Defense

DEFENSIVE POSITIONS
DL: Defensive Linemen
NT: Nose Tackle (Inside Defensive Linemen)
DE: Defensive Ends (Outside Defensive Linemen)
LB: Linebackers
SLB (Sam): Strong-side Outside Linebacker
MLB (Mike): Strong-side Inside Linebacker
BLB (Buck): Weak-side Inside Linebacker
WLB (Will): Weak-side Outside Linebacker
DB: Defensive Backs
CB: Cornerback
N: Nickelback (Extra Cornerback in Nickel Formation)
D: Dimeback (Extra Cornerback in Dime Formation)
S: Safety
FS: Free Safety
SS: Strong Safety

FORMATIONS
Solid (3-4): 3 Defensive Linemen (DL), 4 Linebackers (LB) (OLB's on the line),
2 Cornerbacks (CB), 2 Safeties (S)
Straight (3-4): 3 DL, 4 LB, 2 CB, 2 S
Over (3-4 Over): 3 DL (overloading strong side), 4 LB, 2 CB, 2S
Under (3-4 Under): 3 DL (overloading weak side), 4 LB, 2 CB, 2S
Strong (3-4): 3 DL, 4 LB (Sam on the line), 2 CB, 2S
Weak (3-4): 3 DL, 4 LB (Will on the line), 2 CB, 2 S
Pinch (3-4): 3 DL (DE's line up over C gap), 4 LB, 2CB, 2S
Spread (3-4): 3 DL (DE's line up over D gap), 4 LB, 2 CB, 2 S

Solid

FORMATIONS

X
Z

Straight

Y
Z

NT head up on C, DE's in B
gaps, OLB's on the line, C gap
shade on TE's, MLB's off the line,
A gap shade on the G's.

NT head up on C, DE's head up

on T's, OLB's off the line head up
on TE's, MLB's off the line, head
up on the G's.

Over

Under

NT head up on strong side G,

DE's head up on T's, OLB's off
the line, head up on TE's, MLB's
off the line, Mike head up on C,
Buck head up on weak side G.

X
Z

Y
Z

NT head up on weak side G, DE's

head up on T's, OLB's off the line
head up on TE's, MLB's off the
line, Mike head up on strong side
G, Buck head up on C..

Strong

FORMATIONS

X
Z

Weak

Y
Z

NT head up on C, DE's head up

on T's, OLB's head up on TE's,
Will off the line, Sam on the line.
MLB's off the line, head up on G's.

NT head up on C, DE's head up

on T's, OLB's head up on TE's,
Will on the line, Sam off the line,
MLB's off the line, head up on G's.

Pinch

Spread

NT head up on C, DE's over B

gaps, OLB's off the line, head up
on TE's, MLB's off the line, head
up on G's.

X
Z

NT head up on C, DE's over C

gaps, OLB's off the line, head up
on TE's, MLB's off the line, head
up on G's.

Defensive Line
DL Calls (all calls shown from straight formation on following pages):
Key: Read & React
Blast: Shoot Gaps
Jam: Fill Inside Gaps
Stretch: Fill Outside Gaps
Crash Right: Shoot Gaps to the Right
Crash Left: Shoot Gaps to the Left
Inside Twist: DE's fill B gaps, ILB's fill C gaps
Outside Twist: DE's fill C gaps, OLB's fill B gaps
Switch Strong: NT and strong-side DE cross
Switch Weak: NT and weak-side DE cross

Gaps & Offensive Line Positions

Gaps:

D
TE

B
T

A
G

X
C

B
G

C
T

D
TE

Key

DL CALLS

X
Z

DL's make contact with OL, read

the play and react.

Y
Z

DL's bull rush OL, read and react

while rushing.

Jam

Blast

Stretch

DT bull rush on C, DE's shoot

inside gaps.

X
Z

DT bull rush on C, DE's shoot

outside gaps.

