Cornerback - Jamming The Receiver

Jamming The Receiver

When a cornerback is attempting to jam or funnel a receiver, he is trying to disrupt the receiver's route at the line of scrimmage. When jamming the receiver a cornerback must keep his body squared with his feet shoulder width apart, so he can have power when jamming his arms out. When jamming his arms out it is important that the cornerback does not extend his arm too long, because a good receiver will escape from the corner's jam. By impeding the receiver's progress, the corner can provide his teammates with extra time to sack the quarterback (sometimes called a "coverage sack"), or force an ill-timed throw. In addition, a proper jamming allows the safety or linebacker to provide stronger run support because he then has more time to drop back into zone coverage in the event of a pass. In other words, he has been granted more time by the corner to recover from his mistakes if he anticipates a run when in fact the play is a pass.

If the jam fails, the cornerback is usually flat footed and not in a suitable position to defend the mid to long-range passes. When this occurs, the safeties and linebackers usually cannot return to their zone obligations in time, especially if they were anticipating a run as the play began. In essence, the defense is unnecessarily "stretched" to its breaking point. Receivers who can effectively avoid the jam and stretch defenses are far more likely to create big play opportunities for the offense. Therefore, it is vital that a cornerback execute a proper funnel or jam to allow safeties and linebackers enough time to return to their zone responsibilities in the event of an unforeseen pass play. By working together and familiarizing where one's help may come from, a higher degree of confidence is established amongst the defensive secondary as a unit, with the end result translating into a much more formidable defense against both the run and pass.