Attacking 4-4 cover 3 and 2

First, we're a two back team. But our first choice of formation is to go to a Twins-Open formation. If they are a corners over team, we like to line up in regular twins (with a TE opposite the twins) and jump the TE out if we feel like its a mismatch against the OLB.

I think the only way a 4-4 team can stop the IV is to assign the DE (5 tech) to dive and scrape the LB over the top to QB. We've had success with cutback. Base the 5, base the 3 tech (on the strong side) and let the LB run himself out of the play. We called it just Give, but the FB was bending it back, sometimes all the way behind the backside, inside LB.

Another play I really like against a 4-4 is midline-dive option. Its a midline path by the dive back, with a single read for keep or pitch by the QB. We blocked it to the twins side by cracking the inside LB with the slot and reach or cut blocking the 3 and 5 tech. Again, a lot of the 4-4 teams we saw will bring the 5 down hard on dive, so he's easy to either reach or cut. The midline path really constricts the LBs and they can't pursue to the outside nearly as fast (if they are reading TB, he freezes until the QBs second step is down and then he goes). We then option the OLB who is normally taking pitch. The QB will keep it a lot and as long as he works into the option alley, away from the FS, he'll be fine. We block speed option the same way, except now there is no dive to hold the LBs. If the TB is a better runner, you can bring the PST down on the LB and pitch off the 5 (but you'll have to stalk the OLB with the slot) but we didn't even when we had a good TB. I like the way we did it simply because it gave the 5 tech DE another block to worry about.

The play is the same to the weakside, but there is no crack block on the LB. We only called it there when we were sure the LB was plugging on the midline.

Play action passes should take advantage of the FS who has to fill in the alley in order to stop the option. They have to get 5 defenders on the perimeter (outside the PST) to stop us. We can read two and block two. Five is more than we can handle, and the FS is usually the fifth. Even if the playside LB does scrape to the QB, they won't have enough defenders to stop the option unless the FS runs the alley. We like the slant/wheel combination off of IV action with the TB running a swing route. The WR basically sits down behind the OLB who sees option and goes to the pitch (swing), and the wheel either holds the CB or punishes him for biting on the slant. If the FS is really aggressive, we tell the WR to slant and get vertical behind the FS.

We sprint out, and any kind of flood route is golden vs. a Cover III.