6, 7 and 8 are self-explanatory

    There are many drills you can do to improve the running backs ability to protect the quarterback. Several times per week we do a crossover drill with our linebackers to get a feel for the aggressiveness and speed of the game. We do this drill full speed. Going full speed in this drill allows us the opportunity to determine our weaknesses and correct any problem we detect. A running back is not a complete player unless he is great at protecting the QB.

About the Author
Mike Williams

Coach Mike Williams joined the UT-Martin coaching satff earlier this year and is serving as the Skyhawks’ assistant head coach and running backs coach. Williams has coached at seven Alabama high schools from 1977 to 2005 and was an assistant coach at Southern Mississippi (1991-97) and head coach at Jacksonville State (1997-99). A three year letterman in both football and baseball, Williams graduated from Troy State.

Questions? If you have any questions you can email the author at: MikeWilliams@AmericanFootballMonthly.com





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