John Levra - Coaching Defensive Linemen

Second Edition

Coaching

DefensiveLinemen

John Levra

James A.Peterson

2008 Coaches Choice. Second edition. Allrights reserved. Printed in the United States.

Nopart of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,without the prior permission of Coaches Choice. Throughout this book, the masculine shall be deemed to include the feminine and viceversa.

ISBN: 978-1-58518-021-9 Library of CongressControl Number: 2007931375 Book layout andcover design: Roger W. Rybkowski Diagrams: Marion von Bauslerand Roger W. Rybkowski

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Iwant to dedicate this book to every member of my wonderful family. Withouttheir guidance and support, coaching would have beenimpossible. My mom and dad, Mildred and PeteLevra, provided so much for me as a young man. My wife, Rosie, and our children, Craig and Gina, have been with me everyseason, no matter what the outcome of ourgames. Their love, patience, and understanding could not have been any better.Collectively, their backing has enabled me to continue to pursue my goals in the profession, and lead a very rewarding life whileenjoying the game of football.

John Levra

Iwould like very much to thank all of the outstanding coaches I have had the opportunity to work with during my career for their expertadvice and counsel. Each of them taught me alot about coaching in particular, about defensive line play.The list of coaches who have had a positive impact on enabling me to betterlearn my craft is quite extensive. Among the high school coacheswho helped me professionally were Bill Presson, Bob Hughes,and Chuck Norris. On the college level, I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jack Scofield, Mart Crawford, LanceVan Zandt, Cliff Silva, Dick Munzinger, Lloyd Moore, Jerry Moore, and Bud Moore. Among the coaches at theprofessional level who willinglyshared their insights and knowledge with me are Vic Rapp, Vince Tobin, Bum Phillips, Wade Phillips, Carl Mauck,Mike Ditka, Dave McGinnis, Jim Fassel, Dennis Green, Tony Dungy, FogeFazio, King Hill, John Paul Young, Andy Everest, Jim La Rue, Tom Olivadotti,and Joe Spencer.

I would also like to express my appreciation to all ofthe great defensive linemen that I've had theprivilege of coaching (including Richard Dent, Steve McMichael, Dan Hampton, William "The Fridge" Perry, TraceArmstrong, and John Randle), who were morethan willing to share the "little" things that helped me to improvemy ability to teach the defensive line position.

I would also like to acknowledge my junior high coaches(Estel Gilmour), high school coaches (Harry McDonald, Sam Nicoletti,Lefty Hamm), and college coaches (CarnieSmith, Joe Murphy), all of whom helped inspire me to choose coaching as a career. I am very thankful for both their guidance andtheir teachings. They were great teachers and coaches.

I would also like to extend my appreciation to KristiHuelsing and Alisha Brown for their patience andassistance in guiding me through the editorial process. Finally, I would like to thank Jim Peterson, my co-author, whoconvinced me that I had something of value to say and offer tocoaches. He did a great job of putting the manuscripttogether.

John Levra

Overthe years, the game of football has changed in a number of ways. The players in many instanceshave gotten bigger and faster. To a greatextent, the offenses have become more variedand complex. In response, the defenses have attempted to become even more intricate and focused.

The one aspect of this great sport that has not changedin any meaningful way since its inception is the fact that thebasic essence of the game is embodied in two fundamentalactivities blocking and tackling. For many individuals,the resolute determination of a particular player of a specific team tooverpower and control the competition definesthe compelling nature of the sport.

Having coached on both sides of the line (offense anddefense), I have an acute appreciation of thephysical and technical skills that are required to play football at a highly competitive level. As such, I believe that I havea rightful obligation to share with othermembers of the football coaching community much of the information and insights that I have been able to amass in more than fourdecades of coaching.

Coaching Defensive Linemen, Second Edition, is a by-product of the fact that because other coaches have taken the time and energy toshare their opinions and ideas with me at allstages of my coaching career, I feel that I should attempt to reciprocate both their generosity and their commitment to the game bywriting this book. As such, Coaching DefensiveLinemen, Second Edition, attempts to provide astraightforward, inclusive overview of all aspects involved inthis critical facet of the game.

Not only does the book cover how to preselect thoseindividuals who might be most predisposed to playthe defensive line at an effective level, it also reviews (in detail) those techniques that a defensive lineman must perform asexpected against either the run or the pass. One of the more uniquefeatures of the book is the comprehensive chapter on technique play against themost common blocking schemes. The book also includesa chapter on drills that can be used to develop and refine the skills and techniques required of a defensive lineman. Finally, thebook presents a detailed method for evaluating the level of play by adefensive lineman during an actual game.

By design, I have attempted to make the informationpresented in CoachingDefensiveLinemen, Second Edition, useful for coaches at allcompetitive levels. If this information enablesyou to be better prepared to coach the young men for whom you are responsible, then the effort to write this book willhave been well worth the time.

John Levra

Becominga Defensive Lineman

Defensivelinemen set the tempo for a defensive football team. A good defensive team has defensive linemen who attack the line of scrimmage andgive 100 percent effort on every play. A successful defense haslinemen who out-hit and out-tough the opponent.To accomplish these objectives, a defensive lineman must possess certain mental and physical qualities, including the following:

Quickness. Adefensive lineman must have the ability to get off the ball on the snap and immediately shed the blocker.

Toughness. Thedefensive lineman must be mentally up to the task of experiencing continuous contact and defeating blockingschemes aimed to control, frustrate, and discourage him (e.g.,triple-teams, double-teams, false keys,etc.).

Speed. Theability to accelerate to the ball once the blocker is shed is an indispensable requirement for a defensive lineman.Coaches should always keep in mind and remind their players thatthis attribute increases a defensive lineman'sopportunity to be a "great" player.

Desire and determination. A defensive lineman must possess an unrelenting commitment to perform at full throttle on every play(i.e., do his best) if he is to have anyreasonable chance to excel.