Limiting a Great Receiving threat in 12/21 Personnel

12/21 personnel groupings present a number of stresses to a defense. The obvious threat is run heavy structures using big personnel with a TE/FB creating extra gaps in the run fit. Heavier personnels often induce loaded boxes and 8 man front structures from a defense to handle the run game. Those loaded box defenses can also create single coverage for a star WR. This can lead to offenses using those heavy personnels/sets to attempt to isolate their best WR creating passing opportunities off max pro, play action, quick game, or RPO concepts. These personnel groupings also allow for a variety of 6,7,8 man pass protections. What is the solution in regular down & distance situations? How do we stop the run while controlling the star receiving threat? Here is a solution from the 3-4 spaced defense using quarters and halves coverage principles. Putting a cloud on the star WR can be a really inexpensive solution to mitigate some risk.

The coverage concept combines two coverages: Stuff and Roll. Stuff is a 1/4 1/4 1/2 concept while Roll is a double rotated Cover 2 concept. 

The point is an activated OLB as the 4th rusher. The Mike will make a Rome/London call to activate an OLB. We are going to activate the OLB to the side of the star WR. 

Vs. 21

Against a pro set if the star WR is to the defensive right the ILB will make a Rome call to set the point. The point OLB becomes part of the charge. The coverage will play Stuff coverage against a formation with the star WR as a single X. Stuff means half tool to the point and a quarter tool away from the point. Structurally this allows the defense to be sound numerically in the box vs. the run while putting a cover 2 concept on the star WR to disrupt passing concepts. Here the quarter Safety must trigger to become the 8th fitter in the box when the TE blocks.

When the star WR is strong the LB again will set the point to the star. Here London is the call with the star aligned to the defensive left. London activates the left OLB into the charge. The coverage will be Roll. The coverage shows as cover 3 rotated to the point with a Safety down and a Safety in the post. Showing a middle of the field closed look helps dissuade the offense from attacking the middle of field based on pre-snap coverage presentation. At the snap the post aligned safety rolls the coverage to a cover 2 concept strong with an inverted cover 2 concept weak. When the TE blocks the vertical hook down Safety become the 8th fitter for the run. Again this concept gives the defense an 8 man front spacing vs. the run with a cloud on the best WR. 

Against a single width twins formation the coverage again rolls. This again builds the 8 man front. The Corner to the nub will align at 8 yards in the C gap if the TE blocks the Corner will trigger to become the 8th fitter. The coverage still places a cloud on the outside WR, if the star is outside we have a cloud on him. If the star WR is in the slot the coverage has a Safety playing the vertical hook. The VH matches the #2 vertical and inside with safety help in the deep half. With a safety rolled down into the VH drop we feel we can match up with a WR. If the #2 is out the cloud corner will be squatting in the flat. Overall with the star outside or in the slot the coverage can help deny that player the ball while still building the 8 man box.

Vs. 12

Against a 2x2 ace formation the point will gain be to the star. The coverage is stuff with a half tool to the point and quarter tool away. The quarter safety helps build the 8 man box while the cloud helps deny the star.

 Against a 3x1 nub set the coverage is again Roll. The coverage rolls against any single width formation. The coverage denies the star outside or in the slot similarly to the previous twins example. The ILB does have the TE vertical to the strong side in a match so that's a matchup we are always mindful of in this concept.

A backside wing is treated like a single width formation and we will Roll all single width. The coverage again plays like the previous single width sets. This time the LB to the wing must be mindful of the VH responsibility against vertical passing concepts from the 2 TE side. The nub side Corner is again the 8th fitter. 

With the star as the single X the coverage is Stuff. Half tool to the point with a quarter tool away. Here there are 3 receiving threats to the quarters side. That means the tool needed must be a quarter tool for 3 receivers. In this example the quarter tool is a mini 2 concept with the outside WR manned by the Corner. Inside the OLB/ILB/Safety are playing a 3 over 2 coverage on the 2 TEs. The Safety in the mini concept strong must trigger when the TE's block to add the 8th fitter in the run game.

With the star aligned strong in the formation the coverage Rolls. The Safety shows post alignment rolling at the snap. The point ILB must be ready to match 3 vertical. The VH Safety is again the 8th run fitter then the TE's block in the this concept.

Putting a cloud on a good WR in heavy personnel can be an inexpensive way to both be good vs. the run and deny the biggest receiving threat. Much of the coverage concept is built from coverage tools that most defenses already have in the their toolbox. 

