Zone drops

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American football drill · Under-11 and up

Zone defence works in flag because nobody has to win a footrace; everybody has to be in the right place. That is a habit, and this drill builds it: on the quarterback's drop, two deep defenders get to their halves of the field and two underneath defenders get to their spots, all of them watching the quarterback. When the ball is thrown, the nearest one breaks on it.

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Time
12 minutes
Players
6: a quarterback, a receiver and four defenders
Equipment
  • 6 to 8 cones to mark the zones
  • 2 or 3 balls
  • Flag belts

Setup

  1. Put the quarterback five yards behind the line of scrimmage, and a receiver 14 yards to their right on the line.
  2. Two deep defenders start six yards off the line, either side of the middle.
  3. Two underneath defenders start three yards off, either side of the middle.
  4. Mark each defender's spot with a cone: the deep ones at 15 yards and a third of the way in from each sideline, the underneath ones at seven yards.
  5. On the snap the defenders drop to their cones; the receiver runs a curl at 11 yards; the quarterback throws it and the nearest defender breaks.

Coaching points

  • Turn and run to your spot. Backpedalling is slow; open the hips and go.
  • Eyes on the quarterback as you drop. You are covering ground, not a player.
  • Deep defenders: nothing gets behind you. Stay deeper than the deepest receiver in your half.
  • Break on the throw, when the quarterback's arm comes forward, and pull the flag as the ball is caught.

On the run sheet: Drop on the quarterback's drop, get to your spot, eyes on the quarterback, break on the throw, not the receiver

Progressions

  1. Add a second receiver, so the defenders have to decide whose zone they are in.
  2. Let the quarterback pump-fake, so defenders learn to break on the ball and not the arm.
  3. Add a fifth defender as a rusher from seven yards, which is how most 5v5 teams actually play it.

How it runs

The quarterback drops, and every defender drops with them. The two deep defenders turn and run to their halves of the field, about fifteen yards off the line, and the two underneath defenders get to their spots at seven yards. Nobody is following a receiver; everyone is watching the quarterback. The receiver on the right runs a curl at eleven yards, into the gap between the underneath and the deep defender on that side, which is where a two-deep zone is weakest. The quarterback throws it, and the underneath defender on that side, who has been sinking under the curl with eyes on the quarterback, closes on the ball and arrives as it is caught. All four defenders go on the snap, and so does the animation.

Why it works

Young defenders chase the nearest receiver, which is how a zone becomes four players in one corner. Giving each one a cone and a job makes the zone visible to them, and the quarterback becomes the thing they watch. The curl at the end teaches the second half of zone defence: the defender who is nearest when the ball is thrown has to close, and the flag can only come off once the catch is made.

The mistakes to watch for

Defenders who drop facing the line and backpedal, and so arrive late. Deep defenders who come up early for the short ball and leave the field open behind them. And breaking on the receiver's cut instead of the throw.

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