Melting Pot-The 46 Nickel and Nickel Tracer

Mmmm...bringing heat...that's tasty!

For those that don't already know, I'm a junior high defensive coordinator (DC) now, and I have found this job to be quite challenging.  I am coaching a team that a good 80 to 85 percent have never seen a football field, much less know what the "A" gap is, or a strong safety is.  So, the quest for keeping it simple has been paramount in my quest to have a good defense.  However, this has led to us being very "vanilla" and only being able to run 1 coverage and a few stunts in our first two games.  Then...it dawned on me!  I was rereading some of my older posts and came across this one on the University of Florida's Nickel Tracer blitz.  I got to looking, and the light went off in my head!  What's funny about this story is how I came about meshing these two defensive ideas, and so I thought I'd share.

Now I'm not trying to be "innovative" or cutting edge here, I'm just a guy trying to bring some pressure and get a bunch of kids to have a little fun.  I'm a big believer that your punt return unit should be your starting defense, possibly minus one player you sub in for a good returner.  Anyhow, so I put in our punt return/block team about three weeks ago and we've done fairly well with it.  We call the front "Bronco" and we use colors to described what we want to do with it.  Red is return, and basically we block the man we align over and the returner picks a lane and runs with it.  Blue is block left and brown is block right.  I'm not going to go much further than that, but I will show you the alignment.  As you can see, we keep the standard Bear 3, 0, 3 up front.  The Mike and Whip safety will walk up over the offensive tackles to their side in a four technique.  Our Sam and Rush linebackers maintain their one yard outside the EMOL, standard Bear alignment.  The free safety will walk down and stack right behind the nose.  We jump in to it right before the snap so the punt team has no clue who to pick up, or if we are even coming yet or not.  We haven't blocked one yet, but we've been VERY close a couple of times.




Bronco alignment


Anyhow, like I was saying, the other day I was figuring out what blitzes I wanted to install and was having a hard time picking what I wanted to do.  I wanted something to get everybody involved, as about two weeks ago we put in the "single" blitzes (most Bear guys know what these are, but basically they are one LB or one safety blitzing a called gap) and have only been able to get one of these installed.  Anyhow, I wanted something simple, and I wanted something that we could easily get in to, with very little adjustments.  Then it hit me...Nickel Tracer!

The Tracer blitz (or "Fire" as we call it), is very simple (you can go here to read more about how UF did it).  Basically if you have a man to cover, cover him.  If you don't, or your man is in the backfield...blitz.  Now that's the kind of simplicity I need.  So, I lined us up exactly the way we rush punts and all the pieces fell in to place.  Let's look at the basic alignment and then go from there and talk about adjustments.

So, vs. the standard pro set we get our 3, 0, 3 alignment, with both the Mike and Whip (weak safety) in four techniques.  The Spur (strong safety) is in his standard seven technique alignment and is covering the tight end (TE) man to man.  The Sam and Rush LB's are in their base alignment and are "peel rushing".  The peel rush for us is to rush at the near shoulder of the near back and if he attempts to release on a pass route, cover him man to man.  The FS will walk down and stack right behind the nose.  Now we call our version of the blitz strong or weak to tell the Nose where to go.  The FS will blitz the opposite A gap of the Nose.  The defensive ends (DE's) will rush their assigned gap and the Mike and Whip bull rush the offensive tackles and take the C gap.  I have them bull rush so they can't kick out on our OLB's.  The corners will cover the number one receiver to their side respectively.  If you read the old post on the Tracer blitz you will see the running backs (RB's) are handled by the peel coverage of the outside rushers and the inside rushers will grab and run with any RB they encounter on their way to the QB.  The simplicity of the blitz, is that we utilize all our standard adjustments that we do out of our normal Bear front.  Again, this goes back to the basis of the Tracer blitz, if you are covering, cover, if not, rush.  Very simple.  Now let's look at some of these standard adjustments and how they effect the blitz.




Bronco front vs. Pro Alignment





Fire with a "weak" call.

 Twins and twin open sets are a breeze.  Against twins we just get in our "flip" alignment (corners over) and everybody aligns and gets after it.  Both receivers and the TE are accounted for and the offense has eight potential blockers and we are sending eight.  Pro sets are not the best to run the blitz against because the numbers are even (eight on eight), however at my level of play, you find that the FS in the A gap is almost NEVER picked up.  Since he's our best tackler, he gets a lot of tackles for a loss in this scheme.

Looking at 11 personnel, we see that vs. the Ace set, both the strong and weak safeties must play the 7 techniques to their side and cover the TE man to man.  The Mike can still rush, as can the FS.  This allows us to bring seven to the offenses six, so the defense still wins.  When they go 2x2 with one of the receivers being a slot, then the weak safety moves out to cover him, just as he would in our regular Bear front (I know some of you use the Jayhawk adjustment vs. this look, I however do not).  Again, this keeps the rules and adjustments simple.  When they go Trey or Trips closed, the opposite corner must come over and cover the remaining receiver that's left over, still allowing the blitz to outnumber the offense.

Now on to 10 personnel.  Against the 2x2 looks both the weak safety and the strong safety go out to cover the number two receiver to their respective sides.  This puts the defense rushing seven to the offenses six potential blockers.  If the offense moves into a 3x1 look, then the weak safety moves over and covers the number three receiver to the trips side. 

Empty poses a little adjustment that you have to work on, but it is nothing major.  In my standard cover one scheme, when we get empty we check to cover 0 anyway, so that's not a big issue.  The FS will follow his rule by covering the number three receiver to the strong side.  The only thing different is he tells the Mike LB "I'm gone" and this puts the Mike back where the FS was and the Mike replaces the FS in the blitz scheme.  Again, the defense is sending six to the offenses five, so the numbers do not lie. 

The key portion to this blitz is to show it, and back out at the last minute.  In our last game, I ran the blitz six times and ran the show look nine times.  The last defensive play of the game was an interception by our FS when they tried to hit a slot in the seam because they saw no FS back deep.  The offense even audibled at the line to change the play to four verticals because of the pre snap look we gave them.  I have our guys go ahead and show the blitz and then bail out at the snap and just play our standard 46 front with cover 1 behind it.  As you can see, this is a blitz that echoes the "simplicity through multiplicity" theory in football (thanks to Coach Tony DeMeo for that line). 

