Linebacker read and fill

Setup

1. Contact level: thud on the running back only; the linemen give a look and do not block. Nobody goes to the ground.
2. Full helmet and shoulder pads, and a coach watches every rep.
3. Offence: a centre, two guards, a quarterback under centre and a running back 6 yards deep. The coach shows them a card with run or pass.
4. The linebacker aligns 5 yards off the ball, over the centre.
5. Count the thud reps towards the team's weekly limit on full-contact time.

How it runs

1. Run card: the guards fire out low, the quarterback hands off and the back runs the A gap at three-quarter speed.
2. The linebacker reads the guards' low hats, steps downhill and fills the gap square, then thuds the back. Both stay up.
3. Pass card: the guards set back with high hats and the quarterback drops. The linebacker opens and drops to the hook zone.
4. Four to six reps each, mixing run and pass. Rotate linebackers after every rep.

Coaching points

• Read the guards first: low hats mean run, high hats mean pass.
• First step is short and downhill, never backwards on a run read.
• Fill square with the shoulders parallel to the line, so the back can't cut either way.
• Thud with the near shoulder into the thigh, head up and to the side, wrap and squeeze.
• On pass, gain depth with the eyes on the quarterback.

Common mistakes

• Watching the ball in the backfield instead of the guards.
• False step backwards, so the linebacker arrives late to the gap.
• Running around the block into the wrong gap.
• Dropping the head at the moment of the thud; the coach stops the rep.