The Football Coaching Podcast with Joe Daniel

Protect your passing game using slide protection. Get the details of how to coach slide protection in the quick game and drop back pass to give your quarterback time to throw the ball.

This episode of The Football Coaching Podcast takes a deep dive look at the Buck Sweep play. It is the key play in the Buck Series, the most common series seen from Wing-T attacks at the high school level.

Defensive Line Stunts are a great way to be aggressive up front in your defensive calls without weakening your coverage packages. This episode takes a deep dive on Defensive Line Stunts including slants and twists. Every episode in Season 8 is a deep dive into a particular play call (or family of calls, in this case). I’ll share origins of the call, why you run the call and how to coach your players to execute it. Then we look at how coaches on the other side of the ball can attack the call and defeat it.

Deep Dive on the Counter Trey run play made famous in the NFL by the early 1980's Washington run game! This play is a feature of the One Back Offense. Learn the origins of the play, how to execute it, and how to stop the Counter Trey.

It's been around forever. The 4 verticals passing concept is probably the most commonly called passing concept in football today. But there's a lot more to it than just running 4 guys down the field.

Part 1: Origins of the Call Where did the Double A Gap Blitz come from? Blood, Sweat and Chalk credits Jim Johnson as DC under Andy Reid’s Eagles teams in the early 2000s. Credit to Cincinnati Enquirer article, Mike Zimmer as Defensive Coordinator in Cincinnati really popularized it (with Paul Guenther?). Teams have been attacking the A Gaps since the start of football. Johnson developed the double A gap scheme to force the Offensive Line to adjust protections by putting immediate pressure up the middle. Zimmer article mentions using the blitzes to disguise coverage. I guess?    Part 2: Execution of the Call   How do you run a Double A Gap Blitz? Blitzing two linebackers (or a linebacker and a safety) in the A Gaps. The Defensive Tackles have to get out of the A gaps, so you’re probably lining up in a 40 front with either 2’s, 3’s or 2i’s that will stunt out.  Walking the linebackers up on the line forces the Offensive Line to either check protection to a slide or gap protection, or let the back handle one of the linebackers on an immediate rush with no help.   An adjustment I like is to stack the two rushers. This is because our guys are not NFL, and so the back guy has a better chance of dropping off for either zone or man blitzes. You can also drop both and play traditional cover 3 if they know how to zone drop. With both guys up, drop the man the center steps to, and blitz the other one. You end up with a 3 under/3 deep Crossfires are great for pass blitzing in High School.    Part 3: Attacking the Call What do you run to attack Double A Gap Blitzes? Teams are primarily running double A gap blitzes to attack a pocket passer. It’s a great blitz in the NFL, but you probably aren’t seeing drop back passers 8 games a season. You can also attack interior run plays like a midline or trap play. Run the ball off tackle. Just run an outside zone play, those backers are locked into the A gap and can’t scrape to build a wall against the edge runs. A toss play or jet sweep takes them completely out of the equation. Linebackers aren’t adept at keying down blocks the way a defensive lineman is. Try to trap one of them. If you can pop to the second level there’s no one there. One on one with the safety.  Slide protection is your best bet, but get the ball out quickly. If you’ve got a 3-step quick pass called, use a slide protection to get the ball out.  Screens!  Get the QB in shotgun (no matter what), and then get him on the move. Sprint out or roll out. Don’t bother with play action, the backers are already sucked up. Hit a quick drag route or TE pop pass, or any sort of moving route.