Attacking Pass Defense

8/3/2019 Attacking Pass Defense

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ATTACK.lNG I P ,A S S , [ 0 I ; F E N ,S - , - S

"When a pass is throwo there are ' t1br~e things that can h~.ppen~one good ,and two bad.n That ~ r n s ~ , ~'t 'wrH be complete, in-complete OJr ' intercepted. M any coaches who ~;mpha:s:i~,etherunn ing g.ame abide by this cliche, While the: bad outw e~~g:hsIIIJ6.,e,; 0 0 ' " ~]I 'f ,- ":',",-'" omnleted , 1 I o , L I ,'" "",:; ... 'I~: "'~' _ ~ : i , . . ,II'L -"'kILUe 0.0 0u~tr a pa:ss [ s comp e r e II,J, , - , I L ~ erewara r s w or ~n rne 1'.]8,"There is one i'ropertaut tbin.~ a p~;~;jng team has-dnitiatlve,The team wfth lnitb~H\'ehss ~UJJ , rmmedlate advantage. It putsp "SStU,' 'On,i ts opponen t s w'ho must spend a lot of time duringthe week b~~r- the ~~ln,e,on pEll$S defense, The ,oppon~nl isIorced tl1 concentrate his :pl~ac~j,oen. eeetam aress beeause hemust be pf~pa:red '~Odefend ag:,~jns.tthe 'pa~~]ng,atta~k,

D ~'m' c - 1 ' " ' ' ' ' " , of 'n, I" ~ c D ' , : ' f ' , , " , , '. .im,C fl.l Il,l.eS,0, , L: as :~ .e..erueAn o:ileDs~veteam can send three receivers downfield

where the defense is using S)X 111.en to C~Ve1"~ and s~HI out-nurn her the defenders in a pla;rUcular zene, In pas~, defense,not a ll 0 , th e d,a .e nsi'r e backfield, is Jnvolved in coverIng 'thereceivers. Th i s ; gives 'a c ()As;id,e :r3b~,e ad v $ : n : t - a ; , g ! e ' to t h e p~sl!dngteam, Becerve rs can outnumber d.'eiooders In a~y area by :8lood,~r n ' n g a ,Z Q i [ W , e . The ofiense can, , a v o D J , d , 'the 'best 'p'ass d e f , e : J 1 G l e ' l ' by 'notrunning any patterns at him except these intended 'to decoyhrm out ,~fan area. Mos t importan t~be affense can ,pit its best'[lec,eivel" agadnst the p.oor-est: d.'mender" The5lB three advantages


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a rise from. t .lIle fa,c.t that the ofiense m(}W8 run advance 'whaLt the.paHern W ] r n : ~ he' and, dIe . I dense does no. This pla.ces a g:t",~:t'burden On thedefense"

Another thiIlg that makes: 'pass defense so d,ilIhoun is tffil~.t,3 ] P'~S$ defend.er must be very skillful. If yOll were to take '~Omen of@Cj,'ualabilit'andm,seoneasareoeiver and the o t h ' i ! $ l ', '"as a de fender, you wou]d f.Dnd.b3't t1 e :reQetv"~(f~as a decidedadvantage, :'e will nearly ~lway'$ be ahffi,:to g,et a two or threey,~. idjU' 1 f t ? on the defender after making his fake. -;}Ij! recerverknows '""here ' hie ;W going an d whe:l1 he' is : ,f~.king~nd d.1J1sputsthe defender at a decided dtsadvantage.

We are all farm.Hi~.[with the three diH el~ I" t \


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rushing lmemen, A pa~' 1l1troW1nl. ]~y a d~:tracte:d ~p~:5~ser.s seldoma good a m : i l J , , ~and w f : [ ] \ l , e l r c ~ p : f t : . ~ d . itcan spell disaster,

.~For these r,~~'Ol1Syou can. expee t your opponent ,to try toru~h yOiur P~S$et"H'e ~~,gam,blin.gwh~~ he does this beea use his:downfie1 ,d area win not be 'w~~T hcovered .. U i; the rushers do not.n ~ a r C h t h e p J i j I i : $ s e t "'f !u i o k l y! the (~d.ds: . f . , ' n : ~ a . complefe d p a s > g a r emuch better and it will t 1 l _ s : u J a J ~ Y ' rl;~'~ultin a ]o;ng~(I, ,galn thanncemal,iP~r. 'a{tecl. 'you r pMS ie\E