Like I said, not trying to toot my own horn, but I thought I would share this with some of the 46 coaches that have emailed me here recently to show you a very good way to get pressure that is easy and simple to install.  I literally installed this blitz in a ten minute classroom setting and a 20 minute on the field presentation (this was with both the starters and the backups).  I hope this helps someone in the future, it is a very good blitz scheme that's very simple to install.  Good luck!

Duece

Florida's Nickel Tracer/Auburn's Heat Package



I'm gonna get you sucka!!!


A few years ago, after the University of Florida won the 2006 National Championship by stunning Ohio State 41-14, Doc Holliday came to a Nike Coach of the Year (COY) Clinic to discuss UF's pressure package they used that season.  I happened in on the lecture and learned a very valuable lesson in nickel pressure philosophy.  I will say this, I did not run this blitz to anything but 10, 11, and 00 personnel.  I did not feel that it was a good matchup vs. anything else.  This package does have a "cumbersome" feel about especially since learning TCU's blitz package.  With that being said, you can gain a lot of knowledge, not necessarily from the scheme of things, but from the techniques that are utilized in this pressure package.  As with some of this stuff, resources on this pressure package have been like Osama Bin Laden...hard to find!  Anyhow, Chris Vasseur (vassdiddy) bent my ear a little while back about writing a piece on this particular pressure package, so since I'm doing nothing else, I took him up on it.  Let's see if I can't dissect this pressure package and coverage scheme so that we can understand, and even potentially install this scheme.  Let's roll!




OUCH!


The General Scheme
The general scheme of things is simple, bring everyone who's not covering a receiving threat.  The first item you have to deal with though, is the definition of a receiving threat.  Any eligible player aligned anywhere but the backfield is a receiving threat.  These players will have a dedicated defender, who's sole job is to cover this person.  So, against your standard 2x2 set with doubles on both side, you will have 4 defenders dedicated to covering those 4 receiving threats.  Simple enough right?

Any eligible player in the backfield is handled by the rush.  This is done in 2 ways.  First there are interior rushers who rush the A through C gaps on either side of the offensive formation.  These players, as they rush, if they encounter a running back (RB) on their way to the quarterback (QB), they wrap him up, and take him with them (straight outta Doc's mouth on that one).  This keeps the draw and middle screens from hurting this blitz.  Next is the edge rushers.  The widest rushers are "peel" rushers, meaning they do not allow a back to cross their face.  If a back attempts to check release, or run a swing pattern, they will cover this receiver man to man.  This keeps any quick outlet pass or hot read by the QB from hurting the blitz.  If this sounds familiar this is the exact technique I used to alter TCU's blitz package, so that it was not so intense on the safeties and allowed me to run more man free than pure man the past 2 seasons (go here to read the article).  So, once you've figured the receiving threats, the inside and outside rushers, now it's on to the coverage.

Coverage
The coverage of this blitz scheme is what really caught my eye.  It's man coverage with a twist, and an aggressive twist at that.  On film, it looks simply like off man, which basically it is.  The defensive backs (DB's) align 8 yards off their man, NOT the LOS.  On the snap of the ball, the DB does not gain any depth, yet buzzes his feet and keys the near shoulder of his receiver.  This technique is known as the "Banzai" technique, and is the crux of the coverage.  If this shoulder is going vertical, the DB maintains his inside leverage and as the receiver approaches...he tackles him!  Now I know what you are saying, but that's exactly as ol' Doc explained it at the clinic.  He said tackle them, knock them on their ass, whatever you have to do to keep them from catching the football.  He also stated a 15 yard penalty didn't hurt as much as either a touchdown, or receiver's not being afraid to run down the field.  Now, if the DB reads an inside or outside cut by the receiver he attacks immediately, and again, tackles the receiver, irregardless of whether or not the ball has been thrown.  This coverage scheme is NOT for the squeamish, it is aggressive, get after your ass (GATA) football.  This was proven in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game when Ohio State had no answer to Florida's defensive pressure scheme known as Nickel Tracer.  Of course it helped to have the speed and athleticism the Gator's had, but it's not a bad pressure package.

Alignment and Assignment
As with any defensive package alignment and assignment are vital.  Here are the rules for the Heat/Tracer blitz package.

• Nose: Align in a 2I weak, cross face of guard into B gap.  Listen for a "Gaps" call.  If given a Gaps call, slide alignment to a weak 3 technique and rush the weak B gap.
• Rush (weak end): Align in a loose 5 and peel rush at near shoulder of near back, or near shoulder of QB (if back offset opposite), unless given a "bull" call.  Vs. bull call, bull rush OT, do not allow him to double release on outside defender.   
• Tackle: Strong 3 technique, rush the B gap.  Listen for "Gaps" call, if given a Gaps call, align in the weak A gap and rush the weak A gap.
• Anchor (Strong End): Align in a wide 9 vs. a TE, or a ghost 6 vs. no TE.  Peel rush unless given a "bull" call.  If given a bull call bull rush TE, or free rush (no contain responsibility) QB.
• Sam (LB to strong side): Vs. a TE, align in a 7 technique (stand up, 2 point) and cover TE man to man.  Do not allow TE off the LOS, and control the TE vs. the run.  Vs. no TE, align in a 5 technique.  C gap rush vs. no TE.
• Mike: Align in the A gap on the side of the offset RB.  If no offset RB, align in the A gap to passing strength.  Blitz the A gap.
• Strong Safety ($): Align in A gap opposite the offset RB.  If no offset RB, then align in the A gap away from passing strength.  Rush the A gap.  Be alert for "Gaps" call.  Vs. Gaps call, must go to passing strength and cover #3.
• Weak Safety/Nickel/Will LB (W): Align to passing strength and cover #2 man to man (banzai technique).
• Free Safety (F): Blitz the side of the offset back.  If no offset back, peel rush (give bull call) to the side opposite the Nickel back.  If #2 weak is a WR, then cover #2 man to man.  Vs. trips, cover #3 man to man to trips side.  FS handles all motion.
• Corners- Cover #1 man to man.  Can check corners over vs. closed sets.  Use banzai technique.

