Into the chute
Why it works
A chute is a corridor narrow enough that neither player can avoid the other, which is the one situation open field drills never produce. The runner cannot outrun the problem and the defender cannot be beaten by pure speed, so both of them are left with technique.
Run it
8 MINFour reps each way, then rotate the pairs. Eight minutes. Count the clean pulls out loud, because in a lane this tight the defender should be winning about half.
Say this
“Break down before you meet him.”
A defender still sprinting in a three yard lane has no second chance.
“Take the belt as he commits, not before.”
Reaching early in a narrow space is how a defender gets beaten by the only move available.
“Runner, sell it with your shoulders.”
There is no room for feet, so the move has to come from higher up.
Good looks like
- Both players arrive under control rather than at full sprint.
- The defender's feet are still moving at the moment of the pull.
- The move happens inside the last two yards, in a space that looks too small for it.
- It is close to even. If the runner wins every time, the chute is too wide.
The mistakes
Running straight through the contact and past the runner, which in a game is a touchdown behind you.
Say: “Break down before you meet him.”
Lunging at the first shoulder fake, which is exactly what the runner's one move is for.
Say: “Take the belt as he commits, not before.”
A wide juke that puts a foot outside a cone. That rep is over.
Say: “Runner, sell it with your shoulders.”
Widen the chute to four yards and let the defender start a step inside. The lesson is breaking down, not the contest.
Narrow it to two yards, or send two runners in a row with no reset between them.