Learning to Read the Defense

By John Groll, Assistant CoachBedford High School MI)   Football has been a part of my life for more than 30 years. Over that time, I have coached or played ever position except quarterback and defensive line. Under a new coach last year, I became the new defensive line coach in our 4-3 defense. I would like to share with you how we teach our defensive linemen to read various blocks.   I start by asking the questions, "What do I want our players to do and then how am I going to teach it?" I learned as both a coach and teacher, the better I teach, the better the students will perform. I have become, over time, a firm believer in coaching game situations. The drills taught should be the skills used.   To start coaching the defensive line, I began developing a progression of what was going to be taught. Every resource I used had basically the same progression - stance,