Th e lk.ey to prevenUng a concentrated rush o~you}' pas seris in your passer-protsetton sy:s:tem," As long as y,an~opponentrushes wit'h no more than seven 1 l1 iJ@ 'll ~ your blockers s h o u ld heabla eo adjust ~o t'l\e rush" ]In Chaptel" 71 CJlil prot',ecth1ii: the.passer;, these ;$ ,U : u atio n s a re presented i~ d!eta.H._ If your :passel~stin }j.,B.S su,fScielli:~Um,e to ' pass whi],e being l"US hed ~ then 'rh~success; D , f your pas::s.:l1l1g at tack. ' ~ \ V i , U fo'r'e~ YiQur oppouen't '[0.hold more men back to. h'i '~.pcover t 'T hlepassing zones"

'Me have been ' ! I , e - t " y $uoo8ss\ful .in pa$"~i.ngin the foul" shorterp,assjng eones. FO:t this reason teams have been 1elnctant ib Qstunt 01' overload an area in ( H ~ c l h : ~ ' E "[1 0 provid-e: a good rush onDIU' pa,.~5ex. ThJ s su_gge's ts , that frh!i3most ~!f'eC'tive w1ar to d.lS-CO\.:1,r ,a~e a team from stun tmg' Or Orv'er lo,ad'ing, Is to pass success ~flllly ~n, these four short zones. If t'h def'Bn~e bothers you withthese racties you ;hould. imrnedi.ately g,o into' yOU.f' shart pflS$ii.nggaml~;. The: pass~r will have less time, hut there should be areceiver in an uncovered short 2IOll'e~lucl~ socner than heWQullidbe in a lDnger zone,

A tea:ro th~,t wants 'to p~textreme p r e s s u r e O[\,), 'the l J i J a , s s ,E M ! .'n1.~:st use e~ t:i;'~,men : in prd'etl' [0 outnumh er the blo ckers In agi'6n ,8 ];\83. If the d.~e;nse ts successfully ru~hin,g j, 1 'o~ r passe r-'"h t..:Ii. -h ,. " . bW,l; ~,O'l]r us]n,g ~eX:I~Iamen! t en Y01,;1 :r~noe gO.l~g to wm -ecausehjs rnen are more determ med t'h:aJnyours. These extra! rushersw.nl be [-[nebac~er!!i!, ~U:IJld thws means tb~t some 01 the sho)];ter


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p~~ng zones win be sparsel y covered. Throw your. short p~ Se-5.quickly tnto these are as.. Th1!'owpass,es that requi~'e less t , 1 1 ,eand that tak~ .~illva]'[tag@ ,of the four short pasS&llg' zenes.In this sttuation \ '\i"'eth ''O'\\'' o ur pro -le ft and plo-r~gbt p~ts:s'esJhitting either th e end or the swingin_g, ha'i l l fback, both o f ,"v'homare. norma Uy covered by a lmebacker. This has been ~~h'mosta' -. .. 1 ' C " ' b ' ' I I ! . . ~ " W " _ . ] J . . o -eILLdl6cfivep,ass ~n stoppUl.g tile '~g' ili'uSu. ".1; aiso g ; 1 ( ) 1 'lI.i~ OU,

acUO(l]1 p:as,s plays and. their companlon running plays" ]f thedefense has ere ,ble det,ermiojng pass 01' run, they will bed,ow'er t sttu~ting their ' [ ' lU;]1 nT igb t-C 1 l)V@rb lg ,~ . ,Ibacks

Some teams p'~ay their delensiv, ha]fb~cb Cig}lteJ' in an,lS;hing defense so hat th:y can move qUickly into t h > e shortzone's to covel' short pas&es as well In this situ,auOf \Y . h:. totl~r(). 'wthe long pass. Firs t we roll out. to off$~t th,e rush and tOIaUow t n , _ ' passair and receiver ei ough time t < C J maneuver ' for theIon g pass.. lVe usu.any run inmvidual pass patt81'ns tha. t fake as:hQrt pa$S first, and II I en develop into a long pa,' f . : teI 'D, Rol l l~n,gout to either side, we use Rog 'e l ' or LOU~ ie . Jout~and-d.own,) hook:and-go, ~tay-all 'd-'gC?~ and g 'o fN i l J U a n " J J s 6 .Spl'int..iright o r sprint-leftIla;ss ,~salso \1'eTy eflectlvI6 a.gail st such .~rushing defense ..-.he. c~s.h from IQue end

