First, let me know how you got started training NFL players on their pass rush skills?
Well, it all started in high school – it’s always been my passion to work with players on improving their pass rush skills. I emulated those I played for in college and the NFL. In 2002 I started a company when I saw the need to help pass rushers. There were no pass rush coaches then so I saw the need. I realized that if quarterbacks were the most important players, than those that go after them must be the second most important.
So I started the Defensive Line University, and it morphed into Chuck Allen Training, what it is today.
Tell me how your approached has changed to pass rush training as the NFL and offenses have changed to emphasize the passing game?
It has evolved. Most pass rush moves have been around a long time. But times have changed. The depth of quarterbacks in the pocket and the rules have changed – what is holding and what defensive backs can do now with the new contact rules. Now, offensive linemen can be off the ball by three-to-four yards. In the older days offensive linemen had to line up on the line and quarterbacks dropped deeper in the pocket. Now, the ball comes out faster.
That all matters. Now, the ball comes out much faster. The guys with signature moves – who develop a primary pass rush, whether it’s a spin, chop, hit and swim. bull rush… those are the ones that are successful. I show guys the four keys to developing those – vision, get off, hands, and hips If they use those correctly they’ll have success.
What about confidence in using various moves as a pass rusher – how do you help players with that mental part of the game?
It runs deeper than confidence. In order to have a good pass rush you have to develop it through success and failure. It’s a mindset – and you have to use the culture around you to let you do those little things that help you develop those skills too. Just like in any sport, the guys who are successful do the things that the great ones do. It’s simple – cut and dry. You use the moves of the great ones – the blueprint is there. The smart guys who get the sacks do that. The dumber player – the guys who don’t get emulate the great ones – those pass rushers don’t get the sacks.
How do you work with defensive linemen who play in a 3-4 defense – what tools help them most?
First and foremost, the defensive coordinator dictates the alignment. Pittsburgh’s defense is built around the two outside linebackers generating the pass rush. I work with Cam and Stephon on the hand-to-hand stuff, but those guys are coached to press the pocket. It’s tougher for them, but those guys can rush.
It brings me to this. I’m working with those guys on moves like cross-chops that Aaron Donald uses – and that TJ Watt used once or twice last year. The Steelers have had the same defense for years – that’s who they are. They are built around the 3-4. So they will do what they can in that system.
Do you work with the coaching staffs’ of NFL teams to focus on certain skillsets of players?
I do with other teams – not with the Steelers. Mike and I are cool – I worked with him back in the day. I have different relationships with different teams. I go to some training camps as a consultant – in that role. But I’m just a resource. Mike Tomlin always supports me though. In fact, I introduced him to Stephon. I trained Stephon in high school and ran into Mike and told him he should look at Stephon. He asked me – “that big guy with the crazy facemask?”
In Pittsburgh, the new coaches there may be able to show those guys some new ways to approach the pass rush and add to the bull rushing techniques they’ve been shown. The game has evolved – it’ll be interesting to see what they bring to the pass rushers.
How do you help those 3-4 outside linebackers like Bud Dupree, who you work with? What can make guys who play the position most successful?
Well let me ask this. How easy is it to get off the ball quickly in a two-point stance? How do you get speed off the ball? Look at Usain Bolt. Why does he get in the blocks with both hands on the ground? He’s one of the fastest people in the world and he starts off in a three-point stance. But we have linebackers standing up to rush the passer. The ultimate get-off off the line of scrimmage is in a three-point stance. That’s why I like the 4-3.
That’s why the best outside linebackers have signature moves. LT had speed to bull rush, Watt has the simple side scissors. Von Miller has his spin move. When you line up wide outside as an outside linebacker it makes you one dimensional too. When your that far off the ball there’s no inside move – it takes too long – you lose that threat. So you have the tackle move all the way back off the line to make it even harder to beat them. You have to be a super freak to beat them quickly enough to get to the passer. And you have to have that signature move.
How hard is it to develop that though? What prevents guys from doing so when they all are athletic guys?
You have to have the confidence and mindset to find that move and let it mature.
Guys give up way too early. That’s the big difference between many guys who are successful pass rushers and those who aren’t. If you don’t find success early on with that move you don’t just give up on it. It’s a mindset. Are you a dog or not a dog. If you have a weak mindset you quit too early on a move and try something else.
Think of it like this. If you’re a great pitcher, like Nolan Ryan, and have one great pitch you keep throwing it. Ryan had that fastball and sometimes he’s get hit around. But he’s still going to throw the fastball.
Terrell Suggs is another good example. He has a great mindset – he hasn’t stopped doing the same thing for 17 years. He’ll never stop. Some years he had less success but he kept doing it. And when Aaron Donald was knocked around a bit in Philly last season, he didn’t change his mindset. He stayed with it.
You think about guys who work in any profession – at say IBM. When things are going well it’s all ok. But when things aren’t going right, some guys get frazzled. It’s deeper than confidence. It’s about whether you’re an alpha dog or not.