3 Cloud Sim Pressure

Georgia is in an odd front dime personnel on 3rd & 6.

The Rush:

Both DE's are edge rushers with the Nose working the strong side interior pass rush lane and the pressuring Safety as the weak side interior pass rush lane.

The Coverage:

4 under 3 deep coverage with a strong side Cloud

Several factors play in to the success of the call.

1. The pre-snap presentation of weak safety rotation.

The QB's pre-snap scan of the defense shows the weak side safety down. That picture makes many route progressions automatically work strong. The defense can create 2 on 1 coverage weak vs. the X receiver = work the strong side. The pre-snap look encourages the QB's eyes strong side.

2. The presentation of an overload and potential hot threat to the strong side

The mugged up A & B gap pressure threats gets the OL sliding to the immediate threats. The sliding OL  (G, C, G, T) can handle 4 threats. If the defense adds the 5th threat the QB has to handle the extra rusher with a hot throw. Again this picture encourages the QB's eyes to be strong. The QB wants to see if a hot throw off a 5th rusher strong is necessary.

3. The usage of 3 cloud coverage while protecting the coverage's stress areas.

Once the defense has the QB's vision and awareness to the strong side the ball is snapped and the play occurs. A couple of interesting factors play out post-snap. 

First the bluff of the Mike as a pressure threat can occur without the coverage being outleveraged because there is a cloud corner in the strong side flat. The Mike couldn't realistically bluff pressure and play the flat but getting to the hook drop over the bunch is very realistic following the pressure bluff. 

Secondly, one of the ways to attack 4 under 3 deep coverage is to get the RB out into the route either in a free release 5 man scat protection or as a check release in a 6 man protection concept. The RB in routes is difficult for 4 under 3 deep coverage because the 5 receiving threats can stretch the zone coverage both vertically and horizontally. Georgia denies this stress by sim pressuring with the Safety opposite the initial threats. The RB is forced to stay in to block in the protection. This is one of the biggest assets of sim pressure. A 4 man rush that keeps the RB in the protection. Also the sim allows the defense to pressure the likely weakest pass protector in a 1 on 1 match up. 

Third, the Corner and X in isolation can be an area teams want to attack in a strong rotated coverage. The Bulldogs help mitigate that threat by forcing the QB's eyes strong with the down Safety alignment weak and the hot throw threat strong.

4. The depth vision and break hash droppers inside.

The two drop out mugged up players are able to get depth to deny intermediate in cuts and still break and tackle low crossing routes. The zone nature of the drop allows them to also be in body position  with vision to break and vise tackle the QB on a scramble.

Really good pressure design from Dan Lanning. 

Dressing Up Crossfire

On 3rd&8 Army is in a Nickel personnel with OLB body types at DE. 

The Rush:
Even front alignment with two 3 techniques. The Mike and Will are working a crossfire pattern with the Will first and the Mike going second. The pressure side DT is looping to balance the pass rush.

The Coverage:
3 under 3 deep firezone with the Corners pressed. The Rush backer is the 3 dropper and takes the RB through to the flat because the seam players are stretched with the 4 verticals concept. 

Against this play action protection the Center is threatened by the DT on the block back. The Center being occupied allows both ILB's free runs on the cross fire. This pressure design in an interesting way to cover all the OL and manipulate protection.

If Miami Ohio had instead been in a 6 man drop back protection the pressure still creates challenges. The 5 OL being covered forces half slide protection into a man to man concept. All the OL being manned up creates a run through for the Will on the RB. The late looping blitz by the Mike controls the pass set of the Center while still providing the late crossfire pattern. The late crossfire is rough for the manned up OL to pass off. Good stuff using a different alignment to dress up a classic crossfire firezone blitz from former Army and current UNC defensive coordinator Jay Bateman and the Black Knights.  

Quarters Coverage Pressure

LSU is in a 4-2-5 spacing Nickel personnel with Rush LB body types at OLB.

The Rush:

Rush and Will working a twist weak while DT's slant to balance the pass rush.

The Coverage: 

1/4 1/4 1/2 with the Mike backer working to the weak hook. The field Rush LB takes over the 3 drop. 

The slant by the DL forces the Center to block the boundary DT. The outcome is a 2 vs 2 for the Rush and Will against the OG and OT to the boundary. The Will uses a really nice stutter and go to set up the timing of the twist and freeze the OT. By the time the twist happens the guard is already committed to the Rush in the B gap.

