Settle & Noose Drill

Scaffolding approach to practice

In a previous post, I wrote about the unique way Air Raid practices are set up. It is a scaffolding approach to practice, much like the way we teach our students. You begin slow, with just a few players involved in the drill. As practice goes along, the intensity and complexity of the drills begin to pick up. The key is that you do the same drills, the same way, every day.

One of the best drills for any offense is the Settle & Noose drill.

Purpose:

• QBs work on their drops, progressions, accuracy and throwing the receiver open.
• WRs work on releases, stick move, settling in open grass, catching and turning toward the throw.
• Centers work on snapping the football, and stepping towards their assignment.

Set-up:
Set-up two trash cans or pop-up dummies 10-yards apart on the sideline. The receivers form a line along the sideline. The receiver should work on release moves vs. the next receiver in line. The QBs should be set up with a center or snapper on the numbers.

Drill:
The QB snaps the ball and goes through his drop. Each day, we give him a different play to progress through. This is the first drill of the day, so he should not be at full speed. We are more interested in footwork and going through the progressions. The QB should be speaking the progressions as he hitches up. For the Shallow concept he would say, "Fade, Dig, Shallow." This trains the QBs brain on the progressions along with his footwork.

The WR works a release move on the defender. He should then attack the other trash can in a direct line, going about 50% of his normal speed. When he gets to the trash can, he should buzz his feet, and settle in the open grass. The trash can becomes a defender and he shows his hands to the QB, making a noose with his hands by having his thumbs and index fingers together. Something like this:

By this time, the QB has gone through his progression. He should be shuffling up and ready to throw to the receiver. Again, we are not emphasizing speed at this point. The QB should throw the WR "open" by throwing opposite of the trash can. We coach our WRs to "Post-Up" the linebacker, much like he would do in basketball. This will simulate a game when we can pick up extra yards after catch by throwing the receiver open AWAY from a defender.

The WR should look the ball in, over-emphasizing every move of the catch. Once he has caught the ball, he should turn towards the direction that the QB threw him open to, and score the football. We preach scoring every time we catch the ball.

Below is video of the Settle & Noose Drill.

Two notes:

1. All of the players are going much faster than they should be for this drill. You really have to stay on top of them about SLOWING DOWN. Emphasize the fundamentals, speed will come later.

2. We combined two lines together to get more people in a centralized location. It combines the mesh drill with settle and noose, and one coach can watch two receiver and two quarterbacks at the same time.



What are some other coaching points that you emphasize with this drill?