TGOG Film

Well, it's finally here!  For those that have doubted the technique, a dear friend of mine, and colleague, Coach Barry Hoover, who runs Coach Hoover's Football Coaching Site, has done all the leg work for me in finding the proper cut-ups for the film and putting it all together.  I can take no credit here, Coach Hoover's a fine individual, who by the way, can tear up some BBQ!!!  Anhow, here is the film, hope everyone enjoys it!

Some other things to look at this off-season:

Brophy stirring the pot with Florida State and Mickey Andrew's famous "jet" technique and pass rush technique in his latest blog post.  He also has another good post on the "In, At, Out" Drill for LB's.

Some other sites to check out are in my blog roll.  Always give these guys a look, there's some good stuff out there!

Smart Football
Hit Em' Hard
Spread Football
Blitzology
Compete in All Things

These are just a few in my blog roll.  Great stuff out there written by great coaches that take time out of their busy schedules to help us out.  Thanks guys!!!  Dog days of summer are here, don't get lacidasical!!!!  Season's right around the corner.

Duece

Some More Stunts for the Zone Read

Not that stunt!

In some recent discussions on the Huey board, I decided to dust off a post that was actually supposed to have been posted over a year ago!  It was a thread that was to go along with one of my first posts about the Down and Up stunt against the zone read.  As with many things, I shelved it and haven't been back to it.  Well here it is, and here are a couple of other stunts that may help you against the zone read by giving different looks to the offense.

Setting the Three Technique
This one topic has been debated countless times.  The offense has the upper hand because by setting the three technique away from the running back they have an easy cut back lane if the ball is handed off to the running back.  Not to mention an open B gap to the weak side that they can exploit if they have a running QB by running QB iso to that side.  If you set the three technique to the back, then the blocking on the front side of the zone play becomes a bit easier because of the soft B gap.  So what to do?  The two stunts discussed here involve moving the three technique in a manner that allows the defense to dictate what the offense will do.  If your defense is not flexible enough to move the three technique around, you need seriously reevaluate what you are doing defensively.

Stunt 1- Using the Three Technique as the QB Player
The first stunt is where the 3 technique is set to the RB.  On the snap, the defensive end will slam down hard into the B gap and attack the near hip of the offensive guard.  This will do two things.  To the QB it looks like the end has come down hard and this should be a pull read.  Second, if the ball is given, then the DE will have the B gap for the cutback run.  The Tackle, will loop outside and replace the DE to contain the QB.  Again, if the QB pulls the football, then he will run right into the unblocked three technique.  Obviously the success of this stunt lies in the ability of the three technique to tackle in space.  A good rule is to do this when  the offense puts the RB into the boundary, which gives the QB less room to operate in.

Stunt 2- The Read Blitz
The Read Blitz was introduced to me a few years back as a well to "mess" with the option QB and give the defense another easy way to defend the option.  Against the spread, the defense will set the three technique away from the RB, inviting the cutback.  Pre-snap the weak side LB will walk up to within a yard of the LOS into the open B gap.  This LB is keying the near hip off the offensive guard.  If the hip moves inside, the LB attacks right off this hip and flat down the LOS, looking to prevent the cutback.  If the hip attacks to him, either vertically or laterally, the LB will work to get up field and wall off the play coming to him (could be power, iso or QB zone).  The DE to the side of the read blitz will now become the QB player.  In similar fashion to the down and up stunt, the DE will still squeeze the tackle, but with hands only, being aware not to get his shoulders turned so that he may be in a position to contain the QB if the QB pulls the football (which will more than likely happen due to the DE "squatting").

The beauty of this stunt is that even if the LB gets washed, he's done his job, because he's eliminated the cut back lane in the weak side B gap (which is what most DC's are worried about by setting the three technique to the back).  The major coaching point here is to have the DE squeeze with his hands, and then shuffle down the line, being prepared to tackle the QB.

The read blitz can be used against many types of options and was introduced to me as a way to mess with the triple option QB on inside veer.  Against the veer, the LB simply tackles the dive back if the guard's hip goes down inside.  The DE will still squeeze and sit for the QB.  This is a simple stunt that doesn't take a ton of teaching time to develop and can really foul up an option QB's reads.

A word of caution, be well prepared and know when to run this stunt as it's not the best in the world against isolation runs to the opposite side of the stunt for the lack of the extra player to make up for the extra gap presented by the lead blocker.  It's also a bit tough vs. the pass because now the LB must drop to his zone, being only a yard off the LOS.  This is where detailed film study is really crucial in game planning.

So, that's it!  Just a couple of tidbits to keep you rolling along.  Sorry it's been so long between postings, but life is back to that glorious busy buzz of high school football.  Never thought I'd ever say it feels good to be underpaid and overworked!!!!

