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Talladega High School\'s Magnum Package

One front, two coverages and 6 blitzes
by: Eric Firestone
Defensive Coordinator, Talladega High School (AL)
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Our base defense is a 4-3 look (See Diagram 1). We have many stems, fronts and variations out of this package with one being our 4-4 Magnum (See Diagram 2). We feel that our 4-3 defense is the best for our personnel, but during the course of the season we had to change some things to accommodate the offenses we were facing. We were seeing a lot of spread teams with good running quarterbacks. A lot of the plays that were hurting us were the QB Dart, QB Trap and the QB Counter. To combat these plays and running quarterbacks we moved our strong safety down to be used as an outside linebacker and coverage man. Then, we kept our Sam linebacker in the box.

Diagram 1: Base 4-3 Defense

Diagram 2: 4-4 Magnum Defense

We use this as part of our base 4-3 defense, not as a separate defense to keep things simple. The “Magnum” does not affect the defensive line, corners or the Will linebacker. The package consists of one front, two coverages and six blitzes.

These are a few of the reasons why we might use Magnum Defense:

1. We will use the Magnum to get another defensive player in the box. If we are playing a primarily running team we will use Magnum often in our game plan.

2. If we are playing a spread team that has a good running game with an athletic quarterback, our base defense often puts us at a disadvantage.

3. We also like to change things up and give the offense something else to prepare for when scouting us.

If we are left with only five men in the box, now the offense outnumbers us (Diagram 3). If a team wants to spread us out and run, we will counter with Magnum (See Diagram 4). We now have six men in the box which balances us with the offense.

Diagram 3: A Total of 5 in the box

Diagram 4: A Total of 6 in the box

We have made it as easy as possible to change from Base to Magnum.

1. The Front Four stay the same in Base and Magnum.

2. Mike and Sam (Middle and Strong Linebackers) align over the guards.

3. Strong safety rolls down to C gap if there is a tight end (Diagram 2) or to play straight up the #2 receiver if there are two receivers (Diagram 4).

Coverages
We have two main coverages in our Magnum Package: Man Free (See Diagram 5) and Cover 3 (See Diagram 6).

In our Man Free Coverage, the Corners, Will (Weak Side linebacker) and the Strong Safety will be straight on the wide receivers. We usually play hard press coverage, but we do play soft man as well. The Sam linebacker has responsibility for the running back and the Mike has the middle drop. The Free Safety has centerfield help.

Diagram 5: Man Free

Diagram 6: Cover 3

In our Cover 3, the Corners and the Free Safety have responsibility for the Deep Thirds. The Will and Strong Safety have the Flats. Mike and Sam have Hook/Curl responsibility.

Blitzes
We have several blitzes in our Magnum Package to bring pressure on the offense. The first blitz is called Texas. We can either run Strong Texas (See Diagram 7), Weak Texas (See Diagram 8) or Double Texas (See Diagram 9).

Diagram 7: Strong Texas

Diagram 8: Weak Texas

Diagram 9: Double Texas

Strong Texas: The defensive tackle loops into the strong A gap, and Sam will explode into the strong B gap.

Weak Texas: The nose guard will loop into the weak B gap, and Mike will explode into the weak A gap.

Double Texas: The defensive tackle loops into the strong A gap, Sam will explode into the strong B gap, the nose guard will loop into the weak B gap and Mike will explode into the weak A gap.

Two additional blitzes we use are Thunder (See Diagram 10) and Lightning (See Diagram 11). Both are zone blitzes and coverage will be Cover 3.

Diagram 10: Thunder

Diagram 11: Lightning

Thunder: The weak defensive end will drop to Hook/Curl, the Mike will be responsible for the flats and the Will linebacker will blitz off the weak end.

Lightning: The strong defensive end will drop to Hook/Curl, the Sam will be responsible for the flats and the strong safety will blitz off the weak end.

Our last blitz is Tornado. In Tornado (See Diagram 12) we are bringing maximum pressure and leaving many holes for the passing game. The coverage is Cover 3.

Diagram 12: Tornado

Tornado: The Will linebacker and Strong Safety will be coming off the edges. The Mike linebacker, the Nose Guard, the Defensive Tackle, and the Sam linebacker will run Double Texas. Both ends are dropping to Hook/Curl. The corners and the free safety are responsible for the Deep Thirds.





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