Video Review: Defensive Back Play From A-Z

I've often wondered whether DVD's from companies like Coaches Choice or Championship Productions were worth the cost.

In the past, I have been disappointed with some of the videos I have purchased. They were either too simple, didn't fit what I was trying to do or the situation I was in or they were just an outright rip-off.

With that said, I will be reviewing any videos I buy in the future, both to rehash what I learned and to give everyone else some insight before they pony up their hard earned cash.

One of my main goals this off-season was to retool our defensive back play, including our fundamentals and drills. After soliciting the services of the CoachHuey message board, I was pointed towards the Coaches Choice videos authored by Nick Rapone.
When the DVD's were made, Rapone was a DBs coach at Temple. He is currently the Defensive Coordinator for the University of Delaware.

This video is actually a set of six different ones CoachRapone has made. I had a 50% off holiday coupon code and I used a digital download, so I actually paid about $38 for six DVDs! That is cheaper than you can normally buy one video for! Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself when I purchased them.

The six videos last just over 3 hours and 30 minutes and cover The Art and Practice of Tackling, Off-Man and Catch-Pass Coverage Techniques, Individual Techniques for Defensive Back Play, Cover 2 Pass Defense, Championship Defensive Back Drills and Bracket and Vice Double Coverage Techniques . It took me a little while to watch all of them and I took meticulous notes while doing so (it's the only way I remember anything nowadays).

These were by far the best videos I have purchased to date. I would rate the series as a whole an 8/10. Coach Rapone does a great job breaking down the drills he uses and explains the purpose that they serve in his scheme. If there was one pitfall to the series, it was that many of the drills and fundamentals were repeated. The game film wasn't the best quality and it would have been beneficial to have them presented in a Hudl-like manner with arrows and circles so I could focus on what I needed to without having to rewind.

One thing that stuck out to me was how Coach Rapone taught how to break up a comeback route. If the DB is unable to "shoot the hip" and get in front of the wide receiver, he should not come over the top and create contact. Instead, he should go underneath the receiver's arms and separate them away from their body.

Coach Rapone talks in length about how to read a 3-step drop and how to react to different routes while breaking on the upfield shoulder. There are a ton of drills relating to man-to-man schemes, zone schemes and just simple fundamentals any DB would need.

There is a little bit of everything in this set, so if you're an aspiring DB coach, need to learn from the ground up or just want a refreshing look at how to coach DB play, these videos are more than worth the money.

*Note: I will continue to review some of the previous DVDs I have bought in further posts.