Duece

Today's the Big Day

Today's the big day!  I step back into high school football after a two year hiatus.  I can tell you this, I look forward to it with great anticipation, yet I'm very nervous.  A lot has changed since I worked where I'm at now, so I'm having to adapt to that, but hey, change is a good thing.  I'm looking forward to getting to work with some great young men, and having a chance to show my stuff again.

You've got to love spring football.  For those of you in states that do not allow it, it really is a shame.  We get 20 practices here, which even includes a game.  We will play an inter squad scrimmage and a full game against an opponent from around the area.  It is very good work, and allows you to evaluate your talent going into the fall.  To be honest, I've never put much stock in the game itself, but the game can be a big stepping stone when growing a program.  Winning that game is a good spring board going into the summer workouts, conditioning and camp.  I use it simply for an evaluation tool of where we are at as a team or as a unit (offense/defense/DL/OL etc.).

I'm back coaching the position I love, which is the secondary, and coordinating defense.  We'll see how this goes!  Here's a couple of motivational videos to get you going this morning.  Don't sit, get up, don't walk, run, don't wait, seize the moment!  Just thought I'd share this with you, and for those that are starting up spring ball around the country, good luck and GATA!!!!

Duece

Split Field Coverage Concept - The Underneath Players

What's underneath there???

I get a lot of questions about this topic, especially regarding TCU's Blue coverage and how they deal with crossers.  Now, I've not heard it from the man himself, but from what I've watched on film and broken down, here is what I've come to find out.  To first illustrate, we need to look at how traditional zone coverages, that are not split field in nature deal with crossing routes.

Traditional Zone
In a traditional zone, much like in basketball, routes get passed off to other defenders when the run through a zone.  In the early years, if you were to have run with the receiver after he passed through your zone, you surely were getting yelled at as a player.  The idea behind zone is that all eyes are on the football and that in an attempt to minimize spacing, you pass routes off to one another.  This works good in basketball where things work on a much tighter scale, however in football, OC's found out that there was just too much ground for a traditional zone player to have to work with to effectively control passing concepts by simply passing one receiver from zone to zone. This "passing off" is where many zone coverages fail and it's for two major reasons.  Reason one, is sheer athleticism.  Most underneath zone guys are linebackers or inverted safeties who are not as fleet of foot as their cornerback counterparts, yet they are still having to cover receivers within their zones.  As the spread has evolved, instead of the number two receiver being a tight end or a running back, he's now a slot receiver, which makes this match up that more lopsided in the offenses favor.  Secondly as offenses have advanced through the years, passing concepts have become more and more advanced, and are using this "passing off" technique against the defense by overloading zones with multiple crossers and/or high lowing a zone AND adding a crosser.  These two factors are the single most important reason to pattern read in my opinion.  That's for another post however...

Anyhow, in traditional zone, if a hook to curl defender expands to his landmark and gets a receiver coming into his zone, he runs with him, until something makes him stop.  Now this can be the edge of zone, or another receiver entering his zone.  A lot of people call this passing the route and looking for work.  In the beginning of pure zone coverage concepts, I'm sure this was the bees knees, however as offenses have figured this out, the stress put on these underneath coverage guys by both horizontal and vertical stretches have become so great, most folks are not using any "pure zone" concepts anymore (if you are, please proceed to the nearest mental hospital, put on one of their fancy white coats and stay awhile).  With two speedy receivers crossing in a linebackers zone, or high-lowing his zone, the idea that you ask him to split the two and rally was a good answer in the beginning, but as QB coaching has progressed, even in high school football there are kids who can fit the ball into the tightest of windows.  So now you get pattern reading.  But how does pattern reading and the split field concept tie together?  Let's take a look.

Reading...you're doing it wrong!

Pattern Reading
I would venture a guess that ALL major college football defenses pattern read.  I'm sure there are a few that still use some landmark drops, but most are now at least using a progression type read, reading from two to one, or one to two and so on.  Other pattern read schemes have very definitive rules, such as "all of number two vertical and out", which gives a clear cut picture of what the defender is doing.  This pattern match principle can be easily seen on display every Saturday afternoon in the fall.  Pattern matching is not really all that new either, but it's refinement is what's really taking pattern matching to new heights here lately.  Anyhow, what I really like about pattern matching is the definitive answer to reacting to what a receiver or offensive player is doing.  This leaves very little gray area for the defender to have to deal with.  Gray areas are what force your players to play slow, because it makes them think. Now many of those that argue against pattern matching, don't really understand the concept and just how concrete it is.  It's the best of both worlds is what it really is.  It's zone in nature, which means we have all 11 eyes on the football at the snap of the football, helping immensely with stopping our opponent's run game.  Secondly it's man in nature in that once the man trigger has been pulled by the defender, he simply covers the receiver man to man.  We all know that man is one of the simplest coverages out there, so all you are really doing, when pattern reading, is giving qualifiers to man coverage.  Anyhow, I could go on for days here, but even in pattern matching, defenders can still pass off routes to other defenders.  In Saban's Mable adjustment to trips, if there are two crossers, the inside linebackers will pass them off to one another, they do not run with them man necessarily, even though their base rule would say to do so.  This can lead to some confusion though and lead to open receivers.  It can also allow the offense to use this passing off feature against the defense, much like offenses exploited it back when it was still a pure zone concept.  So how does the split field concept alleviate the stress put on a defense by crossing receivers?

