Thursday, December 19, 2013

Questions and Answers: Responding to the offensive problems teams present

As I have written before, football is undoubtedly an offensive game right now. Wide-open offenses expose poor tacklers and pass defenders. They pose questions that defenses must answer; questions including, reading, isolating, and double-teaming defenders and forcing them to be wrong. We want to flip this on its head and make offenses answer how they will block or defend against our defenses. The simplest way to do this is simply put an extra player where the offense wants to attack. We want to cloud reads and place extra players where the offense wants to go. Again, we want to make the offense have to answer how to block us or attack our coverages.

So when we game plan, we want to think about what a team likes to do and give our players leverage and numbers. And we want to have answers in our base playbook that aren't crazy gambles. This gives us a chance to stay coverage sound and not have to bring several extra men.We do have those options, but we want to look at these first.

I want to start this series with a two-back team. The reason I used a two-back team is because these types of teams can gives us trouble schematically. Our defense is undoubtedly designed to stop teams that spread out. Conversely, we are most at risk with teams that like to pound the ball up the middle. Our A gaps are exposed, and if our nose, mike and will don't work together well, then isolation all day will hurt us.

At the risk of being generic, our defense is a 3-4 two-gap team, relying quite a bit on Cover 3. We also run fire zones, which are by nature Cover 3, so 3 is big for us. If we can't run that, we are not going to be successful as a defense. We like those against spread teams.

If want to see our base scheme, I wrote a post on that here. The terminology has changed a little, but this is what we run.

As I side before, our weakness is the A gaps. We need to have a big stud at the nose guard position to really make this scheme work. When we don't have that (and who does?) we need to get more creative. We see a lot of isolation and a lot of power. In fact, the team that won our league made a living all year off isolation, when many of the other teams in our league are spreading it out.

For clarity's sake, let's say that we are operating against Power and Isolation. Diagrams below.


Let's say this how we all run Power, ok?

And Isolation!
Here are our easy solutions to these plays.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Wyoming's packaged plays: Nike COY clinic

It's the offseason, so that means one thing for any self-respecting coach: clinics. I spent March 1st and 2nd in Portland at the Nike Coach of the Year clinic. This is the largest clinic on the West Coast and quite frankly the only option for West Coast coaches. This is my third year at this clinic and this year was the best by far. Some great talks with some great coaches, both at the college and high school level, and I learned a ton. As such, I thought I would write about each session here. I will start with a presentation by Wyoming HC Dave Christensen and do another one every few days or so.

Going into this presentation, I was excited. Not for the topic, which was "Wyoming Offense", but because coach Christensen had well-publicized breakdown against Air Force last season, and I was curious to see what kind of person he is. Wyoming is certainly not known as a juggernaut, but has snagged a couple of bowl wins over the last few years and is an up and coming program.

You like packaged plays, flyboy?

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Setting "fire" to offenses

Football at all levels, whether high school, college, or professional, is driven by offense. We are seeing the game evolve to more wide open offenses. Defense is reeling. In the NFL, successful head coaches are being fired because their offenses struggled, even if their defenses, and teams, were quite successful. Teams are turning to hotshot college coaches like Chip Kelly and even CFL coaches like Marc Trestman because of their offensive expertise.

What's a defensive coach to do?

Part of it must be a change in mentality. The defense needs to dictate what the offense will do, and change those looks frequently. It needs to confuse offensive linemen and quarterbacks, and be unpredictable. It must affect the quarterback while remaining sound in coverage.

Sounds like a lot, and it is. However, we feel we have a great way to do those things with a concept called fire zones. Fire zones are not new to the game, but they are underutilized, in my opinion, and not as creative as they could be.

Perhaps the man most noted for this concept is Manny Diaz, the defensive coordinator for the Texas Longhorns. Diaz came under fire this year for a lackluster Texas defense, but this season was an aberration. Diaz had stops as a defensive coordinator at Mississippi State and Middle Tennessee State before arriving at Texas, and is considered one of the top up-and-coming defensive minds in the game. Manny likes to use different fronts and stand up different guys for maximum confusion, and the rules are sound.

Brophy Football explains in detail Manny Diaz's philosophy. It is somewhat long, so get to it when you have time.

Why Fire Zones?

A fire zone, by definition, is a three deep, three underneath zone that blitzes five defenders. The five blitzers are limited only by your imagination.

