Smash-Mouth Defense: Implementing Seven Winning Blitz Strategies By: Joe Arpasi Defensive Coordinator Westfield High School Westfield, Indiana Phone: (317)

Implementing Seven Winning Blitz Strategies Single Zone BlitzesSingle Zone Blitzes Traditional Zone BlitzesTraditional Zone Blitzes Traditional Man BlitzesTraditional Man Blitzes Overload BlitzesOverload Blitzes Fire Zone BlitzesFire Zone Blitzes Illusion BlitzesIllusion Blitzes Secondary BlitzesSecondary Blitzes

Why Understand Blitz Strategies?  In the defense there are tons of blitz possibilities to choose from.  In order to ensure your players can play without thinking too much, a coach must be selective in what blitzes are put into the blitz package.  The types of blitzes selected must match-up to the forms of offense that you face each year.  Understanding the concepts of blitzing will allow blitzes to be specifically designed to stop those offensive systems.  Understanding what each blitz strategy is best for will help in understanding what blitzes should be used in specific situations.  Sending pressure for the sake of sending pressure is not as effective as sending selective & specific pressure to match your opponent and the situation at hand.  You will be able to design blitzes with a greater understanding of how they work.

Single Zone Blitzes

 Single zone blitzes are a way to get into other defensive schemes from a 30 front look.  The 3 down linemen allow for different combinations of stunts and LB pressure to gain the ability of other defensive schemes.  Zone coverages are played in their normal structure.  Flat zone defenders are left in coverage, allowing the players inside to blitz.  The different deep safety alignments dictate what coverages are available.  1 Safety Look Coverages:  3 Deep  2 Safety Look Coverages:  2 Deep  4 Deep  ¼, ¼, ½

EEN B CC Single Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep $ F SMW One Inside LB can blitz, with the other LBs taking the Hook-to-Curl Zones.

EEN B CC Single Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep SMW HOOK-TO-CURL $ F

EEN B CC Single Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep SMW HOOK-TO-CURL $ F

EEN B $ C F C SM W Single Zone Blitzes – 2 Deep One of the LBs can blitz and the other 3 LBs can handle the remaining under zones.

EEN B CC SM W Single Zone Blitzes – 2 Deep CURL HOLE $F

EEN B CC SM W Single Zone Blitzes – 2 Deep CURL HOLE $F

EEN B CC SM W Single Zone Blitzes – 4 Deep One Inside LB can blitz, with the other LB play the Hole Zone. $F

EEN B CC SM W Single Zone Blitzes – 4 Deep HOLE $F

EEN B CC SM W Single Zone Blitzes – ¼, ¼, ½ One Inside LB can blitz, with the other LBs playing the Hole and Curl Zone $F

EEN B CC SM W Single Zone Blitzes – ¼, ¼, ½ HOLE CURL $F

EEN B CC SM W Single Zone Blitzes – ¼, ¼, ½ HOLE CURL $F

Single Zone Blitzes  Advantages:  Can generate point specific pressure with safe zone coverage behind  Flexible pressure combinations are available out of multiple coverages  Can be used to generate non-30 front base defenses  Disadvantages:  Picking where and how pressure is applied becomes a guessing game in hitting the offensive point of attack  Must teach positions multiple pass drops for the same coverage  Must teach LBs different gap fit responsibilities  Best Situations For Use:  1 st Downs  Long yardage situations where coverage is the main focus

Traditional Zone Blitzes

 Allows 2 or more LBs to blitz instead of the 1 LB used in single zone blitzes.  Linemen are used in pass coverage to replace the blitzing LBs.  Coverage is still run with the normal amount of zones defended.  QB may see the blitzing LBs and dump the pass off to the area the linemen is dropping to, allowing the QB’s reads to deceive him.  Since most passes get dumped in the underneath coverage, it is important to use a coverage that has 4 or more under zones.  The more under zones that are in a coverage creates a “minefield” for the QB to throw into, and provides the linemen with more help in covering the routes.

EEN B CC Traditional Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep $ F SMW DL ZONE BLITZ

EEN B CC Traditional Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep SMW DL ZONE BLITZ $ F

EEN B $ C F C SM W Traditional Zone Blitzes – ¼, ¼, ½ DL ZONE BLITZ

EEN B $ C F C SM W Traditional Zone Blitzes – 2 Deep DL ZONE BLITZ

EEN B $ C F C SM W Traditional Zone Blitzes – 2 Deep DL ZONE BLITZ

Traditional Zone Blitzes  Advantages:  When applied with other blitz strategies, the defense can generate mismatches with the offense.  Coverage remains in a basic structure that is safe to handle the pass on 3 rd down situations.  Disadvantages:  Coaches must teach the “punch & read” technique to defensive linemen to ensure they can read the difference between run and pass accurately.  Requires linemen to play pass coverage instead of rush the passer.  Best Situations For Use:  Passing Downs  1 st / 2 nd Down Run Situations

