Sooner Pressure Part 3

This post will cover the Sooner's Crossfire blitz. Crossfire can be run from the Eagle front (Under) or from Field (front set to the field). The front is also a G with the Nose aligned in a 2i on the guard.

Crossfire is an interior X blitz by the Mike and Will.

• Call Side End - C gap vs. Run, Contain vs. Pass
• Nose - Align in 2i, Rip across the guard's face to the B gap
• Tackle - B gap vs. Run, Contain vs. Pass
• Away End - C gap vs. Run, Seam Drop
• Sam - Seam Drop
• Mike - Blitz opposite A gap, Go 1st
• Will - Blitz opposite A gap, Go 2nd, let Mike clear
• FS - Enter the box and replace LB. 3RH Drop
• SS - Deep Middle 1/3
• Corners - Deep 1/3

When the front is Eagle the Sam is aligned to the TE. Versus a twins formation with the backside closed the Sooners will utilize a corners over to prevent the end from dropping off of a split #2 receiver.

The Corner who comes over is the seam dropper to the twins side and the End takes the 3RH drop.

Against a 2x2 formation the Safeties will make the adjustments.

The SS will take the seam drop and the end will take the 3 drop.

The Sooners will also run Cover 5 (4 under 2 deep) with Crossfire.

The Corners play the flats and the Safeties are Deep 1/2 while the Sam and End drop the Hook-Curl.

Vs. Twins the Corner will come over.

The corner that comes over will take the Hook-Curl drop and the End will drop to the hole. With a Crossfire 5 call the Sooners will check the coverage back to 3 vs. all One back sets.

Sooner Zone Pressure #2

Two more blitzes from the Oklahoma arsenal are Field Slam Dogs (Opposite) 3 and Field Stone Dogs (Opposite) 3. Both blitzes can be found in the 2002 Sooner playbook here and build on the concept Field Rip Dogs (Opposite) 3 which was covered in the previous post.

Both blitzes are run from the Field front with the 3 technique aligned into the boundary.

The coverage is identical to the 4 under 3 deep coverage used to cover down behind Rip Dogs. The blitz is an overload to the field with the Sam and Mike on an interior X stunt with the Mike going first.

Vs. a Te to the field the Sam executes the blitz from an under alignment.

Slam Dogs requires the same "Eddie" coverage check vs. a removed number #2 receiver to the boundary that Rip Dogs utilized. 

Slam Dogs can be turned into a 3 under 3 deep pressure with the addition of an "Opposite" tag.

The second blitz is Field Stone Dogs (Opposite) 3 which is a similar interior X blitz concept to Slam Dogs. The SS exchanges responsibilities with the Sam and becomes the 2nd blitzer.  The Sam replaces the SS in the field side Seam/Flat Drop.

Stone Dogs still requires the "Eddie" check and like Rip and Slam can be tagged with and "Opposite" call.

The Sooners also integrate these same blitzes into their man coverage blitz package.

The Sam is rushing and must peel off with any running back releasing to his side. The Will linebacker has man coverage responsibility for any back releasing weak.

Bob Stoops' Zone Pressure Package

The following post will be the first in a series that breakdown the zone pressures utilized by the Oklahoma Sooner defense. This information is from the 2002 Sooner defensive playbook which can be found here. One element of the Stoops zone blitz package that differs from many others is that his pressures are either 4 under 3 deep overload blitzes which are very effective pass pressures or 3 under 3 deep traditional zone pressures which are favored against the run. The first set of these blitzes is Field Rip Dogs 3 which is a 4 under 3 deep pressure and Field Rip Dogs Opposite 3 which is 3 under 3 deep.

The front is set Field with the Nose in a shade to the field and the DT in a 3 into the boundary.

• Field DE - Inside movement to B gap
• Nose - A gap vs. run, Hook drop vs. Pass
• Tackle - B gap vs. run, Contain vs. Pass
• Boundary DE - C gap vs. run, Flat drop vs. Pass
• Sam - Edge Blitz
• Mike - Blitz
• Will - #2 drop
• SS - Seam/Flat drop
• FS - Middle 1/3
• Corners - 1/3

This pressure overloads the field side and drops 4 underneath into coverage allowing for both pressure and coverage.

Vs. no TE

The only coverage check occurs when there is a split #2 receiver in the boundary.

The Eddie check puts the Will LB dropping off the split #2 receiver and the End in the Hook drop.

The Sooners compliment Rip Dogs with Rip Dogs Opposite. The Opposite tag tells the Nose to go to the Opposite A gap instead of dropping.

The Opposite tag turns Rip Dogs into the traditional NCAA blitz. The only coverage adjustment is again the Eddie call vs. a removed #2 receiver into the boundary which exchanges the responsibilities of the dropping End and the Will linebacker.