A Newbie's Guide to Defense

[Randy Carson]

Okay...this is a basic scheming question that I've been wondering about. Some of you more knowledgeable folks can help me.

The offense has five guys on the OL and the QB who is going to be in the backfield (under center or in shotgun). That leaves five guys to run, block or run pass routes, right?

The defense will usually play three or four down linemen, and it needs five or six guys to cover the receivers. So, that leaves one or possibly two defenders available for mayhem.

Why not blitz on every down attempting to put at least one defensive player in the backfield where the O automatically has one player (the QB)? Does the QB have such an advantage that the D needs even more people in coverage?

Didn't Tenuta run a blitz-heavy defense during his tenure? I just can't remember now how successful that was...

 

[4shotB]

Didn't Tenuta run a blitz-heavy defense during his tenure? I just can't remember now how successful that was...

IIRC, it was aalmost exactly like our O under CPJ....when it worked, it was a thing of great beauty. OTOH, if the other team had the infamous "blueprint" whether that be schemes or athletes or both, it was excruciatingly painful. Said another way, when the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

 

[BainbridgeJacket]

I personally am a fan of the rare times when a defense brings 3 pass rushers, but does it in a way that overloads 2 specific blockers and confuses everyone else so bad that they end up getting the sack anyways with 8 in coverage.

 

[iopjacket]

IIRC, it was aalmost exactly like our O under CPJ....when it worked, it was a thing of great beauty. OTOH, if the other team had the infamous "blueprint" whether that be schemes or athletes or both, it was excruciatingly painful. Said another way, when the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Often the "blueprint" was holding by the offensive line.

 

[ThatGuy]

Didn't Tenuta run a blitz-heavy defense during his tenure? I just can't remember now how successful that was...

Just to address this Q, I believe one commentator said that under Tenuta, our defense started blitzing when they got off the bus.

 

[UgaBlows]

IIRC, it was aalmost exactly like our O under CPJ....when it worked, it was a thing of great beauty. OTOH, if the other team had the infamous "blueprint" whether that be schemes or athletes or both, it was excruciatingly painful. Said another way, when the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

It didn’t always work but I loved it SO much

 

[SteamWhistle]

To Blitz you have to replace the blitzers man coverage responsibility or zone responsibility, doing so eliminates someone else from their responsibility and you replace their assignment in Coverage. Most zone blitzes involve eliminating areas from the zone coverage, and allowing the players who are assigned that area to rush the passer. those areas are based on down and distance and the offense personnel. For example if its 3rd and 15 you can blitz your OLBs who would normally have the flats as their zone, because if they throw into the flats the have to go 12-15 yards from there to make the first down. The reason teams don’t blitz more then 4 every single play is because even with a blitz of 5 there’s still a chance of a clean pocket if every OL wins a one on one. Even with a blitz of 6 it’s easy to have max protect with a TE/RB that’s pass eligible blocking instead of running a route if they expect a blitz. Also it’s a misconception that a blitz give you an advantage to stop the run, sometimes it can hurt you just as much as it would help if a team runs power or counter and the blitz comes from the wrong gap.

 

[jacketup]

Tenuta was lucky that the ACC had a lot of young QBs that couldn't read a defense. Then Matt Ryan came to town as a Senior (as I recall) and absolutely blistered Tenuta's D.

 

[YJMD]

If we define a base defense as 2 high safeties, rush 4 regardless of coverage scheme and front, essentially you are calling whatever defense that tries to ensure that you're accounting for your vulnerabilities. You've got extra guys to prevent you from getting burned over the top, you're keeping people in the middle to disrupt passing lanes, and you've got unblocked defenders trying to fill gaps in the running game. When you blitz, you have to give something away.

You could roll the safeties into the box and telegraph 1 on 1 for outside receivers. They could get free over the top, run a comeback, double move, or other good route to get separation. You could get a back-shoulder through on the sideline. At the very least you could throw a jump ball and expect the receiver to have a greater chance of making a play or drawing PI. If you try and contain more with a bigger cushion you're giving away free yards on a quick toss. We saw that plenty of times under CPJ's tenure, and when you have a stud like DT it can be deadly.

You can send the LBs and vacate the middle. You leave open space to throw the ball and wide open running lanes if someone makes it out of the backfield especially if you've got man coverage on the outside and the routes take the defenders far away from the play.

