Teach Tape Thursday Looks At Press Coverage

Will Cinelli from The Scouting Academy takes a look at press coverage on this weeks installment of Teachtape Thursday!

Each Thursday here on the FirstDown PlayBook Coaches Community website we will feature a breakdown of personnel and technique. This is provided by our friends over at The Scouting Academy who are our go to experts in this field!

One of the toughest things to coach defensively is how to defend the ball in man coverage. Defenders who can play their assigned man but play the ball in the air once its thrown are truly rare players. It is what separates a player you target and one you avoid when attacking man coverage.

Good Press Coverage Defenders Can Read A Receiver’s Body Language

This clip is a great example of a press aligned cornerback in man coverage. He gets hands on the wide receiver at the snap, keeping his shoulders square as long as possible. He flips his hips and maintains contact with the offensive player as he runs his vertical route.

More All 22: This Is What An NFL Release Looks Like

The corner does a great job reading the receiver’s body language and eyes. The receiver will alert the defender that the ball is in the air, and the corner snaps his head around and locates the ball while still maintaining contact with the offensive player. He times his jump properly and comes up with the pass break-up.