Eric Finney: "Pull the Trigger" - Pursuit and Tackling Techniques for Defensive Backs

with Eric Finney,
Cincinnati Assistant Defensive Backs Coach;
Iowa Western Community College Defensive Backs Coach from 2017 to 2024;
2023 NJCAA National Champions;
2022 NJCAA National Champions;
former Concordia University-Chicago Graduate Assistant;
played for the University of Illinois in college (as a safety)

Tackling in space is a necessary skill for defenders, especially when facing modern spread offenses that maximize 1-on-1 match-ups. Defenders need to be able to leverage the football to their help while still being able to make tackles in space.

In this presentation, Coach Eric Finney demonstrates (with practice and game video) how he instills the necessary skills and traits to help his players become great open field tacklers.

Pulling the Trigger

The main point of emphasis that Coach Finney uses with his players is to "pull the trigger" when making an open field tackle. Making successful open field tackles is as much about having the correct attitude and mentality as it is about technique. Finney shows examples of players having the correct attitude and examples of those that don't and how having the "pull the trigger" attitude makes the difference in many cases. You'll see:

• Several drills that emphasize never stopping the feet in the open field.
• Drills that emphasize the correct angle that allows players to close on the ball carrier with confidence.
• Why emphasizing "good misses" is much more effective than emphasizing missed tackles.

Learning Points

Coach Finney uses keywords to inspire proper play by his defensive backs and encourages them to make mistakes, as he believes great players are not afraid of making mistakes. He explains the importance of staying square as long as possible, where a defensive player's eyes should be looking, and how to wrap and roll. He also shows examples from his team, other college teams, and professional players.

Open field tackling is an extremely important part of what defensive backs have to do in order to be successful. With the help of Coach Finney and some of the coaching points he shares in this video, your DBs will develop a "pull the trigger" mentality!

32 minutes. 2021.