Understanding the Opening Script

Many offensive coaches use an opening script to begin a game. What goes into that script? I had some ideas based on my experiences vs. opposing offenses, from film study of a variety of schemes, and from picking the brains of offensive coaches I've had the good fortune of working with in the past. I also reached out to a few offensive coaches to ask them for insight. Finally I crowdsourced info by asking coaches through twitter. The responses and willingness to share was amazing and a testament to the awesome "Football Twitter" community. The sheer number of responses was a bit overwhelming. To all those who contributed, Thank You!

After looking at the philosophy of offensive coaches as well as what they are scripting I broke the responses down into 5 categories: Identity, Diagnostic, Designer, Catalyst, and Cumulative Effect.

Identity - Plays that get scripted that are all about who the offense is at its core.

Top Plays - Call what the OC feels are the best run schemes and best pass concepts in the offense's arsenal. These calls are all about being who the offense feels they are as an offense and don't overly depend on the opponent's scheme.

Sure Things – Runs the OC feels can block any D look. This isn't necessarily the scheme the offense feels is their top production play or most explosive scheme. This extends to passes with protection that accounts the most possible looks. This might include max protection, play action, movement passes like boot/naked/sprint. Plays in this category are all about consistency and reliability. 

Get ball into the hands of the best player. What play calls guarantee the top player on offense is involved early?

Get multiple guys touches. A recurring theme was OC's wanting to get as many guys involved and engaged in the opening script as possible. This wasn't always just about getting the ball to the best player but getting everyone in on the action.

Get the QB in a rhythm. What plays allow for the QB to make easy throws? What plays have the easiest reads? This includes not only passes but also option schemes. How can the offense script to create consistent success for the QB early?

Diagnostic - Plays that are scripted to diagnose some piece of info about the defense.

Alignment to formations – Does the defense align in the front and show coverage that match what was is to be expected from scouting report breakdown data?

Motion/trade/shift adjustments – How are they adjusting? Is there confusion or misalignments? Can offense move one player and get multiple defenders to move? Are adjustments being made by running defenders with motion, spinning/rolling coverage, bumping LB's, sliding DL? This can inform follow up play calls. 

Personnel – Is the defense using the personnel expected from scouting report info. Are players aligning where they were expected? Are matchups as expected?

How does the defense respond to something outside of normal? A new formation, formation into the sideline (FSL), unbalanced, empty, compressed formation, etc are all possible in a script to diagnose what the defense will do. This info can inform subsequent play calls or can be one offs.

Correction – Is there a formation, motion, or play the defense struggled with in previous games? Have they made corrections? Have they fixed what went wrong previously? Football is a copycat sport. This script element is all about forcing defenses to prove they have corrected their previous errors. 

Who made the play? – Typically this is about running a base/foundational play and looking at what occurred. Who made the tackle or made the play difficult? This informs follow up plays that compliment the foundational play. This could be series based play calling like many wing-t and option schemes utilize. This could also be just an if/then type of game plan. If the backside DE is chasing hard, then call the complimenting naked concept. 

Designer- Play specifically designed for the defense.             

OC are looking to script potential big plays or plays that create stress. This may be a shot pass play. This could be a trick play like a double pass, reverse, flea flicker, etc. This could be a scheme design from game plan meeting looking a the defense's previous plan. There is no perfect play call for the defense. Offenses know what stresses each defensive concept. It could be a personnel, motion, formation, or play concept but the OC is looking to craft those elements into stress plays in the script. Some designer concepts however are fragile. They may not be great outside of the specific/desired defensive look. Many designer looks in the script also carry a can/alert/kill concept. Two plays are called in the huddle. If the defense is in the desired look the designer play is on as planned. If the look is sub-optimal, the QB cans the play to a base call that holds up against more defensive looks. Some OC's prefer to do this with a check the sideline mechanic vs. asking the QB to can the play at the LOS.

Catalyst - Plays designed to provoke a response from the defense.