We like to run fire zones out of a 3-4 alignment with a Cover 2 shell. For us it is a Cover 2 shell with a 3-4 alignment, but you can run it out the 4-3, Stack, 4-2-5 or even Bear fronts. Joe Daniel of football-defense.com does a great job of explaining fire zones out of the 4-3. We like these out of a 3-4 because they give our linemen better angles to blitz and contain rush.

There are two benefits to fire zones. One, it reduces how much thinking a defender has to do, because the presnap read gives him his postsnap response. Two, it confuses the read of the offensive linemen and the quarterback. Let me explain.

The three-deep defenders should respond the same way every time. Run or pass, drop to your deep zone until you are absolutely certain it is a run, and then rally to the ball. There is always Cover 3 over the top. We should never ever get beat deep on a fire zone. Fire zones are quite safe. We can get burned by play action, but there should never a huge gash play if our defenders execute their assignment.

Typically, in any given defensive scheme, defenders must read their keys.Keys are indicators that a play is either a run or pass and where it is going. The linebackers first key is the guard across from them. If the guard comes low and hard, the linebacker knows the play is a run. If the guard comes out high and sets back, he knows the play is a pass. As far as other positions go, defensive linemen key the offensive lineman across from them, safeties key the offensive tackles, and corners key the receiver in front of them, typically. But in fire zones, players don't have to read their usual keys; their response postsnap is determined by their presnap read.

Presnap dictates postsnap

Let's start with the three underneath defenders, those assigned to Hot 2 and Hot 3. Presnap, the defender needs to assess whether his designated man is a run or pass threat, and that will determine his postsnap response. The defender's man is determined by counting, starting from his left, the skill players. Hot 2 is looking for the #2 player on his side to determine his response, while Hot 3 is looking for the #3 player on his side. See the diagrams below for examples.

The defender must asses whether his defender is run threat or pass threat. A pass threat is defined as anyone in a two-point stance that is not in the backfield. So this includes wide receivers, flexed tight ends, etc. A run threat is defined as anyone in a three-point stance or in the backfield, so tight ends and running backs, essentially.

If the underneath defender's man is a pass threat, the defender backpedals to his landmark regardless of what the offense does. The Hot 2 to the boundary will back pedal 5-8 yards to the boundary hash. The Hot 2 to the field will back pedal the same distance to the field hash, and the Hot 3 will back pedal 5-8 yards to roughly the middle of the field. This is to take away any hot slants over the middle. If the quarterback continues to hold the ball, the linebackers will continue to drop to 8-12 yards and break on any ball thrown.

If the defender's man is a run threat, his response changes. Now he is primarily a run player. On the snap of the ball, he does not drop to his landmark. He stays at his presnap alignment, watching the backfield. If the quarterback hands off, he attacks the line of scrimmage. The Hot 2 player attempts to keep the runner inside his outside shoulder, pushing him back to the Hot 3 player. The Hot 3 player attempts to push the runner to the runside Hot 2 player, working inside-out. They want to work together to keep the back pinned in. If the quarterback drops to pass, then both Hot 2 and 3 players work to reach their landmark.

Fire zone responses

This shows what a fire zone spread response would be. Notice, the fire zone here is field scrape, but the rules are the same for every Hot 2 and Hot 3 defender. The linemen on both sides have been removed for clarity, as well as the two corners and a safety.



As you can see, the Hot 2 defenders are matched up with pass threats, so they must drop regardless. The Hot 3 defender will watch the backfield and attack if it is run. If it is a pass, he drops.

Because defenders do not need to "read" in the typical way, it allows players to react quicker, play fast and run quickly to the ball.

How to blitz

It's important to note as well that a fire zone does not necessarily account for every gap, but it does account for open spaces. If the gap is jammed up with offensive linemen, why try to force a player through that gap? The running back is looking for open space; if we insert our defenders in those spaces, then we should be in great position to make a play.  If the guard turns to the stud, then the stud works across his face. If the guard turns away, then the stud goes right off his butt, straight to the ball carrier or quarterback.

Notice, the guard turns toward the end and nose guard, and they work to fight across his face, to grass.

Notice, the guard turns away from the end and nose guard, and they cut right off his butt.

These blitzes most certainly needs repetitions in practice. If the pressure does not get home a good amount of time, there are holes in the coverage. So rep this again and again to make sure you covering all  the open grass.

