Two Gap, One Gap Defensive Line Revisited

I'm not sure any one post I've ever written has generated as much email, both pro and con, in my inbox.  What is amazing to me, is the lack of understanding folks have for this concept and technique.  What I'm going to do today, is revisit the original post and look at Two Gap/One Gap (TGOG) from the perspective it was meant to be run from and that was helping the 4-3 defense to defend the spread offense.

Purpose
TGOG was developed as the shotgun, power run game came into effect in the landscape of college football.  As we all know, when facing doubles, in the 4-3 defense, generally both outside linebackers (OLB's) will have to walk out and honor each of the two receiving threats to the outside of the defense.  If not, the defense stands to become outflanked.  Enter in today's offenses that mix zone and power runs with fast, or bubble screens, or even down-the-field passes and you have a tremendous need for the OLB's to be able to play outside of the box.  There are many answers to having just a five man box in the 4-3, and one of those answers is TGOG.

Remember, when walking both OLB's out of the box in the 4-3 you are now playing to the offense's hand if you keep your defensive line (DL) in their respective gaps.  There are potentially six offensive blockers, which means there are seven gaps and you only have five immediate bodies there to help.  Even if you counted the OLB's in the fit, you end up cancelling them out because by alignment, they are in the same gap as the defensive ends (DE's).  Something has got to give.  Enter in TGOG which actually fits the pieces of the defense right into where the offense is attempting to run the football.  Because of this fit, the ball is pushed directly to where the offense doesn't have good leverage with its blockers.  By using TGOG you can now add the OLB's back into the count of the run fit, because, even though displaced, the defensive reaction is setting them up to be in the proper gap.

OLB's displaced from the box

In my original posts on TGOG, I drew it up against two back, power run game.  It can be used against these offenses, but the technique is at its best when attacking one back zone run teams.  The technique doesn't do too bad against one back power run game either.  If using it as a base DL technique, the only issue that needs to be guarded against is the three technique getting washed down inside on double teams.

The Basics
As you remember from before there are rules to follow for this technique.  On each snap, depending on the front, the DL has to figure out what kind of player they are (i.e. am I a two gap player or a one gap player).  The rules are simple, if your alignment puts you next to an open gap to your inside, you are a two gap player.  If your alignment puts you next to a gap that is already occupied by another DL, then you are a one gap player.  So, looking at the traditional open sets of 10 personnel, with the three technique set away from the running back (RB) in the shotgun, you can see, by alignment, the 3 technique (T) and the weakside DE are the two gap players.  The gaps to the inside, or in towards the football (center of formation) is open.  By rule, these players are now two gap players.  The remaining two players, the strong DE (A) and the Nose (N) are one gap players.  The Nose gets people confused because they feel like because the gap "inside" of him would be the strong A gap is open, he too would be a two gapper.  This is not the case.  The Nose is taught, early on, that if aligned in the A gap, he's a one gap player.

Many folks have been confused by this, thinking that there will be one two gapper and one one gapper on each side of the formation, and this simply isn't true.  Looking at the set up for 11 personnel and you can now see to the tight end (TE) side of the formation, you actually end up with two players that are two gapping (both the Tackle and the DE).  On the open side, the set up, is of course, the same as it would be for 10 personnel.  For me, the weak side rarely changes because I do not line up my weak DE in anything other than a five or a seven technique.

Fronts can change assignments.  If you look at the two illustrations below, the Indian and the Outlaw fronts make a difference as to what the DL is doing.  With the Tackle and Nose in 2I techniques (Indian), both of those players are now one gap players, while both DE's are now two gap players.  In the Outlaw front (both the Nose and Tackle in three techniques), the Nose and Tackle are now two gappers, while the DE's are one gap players.  Again, it is quite simple to determine who has what, by following the alignment rules.

Stance and Alignment
I get several questions about this as well.  I don't have a great answer for a lot of this, because it really depends on what kind of player you have where you're at.  Where I coach at now, we've got one hell of a DL, so we don't really change our alignment much when we run TGOG.  My last stop, however, yes, we had to change our alignment a bit for our guys to get the job done.

The one gap player, if anything, needs to align just a bit wider than he normally would.  For an interior DL, this doesn't matter as much as it does the DE.  In some of the fits, the DE will actually be the guy setting the edge, so he'll need to be in a position where he doesn't get reached.  Getting reached is the number one cardinal sin for the DE, so he will need to align where this cannot happen.

Difference in alignments of a one-gapper (DE) and two-gapper (DT)

Technique- The One Gapper
The one gap player is a very simple technique.  They are rush players.  Getting up the field is not an issue for them, even against the trap game.  Now this is not to say that they are so far up field they cannot defend the run, or they are creating a gap by their depth.  No, the idea here, is to get off the football, get up the field and find the ball.  Once this player reaches ball depth, they should set their feet and begin to play off the block they are getting.  The main two focal points for the one gap player, is to not get reached (if this requires the player adjusting his base alignment, then do so), and get off the football.

Varying angles of attack by technique.  Two-Gapper (T) attacks the outside eye to center of defender, where One-Gapper (E) plays outside using an "escape" or pass rush mentality.

Technique- The Two Gapper
The two gap player is more of your traditional, block down, step down (BDSD) type player.  This player's main concern is winning the stalemate battle with the offensive lineman (OL) over him.  The idea is to treat this just like the King of the Boards (KOB) drill.  The two gapper is not concerned about getting reached.  If this player gets reached, he's done his job, because his gap is actually the gap inside of his base alignment.  Many folks have confused this technique for a stunt, and THIS IS NOT THE CASE.  The two gap player, will play the inside gap from an outside alignment.  Against a base block, this player will work the blocker backwards until the ball declares, then, and only then, will they work into the inside gap.  Against a reach block, the defender simply allows himself to be overtaken (this should be pretty easy for the OL since the two gappers usually align in a tighter shade than normal).  One of the real benefits of the two gap technique is that of how it handles the down block or scoop block.  Because the defender is in such a "heavy" alignment this makes it very difficult for the down blocking OL to climb to the second level, thereby protecting the LB's.  Second, it puts the two gapper in a great position to spill any trap blocks by pulling OL.  On a pass set by the blocker, the two gap defender will bull rush, then rip under and work into the inside gap.

