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Teaching the Drive Block, Written and Printed with Permission of Steve Loney,Iowa State University.No Diagrams

I. General InformationA. This block is used at the point of attack when you have the option oftaking the defender in either direction.

B. The block is taught in four phases: approach, contact, follow through, andattitude.

C. Boards, chute, and blocking dummies are equipment used in teaching thedrive block.

II. PhasesA. Approach Phase

1. Techniquea. Alignmentb. Stancec. Starts2. Drillsa. Stance and Startsb. Perfect play

3. Coaching pointsB. Contact Phase

1. Techniquea. Fit positionb. One step position

Fit drillStep popGap drillLinebacker drill

e. Blast drill3. Coaching points

C. Follow Through1. Technique

a. Sustain the block - drive the defender off the line ofscrimmage. Stay in front of the defender.

2. Drillsa.b.c.d.

2. Drillsa. Two step driveb. Two step turn and runc. Ion 1

3. Coaching pointsD. Attitude Phase

1. Teaching attitudea. Directlyb. Indirectly

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2. Player selection3. UnderstandingI. APPROACH PHASE: This part of the block begins when you leave the huddleand endswhen contact is made. This is the most controllable phase ofthe block.A. Technique1. Alignment: The guards, tackles and tight end wi11lineup with theirhands even the heels of the center.2. Stance: We use a 3 point stance with the weight balanced. Wemust be able to drive straight ahead, pull in either direction andpass block with equal efficiency from our stance.3. Starts: Starting from this stance, you simply drive off the up foot,firing out with the back foot.

B. Drills1. Stance and Startsa. Put boards in a parallel design.b. Each player will step us to the middle of the board and sethis feet with from a to-instep to a to-heel relationship.c. The starting count is given and the players fire out drivingoff the up foot and stepping with the back foot.d. The back foot replaces the down hand on the first step.e. Sprint the length of the boards with the head up, flat back,arms driving and short digging steps.Maintain a wide basebetween the feet.Perfect Playa. Form the huddle with the entire team.b. QB calls a play, they break the huddle properly and sprintto the line.c. On command "move", backs may shift, line goes into their3 point stance.d. On the snap count all players explode off the ball and sprint10yards down the field.3. Coaching Pointsa. Almost every drill we use starts from a stance.b. We emphasize that they must be able to explode in anydirection from their stance.c. Alignment, (both splits and alignment on the ball)arestressed in the perfection play drill.d. Everyone gets used to the QB cadence and exploding off on

the count stressed.II. CONTACT PHASE: This part of the block begins at the end of the first step andcarries on through until the whistle blows.A. Technique1. Fit Position: The defensive man assumes a challenge position. Theblocker fits into the defender keeping a wide base, butt low, andhead is up and into the numbers. The blocker should attempt to put

2 .

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his chest on the thigh board of the man being blocked. (This helpsarch the back of the blockers.) The legs should be bent in powerproducing angles.

2. One Step Position:c. The offensive player moves from the fit position back one step.d. He assumes a ready blocking position with the head up, back lowand semi-arched, with forearms behind the tail and hands fisted.

The legs should be bent forming power producing angles.B. DrillsO . Fit Drill: The defensive man assumes a challenge position and the

blocker gets into a fit.a. Feet straight downfield and under the man.b. Keep a wide base with the feet, butt low, and head up in the

numbers.c. Chest touching the thigh board of the defenderd. Arms are up in a blocking position.e. Legs bent in Power producing position. From this position,

on the command "move", the blocker drives the man downthe board, keeping the feet apart and chopping with a widebase.

1. Two Step-Pop:a. From out of his stance the offensive player takes two steps

toward the defensive man, coordinating his head andforearms (hitting the target at the same time with both).This will develop the power thrust of the block.

b. Direction of the first step is straight ahead and replaces thedown hand.

c. Aim the forehead through the facemask. (Keeping the eyesopen).

d. The linemen should bring their fist through hard into theman's chest, on contact of the fists, snap the elbows outgiving a large blocking surface.

e. Hips extend and trop with the upward action of the arms,giving the blocker the needed power of the legs as hebrings his feet under himself with the second step.

2. Gap Drill: To teach the drive block when the defensive man hasmoved into either the inside or outside gap, the offensive man musttake the first step with the foot nearest the opponent, whether it isthe near foot or the foot that is up. The offensive man's first stepmust split the crotch of the defensive man. The second step shouldcome under him immediately. Offensive man must be sure and gethis head in front of the defensive man to stop penetration, and thenbring the outside arm up to keep the man from rolling out.a. The same principles of the gap drill apply as in the Two

Step-Pop.

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b. Make sure the blocker does not take a false step or rockback.

