Pass Protection Drills 3: “Spot Sets”
A Great purchase I made this Spring was a set of a dozen Poly Spots from Amazon.
These flat rubber circles are 6 different colors and I have been using them a lot in place of cones. They lay flat so kids can step on them without problems and I have used them to color code some drills.
One drill I have been using is what I call “Spot Sets”.
Each color comes in pairs so I will lay one of each color out along a yard line, this is the starting “Spot” for that line. I use it’s matching color to show a depth and angle I would like us to take on our sets.
So if a kid starts on the Red Spot, he wants to finish at the other red spot.
I spend most of my INDY time working on the run game so I noticed we were struggling in our drop back protection against our scout defense. Any sort of speed/edge rush and we were toast. I decided to spend a lot of time this week working for us to get more depth in our pass set.
Spot Sets Drill:
With this drill 6 kids are working at a time. When we work right side sets they put their right foot on the first spot, and will take 2 “kick slide” sets back and out make it to our just past the second spot.
Having the spots has really helped my kids see the depth and angle I want them setting at.
I have made it a major focus to get them understanding their ability to set comes from the inside leg, not the leg they are flailing in the air trying to kick with. I borrow a lot from LeCharles Bentley and he phrases it as “Drive – Catch”. The inside leg is DRIVING you back and out and the “kicking” leg is catching you.
Here are some clips of us working it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X-DM7c0zrI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyWub4vpEfw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39WWU0c1jmY
Varying Your Sets
Pass Sets are tools in an Offensive Lineman’s Toolbox. You need different types of sets for different types of rushers. Some guys may just need one “drive-catch” or one “kick slide” to get into good position. If you go against a wide speed rush you may need 2 or more. I can change the distance between spots to get what i want from the drill. In the video examples above we were working against a wide speed rush, so I tell the OL to “give me 2”. This means they will work 2 kick slide back and out to get to or beyond the spot. Another day I may work a quicker, shorter set and we just work the 1 kick slide or “drive – catch”.
Even though this is a newer drill for my OL and myself, I have seen a pretty immediate improvement in our pass sets during team.