Examples

Our favorite fire zone is field scrape. We try to put our best defenders to the wide side of the field, because that is where the most space is. What is the offense's goal? Put its best players in space. As a defense, we want our best players defending the most space. However, you can run this to the boundary, to the running back, to the tight end.

Now, you can run fire zones out of a variety of fronts. For us it is a Cover 2 shell with a 3-4 alignment, but you can run it out the 4-3, Stack, 4-2-5 or even Bear fronts. Primarily, despite our Cover 2 shell, we are a Cover 3 team, usually dropping down one of the safeties for Hot 2 responsibility. Our Sam, on the field side, is better at coverage than our Liz, so we take that into consideration when calling these fire zones.

This is field scrape, meaning we run this from the field side. Note that our End is on a contain rush, working upfield and outside all the action.

Field Scrape


The counterpart to Scrape is Mix. You run it almost exactly the same way, but with the Mike and Stud switching responsibility. This confuses the offensive linemen and it doesn't take much work from your players.

Field Mix

We also like the fire zone Gut. This gives us great vertical pressure while remaining sound in coverage. It does give us two players on contain rushes that are slower, but if they can force any action back inside, we should be fine.

Mike goes first, Will goes second


These are a few examples of fire zones that we like; however, get creative. You can really bring or drop any defenders. You could bring a safety on a blitz, or drop a lineman into coverage. It really is up to you, you just have to plug in the rules and go!

Now, fire zones are not without limits. Quick hitches, screens, any passes to the sideline can hurt this defense. If your blitz doesn't get there, you can be exposed in coverage. and if you run away from the blitz, your players have to sound.  But that's why you rep this constantly, and it can be repped in groups or even individual time, without taking away team time. It really is a solid scheme!

Next week I will take a look at how fire zones can stop different zone read and option attacks, specifically what the 49ers are doing in the NFL. The rules are likeable and learnable and can stop attacks in their tracks. If you have any questions are comments, feel free to leave one or follow me on Twitter @Coach_JPhillips. God bless and have a great day!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Briefly discussing gaps, techniques and other terminology

Coaches: these are basic terms that most of you will already know. However, it is a good refresher. If you are not a coach, this post is perfect for you. It will greatly help you understand what a defense is trying to accomplish in a football game.

This post will seek to lay the groundwork for everything I will discuss in future defensive and offensive posts. In defensive line and linebacker play, gaps and techniques are crucial to understand. Let's get started.

Gaps

Gaps is a way to create a sound and effective defense. It gives a letter to each gap between each offensive linemen, starting with A and moving up the alphabet, stopping at D. Running backs can't run through their own linemen, so if each defensive player is in the proper gap, then the runner has nowhere to go. Every defense, in one way or another, will have a defender accounting for every gap on the field.

As a brief explanation, in a one-gap defense, the defender will have only one gap he is responsible for. In a two-gap scheme, a defensive lineman will have a two-gap responsibility. As a general rule, a one-gap defense is more an attacking, get-up-the-field kind of defense, while a two-gap wants to contain the offensive linemen and free up linebackers to make plays. The technique is different for a one-gap and two-gap linement and I will discuss that in a future post. Here will tell a bit about the origination of the 3-4 one-gap and two-gap defenses.

Now, this is a generalization, and several defenses combine both one and two-gap principles to keep offenses off guard. In a future post, I will look at how certain college defenses combine elements of these schemes.

That said, let's look at what the gaps principle looks like on the field.

With the tight end on the left side, this current formation is strong left. Strength just indicates how a defense should line up, and specifies gaps even further. The strong B gap is the left B gap, and the weak B gap is the right B gap. The tight end were on the left, it would be the opposite. In a one-gap defense, a defensive tackle lined up on the offensive tackle would have the C gap, whereas in a two-gap defense, a tackle might have the C and B gap.

The gaps principle is also very helpful in describing who should blitz and where exactly they are blitzing. Defense coordinators will use simple and easy terminology to describe this. For example, a coordinator might call a Mike Attack, which would mean the middle, or Mike, linebacker is blitzing into the strongside A gap. And that can be made for any gap, with names like Blast, Clash, Dog. And if the call is tagged with weak, the blitz goes to the weakside, or away from the tight end. In our above diagram, a Weak Will Blast means the weakside, or Will, linebacker is going into the right B gap.

