Eagles Cover 2 Zone Dog

Here is a cover 2 zone dog run by the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this season.

The Rush:
Tackle - Work B gap to Contain 
Nose - Slant Opposite A
End - Long Stick to A gap
SS - Contain
Will - Scrape


The Coverage:
Corner & End - Flat
Sam & Mike - Hook
FS & Corner - Deep 1/2 

The Eagles show a 1 high safety coverage with a safety rotated down over the #2 WR. The expectation is the Eagles have to stay in a 1 high coverage unless they rotate a safety back deep. Instead Philly uses a corner in the role of a Deep 1/2 player.

The protection has the numbers to pick up the pressure.

The protection has two (OT & RB) vs. 2 (Will & SS) but loses both match ups. The OT is badly out athleted by the rushing DB. An OL forced to kick set out to a DB in open space is a match up the that favors the defense. On the inside the RB is forced to pick up the rushing LB. A LB on a full speed straight line run to the QB vs. a RB in pass protection is another match up that favors the defense. 

It is easy to say the offense should have simply had the OT sit for the Will and sent the RB wide to the SS. Both seem like better match ups for the offense. The issue is the RB is initially threatened by 2 rush threats as his dual read is the Mike & Will. If the Mike rushed the B gap the RB would have needed to block him. Likewise when the Will rushed B. It is very difficult to expect the RB to dual read the Mike to Will and adjust to the SS in the rush. Also A DB rotated over a slot receiver was not a likely rush threat. 

The usage of a DB in the rush and the alignment of the LB's in a 4-3 core created bad match ups for the protection. The coverage violates pre-snap expectations forcing the QB to make a post-snap read and buying time for the rushers to win. Good stuff from Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz.

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.

Alabama Cover 2 Zone Pressure vs. Empty

Here is an effective pressure concept Alabama used vs. LSU. 

Alabama is in a 6 DB Dime personnel with 2 stand up DE's (OLB types).

The Rush:
End - Up the field to Contain
Tackle - Slant inside
Nose - Loop to Contain
Nickel - B gap pressure

The Coverage:
Corners - Flat
SS & FS - Show 1 High Safety rotate to Deep 1/2
Dime - Zone to #2 Strong
Mike - Zone to #3
End - Zone to #2 Weak 

The initial alignment by Alabama dictates the protection.

The LSU pass protection has 5 blockers for the 5 most dangerous rushers. Pre-snap the immediate gap threats represent the 5 most dangerous rushers.

The RG is forced into being manned up on the DT and blocking him on the inside move. The RG doesn't know the Center, LG, LT will be freed when the Mike and DE drop into coverage. The deep pass set of the RT against the speed rushing DE creates the clean B gap run for the Nickel. By the time the OL could process what is happening the Nickel is in the face of the QB.

Interesting Cover 2 Zone Pressure

Here is an interesting Cover 2 zone pressure concept from Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers.

The pressure is from a 3-2-6 personnel package. In old playbook material Coach Capers called this personnel Dollar Personnel which is a variation of a dime personnel grouping.

Initially the Packers represent 2 walked up rushing LB's and a possible rush from the Dime. The coverage is showing a 2 high safety shell.

The expected blitz pick up for the offense is for the OL to block the immediate gap threats and the RB to scan across the formation to pick up the possible Dime rush threat. With the defense presenting no 4th rush threat from the weak side the RB is free to scan to the strong side. During the cadence the defense shifts.

The pressure the Packers actually brought defies the initial expectations of the offense.

The Rush:
Ends - Up and under to an inside rush lane
T- Middle Rush
Nickle - Contain Rush
SS - Roll down to Contain Rush

The Coverage:
Corners - Flat
Dime - Pop the top to the Deep 1/2
FS - Weak side Deep 1/2
Backers - Zone dropping to #2 & #3 strong side

The shift by the defense created confusion for the protection. The RG's eyes shift inside as the LB shifts from walked up outside to being aligned in the core. The Guard set inside because he is looking inside. Once the RG set inside the protection had serious problems. The RT is forced to stay locked on the DE which allows the SS to come free off the edge. The RB thought he was scanning initially so he continues to scan. The timing of the pressure prevents the RB from seeing, processing, and adjusting to the threat of the SS.

 The coverage also defies expectation. If the QB tires to attack a perceived weak side 1 on 1 match up in coverage there is actually a 2 on 1 concept. Traditional thinking is that if a defense is in a 2 high safety shell and rotates a safety down the coverage MUST be a 1 high coverage. The Packers break that rule. The FS rotating also indicates a 1 high safety but the FS isn't rotating to the deep middle and is instead rotating to a deep 1/2. The flat defending corner to the strong side is also a surprise and forces the QB to double clutch the throw to the strong side flat buying time for the the pressure.

