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AFM Magazine


Multiple Coverages Out of Zone Blitz Schemes

by: Mike Kuchar
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Several months ago American Football Monthly broke down the concepts and philosophies of utilizing a cover three zone blitz. The benefits of the zone blitz are simple: it puts additional pressure on the QB by rushing five defenders while playing softer zone coverage behind it. Not only does it provide a suitable alternative to a strict man blitz concept but its possibilities are endless. You can send any eleven on the field as long as you have three deep defenders and three underneath defenders.

But while the prototypical three deep zone blitz concept is very popular among the professional and collegiate levels, its simplicity is starting to take its toll. Offenses are starting to recognize it quicker, and QBs are beginning to get rid of the ball in a hurry and into the hands of their best playmakers. More often than not this results in a one-on-one match up between a skill player such as a running back against one middle-of-the-field safety and a win for the offense. As a result, more teams have begun to utilize different zone coverages such as a cover two scheme. This coverage provides a changeup behind the blitz while providing more help in the secondary to keep pace with the athletes on the other side of the ball.

Benefits of Using the Cover 2 Shell

Most defensive coaches will admit that a balanced defense is usually a productive defense. With a balanced secondary scheme such as a cover two or four across (quarters) structure, you have the ability to disguise your defense without the offense picking it up. Strong or weakside pre-snap rotation isn’t needed because you are keeping two safeties in the middle of the field. While their depth and width may change based on the offensive formation, they can still remain on the hashes, keeping everything in front of them. According to Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, whatever zone blitz you are using there must be a fool-proof checklist to follow. For it to be effective the zone blitz must have the following components:

• It must be draw and option proof.
• The QB must get rid of the ball quickly.
• It must be effective enough to keep the QB on the run.
• It must be sound against all types of protection rules.
• Whatever blitz you select, you must blitz with your best rushers.
• It must be conducive to your own system. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

“Offenses do not like to see the zone blitz because it gives them a lot of problems in their protection scheme,” said Bradley. “They have to analyze what the defense is doing and slow up their tempo. Teams will check out of their scheme when they see a zone blitz coming. By using a blitz out of a cover two shell, you don’t give it away so quickly because nobody drops into the tackle box. When you run a three deep scheme, you’re forced to drop somebody down.”

For the most part, when offenses see that drop-down safety coming into the box, they are able to check out of their scheme and throw hot by getting the ball out to a receiver in space right away. With a cover three scheme on a blitz, chances are you’re giving up the short routes to the outside like a hitch, out or stop route. These are easy completions for a quarterback. With a traditional seven yard cushion by a corner, the receiver has plenty of room to catch the ball and get up field in a hurry.

“With the advent of spread offenses, all you are seeing is quick hitters to the outside like the hook, hitches or the bubble screen,” said Stanford defensive coordinator Scott Shafer. “Teams see it coming too quickly and get the ball out away from where there is coverage.” So as an adjustment, Shafer has shifted more towards a hard-cover two scheme in his zone blitz scheme, bringing the corners up to press the outside receivers while playing two deep safeties over the top. “It’s much harder now for teams to throw the high percentage throw to the outside. We’re essentially forcing them to throw down the field which is a much harder throw,” said Shafer.

Shafer prefers to run the cover two zone blitz out of his Okie Package (See Diagram 1). It is more of a 3-4, balanced scheme. He prefers this because in most 4-3 zone blitz schemes, teams need to drop a weakside end to take care of the flat. “This presents a conflict when you have a 6-4, 245 lb. rush end covering a back that runs the 40 in 4.4 seconds on a swing route,” said Shafer. So, instead he keeps his three down linemen involved in the rush and has the corners play the flat in his Okie Puma scheme (See Diagram 2).