Heavy blitz schemes often use zone coverage in the back end like Tenuta. They try and ensure they don't get burned deep and to keep defenders with eyes toward the backfield so they can stop a QB scramble and keep RBs who make it to the second level from torching you. Of course, decent QBs have much more success throwing against the zone. If the blitz isn't creating negative plays, you are going to give up chunks of yards left and right.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

Tenuta was lucky that the ACC had a lot of young QBs that couldn't read a defense. Then Matt Ryan came to town as a Senior (as I recall) and absolutely blistered Tenuta's D.

Yeah, well, there are not many teams that can roll out a Matt Ryan calibre QB. His level of precision in those passes in 2007 was exceptional and not easily matched by other QBs just because they are Seniors.

 

[DeepSnap]

Tenuta was lucky that the ACC had a lot of young QBs that couldn't read a defense. Then Matt Ryan came to town as a Senior (as I recall) and absolutely blistered Tenuta's D.

And the BC O-Line & the complicit, inept ACC officials set a record for fewest holding calls.

 

[wreckrod]

Tenuta’s defense was similar to PJ’s offense in that the other team either showed up with tools necessary to defeat it, or they didn’t and got roasted. There usually wasn’t a whole lot of in between. The joke about Tenuta’s defense was ROCK! Cause that’s all he called in rock paper scissors.

 

[Randy Carson]

If we define a base defense as 2 high safeties, rush 4 regardless of coverage scheme and front, essentially you are calling whatever defense that tries to ensure that you're accounting for your vulnerabilities. You've got extra guys to prevent you from getting burned over the top, you're keeping people in the middle to disrupt passing lanes, and you've got unblocked defenders trying to fill gaps in the running game. When you blitz, you have to give something away.

You could roll the safeties into the box and telegraph 1 on 1 for outside receivers. They could get free over the top, run a comeback, double move, or other good route to get separation. You could get a back-shoulder through on the sideline. At the very least you could throw a jump ball and expect the receiver to have a greater chance of making a play or drawing PI. If you try and contain more with a bigger cushion you're giving away free yards on a quick toss. We saw that plenty of times under CPJ's tenure, and when you have a stud like DT it can be deadly.

You can send the LBs and vacate the middle. You leave open space to throw the ball and wide open running lanes if someone makes it out of the backfield especially if you've got man coverage on the outside and the routes take the defenders far away from the play.

Heavy blitz schemes often use zone coverage in the back end like Tenuta. They try and ensure they don't get burned deep and to keep defenders with eyes toward the backfield so they can stop a QB scramble and keep RBs who make it to the second level from torching you. Of course, decent QBs have much more success throwing against the zone. If the blitz isn't creating negative plays, you are going to give up chunks of yards left and right.

Okay, I'm kinda with you, but what I'm still not getting I guess is the idea that the O is going to have six guys on their side of the line of scrimmage. So, why wouldn't the D match that by trying to put six on that side, also, via a pass rush & blitz?

Is it that a good QB can slice up the D even though the O is basically playing 5 on 6 (or 7) on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage???

 

[TromboneJacket]

I think that, like many other things, it depends on the situation. In obvious passing situations, sometimes only 3 or 4 players rush the passer because the conditions for victory at the line differ between offense and defense. For the offense, the entire line needs to protect the QB and win continuously until the QB has a chance to pass the ball. On defense, the pass rush just needs to have one person get into the backfield before the coverage fails. If a team has strong pass rushers who don’t need help getting to the QB but the secondary leaves something to be desired, then it makes sense to dedicate the extra manpower to coverage. If, on the other hand, the DBs are exceptional and can cover for a long time without help but the pass rush is pedestrian at best, then it would be wise to trust the secondary in coverage while allocating more players to the pass rush.

 

[YJMD]

Okay, I'm kinda with you, but what I'm still not getting I guess is the idea that the O is going to have six guys on their side of the line of scrimmage. So, why wouldn't the D match that by trying to put six on that side, also, via a pass rush & blitz?

Is it that a good QB can slice up the D even though the O is basically playing 5 on 6 (or 7) on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage???

The receivers and QB know what they're supposed to do before the snap and the defense doesn't.

