DEFENDING WING T

Coach - could you elaborate on the "tunnel sweep"? That's a term I'm not familiar with. Thanks.

Coaches, a great defense to run that defends the Wing-T very well is the 23i Tight. On the tight end side have your OLB in a 9, your DE in a 5, have your DT in a 2i, and have your ILB in B gap. On the open side, have your ILB in A gap, have your DT in a 3, have your DE in a 5 and have your OLB on the line of scrimmage 1 yard outside of the end man on the line of scrimmage. Play cover three with your secondary. This will take away the buck sweep, buck trap, will hurt the belly, and the down. As a wing-T JeT series coach, I know that this defense is devastating. I hope this helps.

Lou Cella

Coach, we don't put anyone on the wing. We beat up the tackle and the tight end, and we do not allow them to release down on the buck sweep and buck trap. I have done the 33 Tight, but 33 tight is susceptible to the trap. The defense I previously illustrated prevents that. I am more concerned about stopping the buck sweep above all else. The belly and down aren't as potent as the buck sweep and even the buck trap. If you're looking to stop the down, and the down only, run a 7 technique. If you're looking to stop the belly, the 5-3 stack is devastating. But if you're looking to stop the 20, 30, and the 80 series, the defense I showed you is the way to go. Good luck, Coach.

Coach, the 13i tight is the following.

SDE- 5 tech.
SDT- 1 tech.
WDT- 3 tech.
WDE- 5 tech.
SOLB- 9 tech.
SILB- B GAP
WILB- A GAP
WOLB- ghost 9 tech.

We play cover 3 behind this.

I believe that this is the G defense from Virginia Tech with some minor differences.

We do play our SS (WOLB) on the line weak.

We tell the SOLB to read his keys. If the TE blocks down, expect the Wing to block down on you. We work on this progression all week during fundamentals period.

We don't slant to the motion, but I will admit that I have thought of it.

If a TE trades there will be a lot of movement on our part to get us in the right position. I will consider this in the future. We would move everyone to make sure that we were in 23i tight to either

You have me thinking, coach! You have a lot of ways to force a coach to adjust. Keep challenging coaches on this website. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Lou Cella

Coach I am very interested in hearing more of what you have to say these wing t tendancies and practice period. My email is thompsonb@kmds.k12.nc.us or bridog75@hotmail.com. Thanks a lot

Coach,
The email I use on this site is not my email, its on of our coaches. . If you want more information email me a question and I will do my best to answer it.
PGOlla

Coach Campbell,
I have not been getting home till after 8 my time. The best way to reach me is @ 955-3353 ext 3506 same area code as my home #.
or I can call you 10 - 11 your time.

PGOLLA

Lou,

We have this basic front with the exceptions of the backers who are in normal 30 techniques and we dont have the SS walked up on the line.

I am curious what you do against the Split End Over out of this defense set and if you would employ Cover 3 variations against the Wing T such as a rotation, sky or cloud.

We run a 44 and have had very good success against the Wing-T even though those boys love to play against the 44. I ran it for 6 years and always felt that our biggest issues came from pressure in the C gap and LBs who responded quickly. You can play your DE head up on the TE and crash him through C gap, play a 9 tech and run the TE inside since the only time he blocks out would be on an adjustment, or sit in a 7 tech so the TE can't get to the MLBs. All of those ideas can work and they all have a response from the Wing-T boys. I liked to sit my DE head up and slam C gap with eyes inside looking for a puller to blow up.

What I like to do, though, is read Guards with the MLBs. We keep it simple with the following rules. Strongside first: G pulls away from Center - Attack C gap (over the top of the tackle and under the TE)(Down and Sweep), G pulls behind the Center - Attack A gap away (over the top of the Center and under the G)(Buck Trap or Waggle), G veer releases inside the Guard - Attack you A gap looking for Buck Trap. For the weakside MLB: G pulls away, Attack B gap for Belly or Waggle, G pulls behind the C - Attack over the top of the Center and under the opposite Guard for Buck Trap or Sweep.

Now I know that the boys like to influence block when they see Guard reading. We don't run into a lot of it but when we do we will play slant games and stunts with the D-line and may also blitz MLBs. Influencing then becomes a risk. You win some and you lose some.

Most Wing-T teams have tendencies that differ them slightly from other Wing-T teams. I love the Wing-T and would still run it if I were the O because many DCs won't bother to really look at what you are doing but I also feel that if you study your opponents film you can break it down so that you have a couple of safe and effective blitzes and stunts.