Split Field and Crossing Receivers
Now I'm speaking of how TCU's split field concept works and what makes it so solid, I'm sure there's plenty of split field coaches out there that will disagree with this approach, however the TCU scheme is by far the BEST I've seen for dealing with crossing routes.  Let's set up a two-by-two set up playing Blue to both sides (though TCU does not do this, we could simply say playing quarters to both side etc.).  Anyhow, does not matter where the read side is, just keep in mind what the underneath players are doing.  Let's look at the following concept (similar to the levels concept) out of the two-by-two formation shown below.

The corner to the away side has to honor the vertical of one to help the weak safety get over the top, so the out will inevitably be open, however the Mike, is the slice player so he will exit 90 degrees in an attempt to undercut this route.  Now, if the read side linebacker (Sam in my illustration), passes off the shallow crosser, the QB can have a field day!  Here's where the man trigger of pattern matching comes into place.

As we can see from the illustrations, if the read side linebacker passes the crosser off, there's a large void and an open area for that receiver to sit down in.  If he runs with the crosser, which he should, then this window is immediately closed.  Also, from the illustrations, you can see there are still elements of pure zone coverage as look at the strong safety, who sees two go inside and knows now I look to work under number one's route.  He is, in effect, "passing off" the crosser to the inside linebacker, which as stated above, is a pure zone concept.

Now, the other beauty of the way TCU plays things, is that behind everything they do, there is a "common sense rule".  Which basically means, "don't do anything stupid".  For instance, one would say, "What about mesh coach?".  This is a valid question, since now you have two crossers and as we all know (or should know), crossers can severely damage man coverage, ESPECIALLY when they cross.  Here's where the common sense rule comes into play though.

The two linebackers will communicate to each other on the crossing routes and come off and switch.  Here the switch makes sense because Mesh attempts to beat the tar out of man coverage with these crossing routes.  Had the two defenders stayed locked in man a natural rub would occur and one defender, or both, could be compromised, thereby leaving a receiver open.

The Weakness
Much of the questions I get on the subject of underneath coverage defenders has to do when one of these defenders is assigned to the vertical of a certain position.  For instance, in Blue, the read side linebacker is the middle hook dropper and will have all of number three vertical.  This scares the hell out of folks, because they are not accustomed to having their linebacker run with any vertical threat.  This is not a big deal IF you've done your scouting homework.  I once faced an OC in that would get in stacked twins, two-by-two look with the receivers out on the top of the numbers and would run the running back vertical down the seam because he knew we were running quarters.  They had a major down and distance tendency for doing this, and had a damn good running back who could catch as good as any receiver on their team.  When we saw this look, or expected it, we simply rolled into good ol' country cover 3.  They ran fade/hitch with the other receivers which cover 3 took care of nicely.  The safety would roll to the MOF and we ended up picking off that route once and breaking up another to where they quit running it.  My point is, don't make one coverage fit everything.  That would be like you waking up in the morning, trying to find an outfit for the office that would also look good for your job interview that afternoon and be comfortable enough at your son's Little League game later than night.  CHANGE YOUR FRICKEN' CLOTHES DUDE!!!  C'mon, don't ask one coverage to cover everything, I mean that's what everybody supposedly loves about cover 3 is that it aligns to everything.  BIG DEAL, it covers NOTHING, so why use it?  If you know a team likes to do a particularly thing you need to have an answer for that.  It may mean another coverage, it may mean tweaking what you have, but Lord knows, whatever you do, don't just "hope" your linebacker can run with their back if he can't.

We have found a weakness!

The other thing I get, is coaches saying "Well that's just man, I don't like my linebackers to play man".  Well why not?  I mean, the best way to see man to man coverage, is to go to a playground and watch kids playing tag or a pickup game of football.  If you watch, there will be mismatches everywhere, hell that's LIFE.  But watch closely and time up the time that the kids begin to run or chase the other kid and the time that one either separates or closes the gap between the other.  You will see this time will be around three to five seconds.  Sound familiar?  Any kid can run with a receiver for three to five seconds, anywhere on the field.  This is not a major issue in my book, and I always roll my eyes at that question, but go check it out for yourself.  The other thing to remember is that 75 percent of pass defense is pass rush.  So if your guys can run with their guys for three to five seconds, you need to be able to apply pressure in that same amount of time.  That, my friends is EXACTLY how good pass defense works.

