Creating DE Conflict

Dubber just had a great post here on this subject that you need to read if you haven't already. He says, "In football terms, keeping a defense 'off rhythm' is the name of the game."  He is correct.  This post will focus solely on the Defensive End position and how to put the DE in conflict in order to keep him off-rhythm. 

Urban Meyer talked about how much of what they did with their Spread offense at Florida was designed to control the DEs, because they are such tremendous athletes that they can take over a game by themselves.  These freaks of nature can really wreak havoc on an offense if allowed to get into a rhythm.  DEs that are strong and can run as fast as most RBs are a nightmare for an OT to try to block.  An Offensive Coordinator must  have plays designed to confuse and slow down the DE in order for the offense to have a chance and for his QB to survive.

2010 AFCA Convention (Orlando, FL) Notes

Here are the speakers and topics:

Josh Heupel - Oklahoma - QB Play

Decent talk, but everybody in the Big 12 was there and he wasn't going to give out anything too good.

Brandon Doman - BYU - QB Play

I liked listening to him a lot and how he described reads on Shallow and its variations.

Chargers Bunch Pass vs. Dolphins - AFC Playoffs - Jan. 8, 1995

The Dolphins and Chargers are back again in another playoff battle with a play not as well known as the Hook and Lateral, but nonetheless still extremely important in the history of football X's and O's. The Chargers won this game with one of the best designed plays I have ever seen, even to this day. This one killed me as a Dolphins fan (and still does every time I watch it), but even then I had to tip my hat to the Offensive Coordinator for designing this masterpiece of a play and for calling it at the perfect time with the game on the line.

The Chargers lined up in a Bunch formation with motion by the inside WR to help shake man coverage. Check out the end-zone copy at the end of the video to get a good look at the Backside Guard pulling and the WR sneaking through the LOS. I think that the collective jaws of everyone watching the game fell to the floor when they saw this play, and I remember the announcers replaying it like 20 times—it really was that sweet. It is my opinion that this was one of the greatest offensive plays ever drawn up and executed in the history of professional football. Here it is:

Chargers Bunch Pass vs. Dolphins - AFC Playoffs - Jan. 8, 1995 from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.

Links:

Terrific football blog that I had never seen before that you must check out: http://codeandfootball.wordpress.com/

Deuce does a great job of talking about Midline and all its variations: http://footballislifeblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/midline.html

Dacoachmo posted his Indy Glazier Clinic notes:

http://highspeedspreadfootball.blogspot.com/2011/03/indy-clinic-notes.html

Chris at Smart Football with clip of Missouri QB Drills:

http://smartfootball.com/quarterbacking/quarterback-drills-with-missouris-dave-yost-guru-dude

RUNCODHIT with Part 2 on Stopping the Power Run Game with the 4-2-5: http://runcodhit.blogspot.com/2011/03/stopping-power-running-offense-with-4-2_10.html 

Wrong-Arm Technique

Good discussion on Coach Huey about the Wrong-Arm technique here.  I'm better with pictures and video than I am with words, so is here is my take on the Wrong-Arm technique.  The Wrong-Arm technique vs. Power is pretty straightforward, and I will get to it later.  The Wrong-Arm technique vs. Counter is not as straightforward and cause for some debate, so I will tackle it first. 

The diagram below shows the Fox DE initially obeying his Block-Down-Step-Down rules vs. the OT.  If he follows his hands, his technique will take him right into the pulling Guard.  How he attacks the Guard is the key to stopping the Counter play.  If he literally obeys his Wrong-Arm rule and attacks the inside shoulder of the pulling Guard with his outside shoulder, he will be pinned easily and the pulling Tackle will not miss a beat coming around for the LB.  The defense has forced the ball to bounce outside, but nothing is being disrupted.  It is important to remember that maximum disruption is the goal and purpose of Wrong-Arming.

Triple Inside Fire Zone - Dick LeBeau

This Dick LeBeau Zone Blitz has already been talked about on Blitzology's Blog here and on Smartfootball.com here.  I liked it so much that I started digging through my video library of blitzes to find a cut-up of it.  It has 5 blitzers to attack vs. the middle 3 of the OL.  I  especially like that the blitz makes it possible to avoid the offense's two best pass protectors, the OTs. 

The picture below is a page from Dick LeBeau's playbook when he was the Head Coach for the Bengals:
2002 Cincinnati Bengals 3-4 Defense - Dick LeBeau.pdf

Double Slant

Double Slant is a great quick-game concept vs. Cover 2 or any type of Man coverage.  The key is the route by the inside WR.  He doesn't just run upfield and then slant inside.  He has a very specific aiming point at the inside # of the #2 defender.  I chose the video at the end of the article as a teaching cut because it demonstrates this technique extremely well.  Success in the passing game is not about drawing up cool-looking plays—like everything else in football, its success is mostly due to fundamentals and proper technique...by the the receivers, the QB, and especially the protection.