Some tea,Ins rna . dec.ide to rush with a itn~llgb defensivee-nd or with the end and corner linebacker from one s \ i . d e . Inthis, c~:se\W,'_ c~.nthfO,,", our pass pa.tferns by rnUing; 01!Jt a : v v a yfr'om the rush. vVe a]so'run screen passes s and fanBoH passes t othe slde of the rush,

,&a:ny coaches will not ,~eta receiver get downfield witbou't,ha'vjug someone striking h~m first O n nl e Iine of s cr .iU U ll a ge ,There is a gr at de.al tOI be s,~id in .~VO(r 0 this tactic. If areceiver ] : s ; eonts ..eted GD tIle' line of sodmmag'B .. he i : s . [lot on]y


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d,elaye~din , gettin,g dO'~6,dd. 'b'llt ,he IS u S W l a l l y forced to run hisIn,tended path d.:ffenmtl y . ,The ends rna y be' del ayed by the defensi ve ends, Line ..backers can be used to' hold up receivers). and "tackles can holdmp receivers hom a wide-tackle six-man line. There are somedisadvantages to holding up receivers. The man. d()tng the bold=~ng w iD be rome vulnerable to a block : f -om the end. The de~,Fender must be. taught to treat ev. 'ry move of the end as an,intended block and that he must 6rst defeat that block', Thed,efencler .~$ also delayed in getting ~to his. ather ass.i.gnment~which fOl a '~ in eb a ck er m ,a y be ' to ' drop back and .cover a Batarea.

If a good reeeiver sIP]its ow :t v ,ery 'w~d, some coaches puttwo men O ' J l , him one to hit l'nJm. 011 the line of scrimmage andthe othe, ,to cover him dcwnfield. In thls situatlon the defensebl the middle of th e J 1 e m d i s . shy one man and can v'e} 'Y w e n hehurt by a I1Jln,

The most successful pas,s defense QUIT " ,o,pponen ts 'have usedag:,a~nstus has been , to hold up our : 1 ." - eeivers on the. H ue of scrim-fllag,e. We h a v e recently been able to defeal t t J h . i s . stratle,gy so' thatwe 110 longet are bothered, b~yit"We have run more often eo thearea in w,bich the holdlng-up has taken place=usll.a ly ,oH-tacldreor around the end ..We, give our e r ds a g . o o d , deal of practice onblocking a man who, is try'ng to ' hold them u p . .The b lock is asimple O F T h 6 because the defender is : n a 'higher body pos,i~;illanand has more ,~eight on his. heels ,for body control, It is verychff ic lI J ll t :fot a , d e f e n d e r t o tt'y to de'~~y receiver and a l s o . : 5 : J 'K ) " Pa . powe ~runn~ng p Ilythat is ,ooming d,gh~at him.O ~ hedel - f' 1 e : l " O o m - m ; l l " gbu~'7 . e a y i n g 6 1 1 t e c , ~ . m . v e 1 i . ' , s

Another way we ha V'~ overcome '[his pMS defense is bys.plitting our receivers wide. The 'best rigbt end we ever aadused to be double-teamed. W'e would spW ithbn, rea l w i,de" and, 3 . linebacker and halfback would both g:o out with him 00 d e I D a yhim, a't the ....e of' senrnmage and also rCOV' ,er deep. Figure .sOshows the 'N 'ay one team handl ed this,