The utilization of so many athlete bodies allows LSU to threaten many players as either pass rushers or coverage players. This same stunt is common in 4-2-5/Nickel structured defenses. The presence of multiple dual threat players makes the call more effective than the traditional 4 down version. 

The biggest difference is the degree of difficulty for the OL in pass pro. Against a traditional 4 down spaced defense the Center is not threatened by the DT crossing his face. This allows the Center to sit and create the 3 on 2 to the boundary side. To the field the RB can check release providing a 3 vs 2 in protection and a late pass outlet in routes. 

Good stuff as always from Coach Aranda and great execution from the Tigers. LSU gets two athletic LB's on a twist, creates the picture for the QB of a blitz, and runs a classic 4 man rush 2 high defense. 

Ravens Overload Firezone Pressure

Here are two examples of 4 from a side overload firezone pressures the Baltimore Ravens dialed up this season.

Baltimore is in a 2-3-6 Dime personnel grouping. The DE's are OLB bodies diagrammed here as Rush Backers (R).

The Rush:
Nickel - Edge
Rush Backer & DT - Inside moves
Mike - Cross the Center
DT - B gap to Contain weak

The Coverage:
3 under 3 deep firezone coverage

Three elements that help this pressure succeed:

1. The Nickel is uncapped. There is no player aligned directly over the Nickel. This signals to the pass protection the Nickel cannot blitz. No capper = no one to cover the #2 receiver and replace the Nickel in coverage

2. The Rush backers are both potential droppers. The potential the Rush backers could drop helps protect the trips side. The #3 receiver is not uncovered. The Rush is possibly the 3 dropper to the trips side.

3. The Safety bluffing weak signals 4 rushers weak when the pressure is actually 4 from the strong side. The safety alignment also further signals the Nickel is not in the pressure.

The protection is in a tough spot. The structure is 3&3. The OT OG C working strong and the OT OG RB working weak. Any 4 from a side overloads the protection and requires a hot throw. The Center cannot let the Mike cross without traveling back (cannot let the Mike be the 4th rusher weak). That leaves a 3 on 2 vs. the pressure side OG and OT. The uncapped Nickel prevents the strong side hot concept from entering the QB's mind set. The pre-snap presentation says the weak side might have 4 rushers. When the weak side Safety runs out to the post the the 4 weak hot threat is gone (QB thinks there will be time & protection) only to have a strong hot throw situation post-snap. Everything happens so quickly before the snap it is difficult for the offense to make any protection adjustments.

The Ravens used a similar concept later in the season.

The Rush:
Nickel - Edge
Mike & DT - Up the field
Rush Backer - Loop opposite A
DT - B gap to Contain weak

The Coverage:
3 under 3 deep firezone coverage again with the weak side safety presenting pressure weak and rolling the coverage late.

The effect is another 4 strong rush. The look on film is the Chiefs may have adjusted the protection pre-snap to account for the pressure threat weak. The result is again a 3&3 protection. A possible protection check makes sense to put the OT OG C working weak to block the pressure threat. The protection sends the RB strong with the OG and OT. The issue is the protection ends up with 3 blockers on the weak DT (3 on 1 is a defensive win). The RB is forced to pick up the Mike in the A gap. The penetration of the Mike makes the OG's job to block the looping Rush almost impossible. 

Quality pressure designs from the Raven defense to overload the protection.

Attacking the Slide Side with 3-3 Stack

Stack spacing allows for all kinds of interesting and effective pressure concepts. One classic 3-3 pressure is to bring the stack backer and Mike to the same side of the center pressuring the inside gaps.

This pressure has been around for a long time. Unfortunately the pressure is easy to pick up in a half slide pass protection. The Center and Guard are in good position to see and block the Sam and Mike. The Will can green dog the RB and generate pressure that way. Ultimately this concept comes down to personnel and who in the pass rush can beat a blocker. One way to improve this pressure's effectiveness is to add a read concept. As opposed to the previous 3-3 read concept that attacked the RB's alignment, this concept attacks the slide side of a half slide protection.

The concept is similar but the read elements to the rush create opportunities for the Nose, Mike, and Sam. The pressure is set away from the back. If the back was aligned to the Sam, the Sam would green dog and the Mike and Will would be in the pressure.

The Rush:

Ends - Contain

Nose - Work opposite the pressure, read the Guard

Mike - Fast pressure in the A gap, Read the Guard

Sam - Read the Guard, Pressure B gap to Midline

The Coverage:

Cover 1 with the non-pressure LB using a green dog technique on the RB. This could also be a 3 under 3 deep fire zone coverage.