Shown below are some of the alignments and adjustments to some popular 2x2 formations:

As you can see, the FS will blitz the side of the offset RB, unless the #2 receiver is split away from the formation.  If the RB were to motion from the backfield in the first 2 diagrams, the FS would take this motion.  If the RB motions in the 2x2 open set example, the SS would have to move out and cover him, and make the "Gap" check mentioned above (and will be discussed later). 

Here are the adjustments to some standard 3x1 formations:

In the first example the secondary plays corners over and the FS is able to blitz the side of the RB.  In the second example of 3x1, the FS is called on to cover #3 strong, and thereby cannot rush.  In the first example it is important that the FS let the DE (A) know to bull so the DE does not peel off if the RB crosses his face.

Next is a look at the adjustment to empty sets.

To be honest, I did not get this adjustment from Auburn or UF, as it is not discussed.  Empty was discussed at the clinic I attended, however it was discussed with a TE and not without.  When I ran this blitz, we made this a "Gaps" call.  Gaps, slide the Tackle over to A gap away from passing strength and put the MLB in the A gap to passing strength.  The Sam, and Anchor would keep their normal alignments, but the Sam would blitz the B gap, instead of the C, and the Anchor was the peel rusher to the strong side.  The Nose would kick over to a weak 3 technique and rush his gap, and the Rush didn't have to change a thing.

Techniques
I used this pressure package in it's entirety for 2 seasons out of the 4-3 package and a nickel package.  You can do it from any front you care to, as it's all about filling gaps, and covering detached receivers...aggressively.  The key to installation, is to divide your defense based on their job.  There are 3 jobs in the Tracer blitz, inside rush, outside rush, cover eligibles.  I'm going to break these 3 facets down, so you can see how to apply the proper coaching of the techniques of each. 

1. Inside rushers- These are rushers responsible for the A through C gaps on either side of the football. 
1. Keys- Near foot of nearest offensive lineman to near pad of offensive lineman. 
2. Reactions- The object is to get into a gap and go, that being said, run plays have to be carefully defended especially zone plays.  Defenders do not want to get washed and need to maintain gap integrity at all times by not getting reached.  This is the key for reading near foot to near pad, so that the rusher can deduce whether or not it's a run play, or pass play.  All inside rushers will spill, so if they trap, or kick out on power type plays, the normal spill reads apply (should be no new teaching here if you are a spill philosophy guy).  Pullers are chased, flat down the LOS and any downblocks are fought underneath and worked laterally.  Vs. a high hat read, or pass set, defenders maintain strict rush lanes and if blocked occupy the blocker and drive backwards in the direction of the QB.  If any defender, upon either rushing, or defeating a blocker, encounters a back, wrap him up (high tackle) and run him to the QB.  Do not release him, and do not worry if he has the ball or not.  If the ball is thrown, retrace your steps, and get to the football.
2. Outside rushers- These are rushers responsible for the D gap on either side of the football and are declared by their width, or basically put, they are the widest rushers.  Outside rushers notify players inside of them, that they are the peel blitzer by an "I'm here" call, letting the next defender inside of him know that they are now a spill player.  If the FS is involved in the rush, he will give the next man inside of him a "bull" call if it is a DE, letting him know to bull rush the OT the DE is aligned over.
1. Keys- Near offensive lineman and Lane of Ball (LOB).
2. Reactions- On run plays toward this defender, he is to work upfield and force, and will take pitch on option.  On run plays away, this player will pursue as deep as the football and look for boot, and reverse before chasing.  On a pass set by the near lineman, this defender will now attack the near back, working upfield executing a contain rush.  If the near back, attempts to cross the face of this defender, the rush is off and he will cover this defender man to man.  If the near back attempts to block this defender, the defender will throttle down, engage the blocker with a high tackle and carry him to the QB.  A good rule of thumb for this defender is do not allow an offensive player or threat to get to their outside shoulder.  The peel rusher should box all trap or kickout blocks by attacking the blocker with the inside shoulder.
3. Covering the eligibles- These are the defenders responsible for the coverage of detached receivers.  These defenders will align 8 yards off their respective receiver NOT the LOS.  Corners will always cover the #1 receiver (numbering from outside in) pre-snap.  Against closed sets, corners can flip sides and play corners over.  The nickel back or OLB responsible for covering #2, will cover #2 to the passing strength.  The FS will cover #2 away from the nickel back, or will cover #3 to the trips side.  The FS handles all motion.  If a TE is present, the strong side LB aligns in a 7 technique and covers the TE man to man.  Vs. empty sets, the SS must be called into action and will cover the #3 receiver to the nickel back's side. 
1. Keys- Inside shoulder of receiver.
2. Reactions- If the inside shoulder works down the field and stops or stutters to stalk, engage the blocker and get eyes inside to the football.  Shuck blocker and support the run only after it has broken the LOS.  Important note here is the eyes don't go inside until the receiver has been engaged, so as to make sure the receiver is blocking.  If the shoulder works vertical up field, and stays vertical up to a point 1 yard from the defender, the defender will maintain inside leverage, and execute an open field tackle on the receiver.  The key is to not take the receiver to the ground, but tie him up in a manner that does not allow for any more depth on the route, and impedes the receiver's ability to catch the football.  If the near shoulder, breaks inside or outside the defender is to drive to a point 1 yard in front of the receiver's direction, and again, execute an open field tackle.  The eyes should never leave the receiver and all DB's should use the sideline for leverage when making this tackle. 
3. Additional notes- The FS handles all motion, either change of strength (COS) motion, or backfield motion.  All DB's will "buzz" their feet and must NOT lose ground, they buzz their feet and react to the near hip (shoulder came from UF, Auburn taught the banzai technique by reading the near hip).