Basically we read the EMOLOS and react from there. I typed this message once, all sloppy and such, and my computer acted up so I saved the message and I'm trying again. I apologize for the confusion in it. I probably over did it. SEE BELOW



Coach,


Good question. We read the EMOLOS with our OLBs. Let's look at the traditional strongside of TE/WB. Our Rover (OLB) will play about 1-2 yards outside the WB. If the TE down blocks as he often does the OLB will step forward and inside and look for pullers or kickout blocks. We don't want Rover to be watching the backfield or he will be caught watching flow going away and a Counter will be coming right back to him. He looks downline first for the PSG to the FB to the BSG/T. That way if the FB is going away and no PSG is in sight there is a chance that the BSG and/or T is coming on Counter and Counter Trey. We don't want Rover to be tearing into the backfield as soon as the TE shows an inside release or the Counter back may simply cut up inside of him. Our 7 tech should be coming downline to meet the puller so the OLB can simply take a step up to figure out the play and then react accordingly. If it is a counter he can now react to how the DE played the puller. We don't want the OLB to get caught up inside so he can sit for a moment. A key to the Counter is that it they are usually going to trap the 3 tech DT. OLB stays at home and waits to see if the play goes inside or bounces. If it goes inside it is not his play until it is heading upfield. The counter Trey will usually trap the 7 tech. The TE is releasing outside the DE to the ILB so Rover must determine pass/run. By then our DE should be meeting the puller and Rover can again play it from there. If they are downblocking the TE, Rover is playing it as mentioned earlier. He gets upfield quickly as he is the main target of a puller and must be aggressive. (Our DE is in a 7 tech in Base) If we are playing Robber coverage where our FS is reading the TE our OLB will take any puller straight on as the FS will play the alley. If the back bounces the FS will adjust. We want the OLB to take on the puller/kickout as quickly as possible. If the TE releases into a route our coverage will dictate the backers reaction. We usually avoid man vs. a traditional Wing-T because of the tendency of crossing routes. You know, the waggle and boot. We will play a Robber or 3 deep. That is pretty much it on the strongside.
Weakside with a SE. Our OLB (Hawk) will usually sit in the apex of the T and SE. Tighter if the O doesn't throw much or well. He is reading the T. Because we are in a 1 tech with the Nose there usually is no attempt to cross block on an Iso. That makes it pretty easy to read. If the T base blocks out on the DE we are looking at Iso. Hawk is only responsible for the bounce so he will start moving inside but must maintain an outside advantage until the ball is committed to the LOS. Reach block for quick pitch must be played aggressively. Inside releases by the T are usually Waggle to Hawks side or Counter Criss Cross. Again, we don't want Hawk to get caught cheating up inside until the ball is committed on the run. If it is Waggle he will anticipate the FB coming to the flats. Our weak ILB will scrape and work to contain the QB.

This looks sketchy and unorganized to me as I look back at it. The reads are easier than I wrote them up. I'm going off my head and not my notes so I apologize.

We used to read backfield with the OLBs and that worked well against Wing-T also. SOLB (Rover) read the FB. If he went straight forward Rover thought Buck Sweep to Buck Trap. He is aggressive to the Sweep. If the FB came Off-tackle he would think the off-tackle Down play or Down pass. If FB looked to be going away as in Iso weak, Rover is thinking Counter or Counter Trey coming back to him. WOLB (Hawk) If the FB goes straight ahead he is thinking Counter Criss Cross or Waggle back to him. The Iso play is fairly obvious with the FB coming B gap. Hawk is not concerned about the Counter off of it.

Hope this helps.

Rules for LBs. We read the EMOLOS so our rules stay fairly constant. TE side first: If the TE veer releases like he does on Down blocks the OLB squeezes inside. I'm working out of a Robber coverage where our Corners are playing a 2 deep zone and the FS is reading the TE. Our OLBs are sitting in the apex of the EM and the Wide out. If the wide out is a WB the OLB will be right around 3x3. Again he will slide inside a step and now look to the Backfield. He stays outside-in and will only come inside once the ball has been declared inside by coming up through the LOS. He is ready for a bounce.

If the TE is hook blocking the OLB will immediately charge across the LOS. Since it is a Wing-T team we will work hard on checking for line pullers and take them on. A base block is played the same as a veer release and a pass release puts the OLB into his coverage technique.

Sorry it took so long to answer. I haven't been online in a while.

Good luck on your season.