The Reads:

Nose - If the guard blocks to you, cross face to the inside rush lane

Mike - Guard away, wide in the A gap and stack the guard. Inside rush lane. 

The Mike and Nose both widen in this situation to create the midline rush lane for the Sam.

Sam - Attack the wide B gap. If the Guard sets to, wrap to the midline rush lane.

The goal here is to create a twist action with the Mike and Sam. If the Mike penetrates the A gap and stacks the guard, the center is forced to set deep and commit to blocking him. When the Sam wraps to the midline the center has difficulty passing off the Mike and picking up the Sam.

If the offense decides to slide the protection to the alignment of the RB the pressure still works.

Nose - Guard away, widen and stack him, inside rush lane

Mike - Guard to, redirect and stack the Center, midline rush lane

Sam - Guard away, run through the B gap, be ready for the block of the RB

This also works if the offense is flipping the alignment of the RB late in the cadence. Read pressures can help defenders to win in the pass rush by creating win/win pass rush opportunities.

Read Pressure from the 3-3 Stack

The 3-3 stack spacing has many options for both blitzing and bluffing pressure. One of my favorites vs. 10 personnel is a read pressure. The rush reads the turn of the protection and adjusts to give the rushers the best possible rush opportunity. The pressure is based on the RB's alignment. 

Rush:
DE's - Contain
Nose - Slant to the RB (Reading Guard)
Stack LB opposite the RB - Rush A gap (Reading Center)
Stack LB to the RB - Rush B gap (Reading Guard) read out to Wrap

Coverage: 
3 under 3 deep firezone or Cover 1

If the back was aligned on the other side the roles would adjust. 

The Reads:

Sam - If the Guard blocks down Run through in the B gap. Expect the block of the RB. Inside rush lane.
Nose - Guard blocks toward you, redirect to the midline, Stack the Center
Will - Center to you, widen to inside rush lane. Stack the Guard

This is a situation where you can really turn up the heat by going Cover 1 instead of Cover 3 fire zone.

In a Cover 1 situation the Mike can use a green dog technique to overload the the RB. Both the Cover 1 and Firezone versions have applications.

When the turn of the protection is toward the RB the pressure adjusts.

Sam - Guard to you, wrap to opposite inside rush lane. We want the Sam to initially attack the guard then wrap. Wrapping too early disrupts the timing with the Nose and Will. 
Nose - Guard away, widen to inside rush lane, stack the guard
Will - Center away, midline rush

This pressure could also be set away from the RB. By doing this the defense will likely get the 3 man twist action to attack the slide.

Allowing rushers the opportunity to read and adjust the rush can help  in a number of ways.

#1 Helps players understand how pass protection schemes work
#2 Helps players understand they have a role in the defensive scheme but that role can change post snap based on the offense's scheme
#3 Increases confidence the call can work in any situation
#4 Helps players develop the "be a playmaker" mentality. We want our guys to understand they are not simply "running calls" they are making decisions that either help themselves or hurt themselves in terms of playmaking and production. We are constantly working to coach the mindset  of "I'm blocked" out of players. The opportunity to produce within the scheme is there on every play. 

3-4 Zone Pressure to Attack Pass Protection

Here is a zone dog that is a variation of America's Blitz . This article is a follow up to the post about 3-4 pressure to attacking the run game.

The Rush:
End - Long stick to A gap
Nose - Away A gap
End - Away Contain

The three down linemen are exactly like America's Blitz. The difference is path of the 2 rushing linebackers.

Mike - Go 1st and Rush contain. Also can be run by Mike walking up to show the pressure.

Sam - Rush flat off the edge at an angle to replace the heels of the rushing Mike. Spill any blocks (Never Kicked). This technique was covered in a previous post here.

The Coverage:
Corners - Tight 1/3
FS - Rotate to Middle 1/3
SS - Rotate down to Seam
Jack - Seam
Will - 3RH

Against 3x1 the the linebacker's bump to a stack alignment and the Mike and Will switch responsibilities.

This concept is good for attacking traditional 3 down line drop back pass protection schemes. This pressure is designed to get the Sam an opportunity to attack the protection. If the Sam is our best pass rusher we want to create 1 on 1  pass rush opportunities for him.  

Big on Big (Fan)

In a man protection scheme like BOB the offense will lock the Center on the Nose and fan the Guard and Tackle out for the Sam and End (2 blockers for 2 rushers). In that case the Guard is forced to redirect after setting out to block the long stick End. The OT is 2 on 1 vs. the Mike and Sam. Pass protection schemes typically want to block the inside rusher first because that player has the shortest path to the QB. In this case the order of rushers creates a situation where the inside rusher (Sam) is running through with the the RB as the likely blocker. 

