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Neutralizing the Threat of Mismatches vs. Trips Formations Out of Cover 3 Zone

by: Eric Slivoskey
Head Coach, Seinajoki Crocodiles (Finland)
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Our defensive package is the 3-5-3, out of which we utilize various blitzes and coverages. One of our most frequently used coverages in this scheme is the cover 3 zone. We are accustomed to staying in this look even when matching up against four-receiver sets. It is imperative to teach your second-level defenders to stay true to their landmarks on their drops and place heavy emphasis on rerouting any receiver who is quick to present a threat to the vertical seams. One challenge that kept presenting itself to us was matching up against these spread formations and 2x2 receiver sets when our opponent would motion into trips formations. They would get into 3x1 sets and then try and isolate their single removed receiver vs. our corner to the weak side. This receiver was often the best athlete on their team and we didn’t always match up very well. There are a number of ways that defenses might adjust to this situation, but one concept has worked particularly well for us. We call this adjustment to trips our ‘Bandit Coverage.’

    Bandit coverage is essentially a combination of man and zone coverage. The premise of the concept is based on basketball principles. I have always been intrigued by the similarities between football and basketball strategies. In fact, many of the spread offense concepts that we see today seem to mirror the same foundational principles of offensive basketball. The focus is on positioning your players in the most effective way possible by using the entire field and allowing your most skilled players to use their athleticism in open space. Think along the lines of Michael Jordan and the great Chicago Bulls teams of the 1990’s. If we can learn something from basketball offenses, then we reasoned there might be some carryover concepts on the defensive side of the ball as well. This is how our bandit scheme came to life.

    Essentially, bandit coverage is built off the basketball defense called the box and one. First of all, remember that we are playing a 3-5-3 base look with a cover 3 zone (See Diagram 1).  As far as our secondary alignments are concerned, we subscribe to the theory of protecting the inside when receivers attempt to stem or go vertical on you. Inside routes are generally easier for the quarterback to complete, so we align our players with the idea of protecting the inside. It is also important to note that we don’t show the bandit adjustment immediately when the offense lines up. We like to come out in a basic look and then shift into the bandit package as the opposing QB is completing his initial pre-snap reads.

   

If the offense comes out in a trips alignment or if the QB initiates the motion man of a 2x2 receiver set into trips, we have our Mike linebacker call out the bandit adjustment for our defense (See Diagram 2). Upon hearing this command, our weakside dog linebacker lines up in a press technique on the single removed receiver to his side. Specifically, he lines up with his outside foot splitting the crotch of the WR.    

  

        We instruct him to get an aggressive press with his hands, use a trail technique on the receiver for four-five steps, and then settle into the flat/curl area and read the eyes of the QB. This defender is also in a favorable position to react to the shallow crossing routes that many spread offenses like to use. This dog backer is also responsible for the pitchman if the offense runs any form of weakside option. Our weakside or boundary corner is a deep third dropper to his side. He lines up eight yards deep and one yard inside the receiver to his side. He must not get beat on a post route because there is no help over the top. The weak badger linebacker plays B gap vs. the run and his pass responsibility is the hook/curl zone. The weak end is responsible for his C-gap and the nose tackle defends the weak side A-gap. The Mike backer plays the strong side A-gap vs. the run and against the pass he covers the hook/curl zone to the trips side. We tell our backers in pass coverage to read both the eyes and non-throwing hand of the QB and be careful not to ignore any release by the running back.

    Our strong badger backer’s job is to blitz the strong side C gap and collision the back if he crosses his face. Our strong side end has B-gap responsibility, so his job is to pinch hard to the inside. Our strong dog backer lines up over the # 2 receiver about two-three yards off the ball and executes what we call a delayed press technique. His alignment close to the LOS also puts us in a favorable situation if our opponent tries to run a bubble screen to this side of their formation. It is essential for this player to prevent the #2 receiver from getting a clean or free release. After he collisions the # 2 receiver, his job is to expand to the flat/curl area and read the body demeanor and actions of the QB.

    Our strong or field corner is a deep third dropper to his side. His pre-snap alignment is also eight yards deep and one yard inside the # 1 receiver to his side. Finally, we use our free safety as the box and one cover guy. This is one of our best athletes on the field. We feel confident using him against a receiver with slot capabilities. When the free safety hears bandit, he knows that he is now matched up man to man vs. the motion guy or the # 3 receiver to the trips side, depending on the situation. His awareness is important because he won’t have help from his teammates who are executing zone-based principles. We don’t really give him a set rule when it comes to his alignment on his man. We just emphasize that he not be too deep in his alignment because he needs to be able to adjust to shorter and intermediate routes as well.

    Keep in mind that we strive to mix up our coverages against these offensive formations and the bandit call is just one of these options. The key, like anything else, is to not get too predictable. We like the bandit adjustment because it can give the QB false signals. Initially, we want it to look like a cover 3 zone with two deep retreating corners and one deep safety. It also helps us neutralize the single-removed receiver because of our aggressive press technique on him. The pressure we bring  the quarterback is also an important element to this scheme.  We sometimes change things up by calling bandit out of an even front defensive look (See Diagram 3). Another objective is to utilize various pressures out of this package. One example is a simple twist game involving the strong side defensive end and the strong side badger linebacker (See Diagram 4).







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