Diagram 1: Stanford's Okie Package

Diagram 2: Stanford's Okie Puma Scheme

While the nose and both ends rush the QB, the Will and Sam linebackers come off the edge with the ends crashing hard inside. The Nickel and Mike backers need to wall off the number two receivers, making sure they don’t release down the field easily. This concept helps the safeties stay on the hash. The corners roll up and execute a press jam technique on the outside receivers, forcing them inside. While you’re still rushing five defenders, you keep the principles of cover two intact, a staple of almost any collegiate defense.

“The hardest thing is training the corners' eyes,” said Shafer. “They pattern read the number two receiver. As soon as the ball is snapped they get a jam on number one while reading the release of number two; it’s textbook cover two. Basically they don’t come off of the number one receiver unless two threatens the flat. The safeties have to be ready to be over the top of the number one receiver if he goes out. But with that squat corner there, it makes it hard for teams to throw the quick out. The corner will be all over it.”

One of Penn State’s favorite cover two zone blitzes is called Harlem (See Diagram 3). Like many other teams, the Nittany Lions name their blitzes after cities. In Harlem, the Hero (strong safety) and Sam linebacker are rushing the QB along with the end, nose and tackle. The defensive end sticks into the B gap. The Sam slants through the C gap and the Hero comes off the edge. The nose guard crosses the center into the backside A gap and the tackle slants outside.

Diagram 3: Penn State's Harlem Blitz

“When we run this blitz, we play halves in the secondary. The boundary corner plays half the field to the backside and the free safety plays the strong side half. As the defense moves at the last second into position, the boundary side corner gets into a C-9 alignment. That is a position over the C gap, nine yards off the line of scrimmage,” said Bradley.

Since the Sam linebacker and Hero are both involved in the blitz, Bradley rolls the strongside corner into the flat to protect against the quick outs. The Will linebacker plays the flat. The Fritz linebacker has the seam to hook on the backside and the back linebacker has the hook to curl on the strongside. Harlem is an effective changeup to traditional three-deep zone blitz schemes that many teams will utilize.

Another big reason as to why teams are shifting to a cover two zone blitz scheme is to stop the potential big play. Using a cover two shell helps against teams that like to send four vertical routes down the middle of the field. Against a traditional three-deep zone, sending four verticals presents problems. You eventually have three deep defenders to defend four routes, often leaving one of them uncovered. Any good QB has the ability to look off the safety, to get him moving in a different direction and to hit a wide open receiver down the middle of the field.

According to Northwestern’s LB coach, Randy Bates, a cover two shell helps stop the big play because you are getting those half safeties involved in the pass game. They are not going to be as aggressive as run-type safeties. “It’s really a traditional two-deep zone for the corners and safeties. It gives you the chance to play four verts. Even in the Big 10 we see spread offenses every week, so we can’t just sit around in an eight man front and be attacked,” said Bates. “The difference is more than likely 70 percent of zone blitzes are three-deep rotations. QB’s get in the habit of throwing it to the flat because of it. We just roll the corners up and face the long throw.”

One of Bates’ favorite two-deep zone blitzes is one he developed while he was the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech called Joker (See Diagram 4). In Joker, the blitz is out of a 3-4 front. Both defensive ends come crashing hard into the B gap while the Will and Sam come screaming off the edge for contain on the QB. The Mike and Buck linebacker drop to wall off the inside receivers, carrying them to ten yards, while the Free and Dog safety play halves in the backfield. The corners roll up pre-snap and force and funnel the receivers inside. Bates drops the nose guard at eight yards to monitor the QB, looking for screens, draws and crossers.

Diagram 4: Northwestern's Joker Blitz

“The LB’s inside read the number to number one receivers and the safeties play deep, inside and outside over the top,” Bates says. “The safeties have to stay deep because if you send five the offense can still block people; there may be time for the QB to throw the football. The entire philosophy of zone blitzes is to make plays and create havoc for the offense. The offense must get rid of the ball sooner than they want to. If they didn’t have good players on the other side of the ball, nobody would play zone. We would all match up and take our chances with man coverage. But that isn’t the case these days.”





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