Now, just to sum up: In a one-gap defense, a defensive tackle lined up on the offensive tackle would have the C gap, whereas in a two-gap defense, a tackle would have the C and B gap. These are two different types of defenses, and it is important to understand the distinction.

Now that we are all clear on gaps, let's look at how a defense will line up and how the players know where to line up.

Techniques


This refers to how a defensive lineman lines up, but also to his assignment, meaning how he is supposed to play. It is excellent because a linemen knows how to line up and how to place his hands on the blocker without any further instruction. If a player is lined up in the middle of the opposing player, or head up, he should place his hands in the center of his chest. If he is lined up to the inside of the player, his hands go on the inside part of his chest and his inside shoulder. If lined up on the outside of the blocker, his hands go on the outside part of the chest and the outside shoulder. Once we have taught our players about techniques, we can simply say, "Get in a two," and they know exactly how to play and where to line up. For us, a 2 is head up on the guard with his hands in the center of the blocker's chest.

However, confusion can surround what the definition of technique is, and how to describe. There are two main types of techniques, the first of which we will call the old style of technique, and the second the new style of technique. We will look at both of these, as well as application of this in TV analysis.

Old techniques


Much like gaps, technique is always in relation to the center. Using numbers, it goes from 1-9, going up the further out a player gets from the center.

You will notice the inside shade of a tackle is called a 4i, or a 4 inside. You will also notice that a 6 technique doesn't exist in the old version of techniques. Why? I have never heard a clear explanation. It just doesn't.

When you hear a technique referred to on TV, it typically will refer to the old style of techniques, with a 4 technique being headup and 5 being on the outside of the tackle. Analysts will also refer to the ubiquitious 3 technique, which simply refers to a defensive tackle being lined up in an outside shade on the guard.

New techniques


This set of techniques logically makes much more sense. It goes one through nine all the way out, without the 4i and neglecting 6.
This is what we use at Thurston HS. It makes the most sense in our students heads, without the random 4i and no 6 technique. As always, we want to simplify and make things easy.

Now, both of these techniques are describing the same thing, just with different terms. A 4 in the old set of techniques is the same as a 5 in the new set of techniques. The numbers are just different, but one plays the position the same.

Putting the "Wide 9" to rest


Last year, many NFL analysts batted around a term called Wide 9, often associated with the Philadelphia Eagles. This was treated like some fancy new scheme that would put a ton of pressure on the quarterback without given up anything in the run game. Well, that wasn't true. The defensive end lines up outside the tight end in a 9 technique, and he lines up out there whether a tight end is there or not. This gives a defensive end a great angle to the quarterback and allows him to use his speed on a slower offensive tackle. Now, this technique, when used every down, has drawbacks; the defensive ends essentially remove themselves from inside runs just based on their alignment. It's just too far out for the ends to get to the ball carrier before he hits the second level of linebackers. The Eagles were gashed on runs because of this alignment (and a poor linebacking corps) so it didn't last long. So that's what a wide 9 is, and again, not as complicated as analysts will make it seem.

 Final Thoughts

Gaps and techniques are vital to creating an effective defense and understanding these concepts is crucial for any coach. This is not anything revolutionary or difficult to understand, but every position group needs to get this terminology to run any defense.

Questions? Leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter at Coach_JPhillips. Have a great day and God bless!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

When your strength is weak(side)

Coaches are constantly searching for ways to maximize the abilities of their players. Football players, being humans, are not perfect. Each individual has strengths and weaknesses. A sign of good coach is utilizing strengths while minimizing weaknesses.

Let's look at the way a successful FCS team, the Montana Grizzlies, does this. Montana, while little known nationally, have an excellent program out in the country. The Grizzlies made it to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs this year before losing to Sam Houston State. They have benefit from having several FBS transfers over the years, including former Washington tight end Kavario Middleton and former Oregon quarterback Justin Roper.

Montana also has a lot of connections to Eugene and the University of Oregon. Starting QB Jordan Johnson went to Sheldon HS, which is a three-minute walk from where I live. (Former) head coach Robin Pflugrad coached wide receivers at the University of Oregon before accepting the head job at Montana, and his son Aaron Pflugrad played for the Ducks before transferring to Arizona State.

Anyway, with that context, let's look at this unique formation and how the Grizzlies block it.