W,e w e : r ' e v~y successful :runn.~ng OUI o B f , ~ - t a r C l d e Pl-ay to


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T0,:,',[ "" . . . . . . . 1 0 " - . ".o o'~he ;right and. our -46--0 'p ass to our 'ha:~fhack in the left Bat.These two p~8tysaccounted for our soorir g tha.t day. When thedefenSl; began. being hurt to o rnueh, tbey would. only send outone nU:I11J 'with 'our : : l i i g h . ' t end a n d ,this is eaaetly what we wanted,\tVef.eel-tbait c l ances for success are excellent when t l T h e defensecovers our bes t receiver wi. 'honly IO:!JiU~man ..We .also s:plit both ends "[lea] w,wde~~nd no team ibas yetsen two,men out on each .split end, They 'lll,ay do: it on Q,lle;side~.burt they 'would be spreading thems.eiv,es tOOl thin by US:~ g

_ L" .~1:..,' h . 1 - ' ' . _ .O J ! ' " d J . :m . .a man to .[Wlt eaen receiver on I t _ e nne O\l scnmmage: iiB]:_ menSHolt'her mallJ 'W OO"V'1'hirn deep. If both ends Me .s-pUt widle; etleast one of them wHl no longl& be deiii9.yBd on the Hne ofscrimmage, and W'e' can then run .b~div~dual p,us patterns 0 0 1

. ' I i " ' "tJUS reeerver,

Complete Downlieldl . C ov'e : . '.The. p l lio f,ess ioEM 1]S cover d-OiwnS,eJd completely and usuallyrush with olnl] four men, They arr'Jcompelled by- the. cnl ruber ofthe p a : S ' s m . g to do this ... ~ ven the' most unb,)w].,edgea,b]Je an'\cogniz~s that it is . very hard to have a ,good rush on dl,e pro-ressional passer. In c omple te . do .\mD :e 1l.dooverage the ddef!l)siveu.ne:men must 'be at leas t as capable as 'the o~ensjve lin 'men.

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They win bl,lIe Ito defeat one blocker, O J : ' perhaps twe, l b e l o . 1 ! ' Bthey are free to rush the passer. They must put somltprMsweon the passer. Downfleld defense, is useall y a zone' defense ..wilD,each def,e;)].der ha:vmg an area to, cove .,A ~cal d e : f .@ l ls , e ' which,g~ves suah covel,age js the Old,aholma 5 - - - 4 , (see Figul'e 81).,

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T G T'0


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Pa:tsmg ~',I~~~U:ff 'Ul~,!l}overa;ge$ho~~,d. ~,I'1o!u1"0ThlP(tne~'ltp r ."eSeflt' you with a down:S~ld, cov-

er',~~ ,a,fthis: tYPI~~,the :iflr,:std~~ngyou should do is to be g:1~a.tetul,As ~ 'p:aJ,s~rthe thing I :~p'p'r~(.iiated.most 'W:~~ ample t.~me,~Ther~were pJa'y~~ ,thou~h nuott , ' , ""ery m,~ny~ m whteh Iwas abh to,Lilrow' to :t:he tlrn"\c[ receiver IIOQk .d ~:t- To ~ombat 100m p.Iete,cov:e:rag-e :y'0i~ :mtlS~t 'have a good p,~~i:"h9W a few' g(]od receivers,and. an adeqll.l ate line eo proteet. The key here Is the p"as~~er,.Hm,ust have ;at go@d, S\~I1S of Um,ing_ 'W'e aS~tlJll1~ he 'y'!,iU haveamp:m,e 'U me t :a:nd. ,an..leJP~ receiver. It is ~l1i.epasser's job to seetl1,at the ban arrives, 011 time.

Your 'pa,~tl:el' can 'help by ' tl .c w t :])~oking at the fn'teJ.i),d,ed,lreceiver ftr-8t'. DeleflJs~ive personnel :9J,"e'tra,ftnGd, 'to watch th'tpasser's ye~ J 3 G l l " an ind:ic~Jioll. C \ f '\vnere .h'el Intends to throw., e will have sufficient tinJ!' to look elsewhere an,d even fo make

a " ;~le '~n a~loltber dwec,tfon before lookin,g: : a " t ~he inte:n,de,dreceiver. If ,you have a" 'passer who is ;a t fail!" .rlllnnle~~o l " 1 l ~m y a. ' i l J ~ w . , Y ',poor dsfens',e would drop ~U the W3Y baek, 'W,e enorJu,rag,e CUiF'1)lass@([~o d ' d f t I~ut leDfh r u . : spocket i . r he feels no pres~Ul~e: fr~,m, oneside . 0 ( 1 ' _th .other. Som of '~J:u:~ongest runs ~u a ball g : , ~ : r l l l e are,orften m alO O by t_h,~quarte'rbaJck who has d,e~id,ed h) take off OW lhi$ ()~~10a :pass p~ay.,Type of.' pa,s);