The face of your pass defense.

To me, the major weakness of the underneath coverage in the split field concept is communication.  If communication is missed it can lead to open receivers or defenders running into each other.  It is imperative that you, as the coach, make sure that your players know not only why they should communicate, but how to effectively communicate.  I worked for a guy that used to have underneath guys yell "crosser" when a receiver would cross in front of them and leave their zone.  I always wondered why, because trying saying the word "crosser" with a mouthpiece in.  I came to him one day, and said "Why don't we just say in, instead of crosser?  It's shorter and easier to say than crosser."  He looked at me, as though he'd never thought of that, which to find out, he hadn't and we immediately changed that and our communication with our underneath players got much better.  These are the things that you, the coach, can do to facilitate your players and help them be successful implementing the underneath coverage in a pattern read scheme.

Conclusion
The underneath coverage  in the split field concept is not as tricky as folks make it out to be, especially if you build communication into your system and a set of fail-safe rules.  I always tell folks, using the word "always" in building your rules is a bad thing, because good OC's find out your "always" and then exploit it.  Keep your rules open and flexible as possible to allow for your players to adapt to what they are seeing.  Just as in the example above, both the inside linebacker's man keys were triggered, but because of communication and common sense (which should be ingrained in how you coach the coverage to your players) these players knew what was coming and were able to adjust.

Always...not "always" a good word...

Duece

For Those Looking For Some TGOG Video and Technique

Here is some video that may help explain things a bit better.  Though some of the techniques are a bit different than the method I describe in my posts, the theory is basically the same.

Some confusion that's been going on is alignment and assignment.  First off, the rules are clear and concise.  When the defense aligns, regardless of the front, the DL know their assignment based on the status of their inside gap.  If their inside gap is open, then they are a two gapper.  If the inside gap is occupied, then they are a one gapper.

Some other questions have been on whether or not the one gapper will still spill.  My answer has been, yes if he can, if not, no big deal, he did his job by getting off the ball and getting up field.  He should be aligned wide enough to see this, but it's not imperative that he spill, in my opinion.  The run fits work with or without him spilling.

I've had coaches ask me about the various fronts you can run this technique out of, to which my answer has been "I do not know" because all I've ever run it out of is an even front.  Some coaches are suggesting running a two gap nose and have the DT's or DE's in an outside shade and let them two gap.  Look, the idea here is simple, use the technique and the rules, and apply them accordingly.

Another thing I got from my friend who runs this technique is he has switched to using this technique against one back teams only now.  Against two and three back teams he has moved to a traditional way of playing blocks and utilizes a one-back adjustment to the base technique which is TGOG.  When I ran it (by sheer accident) I used it as a call, so really, the sky's the limit when it comes to how you want to package this with your defense.

I really don't know any other way to explain the technique other than what I have.  Hopefully the videos can give me a bit of credibility on the basis of the technique, since some of my peers feel that if it isn't run on Saturdays or Sundays then the technique isn't worth squat!  Anyhow, just thought I'd take a break from writing this book to drop a blurb on TGOG to set things straight.

DL - Pete Jenkins - 1 Gap, 2 Gap Technique (2009) Title 1 from Duece on Vimeo.

Duece

My Four Axioms of Defensive Football

Now that would be a good defense!

I thought I'd share with you a piece I put in the front of every playbook I've ever written.  I think it sums defensive football up into a nice and concise manner that just about anybody can understand.
I use the acronym ART to teach the players.  I tell them, a well coached defense is a thing of ART!

Alignment
You cannot play defense if you do not know where to line up.  We cannot give our opponent freebies by misaligning.  All players must know their alignments for a given front or coverage.  Misalignment is not tolerated, as it is the easiest of the four axioms to remember.  All coaches should begin with teaching the basic alignments and working into the more complex ones.  Make sure your players master these alignments as these alignments are crucial to our success as a defense. 

Assignment
Even if properly aligned, a player not knowing his assignment becomes a liability.  Players who do not know their alignment and assignments play slower and more tentative than the player who knows and understands his role in the defense.  Teach your players what their assignments are, and how these assignments relate to the overall success of the defense.  Teach the players what it does to be out of position, or not know their assignment and show them how this lack of knowledge of one's assignment can hurt the defense.  The coach need not worry about whether or not the player CAN do the assignment, the coach needs to be concerned with does his players know what to do on every snap.  Coach the assignment first, and allow technique and repetition to assist the player in achieving his goal of being able to successfully implement his assignment.

