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Hi Coach...
I have been coaching for nearly 25 years now and I've been doing mostly offense for the last 15. Now I am in a new job and new team, and I have been assigned the outside LB's in the 4/4 defense. I have a good idea on how to go with these guys. I believe I will coach them much like "run first" strong safeties. (I played strong safety way back in the days of college, I am 52 now J) Reaching back in the memory and books on the 5/2 monster which I played...I am thinking those techniques are still applicable. So my question is...do you think I am on the right track here? We run cover 3 mostly and I am assigned flat coverage in pass...read run first and I figure to attack the run outside in aggressively getting as deep as the deepest back. What do you think? I am thinking that would help the 6 left in the box to run stunts, etc. Do you have any suggestions on scheming and/or coaching these guys up? I remember all...or most...of my old Strong Safety drills.
Thanks a bunch.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
One of the areas you may want to focus on immediately is how the triangle of OLB, DE, and ILB are going to function as a unit in your defensive package. Their responsibilities need to be coordinated so that the responsibility for contain, anchor, cutback are clear to each player at the start of every play. As a position coach, it is vitally important that you are aware and understand the teaching and responsibilities of the triangle players surrounding the position you are coaching.
You may want to consider the coordination of the three in the following ways with a run coming wide to their side of the formation.
Your base might be a wide alignment by the DE, an inside alignment by the OLB and, a stacked alignment behind the DT by he ILB on that side. In this alignment the DE would have contain responsibility [playing inside/out on the lead blocker and forcing the ball carrier back to the inside - he would automatically have the pitch man on any option play].
Your OLB [the anchor] would now fill inside of the DE [C gap], be ready for the inside cut of the ball carrier and be in position to pursue the ball on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage if it goes wide [he would automatically be responsible for the QB on the option].
The ILB on the wide run would check B gap, and look for any sharp cutback in the center of the field, and then be in position to pursue the ball on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage if it goes wide.
The change up from this base defense could be as follows. The OLB and DE switch assignments, with the OLB now assuming contain responsibilities and taking the pitch man on option.
The change I would suggest to your original thinking is that I would try to have the force point be three yards outside the DE and two yards across the line of scrimmage and not as deep as the ball carrier.
I have found that if you get this deep you create a running lane in depth where the ball carrier merely dips inside at the force point and then has room to immediately take it back out to the sideline once he is past the OLB.
The third option would be keeping the OLB on the outside and having the DE slant hard into the B Gap with the ILB now scrapping fast to the C Gap, becoming the anchor and taking the QB.
All of these scenarios will allow the OLB to get to the flat on pass and to be a backside pursuit player on any run to the other side of the formation, always alert for any extreme cutback by the ball carrier. The DE can always be an outside rusher on pass and the ILB can easily drop back into the hook zone on pass.
On each of these configurations we remain constant, in that we have one player who has force [plays outside/in and has the pitch man], one player who is the anchor [never widening until the ball crosses his nose and he has the QB], and one player coming from the inside/out looking for the cutback before moving wide in pursuit.
Talk it over with your DE and ILB coach and see if any of this makes sense with the package you are presently running, Coach Tom Bass.