Clinic Notes

These files are on my scribd.com account but they are now charging people to download these, so here are all the FREE links to these files. I updated these links on rest of the site, too.  

Zone Blocking - Ken Wilmesherr - Grossmont College.pdf
2002 Cincinnati Bengals 3-4 Defense - Dick LeBeau.pdf
2003 Atlanta Falcons 3-4 Defense - Wade Phillips.pdf
2010 S.E. Flexbone Clinic.pdf
2010 Georgia Southern Clinic.pdf
2010 Atlanta Glazier Clinic.pdf
2009 Minneapolis Glazier Clinic - Dewayne Alexander - Cumberland Univ.doc
2009 Minneapolis Glazier Clinic - Buzz Preston - Ga. Tech.pdf
2004 UCF Clinic.pdf
2003 Orlando Nike Clinic.pdf
2003 Univ. of Miami Clinic.pdf  
2002 FACA Winter Clinic.pdf
2001 FACA Winter Clinic.pdf
2001 Univ. of Miami Clinic.pdf 
2001 Lee Perry Clinic (Miami).pdf
2001 Orlando Nike Clinic.pdf

WR Grading

I grade on two categories and I give a plus or a minus, but you can do it the same way with points. The first category I grade on is alignment and assignment. This includes the proper WR split for the play and running the pattern to the correct depth on a pass or blocking the correct man on a run. The second category is effort and execution. If a guy goes to block (taking the correct angle of approach) and his man gets by him, that would be a plus for the first category and a minus for the second category. If he was standing straight up and he gets juked badly, that would be two minuses. A loaf or a drop is also an automatic double minus.




I would like to do a blog article in the future on this with cut-ups from my old school to show how to grade. A lot of times coaches give a player a grade, but it doesn't necessarily reflect how well the player played. It is for this reason that many coaches see grading as a waste of time.



What I do to get my grades to accurately reflect performance is to give 3 or 4 pluses/minuses for something really good or bad. I rarely give out the 4 pluses on a play. A pancake or a great hustle block would definitely get three pluses. A penalty or costly mental mistake would probably be 3 minuses. This way if a guy plays well, he will have a grade that reflects that.



If I can get guys to score 80% I am happy. That is an A, 75% is a B, and 70% is a C. If they are less than 70%, they are not working that hard and they have better had caught a TD or they will be losing reps the next week. Guys going both ways may be in the 67% range, but your expectations must stay high. For that reason, I like to play a lot of guys to keep them fresh and the competition for reps forces everyone to push harder.

Bill Belichick Notes - 2009 Florida Clinic

I am a bit limited this year with going to clinics, so I am going back through some of my old clinic notes.  Bill Belichick is the best presenter that I have ever had the chance to hear at a clinic, so I wanted to share these notes.  He shared a lot of good, sound fundamental ideas on Offense, Defense, and Special Teams.

Urban Meyer intro: “The New England Patriots are the least penalized team in the league.  Their formula for success is simple but difficult: Talent, Discipline, and Leadership.”

4-3 vs. the Flexbone - CB Play

Introduction

The CBs or the Safeties can be the Force player in the 4-3 defense depending on your coverage philosophy and personnel.  Most teams ran Quarters coverage vs. the Georgia Tech Flexbone in 2009 and utilized their Safeties as the Force players.  The CB in Quarters coverage is is a pass-first defender who is man vs. his WR unless he runs a Shallow route or unless he cracks the Force player, the Safety.  When the WR crack-blocks the Safety, the CB will then become a run-first defender.  If he does not, the defense will have nobody on the pitch back, allowing the Flexbone offense to make big plays on the perimeter.

4-3 vs. the Flexbone - FS/SS Play

Introduction

The CB or the Safeties can be a Force player in the 4-3 defense depending on your coverage philosophy and personnel.  Most teams ran Quarters coverage vs. the Georgia Tech Flexbone in 2009 and used their Safeties as their primary run players.  My next guest writer is already an accomplished author and an expert on the 4-3/Under front Defense, having written the book Coaching the Under Front Defense, which you can get here Coaching the Under Front Defense if you haven't already.  Ladies and gentlemen, Jerry Gordon...

4-3 vs. the Flexbone - OLB play

Introduction

The OLB position vs. the Flexbone has a lot of keys and reads compared to other positions in the 4-3 Defense, so I got a great coach to explain it.  My next guest writer is a man who needs no introduction.  He is an outstanding football coach that has taught me a ton about football and technology over the years.  He is the author of one of the best articles written on defense (here), and he has the best football coaching blog on the Internet (here).  His site has more posts than days of the year and they contain a wealth of information for fellow football coaches.  Let me introduce the one and only Brophy...  

