Block Shed Drill: Strike, Lock Out, Shed and Tackle
Updated · Fact checked
Getting blocked is part of playing defense. Staying blocked is the problem. The block shed drill trains the sequence that gets you free: strike the blocker, lock your arms out, find the ball, then throw the blocker aside and make the tackle.
440 uses it in two plans: as a two-gap shed for defensive linemen and as shed-and-tackle on a sled for linebackers. The demo is a lock, peek and shed drill from a series presented by USA Football and the Carolina Panthers.
How to do it
Set up
Line up across from the blocker or shield with your feet lined up on the blocker's shoulders. Put the dummy a few yards to one side.
Strike and lock out
On the signal, strike with both hands and lock your arms out, thumbs up. Keep your pads low.
Find the ball
Read where the ball carrier goes. Stay locked out until you know which side to go.
Shed and tackle
Disengage the arm away from the runner, push the blocker across, rip through and tackle the dummy. Switch sides each rep.
- Sets and reps
- 3 sets of 5 reps each side, 30 seconds rest.
- Equipment
- A blocking sled, hand shield or partner as the blocker, A tackling dummy or sled as the ball carrier
- Muscles and skills
- Chest, Legs
- Used in these 440 plans
- Defensive Line, Linebacker
Coaching cues and common mistakes
Coaching cues
- Strike and lock out
- Find the ball
- Shed and tackle
Common mistakes
- Staying blocked
- Losing the gap
Strike and lock out
Line your feet up with the blocker's shoulders and strike first. Once your hands land, lock your arms out with your thumbs pointing up and keep them locked, so the blocker can't get into your body. Locked arms give you space, and space lets you see the ball.
Now read the play. Disengage the arm on the side away from the runner, push the blocker across your body, rip your free arm through at the blocker's hip and go make the tackle. Stay low the whole time; as a USA Football coaching column puts it, the low man normally wins.
Two more ways off a block
Push-pull: pull one of the blocker's shoulders with one hand and push the other, then swim over the top with the push arm and drive your body through the gap. Punch-slap: punch an open hand into the blocker's breastplate, slap the outside of their upper arm with the other hand and slide that hip into the gap fast. If you only have one way off a block, the blocker adapts quickly.
Linemen and linebackers
For the defensive line, the shed is how you play your gap. A two-gap lineman, such as a 2 technique head up on the guard, controls the blocker first and then gets off to whichever side the ball goes. For linebackers, the finish matters most: shed and tackle the sled or a moving dummy. A good next step is to swap the bag for a live blocker at thud speed so a coach can grade the block, your shed and your tackle in the same rep.
FAQ
How do you shed a block in football?
Strike the blocker first, lock your arms out with your thumbs up so they can't reach your body, find the ball, then disengage the arm away from the runner, push the blocker aside and rip through with your free arm to make the tackle.
Why lock out the arms?
Locked arms keep the blocker off your body and give you room to see the ball and pick a side. A blocker who gets into your chest controls you; that is the 'staying blocked' mistake this drill fixes.
More defensive line drills
Build my position plan
Tell 440 your level, measurables and schedule. Get a daily position plan with loads, timers and demo videos, adjusted for your equipment, training phase and readiness.
Build my position planSources
- 4 ways to teach defenders to get off blocks and be in position to make tackles (Chris Booth, 4/4/2018), USA Football
- ITP Glossary: 2 Technique Defensive Lineman (Dan Hatman, Dec 24, 2015), The Scouting Academy / Inside The Pylon
- Carolina Panthers lock, peek and shed drill: Defense (YouTube description, uploaded 2015-08-05), USA Football (YouTube)
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.