Throughout the various levels of football, a common phrase we hear as coaches and causal fans is, “That team really flies to the football.” In reference to watching the best defenses in the country, one common theme shows up on tape: Great defenses get all 11 guys to the ball on a consistent basis. There are a variety of methods to instill this mentality in your players, and here are three of my favorite drills that teams around America can do for their players to enhance their defensive pursuit.

1. Pursuit Drills. Pursuit drills may be one of the easiest yet most effective ways to practice getting players to the football. There are multiple different ways you can run your pursuit drill, with one of the easier being the rabbit chase drill. In this drill drawn below, 11 guys on defense will chop their feet and do an up-down on the coaches’ command.

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At the same time, back No. 1 will take off through two bags and continue running in a straight line toward the end zone. As the back continues to run, every defensive player will pursue him to get a two-hand tag off on the near hip and then sprint back through the original line of scrimmage and make their way to the end zone.

Your backside secondary players will practice their touchdown-saving tackles by learning how to set their angles deep. As the last line of defense, they have to have the mentality that they must get the runner to the ground no matter what.

You can also incorporate your cutback/reverse players and check that they first stay at home and do their jobs before they get into pursuit of the ball. This drill is simple and doesn’t take a ton of time to perform, but the emphasis is clear: Eleven players better sprint to the ball, or you’ll need to run the drill again.

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2. Double Whistle. The double whistle is another strategy for pursuit that any team can add a drill element to their scrimmages and should get players to make running to the ball a habit. The double whistle is a great addition to periods such as 7-on7, inside run, or any of your team sessions. When you are in these periods, the first whistle is used to denote the end of the play. Wherever the ball or ball carrier ends up, the coach can give a certain amount of time until he blows the whistle again. In that period of time, every member of the defense must sprint to the ball and get there before the second whistle is blown. Why two whistles? The first person to the ball doesn’t always make the tackle, and all members of a defense must be in pursuit in case of a missed tackle. Once the second whistle is blown, players sprint back to the line of scrimmage and get set for the next play. This is great for in-practice conditioning as an added bonus, but players get the concept that you play through the echo of the whistle, not to when you think the play might be over.

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3. Every ball on the ground drill. One of my favorite drills to create a takeaway culture in your football program is the “every ball on the ground drill.” Every ball on the ground is a great exercise to teach not only how to pursue to the ball, but also what to do when you create a takeaway and the need to block the offensive players on the return.

Every ball on the ground is in any practice situation, be it team or 7-on-7, every pass that hits the ground is a fumble and every ball that is caught by the defense turns into an interception. Once the ball hits the ground on a fumble, players must sprint to the ball.

Once it is scooped up, the defense is going to block the proper offensive players and treat it as a fumble recovery for a touchdown. On an interception, defenders will get out in front of the ball carrier to lead block. They also have to practice identifying and blocking the most dangerous man near the ball carrier.

This is a great drill to teach your players they should always scoop up any ball that hits the ground as if it is going to be a takeaway. Far too often, a play will not be blown dead, but the players will think that it is over. You want to challenge your players to get in the mindset that any ball on the ground is going to be owned by the defense so they are prepared for any situation.

Implementing these three drills in your practice I believe can better help your defense pursue to the ball. Pursuit, besides tackling, is one of the most important things for a defense to do if it wants to become great. When you have 11 players flying to the ball, your defense will perform at a much higher level.

For more football discussion & daily videos, follow Brady Grayvold on Twitter at @CoachGrayvold

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