N,g ma.rtteil: wha't pas$ ~-o'u " i : J " y a!J'afnst 'comp]~t~ down:6~'idcoverage, ca defensive man \v.i]] ~lwariS' 'be in the area o . f t~e~eceive\l,.,'Y,o'llwill ;6:~d it receiver in 'the ,c~,earonly if the d~ffins:eis: fGo~,ooby an ,acti~D ,pass. If 'yTIU, 0 5 1 ) ] it YOtU '" ends ' wwde ! , eaehde:le1l,dBr's. . s o n e 'w iD . be w~del1ed and. you wi,)] force the d e . ! ff i@ l1 1 . S e .to use ,ma,W),-to-l!ll1,an covii3;rag~" YQU can aI~o Hne up YOJl&rb~tl-'eoefvel' ,agiaJ.iust t'ije, poorest def'e:nd[ and run , ~ J . ' i n I , lo.da '~idualp a s s : pa:ttetn. F1ootl~n,g , a J , c i . e f e [ l . ' ]S,[V~ zo


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M_wn p:~s@s,,~ut the key to suceess w m be the. accuracy ofyt(~'WLpas~er's 'trumin,g.

Ma;n -to -man . oQi\ -~ ,e :r-ag'e .equires a. defender to 'be assignedto each pot,entia_ receiver W 1 d . to OO'VlBrhim no m.aJUer when~ 'beg,oes. M,t'is a very easv pass del\~:~a;~: to uS lSbut requites: s l l . p a . r . i o r -p.8r'.!H)nnel for ,effectIve' execution. The hnebackers i . 8 . f S p O ' l ] S , f b l e . .~Ol"l'(mn!ling'plays and for oov,ef 'Jng: haafbaeb on p~~ plays hEillv'every dime-ult tasb to pe,r.f(H'1ll and must be very capable oot~ban p~aye:rs: .A linebaekle(( needs' b) be ,d .8ooivecl ,oo1y onee inrotldnkng a pass is a running play ,aJnd yoo have a tou chdO "Wn.Figure 82 shows a typic::aa mgn~tQ-man (ldensive aU;p1,-ment, Pro-left P~$ {s~ia,gr'amGd. to ,ihow dtu~~~:yp~of p~J:tte:mwewould. want 0 0 ' run, \V 8.:'try to ,c le ru " a dee:p defen .~V~ 2Jone by:r'Unnl~l"g th e deep deier.uleN out o lf m 't and then sending a haU:- ,back down in't,o this zone,. Tins results m . tlle men-te-menC~)V@I~2Il,gef ,3 , halfback 'by 8. UDlebackel ' . ,

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B 4E T ,6 T EOO~O,O

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It 'would, seem that 'the only a~dvan tag:e to e nploytng aman-to-raan pass defense is' 'th9f~ the coach will know whicchdefender to blame. when ,~ pass is caughr, Srun,c~' there i ; s too,g~eat an o,lPportnnity fo,r :~,d,efender to make a fatal mistake,'we seldom l a c @ : a s,tl'iotly man-to-man defense. Ma,ny 0 our;) ' .[ 0p 'p O \ n . .en ts do O O V 1 e l ' a . few o f our receivers man-to-man, p ~ n -

'tie ilarly backs running ,plt.tt'eI1U from the de6p set pos,iUo:n InOUr backfleld. When,eve.r possible we spl~t eu r reeei vers realwide in an attempt to force our opponent into man-to-manoovel~ag:e,.Type of pass:

Any pas.s that will p'~ta good man against a poorer mans~bau]d. be uSled agatnst man -to-rn ~11 dlefeQse" Your d~CQy re -cetvers should clear tlleir defenders from a zone so that theintended receiver wiU have 001y one man to beat ,m thi s zone.For .sp'~it receivers, we roo ,~urRoger and ou~e indivIdualpasses, TIlese patterns include sidehine. hook, S,ly~gO, out-and-down , h cok-end -g c :~.u]dany adler moves t 'b.aJ, ttIle receiver Ieelsean deE,ea,' his opponent, For' our backs we run pro. passes,screens, f:aU-oiI:s} and off-tackle' actio], pass~s. ..e hit out slotback on t l 1 r e ,sprint pass', ~I"a:U-out~tratl-tn, hoek-go and thecross p',us. If we. fin,a man-to-man cove:ra,ge on only lone re-eeiver ~ such as the left ha.lfback, we impliov lise :P'f llSS paths fo~him to take R,:roperadlvanta,ge of t l 1 B situation.

While man-ta-man c()vler,~ge is rhe easiest p,a:ssdefense toteach" it [definitely is the poorest type ar the h~l'l:=,schoo] level.It re qu ire s S o U perfor defe nsive p ersonnel to be @ foo'U v e. A hig'l'll=school boy is j'ust not ~x,pe'Ieneed enough to properly execute:hisp\~rt.

As zone J.H1SS' ooverage i s . Used ~]m,o&t exclnsi vel inhi,gh,=sc]001 Feetball, it seems to be the bes.t method, Perhaps itwould be morepreeise to' say,. zone pass defense is 'the least


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e0?r of a ll pass. derellses. T he only 'w ,ay to T h)a .v~.~ p e : [ i , l e c . t t P~$$d~en.se is to use more 'tThl~.n eleven men. 1 - o,w'ever;pa p~;ssdefense Cain be made excellent by the people playmg: it. Theymust bow their assignm@nts , thQ(l;ougll ly and be ,Jerry alert and~,ggres.sive inca.rrying,them out ..'W e ,a - nmss o,f zone defense

Zon~ pass de!ensl@' 'bas so m.fUly ,0bvious weaknesses that .itis a wonder It is 'Used at aU,.1. Un m r ! S $ the defense 'fuSJU!;lS with onJy fOiillr men n o t all

0 ' the zones wiU be covered. One rna; , us ;u aUy a, Jlne~backer, is often assigned to cover both a t ,UJ 6 . 1 : aind aBat zone.2. The reeei V8S are not C O D ' t h J M ] ] J a l l y covered as t h e y P B S Sfrom One' zone to ano ther.3. Coverage deep down6.eld oan become confusing whena " deep reeei ver is ronning diagonally from one, zone~ntoanother. "

4." O:ffensive parss. pa t eems will atesmpt to :800d a :zjo.n~ andoutnumber the' defenders in a ,given area,

5.. By spli tUng, wide on one or both sides, the O,fferd9 canspread the zone and give eaoh d,e:tende,r a . larg,~(farea tocover.

Advan.ta ,g es: 'o f zone defenseThe adv an tages of zone defense are also many,I, It is . i~as.y to' tea ..h.2. Every receiver , r f n..ot S ! ; , C ' t u ; a : U y (~ov'er,ed w i 1 1 . l h ' 9 . d a, de",fender close by.,8. It is the 'most- etff'ective defense f ( i ! i i " pre-venting 'lite m O r n . g 'touchdown pass" -4, ~n a pass: is caught, the defenders closrnng In shouldbe man y and s:bou1d qul-cklry cover 'tbe reoew.v,el.

it Linemen do, not have to chase speedy backs. deepdown fleld.,6. M


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T hey w iU took w l.u ~re 'the .y ,~ re g O l i a , g to t~,O'''V. On ~Ol1gp,a.:s:S she b all w ill be in, th~ air a long t im,e~ ~flr(ffi tl1~passer's sccurnoy and sense of'timln,g wi]] not 'be vel)'lood,.7" On a long pass several defenders should be at the po~n.tof reeepdcn by the, ' fwme tl'},@ ball arrives,8. Blocking' on inte roeptiol!L s can quiekl y be formed borna zone d8f[ens:~",,:'Olrm81'~zene oO lve r , ag~