This is the basics of the blitz.  One other item to note, you can stack the SS and MLB over the center and play games with where they go, thereby confusing the center.  I did not do this much, as we stemmed quickly from our base alignment and basically hit the thing on the run.  Yes, Heat/Tracer is a bit complicated, but the major emphasis I liked was the coverage of RB's out of the backfield and how it handled the screen and draw game.  The other key component to this blitz is the "bluff" package.  I called it "Trick Heat", since the blitz to us was "Heat".  Bluff or Trick, whichever you prefer is a must.  When I ran this in a game, I tried to achieve a 1:3 ratio of Heat to Trick Heat.  That means, for every 1 time you run Heat, you then follow that up with 3 times of running Trick Heat.  I'm going to now discuss the nuances of the bluff scheme that goes with this blitz.  Please keep this in mind, Trick and Heat go hand in hand, and are not to be separated when installing this system.

The General Scheme

The general idea behind bluffing is just that, get the offense to think you are coming, and bail out.  With that in mind, you have to have a plan for dealing with what the offense is going to check to if you show the Heat/Tracer blitz.  Most offenses we saw checked to 1 of the following:

1. Slant/Hitch hot route
2. Screen/Swing pass to RB
3. Draw

So, with than in mind, the most dangerous of the above items is the slant/hitch, especially the slant.  Screens and Draws are some issues to, but since you now only rushing 4, you will have more eyes on the RB and more players will be in a better position to react to the screen or draw.  I still told my DL, that if they encountered a RB on their way to the QB, they were to grab him and take him with them.  This little added technique in the bluff scheme really helped against the screen and draw game. 

Ok, so on to the basics.  Basically Trick Heat was a 3 deep zone scheme that had 4 underneath droppers.  They were divided as follows:

• SS/MLB- Hook droppers, dropping to 2 if balanced of rotating their drop to passing strength vs. trips formations.
• SLB/FS- Curl Flat droppers, dropping at #1 to either side.
• Corners- Deep outside 1/3 players.
• Nickel- Deep middle 1/3 dropper.

So, now that we see the basics, let's move on to alignment and assignment.

Alignment/Assignment

This is important, and to me this part of the scheme is what complicates things.  The alignment is not exactly the same as that of the regular blitz.  Here are the alignment rules for the bluff package:

• DL- Align the same as you would for the normal Heat/Tracer blitz.
• SS/MLB- align the same as you would for the normal blitz.
• SLB- algin the same as you would for the normal blitz.
• Nickel/WLB- Align over #2 to passing strength.  Vs. trips, align inside of the #3 receiver.
• FS- Always align on the open side of the formation, on the LOS, or opposite the SLB.
• Corners- Must align on either side of the formation (cannot align in corners over) due to having deep 1/3 responsibilities.  They can stem though (which I had ours do, as did UF and Auburn).

The assignments are as follows:

• DL- rush your assigned gap, use draw/screen protect rules if you encounter a RB.  DE's must contain rush (peel assignment is off however).
• SS/MLB- At the snap drop to #2 to your side.  Do not look at QB, drop to your man and buzz your zone, reacting to your receiver's break.  Vs. trips, MLB drops to #2 and SS will drop to #3 to the trips side.  Treat empty the same as trips and drop to 2 and 3 to passing strength.
• SLB/FS- At the snap drop to #1 to your side.  Same rules/techniques as the SS/MLB.  Only difference is vs. empty the FS drops to #2 away from the passing strength (ignores #1).
• Nickel- Rotate to the deep middle 1/3, must wait until the snap and bust tail to get there.
• Corners- Drop to the deep 1/3 to your side.

Here is Trick Heat (as I called it) to various sets:



The underneath droppers (FS,MLB,SLB,SS) all leave at the snap, they do not leave early (this is important in disguising the blitz, however if they do cheat the snap and get caught, they are not to move up, they should continue to drop out).  They are to drop at their receiver, and expect slant, if the receiver breaks off early, on a hitch the work to the upfield shoulder looking to make a quick open field tackle.  The deep droppers play their normal cover 3 rules, with the WS having the toughest job of the bunch, because of his alignment and having to get to the MOF quickly.  Don't have him cheat though as you will lose the element of surprise. 



Don't leave early!

 




Here are some clips of the blitz in various forms against different sets. 

So to recap, the basics of the package is a "plus one" blitz (bring 1 more than they can block) and a bluff package that allows you to keep the offense off balance.  I liked this scheme, and quite frankly didn't use it enough.  What I really used was the inside and outside rush techniques on the blitz to adapt them to TCU's blitz package to make the alignments and keys of the secondary simpler out of the 4-2-5.  I mainly did this blitz out of standard 4-3 personnel, but I switched the Will linebacker (W in the diagrams, WS in nickel package) with the FS, because I did not have a fully developed nickel package in my defense at the time.  The Will in my defense was a converted DB though, so it still worked out.  As with so many of these things we get from the college game, there is usually some adapting you can do to make it fit what you are trying to accomplish.  This simple switch between the Will and the FS was not a major issue, and fit us better because our FS was used to rotating to the MOF, and playing the deep 1/3 as well as covering receivers man to man.  Later, I did run it exclusively out of a nickel package, but to start I just kept my 4-3 and aligned everything as shown above, with the Will and FS switching roles.  Some other tidbits of information, are that when running this, you need to rep the bluff package 3 times as much as you do the blitz.  The blitz is fairly self explanatory, once you get the alignments down, but the bluff package can take a little work.  The part I had difficulty on was the underneath droppers getting caught with their eyes in the backfield instead of to their receiver.  Anyhow, a very fun and exciting blitz package for those that are in spread heavy leagues.  Hope this helped, and thank Vassdiddy over at the Huey forum for getting me off my duff to write this thing!



Thanks Coach!



Duece

MZone Exclusive: Fax Cam Wars Begin

Last week on National Signing Day (aka The Day You Didn't Get Shit Done at Work), the internet blew up with this image of the Alabama fax cam:




Now, while we're not fans of Nick "Oversign" Saban, as a general rule, we applaud the efforts of anyone trying to enhance the otherwise boring process of waiting for 18 year old high school football players to send over a signed piece of paper.  And nothing "enhances" said process like adding sexy coeds to the mix.

