Section 6 Calling the Defense As described in Section 5, Calling the Offense, placing your team in detailed mode allows you to make offensive and defensive play calls in a manner consistent with professional football. A defensive call consists of these parts: Formation Required Formation Shifts Optional Coverage Optional Stunts Optional Special Assignments Optional Blitzes Optional Individual Man Optional Coverages Only the defensive formation is required. However, if nothing else is called, the players won't do anything. To make a defensive call, you must enter a formation. You may also enter a series of blocks, each of which specifies some aspect of the defense to be used. The following paragraphs describe each of the defensive blocks. Formation The defensive formation consists of two digits followed by an optional shift character. The first digit specifies the number of defensive linemen, and the second digit specifies the number of linebackers. The number of defensive linemen must be either 3 or 4. The number of linebackers must be either 2, 3, or 4. These are the legal defensive formations: 32 33 34 42 43 44 Because there are eleven players on a team, the defensive formations specify from three to six players other than linemen or linebackers. The players that are not either linemen or linebackers are divided between: Corner Backs Safeties Backs There are always two corner backs. The number of safeties and backs depends upon the formation. The defensive positions are named as follows: Linemen: Right End -- RE Left End -- LE Right Tackle -- RT Left Tackle -- LT Nose Tackle -- NT Linebackers: Weak Outside -- WO Strong Outside -- SO Weak Inside -- WI Strong Inside -- SI Middle Inside -- MI Cornerbacks: Right Corner -- RC Left Corner -- LC Deep Backs: Strong Safety -- SS Weak Safety -- WS Strong Back -- SB Weak Back -- WB Middle Back -- MB Right and left refer to the defense's right and left. Figures 6-1 through 6-6 show the alignment of the six basic defensive formations. The normal defensive alignment of linemen and linebackers generally follows that shown in Figures 6-1 through 6-6. The alignment of the corner backs is on the widest offensive receiver to each side. The alignment of the remaining deep backs (safeties and backs) is evenly distributed between the corner backs. The normal defensive alignment for the linebackers and deep backs can be affected by the type of coverage that is called. If zone coverage is called, the alignment is not changed from the normal defensive alignment. However, if man coverage is called, the defenders may shift to align with the receivers they are assigned to cover. If the normal defensive alignment positions the defender close enough to cover the receiver, no shift is performed. However, if the distance to the man to be covered is excessive, the alignment of the defender is shifted closer to the receiver. Before describing the optional shift character, the definition of the offensive strength must be reexamined. As described in Section 5, Calling the Offense, the offensive play call includes a strength -- right or left. However, the offensive play call may specify receivers shifted from the normal offensive strength position. As far as the defense is concerned, the offensive strength is the side which contains the most receivers. This is not necessarily the strength that was specified when the formation was called. When the defensive alignment is being determined, Head Coach evaluates the number of receivers to the right and left of the offensive formation and sets the strength accordingly. After specifying the basic alignment (34, 43, etc.) you may specify an optional shift character. The shift character specifies a shift of the defensive linemen in one direction, with a corresponding compensating shift of the linebackers in the opposite direction. The shift characters are: O -- Over, toward offensive strong side S -- Strong, toward offensive strong side U -- Under, toward offensive weak side W -- Weak, toward offensive weak side L -- Left, toward defensive left side R -- Right, toward defensive right side For example, a "43O" (43 with "O" or Over shift) means a 43 alignment with the linemen shifted to the offensive strong side, and the linebacks compensating to the weak side. Figure 6-7 shows a "43O" applied to an "OL" offensive formation. Figure 6-8 illustrates the offensive formation of ORHBWL (Open Right, HalfBack Wing Left), defensive formation of 34R. The "R" instructs the linemen to shift to the defense's Right and the linebackers to compensate by a shift Left. The O, U, L, or R can be applied to any defensive formation. Following the basic alignment and the optional shift, you may specify a "G" to have the defensive linemen play in the "gaps" between the offensive linemen. The linemen will choose a gap, either further inside or outside. You cannot control which gaps will be played. For example: 34G -- 34 alignment with linemen in gaps 43SG -- 43 alignment, shifted to strong side, with linemen in gaps Pass Coverage After you specify the defensive formation, there is a series of optional assignments called blocks, each preceded by a period. The first block that you must call is the pass coverage block. This ensures that you have specified an assignment for all defensive players. As explained in Section 4, The Playbook, there are two basic types of coverage: man (or man-for-man) and zone. The block specifying man coverage begins with ".M", and the block specifying zone coverage begins with ".Z". Many coverages