Running to the Football
I am a stickler, to the point of being nauseating, when it comes to running to the football.  I work under the premise of "It takes no talent to hustle".  Running is a basic skill all our players can do in some fashion, never let them neglect it.  Loafs will not be tolerated and will be handled by the entire defense doing extra pursuit drills for every loaf that occurs on film.  When a play is over, all 11 players should be in the frame of the camera, or making their best effort to get into the frame (use your judgement here).  If not, that's one extra pursuit drill for the defense.  Never allow a player to loaf, whether you think he's tired or not, loafing is not allowed on defense.  In practice reinforce this by requiring your players to hustle from drill to drill.  Never allow your players to walk onto or off of the playing field or practice field.  Promote a relentless approach to pursuit, rewarding players for their hustle.  We want to promote an atmosphere of relentless pursuit to get to the football at all costs.  Producing this relentlessness comes from the coaching staff pushing players in practice to hustle EVERYWHERE they go!  Loafing will not be tolerated by any defensive player.

Tackling
Tackling is the final piece of the puzzle.  Many coaches overlook this very important skill, however we will not.  I believe in tackling everyday during preseason camp, in some fashion, whether it be form-n-fit, or full tilt eye-openers.  I also believe tackling with a purpose is important when using drills.  Don't do tackling drills because I say so, do them because we need to be the best tacklers on the field.  It does us no good to execute the first three axioms only to fail on the fourth.  During season, we will scale down tackling to two days per week, and towards the end of the season we will tackle once a week.  We will never NOT tackle during a week of practice.  I know this will take a toll on some players, and we may lose some, but I'd rather have a mediocre player who can tackle well, than a great player that tackles poorly.  Do not overlook, or under coach tackling.

There you have it, my Four Axioms of Defensive Football.  I think, us as coaches, sometimes make things more complicated than they really need be.  I have read many coaches defensive philosophies over the years and many of them have in there somewhere "We will be the greatest 4-3 defense out there!".  That's not a philosophy.  Defensive philosophy has nothing to do with a front, or stunt, or what coverage you run.  Defensive philosophy is how you ingrain your players to attack an offense and prepare to stop an opponent.  I have run the 4-3, 4-4, 5-3, Under, Over, 4-2, 46 Bear, the 3-3 and the 46 Nickel in my defensive coaching career.  EVERYWHERE I've been, ART has been with me.  ART is the defining philosophy of EVERY defense I coach, the front we use and the coverage behind it are just the vehicle I choose to execute said philosophy. 

I thought I'd give you that right here before the season started.  In this day and age of everybody wanting to be cutting edge, remember this, no defense can survive without ART.  It doesn't matter if you run the Radar defense, the 2LD, or the good ol' Under, ART holds true for all of them.  ART is the foundation you build your defensive house on, fail to teach it, and your defense will surely crumble.  Think about your own defensive philosophy and how it relates to what you are teaching.  It is not enough to simply know a defense inside and out, you must have a goal, a driving force to your defense, and then implement this driving force via. the vehicle you have chosen to do so.  I hope this finds everyone entering preseason camp doing well.  Good luck and coach hard!

Duece

Links, links links!

Haven't posted any links in a while, so I thought I'd give out some good info.  Posting may drop off for a while as I might be an interim head coach.  I will have to wait and see on what the future holds, but to be honest, I'm not looking forward to being the head man again.  Anyhow, on to those links!

Man, Coach Hoover caught my ugly mug in an otherwise good video of OJW (from the Huey board) talking about the 4-2-5 and the flexibility the defense offers when defending today's offenses.  You can check out the video here.  This video was from our FREE clinic back in early July, if you missed it, I think we might have some more, as we may have started a tradition!  Stay tuned for more information.

Brophy has a good post on Check With Me Defense, which is really becoming the wave of the future.  I mean why not?  Who says the offense has to dictate the tempo of the game, as well as what they are going to do by  how you line up?  This is a great concept, in its infant stage that I believe will catch on as the collegiate game evolves.  I don't know how much this trickles down to high school ball, but I could see it being something high school coaches could take and adapt to the smaller scale for varsity football.  As usual, Brophy also has some great links to good videos and free stuff here as well.

Over at Smart Football there's a good article on Spread Punt Protection.  Many folks have moved or are moving to this concept of punt formation.  I plan on writing an article on an interesting punt formation I have used in the past.  There never is enough information on the most important 33.3% of the game out there...special teams!  Well, Chris, over at Smart Football has got a good post, that is a must for any coach getting ready to start installing those ever important special teams!  Remember, special teams are special!  Oh, and by the way, if you haven't bought the book yet, The Essential Smart Football then please proceed to your nearest psychologist and have your head checked!

Teach to Win is a cool blog I found when searching the Internet.  Not much on X's and O's, but a lot on philosophy and coaching here.  Haven't had a ton of time to look around on the site, but definitely worth checking out.

Anyhow, season is here, so look for a post slowdown for a while.  Like I said earlier I'm working on some special teams stuff, but it probably won't be ready until after the start of the season.  Sorry, I've just been too busy.  Also don't forget to check out my other blog, The 12th Man!  A little off kilter, and more opinionated than here, but worth reading.