But if Saban thought other schools would merely stand idly by and let 'Bama corner the Fax Cam market as a way to sway potential recruits, he was wrong.

Very wrong.

In an MZone exclusive, we have obtained the images below after a few schools tested out their fax cams this week in preparation already for NSD 2012.

OLE MISS

Even though he joked about oversigning after grabbing 37 - 37! - players two years ago, Mississippi coach Houston Nutt has been overshadowed on the topic by Nick Oversaban* and 'Bama.  So there was no way in hell Nutt was going to let the same thing happen in the upcoming Fax Cam Wars.  As you can see below, Nutt and Ole Miss decided to "out execute" 'Bama with their fax cam -- and in the process delivered a significant upgrade to interested viewers as compared to a single Crimson Cabaret Girl.

Needless to say, we here at the MZone predict big things for Nutt's next recruiting class.  And he just might break his record 37 signees, to hell with the rules!



VANDERBILT

There's a reason Vandy is often near the bottom of the SEC.  Case in point: their entry below in the Fax Cam Wars.  It was predictably studious and boring.  No wonder they can't land the big recruits.  Didn't the coaching staff learn anything from their school's Theta chapter?  Better yet, couldn't they have a couple of them near the fax on NSD?



USC

Signing top level recruits has not been a problem for the USC Trojans over the last decade. Unfortunately, things may get tougher now that the NCAA has stepped in and demanded they follow the rules like everyone else.

Then again, their coach is Lane Kiffin who, despite sanctions, signed a Nutt-ish 30 players this year!  Things could even be better next year with the addition of the new fax cam they tested this week in LA.  Of course, we hope this Song Girl is cheering for a new recruit's signature and not something else.  They do get confused sometimes.


 AUBURN

Unwilling to stand pat, even in the wake of their National Championship, the Tigers are ready to show 'Bama that while sex may sell, there's something that recruits the parents of recruits respond to even more than hot coeds.

ED. NOTE: The Auburn athletic department contacted us to say that neither they - nor any future recruits - had/have/will have knowledge of this fax cam image.



 OHIO STATE

Never underestimate Jim Tressel.  As you can see below, he knows just how to woo potential Tosu recruits.

Well played, Sweater Vest.  Well played, sir.



* That's right: Nick Oversaban. Learn, use it, pass it on. And so it is christened.

The Gus Malzahn/Auburn Tigers run game

In a conference full of coaches with championship rings (Urban Meyer, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Les Miles, etc), and another who no one can stop talking about, a former high school coach continues to receive his fair share of scrutiny. And he's not even the head coach: enter Gus Malzahn, new Auburn offensive coordinator. Malzahn has been asked to deliver on the promise that Tommy Tuberville and Tony Franklin failed to; namely, a "spread" offense that actually produces.

When Auburn hired Malzahn I described his philosophy, which can be easily gleaned from the forthright title of his book, The Hurry-Up, No-Huddle: An Offensive Philosophy. As I said before, he is overall less concerned with the specific Xs and Os in employ than with the speed at which the offense goes:

There are a few differences here between Malzahn's offense and what Franklin and Tuberville tried to do (or said they were trying to do). The biggest, I'd say, is that Malzahn's spread is not exactly like other spreads, whether pass-first ones like the Airraid or run-heavy spreads like Urban Meyer's or Rich Rodriguez's. That's because the schemes are simple - very, very simple - and the core of the offense is not even about schemes: it's about tempo. . . .

[N]obody does what Malzahn does. If some no-huddle teams, like Franklin's, are light-speed, then Malzahn wants to spend the entire game in something akin to "ludicrous speed."

This past spring, Malzahn installed his offense with signs of progress, though he has yet to get everyone up to his preferred "ludicrous speed" yet. That will come. With talk about his overarching philosophy out of the way, however, it's still worth asking what his Xs and Os will actually look like. And, if spring practice is any indication, we know the answer: a lot like they did at Tulsa.

At Tulsa, Malzahn, with co-offensive coordinator Herb Hand (who deserves as much credit as Malzahn), blew the doors off just about everyone they played. In 2007, they were: sixth in scoring (41.1 per game), first in yards (543.9 per game), and third in yards per play (6.8). In 2008, after losing their quarterback Paul Smith -- who had thrown for 47 touchdowns the year before -- the offense actually improved: second in scoring (47.2 points per game), first in yards (569.9 per game), and yards per play (7.3). Much of that improvement came from the running game, which jumped from 172.93 yards per game in 2007 to 268.00 in 2008.

Indeed, Malzahn actually predicted this improvement via run game back then. After his first season at Tulsa, he did in an interview with ESPN:

Q: What makes your spread offense potent as compared to say, a Texas Tech or Missouri or a team like that?

Gus Malzahn: We're a run, play-action team. A lot of spread teams are pass first, run second. But we're a run, play-action team. As a matter of fact, I think we ran the ball one more time than we threw it last year, which a lot of people don't know. We like to be 50-50 and be able to do both well.

All that said, you can still consider me slightly skeptical of his claim to being a smashmouth guy. Back in his high school days, and even during his time at Arkansas, those around Gus always said if he had his way he would have thrown it about as much as was humanly possible. We're talking Mike Leach, June Jones stuff. But, people change, and his experience with Coaches Graham and Hand at Tulsa (much moreso than his experience with Nutt at Arkansas) appears to have heavily influenced him. Hand, a Rich Rodriguez disciple, not only helped implement many of Malzahn's ideas, he also brought many of his own to the table, particularly regarding the spread run game.

But the proof is in the pudding. I am familiar with what Tulsa did, and I finally have been able to see what Auburn implemented during spring practice. And it is much as I expected: it is a smash-mouth spread operation. Indeed, the spring offense was notable for quarterback inconsistency, yes, but also for big, big plays from the running game.

