Good drill for football

Good drill for football. Compare to golf basketball and golf

“The Saturday scrimmage will be very similar to the 60 plays we did last Saturday,'' [Coach Butch] Davis said, referring to an intrasquad scrimmage in Berea, Ohio. "If you make first downs, you keep the drive alive. If you don't, you go back to the 35-yard line and start over. It'll be 12-play drives.

"At the conclusion of those 12 plays, regardless of where the ball is placed at the end of the 12th play, there'll be three goal-line situations. The first, second and third teams will get an opportunity to do one goal-line stand -- three plays from the 3-yard line.''

Jack sez: Upon reading this comment in the Columbus Dispatch by Coach Butch Davis when he was with the Cleveland Browns, it reminded me of a drill I used in basketball and golf.

To improve shooting in basketball, I would begin shooting close to the goal. Each time I made the shot, I moved one step away from the goal. Miss and I would go back to the goal and start again. Repeat this drill from various spots around the goal.

Use this same drill in golf. Start close to the cup and move back one putter length each time the putt is made. Miss and start over.

Applying this concept to football. Teams start one yard from the goal. If they score in one play, they move back to the two yard line and run one play. Score and move back to the three yard line. Fail to score and the team goes back to the one yard line.

To me, it is important to score when you get closer to the goal. I believe that Coach Davis had a good idea but I would have liked to see him reverse the field and start at the one yard line rather than the 35 yard line. Use the other 35 yard starting drill from week to week. See what works best when it gets to game time.

Source: This practice drill was expanded upon by Jack Hutslar from an article that appeared in the Columbus Dispatch on line 8/3/2001