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2014 DEFE NSIVE PLAYBOOK
2014 DEFE NSIVE PLAYBOOK
Philosophy
Our philosophy on first and second down is to stop the run and play good zone pass defense. We will occasionally play man-‐to-‐man and blitz in this situation. On third down, we will primarily play man-‐to-‐man and mix-‐in some zone and blitzes. We will rush four or more players versus the pass about ninety-‐percent of the time. In all situations, we will defend the inside or middle of the field first – defend inside to outside. Against the run, we will not allow the ball to be run inside. We want to force the ball outside. Against the pass, we will not allow the ball to be thrown deep down the middle or inside. We want to force the ball to be thrown short and/or outside. Lastly our job is to take the ball away from the opponents' offense and score or set up good field position for our offense. We must knock the ball loose, force mistakes, and cause turnovers. Turnovers and making big plays win games. We will be alert and aggressive and take advantage of every opportunity to come up with the ball. The trademark of our defense will be effort, toughness, and no mental mistakes regarding score or situation in any game.
• Swagger. o Attitude –
§ To play in this defense you need to understand that we HIT HARD legally. Opposing players will know whom they lost to when they leave the field.
o Relentlessness – § Do not stop your feet until that whistle blows. 11 helmets should
be around the ball when the play is over no matter where it is on the field.
o Shutouts – § No offense should score a single point as long as we do not have
any mental lapses. If everyone puts in maximal effort and aggression there should be no team that can move the ball on us.
• Organization o Responsibility –
§ This defense relies on all 11 players doing their jobs in complete synchronization. A successful defense is disciplined, selfless, and aggressive.
o Communication – § Everyone needs to be on the same page. Leadership on the football
field involves leading by example, and ensuring that all of your football brothers know what to do.
o Respect – § You will have respect for your opponents, your coaches, and your
teammates. If this is going to be the year that we win the championship then all pieces of the puzzle must come together. This is a young, player run team that must remain discipline in order to be successful. You are all men. Act like it.
DEFENSIVE FRONTS
SEVEN MAN FRONTS
• We will play a 7-‐man front with four down defensive linemen and three linebackers. The alignment and technique of the 7 man front will vary depending on the defense that is called, what the situation is, and how the offense lines up. The MIKE backer will be in charge of making the rip and liz calls. If the offense is lined up in an 8 man set with two TE’s then a linebacker will be asked to play two gaps or a defensive back will account for the extra gap. The front will be called by a two-‐digit number possibly followed by a suffix (i.e. “31 Over”), the two-‐digit number will tell the strong side tackle and the nose how to align. The first digit tells the tackle how to align and the second digit tells the nose how to align. For example if the defensive call is “31” the tackle would align in a 3-‐technique to the call side and the Nose would align in a 1-‐tech opposite the call side. The defensive End (call side end) will align in a 9-‐tech versus a TE to his side and in a 5 technique versus an open-‐end side. The Rover (Backside End) will align in a 5-‐tech versus an open-‐end side and in 5-‐tech, 7-‐tech, or 9-‐tech to a TE side depending on the call made on the field by the linebacker. The following fronts can be called at anytime as part of our base defensive package. Line Backer Techniques are the same just add a (0. 5 tech = 50 tech)
31 Base (Base Front) O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R S M W Run Gap Responsibilities Position Alignment (Tech) Flow Strong Flow Weak End 9 Strong Side D Contain (reverse) Tackle 3 Strong Side B Strong Side B Nose 1 weak Weak side A Weak Side A Rover 5 Contain (reverse) Weak Side C Sam 50 strong Strong Side C Strong Side A Mike 10 weak Strong Side A Weak side B Will 50 weak Weak side B Mirror near back 31 Under O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R S M W Position Alignment (Tech) Run Gap Responsibilities End 9 Slant to strong side C gap. Tackle 3 Slant to strong side A gap. Nose 1 weak Slant to weak side B gap. Rover 5 C Gap. Sam 50 strong Slide late to D gap – Come off the edge. Mike 10 weak Slide to 20 tech strong Will 50 weak Mirror near back
31 Over O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R S M W Position Alignment (Tech) Run Gap Responsibilities End 9 9 tech outside contain Tackle 3 Slant to strong side C gap. Nose 1 weak Slant to Strong side A gap. Rover 5 Slant to weak side B gap. Sam 50 strong Slide to 30 tech alignment Mike 10 weak Slide to 20 tech weak Will 50 weak Slide late to C gap – Edge contain.