Later dudes,

Duece

Why Install Both Special and Solo Coverages?

I get this question a lot from guys, and I guess things are not making sense, so I'm going to try and set the record straight with this post.  First off, we must understand, that everything is done for a reason.  Solo and Special Coverages are overloaded zones pushed to the passing strength to help with 3x1, 3x2 and 4x1 offensive sets.  So let's take a look at what each coverage is, and why each coverage is needed.

Solo
Solo, often referred to by old-school Quarters coverage guys as "Poach" is basically Blue (2 read) to the number one and number two receivers on a trips side.  In the TCU 4-2-5, the read side corner, strong safety (SS) and free safety (FS) will all play blue coverage to the number one and two receivers.  The number three receiver strong is handled by both the read side linebacker and the away side safety.  The weak side corner will cover the single receiver man-to-man, and the away side linebacker (LB) will take the running back in man coverage also. 

Here are the individual rules:
Read side:
Corner: All of 1 vertical/Swing deep of 2
FS: All of 2 vertical; 2 not vertical and in, rob curl to post of 1, 2 not vertical and out, man 1.
SS: Curl/Flat/Swing deep of 3.
LB: Strong hook, short wall 3.

Away side:
Corner: Man #1.
WS: Deep 1/2, all of 3 vertical.
LB: Man #2.

Pros of Solo Coverage
Right off the bat you can see that the simplicity of the coverage is that the read side needs no new teaching (with the exception of the wall off technique by the read side linebacker).  This is nothing more than the simple "X-out" concept many loaded zone coverages employ.  The away side is also a relatively simple assignment as well, since kids have been playing man-to-man since they were first put on playgrounds.  Also, the run support to the read side is very solid, with the SS still being in a great position to force the football from his normal alignment.

Cons of Solo Coverage
The weak side run support is the biggest issue I know of with Solo coverage.  The WS is put in a bind in that if the number three receiver goes vertical, he MUST honor that release, leaving the force player late to the party on the away side.  However, you must remember, the read side is always set to the wide side of the field when the ball is on a hash, so there is not much room for the offense to maneuver to the single receiver side.  In the middle of the field though, I would say this could be a recipe for some big gains, particularly if your opponent is used to sending its receivers vertical.  The other issue is the WS's ability to get over the number three receiver when he is running vertical.  Another tough issue, is when the vertical of three becomes a corner route.  There is some much needed seven-on-seven time with Solo coverage.  Another issue that arises is that most times the single receiver in a trips set is the best receiver of the bunch, and if they pit him against your corner, you could see some mismatches based on personnel. 

Another con is flood routes to the read side.  Depending on how you declare receivers vertical, you can be caught in a pinch if you are not careful.  The flood route is as dangerous as one may think, but does take some work to perfect.

Special
What Solo isn't, Special is.  That's about as simple as you can put it really.  Special is an excellent 3x1 coverage, that is also an "X-out" concept, however this time the manned receiver is on the read side instead of the away side.

The individual rules are as follows:

Read side:
Corner: Man #1.
FS: All of 3 vertical; 3 not vertical and in, rob curl to post of 2; 3 not vertical and out, man 2.
SS: All of 2 vertical, swing deep of 3.
LB: Strong hook, all of 4 vertical.

Away side:
Corner: Play call (can play sky/cloud,bronco etc).
WS: Play call.
LB: Depends on call.

The away side has a ton of freedom.  You can do any of the following options.

Cloud
TCU would refer this as cover five, however in my system when the corner is the flat player, then we simply tag it Cloud.  In cloud, the corner is the flat player, and is also the swing deep of two player.  The WS then becomes the deep 1/2, all of one vertical player with the away side LB playing the weak hook to curl, and has all of number two vertical.

Sky
Sky is simply the opposite of cloud for the WS and weak corner.  I like Sky coverage because it has safety run support, and I prefer to have my safeties force instead of my corners.

Blue
You can run blue coverage to this side as well, but you do have a rough time defending the curl from blue coverage, so I only recommend this if your opponent does not attack the curl area, or if you on a hash.

Bronco
Bronco is a better option than Blue, because you can tighten the WS's alignment to assist in supporting the run.  Bronco is played many ways, I simply man the corner on the number one receiver and the WS will take all of number two vertical or out. 

Solid
Solid is the way to truly get 3x1 teams out of trips.  In Solid you can run Solid Backer, Solid Smoke, or Solid Cobra.  All three are shown below.

Solid Backer

Solid Smoke

Solid Cobra

As you can see, the defense is taking advantage of a three-on-two match up and attacking the offense with this match up.  Solid coverage is one of my favorites because the offense does not expect this from a zone look on the backside of a 3x1 formation.

Pros of Special Coverage
The top reason I like Special is the fact I can cover my opponents best receiver with two players.  You can mix and match either having the safety over the top, or the corner, thereby keeping your opponent's quarterback (QB) guessing as to which player is responsible for what zone.