As a preview for this upcoming season I will describe three plays Malzahn can be expected to use at Auburn, none of them particularly revolutionary: the counter, the zone-read with bubble screens as a read, and the power. Each has old roots, though Malzahn will do his best to aid their effectiveness through lots of motions, fakes, and shifts. Expect the tight-ends or H-backs to play a big role in the offense in making key blocks, and also expect to see lots of wide receiver motion, with their either getting the ball on reverses or as pitch men on the option, or merely faking so.

Counter play

The counter play is age-old, though was popularized and made famous by Joe Gibbs's Redskins, though he admits to stealing it from Tom Osborne's Nebraska teams. On the "counter trey," the playside (the side the run is eventually going to) "down" blocks, leaving the defensive end unblocked. They work together to double-team defensive linemen on their way to the linebackers. From the backside, one linemen, usually the backside guard, pulls and kicks out the defensive end or outside linebacker; it is actually a "trap" block. The other component of the blocking is that another player from the backside, sometimes the backside tackle and other times a full-back or H-back, will pull and "lead" into the hole, blocking the first linebacker he sees. The runningback takes a counter step or two, and then simply follows the pulling blocker's block, and cuts off of it. Below is a diagram of how the play has traditionally been run, from the I-formation, courtesy of Trojan Football Analysis. (The diagram is of Nebraska, and see this post for a great breakdown of how the great Husker teams of the 90s ran the play.)



So what does it look like when Malzahn uses it? Well it's basically the same, except he might show a few different things before the snap. Specifically, he might use an H-back or fullback type player who comes from the backside to be the "puller" who leads into the hole, and that player might begin the play split out wide and motion in across the formation. Or, the runningback himself might motion into the backfield. There's lots of options. Below, however, is a diagram of what Malzahn did in the spring game; the play went for a long touchdown twice in the spring game (thanks to good blocking and some weak angles by the defense).



To take one of the examples before getting to the film clips, the offense lined up in a basic shotgun set, with one runningback, one H-back, and three receivers.



I have only drawn paths for two players: the backside guard pulls and kicks out the defensive end, while the H-back pulls and leads into the hole (and eventually also kicks out the linebacker, though he could have just as easily "hooked" him inside, had the linebacker stepped that way). The rest of the line just blocks down, and the runningback takes his slight counter steps and explodes into the hole, following the H-back's block. To see it all in action, check out the film clips from the spring game this past year.



If all this looks familiar, even from a spread set, it should. Compare what Malzahn is doing above with what Urban Meyer does at Florida. First a diagram, then basically the exact same play run with Percy Harvin. There are differences, but most of them are cosmetic.

Same play. Auburn is just hoping it works as well for them as it has for Florida.

Zone-read with bubble screen

I won't get too far into the basics of the zone read; I have both discussed it previously and also plan to go more in depth in the future as teams defend it differently nowadays. What you can expect from Malzahn and Auburn is much in the mainstream in terms of the play. The line will zone block, and the runningback will look for a vertical crease. The quarterback will read the backside end to determine where or not to give the ball to the back or keep it himself. The one wrinkle Malzahn brings -- which again, is something Rich Rodriguez has been doing for some time -- is to build the bubble screen on the backside in. Basically, if the backside pursuit cheats in too much, Auburn has its constraint play built in: the quarterback can always pull the ball and throw the bubble. Below is a diagram and a video of Auburn running the zone with the bubble on the backside, though the quarterback just gives it to the runner.






Power

The "power" run is another that has ancient, "power football" roots but has been adapted to the spread. And it, again, is very simple: the line essentially "down" blocks, meaning they block the men over them or to their inside, and will use teamwork to combination block the defensive linemen until one releases to hit the linebackers. The exception is the defensive end or other outside, on the line of scrimmage defender. (Aptly referred to as the EMLOS -- "end man on the line of scrimmage.") The fullback -- or H-back, or someone -- plows at him to kick him out, thus opening a crease.

The crease becomes a hole, however, because the backside guard pulls and "leads" into it to block the linebacker, or other first threatening defender. In this way the blocking works much as it does on "counter," but with more of a frontside attack. Below is a diagram of how an NFL team runs the play; it is in every NFL team's playbook. (Click on the diagram to make it larger.)



And below is a common look Malzahn ran "power" from while at Tulsa, using the "pistol" (short shotgun with the runningback directly behind the quarterback) and a cross between an H-back and a fullback. See below.



This will be a common set for Auburn. Malzahn likes lining up with three wide receivers, but then also likes the versatility of the H-back/tight-end/fullback type as a blocker in a variety of directions. Again, compare his straight ahead blocking on "power" with his about face to the opposite side on "counter." (And with the pistol set the runningback could go either direction.)

Conclusion

So this is about what you can expect: some basic plays -- including power plays -- from spread sets with lots of shifts and motion, all at a top speed. Malzahn will try to go for some play-action and big plays off of this; I may diagram some of those later. How well it all works will depend on execution, particularly by the quarterbacks. Time will tell.

But a final thought. Another thing to expect from Auburn's offense this year will be lots of motion from the wide receivers and their use as a threat to run as well as catch. Now, all of these "versatility" roles -- H-backs and receivers as running threats -- depends on depth and skill at those positions (easier if you have Percy Harvin), but Malzahn likes to to give the look so as to at least present the problem to the defense. From the "power" look above, Malzahn likes to motion an outside wide receiver completely behind the runningback, and he then gets into a pitch relationship with the quarterback for an option. This way Malzahn can fake the power play and run the speed option with the quarterback (Kodi Burns?) with the receiver as a pitch man. It's fun stuff, at least when it works. Once he has done that, the very fact of the receiver in motion tends to help draw defenders when they do simply hand it off to the runningback on the power play.

Will it work in the SEC? I don't know, but if it does, expect plays like the one in the video below to be on all the highlight reels. Notice how the motion by one receiver sets up the sweep in the opposite direction by the other. With Malzahn's offense, don't just try to watch the ball, because that will rarely ever tell you where it actually is.