Linebacker Techniques
The LB techniques don't change all that much from traditional ones except for that of the inside linebackers.  When played from a 4-3 set with both OLB's outside the box, the MLB will use what is called a "fast scrape" technique.  It's called this because the MLB does not care about the cutback.  All he cares about is the angle of the ball, whether it's split zone, or gap runs and what side he's supposed to attack.

Against the split zone stuff, the MLB reads the block of the center.  If the center sticks his nose into the 2I, then the MLB jumps the front side A gap, because the center cannot cut him off.  If the center leaves the 2I and immediately climbs to the Mike, then the Mike sits and will actually allow the center to push him right back into where the ball if being forced to cut back to which is the B gap underneath the guard.  The guard should not be able to handle the one-gapping Nose because he's getting off the ball so hard (remember he's "rushing" not reading).  The guard pushes the Nose into the path of the RB, forcing him to cut back right into the MLB who is being pushed right back into the new path of the RB.  If the back continues to wind the ball back, he'll end up running into the unblocked DE.

Against runs that are full flow type runs (two backs in same direction), the MLB will fast scrape with either two-gapper depending on what side of the ball is being attacked.  Outside zone is a full flow run that when run at the 3 technique the MLB will fast scrape to the outside hip of the two-gapping Tackle.  The Mike takes a flat angle to the ball and if the ball has declared beyond the B gap, he will continue to pursue the ball inside-out.  The center will have a very difficult time getting to the MLB here in this situation because of how lateral the LB is.

If the play is being run to the weak side of the defense the Mike will scrape one gap wider to the outside hip of the two-gapping DE as shown below.  On paper, it looks as though the guard has the angle on the LB, but as long as your LB can rip across face he should be able to scrape to the outside hip of the DE.  If the LB gets reached, it is not an issue because the one-gapping Nose cannot be cut off by the center and will end up in immediate pursuit of the ball unblocked.  The force player can box the lead blocker back (who this is depends on coverage) to the chasing Nose who overtakes the two-gapping DE and can replace the LB if he gets cut off.

MLB gets cut off, Nose replaces in the fit, defense is still +1

Against split flow gap runs, the MLB keys the pullers, and again, has the same scrape aiming points.  This is all based on the fits by the DL and whether they are two-gapping or one-gapping.  If running a counter play to the three technique the offense has the difficulty of trying to double the three to get to the Mike.  As shown below, the two-gapping Tackle drives into the guard forcing a bubble in the offense.  The OT is forced to double to help get movement to get the lane cleared for the BSG to pull through.  The two-gapping technique allows the MLB to scrape off the hip of the Tackle and spill the second puller in the counter gap scheme.

Vs. counter gap to the open B gap side, the MLB simply scrapes one gap wider, again scraping to the outside hip of the two-gapping defender.  His job is still the same, spill the second puller in the counter gap scheme.  This allows the Mike to play fast, as with repetitions and seeing the guard pull, he knows where he  needs to scrape to in order to be in the correct position for his fit.

I get many questions about Power Read or Inverted Veer as well.  Again, just follow the rules listed above and defend the play.  The MLB's rules and fits do not change with the play, he's reading flow type and looking for pullers, then scraping to his fit.  In the case of Inverted Veer, he will scrape to the outside hip of the two-gapping DE and spill the lead blocker out to the OLB or safety (or both depending on how the coverage is set up.  The two-gapping DE also forces the offense to show its hand by forcing the give read to the sweeper.  The DE plays so heavy of a technique the OT cannot get out from underneath him to cut off the running MLB.  Also, many times the offense motions the sweeper back into the box, which adds another player, the OLB to the side away from the offset back that now can also get into the cut back fit if the offense were to fake the sweep and call the QB  keep automatically.

The OLB's are very rarely called into action to fit to an inside gap because of the two-gapping technique.  There are some situations that have the OLB to the Tackle's side of the defense that will have to scrape into the B gap, but due to the two-gapping technique by the Tackle it allows the OLB to be late getting there.

The OLB's run fits are very simple when it comes to where they should be.  Again, they have to know whether they are working with a one-gap DE or a two-gap DE.  The OLB to the two-gapper side has a perfect fit, because all runs will be spilled out to his side.  On runs away, or split zone looks, the OLB scrapes to the outside hip of the DE, replacing the DE and playing the QB on option-type runs.

Against a gap run at the two-gapping DE, the ball is spilled outside to the OLB.  In all actuality, the true fit is that the DE spills to the MLB who boxes to the DE and spills to the OLB.  Either way, the ball will bounce outside to either an unblocked OLB or an unblocked safety, depending on how the coverage is set.

When working with a one-gapping DE, the OLB will fit inside hip of the DE.  For some sets, this can make for a long run by the OLB, but the technique of the Tackle also helps delay the gap declaration because how he plays his two gap technique.

Setting the Front
I also get some questions about how to set the front when using TGOG.  I prefer to set the front away from the offset back.  The main reason is that with the three technique away from the back, the zone runs are tough on the OL and the gap runs, where the offset RB is the lead blocker, get spilled outside by the two-gapping DE.  I'm not saying that you can't set the front otherwise, just simply follow the rules for TGOG and you will be sound against whatever it is you're defending.

