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Running Back Bag Drills: The Bag Weave to Burst

Updated · Fact checked

A row of bags on the ground stands in for the traffic at the line of scrimmage: bodies at your feet while your eyes need to be downfield. The bag weave makes you get through that traffic with quick feet, the ball tucked and your head up, then explode out the far end into open grass.

Lay 4 to 6 agility bags or dummies flat, about a yard apart. That is the whole setup.

Bag Drills - Football Warm-Up Series by IMG Academy Football (2 of 4)IMG Academy

How to do it

  1. Set the bags

    Lay 4 to 6 bags flat in a row about a yard apart, with a cone 5 yards past the last one.

  2. Run the bags

    Ball in the outside arm, run over the bags with high knees, or shuffle sideways with one foot between each bag, eyes up.

  3. Switch the ball

    On the forward run, switch the ball to the opposite arm as you cross the bags.

  4. Burst

    Come out of the last bag low and sprint hard through the cone, cutting the way the coach points.

  5. Repeat from the other side

    Walk back and run it from the other side so both arms carry the ball and both feet lead.

Sets and reps
3 sets of 5 reps each side, 30 seconds rest.
Equipment
4 to 6 agility bags or blocking dummies laid flat, Football, A cone 5 yards past the last bag
Muscles and skills
Adductors, Glutes
Used in these 440 plans
Running Back

Coaching cues and common mistakes

Coaching cues

  • Shuffle or run through the bags, eyes up
  • Stay low with the ball secure
  • Burst out of the last bag

Common mistakes

  • Looking down at the bags
  • Stepping on bags
  • Ball away from the body

Two ways through the bags

Run forward over the bags first. Glazier's step and plant version works high knees as if you were stepping through traffic, leads with the foot closest to the bag and switches the ball to the opposite arm as you cross. Your eyes stay straight ahead the whole time.

Then run them sideways. In Glazier's lateral version you face the coach and run sideways across, one foot between each bag, then attack a teammate holding a bag at the end and accelerate another five yards. In 440's version, both ways finish the same: out of the last bag at full speed.

Eyes up, ball tight

Looking down at the bags is the first mistake to fix, because in a game the thing you are looking at is the hole and the linebacker, not your feet. Have a coach stand past the last bag and point left or right as you come out. If you can't see the point, your eyes were down.

Stay low with the ball high and tight against your body; swinging it away from you to help your balance is a habit the ball security gauntlet is there to break. Touching or stepping on a bag means your feet are too slow or your knees too low, so slow the rep down until it is clean, then speed it up.

Where it fits

The bag weave to burst sits in the vision and cuts group of the running back plan, next to the zone read cone track and blitz pickup.

FAQ

What are bag drills for running backs?

Bag drills are footwork drills over or between flat agility bags or dummies. They train quick feet, high knees and balance while you keep your eyes up and the ball secure.

More running back drills

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Sources

  1. Running Back Step and Plant Drill (Glazier Football, August 2, 2021), Glazier Clinics
  2. Running Back Lateral Run High Knees Hit and Spin Drill (Glazier Football, August 3, 2021), Glazier Clinics

Program numbers (benchmarks, sets, reps, loads, protein targets) are 440 Football's own prescriptions. For athletes 13 and older; check with a physician or a registered dietitian before major training or diet changes.