Discussion on the effectiveness of simulated pressure in football

In this podcast episode, Brian Burke, a sports studio scientist at ESPN, discusses the concept of simulated pressure in football defenses. Simulated pressure involves lining up like a blitz with multiple defenders on the line of scrimmage, but only rushing four, dropping the others into coverage. This creates confusion for the offensive line and can lead to one-on-one matchups and wasted blockers. Burke explains that more exotic pressure schemes, like simulated pressure, can be highly effective in generating sacks and reducing yards per attempt for the opposing offense.