The Difference Between Good and Great – Defensive Line Tips

Once you’ve got your basic defensive line moves down, the next thing you’re going to want to work on is the counter step.   Eventually the offensive lineman is going to see your devastating rip move coming, so you’re going to have to learn how to step with the right foot and counter back to their left, and vice versa.

Counter Moves

The idea is to get the lineman leaning. So you’re going to do start your go to move, whether it’s a rip, a spin, or a swim move, stepping to the right. Once the lineman has reacted, you’ll use their own weight against them as you pivot back around to the left. To help players understand the footwork behind it, we start off just working the sled.

Can Movement

We’re going to teach the linemen to have one or two good moves and to counter off it. Again, we will start them on cans.   Teach them to use their hips, to use their body, to move their body laterally.

Once they’ve got the technique down, we have them practice their moves en masse, with the can movement drill. Set up about 4 garbage cans, with 2 popsicles at the end in a straight line.

This is a great drill to help them work on their agility, their footwork.   They need to get around ball carriers and use a counter move on the second last popsicle, and a rip technique on the last popsicle.   So they’re trying to use two techniques. Over and over and over and over, rip, and an over. Trying to teach them, again, to move their hips, use some lateral movement in getting around the line and multiple blockers using different techniques.

That’s it for today! If you’ve got any questions or comments, make sure you give a holler below!