Some fronts that present both a two gapper and a one gapper on each side are illustrated below.  These fronts, with either two, 2I's or two 3 techniques change the dynamic of how the offense will attack the defense and keeps the opposing OC guessing as to what you're doing with your front.  With, what I call Outlaw, or 33, the two 3 techniques you get two, two-gapping DT's and two one-gapping DE's.  This front is very good for the zone teams that like to find your 3 technique and then flip the back so they can run zone opposite of him.  Well, don't give them a three technique to attack, give them two!

Outlaw or 33 front

Indian or 11 front

One of my favorite fronts was the two 2I's, or what I called Indian.  What I liked about this front was, you can essentially turn loose your DT's to wreck havoc and it takes the OL three guys to block two.  This keeps the MLB free to scrape C gap to C gap.  The two, two-gapping DE's spilled any gap runs outside to the scraping MLB and the OLB's.  This works great against teams that like to run QB zone or QB Wrap from empty or two-by-two looks that force both OLB's out of the box.  You are pushing the ball out to these players, making the player's job easier to defend both the run and the pass.

Conclusion
I'm hoping this will help to set the record straight on some issues.  This really is a simple technique that can vastly reduce the stress on your OLB's when having to be displaced from the box due to spread sets.  It can be used against two back run game, but is better suited to defend the one back spread run game.  What I really love about the setup is the fact that TGOG attacks gap runs as effectively as it does zone runs.  No need to guess what your opponent is going to run, or get caught in a bad defense, because TGOG is set up to defend both.  TGOG is set up to push the ball where the defense has an unblocked defender, which should be the goal of ANY defensive scheme, not just TGOG.  Again, I'm hoping that this post will shed some light and give clarity to what a good scheme TGOG is.

Duece

Mickey Andrew's Jet Technique

I have had the privilege these past two seasons to coach using this technique and I thought I would share some of the pros and con's of it with my readers.  First off, the technique is nothing miraculous, and many have seen it for years.  I actually have coached with some coaches that have based their entire scheme off of this technique with quite some success.  Some readers on here will recognize the technique being very similar to that of a defense I had researched in the past called the 4-3 Scream and Splatter defense.

Background
One of the first times I saw this technique was in November of 1996 when FSU beat Florida in Tallahassee, on what would lead to the best revenge game I've ever seen in the national championship game that year.  Florida lost that regular season contest 24-21 and Florida quarterback Danny Weurffel took the worst beating I've ever seen a quarterback take in that game.  Weurffel was sacked 6 times and hurried numerous other times that game by the likes of Peter Bouleware, Reinard Wilson, Andre Wadsworth and countless other Seminole defenders.  I never gave it another thought until in 2005, the team I was coaching was facing an opponent that had it's defensive ends in an odd look.  They were tilted, looking almost in, down the offensive line at a severe angle.  I remember back in the day, the Jimmy Johnson 4-3 guys called this "Smoke", but I'd never seen such a radical tilt by a defensive end.  The other thing I noticed, when watching our opponent on film, was the absolute reckless abandonment the ends had.  They flew in like mad hornets, struck whatever was in their path, ran down plays from behind, and in general, made life miserable for opponents.  The defensive coordinator (DC) I was working for at the time, when asked about this, called it the "jet technique".  He had heard the opposing head coach speak at a clinic a few years earlier on the technique and how it worked.  The more and more I watched it, the more I was absolutely mesmerized by it.  Now, don't get me wrong, our opponent had some cats, they could flat get with it, and their entire defense played with this reckless abandonment.  Anyhow, in the span of 10 seasons, I faced this team at least once every year, only beating them one time.  In seven out of 10 seasons, they utilized the jet technique with great success.  Having had the chance to work with several members of that staff here in the recently, I'm going to elaborate more on how it is taught, it's similarities to regular, block down, step down (BDSD), how not to play the technique and the pros and con's of the technique.  I will also add in how this technique ties into the linebacker play behind it.  A lot of this will not be new, but what will be new is the manner in which the scheme is delivered, by turning loose some of your most aggressive players on some of the offense's weakest players.

The technique
The technique is no different than that of a standard BDSD defensive end.  I had to learn this pretty quickly, as on film, it does not look quite the same.  The reads are basically the same versus the four standard blocks a defensive end will see.

1. Base block- the DE will attack the near hip and press the blocker back down inside to constrict the running lane and play the spill by the outside linebacker (OLB).
2. Reach block- the DE will attack the near hip of the blocker and work vertical, to set the edge and force the ball carrier to either cut back, or to "bubble" into the backfield.
3. Down block- the DE will come flat down the line attacking the first threat to him as he reads down the line to up the field.  This threat could be a pulling guard, kicking out lead blocker, a dive back, or the ball being run away from the DE.  In the case of the ball being run away, the DE is to chase, chase, chase with reckless abandonment in an attempt to get to the football.
4. Pass block- the DE will attack the near hip, and work vertical to contain the quarterback in the pocket.

Jet vs. base block

Jet vs. reach block

Jet vs. down block

The key component, as with any technique, of jetting, is the footwork of the DE.  The DE must not step up field.   I cannot stress this enough, as if the DE is up the field, he has made the offense's job that much easier blocking him.  The DE must step AT his target.  Even though hand placement, as with standard BDSD, is not critical, the steps, still are.  The DE must step at his target, THEN make his read and adjust his path to the attack point accordingly.  A key item in teaching the DE's feet, is the placement of the down hand when in his stance.  If at all possible, get your DE's to play with their inside hand down.  This will almost naturally force the DE to step into his target.  As with anything that involves technique, the footwork is ever-so critical when teaching jetting.