~vlJ05t ZO~e defenses e m , p : r n o : y a I. 3=-: l type : o f def,el1Js~ve C()V-e f'a g'e . " hree men are ~s.igne.d deep outside ..deep midd] ~anddeep! outside. Tl16 other three men ale tJlssig.ned. the four shorterpassing zones ~the two hook a\l'6RS and the two 9~t -areas, The]h;'J leb acke r w ho is a ssigned tw o zones, to cover is u su ally gjven.a,, k , e y or som ,e SOJ:t of ru le to :he:l.p 'hin1 do the job. 'This leavesl1v mel] eo ru sh the , pa .ss.m a nd a~, occasional linebacker torush by ,shulHng.,

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Althcug I a d,ef'e lls"e rna.\y not: alwax s look like 3-3,eovera.gl@,i . 1 wtll usuallj end[ u:p tha't way. The umbrella defense, w'hichhas ~,two-deep ,app lea i ranee will, '0: pn3d[~rm,h:'H~drota tion 10 -rotation by keymg, end u,p wi't'b three-deep e'C)Vei'2:glf;', F~gure B3shows the wa: thi s ZOI e 'would, CCn -er (f 't- pro-right pass,

Force ~nme m alliJ,~to-m3ln 'C011e'E.g eT he one thlng we do!ntt want to happen to OUI' awn 'zan!:plass defense is to haVle' itforced l'nto som e man-to-man cover-

, 8 . l g ~ .Therefore ~the first t'l1mg we try to do ~ : s force oui' opponent~I!iJb~man-to- man COye1age by spltuing a reeei ver, Or preferablytwo receivers, rea [ wid _.The' defense is forced ' 'i II ~ Ilet to stretchtheir zones and [email protected] Iarge ,g;a,~s],[' to, use some man-to-manC(} . ' i IN~rage. .

Split ing 10 h receivers real wide will l~eally o.'Pe~, 'illp thepass ,defense and complicaee yout opponent's job o,f pass, derensi!".In FIgure 8.4, [he defensive halfbacks are forced to coverI~he split ends [0 a n - te-rnan if. the ends st a_r t ;b y runnfng a d e - _ poutside pattern, it. J isth:n ' JilIow,], fot th e d~,f,en5e tOI COV~1I1 ' ashallower till ts ide, ~on le , as :omeur. Tran -ou t p,:ass. If the Cornertrfes 0 cover the ~ 1 i i: ]Q t . man, the slot fun, big Hat pattern a lUt]l'deeper, If th safety rnan attemp ts to co', er the sl 0 - 1 : back in theIlat~we will have f ,ol] :ced the defense into deep man-to-manoove'urge,

00. the Tr::Ill,]-out p\~H~S!,i~ the cove[ 'ag ,0 i l Je .co,mes st ~,ict]]yman-to-man, he left end. has olnly lone man to be~t 101 " ,sixpoints, Wi"Hl our receivers ~pHt real wide; 'we :run our Trail-cutpass , spr~nt~'ou t . pass, and :pr.o 'pass~s.. Our Leuie and R.o,le:r.Iadlvidual passes are used a great dea \'1Iiththe pl8Uetns. thatexpl oi t the (lu.tslde' pass,ing zones t . that is) the sta y 1 ~a.y'~go,hook. si,de]ine~ out-end-down, ,~nd the book-go p,~rUle.'ti:1Si., ,Also,to,complieate the defense' s peoblems, we run our tac'kIB""e1ig~iblBpass from 'this forma Ion,
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14/16

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F'looding '~O'nesA ve:m:y e~ff~ctl 'Ve'way 'to' def,'al,t a zone pus' dMe-nse 'is to8o~od defensive zones w.~.th a ,snrplu.'S' of receivers, A ,!tt'oUout p\~,sscan do this q'~.dte0i,ectivlBly (see Fi,g1Jr,e85), This is norm,aUydone by running' three receivers iDw two defensive 20BSS. 11.-,;;\]'-orut pass~f:dl off' r,~ghtwill place three rnceh ers down the. rightstdeline, OU] shallow, ene in. the deep :8:a't~nd one deep outside"P llio".r-ight .p'ass thrown to th'e slot hack on a delayed, hook WilleBfectively Hood the .inside hook zone In ,add[t~o.n : t - a these two'pa.s;ses, we wi 1 Bood zones by :Smipping O'D,e of O:! lU tw o deepbacks into one of ow ' standal' d.pa:ss;patterns.When you Blood a .:lQll.1, t:be.f:e,should be att least one re-loe: i lver. in the elear , Ther e 'wiU be. defenders fl!ea.:rby, bow ver;'wb.o w H 1 belin to' move tOlwrurd,the receiver once the ball isthrown, 'To be successful in HoodiJlg areas, your passe.t"must beaccurate, 'thr()'w hard and have good ,timing,