Big on Big (Molly)

Molly is a form of man pass protection where the OT will lock the DE. The Guard has a dual read from ILB to OLB. Again the offense wants to protect against inside rush threats first. If the Mike rushes inside the Guard will block inside. If there is no inside threat the Guard will set over the top to the outside for the OLB off the edge. Here the Guard is forced to set over the top to the Mike which allows the inside rusher (Sam) the short run on the QB and a potential 1 on 1 with the RB. 

Half Slide

A zone protection scheme like half slide allows the offense to get a 4 on 4 vs. the pass rush.

The offense has the numbers and angles to block the pressure from a half slide protection. Half slide is a strategy that can block 3-4 America's blitz variations. If the defense is planning on attacking BOB man schemes but the offense is using zone half slide protection instead having a couple in game pressure adjustments can help keep the heat on. 

Bluff  

Bluff is a pressure disguise concept that was discussed in a previous post about disguising pressure in the 3-3 stack and applies to 3-4 pressure too. 

On a bluff call the non-rushing backer opposite the pressure shows in the B gap. 1/2 slide protection rules typically dictate the 1st uncovered OL starts the slide. In this case by covering the guard opposite the pressure the guard is forced to be part of the man 1/2 of the protection as is the Center. By forcing the Center and Guard into man protection, bluff can get the pass rush numbers back to 3 (End, Mike, Sam) vs. 2 (OT & OG) to the pressure side.  

When the offense is in 3x1 the defense adjusts with a switch call. On a switch the Jack is the non-rushing LB away from the pressure and shows in the B gap to control the 1/2 slide protection. 

X 

X is a tag that adjusts the away side of the pressure.

The X tag adds a twist by the End and Nose away from the pressure. When the offense chooses to slide the protection to the pressure, the OT opposite the slide is in man vs. the DE. If the defense has a good pass rusher at DE, the X tag can be a good way to create a 1 on 1 inside rush opportunity for him. The Nose attacks the midline initially to force the guard to set aggressively and widen the B gap for the End. The Nose rushes the midline until the End enters into his vision on the inside pass rush then loops to contain.   

Carrying adjustments like bluff and X are good way to build a pass rush plan. A primary plan may be to attack an offense's base man pass protection scheme. Having simple adjustments ready for when the offense adjusts to a zone protection scheme is an easy way to build a 2nd pass rush plan for in game adjustments.

Creating Pass Rush Opportunities for the DL in the 3-3-5 Defense

One of the questions that inevitable comes up in any game plan meeting:

How does our defense get our best DL into optimal pass rush opportunities?

One solution is to combine a blitz and a twist concept in one call to create a one on one pass rush opportunity. Here is an example of this concept from a 3-3-5 defensive alignment.

The Rush

DE’s – Long stick to A gap

Nose – Slow to go, attack Center, loop to contain

Sam – Contain Blitz

Mike – Blitz B Gap

The Coverage

Corners – Tight 1/3

FS – Middle 1/3

Will – 3RH

SS/WS – Seam

vs. 3x1

Corners – Tight 1/3

WS – Middle 1/3

FS – 3RH

SS/Will – Seam

Against a half slide pass protection to the blitz:

The center is the key. If the center holds space on the Nose the defense has a 3 (Sam, Mike, DE) vs. 2 (LT, LG).

The more likely outcome is the center sets aggressively to the blitz. 

The guard opposite the blitz is forced to aggressively set to the Nose. The aggressive pass sets of the center and guard create a large pass rush lane for the DE on the inside move.

Against a half side the OT has the DE opposite the slide 1 on 1. With a huge amount of space for the DE to operate the OT has a very difficult block to make. This is especially true if the 1 on 1 DE is the defense’s best defensive lineman.

If the OT is able to handle the DE in the 1 on 1 block, the Nose has a short porch to loop for contain.

One solution offenses may employ is to have the RB chip the DE. An easy solution for the defense, is to call the same blitz with a different coverage. Here the defense uses a cover 1 concept. 

The non-blitzing LB (here the Will) is man to man on the running back. By using a rush engage coverage concept the defense is able to create an overload blitz to the RB.

The concept of combining a blitz with a twist can be applied to other blitz patterns.

Any 2 linebacker blitz can be complemented with a twist concept away. 

4-2-5 Read Out Blitz vs. Empty Formations

When facing an empty formation the offense has 5 potential pass blockers. It doesn’t take great mathematical abilities to realize the defense can simply blitz 6 and get a free rusher.