Crash Right

DL CALLS

X
Z

DL's shoot gaps to the right.

Y
Z

DL's shoot gaps to the left.

Inside Twist

Crash Left

Outside Twist

Combination DL movement &

Blitz. DT bull rush on C, DE's
shoot inside gaps, MLB's shoot
behind DE's to outside gaps.

X
Z

Combination DL movement &

Blitz. DT bull rush on C, DE's
shoot outside gaps, OLB's, shoot
behind DE's to inside gaps.

Switch Strong

DL CALLS

Weakside DE bull rush T, NT

moves laterally to strongside B
gap, strongside DE pulls behind
NT to A gap.

X
Z

Switch Weak

Strongside DE bull rush T, NT

moves laterally to weakside B
gap, weakside DE pulls behind
NT to A gap.

Blitzes
Sam Blitz: SLB blitzes
Mike Blitz : MLB blitzes
Buck Blitz : BLB blitzes
Will Blitz: WLB blitzes
Sam-Mike Blitz: SLB and MLB blitz
Sam-Buck Blitz: SLB and BLB blitz
Sam-Will Blitz: SLB and WLB blitz
Mike-Buck Blitz: BLB and MLB blitz
Mike-Will Blitz: BLB and SLB blitz
Buck-Will Blitz: MLB and WLB blitz
Strong Corner Blitz: strong-side corner blitzes
Weak Corner Blitz: weak-side corner blitzes
Strong Blitz: SS blitzes
Free Blitz: FS blitzes
Overload Strong Blitz: SS and SLB blitz
Overload Weak Blitz: FS and WLB blitz
Triple Strong Blitz: SS, SLB, and MLB blitz
Triple Weak Blitz: FS, WLB, and BLB blitz
Deep Blitz: FS and SS blitz
Max Blitz: All LB's blitz
Inside Twist: See DL Calls
Outside Twist: See DL Calls

BLITZES

Sam Blitz

X
Z

Sam blitzes through C or D gap.

Y
Z

Mike blitzes through A or B gap.

Buck Blitz

Mike Blitz

Will Blitz

Buck blitzes through a or B gap.

X
Z

Will blitzes through C or D gap.

BLITZES

Sam-Mike Blitz

X
Z

Sam blitzes C or D gap, Mike

blitzes A or B gap.

Y
Z

Sam blitzes C or D gap, Buck

blitzes A or B gap.

Sam-Will Blitz

Sam-Buck Blitz

Mike-Buck Blitz

Sam and Will blitz C or D gap on

their side.

X
Z

Y
Z

Mike and Buck blitz A or B gap on

their side.

BLITZES

Mike-Will Blitz

X
Z

Mike blitzes A or B gap, Will

blitzes C or D gap.

Y
Z

Weak Corner Blitz

Strongside CB blitzes outside.

Buck blitzes A or B gap, Will

blitzes C or D gap.

Strong Corner Blitz

Buck-Will Blitz

X
Z

Weakside CB blitzes outside.

BLITZES

Strong Blitz

X
Z

SS blitzes through strongside A or

B gap.

Y
Z

Overload Weak Blitz

SS blitzes through A or B gap,

Sam blitzes through C or D gap.

FS blitzes through weakside A or

B gap.

Overload Strong Blitz

Free Blitz

X
Z

Y
Z

FS blitzes through A or B gap, Will

blitzes through C or D gap.

Triple Strong Blitz

BLITZES

X
Z

Mike blitzes A gap, SS blitzes B

gap, Sam blitzes C or D gap.

Y
Z

Buck blitzes A gap, FS blitzes B

gap, Will blitzes C or D gap.

Deep Blitz

Triple Weak Blitz

Max Blitz

SS and FS blitz A or B gaps on

their side.

X
Z

MLB's blitz A or B gaps on their

side, OLB's blitz C or D gaps on
their side.