The addition of Solid coverage on the away side is another great reason to play Special Solid.  Attacking the offense is what the defense should ALWAYS have in mind, and Solid does just this. 

The weak side run support in Special is much better than Solo because either the corner or WS has deep help to their side.  This frees this player up to attack the line of scrimmage (LOS) on run looks, as well as helping to play the cutback on runs to the strong side.

Cons of Solo Coverage
The cons most often come to the read side.  The read side run support is tricky at best.  The SS should be the force player, but can easily be influenced by the release of the number three receiver.  The FS and read side LB can alleviate this somewhat, but the run support to that side takes some work.

The cross-training of the SS as a corner also takes some work, but is not as tedious as many may thing.  However, this does add to the complexity of the coverage. 

Conclusion
So, looking at what both these coverages are and aren't, really shows why both are a compliment to each other.  The biggest reason to run both, is quite easy, run support.  I did not run much Special for fear of the complexity and did just fine, however flood routes and away side runs did take their toll on my team.  I would have benefited from installing Special, to combat the problems that are inherent to Solo coverage.

Yes, both coverages take time to implement, and I recommend installing Solo first, as it is an easier coverage install.  However, I do think, as the season rolls along, you should have Special installed by your third game at the latest.  This is just my opinion, and obviously the earlier the better. 

Duece

Creating an Eight Man Front to Defend the Spread Offense III

In the first post I touched on various ways that one-high (MOFC) coverages can be utilized in a sound manner to defend the spread offense.  The second post touched on some adjustments you can make via the front and the coverage to attack certain things the offense is attempting to do.  Now, I want to touch on a couple of the finer points of the eight man front such as:

• The Free Safety (FS) and his role in MOFC coverage in the eight man front.
• Simplifying alignment in the eight man front.
• Blitzing in the eight man front.

The Free Safety's Role in MOFC Coverage
The FS in most MOFC defenses has a tough job, especially if the coverage is cover one, or some sort of two-deep rotational coverage.  Robber, and Cover One are not too strenuous on the FS, the reason being, in Robber the FS is pattern reading, and it's basically man, and in Cover One, the FS is free to roam based on the QB's eyes.  However, introduce Rip/Liz Cover Three and you now have the best of both Cover Three and Cover One.  Let's look at the pros cons of each and then display them with Rip/Liz and see what we get...shall we?

Cover One-Pros

• Aligns to and covers virtually everything with guaranteed MOF help.
• Simple, cover your man, run with your man if he goes in motion (you can bump, or motion blitz if you'd like, but again, this is simple man-to-man defense here).
• Provides a stable defense for the MOF, having both a MOF deep player and a MOF shallow player (Rat-in-the-hole). 
• Affords sending up to six defenders on a blitz if using peel coverage rules.

Cover One-Cons

• Run force-the force defender can be "run off" by a receiver he's supposed to cover man-to-man (although catch man alleviates some of this, it is still, nevertheless worrisome).
• Not all 11 eyes on the football.  Zone defense affords 11 eyes watching the football, whereas man defenders cannot always eye the football for the threat of being beaten in pass coverage.
• Outside 1/3's vulnerable to match up issues.  Corners are on an island in Cover One.
• Suspect to picks and rubs, as is any man-to-man defense.
• FS must have very good range.

Cover Three-Pros

• Aligns to everything.
• Very simple to install (should be able to do this in one practice).
• Good run support (dedicated force players at or near the LOS with a solid MOF alley player).

Cover Three- Cons

• Covers nothing.
• Weak in the seams.
• Weak in the curl.
• Weak against flood routes.
• Every offense in the country has several "Cover Three Beaters" installed in their offense day one (which means EVERYONE's seen it).
• FS has to have excellent range.

By utilizing Saban's Cover Three, you end up with the following:

Rip/Liz-Pros

• Aligns to everything.
• Excellent MOF defense with a MOF safety deep and MOF underneath player (ROBOT).
• Can keep same rules for zone blitzing (Number one and two droppers are identical in both Cover Three Rip/Liz and most three deep, three under zone blitz schemes), which alleviates teaching time(multiplicity through simplicity).
• Force players not as apt to be run off by receivers.
• All 11 eyes are on the football at the snap.
• No need to worry about picks and rubs (you're not in man-can run banjo schemes).
• With flat players funneling the number two receiver inside the hash, FS doesn't need to be as "rangy".
• Has the same run support structure as "Country Cover Three".
• Very strong in the seams and curl areas because of the pattern read.
• Works against most "Cover Three Beaters" and is hard for offense to distinguish between Cover Three and Cover One.

Rip/Liz-Cons

• Not as easy an install as "Country Cover Three" or Cover One, due to the pattern reading nature.
• Force players can still be run off somewhat, providing for a "soft edge".
• Corners are still on an island (match up).

