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Improve Your Pass Defense by Stealing the QB's Time - Defensive backs can adjust their coverage with pre-snap quarterback reads.by: Rey HernandezRetired High School and College Coach © More from this issue The no-huddle spread offense as it is played today has certainly revolutionized the game. Creating mismatches, getting the ball into the hands of your playmakers, spreading the field and forcing the defense to play in space are three of the primary goals associated with this offensive scheme. Proper execution coupled with accurate quarterback reads is one way for a spread offense to gain a schematic twelfth man advantage in the passing game. Taking the snap from the shotgun position has been instrumental in creating better downfield vision for the quarterback. This has operated to improve not only the quarterback’s ability to make better reads, but it has also given quarterbacks more time to make these critical decisions. The key to eliminating this schematic 12th man advantage from a pass defense standpoint centers on what is perhaps the most important commodity in the game. Very early in my coaching career I once had a coach tell me that you should never let the quarterback steal your time. He made it very clear that effective pass defense was predicated on the defense’s ability to steal the quarterback’s time. One thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the fact that success in the passing game is predicated on giving the quarterback enough time to take a snap from under center or from the shotgun position and set himself to make the throw. While the quarterback is executing this fundamental skill he must also identify the coverage, make his reads and then throw to the correct receiver. Of all the challenges that a quarterback has, throwing the ball to the correct receiver is the most important one of all. A basic starting point in the quarterback’s pass execution progression is identifying the coverage. This pre-snap read usually begins with safety identification. A single high safety look identifies some type of cover 1 or cover 3 coverage and a twin safety look identifies some type of cover 2 or cover 4 coverage. Once the coverage is identified, the offense will execute route combinations that are most effective against the coverage. The offense, of course, has the option of selecting plays from either their quick passing game package or plays that will require longer pass protection schemes in order to give the quarterback sufficient time to identify the correct receiver. Complicating the quarterback’s pre-snap reads by utilizing some pre-snap movement in the secondary is important but it is equally important for the defense to complicate his post-snap reads as well. Complicating the quarterback’s post-snap reads with player specific technique adjustments provides the defense with an excellent opportunity to steal the quarterback’s time. A defense is able to steal the quarterback’s time by causing him to hold the ball longer than the time allotted by the protection scheme employed. Conversely when a quarterback is able to stand in the pocket longer than the allotted protection scheme permits without being pressured or sacked, he is effectively stealing the defense’s time. Technique variation in defensive backfield play does not appear to be keeping up with the evolution of the passing game in the spread offense. It is not uncommon to see a team employing the same techniques down after down in both zone and man coverage. This of course will simplify post-snap reads for both the quarterback and the receivers and, in turn, will result in quicker route adjustments once the offense identifies the coverage that is being employed. Diagram 1 shows a base double-double set with a gap-control reduction front on the defensive side. A look at the coverage options indicates that there are a number of defensive calls that can be employed out of this pre-snap look. Which calls are best will be determined by down and distance considerations, clock management, the weak side tackle’s ability to pass block the weakside linebacker (WB) on force calls and, most importantly, the quarterback’s ability to run the ball. Diagram 1: ¼ ¼ PRE-SNAP LOOK WITH A REDUCTION FRONT Diagram 2 shows a double-double set with a nickel look. The FLIP linebacker is out of the box and takes the WB completely out of coverage. The presence of the nickel FL permits the secondary to play a base cover 2 across the board, if so desired. This was one of our more successful calls in clock management situations where the offense had to pass the ball. We did however use it on a down to down basis in situations where the opponent was unable to run the ball notwithstanding the fact that the offense outnumbered us in the box. In these situations, we could play the strong side defensive end in a 5 or 7 technique depending on what type of pressure we wanted to use off the edge. Diagram 2: ¼ ¼ Pre-Snap Nickel Look with a Reduced Front
If the slot reads cover 2, he will go over the top of the strong inside linebacker and search the hole. It is important to remind the safety that in cover 3 the quarterback will attempt to look him off and then throw to the other slot. Against this horizontal stretch the safety must not make the receiver selection decision for the quarterback. He should split the difference between the two receivers and steal the quarterback’s time. Should the underneath defenders succeed in walling off the slots the quarterback will then throw the ball outside to one of the perimeter comeback routes. Diversification in man and zone techniques will require the offense to make additional reads and decisions beyond the basic preliminary ones discussed already. If a defensive back only plays one basic man technique, then this technique becomes easily identifiable to both the quarterback and the receivers. The same can be said about playing only one basic zone technique. Providing the secondary some options in this regard will further complicate the quarterback’s read progressions as well as the receiver’s route adjustments. This was all part of the cat and mouse game we resorted to in an effort to steal the quarterback’s time. I preferred to have the corners start the bailout with slight outside leverage but once the receiver came off the line, the corner would bail while at the same time drifting back to an inside leverage position. This allowed the corner to get a jump on any inside breaking route. Although the receiver can observe this slight change in leverage, the quarterback is unable to see this adjustment from the pocket. Once again it helped us steal the quarterback’s time. The other reason we played this technique is that it complemented our bailout man. Whenever our corners were playing bailout man, and the receivers were not diminishing the corner’s cushion, we instructed the corners to level off to a traditional backpedal so that they would be better able to react to inside or outside breaking patterns. After the jam, the corners would direct their vision to the quarterback to read run or pass. If a run play developed, they were in an excellent position to disengage the receiver and tend to their run support responsibility. On a pass read the pressed corner would execute a zone turn and get depth in the flat. It is important to note here that any wide upfield release where the receiver was obviously trying to avoid the corner would trigger an immediate zone turn. The corner in this type of coverage knows that he has a 2-deep safety playing over the top and he need not worry about any deep throw. One basic rule is that the corner should always squeeze the intermediate route first when a vertical stretch has been placed on him. The goal is always to steal the quarterback’s time. The corner must once again not make the receiver selection decision for the quarterback. Because we want to better defend the quick fade and the quick slant the corners are taught to steal both of these routes. Whenever the tackle box keys and the immediate release of the receiver indicates that either route is developing, the corner will transition to a match-up zone technique and jump the route. The cover 2 safety behind the corner allows the defense to play this aggressive corner technique. This, however, is an administrative matter that cannot be controlled by defensive coaches. What coaches on the defensive side of the ball can do is find ways to slow these offenses down and one way to do this is by stealing the quarterback’s time. Offensive coaches often remind me that spread offenses have a one man advantage and there is no denying that eleven plus one equals twelve. Defensive coaches however must stop using addition to come to this conclusion. I would suggest that they multiply because eleven times one still equals eleven. Try using multiple technique variations in the secondary and steal the quarterback’s time. |
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