Catalyst concepts take many forms. Some may be simple like getting in a 3x1 and taking a shot to the X in isolation. The catalyst is all about looking to force the D to respond by playing some type of weak 2 over 1 coverage concept. The O certainly would like to complete the pass but the bigger goal was to create opportunities to the 3 receiver side or in the run game. Catalysts can be schemed in the run game also. The O may feel the best path to success running the ball is to get the DE aligned in a specific location on the TE. Scripted early calls like pin & pull may not be the O's most desired scheme. It is being scripted to encourage the defense to widen the DE's alignment, which sets up the opportunity to run other schemes on future plays. Not all catalyst plays provoke the same type of responses. Some OC's are scripting looks that are meant to confirm to the defense what the offense looks like. These are scripted calls that mirror the expected looks from the scouting report. The personnel, formation, play, etc was what the D expected based on film study. The goal here is to provoke the defense to be locked into their plan. If the D feels confident the O matches the scouting report, they are going to do what they planned to do on defense. Once the offense is locked into what the D's plan looks like it sets up the plan of attack. Most OC's don't like defensive variance so the catalyst may be to get the defense locked in a specific plan. Catalyst plays may take the form of setup plays. A distinct motion or formation leads the defense to talk it over on the sideline. When that look comes up again defenders make the ID and believe they know what is coming off that look. This may be where the setup leads to the payoff. The offense wanted the D to feel like they know what is coming and really cared much more about the payoff play vs. the setup play. Catalyst plays may be about manipulating defensive personnel usage. An offense that uses 11 but begins flexing to create 10 personnel formations vs. more traditional TE in the core 11 looks to get the D into sub-personnel. Once the D is subbing to Nickel or Dime, the O can attack those sub-personnels by putting the TE back into the core and running their base 11p package. The O may go 22 personnel to get the D in base personnel but create an empty formation and isolate a TE vs. a LB. Catalyst plays can take many forms but they want to force the defense into an action favorable to the offense. 

Cumulative effect - Plays that aren't about a single play but affecting the defense through repetition. 

Perimeter run/screen – The goal is to force the DL to run sideline to sideline. Tiring out DL early in the game can affect pass rush, run fits, block shed, pursuit and overall effort.

Establish tempo of the offense. Many OC's mentioned wanting to set or change the tempo in the script. This concept is also tied to creating fatigue on the defense early in the game. This may also get the D into more basic schemes. 

Attack the best player – If the defense has a great player the offense may look to make that player's life difficult. A defense with a dominate 3tech DT for example. The offense may script early concepts that double him, trap him, wham him, read him, and screen him. That player is now getting hit from all angles. The goal is to create frustration and prevent that player from getting going. A slow start for that player may keep him from getting going at all. 

Attack the worst player - Isolation of a weak link on defense with the goal that enough attacks on the weakest player will lead to big plays. It might not happen immediately but attacking as many times as possible is the best path to exposing the weak link as the weak link.

Being as multiple as possible. By showing various personnels, formations, trades, shifts, motions, and schemes plus varying tempo and snap count the defense has a lot to address and process. The goal is to slow down pressure looks including base pass rush and force the defense into basic concepts. Cumulative effect occurs from the the variety making the D be ready for anything/everything.

After doing this research, I have a different viewpoint of evaluating an offense's early play calling. It is always interesting to look at how offensive coaches think and plan. Hopefully there is something in this info that can help you and your defense or offense better understand the opening script. If there is something you think was missed be sure to reach out, I'd love to continue to build my understanding of the scripting process. 

4 Minute Defense

Last night in the Bears game the Buccaneers lead by a score of 19-17. Tampa took possession of the ball with the lead and 2:48 remaining in the 4th quarter. This put Chicago into 4 Minute Defense. The objective is simple, get the ball back to the offense with as much time remaining and in as good of field position as possible.

Every defense has rules, coaching points, and practice drill for 4 Minute Defense.

Here is an example from an old playbook of HOF Coach Dick Lebeau

Another example from former NY Giant Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan.

Most defensive playbooks have a situational football section with coaching for 2 Minute, 4 Minute, Final plays, etc.

The Bears did a tremendous job against the Buccaneers executing in 4 Minute defense. 

1st & 10 from the -16 yard line 2:48 remaining. 

The Bears are in a reduction front vs. the Bucs 13 personnel. The front is spaced like a 6-1 with the walk down safety in a choke on the inside TE.

The gapped out alignment to the TE side creates a very difficult angle/block for the H. The 5 tech DE is able to create a TFL. Timeout Bears.

2nd & 12 from the -14 yard line 2:43 remaining. 

The Bucs came back on 2nd down expecting Chicago to again go to a run heavy loaded box with man coverage. The Bears present a look similar to 1st down. Tampa calls a play action to attempt to attack the aggressive run stopping nature of the Bears' 4 Minute defensive call. 

The Bears use a 4 man rush Cover 3 on 2nd down instead. Chicago drops a LOS LB into the X's slant window and has zone coverage to handle the TE's and RB check down to the strong side. Incomplete pass stops the clock setting up 3rd & Long. 