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15/16

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In attacking a zone pass: def'ense we by to take advantageo Its inherent weaknesses Becefvers passing: frO]]:l one zone toanother wi Ii be momentartly , o p e I 1 . , 0 ur T'1:,aj]-j11. pass. is. ourmost efF~tive p~I'S because it Is des'gl~~e'dto hit O;UT trs Ubi.gend in the defensive "blmd" "Spots; that is~bit "tdm when he isbetween zones, Fi.,g,ure 5 in Chapter' 2 demonsti~ates this quitewell "Our hook-go standard pass p,aUern Is exeeu ted so that thepaths are ru n dead. bet\:ve~l1,defensive zones, Thi~greatl Y COD-fus,~s the defen se because .he} don't quite know who is tocovel" 'which receiver, By co.:nf~~ng the defense momentarily,Y O U T receivers win Qieak into ,tbe open for a sh.OF.t period oftime.T he :pas.s:er i c S th~ key

The secret to, pass:~n,gsuocessfuUy against a zone is: to have


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a good pasS",er" The mo:r'~'rime: ~nd C08tchin,g you ~lGv.oh~~o yOUI'passer t the better yOIJI" chances a e. for a successful p~ssi:nggame', Zone defense rehes a good deal en th~' inadequacy of 'til epasser~ -,,articula; [y with respect 00 l,is Urnirn lg and accuracy,Pass pa;UeJ'~u are seeondary. Develop an outsta:D.dling paSSA'l1~lfing with eap~bJ.e receivers ,alnd M]l ,"v~.Jl-concel\ i ' ! !2-( l pa:tb~rnSlllOU[d h,~v~ reasonable suceess, Tl e best way to beat any pa_$sdlefense is to ,ba,ve ai, g,'cd p\ass~r and ' t J l l e best ..,yayto heat agood passer is 11 , 0 t to g~vehim e.noiligh 'Hnle t o . pass,

Because VMe at', h a - s , j ; c a ~ : ] y a l ? \ ~ i H i is i 1 1 : geam, one o O , f the ~ticldeDbenefits , o f the Hrne we spend on our. passing of.ie:llse is tllatdefensive t;kHls are billS: developed at dH 3 same time, VVhenpass-pmtection bJ~odkingts beiog ,tatlght '~Oa Iinernan, the de-Ienslve lmeman ]S alse ~,eafning how to avoid ,a , block atld howto rush the passer. "VlIe fhrow our pas,$:p,~Uetusa ,great deal indummy scdm:mag~ and there.Is no beUe1' ,pass defense to throwagainst fitan you)" own. 'Ou)"pass,blg attalck is varied enough sathat 0 1 1 1 . [ " own defense is 'put tOI a real t~st in thts s~ tma l i, a] jl - 'Beco.me a p a s s : , d e . f ! i Z J ru 't ~ !ex,p-e~il '

The bes t l ; v , a y tu attack a ly pass clef0ns.e, is Itlobeeemecom,p[~te.ly fa rnU ja r "', it]) a ll of tIle various ~,y es of p~"S d ~fense, If you employ a certain pass def18lrJise yml~ellf:~you erewell aware of ~,t,sweaknesses, If yotl~'o.ppo~ ,e l1 l .lSS fbe san edefense, it certain 1y is g,O,hllg to ha ve th.e same weaknesses.Becaus-e we ~pend ccnsiderable pifaiCtice time on our pu~ 01 -fensj'V~ we also spend an eq I.d va~ent amount of time 01.1 passdefellse, We have 1ea ned a gre~ t d.eal about pass defense Inour OWl} pr,act~ces,. A _ ] ~ the, :mormatioo we, CiUl absor h onpass dJeiense' wiH be extremely helpf.l in auaoking our op-ponent's p~ss defen~e.

Attacking Pass Defense

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