Cover 1 Rat Pressure

Wisconsin is in a 4-2-5 personnel with OLB's at DE. 

The Badgers are in Cover 1 with the Nickel matched up on the slot and the boundary safety spun down into the box. The Safety and two ILBs make up the 3 on 2 funnel technique against the TE and RB.

The Rush:

The 4 man front is in the pass rush. The Safety and Mike have the TE and RB when they block to boundary side. Both green dog and add into the pass rush.

The Coverage:

Cover 1. The Nickel is playing outside leverage man on the #2 expecting inside help from a Rat dropper out of the funnel. The Will LB becomes the Rat in the Hole with the two man coverage threats (TE and RB) working to the boundary side and being manned up by the Safety and Mike.

Really nice job by the Mike mirroring the the flow of the backfield. When the RB works back outside the Mike reacts and changed course. The Mike makes a nice jump cut to get into daylight as he adds on the green dog. Against a 7 man protection the rush is still outnumbered 6 on 7. The Mike's technique to find daylight makes the pressure work. The DT's each eat a double team leaving the Mike free on the run through. 

Good execution from the Badgers. Always well coached defense from Jim Leonard.

Bear Front Green Dog

Simple example of using bear front and cover 1 with green dog technique to get a 6 man pass rush.

The Rush:

The DE and DT are working a twist with the DT penetrating and the DE going up and under. The Mike is walked up rushing the B gap and Rush backer is off the edge as contain.

The Coverage:

Cover 1 with the Dime using a green dog rush to cover technique. When the RB blocks the Dime adds into the pass rush.

This is a simple concept with well executed nuance.

The looping DE does a great job of pushing up the field before working his inside move. The inside move is tight through the heels of the penetrating DT. The timing and path allow the DE a full speed straight line path to the QB. 

The down safety and dime both show pressure to the TE side and opposite the RB. The threat of pressure helps force the OL into a hard slide in this half slide protection scheme.

The DT aligned on the center is working a bull rush type technique which:

1. Occupies the Center preventing the Center from helping on the looping DE

2. Forces the Guard in the slide to set to the midline leaving the RB on the Mike and creating a short edge for the green dogging Dime

The Dime is presenting pressure opposite the RB. As the slide of the OL sets the RB is left one on one with the LB in the B gap. The Dime's positioning allows for an extremely efficient path to the QB. The Dime keeps his path tight off the blitzing LB's hip, stays square, and has low pad level to allow for quick change of directions. Similar coaching points to a looper on any LOS twist game.

Well executed details from the Eagles and good design from Jim Schwartz.

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. 

Vikings Green Dog

Here is a good example of a green dog concept for Head Coach Mike Zimmer and the Vikings. Minnesota is in a nickel personnel group.

Rush:
The concept is a 5 man pressure concept with the 4 defensive lineman and 1 ILB rushing. There seems to be some miscommunication between the 3 tech DT and the Mike LB on where to rush.

The Coverage: 
Man Free with a green dog concept. The idea is if your man responsibility in coverage blocks you add to the pressure and rush the QB.

The offense has the 5 OL to block the 5 rushers. When the offense adds the TE into the protection the safety who had the the TE in man adds to the pressure. The challenge this creates is the OL identified the safety as part of the coverage not part of the pass rush. The OL is working to the 5 most immediate threats (2 DT's, DE, 2 ILB's) and the TE is on the DE. When the Safety adds the offense does not have an efficient way to communicate and pick up the pressure. 

Good Stuff. 

Vikings Pressure Package

Here is an interesting concept from the Minnesota Vikings defense and head coach Mike Zimmer. Minnesota manipulates the pass protection by bluffing double A gap pressure from a Nickel personnel. 

The Vikings show a front with both DT's in 3 techniques which leaves both A gaps open. The Mike and Will linebackers are both walked up into the A gaps. This is a common pressure look from 4 man front teams. This alignment forces the offense into six 1 on 1 match ups in pass protection. The RB is responsible for 1 of the walked ILB's while the OL handles the 4 DL and other walked ILB. 

 Minnesota then brings a DB off the edge to the side of the back. The RB has a dual read 1(Mike) to 2(Safety) from inside to outside. If both rushers came in the pressure the QB would need to throw hot. In principle if only one of the threats rushed the RB should be able to block the 6th pass rusher and the protection is intact.

 In practice the pick up is very difficult for the back when only the safety rushes and the ILB does not. The RB is forced to aggressively step up to the walked LB. The RB wants to initiate contact with the LB close to the L.O.S. to avoid being knocked back into the QB and altering the launch point of the QB's throw. The RB doesn't know the ILB isn't rushing. It is very difficult for the RB once he has stepped up to see the Safety is blitzing and even more difficult to actually redirect out to the edge rusher and make a block. The result is an unblocked edge rushing safety.