This pressure could be easily run from a traditional 3-4 personnel set.

What the pressure loses is the manipulation of the protection and the disguise of the coverage. Many OL's & RB's can process and pick up this basic pressure. Many QB's can understand this coverage concept. Creative ways to make basic pressure concepts very difficult to pick up is what makes the NFL pressure schemes so effective.

Attacking 7 Man Pass Protection

Seven man pass protection schemes are utilized by offenses for a number of reasons: 

• To allow for deeper/longer developing routes 
• To create a sense of security and confidence in the protection for the QB
• To simplify the protection scheme by eliminating dual read pass protectors 
• To prevent the defense from forcing a hot throw
• To have numbers against 5 and 6 man pressure schemes 
• To give the OL help vs. DL stunts or a dominate pass rusher

Often our defensive plan vs. 7 man pass pro is to use a base pass rush and drop 7 into coverage. While that may be a good plan, what are some potential pitfalls? The defense may have a bad match up on deep routes. If the offense has a WR that can beat a DB 1 on 1, the offense can exploit that with a protection scheme that allows the WR the time to beat the DB. 7 man pro also allows the offense to run double move routes like Out&Up or Post-Corner. Multiple move routes can be difficult to cover even for the most talented DB's. Also the protection may allow for routes to work into soft spots in the zone coverage and get open. Bottom line is it is frustrating to drop 7 vs. a 3 man route and still give up a completion. So what is plan B?

Here is one solution. The NY Giants were defending a 3rd & 10 against the Ravens. The Ravens came out in a 2 back formation and used a 7 man protection. 

The outside receivers ran 15 yard out cuts. The #2 ran vertical into the middle of the field. This route can attack 1 high safety coverages like cover 3 or cover 1 by isolating the corners vs. the deep outs. Similarly the out routes attack the corners vs. quarters and robber coverage. Against cover 2 the defense can play high low coverage vs. the outs with flat coverage corners and deep 1/2 safeties making the outs difficult to throw. In that case, the middle of the field route by #2 is there to attack a cover 2 concept by splitting the safeties. This type of route could be difficult to cover even with 7 players in coverage.

Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's solution, rush 8. The Giants are using 4-2-5 nickel personnel.

The Rush:

DE's - Contain

Left DT - A gap

Right DT - Bull rush Guard

Nickel - B gap

Mike - A gap

Will - Inside B gap

$ - Outside B gap

The Coverage:

Cover zero man with the pass rush covering any back that steps up to block them.

You can see the left DE (#54) take the RB in coverage when the RB stepped up to block him.

Some of you may be thinking, "Really, this article is saying the way to attack 7 man pass pro is to rush 8. Wow, thanks so much. I could have never thought of that on my own." Fair point, but I do think the conversation is deeper. 

One of the reasons this site exists is that I wanted to have meaningful discussion about pressure and blitzing. Look in any playbook or go to a clinic and you will see diagrams of interesting pressures. Take for example:

This is an 8 man pressure called Rattler from one of the Nick Saban playbooks floating around on the internet. I'm interested in the blitz and how it works. Even more, I'm interested in how, why, and when to use this blitz. Those are questions I'm trying to answer and the discussions I'm interested in having. 

As the season is coming to an end, we will begin the off-season process of self-scouting and planning for next season. Part of that process is a playbook inventory or what we will need or not need for next year. I think having an 8 man pressure concept or two is worthwhile. Do we need 5 or 10 of them? I'm highly doubtful of that, but 1 or 2 seems possible. Why? I think one of the offensive trends going forward is going to be more 7 man protection drop back pass. 

All the teams we face are spread. The bulk of the pass game is quick game, RPO, and WR screen. Teams are investing less and less in deeper drop back route concepts and protections. Even the 5 step concepts we see are all quick 5 step designed to get the ball out as soon as the QB plants on his 5th step.  Six man pass protection schemes are complex and require a big investment. The pass blocking technique and blitz pickup take a big chunk of an offense's weekly practice time. If teams are going to continue to invest heavily in read run schemes and RPO's, something else is going to have to get less time.Teams will however still want to take deep shots and have a way to throw drop back. Having 7 man pass pro as a way to do that seems logical. The protection has simple rules, is sound, and could require less investment than 6 man drop back protection.  

