TCU Blitz Package

TCU Blitz Package

This season we are working on on transitioning to a 4-2-5 defense. For a few years now we have been a 3-4 and it has served us well, however, as often happens in high school, our personnel for the near feature dictates that we no longer can run the 3-4

Personnel 

I am a big proponent of fitting a system to a kid and not a kid into a system. Its hard enough to be a high school kid, nevermind a high school football player, so why not put more on myself to fit the system to them, then making them do something that makes it harder to create success.  

We have seen a move to more hybrid kids at our school. We no longer have a big 300 lb nose tackle, but we do have 6 250 lb kids that can do a little work on the line. We dont have the 235 lb LBs anymore, but we do have faster, 22lb kids that can play either MLB or W/s/$ in this system.

4-2-5 

When transferring defenses, I believe in always starting to learn from the best, and recent history tells us its this guy....

2014 AFCA Coach of the Year, Gary Patterson.  You cannot read anything on the internet about the 425 without immediately being directed to him. I have read a lot of information so far, and it is all clear and concise in his system. It has been about as much of a smooth transition as one could hope for up to this point, and that is a credit to Patterson's simpleness, and me gaining the information by way of Brophy and Coach Hoover.   

Blitz Package

The easiest thing I have been able to install is the blitz package due to an excellent film I found.  

The Blitz Package

Coverage and Philosophy

Bullets

Bullets are inside linebacker blitzes.  

Smokes

Smokes are Safety Blitzes. Lions are Smokes but with an exchange with the End.

DOGS

Dogs combine the Safety and the Inside LB to the same side. 

Bullets Thunder

Bullets Thunder brings both ILB and a Safety. The Safety must make a COP call to tell his DE that he has the DE in coverage. 

ALL PLAYBOOK PAGES COURTESY OF JIM LIGHT FOOTBALL, CHECK OUT HIS INCREDIBLE SITE. 

Hopefully this helps you have half the success of Gary Patterson. Any questions, as always, leave in the comment sections, Ill always answer as best I can. 

Finally....Defense!! Some defensive ideas and Al Golden "Utilizing Safeties to Stop the Run"

After 21 posts, I finally get to do one on defense and its a great way to start with some notes from Al Golden's Nike AC Clinic on "Utilizing the Safeties to Stop the Run".  



First to start off with some a quick defensive thoughts:

1 Mistake on Offense= 2nd Down
2 Mistakes on Offense= 3rd Down
3 Mistakes on Offense= Punt
1 Mistake on Defense= 6pts!!!

This is the stress of a defensive coordinator. 


AL GOLDEN

The following are the "Snake" Blitzes

Snake=Strong Safety Blitz
Sloop=Flat Defender

Other notes:

• Seam always plays #2 inside out
• Corners must always be ready to crack replace
• If your $ is getting cracked on the way in they check "Cobra" and have the corner run the blitz, play cloud force, and roll $ down to hard corner. 

Against 10,12, and 22 personnel he is going to use "2 sloop" a form of cover 2 as the coverage behind the pressure. 

Against 21 personnel he uses "Cover 9"  basically a Fire Zone concept coverage

There is also the option of bringing the Free Safety from the weakside. Behind it, he plays a combo coverage with "Cover 2" to the pressure side and a man concept to the strong side of the formation. A free safety blitz is called Flash. So this play is Over Flash Combo in the style of Front/Blitz/Coverage.  

Note for the Free:  The Free in pressure always follows the stick player and plays off his butt. 

I love this last pressure, especially against a team that likes to run weak out of this formation. I'm not always crazy about end/"elmo" force, but here it seems as if it would work fine.