The formation

I call this Ace Wing, with the Y on the line and an H slightly off, in the wing position. It is a formation that says "run" and that is what they want to do. I studied Northern Iowa vs. Montana, and this how Northern Iowa lines up to it.

Northern Iowa has to honor the double tight strength, so they bring up the corner just outside the wing. It seems they want to keep two high safeties, perhaps out of respect for the passing game. They move the Will linebacker out to the Z, most and stack the linebackers in 20s across the guards. The rover has to creep up five yards closer than the free safety to protect the gaping C gap, which gives the H and Y excellent angles to attack their defenders.

The Play

This play is not anything revolutionary. It is a basic inside zone read option, going away from the strength, or the H and Y. But the players, and a slight tweak in scheme, make it work.

The Grizzlies' QB, Jordan Johnson, makes all the right reads. He is a typical gym rat, a guy who is not spectacularly fast, doesn't have a cannon for an arm, and isn't very tall. But he makes excellent reads, is an accurate passer, and runs the offense well. He has good vision as a ball carrier

Now, Montana has three backs it likes to rotate in Dan Moore, Jordan Canada and Peter Nguyen. All three run this play out of this formation.

And we can't overlook the offensive linemen. Tackle Jon Opperud was named Big Sky 1st team all-conference, and center Stephen Sabin and tackle Charles Burton were named honorable mention. Their ability to climb to the linebackers frees up the feature backs

The H, ##85 Greg Hardy, was first team all-conference, but I was never impressed with his blocking ability, and we will see that come into play later.

 Read key is circled
Notice the fold blocking scheme here between the H and Y. The Y goes first, followed by the H. As a result, they both have great angles on players they should overwhelm with their size and athleticism. And Montana is still able to climb to the Mike and Sam with its offensive linemen. The only disadvantage here is the Z needs to dive in on the Will, despite giving up some size.

Here's a result of this formation and play in action, with Nguyen in particular being the beneficiary. Fast forward to 1:22.


Now if you watch it closely, you notice Hardy never gets a block. He gives a half-hearted effort, and finally, when he sees the run could be big, he goes about 3/4 speed, never really getting a block. This makes me think the H and Y are less than stellar blockers.

Why line up this way? To maximize abilities

It's possible defenses haven't found a good way to line up to it, and the Grizzlies defeat teams simply by alignment. But here's what's more likely: Their tight ends, otherwise known as H and Y in the diagram, can't block. Kavario Middleton, #85, is a highly touted transfer from Washington and an athletic nightmare for linebackers and safeties. The Grizzlies will sometimes split Middleton out wide and throw the slant, where he can use his body. Check it out here

However, his blocking was suspect for the Huskies. But the H and Y seem to be decent athletes, and certainly have an advantage over corners and safeties. They don't have to block a linebacker or defensive lineman, which they may struggle with. It all goes back to putting your athletes in the best position to succeed. This fold scheme does that best.

Keeping with the constraint theory of football, the Grizzlies have several different changeups from this formation to keep defenses honest. They run what West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen would call his "Quick Game" (h/t Bruce Feldman), a tap of the ball into the hands of a receiver running full speed across the formation.You can read more about that on the link, and watch Montana run it here.

They run play action off it.

They also run a sweet flea flicker here against Central Arkansas for a touchdown.

This is all off this Ace Wing formation. This is a critical element of Montana's offense and it is fun to study.

You can watch the entire clips below. These are fan videos, but they have the wide angle that often you can't find on YouTube.

Here are clips from the Northern Iowa game.





And here is the game against Central Arkansas.



Now, this isn't reinventing the wheel here. Other teams have probably done something similar. But Montana is tailoring its offense to its talent, something every team should do.

Follow me on twitter at Coach_JPhillips for more insights. God bless and have a great day!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Change is inevitable

Welcome to Bring the Blitz.

Let me introduce myself. I coach football at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon at the freshman level, entering my second season at Thurston. I have also coached for one year at Centennial High School, in Gresham, OR.

I started this blog partially to work through my own coaching philosophy and partially to force myself to study. I intend to post at least once a week about what I am learning and what our team is experiencing during the season. So here goes nothing!