As you can see, this is all pretty standard stuff.  No real shockers in technique here.  What is the shocker, is what a simple change in alignment, stance and mentality can allow for when it comes to the selection of personnel.

Alignment, Stance and Purpose

The DE assumes a sprinters stance, looking down the line of scrimmage (LOS).  In some cases, the DE is actually parallel with the LOS.  The DE will align one yard outside the EMOL and take this tilted stance.  What this alignment and stance do, is allow the DE to come off like a rocket (we often used to call them "wick lighters" or "bottle rockets"), attacking the blocker at a very high rate of speed.  This makes the defender very difficult to block due to the high rate of speed they can attain.  The more athletic the DE, the wider he can align, thereby making it more difficult for him to be blocked.  The width of alignment also gives the DE the element of time to diagnose the read he is getting.  It also clarifies this read, because of the width of the DE, the blocker has to make a tremendous effort to get to him on the base and reach blocks.  

Jet Stance

The purpose behind all this, is to allow the DE's to play fast and be reckless.  Many coaches having called jet DE's "wrecking balls" or "crash test dummies".  The other purpose behind the technique is that it allows a smaller, quicker athlete to play the defensive end position.  Not everyone is blessed with 6'2" 220 pound DE's in high school.  I have seen DE's as small as 160 pounds play this position with great effectiveness.  The key element with this technique, is the selection of the player to play this position.

Player Selection

The jet DE needs to be some of the names I've mentioned above, such as "wick lighter", "wrecking ball" or "crash test dummy".  They need to be relentless, have zero fear of contact, and understand their role within the defense.  They must be a player that knows, they may not get very many tackles, but that they will get to make contact on just about every play in the game.  The DE must relish contact.  He must not shy away from it, and as many have said, he must be the "bull in the China shop".  Our opponent for the past ten years, has utilized extra wide receivers, tight ends, and even running backs that weren't labeled as "offensive players" to fill this role.  They all shared the above traits in that there was a universal love of contact.  A lesser athlete can pay this technique, but it does need to be modified a bit by tilting the DE more parallel to the LOS and playing him a bit closer to his read, so that he can close the edge a bit better on down block reads.  

Pro's and Con's of the Jet Technique

The pro's of the technique are as follows:

• It allows for smaller, quicker players to play defensive end in a four man line.  How many times have you heard a coach switch to the 3-3 or the 3-4 because "we just don't have that many defensive linemen (DL).  Jetting, allows the smaller quicker player be effective, so long as they like contact and are not selfish.
• The smaller, quicker player, coupled with the wide alignment makes the DE very tough to block.  You can almost count on not reach blocking this player with an offensive tackle, and even tight ends (TE's) have trouble with them.  Their head of steam coming off the ball, coupled with their quickness usually stones lead blockers coming from depth, even if said lead blocker outweighs the DE.  You can try optioning off of them, but the quarterback is usually going to pay because of the ferocity at which these DE's come off the football.
• The reads are very simple, and are a visual key, rather than a feeling key (the way BDSD is).  For years, I've had trouble with the DL getting their hands on a blocker to be able to "feel" the blocking scheme.  The jet technique plays right into what kids use most, their eyes.  The DE doesn't have to feel what the blocker is doing, he gets to see it, then attack it.  By playing into what most high school players already utilize the most, their vision, it allows them to play fast and aggressive, as they trust their reads.
• It is easy to teach.  You can literally teach the technique and reads in one practice session.  The key is continually repping the fits of the various blocks.  The other key is breaking any selfishness by a DE wanting to "make a play" and not stay within the scheme.  

The con's of the jet technique are:

• It exposes linebackers (LB's) to down blocks.  This point is argumentative, but I bring it up, because it is the largest flaw I have with the technique.  Since the DE does not get hands on the blocker, the blocker gets a free release to a linebacker.  Now, if it's the OLB, this block is very tough, however if it is the middle linebacker (MLB), then this block is executed quite easily.  The argument here by the proponents are that because the DE "wrecks" shop in the backfield and spills the ball laterally, it allows time for the MLB to get off this down block and pursue the football.  I'm sure this could be debated for hours, but this is my number one gripe with the technique.
• Lesser athletes struggle playing the position.  In my opinion, you need some pretty athletic DE's to play this spot.  They need to be able to see the read and redirect on the run.  Some kids I've coached, quite simply do not have the natural ability to do this.  If they do not, you can adjust the stance and the alignment some, but not to the point that it is as effective as if the player was a very good athlete.
• It requires an absolute desire for contact.  In this day and age of the "softening football player", it may be hard to institute this technique because the player must be willing to sacrifice statistics for the love of contact.  Many players we get, simply don't like this, and are very hard to break of their selfishness.  The other thing, is that if they are soft on contact the DE will not be in a great position to constrict running lanes on base blocks, or spill the ball on down blocking gap schemes.  

Jet Technique Coupled with Linebacker Reads

Again, none of this should be Earth shattering, but all of it, is very fundamental in teaching the reads and run fits of the four man front when utilizing the jet technique.  Looking at the reads, from the four reads given above, the LB would react as follows:

1. Base block- the way I have taught the technique, to keep it simple is if the DE is outside with his read, the LB is inside with his.  If the DE is inside, the LB is outside.  So versus the base block, the DE is attacking the hip and constricting the inside run lane and is outside, so the LB must fit inside this block into the open gap the offense is presenting.  
2. Reach block- the reach is taught similar to the base, but once the ball has declared itself out of the LB's open gap, he is free to scrape and chase the football outside where the secondary run support should be turning the ball back into both the DE and the OLB.
3. Down block- on the down block, the DE is inside, so the LB must gap exchange and now be outside.  The LB will scrape and replace the DE, as the DE spills the block, or tackles the dive back.  Again, nothing new from BDSD, other than how the DE attacks the blocker.
4. Pass block- obviously here, the OLB would read that the OL is pass blocking, and will now get into whatever pass drop the coverage the defense is in would require.