Traditional Man Blitzes

 Defense will always have 5 players committed to covering the 5 eligible receivers of the offense.  Deep help for the 5 players committed to man coverage can range from no help, 1 safety deep, and 2 safeties deep.  The players that are not committed to man coverage or deep help are freed to blitz.  LBs that are assigned to cover RBs are freed to follow the flow of running plays and “clean up” what comes through the blitz.  Discussed Coverages:  Man  Man Free  2 Man

EEN B CC Traditional Man Blitzes – Man $ SMW F

EEN B CC SMW $ F

EEN B CC SMW $ F

EEN B CC Traditional Man Blitzes – Man Free $ F SMW

EEN B CC SMW $ F

EEN B $ C F C SM W Traditional Man Blitzes – 2 Man

Traditional Man Blitzes  Advantages:  Good for playing the run since the LBs in coverage can flow behind the blitz and adjust to how the play develops.  Tight man coverage can disrupt the timing of routes and force the QB to hold the ball longer, leading to a high success rate of the rush getting to the QB before the ball is thrown.  Disadvantages:  Blitzers can over penetrate into the backfield and allows cracks in the gap assignments of the blitz.  Players with man coverage responsibilities can be placed in mismatch situations when the offense matches a better athlete on a poorer athlete.  Best Situations For Use:  Short Yardage Run Downs  Goal Line / Redzone

Overload Blitzes

 Overloads are created by outnumbering the offensive players in a specific area of the formation.  They are always used with at least one other blitz strategy.  Most commonly used as a pass blitz.  Different pass protections require different types of overloads to effectively beat the pass protection.  Gap / Slide Based Pass Protection:  Two In A Gap  Two Off the Edge  Man Based Pass Protection:  Overload the Guard

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Two In A Gap $ SMW Identify the RB Edge Side

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Two In A Gap $ SMW Provide A Rush Threat for RB To Block

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Two In A Gap $ SMW Send the Nose To Occupy The Guard Inside

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Two In A Gap $ SMW Send the End To Occupy The Tackle & Drive Him Back

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Two In A Gap $ SMW The Overload Occurs When A LB Is Sent Into The Opening Between the Nose & End

Two In A Gap – Traditional Man Blitz EEN B CC Overload Blitzes – Man $ SMW F OVERLOAD

Two In A Gap – Traditional Man Blitz EEN B CC Overload Blitzes – Man Free $ F SMW OVERLOAD

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Two Off the Edge $ SMW Will Attack The RB In Edge Protection

EN B Overload Blitzes – Two Off the Edge $ SMW E Send the End To Occupy The Tackle & Drive Him Inside

EN B Overload Blitzes – Two Off the Edge $ SMW E The Overload Occurs When Two LBs Are Sent To Attack The Isolated RB

Two Off the Edge – Traditional Man Blitz EEN B CC Overload Blitzes – Man $ SMW F OVERLOAD

Two Off the Edge – Traditional Zone Blitz EEN B $ C F C SM W Overload Blitzes – 3 Deep DL ZONE BLITZ OVERLOAD

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard $ SMW Center and the Tackles will block the Nose and Ends in Man Protection

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard $ SMW Guards will look to pick-up possible blitzers Inside-Out

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard $ SMW When LB comes in an inside blitz the Guard will pick up blitz in man protection

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard S RB will pick up the outside Blitzer M $ W

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard S M $ W Or QB will have to throw Hot Read if RB is set to the other side, creating the Overload

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard $ SMW When outside blitz is shown the Guard will kick out to pick-up in a man protection

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard $ SMW Or Guard will make a fan call with the Tackle and they will zone protect the C & B Gaps

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard $ S MW Now the Overload is created when a delayed blitz is used in the A Gaps

EEN B Overload Blitzes – Overload the Guard $ SMW Sending two LBs at the Guard will also create an Overload

Overload Blitzes  Advantages:  Can effectively beat an offense’s pass protection  The different blitz combinations available make offenses have to create new rules to try and block the blitz package.  Disadvantages:  Must be able to breakdown and identify what type of pass protection your opponent has run on film.  An overload blitz can provide an open gap, making some calls susceptible to runs.  Best Situations For Use:  Long Yardage Passing Situations

Fire Zone Blitzes

 Five man pressure package.  Can run multiple blitz strategies from a Fire Zone Blitz framework.  Pressure package uses a 3 deep, 3 under zone coverage.  Allows the defense an alternative to providing effective pressure with man coverage behind.  The under zone defenders play a match-up zone style of under coverage.  The coverage puts lots of pressure on the Safety to defend routes up the hashes.  The zone coverage allows for all defenders to react to run faster than blitzing in man coverage.  The Fire Zone Blitz strategy provides the most flexible format for blitzing in multiple play situations.