Coverages:
Man-to-Man: Default coverage. Each man in pass defense covers one man
on offense. See following pages for rules and variations.
Combo X (FS Double Teams X)
Combo Z (FS D-T Z)
Combo S (FS D-T S)
Combo Double (FS/SS D-T X/Z)
Cover 2 Zone (2 Deep, 5 Short)
Cover 2 Man (2 Deep, Man)
Cover 3 Strong (Rotate S/S)
Cover 3 Weak (Rotate W/S)
Cover 3 Man (3 Deep, Man)
Cover 4 (4 Deep, 3 Short)
Prevent (2 Very Deep, 4 Deep)

MAN
COVERAGE

Basic

With Sam Blitz

X
Z

Y
Z

Reverse for Will Blitz. Buck will

take #2 on weak side.
With Sam-Mike Blitz

With SS Blitz

X
Z

Reverse for Buck-Will Blitz. Mike

will take #2 on weak side.

Y
Z

MAN
COVERAGE

With Strong
Corner Blitz
1

3 1

Y
Z

2/3

Reverse for Triple Weak Blitz.

FS will take #2 on weak side.

X
Z

With Max Blitz

23

Reverse for Overload Weak Blitz.

Buck will take #2 on weak side.

With Triple
Strong Blitz
2

Reverse for Weak Corner Blitz.

FS will take #2 on weak side.

With Overload
Strong Blitz

Y
Z

COVER
2 MAN

Basic

X
Z

With Sam Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Will Blitz.

With Sam-Mike Blitz

With SS Blitz

Reverse for Buck-Will Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
2 MAN

With Strong
Corner Blitz

X
Z

With Overload
Strong Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Weak Corner Blitz.

Reverse for Overload Weak Blitz.

With Triple
Strong Blitz

With Max Blitz

Reverse for Triple Weak Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
2 ZONE

Basic

X
Z

With Sam Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Will Blitz.

With Sam-Mike Blitz

With SS Blitz

Reverse for Buck-Will Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
2 ZONE

With Strong
Corner Blitz

X
Z

With Overload
Strong Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Weak Corner Blitz.

Reverse for Overload Weak Blitz.

With Triple
Strong Blitz

With Max Blitz

Reverse for Triple Weak Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
3 STRONG

Basic

X
Z

With Sam Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Will Blitz.

With Sam-Mike Blitz

With SS Blitz

Reverse for Buck-Will Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
3 STRONG

With Strong
Corner Blitz

X
Z

With Overload
Strong Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Weak Corner Blitz.

Reverse for Overload Weak Blitz.

With Triple
Strong Blitz

With Max Blitz

Reverse for Triple Weak Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
3 WEAK

Basic

X
Z

With Sam Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Will Blitz.

With Sam-Mike Blitz

With SS Blitz

Reverse for Buck-Will Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
3 WEAK

With Strong
Corner Blitz

X
Z

With Overload
Strong Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Weak Corner Blitz.

Reverse for Overload Weak Blitz.

With Triple
Strong Blitz

With Max Blitz

Reverse for Triple Weak Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
3 MAN

Basic

X
Z

With Sam Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Will Blitz.

With Sam-Mike Blitz

With SS Blitz

Reverse for Buck-Will Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
3 MAN

With Strong
Corner Blitz

X
Z

With Overload
Strong Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Weak Corner Blitz.

Reverse for Overload Weak Blitz.

With Triple
Strong Blitz

With Max Blitz

Reverse for Triple Weak Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
4

Basic

X
Z

With Sam Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Will Blitz.

With Sam-Mike Blitz

With SS Blitz

Reverse for Buck-Will Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

COVER
4

With Strong
Corner Blitz

X
Z

With Overload
Strong Blitz

Y
Z

Reverse for Weak Corner Blitz.

Reverse for Overload Weak Blitz.

With Triple
Strong Blitz

With Max Blitz

Reverse for Triple Weak Blitz.

X
Z

Y
Z

PREVENT

Y
Z