LB reaction vs. base block on DE

LB reaction vs. reach block on the DE

LB reaction vs. down block (note how exposed the MLB is on this play)

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think the technique has merit.  However, I think you have to have the right folks to run it.  You have to have some absolute wrecking balls at the DE position, that love contact and are not selfish players.  As with any technique it must be taught properly as well.  Improper technique will lead to the DE being out of position which, in turn, leads to huge holes created in the defense.  If properly taught, with the right individuals playing the technique, one can have some very good success using Mickey Andrew's jet technique.

Duece

TGOG Film

Well, it's finally here!  For those that have doubted the technique, a dear friend of mine, and colleague, Coach Barry Hoover, who runs Coach Hoover's Football Coaching Site, has done all the leg work for me in finding the proper cut-ups for the film and putting it all together.  I can take no credit here, Coach Hoover's a fine individual, who by the way, can tear up some BBQ!!!  Anhow, here is the film, hope everyone enjoys it!

Some other things to look at this off-season:

Brophy stirring the pot with Florida State and Mickey Andrew's famous "jet" technique and pass rush technique in his latest blog post.  He also has another good post on the "In, At, Out" Drill for LB's.

Some other sites to check out are in my blog roll.  Always give these guys a look, there's some good stuff out there!

Smart Football
Hit Em' Hard
Spread Football
Blitzology
Compete in All Things

These are just a few in my blog roll.  Great stuff out there written by great coaches that take time out of their busy schedules to help us out.  Thanks guys!!!  Dog days of summer are here, don't get lacidasical!!!!  Season's right around the corner.

Duece

Some More Stunts for the Zone Read

Not that stunt!

In some recent discussions on the Huey board, I decided to dust off a post that was actually supposed to have been posted over a year ago!  It was a thread that was to go along with one of my first posts about the Down and Up stunt against the zone read.  As with many things, I shelved it and haven't been back to it.  Well here it is, and here are a couple of other stunts that may help you against the zone read by giving different looks to the offense.

Setting the Three Technique
This one topic has been debated countless times.  The offense has the upper hand because by setting the three technique away from the running back they have an easy cut back lane if the ball is handed off to the running back.  Not to mention an open B gap to the weak side that they can exploit if they have a running QB by running QB iso to that side.  If you set the three technique to the back, then the blocking on the front side of the zone play becomes a bit easier because of the soft B gap.  So what to do?  The two stunts discussed here involve moving the three technique in a manner that allows the defense to dictate what the offense will do.  If your defense is not flexible enough to move the three technique around, you need seriously reevaluate what you are doing defensively.

Stunt 1- Using the Three Technique as the QB Player
The first stunt is where the 3 technique is set to the RB.  On the snap, the defensive end will slam down hard into the B gap and attack the near hip of the offensive guard.  This will do two things.  To the QB it looks like the end has come down hard and this should be a pull read.  Second, if the ball is given, then the DE will have the B gap for the cutback run.  The Tackle, will loop outside and replace the DE to contain the QB.  Again, if the QB pulls the football, then he will run right into the unblocked three technique.  Obviously the success of this stunt lies in the ability of the three technique to tackle in space.  A good rule is to do this when  the offense puts the RB into the boundary, which gives the QB less room to operate in.

Stunt 2- The Read Blitz
The Read Blitz was introduced to me a few years back as a well to "mess" with the option QB and give the defense another easy way to defend the option.  Against the spread, the defense will set the three technique away from the RB, inviting the cutback.  Pre-snap the weak side LB will walk up to within a yard of the LOS into the open B gap.  This LB is keying the near hip off the offensive guard.  If the hip moves inside, the LB attacks right off this hip and flat down the LOS, looking to prevent the cutback.  If the hip attacks to him, either vertically or laterally, the LB will work to get up field and wall off the play coming to him (could be power, iso or QB zone).  The DE to the side of the read blitz will now become the QB player.  In similar fashion to the down and up stunt, the DE will still squeeze the tackle, but with hands only, being aware not to get his shoulders turned so that he may be in a position to contain the QB if the QB pulls the football (which will more than likely happen due to the DE "squatting").

The beauty of this stunt is that even if the LB gets washed, he's done his job, because he's eliminated the cut back lane in the weak side B gap (which is what most DC's are worried about by setting the three technique to the back).  The major coaching point here is to have the DE squeeze with his hands, and then shuffle down the line, being prepared to tackle the QB.

The read blitz can be used against many types of options and was introduced to me as a way to mess with the triple option QB on inside veer.  Against the veer, the LB simply tackles the dive back if the guard's hip goes down inside.  The DE will still squeeze and sit for the QB.  This is a simple stunt that doesn't take a ton of teaching time to develop and can really foul up an option QB's reads.

A word of caution, be well prepared and know when to run this stunt as it's not the best in the world against isolation runs to the opposite side of the stunt for the lack of the extra player to make up for the extra gap presented by the lead blocker.  It's also a bit tough vs. the pass because now the LB must drop to his zone, being only a yard off the LOS.  This is where detailed film study is really crucial in game planning.

So, that's it!  Just a couple of tidbits to keep you rolling along.  Sorry it's been so long between postings, but life is back to that glorious busy buzz of high school football.  Never thought I'd ever say it feels good to be underpaid and overworked!!!!

Duece

For Those Looking For Some TGOG Video and Technique

Here is some video that may help explain things a bit better.  Though some of the techniques are a bit different than the method I describe in my posts, the theory is basically the same.