Many of these spread teams are using 11 or 20 personnel with a H back type that can align anywhere and play the role of a 2nd back, WR, or TE. A 7 man protection can easily be run from these types of personnels and formations. We are already seeing some 7 man pro from these teams and I think we will see more. Having an 8 man pressure to attack these concepts is something to consider this off-season. Are we going to plan for an 8 man pressure vs. all 2 back looks and down and distances, no probably not. I do think having a plan B for 7 man pass protection is a good reason to have an 8 man pressure in our blitz package. Maybe it's a reason to consider having one in your's too.

Tampa 2 Pressure

Here is a concept used by Coach Schiano during his time with the Buccaneers. The pressure is a non-traditional 4 man pass rush. The coverage is a variation of Tampa 2. 

Traditional Tampa 2 uses the Corners in the Flat with 2 Hook droppers. The Mike LB is running deep to the Middle Read to help cover routes attempting to split the deep 1/2 safeties. 

The Buccaneers use a Nickel personnel to play a version of Tampa 2 coverage. 

The Rush:
Mike & Will - Aligned in A gaps reading the turn of the Center. When the Center blocks away the LB goes. When the Center blocks toward the LB drops off and spies/rushes. 

The spy/rush technique helps the defense control the middle check down route to the RB which is a stress area of Tampa 2 coverage. The spy can also help take away RB screen and QB scramble. If the RB blocks the LB can add to the pressure to create a 4 man rush.

DT - Rush through B gap to contain

The Coverage:
Corners - Flat
DE's - Hook
SS - Middle Read
Nickel - Pop the Top to the Deep 1/2
FS - Bluffs rotation to the deep middle and plays the Deep 1/2

The pass rush does a good job of attacking the RB in protection.

By showing the double A gap pressure the defense forces the RB to block an A gap LB on a clean run through. No matter who the Center blocks the other LB is attacking the back. Here the Center blocked to the Mike resulting in the Will getting to run through. The Mike then executes the spy/rush technique. Once the RB blocks the Mike adds to the pass rush to create a 2 on 1 vs. the RB. This is very similar to the overload situations created in Coach Schiano's Green Dog schemes.

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Attacking Coverage with a Weak Side Triangle Read

The read progression:
#1 Curl - 3 step stick outside foot to an inside stem, snap off and come back at 12 yds
#2 Flat - get width before depth, gain depth to 4 yards. Settle outside numbers
#3 Shallow Spot - Release at heels of DL, climb to 5 yds as you cross center. Spot is over opposite OT.
#4 QB run

The route creates a weak side triangle read for the QB.

VS. 1 High Coverage

Against Cover 1 or a match up Cover 3 the throw should go to the #1 read Curl route. The H is gaining width quickly to open the window. The L should stick his outside foot on the 3rd step and stem inside. The goal is to get the corner on top the route, with his hips open and running before the curl breaks off. 

Against a 1 high zone coverage, the H back is again trying to open the curl's window. If the curl is available the ball is going there. This happens when the Hook defender (here the Will LB) does not expand.

The Curl-Flat defender may hang in the curl's window. In this case the throw goes to the #2 read H on the flat route.

In a zone if the Curl-Flat defender and the Hook defender both expand the throw is going to the Spot route on the inside of the triangle.

For the coverage to take away all 3 reads, the strong side Hook player must work weak with the Spot route. By check releasing the A back into the strong flat the QB has a natural escape lane.  The spot route controls the Strong Hook dropper (Mike) and the check release by the A back widens the strong Curl-Flat defender (SS).The 4th read is to tuck the ball and run. 

VS. 2 High Coverage

Against a weak side cover 2 or 2 read concept the corner has good leverage on the Flat route. The Hook dropper should be able to drop into the window of the Curl. If the Curl is open the ball is going there but it is unlikely. This most likely brings the read to the Spot route. 

Against a Quarters coverage concept there may be double coverage on the Curl. If the Curl does a good job of selling the stick and pushing the safety the curl may be able to break underneath the safety. If the curl is open that is where the ball is going.

More likely vs. Quarters the Safety will close the window to the curl. The flat player is expanding with the Flat route. This brings the read back to the Spot route. 

In a 2 high coverage the Spot route is 1 on 1 with the Mike. If the Mike works weak to take the Spot route the QB goes to his 4th read of run. 

VS. Pressure

The H back on the Flat route is the hot throw. The protection is a 6 man check release. The most common way to force a hot throw is to bring 2 rushers to the side of the A back.

If the coverage is man the weak side safety has the flat route 1 on 1.

If the coverage is a fire zone the LB is the Seam or Scif dropper vs. a 2x2. Again the H back is expected to win 1 on 1.


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