Here the Vikings are running the concept backed up by a 2 read coverage concept. Minnesota shows 1 ILB walked up which puts the protection in an even more difficult predicament. 

 With the Mike showing and the Will off the ball, the Lions check the protection pre-snap to allow the Center to block the most immediate threat (the walked up Mike). This forces the RB to scan across the formation to the opposite A gap if the Will rushes.

When the Will walks up late the RB is forced to block his most inside threat. The Mike drops out into coverage, leaving the Center blocking no one. There are only two options for the offense. The 1st is the OL pushes the protection out when the Mike drops. This option forces the Center out to a 3 tech, the Guard out to a DE, and the OT out to the Safety off the edge. The likelihood of this happening is slim to none. This isn't a hot read (offense has 6 blockers for 6 rushers) but it should lead to the QB getting rid of the ball quickly. Which leads to option #2, the QB gets the throw off before the pressure gets home. The LB and DE dropping to the seams make throwing short inside throws very difficult. This forces the QB to hold on to the ball. 

Here is another example.

The pressure concept is the same only with a 3 under 3 deep coverage concept to handle the 3x1 formation. The RB steps up so hard to the L.O.S. he never even sees the rush off the edge.

This isn't a new wrinkle in Coach Zimmer's playbook. 

Here are the Bengals running the same concept back in 2013 during Coach Zimmer's last season as the Cincinnati Defensive Coordinator. Again backed up by 3 under 3 deep zone coverage.

The Vikings also do a nice job of bluffing this pressure concept.

The Vikings bluff the double A gap with the threat of a safety pressure off the edge. The Safety bails out and the coverage in man under 2 deep. The LB on the RB who releases into the route peels off and plays man coverage. The LB on the RB who blocks adds to the pass rush (green dog technique) and becomes the 5th rusher. 

Good stuff from the Vikings Defense. 

Virginia Tech Green Dog

Here is a 5 man pressure green dog dialed up by Virginia Tech Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster.

The Rush:
Will - Contain Rush
Left DE - Slant Inside
Left DT - Slant Inside
Right DE & DT - Twist (DT 1st, DE 2nd)

The Coverage:
Cover 1 - man free coverage with a LB man on the RB. If the RB blocks the LB adds to the pass rush.

 The green dog technique by the LB creates a 2 on 1 vs. the RB and a clean run on the QB.

If the turn of the Center in protection is to the twist side of the pressure the offense cannot block the 4 rushers (Will, DE, DT, Mike) with the 3 blockers (Guard, Tackle, RB) to the defensive left. The offense does have a 3 on 2 vs. the twist and should be solid picking it up.

What ends up happening is the Center sees the Mike's path and squeezes his pass set back to the pressure side. This creates two major problems for the protection. First, the Guard and Tackle would also need to squeeze back for the offense to pick up the Mike in protection. There is a low probability of the offense having the Center, Guard, Tackle all set one direction then identify, process, communicate and execute redirecting to block the rushers. The second problem is once the Center squeezed the protection back with the Mike, he created a 2 on 2 man blocking side against the twist. A Pass rush twist is highly effective against OL locked on in a man protection concept.

Here the Center stays in the slide to the twist side. The defense has an easy 2 on 1 overload against the RB.

This pressure is being adjusted based on the alignment of the RB. On the first clip #54 is the LB aligned to the wide field and the back, he edge rushes. #40 is aligned to the short side & opposite the RB, he green dogs. In the second example the RB is aligned to the short side. #40 is aligned to the short side and the back so he walks up a rushes off the edge. #54 is to the wide field and opposite the RB, he green dogs. In both examples the DL must also be aware of the RB alignment to know if they are pinching inside or twisting. Interesting and effective concept from the Hokies.

Greg Schiano Green Dog Pressure Concepts

Here are a couple of Coach Schiano's pressure concepts from his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'm curious to see if these are similar to the pressure concepts that show up on film at Ohio State next season. This post focuses on green dog* overload concepts designed to create a 2 rusher vs. 1 running back overload. 

*Green Dog - 5 man rush using man free coverage. The player responsible for the RB in man coverage has the green light to become a pass rusher if the RB blocks in pass protection

The Rush: 
Ends - Contain Rush
Tackle - Long stick to opposite A
Nose - Loop to B
Will - Rush B Gap

The Coverage:
Sam - Man on TE
Corners - Man #1
SS - Man #2
FS - Free in MOF

Mike is the green dog player. His coverage responsibility is man coverage on the RB. As the RB blocks the rushing Will the Mike joins the pass rush. The effect is 2 rushers through the B gap and a 2 on 1 vs. the RB.

