How to Read Backfield in Football

Video Transcript

"Hi this is Sean Hobson for Expert Village. One thing as a cornerback, you're not always going to be in coverage down the field. Sometimes you're going to have to come up and help out on a tackle of a running back. So the last thing we want to talk about here is how to shed the block, look in the back field, pick up the running back and then pursue the running back. So the first thing you're going to do to start any play is, he's going to start in a back pedal and the first thing he has got to do is play pass coverage. Then, as he is looking in the back field, he's going to read the quarterback. Once he sees that quarterback hand off to our running back, then he's going to have to adjust, and he's going to have to pursue. This guy is going to come in and try to lock up on the inside of our receiver. So what he has got to do, what number four has to do, he has to come through with a hard hit and shed that blocker to the outside. And then once he pursues the running back, he is going to have to take a good angle at him. If he runs straight at the running back, obviously the running back is going to be heading up field and so he can't take a good angle at him in order to make the tackle. So let's just walk through what it might look like when our cornerback picks up the running back. So he's going to drop back, go ahead, he's going to drop back. Now he sees it. We want to get to the inside, he's going to shed the block, and then he's going to head up field with a good angle and he's going to make the tackle on the running back. Sometimes as a cornerback you're going to have to be in coverage, but sometimes as a cornerback you're going to have to come up and make hits on the running backs."