At THS, we recently changed defensive coordinators, and with that, defensive schemes. Our old defensive coordinator, Bill Smith, coached at Thurston for 40-plus years, and his defense has always been the Bear, or 46 defense. Now, the Bear is excellent against two-back and even pro-style teams, but we found ourselves getting carved up by teams in our league that spread the field, whether it was option-read concepts or quick passing plays.

Our new coordinator, Dietrich Moore, who has coached at Marist and South Eugene HS previously, as well as playing at the University of Oregon, wanted a defense that would better defend teams that spread the field. And we think we have found it in a defense with 3-4 spacing and two-gap principles, called Ohio. We picked this up from a coaching clinic at the University of Oregon, and it was so convincing that we decided to change our original plan. And Dietrich, being a former player, can ask Nick Aliotti for advice at any time. Pretty nice to have that kind of advice available!

OHIO


We call our base package Ohio, for really no reason other than that was what Dietrich came up with. We are excited about the potential of this defense because of how much emphasis it places on the perimeter. And the key to this defense is the defensive linemen.

When a defensive lineman two-gaps, they are responsible for both gaps on either side of the lineman they line up on. It is a difficult concept to teach when your team has been in the Bear for many years. Just the instruction on two-gapping itself merits another blog post. I fear it will be difficult for us this season to break our old habits, but we will see. You will also notice, when we reference 3-4, that means we have three defensive linemen and four linebackers, for those not familiar with this kind of terminology.

Here is what Ohio looks like, complete with two-gapping defensive linemen.



This defense has another benefit that you may notice. We line up according what side of the field we are on. The Sam is always to the wide side of the field, or field, and the Liz is always to the short side of the field, or boundary. And every player lines up either to the field or boundary (except the nose). This creates balance, five players on both side of the field, and minimal adjustments. You will never see one of our players running across the formation to stick with motion, which Dietrich wanted to avoid. Let's a take a look at what our run fits look like.

Run fits


Some teams are spill teams, meaning they try to clog the middle and spill everything to the outside. We are not. We use our Sam and Liz as force players, meaning they want to set the edge and allow nothing outside of them. They must force all the action inside. The linemen are two-gapping, which means striking their man hard, separating, and looking for the ball.

Let's look here a simple stretch or outside zone to the boundary. You will notice the Liz setting the edge, allowing no one outside of him. The Will is looking for the C gap. Both the Mike and Will are C gap players. They try to overlap with the two-gapping defensive lineman. The Mike is taking two shuffle steps before finding the ball. If he is unsure, he finds the B gap. The End is striking his tackle hard with leverage and power, pushing him back. The Nose is fighting across the center and not getting reached. The Stud here is fighting across the tackle and not allowing him to cross his face, thus negating the tackle's down block.

Notice here that the free safety must be involved. Once he is sure the play is a run, he is filling the backside C gap. The corners and rover, once run has been established, are flying to the ball.



Now based on the run fits, the weakness is the A gaps. Blast, iso, other runs that attack up the middle can have success against this defense. I will discuss the ways to defend these types of runs at a later date.

ESPN's film room has a nice breakdown.




Check it out starting at the 3:00 minute mark.

You will notice the Trevor Matich has picked up what the Ducks (and now Thurston Colts) want to do: force action into the C gap, where there are at least three players in the very near vicinity, with many more rallying to the ball.On the backside, the free safety must fill the backside C gap, as shown in the run fits drawing.

Coverages


As far as coverages go, our varsity will play what we call Autozone, which is another gem we picked up from the Ducks. The way we play this is simple. If a team lines up in any kind of 3x1 formation, the secondary is automatically in Cover 3. (3x1 means three receivers on one side of the formation and one on the other.) If they come out in 2x2, automatically Cover 4. If a team starts in 3x1 but motions to 2x2, it is an automatic check to Cover 4. If they start in 2x2 but motion to 3x1, then check to Cover 3. Pretty easy. There are also several ways to play Cover 4, which I admit I do not fully understand at this point. I do know it often looks like different coverages but all works out to Cover 4. If the offense motions to empty, that will be a check we make based on offensive tendencies during the season.

So that's our base package. We have a few different pressures (pressures, not blitzes) in Ohio, and we also utilize fire zones, something I will explain in more detail in a future post. We also will continue to work the Bear front against two-back teams and for goal-line defense.

Follow me on Twitter at Coach_JPhillips and check back to this blog for future posts. Make sure you leave a comment if you are unsure what something means, or have any questions. God bless, have a great day!