The offense is in a 7 man pass protection and should have good numbers to block the defense. To the right the offense has 4 (TE, OT, OG, C) to block the 4 possible rushers to the right of the Center (Sam, DE, Nose, Mike). To the left of Center the protection has RB for Will and the OT and OG for the DT and DE. 

The issue is the LG is setting on the DT and initially is responsible for the DT on the inside move to the A gap. Once the DT keeps going to the opposite A gap the Guard can pass him off. By the time the OG realizes the DT needs to get passed off, he doesn't have time to redirect and block the Mike. The protection uses 5 (G,C,G,T,TE) to block 3 (DT, Nose, DE).

Here is another example from a dime sub personnel package.

The Rush: 
Ends - Contain Rush
Tackle & Nose - Rush A Gap
Mike - Rush B Gap

The Coverage:
Corners - Man #1
SS & Nickel - Man #2
FS - Free in MOF

Dime is the green dog player. The Dime shows pressure in his B gap and loops to the block of the running back post-snap. The effect is again a 2 on 1 overload on the RB in the B gap.

The the offense is in a 6 man pass protection. The LG sets to block the Dime while providing body position on the DT in the A gap. The Center is in a bind here. He must snap the ball and hit a pass set with 2 DT's aligned on him. The Guards need to help him or risk an interior double bull rush in the middle of the protection. 

The rush plays out like a DL twist. Pass protections are unlikely to expect a Dime to be involved in a twist action post snap. The OL could squeeze the protection back to the right once the Dime loops. The issues are multiple:

#1 The G,C,G all have to work in unison

#2 The LG was body positioning and helping the Center, which left the RG 1 on 1 with the Nose. The RG took an aggressive set to block the Nose. Having the RG come off the aggressive set and redirect to the Dime is very difficult.

#3 The RG on a redirect would have to set through the traffic of the RB blocking the Mike.

#4 If the G,C,G screw up on the redirect the result is an interior DL on a run through to the QB. Basic rule of pass pro is to always protect the shortest path (inside straight line) to the QB. 

Here is an example using a deep safety as the green dog player.

The Rush: 
Ends - Contain Rush
Tackle - Rush B Gap
Nose - Loop to B Gap
Mike - Rush A Gap

The Coverage:
Corners - Man #1
Nickel - Man #2
FS - Free in MOF
Will - Man on RB

SS is the green dog player. SS adds to the rush from depth as the RB blocks.

Here is an example using the a DE as the green dog player.

The Rush: 
End - Contain Rush
Tackle - B gap to Contain
Nose - Opposite A
Mike - Rush A Gap (1st)
Will - Rush opposite B Gap (2nd)

The Coverage:
Corners - Man #1
Sam - Man TE
FS - Free in MOF
SS - Man on hip aligned wing

DE is the green dog player. 

The offense is in a 7 man protection and has the numbers to block all 7 possible rush threats in the core.

By looping the DE the protection is forced into very difficult blocks. The guard ends up 1 on 1 against the rushing Mike because the Center is occupied with the Nose. The Will and End have a 2 on 1 vs. the RB. The offense could again try to redirect to pick up this rush but the complexity level to identify what is happening is very high. Also redirecting to pick this pressure up would require tremendous athleticism by the OL.

Here is a good example of the defense using the green dog while doing a good job of disguising where the pressure is coming from.

The Rush: 
End - Long stick to A Gap
Tackle - B gap to Contain
Nose - Opposite A
Mike - Show Man on TE, Rush C gap to B
Corner - Contain Rush, peels to cover the RB in a route

The Coverage:
Corner - Man #1
Nickel - Man #2
Dime - Show Contain Rush, Man on #3
FS - Show coverage on #3, Free in MOF
SS - Man on TE

DE is the green dog player. The DE is aligned in a 2 point stance as has a edge rush demeanor. 

The offense is in a 5 man protection with the RB free releasing into a swing route.

The 5 OL must block the 5 most dangerous rush threats. In this case the defense bluffs pressure from the Dime. Here the Mike shows by alignment and demeanor that he is man to man on the TE. The SS is deeper than the FS who is cheated down with eyes on the #3 receiver. Every indicator is the the Dime and End are rushing off the edge with the coverage rotating to cover for the rushing Dime. The OL points and adjust accordingly to slide the protection to the Dime leaving the back side OT man to man with the DE.

During the cadence the SS tightens down to play man on the TE. The FS pops out to play the MOF. The Dime plays man on the #3 receiver. The Corner was rushing off the edge and peels to cover the RB on the swing or flare route. The corner must use this technique to avoid the giving the DE no shot to cover the RB on the swing. The OT is man to man on the long stick DE. There is no one to pick up the Mike rushing in the C gap. Once the OL had declared the 5 most dangerous rush threats it is very difficult for them to redirect an block rush threats coming from the opposite side. 

Follow @blitzologyblog