Installing Today’s Hybrid Pistol Offense Run & Pass from Top to Bottom
This manual provides you with the full offensive line, receiver, and quarterback mechanics for installing each offensive play presented. Coach Campbell has left no stone unturned for implementing today’s Pistol Offense into your program.
Coaches,
Looking for any info on various defenses, 4-3, 4-4, 5-2, 5-3, 3-4, etc..and why they are run, what they are designed to stop most effectively. Any run down would be great. I just like picking brains and hearing different schools of thought. I understand that is a very vague and broad topic, but any help would be great.
Odd Stack (3-5/5-3)- best run stopping defense ever invented. Offenses cannot take the angles they need to block everybody.
Bear (46)- next best run stopping defense ever invented. Offenses cannot block everyone due to the congestion of the TNT inside and the alignment of the backers and the double team on the tight end.
Okie (3-4/5-2)- defense where it is easiest to read keys, due to the fact that everyone is aligned on someone. This has always been my defense of choice, because it makes reading keys efficient, best stops the run AND stops four verticals simultaneously.
Even (4-3)- great balance between run and pass and most commonly used defense at the college and pro levels. The ultimate one gap defense.
8-man front (4-4)- creates balances on both sides of an offense. The best way to defend the option is with the 4-4. Virginia Tech is doing wonderful things with their "G" defense (4-4).
If you are infatuated with stopping the run, use the odd stack and bear. If you use both fronts and stem from one to the other, you will do the best job of eliminating the run via scheme; however, IF YOUR PLAYERS DO NOT KNOW HOW TO ALIGN IN THOSE DEFENSES, KNOW WHAT THEIR JOB IS IN EACH DEFENSE, AND KNOW THE TECHNIQUE INVOLVED IN EACH JOB, THE BEST SCHEMES IN THE WORLD ARE WORTHLESS!
Also, you must train your players to REACT TO KEYS QUICKLY, RIP OFF BLOCKS, RUN TO THE BALL, TACKLE, TAKE THE BALL AWAY AND STAY DEEPER THAN ANYONE ON THE FIELD BECAUSE IF YOU DO NOT, THE BEST SCHEMES IN THE WORLD ARE WORTHLESS!!!
Lou Cella
Head Varsity Football Coach
Greater Nanticoke Area High School (PA)
Lou is right about the teaching part. That is the most important aspect of defense. It is not how much you know as a defensive coach but how much your players know. Recently, that is what we focus on in practice.
Anyway, I run the 4-3. I have coached in the 5-2 ad the 5-3. In my opinion, I had difficulty being effective in the 5-2 and 5-3 because we never had a lot of quality lineman. We may have had 1 or 2. So what happened was we would have a quality athlete on the sideline just to get another lineman or two on the field. That was the main reason I went to the 4-3.
In my 4-3, I really only need 1 true defesive lineman. A second would be great. My nose guard has almost always been a shorter, quicker guy. You could not leave him alone because he would eat your center up all day. This also allowed me to get all of my athletes on the field.
Our 4-3 is a one gap defense. Our defesive line is always moving and the linebackers run to the ball. We run through blocks and do not take anything on. We will rip through half of the man as linebackers. Our defensve lineman and defensive ends will wrong shoulder any kick out or trap blocks. The defensive lineman have the hardest time doing this, so if they cannot, we just tell them to squeeze the hole. It has been successful for us.
Day in and day out, I would preach attacking your gap and getting to the ball. The other team may be able to over power us, but they would not be able to do two things. They would not be able to out run us and the would not be able to over power us for 48 minutes. It is my opinion that schemes do not win, players do. I hope this helps.
Matt, what are your alignments in your 4-3 and what coverages do you teach and how often do you use each coverage? What fronts do you use and why do you specifically use each front? Feel free to Email me with your responses.
Lou Cella
Head Varsity Football Coach
Greater Nanticoke Area High School (PA)
I do not know if I can give you an exact answer. It eally depends on what team we are playing and what I what to take advantage of. Once we go through the week of practice, I then know more about what I want to do. Then, in the game, I just go with what is working. As for alignments and anything else, I can e-mail you my playbook. All you need to be able to do is open Adobe Pagemaker file. It does not open with Adobe Acrobat. If you cannot, I can mail it to you or we could meet and I can give you a copy.
