Notes from "Coaching Football's Double Eagle Flex Defense" by Ted Amorosi

Purpose of football drills, whether they are for DL, LB'S or DB'S should be to:
1. Enhance athleticism
2. Develop a teaching progression that will create habits that will enable the athlete to perform the basic fundamentals of his position with maximum efficiency.
3. Develop the intense level of effort necessary to attain the highest level of success.

DL Practices should include the following
1. Movement drills that develop agility, quickness, balance, coordination, and intense effort
2. Tackling drills from different angles
3. Drills that teach fundamentals of defeating a one on one run block (hook, drive, kick-out, trap,)
4. Drills that teach the fundamentals of defeating 2 on 1 blocks (kiss, fold, zone, double team, etc.)
5. Drills that teach the fundamentals of full and or half-line blocking schemes (may or may not include RB)
6. Drills that teach the fundamental skills of defeating a 1 on 1 pass block (emphasizing specific techniques such as rip under, swim etc.)
7. Drills that teach the skills of slanting, stunting, twisting etc.
8. Game line scrimmages (team, half-line, run hull, etc.)

Four Cardinal rules of Defensive Line
1. Do not get reached
2. Collapse the backside
3. Wrong shoulder all kick out blocks
4. Force double-teams and do not get driven back when they occur.

Each day in practice every defensive lineman should be drilled in game-like situations that make these 4 cardinal rules second nature.