3nd & 12 from the -14 yard line 2:37 remaining. 

On 3rd down the Bears match the Bucs' 11 personnel with Dime personnel. The coverage allows Dime coverage on the RB as well as Safety help for the Corner on the X receiver weak. The TE stays in to help control a dominant pass rushing DE. Strong side the Nickel has help from the ILB underneath as well as Safety help over top in the slot. Incomplete pass and the clock stops.

Following the punt.

The Bears take over 2 yards shy of midfield with 2:21 on the clock and 2 timeouts remain. The Bears drove to kick a field goal to win 20-19.

Great execution from the Bears and Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano in 4 Minute Defense. This is a great example of why situational football is so critical. Defensively 4 Minute is area that must be coached and practiced in the same way 2 minute and other situations are handled in preparation.

Handling Motions & Shifts

This is a guest post from Kyle Cogan. Kyle is entering his second season as Head Coach at Lexington HS in Missouri. Lexington has a 47-17 record, 15 shutouts and 2 conference championships in his 6 years at the school (previous 5 as Defensive Coordinator). Kyle is also active on twitter, be sure to give him a follow if you don't already. @CoachCogan 

Motion/Shift Adjustments

A question I often see pop up on twitter frequently is “How do you handle motion?” Usually defensive coaches are so concerned with getting the call in and lining up correctly that this portion of the game can become an afterthought. Yet it can have a huge impact on whether we win or lose the down. Regardless of coverage being played, in my eyes, we have 3 options… Sling, Slide, Spin

When we like to Sling (Run the Star/Sam LB across the formation)

• We want to match speed with speed (match up rules). We want to ensure that the Nickel LB/DB stays as the nickel and is removed from the box.
• Present a man to man style adjustment even though we might be playing zone.  
• This will commonly be used in cover 1, and 2 man coverages, but could be used in any coverage.
• Limited moving parts
• Keep LBs in the box
• Issues can be leveraging Jet Sweep style plays

When we like to Slide (Adjust with the LBs)

• We have no true Nickel in the game and the Sam and Will LBs are essentially the same style of athlete. Such as a 43 or 34 style defense.
• Present a zone style adjustment even though we might be playing man.
• This will commonly be used in quarters, halves, and weak cover 3, but again this could be used in any coverage.
• A lot of moving parts with LBs
• Decent leverage on Jet Sweep style plays

When we like to Spin (Adjust with the DBs)

• We are playing with a 3 safety system where either left or right safety can be the Star or FS and the middle safety can play as a SS. Such as a 425 or 335 style defense.
• Present a zone style adjustment even though we might be playing man.
• Commonly used in cover 1, strong cover 3
• A lot of moving parts with DBs.
• Keeps LBs in the box.
• Can leverage Jet Sweep style plays

Each adjustment has their own purpose, some pair better than others within certain coverages. Working adjustments to motions and shifts are a must throughout the week to ensure you are putting our athletes in the best possible position to succeed.

Interested in more from Kyle be sure to check out:

Man Match Cover 1 on the MDGA Podcast

Even Front Zone 1 Run Fits on CoachTube

Attacking Bonus Protection

If you like to bring 4 from a side overload pressure (come on who doesn't) at some point you are likely to encounter an offense that employs bonus protection.

As there is no universal terminology in football, we will begin with a definition and a rationale for bonus protection. 

The defense brings a 4 from a side overload backstopped with cover zero. The offense could be in BOB or Half Slide; the protection problem is the same. Any two blitzers from the side of the turn of the protection (where the Center is working) is a problem for the offense. The 2nd blitzer is the QB's responsibility. Here the defense is presenting 4 (SS, E, T, M) vs. the offense's 3 (OT, OG, C). The QB has to throw hot off the unblocked SS. The RB cannot scan across the formation if the Will uses a rush to cover (green dog) technique in man coverage. The Will has the RB man to man, at the snap the Will steps up and goes to his man. The RB feels threatened by the Will and stays on his side to pick the up the Will in pass protection. This action holds the RB from scanning across the formation to block the Mike or SS keeping the overload intact. 

The QB is forced to get the ball out quickly or get hit by an unblocked edge blitzer. While possible for the QB to get the ball out, this scenario is specifically problematic on 3rd & Long. The goal offensively is to throw a route to get a first down. A hot route will likely be thrown and caught short of the line to gain. Now the QB must be quick and accurate under pressure and added pressure falls on the receiver to break a tackle to get to the first down yardage. 

