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INTRO

Overview. Defense is as important as offense (arguably

more important). A good defense can demoralize the

other team, can lock in a lead, and can boost your of-

fense. The best mix is clearly a shut-down defense and a

powerhouse offense, but you only need to score once or

twice to win a game if your defense is strong.

Dont Get Too Fancy. Travel light and travel swift - theres

no need to have dozens of defensive schemes. Its far

more important to be nimble and exible on the eld

with 3-4 defensive looks than it is to have a playbook full

of options. You want to be able to audible into another

defense 5 seconds before a snap, and with cumbersome

scheme, this will be challenging.

The Pressure Guage. Each time out, you will need to de-

termine the right mix between pressure on the QB and

coverage. This is always a trade-off. Some quarter-

backs absolutely corrode when they get a heavy rush,

while others are quick enough and have enough poise

to dump the ball off for 5-7 yards every time a big rush

comes. This is a game-time decision (and likely a mid-

game decision). But nding the right mix (and how fast

you make the correct adjustment) can mean the differ-

ence between a win and a loss.

Dont Get Beat Deep. These games are usually short

enough that one or two possesions can make the dif-

ference. Make sure your deep guys are always deeper

than the receivers. Dont give up the long ball.

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RUSH

LEGEND

RUSH ZONE MAN

The rushing man needs

to come fast and aggres-

sively. Fight around the

blocker and get to the

QB. He should explode

off the line at the snap

of the ball.

A zone coverage de-

fender needs to keep

his head on a swivel and

stay aware of as much

of the field as possible.

Dont leave your zone!

A man defender should

line up 3-7 yards deep

depending on the siu-

tation, on the inside

shoulder of the receiv-

er, cocked slightly out.

Watch his eyes.

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ZONE

BLAST Cover is the same coverage defense as the BASE

Cover , except you are sending a third rusher and only

leaving one linebacker to cover the middle of the eld.

It is very important that the outside rushers make the QB

step up instead of letting him slip out to one side. This will

let the backer crash the pocket and force a throw. If theQB scrambles out one way, you largely lose the effec-

tiveness of the triple rush. The blitzing backer may want

to hesitate for a second before going in.

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BLAST Cover 2

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BLAST Mid Pro gives you a triple rush with extra protec-

tion against a mid-level pass. The defense is betting on

heavy pressure here. If the three blitzers dont get enough

pressure, a good QB will be able to pick apart the lone

safety. The safety should try to key on the playmaker

on the offense to determine which way to shade.

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BLAST Mid Pro

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ZONE

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ZONE

Deep Protect is what it sounds like. Cover 3 gives you

good deep protection (if the offense absolutely needs a

huge play, send the backer deep also into cover 4). The

two rushers should still try to pressure the QB, but Deep

Protect is really designed to stop a long ball. Both cor-

ners shoudl gradually drift deeper as the play progresses

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Deep Protect

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Scream Lock is one of the most effective defenses there is

against a formation with an isolated receiver. The weak-

side corner (who has to be one of your best defenders)

plays lock-down man defense on the isolated receiver.

This allows the deep safety to shade over to the strong

side. The four man blitz should rush the QB into makinga bad pass. Two points: 1. the man-up corner should let

the defender go, if he breaks inside early, . the middle

backer has to keep an eye on the weak-side at in case

the coerner follows his man deep.

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Scream Lock

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MAN COVERAGE

MAN

Goal Zone is a goal-line defensive base formation that

give you a lot of options. As it is written, you can play

six-man across and make sure each guys is covering his

sixth of the eld. However, you may be better off playing

5 across and having the extra backer spy the QB or a re-

leasing lineman. Again, the rushers absolutely must forcethe QB inside, otherwise its just too easy to scramble in

for the score. If pressure has been working, you can have

the middle backer hesitate and then go in after the QB.

Goal Zone

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man

Crossing Patterns

SWITCH OVER/ UNDER

There are two common ways to handle crossing receiv-

ers if your team is playing man-to-man defense. The rst

is to have your defenders switch (one guy yells it out), as

soon as the receivers cross. This is a good idea, but takes

some practice. The other way is to stagger the defend-

ers. This way, the close defender can slip underneathon a cross and the other can cross over top. There is still

the danger of being picked using the over/under tech-

nique.

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BLITZES

BLITZ

Feel free to mix up the plays above with different bitzes.

Here are some tips:

(1) TIMING: If you are going to switch up who is com-

ing after the QB, make sure that you dont give him extra

time to identify the blitz by coming in slow. Nothing ruins

a blitz like being out of position on the snap. The same

thing goes for corners or the Middle Linebacker. Ideallythey are at a sprint as the ball is snapped. But watch the

ball!

() SHIFTING: A lot of these blitzes require a shift in de-

fenders to cover the holes. If you shift too early, you give

away the play, if you shift too late, you leave a hole open

for the QB. Its far better for the QB to see you move than

to leave an area exposed. Especially because most ag

football QBs are not good enough to pick that up. Getyour guys into position rst, worry about deceiving the

other team later. The blitzing timing is the most impor-

tant.

(3) FAKES: Just like in the NFL, if your other defenders

creep up like they are going to blitz and then pull back,

your other blitzes will be much more effective and youll

drive the blockers crazy.

4) JUMBO: If you have an enormous guy, consider puting

him at nose-tackle, right across from the center. On the

snap, see if you can knock the center over or push him

back. He may mstart mufng thesnap.

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