4-3 vs. the Flexbone - Mike play

Introduction

I have learned a lot about 4-3 defensive fundamentals from my next guest writer.  He has tremendous knowledge and experience on defending the Flexbone from the 4-3, and he has been amazingly gracious and patient enough to answer all my questions over the years.  The keys for Mike LB play in the video are simple enough, but the position requires a high level of instincts, physical ability, and fundamental skills to execute effectively, as my friend from the "Darkside" will discuss. 

4-3 vs. the Flexbone - DE play

Introduction - Evolution of the DE

The keys and mistakes video cut-ups for the DE are the longest for any position group in the 4-3 defense, likely making it the most complicated position to play vs. the Option.  This position usually has a good athlete playing it (e.g. the basketball player who just came out for football), but Option teams historically have been able to take advantage of the lack of discipline and proper coaching at the DE position through the years.

What we are now beginning to see today is the athletic and well-coached 4-3 DE who can really wreak havoc on the Option offense—as a result there are many plays that are designed to confuse and slow him down.  Urban Meyer talked about how much of what they did in their Spread Option at Florida was designed to control the DEs, because they are such tremendous athletes that they can take over a game by themselves.

4-3 vs. the Flexbone - DT Play

Introduction - Defending the Flexbone with the 4-3 Defense

The Flexbone is a difficult offense to slow down, much less stop.  Defensive players must be disciplined and fundamentally trained to be automatic in their responses to what the offense is doing.  This automaticity that is required to defend this offense does not occur in one week of practice—rather,  it  must be practiced against at the beginning of the year in spring football, fall camp, and in small segments throughout the year.  

4-3 vs. the Oregon Spread - DB Play / Coverage Fundamentals

Introduction

Chris Vasseur will write this piece at a later date, but I wanted to add a couple of diagrams to go with the video.  The FS destroying the QB on the Gun Triple Option is a beautiful thing, as you will see when you watch the cut-ups.  However, it is a bit susceptible to Play-Action as you will also see.

4-3 vs. the Oregon Spread - Defending Bash and Midline

Introduction

Bash and Midline are two plays in the Oregon Spread offense that are giving a lot of Defensive Coordinators headaches.  Both plays have recently burst onto the scene, but they both have actually been around for some time.  I saw Texas A & M run a form of Bash in their 2006 bowl game (Editors note: I found out in 2019 that it actually was Bash) and North Alabama ran the Midline from Gun as far back as 2003.  I will talk about Bash and Midline, but I will talk about defending Midline only.

4-3 vs. the Oregon Spread - LB / Nickel Play

Introduction

How you defend the Spread formation depends on what kind of Spread formation you are facing.  Some teams are better at throwing the ball than running the ball.  The Oregon Spread of 2010 is a more dangerous beast than earlier versions in that it can beat you both running the ball and passing the ball.  Still, the explosive Oregon run game is what opposing DCs must stop first.  Most 4-3 teams play Quarters coverage vs. the Oregon Spread to help to defend the run.

LBs like Quarters coverage because it allows them to run and play fast.  The safeties will be involved in run support and they will take care of the cutback, which allows the LBs to attack and play downhill.  The Quarters Safeties will also take care of Gap Exchange and scraping to take the QB on the Zone Read play, allowing the LBs to only to focus solely on the RB and the Dive portion of the Gun Triple Option.

4-3 vs. the Oregon Spread - Fire Zones and Blitzes

I cut up all the Fire Zones and Blitzes vs. Oregon from the Boise St., Arizona, and USC games from last year.  I don't have time to diagram and talk about each and every blitz right now, but I will try to get more in-depth analysis at a later time.  Meanwhile, make sure to check out Blitzology's blog, which is back rocking and rolling again if you want to learn about the science of getting after the QB.  Some of the blitzes were ran from more than one front and I named these blitzes without naming all of the fronts as I made the video, so I hope the nomenclature police doesn't get after me too bad. 

4-3 vs. the Oregon Spread - DL Play

The Oregon Spread - definitely "blurrier" this year

I am starting a five-part series on defending the Oregon Spread offense that will run up until the National Championship game.  This series was inspired by watching the DL play of Arizona and Boise St. vs. Oregon last year.  I have always heard that the 4-3 DL's top priority was to not get reached.  This made sense since the 4-3 is a gap-control defense that is dependent on each defender playing his gap.

I heard a different viewpoint of 4-3 DL play last year on the Coach Huey site.  Coach Currier said that he taught his DL to work vertically vs. a reach block.  He also mentioned that this is the way that Nebraska teaches their DL.  I looked at all the Oregon Stretch plays from 2009 vs. Boise St. and Arizona, and these words came back to mind as I saw this same technique being used very effectively.