EEN B CC Fire Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep, 3 Under $ F SMW

Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard EEN B CC Fire Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep, 3 Under SMW OVERLOAD $ F

Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard EEN B CC Fire Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep, 3 Under SMW OVERLOAD $ F

Overload Blitz – Two Off the Edge EEN B CC Fire Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep, 3 Under SMW OVERLOAD $ F

Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard & Traditional Zone Blitz EEN B CC Fire Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep, 3 Under SMW OVERLOAD DL ZONE BLITZ $ F

Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard & Traditional Zone Blitz EEN B CC Fire Zone Blitzes – 3 Deep, 3 Under SMW OVERLOAD DL ZONE BLITZ $ F

Fire Zone Blitzes  Advantages:  An effective blitz strategy for run and pass situations.  Can employ multiple blitz strategies with the Fire Zone Blitz format.  Disadvantages:  Under zone coverage areas area stretched verse the Spread Offense.  2x2 formations put a lot of pressure on the Safety to defend the deep hashes.  Best Situations For Use:  2 nd & Long Situations  3 rd & Medium / Long Passing Situations

Illusion Blitzes

 Illusion blitzes are variations of Traditional Man Blitzes.  All eligible receivers around the LOS are accounted for in man coverage.  All of the RBs or one of the RBs will be covered by a Spy Rush player.  The Spy Rush player can be a DL, LB, or DB.  The positions used for the Spy Rush player can be different on each side of the blitz.  The Spy Rush player will give the illusion of rushing/blitzing, while running a spy/mirror coverage on the assigned RB.  This allows for maximum number of defenders to rush the offense.  Most commonly used as passing down blitzes.

Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard & Two Off the Edge EEN B CC Illusion Blitzes – Man $ F SMW OVERLOAD SPY RUSH

Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard EEN B CC Illusion Blitzes – Man $ F SMW SPY RUSH OVERLOAD

Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard EEN B CC Illusion Blitzes – Man $ F SMW SPY RUSH OVERLOAD

Overload Blitz – Two In a Gap EEN B CC Illusion Blitzes – Man $ SMW F SPY RUSH OVERLOAD

Overload Blitz – Two Off the Edge EEN B CC Illusion Blitzes – Man Free $ F SMW SPY RUSH OVERLOAD

Illusion Blitzes  Advantages:  Provide maximum amount of pass rushers to overload the pass protection.  Good at defending RB slip screens when C Gap rushers play the Spy Rush.  Disadvantages:  By not having LBs assigned to cover the RBs like Traditional Man Blitzes, there is no one left to flow behind the rush. This puts Illusion Blitzes in a bad match-up to defend the run.  Outside Spy Rush players will have a hard time covering the sneak route, and inside Spy Rush players will have a hard time covering the swing route when combo/swap rules are not applied.  Best Situations For Use:  2 nd /3 rd & Long  3 rd & Medium When Pass Is Expected

Secondary Blitzes

 Secondary blitzes are a high risk, high reward blitz strategy.  Most commonly used against the pass, but secondary blitzes can be useful against the run in specific situations.  Most pass protections don’t assign players to account for defensive backs.  When the blitz is timed up late the pass protection doesn’t have time to adjust, and the only option is to throw a hot route.  If coverages are effectively disguised in combination with a secondary blitz, the QB will be forced to hold the ball longer and allow the blitz to get there.  The biggest concern when blitzing a defensive back is the crease that is created in the zone coverage.

EEN B $ C F C SM W Secondary Blitzes – 2 Deep DB BLITZ Single Zone Blitz

EEN B $ C F C SM W Secondary Blitzes – 3 Deep DB BLITZ Single Zone Blitz

Fire Zone Blitz & Overload Blitz – Two Off the Edge EEN B $ C F C SM W Secondary Blitzes – 3 Deep, 3 Under DB BLITZOVERLOAD

Illusion Blitz & Overload Blitz – Overload the Guard & Two Off the Edge EEN B CC Secondary Blitzes – Man $ F SMW DB BLITZ SPY RUSH OVERLOAD

Secondary Blitzes  Advantages:  Offensive pass protections can’t effectively account for defensive backs in the rush.  When secondary disguise calls are also used in the defense, it adds to the confusion level of the QB in reading the defense.  Disadvantages:  When zone coverage is used there will be creases in the coverage that a good QB can exploit.  It is hard to practice effective timing of the blitz in a game speed climate where the blitz is not shown too soon.  Best Situations For Use:  Long Yardage Passing Downs  Opponent Specific High Passing Down Tendency

By: Joe Arpasi Defensive Coordinator Westfield High School Westfield, Indiana Phone: (317) Smash-Mouth Defense: Implementing Seven Winning Blitz Strategies