Punt Return Drills: "Claw-Mirror" Drill with Game Film

Coach Dan Sabock, assistant coach at Temple University, explains the "Claw-Mirror" Drill they use to teach punt return fundamentals and uses game film to show those skills in action.
Click the link to see more: throwdeeppubli...
Automated Transcription:
Alright, let's move into our punt return. Again. We call it PBR. I know some of you guys are thinking other things right now, but PBR is punt block return for us here when I was at NIU, and here at Temple University. Okay, I like doing these together because you can work pun protection versus Hold'em. You can work coverage hold up versus coverage, I think there's two good things to work together. So the first thing we're gonna get into is club mirror. If we are going to hold somebody up, we teach claw or mirror, that's two different things. So we're going to put a pump player right there, and a pump player right there. Obviously our punt return guy, our PBR guy is right there, we start them in the head position. Well, we tell our guys and I got this from an NFL team in Tennessee about seven, eight years ago. Okay? If they come at us, if that punt player that I'm responsible for comes at me to protect, I'm going to claw him, the claw for us, his hands outside, on the tips of the shoulder pads, you guys should all be thinking, What the heck are you saying, coach? Okay, no hands outside,
and we are going to hold the crap bottom. Okay, knock on wood. I have not had a holding call on us in.
I put this in, I think 767 years ago, not one time, but it's got to be coached, it's got to be practiced. At the very start of the drill, we are holding the heck out of the punting if they come at us, okay, once they get out of our range and our path, we got to let them go and get into phase which we'll talk about, guys. So that's claw technique. We're going hands outside tip of the shoulder pad and steering them, they're going to obviously try to take us inside, that's fine. We'll be in control. Okay, if they go away from us, guys, we're going to shuffle mirror it and then just get into phase you will not get the cloth technique. So as I run this film, let's look down here at 30 fives rep on the on the left 45 yard line. Okay, look at those wide hands. I love when they wear white gloves or sleeves. Look at how wide this kid shoots his hands. Absolutely perfect. Bam. snatches that in the claw technique, because 35 comes at me to protect. Now I'm going to hold him and keep him in front of me as long as I can. If that is six seconds and the entire play, I win your priceless jeans player of the day. Okay. So steroid there, shuffle my feet, low pad level my helmets below his chin, fighting through the whole drill. Now what's critical, and I told you guys, this what is absolutely critical, if you're going going to use this whole technique, and you got to mix in with some rushes and bully rush and different things. But if you're using this technique, you've got to teach from day one. When this kid gets outside the framework of my body, I let go, the fight is over. And I get into faith. And that's critical. That's not just me talking on a clinic here on a tape guys. You got to be hauling butt out there. If you see a kid doing it, or else you will get called for holding. guess the first question everybody asked me you know, don't don't isn't that holding? Yes, it is holding, but only if they call it right for us defensive guys. They don't call that holding stuff, right? That's also not where the refs looking on this play. It's a really good rep of that guy. On on 35. And on this left 45 yard line. That's a really darn good read by that young man. Okay, a couple you guys, you know, I'll flip back and forth. Hopefully you get a chance to watch it. If you watch my kickoff stuff that we did. I taught you guys about how we start in our stances in those kickoff drills that we teach. It's exactly what we got going right here. My knee is over my toe so I can explode forward with no wasted movement. Really great. Look at it right there. Knee over my toe, wait for it so I can explode to it. Okay, so we carry that over into all of our drills. This is on the kickoff tape, I talked about that. When we cover try to use those things throughout all your special teams. Because you guys know that then depth charts gonna change injuries guys being tired, guys that the head coach says hey, I'm done using him because he's our only corner, whatever it might be. We all know we go through it. So teach all the guys the little things in all your phases and all your drills. Okay, so club mirror ball goes away from us. In any case, let's look at number four right here on the 50. The guy's going away. So my guys are about to shoot his hands, but realizes it's probably going to end up being a shuffle mirror. So he's not going to try to hold him quite as much.
#SpecialTeams
#SpecialTeamsDrills
#PuntReturn

[@miltondhall3270]

Thank you !

[@Goldone99]

oh the line drive.