Eight Man Fronts • To get in to the 8 man fronts, the SS will screw down to the open-‐end side
(opposite the “tight” call). The alignment and technique of the frontage people will vary based on the defense that is called. These fronts will be in place when we are expecting the offense to run the ball. Therefore, we will probably check out of this front if we are not facing a two or three back-‐set. The following fronts and adjustments can be called at any time in our base defensive package.
13 Box O O O O O O O X O O O S E N T R M W ZC XC FS SS Position Alignment (Tech) Flow Strong Flow Weak End 7 Strong Side C Strong Side C Tackle 3 Weak Weak Side B Weak Side B Nose 1 Strong Strong side A Strong Side A Rover 5 Contain (reverse) Weak Side C Sam 9 Up Strong Side D (Force) Contain (Reverse) Mike 30 Strong Strong Side B Weak side A Will 20 weak Weak side A Mirror near back
6 Man Fronts
• To get in to the 6 man fronts, the slowest Line Backer will substitute out for a 3rd cornerback (Nickel Back). The alignment and technique of the frontage people will vary based on the defense that is called. These fronts will be in place when we are expecting the offense to pass the ball. Therefore, we will probably check out of this front if we are not facing a three or four wide receiver-‐set. This is a new package designed to combine our 31 base defense or 4-‐3 and our ninja package which is a 3-‐2 front. 31 ninja will be a 4-‐2-‐5 look allowing us to control the run better in passing situations.
31 Ninja O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R ZC S W NC XC SS FS Position Alignment (Tech) Flow Strong Flow Weak End 9 (or 7 if no TE) Strong Side D (or C if
no TE) Strong Side C (Contain)
Tackle 3 Strong Strong Side B Strong Side B Nose 1 Strong Weak Side A Weak Side A Rover 5 Contain (reverse) Weak Side C Sam 50 (30 if no TE) TWO GAP PLAYER
Strong Side C+A must read flow quickly (if no TE strong side A)
Strong Side A then scrap and pursue
Will 30 Weak Strong side A (watch cutback through weak-‐side B
Weak Side B
Original Ninja (OG) • This will be the original ninja package. One tackle and one Linebacker will be
taken off and replaced with two-‐nickel corners. This formation will include 3 down linemen 2 linebackers, 4 corners, and two safeties. This is an all out pass defense, which will be played when we know that the other team will most definitely be passing.
O O O O O O O X O O O E N R ZC YC S W NC XC FS SS Position Alignment (Tech) Flow Strong Flow Weak End 9 (or 7 if no TE) Strong Side D (or C if
no TE) Strong Side C (Contain)
Nose 0 Tech Strong Side A Weak Side A Rover 7 Tech Weak Side C Weak Side C Sam 40 Tech Two Gap Player A+B Weak A+B Will 40 Tech Two Gap Player A+B Weak A+B
Cover 2
O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R ZC S M W XC
FS SS
Responsibilities • Half Field Players (FS, SS)
o Your alignment and responsibility are based on the type of formation to your side
o Align 10 yards off of the LOS. Your width depends on the position of the #2 receiver. Align head up on #2 if he is flexed, 4 yards outside #2 if he is tight or over a ghost TE if he is in the backfield. If this rule takes you outside the Hash mark, then align on the hash. Your responsibility to cover ½ of the field on your respective side. No one gets behind you...
o EXCEPTIONS § To the short side of the field the ½ field player may align up to
3 yards outside the hash when the ball is on the hash. To the wide side of the field, when the ball is on the hash, the ½ player can align up to 8 yards outside a tight #2 receiver. This is especially true if he is the homerun player on outside run action away and not the alley player. This is because, if you were the alley player on outside run action away, you would have to be close enough to the #2 receiver away to make a play on a dump pass to a #2 receiver.