Coming from an offensive perspective I believe every defense has weaknesses. I think it is important to run a defense that has strengths that mirror your defensive philosophy. I just finished my second season as a head coach and before that I was an OC at another school for four years. My first two years as OC my offenses struggled running the football vs. a slanting 5-2. After my second season we made some changes on how we block this front and since then we have had a ton of success against it. As a head coach we switched from a 4-4 to a 4-3 defense and really like it for a number of reasons. We feel like it is difficult to run inside the tackles and our secondary is freed up to support perimeter running plays. Our philosophy is to keep the offense running sideline to sideline as long as possible. We also like that our LB's can play very aggressive. This defense puts the most pressure on your secondary they need to be well coached and disciplined for it to work. Offensively we run the fly offense along with a west-coast style passing game. I will present our base plan vs. particular defensive schemes. We have had success and failure vs. every scheme although we do feel more comfortable going against some more than others.
As an OC I feel like the defenses that present the most problems for me are the following:
1. 4-3 : Difficult for us to run right at especially between the tackles. Our plan changes based on what coverage they run.
+ Counters and perimeter run plays can be good. QuickTraps can be good if you can block weakside OLB.
A. We will spread the out with 4-WR sets and run fly sweep. We will block there OLB with a WR and their secondary force defender with a WR.
B. We will run multiple counter plays with the thought that LB's and DB's will play overly aggressive.
C. Play-Action and attack underneath zones.
D. Vs. Cover 4: Attack underneath flats and hook curl zones with quick passing game.
E. Vs. Cover 2: High low reads vs. LB's with crossing route/inside curl combinations while clearing out safeties. Four verts and fade-out combinations if we have a QB that can make throws.
F. Run unbalanced 2-back formatins with no TE. Run fly motion to the 2 WR side and run ISO plays to B gap or sweep to C gap depending on OLB alignment.
2. 3-5: Difficult to run the perimeter and throw flats route combinations and pass pro vs. multiple blitzes.
+ B-Gap and A-gap run plays can be good especially with a good fly sweep fake.
Have had past success with ISO run plays.
A. Run two-back double-tight formations and attack B-Gap with Iso plays. TE's release to ILB's.
B. Run sweeps to unbalanced TE trips side. Run sweeps that have the ability to cut inside or outside TE reach block.
C. Man block Nose and DT's with OT and center and release guards to Mike and backside ILB. With this blocking scheme we like faking fly sweep and giving to HB and running A-gap. HB reads Center Block.
D. Run Counter towards the side of the formation with a TE. OT on that side will block man head on and take him where he wants to go.
E. Max protect and throw the ball off of play-action.
F. Runs bubbles and screens often. Use WR's and RB's with screens.
G. Protect with seven. Put best Wideout on single WR side. If sfety stays in the middle work 2 WR side with 3-step and 5-step passing game. If safety cheats to 2 WR side work one on one match-up with single receiver DB. IE. hitches, outs, slants, deep post.
H.Zoom motion to TE side and throw to that side. Attack flats with this look.
3. 46 Defense. Difficult to run A-Gap and pass-protect.
+ Can get great angles on B-Gap run plays. Can get athletes in space on the perimeter quickly.
1. Run B-Gap out of Double tight formations. Use wide splits. Don't stop until they change something.
2. Use unbalanced formations with a TE and run fly sweep to out-flanked side or B-Gap run.
3. Protect with seven and attack defense with flat/curl combinatins.
4. Attack DB with smash route combo's if QB can make throw.
5. Run Counter to the TE side.
6. Run 4-WR sets and run fly sweeps. Slot cracks on DE, WR cracks or blocks secondary force defender and OT tracks to OLB.
7. Throw bubbles and screens to WR's and RB's.
Would you mind sharing your how you install your defense, specifically from a day 1 approach? I look forward to hearing from you. will9216@roadrunner.com