Pursuit angles
Why it works
Most missed flags in the open field are not speed problems, they are geometry problems: the defender ran at the ball carrier instead of at the point where the two of them would meet. The fix is a line on the grass, and it is teachable in one session.
Run it
10 MINTwelve reps, six from each line, alternating which side of the field the carrier runs down. Stop at ten minutes. Angles get worse as legs tire, and a tired rep teaches the wrong lesson, so end it while the running is still honest.
Say this
“Run to where he will be.”
The defender aims at an interception point downfield instead of at the runner.
“Pick your spot before you move.”
The angle is decided in the first step, not adjusted halfway.
“Keep him on your inside shoulder.”
The carrier stays between the defender and the middle of the field.
“Do not slow down to reach.”
The defender keeps his speed through the pull rather than braking into it.
Good looks like
- The defender's first step points downfield of the carrier, not at him.
- Both defenders arrive at roughly the same spot, from different angles.
- The carrier is cut off in front rather than caught from behind.
- No visible correction halfway through the run.
- Speed is held through the pull, so the defender finishes past where the flag came off.
The mistakes
Pointing the first step at the ball carrier himself. That path always arrives behind him, and the faster the carrier is the further behind it arrives.
Say: “Run to where he will be.”
Setting off flat and correcting later. Every correction costs a yard, and by the third correction the carrier is past. Make them name a cone before they run.
Say: “Pick your spot before you move.”
Drifting so the runner ends up outside, which hands him the sideline and removes any help. Once he is outside, nothing downfield can save the play.
Say: “Keep him on your inside shoulder.”
Decelerating a yard early to get an arm out. The carrier goes past at full speed while the defender is standing still with his hand in the air.
Say: “Do not slow down to reach.”
Put a cone on the grass at the spot where they should meet and tell the defender to run at the cone rather than at the player. Seeing the point makes the idea concrete before they have to judge it themselves.
Let the ball carrier cut back once, at a moment of his choosing. Now the angle has to be taken with enough margin that a single cut does not undo it, which is the real version of the skill.