Winning at the line of scrimmage: 5 steps to beating press coverage. (Football).

SUCCESS IN THE PASSING game is predicated on the timing between your quarterback and wide receivers. Many defensive coordinators attempt to disrupt that timing at the line of scrimmage (LOS) with the technique known as the bump and run. Time lost by the receiver with press coverage can be very costly to his routes.

The key for wide receivers is to win the battle at the LOS and get into the vertical portion of their route as fast as possible. For some receivers, this shiftiness at the LOS comes naturally. For others, it has to be taught and drilled to ensure success against press coverage.

For purposes of illustration in the accompanying photos, the wide receiver will be shown in purple and the defender in white.

The fundamentals begin with a balanced stance. As shown in Photo 1, our receiver aligns with his inside foot (the one closer to the football) up on the LOS with a 45 degree bend in the front knee and the rear leg should be locked out to ensure a clean take-off at the snap.

We use a five-step drill to help our wide receivers release. off the LOS clean. Once they identify press coverage, these five steps will give our wide receivers a great chance to get off the LOS and into the vertical portion of their routes with very little disruption to their timing.

Step #1

Close Up Stance (Photo 2):

The wide receiver doses up his stance by bringing his back foot closer to his front foot. He maintains a width of 8 to 12 inches between his feet, with his rear toe no more than six inches behind the front heel. This enables him to get into the footfire phase (Step #2) of the release more quickly.

Step #2

Footfire at the Snap:

At the snap, the receiver must execute a very quick run in place that will set the defender up for the Jab Step. It is important not to gain ground on his footfire as that will make it easier for the defender to get his hands on the receiver.

Step #3

Jab Step (Photo 3):

After the footfire step, the wide receiver must take a hard jab step opposite the direction he wants to release. The jab step must be hard, sometimes exaggerated, to truly convince the defender that the receiver is going to release in that direction. The objective is to get the defender to move, make him feel threatened outside the framework of his body.

Step #4

Hand Release (Photo 4):

We teach the Slap & Rip release technique, because we feel it gives our receivers a good release that will not allow the defender to recover. Once the receiver has made a hard jab step, the defender will usually reach to jam him. While the defender's arms are extended, the receiver will slap the elbow of the defender with the hand opposite to the side of his jab step (Photo 4) and take a six-inch step with the foot to the same side as the slap to balance himself (Photo 5).

With the other arm, he will rip under (Photo 7), almost underhand punch through, the arm he slapped and step through that side of the defender with his jab step foot (Photo 8). Key coaching point: The wide receiver must be physical.

Step #5

Get Back on Top

Once steps #1 - #4 have been successfully executed, the wide receiver must work to get back on top of the defender. Having stepped through the defender in Step #4 he has positioned the defender behind him (Photo 8). From this point, he must keep the defender stacked behind him (Photo 9) as he proceeds into the vertical portion of his route.

This is an advantageous position for the wide receiver because it does not allow the defender to wall him to one side and limit the routes the receiver can run.

These five steps are essential in helping your wide receivers win at the LOS. Execution is always key, but these five steps will help them get up the field quicker and maintain the timing of their routes with the quarterback.