Some confusion that's been going on is alignment and assignment.  First off, the rules are clear and concise.  When the defense aligns, regardless of the front, the DL know their assignment based on the status of their inside gap.  If their inside gap is open, then they are a two gapper.  If the inside gap is occupied, then they are a one gapper.

Some other questions have been on whether or not the one gapper will still spill.  My answer has been, yes if he can, if not, no big deal, he did his job by getting off the ball and getting up field.  He should be aligned wide enough to see this, but it's not imperative that he spill, in my opinion.  The run fits work with or without him spilling.

I've had coaches ask me about the various fronts you can run this technique out of, to which my answer has been "I do not know" because all I've ever run it out of is an even front.  Some coaches are suggesting running a two gap nose and have the DT's or DE's in an outside shade and let them two gap.  Look, the idea here is simple, use the technique and the rules, and apply them accordingly.

Another thing I got from my friend who runs this technique is he has switched to using this technique against one back teams only now.  Against two and three back teams he has moved to a traditional way of playing blocks and utilizes a one-back adjustment to the base technique which is TGOG.  When I ran it (by sheer accident) I used it as a call, so really, the sky's the limit when it comes to how you want to package this with your defense.

I really don't know any other way to explain the technique other than what I have.  Hopefully the videos can give me a bit of credibility on the basis of the technique, since some of my peers feel that if it isn't run on Saturdays or Sundays then the technique isn't worth squat!  Anyhow, just thought I'd take a break from writing this book to drop a blurb on TGOG to set things straight.

DL - Pete Jenkins - 1 Gap, 2 Gap Technique (2009) Title 1 from Duece on Vimeo.

Duece

Defensive Line Play-"Running the Circle"



Yep, it's just that simple...

Keeping with the theme of defensive line play, let's look at how a defender should wrong arm a kick out block.  Whether this block is from a pulling guard, H-back, or a fullback, it does not matter.  The elements of being able to execute gap exchange are essential for those choosing to use a gap scheme defense.  As with anything, we will look at history first and then describe the technique itself. 

History
As with most of my stuff, none of it is original.  I have a dear friend who played defensive line at a some small colleges in the Midwest and he learned this technique and he passed it on to me.  As I've gotten into writing and discussing my philosophy, techniques, and videos, people have asked me about how I teach the wrong-arm technique.  Wrong-arming, or "splattering" as we referred to it at my last job, is not a new technique.  The good ol' boys at Miami back in the mid 80's put the offensive world on its ear when they developed this technique, and all but eliminated the triple option from existence.  Gap exchange was born, and the technique spread throughout the land like wildfire.  As with any technique and how it spreads, the more diluted the technique gets, from the original inventor, the more different things become.  Not to say this is bad, as I think many coaches have been able to put their "spin" on techniques to make them better, so this "dilution" is NOT a bad thing.  As a matter of fact, this dilution is what led us to the topic of this very post!




"I knew we were up to something good!"

When I first encountered wrong-arming it was in college, and boy was I startled by it!  Being an offensive lineman, and pulling down the line only to have your legs taken out from under you was quite different than what I was used to in high school.  The way it was taught by the defensive coordinator where I went to school, was for the defensive lineman to attempt to cut the blocker in half, or essentially cut the blocker down.  This served to create a pile, and an absolute mess in the backfield.  So, as my experience playing, eventually led to coaching, this is how I started to teach the wrong-arm.  Nothing wrong with this at all, and for years I had some success doing so.  Until one day, when I went to a small local clinic, and even though I wasn't paying much attention to what the guy was talking about at the clinic, I do remember he made the comment "Never trade one-for-one, always play plus one on defense".  I've never forgotten this, and to this day, it's is very much a part of my defensive philosophy.  Never did I know it was going to tie into how I was coaching my defensive linemen.

Later in my coaching career, I coached with a guy who is literally the best defensive line coach I know.  He doesn't know much "big picture" stuff, but when it comes to actual defensive line play technique, I'd be hard pressed to find a better coach on the subject.  Well, for six years he was my defensive line coach, and he introduced me to the topic of "Running the Circle".  He was taught this where he played college football, and he explained it to me, much the same as the clinic speaker did.  Never trade one-for-one.  Running the circle keeps the one-for-one from happening.  When you cut the blocker, or simply "stone" the blocker, you have effectively traded one-for-one.  When you run the circle, as you will see, you now are back to "plus one" for the defense.

Running the Circle
What does this technique involve?  Quite simply, it's wrong-arming, but taken one step further.  When the defender has recognized the kick out block and is going to wrong-arm the blocker, he will attack the inside, or up field breast plate.  Now, before I learned this technique our aiming point was the up field hip.  Not any more, we don't want to cut anyone and we want our defender in a position to still be able to make a play.  As the defender runs through his aiming point, he attempts to elevate the breastplate of the blocker.  The defender does this by accelerating on contact.  By attacking only half of the blocker, this begins to turn or "spin" the blocker in place.  Effectively you have still wrong-armed, or gap exchanged, even though you've not created a huge mess, you are still closing gaps with bodies.  As the defender continues to accelerate and spin the blocker, he should attempt to completely turn 180 degrees from his initial contact angle.  This is called "Running the Circle".  The video shows the technique better than I can probably describe it however. 

DL Play - Running the Circle - Deuce and OJW from Barry Hoover on Vimeo.


The idea here is that the blocker is now neutralized, as he's only getting half of your defender, and your defender has still effectively exchanged gaps.  Secondly, the defender is still on his feet, and by making the 180 degree turn, he can now do one of two things.  The defender can either help chase down the running back who has spilled outside to the primary force player, or he can fall back in on the running back who has been caged in by the primary force player and is trying to cut back.  One immediate area I saw instant results with this technique was that every now and then we had the GT counter (counter trey) cut back into the playside A gap for big gains on us.  Not often, but when it did, sometimes it was quite deadly.  Once we installed this technique as our base technique for wrong-arming, we never saw the cutback hurt us again on the counter. 