• X-‐Corner/ Z-‐Corner o Corners should be lined up 1 yard to the outside and 3-‐5 yards away
from the outermost receiver. Your coverage responsibility is flats. The 7-‐10 yard area between the secondary and the line of scrimmage. Outside run contain is run responsibility. Jamming the receiver if they try to cross is a must. Knock him on his ass.
• Mike line backer o The Mike is responsible for dropping into pass coverage 15-‐20 yards
deep from the line of scrimmage. You are responsible for anyone coming across the middle on deep crossing routes.
• Sam/Will backer o These two backers are responsible for hook to curl. Drop to about 10
yards and check for crossers coming over the middle. If the ball is not in the air hit them. Hard.
Cover 3
O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R ZC S M W XC SS FS
Responsibilities
• FS/Z-‐Corner/X-‐Corner o Each of these positions has deep 1/3 of the field. o Free safety
§ Line up 10-‐12 yards from LOS § Take 3 read steps before reacting. § Drop 10-‐15 yards back not allowing any post or seam routes go
unnoticed. You are responsible for deep middle. No one gets behind you. Read the QB’s eyes as you drop.
o Corners § Each corner has a deep third as well. Between the hash mark
and the sideline. Any 9 routes or corner routes should not get past you. You’re responsible for the other two thirds of the field.
§ Line up 1 yard outside and 7 yards deep from the outermost receiver.
• Strong Safety o The SS is responsible for the flats on the call side of the secondary
(EAST/WEST) preferably the opposing side of the Will linebacker. Make sure the linebacker that is closest to you knows that they have hook to curl while the opposite linebacker has flats on the other end of the formation. You should be lined up between the slot and the tackle or 4x4 outside the TE by the time the ball is snapped.
• Sam/Mike backers o You have hook to curl once you are sure that it is not a run or draw.
Your zone is 10 yards back from your starting point. • Will backer
o You have the flat zone on the weak side of the secondary call. Cover 1
• Man coverage across the board except for the FS. FS has deep zone. Cover 4
• 4 quarter zones deep. Cover 0
• Everyone in man coverage
Cover 6 (Two deep – five under man)
O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R ZC S M W (1st back right) XC (First back left)
SS FS
Responsibilities
• Corners o Match up man to man on outside receivers using inside man
technique. 1x1 on inside shoulder • Strong Safety
o Half field player, deep 1/2. Line up 7 yards off the line of scrimmage 3 yards outside of the TE. If no TE and a slot line up in normal cover two positions.
• Free Safety o Half field player, deep 1/2. Line up in normal cover 2 position.
• Mike/Will/Sam o Responsible for covering the remaining 3 receivers. Trail technique. If
lined up in spread outside linebackers will have slots and middle backer will have responsibility of the running back. If the running back does not swing out for a pass you become the QB spy.
Stunt Packages • A gap stunt –ATTACK • B gap stunt – BLITZ • C gap stunt – CRUSH • Each stunt can be run as a double or single stunt designed to pressure the
quarterback or stop the run. When we blitz the secondary is automatically going to be in cover 1 in a single stunt situation and in cover 0 in a double stunt.
• Ex: o 32 Will Attack
O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R S M W
o 32 Sam Blitz O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R S M W
o 32 Double Crush O O O O O O O X O O O E T N R S M W
Defensive Coverage Calls
COVER 0 = GOOSE COVER 1 = CHAMP COVER 2 = SALT/PEPPER COVER 3 = LARRY/MOE/CURLY COVER 4 = GEORGE COVER 6 = HEADY/COORS EAST = STRENGTH RIGHT WEST = STRENGTH LEFT
Play Call Examples
• 31 Base Cover 2/3 • 31 Base Cover 4 • 31 Base Cover 6 • 31 Will A/B/C Cover 1 • 31 Mike A/B/C Cover 1 • 31 Ninja Sam A/B/C Cover 0 • 31 Ninja Cover 6 • 31 Double Crush Cover 0 • Ninja OG Cover 2/3 • Ninja OG Cover 4 • Ninja OG cover 6 • Ninja OG backers cover 1 • Ninja Nickels cover 1