One possible protection solution is to use a bonus protection scheme. Bonus is the concept of putting the RB on the same side of the turn of the protection. In a standard 6 man pass pro the offense is 3/3 meaning it has 3 (OT, OG, C) and 3 (OT, OG, RB) on each side of the Center. In a bonus concept the offense is 4/2 by having 4 (OT, OG, C, RB) and 2 (OT, OG) on either side of the Center instead. This allows the offense to pick up the 4 from a side pressure making longer developing route concepts more viable.

The offense may use a hard count or fake clap to get the defense to show pressure and check to bonus at the LOS. The QB can easily communicate to the RB to block as the bonus to the pressure side.

Other teams get to bonus by alerting the RB to flip quickly pre-snap to get to his work as the bonus working to the side of the OL's turn.

In either situation the Will can still rush to cover and create an overload on the RB. The overload will happen later as the LB has longer to travel. This may buy enough time for the QB to step up and throw deeper routes giving the offense a better chance at a first down.

Bonus protection is more commonly checked into at the LOS by the offense as opposed to being hard called in the initial play call.

This type of protection adjustment creates opportunity to attack Bonus protection.

Defensively the structure can present the 4 from a side overload to put the offense into bonus protection. Post snap the pressure is a standard quarters concept. Likely the coverage tools need to be 2 Read/Palms in order to protect the qtr flat players (SS, E) from being outleverage by the #2 receiver fast to the flat. The concept is a non-traditional 4 man rush. The protection is not expecting the Will on a fast rush in the A gap likely creating quick midline pressure. The expected cover zero is now a quarters concept giving the defense a different matchup vs. longer developing routes. Quick effective pass rush and good coverage is a tried and true combination. 

This type of concept is something a defense can easily be watching for in the box on any 4 from a side overload call. The spotters can easily see if the offense is throwing hot or checking to a bonus protection. If their solution is bonus the defense can come back with a complimenting piece to attack the bonus protection as an in game adjustment.

This thinking is also important as more defenses adopt 2 under 3 deep pressures into their playbook.

The basic premise of the 2 under 3 deep concept is the pressure will overload the protection forcing a quick hot throw or the QB will take a sack. If an offense begins checking the protection to a bonus concept the protection can pick up the 4 from a side overload. The ability of the offense to buy time against 2 under 3 deep is a problem for the coverage. The longer the routes develop the more holes are exposed for receivers to exploit in this type of aggressive zone concept. 

Having a complimentary bonus protection scheme exploiting the light protection opposite the bonus is a must to avoid an offense having a plan for overload pressures.

Another example:

Defense goes dime personnel with OLB bodies at DE. The concept is 4 from a side overload backstopped with Cover 1 Peel expecting the rush to handle the RB on any route. This pressure can force a hot throw and deny many intermediate routes. An offense isn't going to simply get gassed up every time this pressure is run on 3rd & Long. Two solutions may be to bonus the protection and slot fade. As a complimentary piece:

Same presentation with a Tampa 2 coverage concept. The weak side twist is designed to attack man protection and hopefully exploit the 2 on 2 with the OG/OT. 

Having a section on the call sheet for bonus protection adjustments and carrying them into every game is a good way to protect 4 from a side overload in a defensive scheme. 

Radar Defense Part 6

Here are some film clips of Coach Yakapovich's 1969 Kenmore West team running the radar defense.

The clip appears to be Defense 1. I was surprised by the tilt of the on the LOS defenders. The book shows the players drawn as tilted but to see the technique on film was still a surprise at the angle of the outside tilt.

In the clip the F3 (#52) appears to have his eyes inside. The OT is pulling outside with the TE blocking down. My initial reaction was #52 should be playing lateral outside crossing the face of the TE's down block. Inside he takes the inside space on the pull to make the TFL. Not sure if this is just the F3 making a play with the open space or a called stunt.

Outside flow runs was an area I was curious after drawing up plays on paper. Could the offense get quickly to the edge with so many defenders near the LOS in gaps?

One of the selling points of the defense in the book is how naturally and quickly players are able to pursue. This clip shows it off, the defender's technique puts players quickly into pursuit. The defense does a good job of forcing the ball outside using a spilling type fit. The Corner and Safety clean it up once it gets outside the 4 man.

Here is a short yardage example of Defense 4. The LOS players use the 3/4 point stances and attack with penetration. The Safety and Corners are in cheated down alignments.

Here the 2 men are in a tilted penetrating technique. The F1 does a good job getting across the blocks to be in position before missing the tackle.

