Here are two defensive football drills I used last year with my defense. I was having a problem with the front line staying in their rush lanes and getting off the ball so I created the Rushing Lanes Drill for them. The second drill helps them learn how to quickly recover from being knocked down on a play.
Rushing Lanes Drill
I put out cones to represent the offense and had everyone line up on the cones. I then put out cones 5 yards behind the first cones for the linemen and 8 yards for the corners and defensive ends.
Now is when the fun begins:
I give the football to a running back and tell him which cone to run. If the running back beats the defensive player to the second set of cones he has to do push ups.
This drill helps the defense stay in its rushing lanes and gets them to get off the ball with their head up.
Quick Recovery Drill
We need one ball carrier and one player on defense, with tackling dummies set up in the offensive line positions.
The player on defense lays on his back five yards from the center of the O line, head towards the line. When the whistle blows the ball carrier runs a sweep left or right, on the whistle the player on D must quickly get back on their feet, identify which side the ball is going, pursue on a good angle and tackle.
The drill is used to encourage the kids to explode back up when knocked down so that they understand the play isn’t over until the whistle blows, and to never give up on a play.
Coach notes