Defending the Air Raid ‘Mesh’ Concept

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Since the Air Raid passing concepts have become so popular all over, we need to be prepared to defend them. If you are coaching at the High School or College level, you’re probably used to seeing Tony Franklin System teams and other styles of Air Raid.

Regardless of what you do, these teams are going to work to spread the field on you. Some are spreading the field to run, other are spreading the field to pass.If they are a passing team, the Mesh concept is probably in the arsenal. This is a great route concept designed to attack both man and zone coverages.You can see Mesh run out of a number of different formations and different tags under the Clinic Notes at GridironChat.com. All that I know about the route comes from Chris Hatcher’s Air Raid I video. There is also a good Air Raid video at ChiefPigskin.com from Coach Barry Creviston.Scouting [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Game Planning, Man Coverage, Members, Zone Coverage

Press Man Coverage Drills

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Using press man coverage can give you an advantage against the offense. And its an advantage that most teams can’t really simulate in practice.

By pressing the receivers off the line, you’re killing the timing of their routes. Since most routes are based on timing, you’re gaining an immediate advantage.If you don’t press receivers, you’re letting them run routes on air, which is what they do all the time.Man coverage will also open up your blitz package because you don’t have to worry about vacating zones. With a good Free Safety, you should be able to press and take away short routes, while your Free Safety can get over top and help on deeper balls.

Learn from the Best – Teaching Aggressive Man Defense to Your Secondary from Boise State!

Press Man Drills

Press Drill: Align the DB inside shade of the receiver, as tight to the ball as he can get. Feet are square.On the receiver’s movement, the DB shoots his inside hand to the armpit of the receiver, preventing the inside release. The key here is to get a good shot, but not lunge. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Man Coverage

46 Defense Coverages

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In a previous post we looked at the 46 Defense, or Bear Defense, and the front 8 players. Now for the coverages!

You can get creative with your coverages in any defensive front. But the reality is, you are limited in coverages with the 46 Defense. Bear defense coverages are pretty well limited to Cover 0, Cover 1, and Cover 3.Cover 1The primary Bear Defense coverage is the Cover 1, with man coverage and one safety helping over the top. This allows a 5 man rush on the QB.

One of the features of Cover 1 in the 46 Defense is the bracket coverage on the Tight End. If the Tight End wants to release outside, the player lined up on his outside foot (Strong Safety in our diagram) will run with him, while the inside guy will rush the QB and contain the passer.

Bear Defense Cover 1 with TE outside

If the Tight End works for an inside release, as in a drag route or TE Pop Pass, the inside guy will handle him. The outside player is now free to rush.bear defense cover 1 TE inside [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Man Coverage, Members, Other Fronts, Zone Coverage

Man and Man Free Coverage

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All man coverages are not created equal. There are two very commonly used versions of man coverage – one with a safety valve, and one without.

When running a full man coverage, or Cover 0, every eligible receiver is covered man to man by a player on the defense. That means 5 players are in man-to-man coverage. The other 6 players are rushing the passer or playing the run, depending on the offensive play. This is probably the most basic form of defense there is, but if you don’t have the athletes to match up one-on-one with your opponent, you could be in for a long night.

Man Free Coverage, or Cover 1, includes a “safety valve.” One player is assigned to cover “deep,” though his technique will depend on the coach and the style that he would like the free safety to play. You may allow the free safety to focus in on the run first, and then help where he can. More commonly, the safety back-pedals on the snap reading the Quarterback. If the Quarterback turns his shoulders in one direction, or rolls in a direction, the Deep Middle player is now looking to help on coverage of a receiver to that side.

With Man-to-Man coverage, it is important to realize that your next best help against a pass is going to be the sideline. Therefore, it is most important to align inside of the receiver and force the Quarterback to throw the ball over the defender, and inside of the sideline.

On the other hand, with Man-Free coverage, the defender may have help from a Safety. Often by alignment and field position we can know where that help is most likely to come. If a defender is isolated on the wide side of the field with a single receiver, he is unlikely to get much help from the Free Safety. Therefore, he should align inside and use the sideline as his help. But on the short side of the field, or with a slot receiver, the defender should be able to expect safety help. The Free Safety is more athletic than the sideline (we hope!) so align outside and know that if the ball is thrown to the inside, the Free Safety will be there for help.

It is important to understand the distinction between the coverages. A third, common man-to-man coverage is the Man-Under Cover 2 defense. This is really a passing downs only coverage for most teams, because of the limited number of players available to play the run. With 2 players playing deep-half field coverage, and up to 5 players matched up in Man coverage, only 4 players are available to stop the run versus 5 offensive linemen!

Use man coverage wisely, but don’t be afraid of it just because your athletes are “average”! Mix man coverage into your cover package to give a change-up to the offense.

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Filed Under: Man Coverage, Members