 

[Randy Carson]

I think that, like many other things, it depends on the situation. In obvious passing situations, sometimes only 3 or 4 players rush the passer because the conditions for victory at the line differ between offense and defense. For the offense, the entire line needs to protect the QB and win continuously until the QB has a chance to pass the ball. On defense, the pass rush just needs to have one person get into the backfield before the coverage fails. If a team has strong pass rushers who don’t need help getting to the QB but the secondary leaves something to be desired, then it makes sense to dedicate the extra manpower to coverage. If, on the other hand, the DBs are exceptional and can cover for a long time without help but the pass rush is pedestrian at best, then it would be wise to trust the secondary in coverage while allocating more players to the pass rush.

Aha. So, if you have lock-down DB's. you can send an extra man. If not, you have to drop back into coverage and send the bare minimum. And if you have a monster pass-rusher or two, you can afford to keep someone back and still get good pressure.

But if you don't have either...well, a good QB is going to have a SportsCenter highlight day.

 

[Randy Carson]

The receivers and QB know what they're supposed to do before the snap and the defense doesn't.

That's what I've always thought. So, they're getting to the spot a step or two ahead of the defender, and that's not good if the QB has time and can deliver

 

[Josh H]

Yeah, well, there are not many teams that can roll out a Matt Ryan calibre QB. His level of precision in those passes in 2007 was exceptional and not easily matched by other QBs just because they are Seniors.

Boston College 24-10 Georgia Tech (Sep 15, 2007) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Boston College Eagles vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets NCAAF game, final score 24-10, from September 15, 2007 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

24 points. The bigger issue in that game was the O being held scoreless until the game was out of hand. If the worst knock against Tenuta's D is that an NFL hall of fame QB carved it up, sign me back up. Of course, the game of college football changed with the RPO in the subsequent years which really reduced the effectiveness of the zone blitz and defenders with run and pass responsibilities.

To address the OP...the offense always has the advantage in that they know what play they are calling and the routes they are running. So, it only takes one defensive player to make a mistake to give up a big play. That could be a coverage mistake, a gap fill mistake, or just a missed tackle. Hence, you typically have one or two players (the safeties usually) playing deeper zones both to provide coverage on the deep shot, but also to rally to the football. Also, it's hard to cover a receiver in man-to-man. I never played defense, but I did play Ultimate Frisbee, and the offense always has the advantage there. Consider many receivers have a height advantage and yeah, you sometimes need double coverage on the best receiver especially for deep throws.

FYI: This is one of the original allures to the 3-4 defense. In a 4-3, you generally know the offense is rushing 4 and which 4 they are rushing. In a 3-4, you know they are bringing at least one extra, but it's not always the same one.

 

[Randy Carson]

Boston College 24-10 Georgia Tech (Sep 15, 2007) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Boston College Eagles vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets NCAAF game, final score 24-10, from September 15, 2007 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

24 points. The bigger issue in that game was the O being held scoreless until the game was out of hand. If the worst knock against Tenuta's D is that an NFL hall of fame QB carved it up, sign me back up. Of course, the game of college football changed with the RPO in the subsequent years which really reduced the effectiveness of the zone blitz and defenders with run and pass responsibilities.

To address the OP...the offense always has the advantage in that they know what play they are calling and the routes they are running. So, it only takes one defensive player to make a mistake to give up a big play. That could be a coverage mistake, a gap fill mistake, or just a missed tackle. Hence, you typically have one or two players (the safeties usually) playing deeper zones both to provide coverage on the deep shot, but also to rally to the football. Also, it's hard to cover a receiver in man-to-man. I never played defense, but I did play Ultimate Frisbee, and the offense always has the advantage there. Consider many receivers have a height advantage and yeah, you sometimes need double coverage on the best receiver especially for deep throws.

FYI: This is one of the original allures to the 3-4 defense. In a 4-3, you generally know the offense is rushing 4 and which 4 they are rushing. In a 3-4, you know they are bringing at least one extra, but it's not always the same one.

Well, said. I would have written something similar had I been asked to answer my own question (except the part about Ultimate ).

So, if the D rushes 4 (or 5) then the extra man or two in the secondary is the equalizer (hopefully) given that the receivers know where they are going.

Now, what drives me crazy is watching a THREE man rush get carved up. Give a QB all day to find an open receiver, he will.

 

[ThatGuy]

Side note - I love this thread.

Thanks for posing the Q, @Randy Carson - and for the interesting discussion, @TromboneJacket, @SteamWhistle and others. I was never an X's and O's guy, and am learning a lot from the different responses to this post.