Running the circle can also be utilized by the interior defensive linemen as well.  Basically any lineman that is executing gap exchange and wrong-arming does this technique for me.  As you can see in the video, the technique makes life difficult for opposing blockers.  Offensive coaches don't mind trading one-for-one, but one-for-none is what they get when you teach running the circle.

So as you can see you are now playing defense 11 on 10, which is what you want.  Again, you want to be "plus one" in every way you can when it comes to defending offenses, and the running the circle technique allows you to do this.

Duece

Putting it all Together-Run Fits in the Two Gap/One Gap Scheme

Since writing the piece on the Two Gap/One Gap (TGOG) scheme for defensive line (DL) play, I've had a lot of coaches ask about the linebacker reads and run fits when utilizing this scheme.  The TGOG is one scheme I've seen that makes your LB's play extremely fast.  The reason: there are basically little to no reads.  Most of us have some sort of read or recognition scheme in place for our LB's.  Whether it be guard-readers, back-readers, cloudy/clear, etc., all of us defensive coaches have a system in place that allows our LB's to get their reads and keys.  The difference with the TGOG scheme, is that there are no more reads, only keys. 

Let's take a look at the "typical" run fits you will see from a standard 21 personnel I formation team.  I'm going to look at these three plays in this article:

1. Isolation
2. Power (G)
3. Counter (GT)

Before looking at the individual play, let's look at LB reads in a generic fashion so as to display the glaring differences between the read/key system and the key system of the TGOG scheme.

As I mentioned, most schemes use a visual key to stimulate the LB to read the play.  Some coaches use near back, far back, offensive line or a combination of two or all of the above.  Whatever it is you use, there is a key and then a read that must occur to allow your players to decipher the play.  The key is a visual object, such as the near back.  Most coaches use and "if/then" approach to coaching the key read system.  What this means is, we teach by stating "If the near back does X, then you do Y".  So your player is looking to decipher the key's initial movement (X) and then react to what he's been trained to do if he sees this movement (Y).  There is nothing wrong with this system, so before the lynch mob shows up at my front door, please understand I've done this very same system for many years with mixed success.  However, upon being introduced to the TGOG scheme, I realized that by reducing the reads to a very simple and clear cut reaction, you get faster LB speed, which thereby puts your players in a better position to make a play.

How it works is simple, because you as the defensive coach know what gaps are filled pre-snap, you can convey this to your LB corps.  What happens is that you can now tell your LB's instead of seeing a key make a movement and then having to scrape to the open window, you can simply say "run through this gap".  This type of attack reaction is nothing new, our odd front brethren (especially the 3-3/3-5 guys) have been doing this for years.  All you are doing now is utilizing the same philosophy of the odd front guys, but out of the even front.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, and I'm sure by now I have you thoroughly confused, so let's look at the run fits of the three plays mentioned earlier and clear some things up.

Isolation
The Iso play is quite simple and is shown below.  This play can be seen from two back 21 personnel teams, to one back spread teams.  The idea is to "isolate" one LB and use a lead blocker to block this person while the offensive line (OL) blocks everyone else. 

Look at the reaction by the defense, one can see it's the usual run fits for the 4-2-5.  However it's the "how" the defense gets to this point that makes the TGOG scheme such a great system.  Looking from strong to weak, the strong DE is a two gap player, meaning he has the C gap and doesn't have to honor the arc release by the TE. The three technique, is also a two gapper, so he's in a very, very tight three alignment.  He's thinking bull rush and stop the trap.  When he gets the base block, he simply comes underneath and slides into the A gap.  The strong side inside LB (SILB) will see the B gap open and will attack the outside breast plate of the lead blocker.  This LB is the "box back" player, meaning he is to box the ball in to the backside LB.  On the weak side of the play, the Nose, is a one gap player, meaning he is getting up field and upfield quickly.  This technique of upfield play will not allow the center to come off for fear the backside guard (BSG) will not be able to cut off the Nose and the Nose will make the play.  The weakside five technique is a two gapper, so he's thinking bull rush and spill any puller or kickout block.  If they zone away from him, he comes screaming down the LOS looking to spill any puller.  If they hinge block him, he will come underneath and then work down the LOS to the football.  The weakside inside linebacker (WILB) is the key to defending this play.  First off, I do not coach my LB's to have cutback.  The number one way to slow a LB down is have him play the cut back.  I want fast LB's so the WILB, knowing (because you've coached it this way) that both the A and B gaps to his side are taken, only has to react to flow strong one way.  He is to intersect the path of the lead blocker from the inside and look for the ball.  The WILB in this case is known as the spill LB.  Simple, fast, and easy to coach.  So, the WILB only has to react one way to his key's movement.  There is no open window/closed window etc. you are TELLING him where to go based on his keys movement.  The Strong Safety, (SS), Free Safety, (FS) and Weak Safety (WS) all handle cutback and force duties.  This way your LB's can play fast and your opponent will swear you either have a copy of their playbook, or are blitzing every down.  Now let's look at the weakside isolation play.