Whew!  I know there are some more, but these are just the basics.  What you can see here is you get a lot of bang for your buck with Rip/Liz.  You can still run some Cover One if you need to and it's a great disguise for when you do.  You also can zone blitz from the one-high look and don't have to afford any pre-snap rotation to give away what you are doing (which many QB's are being taught for what to look for pre-snap nowadays). 

The biggest benefit I think is the protection of the seams, and the fact that the FS doesn't have to be a guy that can cover a TON of ground. Sure he has to be able to move, and read on the run, but he doesn't need to be a Major Wright!  The funneling of the number two receivers also helps the FS in the run game.  The FS can get a clearer read because the number two receiver is being pressed and thereby has to make his intentions pretty quickly (am I blocking or running a route) so the FS can get into his run/pass read quicker and is thereby a little better factor against the run than a traditional Cover Three FS.

So, we can see, the addition of a pattern reading Cover Three is the top priority if you are an eight man front and you want to consistently defend what spread teams will do to attack you.  It does not hurt to mix in some Cover One however, which will keep the opposing coach guessing and off track when trying to call certain plays.

Simplifying Alignment in the Eight Man Front
The eight man front is one of the easiest of all defenses to align.   The reason is, it's balanced with five defenders on each side of the ball and a MOF safety.  The thing I recommend, is to take a page out of our split field concept brethern's playbook and play field and boundary.  Let's look at the alignment shown below and I'll explain.

I chose the 3-3 defense for it's simplicity, but you can use the 4-4, 4-2, 5-3 or whatever eight man front you run out there.  However, the simplicity is that the Strong Safety (SS), who is usually the better of the two overhang safeties always goes to the field.  The WS (B in the illustration), would be the weaker of the two, and would be set to the boundary.  In most 3-3's I've seen, most coaches utilize right and left defenders which is super simple.  However, if you wanted to, you can easily set your strength to the field and still be quite sound.  Putting your best players to the field is not a bad idea either.  Here is how the 4-2-5 would align to the same look using field/boundary alignments.

Again, the defenders on the right side of the image are the strong side defenders, and are probably your better football players whereas your lesser player play into the boundary and are on the left side of the illustration above.

The simplicity of aligning the eight man front, affords your players one less thought that must tumble through their testosterone laden minds during the course of a game.  This lack of thinking keeps these players comfortable and playing exactly how we want them to...FAST.

Blitzing in the Eight Man Front
For years most folks new me as a Miami 4-3 guy, and to this day I still love that defense.  The one trouble I always had though, was blitzing out of it.  It may have just been me, but having been introduced to the TCU blitz scheme and after studying tons of 3-3 playbooks over the past few months, I can see there is no simpler front to blitz from than the eight man front.  Again, the balance affords simplicity in alignment, so teams have trouble getting you out of your base alignment.  What this does is affords for less of a chance that a blitzer will have to widen with an adjustment and thereby be caught out of position on the snap of the football.  The "six-in-the-box" concept keeps blitzing simple as well (both the 3-3 and 4-2, as well as some 4-3's keep this principle as well).  What I will show you, is some blitzes I used out of TCU's playbook, that despite us being a MOFC defense, we were still able to execute.



Bullets Away, my favorite!



Smokes

Strong/Wide Dog



Weak/Short Dog



Mob (cop)

As you can see, quite simple really.  All the blitzes listed in TCU's playbook can be run with the same adjustments and calls that TCU uses.  You don't have to limit yourself there either, the 3-3 defense has a myriad of blitzes that can be run from a MOFC defense.  Whatever front you choose to run, will find blitzing is quite easy and not too terribly taxing either.  Another "cheap" blitz from the 4 man front is the zone blitz sending one LB.  The rules for coverage are very simple, with the number three dropper being the only one who really changes from the standard Rip/Liz coverage rules.




Sam "B"



• Corners- Deep 1/3, all of 1 vertical
• OSS- #2 dropper, all of 2 vertical and out.  2 shallow and inside squeeze to the 3 dropper.
• ILB- #3 dropper, cut all crossers.
• FS- Deep 1/3, all of 3 vertical.

There you go!  Very similar to standard Rip/Liz reads and assignments.  Again, this is multiplicity through simplicity, which is a time tested manner for being able to attack your opponent in multiple ways with very little teaching time. 

In conclusion, I think it is VERY possible to be a one-high, MOFC defense and succeed against today's spread attacks.  I think there are multiple reasons for doing so, from anything to poor match ups or solving tricky alignment problems to being able to bring pressure without having to roll coverage are just some of the numerous benefits you get from staying one-high.  Hopefully you've been able to use this and can couple this with some other things I've posted on the site to have a very successful defense in the near future. 

Don't forget to check my other blog, The 12th Man, and as usual you can follow me on Twitter @theduece02. 

Duece