Some cut-ups of Tulsa's offense:

Rhythm Nation: Auburn Hires Gus Malzahn

Auburn, AL. Well-respected, staunch, defensive minded head coach hires "innovative" "spread guru" as offensive coordinator. Good news?

Crap. Here we go again.

Or maybe not?

There are a few differences here between what Franklin and Tuberville tried to do (or said they were trying to do). The biggest, I'd say, is that Malzahn's spread is not exactly like other spreads, whether pass-first ones like the Airraid or run-heavy spreads like Urban Meyer's or Rich Rodriguez's. That's because the schemes are simple - very, very simple - and the core of the offense is not even about schemes: it's about tempo.

Mike Leach runs a type of spread no-huddle, but his offense moseys to the line with the confidence and deliberate swagger of an old cowboy (or pirate?). They line-up and get a handle on what the defense is doing, call a play, and go. Franklin used the no-huddle (at least until he got to Auburn!), and even had a form of it called "NASCAR" which was intended to be an up-tempo light-speed level no-huddle, with the ball snapped quickly after the previous play.

But nobody does what Malzahn does. If some no-huddle teams, like Franklin's, are light-speed, then Malzahn's spends the entire game in something akin to "ludicrous speed."

The key to his offense is to get the play in with via hand signal, wristband (rarely), or a board on the sideline, and have the ball snapped within four to five seconds of it being set. He even has a speed designed to snap the ball as soon as the whistle blows. It requires endurance and discipline.

And his practices go at this same ludicrous pace. There is almost no lolly-gagging around and each play in practice must be snapped within twenty-five seconds of the last one for maximum reps. (As an added point of interest, because his offense often inspires bizarre and novel reactions from defenses - i.e. things they hadn't done before playing him - he has his teams practice against almost all fronts and coverages every single week just to be ready for whatever they throw at him.)

Is Chizik Trying to Copy Oklahoma?

So, you can see why this might be appealing to Auburn, even with a defensive minded head coach. As Dr Saturday recently pointed out, "only Oklahoma's 1,036 total plays bested the Hurricane's 1,007 this year, though TU led the nation in yards per play." I think this is no coincidence.

Oklahoma too has a fairly basic system as far as schemes go. They don't do anything that a lot of teams don't. Their passing game is kind of a derivative of what they did under Mike Leach and Mark Mangino, but they have gotten away from the pure faith of the Airraid and now use a lot of rather traditional (meaning, common) concepts. Labeling them spread, pro, multiple, or whatever is a bit futile. (When asked what offense Oklahoma runs, Bob Stoops said simply: "The Oklahoma offense."). They use both the "I" and other traditional sets, though are probably still more "spread" than anything else. But before people jump down my throat, I note that I think Wittgenstein was accurate when he said most arguments boil down to people's different uses of labels and language, in this case what spread or pro means to one person versus another.

Kevin Wilson, OU's offensive coordinator, is not known as a passing guru, and few would confuse him with one. But he knows one thing extraordinarily well: the no-huddle up-tempo offense. He ran it at Northwestern with Randy Walker, and that's how OU killed people this year. They have all these great athletes, they have solid schemes, and they go so fast they mow you down. I have to think Chizik envisions this kind of result.

Chizik spent the last few years getting his lunch stolen on a weekly basis in the Big 12, and he got destroyed by nouveau spread teams like Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Missouri, though he kept it close versus OU. I have to imagine that Chizik, like Stoops when he arrived at OU, wants to take some of those tough offenses he faced with him. And what better model to follow than Stoops? Both he and Pete Carroll have had national success as defensive coaches-to-head coaches by installing aggressive offenses.

Will it work?

The other side of Malzahn's attack, apart from the no-huddle aspect (I can't emphasize enough how unique it is to base your offensive philosophy around a tempo rather than simply schemes), is that Malzahn wants to formation you to death. The infamous "wildcat" or "wildhog" offense was developed while Malzahn was at Arkansas, though definitely with input from Houston Nutt and then-QB coach David Lee (now with the Miami Dolphins). See below for an ESPN video about the Wildcat with a brief interview with Malzahn.



But Malzahn is less spread and formation to run than he is infatuated with angles and geometry: he passes to set up the run, he uses a lot of shotgun, multiple receivers, and he does a lot of innovative things with wing-backs, tight-ends, fullbacks, and with guys in motion to get any advantage he can.

In this way his offense has advantages over what Franklin was doing at Auburn. If done correctly, the tempo and formations really are what eats the defense up. The schemes themselves are simple. Franklin had trouble getting his offense going because he did not have a solid trigger-man who could make his reads and likely lacked the coaching support to get one ready. Malzahn - at least for a time - should be able to mask some of those deficiencies while his players get up to speed through his tempo and formationing, and then from there just give them simple assignments. Now they will still have to learn all the signals and motions and the like, but this is (usually) easier because that just requires a kid to learn what he has to do rather than constantly react to the defense.

Thus Malzahn's offense is kind of the anti-run-and-shoot, which uses only a few formations but many reads after the snap.

The downside of the offense tends to be turnovers and defense. In Malzahn's first year at Tulsa, they led the nation in yards per game and were in the bottom eight or so in total defense. This year, Tulsa was second in the country in total yards (to Houston) and scoring (to Oklahoma) but ranked in the 80s in total defense. Now, you can make the fair point that if not for the Malzahn-experience, their defense would be just as bad but the offense would be on par as well; neither the conference, talent, nor team would make you expect Tulsa to have a good defense.

But the other problem can be turnovers. They don't necessarily turn it over more, but with more possessions and more plays you do create the risk of more turnovers, which tend to kill a team. This is the key point for Chizik: will he be able to tolerate that? Or will he eventually turn around and do a Buddy Ryan after a bad sack or fumble. (Ryan, then defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers, slugged then offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride during a game after Gilbride's run-and-shoot incurred a bad play. Keep in mind that the Oilers won eleven games that season and the offense was one of the best in the league; Ryan simply did not "respect" Gilbride's run-and-shoot offense (he still uses some run-and-shoot principles with the Giants); Ryan liked to call it the "chuck and duck.")