Nice example of F3 (#33) crossing the down block of the TE. The double team of the OT and TE ends up with both blockers falling over one another and on the ground. B1 is attacking the mesh point quickly from the backside A gap. Defenders quickly disrupting the mesh point is a proven recipe to cause mesh point ball security issues, here a forced fumble.

Here is a good example of the overlap in pursuit. The F1 (#45) is able to overlap the F2 (#52).  When F2 gets caught by the down block F1 is able to get playing lateral and get involved in the off-tackle play.

Another adjusted call against the offense in a backed up field position. The tilted 2 men really create problems when penetrating. This is one of the challenges of the Radar concept. Are the players read/react or attack/penetrate? Here the tilted B2 is unblocked for a TFL.

Nice example against a drop back pass. This looks like the Sprint stunt with the penetrating 2's and a 1 wrapping over the top to create pressure.

This is one of the concepts that on paper looks like a concern. With lighter stand up players, the offense electing to get low pad level and run wedge dive concepts. Fire off the ball and attempt to knock the stand up defenders off the ball.

This looks like a Defense 3 example with the 4's activated as edge rushers. The defense does a good job of spilling the ball lateral to the unblocked corner.

Really interesting to see the film of the defense from 1969. Huge shoutout to Sean Bruso for making me aware of the film. Coach Bruso coaches in western NY state and shared a link to the YouTube video of Kenmore West that was digitized from 16mm film reels. If you are interested in the full film here is the link.

Radar Defense Part 5

In the 5th installment of the radar defense series the focus will turn to usage and adjustments. 

Why use Defense 1,2,3,4,13,.etc ? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

Defense 1

Strength: Best basic defense. Good vs. run and pass
Weakness: No quick pass rush
Use: Anytime except when a quick pass rush is needed
Defense 2

Strength: Good basic defense. Good vs. run and pass
Weakness: No quick pass rush
Use: Having the 2 man off the ball is good when the offense is trying to trap that player making the trap block much more difficult. Also the 2 being off the ball helps the 2 man play quickly in pursuit overlapping on off tackle runs.


Defense 3

Strength: Add predetermined rush from the 4 man, good interior run pursuit
Use: When and interior run defense and a edge pass rush is needed with adequate flat coverage


Defense 4

Strength: Aggressive interior gaps plugged
Weakness: Off tackle runs and pass coverage
Use: Short yardage and goal line run situations.

Defense 13

Strength: Good all around with run and edge pass rush
Use: Good all around defense

The result by changing up the edge pass rush as well as messing with who is on the LOS/off the LOS helps affects the offense's ability to attack each area. Each basic and combination defense presents different strength/weakness areas. The overlap of each makes for a total defensive package.

To disguise the defense would show a basic Defense 1 look and stem during the cadence into one of the other looks. The call "show" puts the defense into a Defense 1 look and during the cadence the players move to the call. Example Show 2 = the defense aligns in Defense 1 during the cadence the players move to Defense 2. This would only affect the 1's and 2's. This type of stemming helps hide the called defense's strengths while helping mitigate weaknesses of specific calls.

Adjustments:
The defense was also able to tag on adjustments to defensive calls to help add more versatility.

Crash

The Crash call only affects the 1's and 2's, all others play their normal techniques based on call. The Crash call is hard penetration in the interior gaps. This is a nice compliment to the read/react lateral base radar technique. 

Hold up the Ends

The 3 men stem during the cadence to head up on the TE or can be called to line up in the head up technique. All others play their normal technique. The 3 man beats up and impedes the release of the TE into a pass route. The 3 man will be late to enter the pass rush in this technique.

Knife

The 3 men stem during the cadence to an outside alignment on the TE or can be called to line up in edge alignment. All others play their normal technique. The 3 man can be a quick pass rusher and set the edge on the run. This call is used in other concepts and also could have modern applications especially with no TE present.

Sprint

Sprint is a flow based snap pressure. The 2's no longer read the OT, they penetrate the B Gap. The 1's react to the backfield flow. The flow side 1 immediately overlaps and pressures over the top of the penetrating 2. The 1 opposite the flow plays normal lateral technique pressing open seams. Sprint can also be run with a knife call.

Double Sprint

Double sprint is like sprint on the changing the responsibility of the the 1 opposite the flow. On flow away the B1 will pressure the midline are to create a quick run through. Double sprint can also be run with a knife call.

The different calls and adjustments show the radar defense is a total defensive package with the ability to handle various offensive threats. Next up a look as some film clips of the radar defense in action.