Defensive Line Training: Get-Off, Pass Rush and Lifts

Get-off: move on the ball, not the sound

Northern Illinois line coach Jordan Gigli teaches ball get-offs triggered by the ball or by an offensive player moving, not by sound. Offenses change the snap count because it helps their blockers, and that is exactly why you keep your eyes on the football, not on the quarterback's voice. The get-off drill trains that trigger with 8 reps in 440's speed block.

Crowd the ball without giving away a penalty. Put your down hand just behind the line of scrimmage and keep your helmet behind that hand, and you won't line up offside. From there, 3-point starts over 10 yards build the push out of the stance on acceleration days.

One-gap or two-gap: know your job

Your alignment tells you how to play the run. A 3 technique lines up on the outside shoulder of the guard and is a one-gap player: control or penetrate the B gap between guard and tackle. A 2 technique lines up head up on the guard and usually has to control both the A and B gaps, which makes it a two-gap job. A one-gap player like the 3 technique wants to get into the backfield fast. A two-gap player has to stay stout at the point of attack and control the blocker before going to the ball.

Either way you have to get off blocks. The block shed drill teaches the sequence: strike, lock your arms out with the thumbs up, find the ball, then throw the blocker aside and make the tackle. 440 doses it as a two-gap shed.

Pass rush: swim, rip and long arm

At the NFL Combine, Mike Mayock, then an NFL Network analyst, called the rip and the swim the two moves every defensive lineman rushing the quarterback has to be able to use. On a rip, you dip your shoulder under the blocker's shoulder and lift your inside arm in an uppercut. On a swim, you knock the blocker off balance with one arm and bring the other over the top. Train both on a bag with swim and rip moves.

The long arm is the power answer. In Furman line coach Kevin Lewis's teaching, the outside hand goes to the tip of the shoulder pad and the inside hand into the sternum, then you drive from the hips and push the shoulder high. When the blocker overcommits, you counter. Catching blocks is the mistake to fix first, so 440 also programs hand fighting: beat the blocker's hands with your hands, chop, club, reset, and keep the feet moving.

Bend: running the arc

Beating the tackle's hands is only part of the rush. You still have to turn the corner without drifting wide. Mayock said the arc matters even more than the moves in the combine drill. The hoop drill trains it: you lean into a circle, inside shoulder low, and run it as tight as you can. Scouts call the finished skill cornering: carrying your body low while you run the arc at full speed, then flattening toward the quarterback once you reach the blocker's hip.

Stunts and twists

Linemen also rush as a pair. On a tackle-end stunt, the tackle crashes hard into a gap to create penetration and the end loops behind the tackle into the lane that opens. The end-tackle stunt flips the roles. Obvious passing downs such as 3rd and 7 or longer are prime times to call one. The timing lives in 440's cues: the penetrator hits hard, the looper leaves off the first player's move and stays tight to the mesh.

Strength for the trenches

440's body goal for a defensive lineman is explosive mass and a winning first step, and the strength emphasis is explosive hip extension, hand strength and an anchor of your own. That is why the plan opens with power cleans before back squats, bench press and weighted pull-ups, and adds wrist roller work for your grip and hands.

Defensive Line drill menu

Position training references. The generated daily plan varies with equipment, phase, schedule and readiness. Each drill links to cues, common mistakes and a demo.

Defensive Line workout: main lift references

Accessories: Med-ball chest pass, Sled sprint, Wrist roller, Copenhagen plank.

These are baseline offseason prescriptions for experienced lifters. Teens should train with qualified supervision, begin with light technique work and progress only when form is consistent. Daily loads vary with level, phase and readiness. High-school and recreational plans cap percentage loads at 85% of estimated 1RM.

Protein target

440 sets defensive lines at 0.85 g of protein per pound of body weight per day.

• 160 lb136 g
• 180 lb153 g
• 200 lb170 g
• 220 lb187 g

Defensive Line training FAQ