So, you always have to fear the familiar story: defensive coaches often just do not like the high-risk-high-return offenses, and sometimes mere variance can be confused with incompetence or an actual problem (as it was with Gilbride's 'shoot and Ryan). But it's also true that offensive guys can be a bit narrow minded at times, losing sight of the bigger picture in an effort to score points and rack up yards. Remember the lessons of Hal Mumme.

Malzahn's Schemes

Not too much to say here. In many ways Malzahn's run game resembles Urban Meyer's: Malzahn's is based on four-run plays - the inside zone, the outside zone, the counter, and power - with reverses, fakes, QB runs, and jet sweeps and play-action all built off those four plays. He also throws in some quick traps and draws for good measure. Again, nothing revolutionary. He will play with formations, shifts, and motions. He likes wing-backs. He will line up with the quarterback in the shotgun and put both runners next to him as a sort of offset I-formation. He will use receivers in the running game. And his quarterbacks don't run like Tebow but he runs some option and they are always a threat on the reads and counters.

The passing game is equally simple. Unlike the Airraid, which is based off of a lot of horizontal type routes (crossing routes, quick flats and the like), most of Malzahn's routes are "vertical" stems. Think of a passing tree: the receiver bursts off the line upfield to get the defensive guys moving, and from there can go deep, break inside, outside, curl or hitch up, or do a variety of things. He likes deep square-in routes, seam routes, and of course, he runs plenty of smash.

The rumor is that Malzahn got his passing game from Evangel Christian, which is similarly based on simple vertical stems to the routes and quick break-offs by the receivers.

But, in the end, it is the tempo that defines Malzahn's ludicrous-speed-Space-Balls offense. Time will tell both if he gets to run it (Franklin never got to install his up-tempo NASCAR, and Arkansas did not focus on up-tempo no-huddle while Malzahn was there under Houston Nutt), and, if he does install it, if it works.

Random highlight vid pulled from youtube (if anyone has any good online video of a Malzahn O (particularly Tulsa) please let me know; I'd love to post it):



Note: I am much indebted to the always great Coach Huey football coaching site as I did extra research on this article, as with Malzahn's various resources and of course his no-huddle book.

Smart Notes - Oct. 24, 2008

1. "How To Make Friends and Influence People" - By Tony Franklin

So Auburn is still awful. And Tony Franklin's post-mortem interview the otherday revealed little about the situation, though it reaffirms a basic coaching truth: it's always going to be about more than Xs and Os. Yes there's the old Jimmies and Joes, but it's also whether or not your colleagues actively dislike you. That never helps.


2. Spread Worth Watching

Texas Tech and Kansas play this upcoming weekend. For all the talk about the rise of awful spread teams, these two squads still get it right. Interestingly both Mike Leach and Mark Mangino worked together at Oklahoma, and after Leach left to take the TTech job Mangino basically ran Leach's offense the year OU won the title. But now, don't get them confused. While Leach still runs his Airraid offense, Mangino's has evolved into something of a more traditional -- but still unique -- spread offense. (They run the absolute heck out of the smash package, and they run it better than just about anyone else.)

And although Rich Rod's Michigan tenure, along with failed spread experiments at Auburn, Virginia, and others may have sufficiently freaked out any head coaches, athletic directors, and boosters at major programs from making a switch, both Leach and Mangino should get serious consideration for top jobs at major programs.

3. Nick Saban, Football Historian

Nick Saban is a good coach, alright? And he's been around for longer than people realize. So it warms my heart in a special way to hear him making a point that I've made on many occasions: Football is a game of repeating cycles, with what went out one year coming back the next. In a recent interview, Saban got all fired up on the topic (prompted by a discussion of the Wildcat offense):

...Now the Crimson Tide coach really starts waxing poetically about the past. You mention a running attack... He went deep into the memory bank for this reference. Back to being a defensive assistant on a West Virginia team that lost 52-10 to Oklahoma in 1978.

"I've been coaching for a long time, aight?" Saban said. "Played Oklahoma when you couldn't even see the other sideline because the crown of the field was so heavy, when they tried running downhill, and they were moving. They had (David) Overstreet, (Billy) Sims, and guys that could run fast anyway, they didn't need any help. And so, I've been through that. And them horses that pull that wagon around every Oklahoma scored, [darn]-near died, because they had to do it so much the day we played them."

His final point was a good one: "All this stuff comes around," he said.

"One of these days," he warned, "when old the guys like me don't coach anymore, and the young bucks who grew up defending four-wides and everything, somebody's going to run the wishbone, and they may not know a thing about how to stop it."

Let's unpack this a bit. The main point is a simple one: good schemes ebb and flow, and knowledge bases change so, as he says, defensive coordinators who have done nothing but face spread teams may not have good and ready answers when a spread team comes around. There's not much new in football (contrary to the beliefs of some fanatics unlearned in football's history). Further, Saban is a great coach, but he knows what it is like to be unprepared. The worst I ever personally saw a Saban defense perform was back when he was at Michigan St. when they played Purdue, which was quarterbacked by Drew Brees at the time.

Purdue 52, Michigan State 28

Drew Brees had over 500 yards passing and five touchdowns. And oh-by-the-way, it was Michigan State's homecoming. Whoops. Saban's defense was simply unprepared for the precise, pass-first spread offense Purdue was using.

But the point about football knowledge is one illustrated by Saban himself. The next year Purdue was arguably better (they went on to the Rose Bowl and had beaten both Michigan and Ohio State), and Michigan State crushed them 30-10. So the point is that, while I agree with Saban that what goes around comes around in full force, I disagree that, in the future, coaches will have to start from scratch.

Defenses do not forget. Football might be cyclical, but its history is recorded. What worked once might work again, but the answers are also right there on the game film to be retrieved; there's no guesswork necessary. Saban might be right that the wishbone might come back -- it's an exceptionally well designed offense, and with the right talent, any offense can work -- but no one will succeed simply by resurrecting football's dinosaurs. Someone will have to put a new twist, or a new spin on it. So a restatement of the rule might be that football is cyclical, but it evolves at every step.