3. Linebacker Drill: This is the same drill as the "Two Step-Pop"drill, except the blocker is going after a linebacker. Itmay takemore than two steps to reach the defender. The blocker must:a. Take a longer first step.b. Gather to make contact.c. Do not bring arms up early.d. Drive through the man.

4. Blast Drill:a. hand shields are sued in this drill with a dummy

horizontally positioned next to the flat shields.b. The man being blocked (defensive man) lines up in

linebackers stance with both heels touching the dummy. Hecan deliver a forearm shiver into offensive blocks, but hecannot turn or twist his body. His feet must remain in theparallel position, heels touching the dummy.

c. The man doing the blocking (offensive man) explodes fromhis stance on command and blocks the defensive man. Hesues all the fundamentals of a drive block, maintaining awide base and putting his head in the numbers of the manbeing blocked. Once contact is made, he must continue todrive his feet and put the defensive man on his back.

d. Both the offensive and defensive man will end up on theground with offensive man being on top of the defensiveman. If the offensive man makes an improper block, heshould not be able to knock the defensive man over thedummy on his back.

e. This drill helps develop the follow through that is neededonce contact is made on a defensive man. The offensiveman learns to accelerate his feet and arch his back whilemaintaining a wide base during this phase of the block.

5. Coaching Points:a. The above drills are taught progressively:

1. the linemen do the drills using the board, thedefenders use push-back dummies.

2. As the linemen gain confidence the boards can beput in the chutes to keep the blocker from gettingtoo high.

3. The final phase can be to have the blocker goagainst a live defender, change direction seven oreight times and drive about 35 yards down field.

III. FOLLOW THROUGH PHASE: This part of the block begins with the third stepand continues on until the whistle blows. Hip extension with arm contact takestime to master, but the complete follow through with sprint steps is difficult tomaster.

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A. Techniqueo . Third Step: At this point one of three things has happened.

a. You have him stood up. (He is defeated)b. He has you stood up. (You are defeated)c. There is a stalemate. (Offensive always wins stalemates)

1. In the case of you having him stood up, the thirdand subsequent steps will drive him backwards andtotally defeat him. Good for seven yards to a TD.

2. In the case of him having stood you up, the thirdand subsequent steps may allow you to stay in hisway long enough for the back to get some yardage.

3. Inthe case ofa stalemate, the defensive man has torelease pressure when he goes to make a tackle, thatis when the third and additional steps give us threeto four yards.

1. We will now take the man in any direction that we can, preferablystraight back.

2. Each additional step, 4th, 5th, etc. will give us more yardage.B. Drills

O . Two Step Drive:a. The blocker does the same technique as the "Two Step-

Pop", but now driving the man 10 yards - maintaining awide base. CHECK FOR SPRINT STEPS. After theblocker has driven the defender five yards, the defendershould take one side or the other.

1. Two Step Turn and Run:a. After contact is made, as in the previous drill, the defensive

man now will turn and run away from the blocker at a 45degree angle. The defensive man will keep his eyes on thecoach to get the direction.

b. The offensive man normally will not maintain contactthroughout this drill, but should be forcing the defensiveman backwards by ramming his head and forearms intohim.

c. The coach will motion the defensive man to stop as ifhewere going to make a tackle, and the offensive man nowrams his forearms and head into the man and drives him tenmore yards.

d. This drill teaches the offensive man to maintain a goodblocking position when pursuing the defensive man, andhow to change direction and maintain good blocking formduring the block.

2. 1 on 1 Drill: Divide the offensive linemen into two long linesfacing each other. On the coaches command each person in oneline will fire out of his stance and drive the man opposite himdown the field five yards. Coach will stop them with the whistle.

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c. ATTITUDE PHASE: This particular phase of the block is the mostdifficult to teach. This is true mainly because you cannot see it, directlymeasure it on the field or set aside a special drill for it.

Teaching Attitude1. Directly: Telling the player what he should be

concentrating on as he comes to the line, etc. We try tohave our lineman talk and think about a personal battlebetween himself and the man his assignment tells him toblock. "There are two people on the field, you and yourassignment. If you will defeat him this afternoon, we willwin!"

2. Indirectly: Your own action and reaction so situations. Ifyou as a coach dwell on mistakes, assignments, errors, etc.this has a negative carry over to the game. There are twovery important aspects in coaching attitude or composureand confidence.

a. Be positive.b. Suggest, don't order. "Hey! That was good, but

have you tried to do this as you pull?"A. Player Selection: When selecting offensive linemen, take into

consideration their general attitude. The calm, easy going, orderlyperson will usually carry out assignments and make a goodoffensive lineman.

B. Understanding: We feel it greatly improves player-coach relationsand individual attitude when the players are told REASONS fordoing things. This holds true from why we block with our face orwhy we don't block a linebacker in one situation and do in another,to why we practice three times a day in early camp. Teach TOTALunderstanding in all areas.