To the weak side, the weak DE, being a two gapper, will come underneath the base block by the tackle and play outside the fullback's (FB) isolation block.  The nose is getting upfield, so he is constricting the run lane from the backside, thereby helping with the cut back.  The WILB, knowing the DE has B gap, the Nose has A gap, and the SILB will be inside the fullback, he can scrape outside for the spill.  To the strong side, the three technique is purely thinking king of the boards (KOB) and stop the trap, so when the guard scoops, he's coming hard down the LOS looking to spill any puller.  He's doing this as he drives the OG down inside, thereby keeping the OG from being able to cut off the SILB.  The strong DE is getting also a two-gapper, so he comes screaming inside the TE and forces the OT/TE to combo him thereby keeping the SS free for playing the cutback.  The SILB, knowing that the A and B gaps, as well as any threat of the cutback has been taken away is the "free runner" here.  He can fly across the hip of the Nose to inside the lead blocker.  So to the weak side the WILB is the box back player while the SILB is the spill player.  This concept is not new and has been referred to on other sites as "lever, spill, lever".  What is different is how the LB's get into their role.  The TGOG LB, runs to a certain spot, while others have to "read" their way there.

Power
The power play, is similar to the isolation play, but the play side DE is being isolated now instead of the play side LB.  Here is how the run fits in the TGOG scheme look when the Power is run to the strong side of the formation.

Here the strong side DE is the isolated player.  The strong DE is thinking get up the field, however once he sees the near hip of the OT go down inside, he's coming flat down inside to spill the kick out block by the FB.  The three technique is two gapping as well, which puts him under the double team and helping with the cutback.  The SILB knowing that the A and D gaps are taken care of can scrape over the strong side DE's spill and play the C gap.  This LB is the lever LB, and will take on all blocks with his outside arm free.  To the weak side, the Nose gets up the field and helps to contain the runner from the backside.  The weak DE is a two-gapper, so when the OT either scoops or hinges this player will come underneath and play the cut back through the B gap.  The WILB knowing he has no cutback responsibilities is a free runner and can scrape across the midline to play the strong side B gap.  This LB is the spill LB, and will take on all blocks with his outside shoulder.

To the weak side nothing changes for any player.  The weakside DE is a two-gapper so he mashes the OT down inside and spills the FB's kickout block.  The Nose works upfield and plays the cutback.  The WILB, knowing all the gaps to his side are filled, can scrape outside and is the box back player to the weakside.  To the strong side both DL are two-gappers so they are coming down hard and flat and trying to eat up two blockers in doing so not allowing any blockers to come off on the SILB and SS.  The three technique is also working to get in the hip pocket of the puller in an attempt to chase the play down from the backside.  The SILB is the free runner, and the spill player, so he is free to scrape across the formation and spill the lead block of the pulling guard.

Counter
Defending the counter requires one hard and fast set of rules.  These rules, which I have used for many years were stolen from legendary defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan.  To properly defend the counter, or as I call it the GT counter (for Guard and Tackle pulling-some call this the Counter Trey), you need:

1. A defender allocated to be outside the first puller.
2. A defender who plays inside the first puller, but outside the second puller.
3. A defender to play inside the second puller.

Looking at the diagram below we can see how the TGOG scheme defends the Counter Trey.

The strong side DE, being the two-gapper will come down inside and spill the first puller (this is the player inside the first puller and outside the second puller).  The three technique, works down inside the A gap and plays for any cut back runs by the running back (some of the most dangerous runs on Counter Trey come in either the weak or strong A gap cut backs).  The SILB, will step with his key (the running back for me) and rock back, knowing the A and B gaps are taken, he can scrape outside and play for the spill by the DE (the SILB in this case is the "outside the first puller" player).  On the weak side, the Nose helps to keep the RB contained by clogging up the weak A gap.  The Nose also makes the pulling guard and tackle's job difficult too by trying to create a "bubble" in the weak A gap for both the guard and the tackle to have to work around.  Good Noseguards can even pick off one of these players so the front side of the play doesn't have a chance.  The weak DE, being a two-gapper is going to try and get to the tackle, and once he sees the kickout block by the FB, he will spill this block and attempt to chase the play.  This is good technique for holding up the FB's release on waggle or counter-boot plays that are common playaction passes off of GT counter action.  The WILB will react to his key,  then rock back to the strong side coming off the hip of the Nose and playing for the cutback.  This LB is the "inside the second puller" player mentioned in the list above.

To the weak side, the weak DE, being a two-gapper, will mash the OT's release down inside and spill the first puller (inside the first puller, outside the second puller).  The Nose gets off the ball and works upfield to create havoc for the pulling guard and tackle and to control the RB cutting back into the weak A gap.  The WILB, once he knows the play is counter, is free to scrape outside the weak DE and play outside the first puller, as the box back player.  On the back side of the play, the Tackle attempts to get in the hip pocket of the guard and is working hard to keep one or both pullers from doing their job while he attempts to chase the play and help with the cutback.  The strong DE, being a two-gap player is working into the C gap and will spill the kickout block by the FB.  The SILB, will work off the hip of the Nose and play inisde the second puller (this is the spill player).

Uniqueness of the system
I used to be an open window/closed window guy in terms of what I taught my LB's to read.  At one point this did speed us up, but I never felt like my guys were fast enough to their reads.  I ran across this scheme and a friend of mine was doing it, so he and I had several discussions and what I found out was, no longer do you teach LB's reads, you teach "fits".  In other words, based on the alignment of the front, the LB's now know what gaps are open and closed presnap.  No longer are they wondering "will that three technique get reached?", instead they are reacting to flow and getting to their point of attack.  This system takes all the guesswork out of high school linebacking.  This scheme is also what has allowed our odd front brethren, such as the 3-3 stack to make it appear as though they are blitzing on every play.  The reason these teams look so fast, is that their LB's are not reading, they simply "fitting" where the are supposed to be based on backfield flow!  The simplicity of the linebacking when playing behind the TGOG scheme will free up your LB's to be runners and attackers instead of readers and reactors.

Nothing like a little reading!

Hopefully this will be out in time for you guys going into spring football.  I challenge you to install this system and let it work for you.  You will see LB's playing much faster than ever before, and it's all because you've freed those "big uglies" up inside!  Good luck!


Duece