Here is a blitz concept to get the same guaranteed free pass rusher while only rushing 3.

Alignments:

• LB’s in B Gap, with blitz demeanor
• DT’s in A gaps
• DE’s in C gaps

The DE's and LB's are bracketing the OT's, the DT's are bracketing the Center

Assignment;

• DE and Mike read the block of the OT
• Tackle and Nose read the block of the Center
• Will and DE read the block of the OT

The Read:

The read is simple. Get off the ball and attack your gap. If the OL doesn’t block you keep rushing. If the OL being read attempts to block you drop out. 

Key coaching points:

• Great get off on the snap. Attack then React.
• Assume you are a rusher until the OL attempts to block you
• Engage the OL before dropping out
• Drop to max depth of 5 yards. You can be slow to go and still get there.

If the OL uses a half slide protection.

Both OT's block the DEs so both DE's drop out. They are looking to drop into any hot throw by the most inside receiver. The Mike is unblocked and gets a free run to the QB. The Nose is dropping directly over the center.

If the offense uses a full slide protection.

Here the End is unblocked and gets a free run to the QB. The DE, Tackle, and Will drop out into possible hot throws.

The interior droppers allow the DB's to play outside leverage on the receivers. An unblocked rusher guarantees a quick throw from the QB. The interior droppers should take away any inside breaking hot throws. The outside leverage of the DB's should limit any outside breaking hot throws.

4-2-5 Overload Zone Blitz

This post is a follow up to the Simple Adjustable 4-2-5 Zone Blitz post. This blitz is designed to overload the pass protection to the field. The coverage is the same fire zone concept used in the Boss blitz from the previous post.

The Coverage:

Corners – Tight 1/3 Technique

FS – Spin down to the Seam

Mike – 3RH

Will – Seam

WS – Middle 1/3

The coverage does not need to be checked vs. a 3x1 formation. The Mike does need to widen his alignment. The Will can cheat his alignment closer to the box.

The Rush:

Call DE – Wide Ghost Alignment, Daylight rusher

DT – 4i, Daylight rusher

Nose – Zero, Wiper technique

Away DE – 5 Technique, Contain

SS – Show Alignment with blitz demeanor, Contain

Daylight Rush Technique:

Get off the ball on straight line track to the QB. If there is daylight, stay on your track. If the daylight is gone work a move to the inside to find new daylight.

If the OL inside (here the OG) blocks down there is daylight. Stay on your track.

If the guard sets wide there is daylight. Stay on your track.

If the guard sets on your track, work an inside pass rush move to find new daylight

Wiper Technique:

First step at 45 degrees. Attack edge of OL then work to opposite side of OL. Side to side action like a windshield wiper.

Attacking Protection:

When the offense is using a slide protection to the field.

This is the protection we are hoping to see. The width of the SS, DE, and DT force the offensive linemen to set deep and to block in open space. 

Here the OT sets to the SS and the OG sets to the DE. The wiper technique by the Nose is designed to create hesitation by the Center. The DT has daylight and stays on his track. The Center has a very difficult task to set late to a DT on a straight line run to the QB.

Here the OT sets to the SS and the OG sets the DT. The End has daylight and will stay on this track. The DT does not have daylight and will work a move to the inside. The End should get a straight line run to the QB.

Here the OT sets to the DE and the OG sets to the DT. The SS should have the straight line run to the QB. Both the DE and DT have a blocker on their track. Both will work an inside move to find new daylight.

Here the Center is aggressively sliding and ignoring the Nose on the wiper. The Nose will stay on his initial path. This will take him as far from the OG as possible. This block is very difficult for the guard.

When the RB is aligned to the field the Nose will change his technique from wiper to a normal slant to the away A gap. We are expecting the slide of the OL is going to the boundary in this situation. The OT has the DE man to man, the OG has the DT, and the Center has the Nose. The OG and OT to the right are sliding. We want the Nose to slant instead of wiper to create space for the DT and DE to the blitz. Both the daylight rushers have a blocker on their track. Both will work a move to the inside to find new daylight. We expect our DL to win these 1 on 1 matchups in open space. 

Change Up:

Our changeup is to switch the job of the DE to contain and allow the SS to be a daylight rusher. The SS will align with inside foot back. His 1st step is with his inside foot up the field. His 2nd step is with is outside foot up the field. The SS should plant on the 2nd step and get on his track. 

When we call this blitz we allow the SS to call the rush at the LOS. The SS will tell the DE who has contain with a "You" or "Me" call.