are combination defenses that include both man and zone coverages. When a defender has been assigned a zone, the zone is usually a circle, with possible extensions, either deep or toward the sideline. The size of the circle and the width of the extensions depend upon the ability of the defender. The better the defender, the bigger the area that can be covered. With extensions, the defender is responsible for receivers within the circle, as well as a rectangle that extends to the sideline or down the field deep. The zone is centered about a point known as the zone drop. When the ball is snapped, the defender moves to the zone drop to establish the zone. Head Coach provides four types of zones: Pick Zone -- Area to cover is a circle around the defender. Side Zone -- Area to cover is a circle extended to the sideline. Deep Zone -- Area to cover is a circle extended down the field. Corner Zone -- Area to cover is the outside corner of the field. These zone types are shown in Figure 6-9. Man Coverages A man coverage specifies one defender for each offensive receiver. Normally the cornerbacks (CB) cover the receivers that are the widest to each side, leaving three receivers. You may choose how to cover the remaining three receivers. These choices allow for desirable or undesirable matchups, or present different coverages to the offense. Head Coach provides four man coverages that can be used for each of the six basic defensive alignments. The basic difference between the four coverages is which defenders cover the interior receivers. The four types of man coverages are: O -- Outside LB cover interior two receivers. I -- Inside defenders cover interior two receivers. L -- All receivers are covered by linebackers. B -- All receivers are covered by backs. All defenses have more than five pass defenders. With the five offensive receivers covered, some defenders still need an assignment. The standard O, I, L, and B coverages assign zones to those pass defenders that do not have a receiver to cover man-for-man. Because some defenders do not have a specific receiver to cover, special assignments can be made to those defenders, removing the zone. For example, a defender in a man coverage defense that is assigned a zone may be reassigned to blitz without leaving a receiver uncovered. A zone man within a man coverage also may be instructed to double cover a receiver ( be assigned to a receiver covered by another player). To determine which defenders will be covering which receivers with the multiple offensive formations possible, Appendix C, Defense, presents charts for all combinations of defense and pass coverage. For each defense and pass coverage, the pass defenders are shown assigned to the pass receivers as the receivers line up in an offensive "OR" formation. The assignments are made to provide effective coverage, regardless of the type of offensive formation used. Figure 6-10 shows two of the man coverages from Appendix C. As shown in Figure 6-10, the coverages are really specified by assigning a defender to a receiver based upon the receiver's relative position on the field. "#1L" means to cover the receiver that is the first receiver in from the sideline on the defense's Left. "#3S" means to cover the third receiver in from the sideline on the Strong side. "#2W" means to cover the second receiver in from the sideline on the Weak side. For example, you have called the following defense: 43.MO This calls a "43" basic defensive alignment (four linemen, three linebackers) with Man Outside coverage (".MO"). If the offense has called a "1L" formation, the resulting coverage is shown in Figure 6-11. The coverages are determined as follows: Player Figure 6-10 Figure 6-11 RC #1R FL (1st receiver in on defense's right) WS Deep Zone Deep Zone SS #2S TE (2nd receiver in on strong side) LC #1L SE (1st receiver in on defense's left) WO #2W HB (2nd receiver in on weak side) MI Pick Zone Pick Zone SO #3S FB (3rd receiver in on strong side) You can now specify 24 different combinations of formations and man coverages, each with specific assignments of receiver coverages. Zone Coverages There are four zone coverages that may be specified for each of the six basic defensive alignments. Each of the four is identified by how many deep and corner zones are used. A "5 deep" zone, for example, means five defenders are playing deep (deep zones or corner zones), and the remaining pass defenders are playing short zones. Head Coach provides the following four zone coverage blocks: .Z5 -- 5 deep zones .Z4 -- 4 deep zones .Z3 -- 3 deep zones .Z2 -- 2 deep zones The number of short zones used depends on the number of defenders available for pass coverage, which depends on the basic defensive alignment called. In a 43 defense, there are three linebackers and four deep backs for pass coverage, a total of seven pass defenders. In a "43.Z5" defensive call, the 5 means five deep zones, leaving two short zones. A "32.Z3" uses three deep zones and five short zones, because there are 8 pass defenders. In a zone coverage block, all pass defenders have a zone to cover. Reassigning a pass defender to something else with a subsequent block results in an undefended zone. Appendix C, Defense, diagrams all zone coverages. There are four zone coverages for each of the six basic defensive alignments, resulting in 24 zone coverages. Shift Block The shift block allows you to specify shifts of formation position of defensive players. In a long yardage situation, for example, you might want to shift all pass defenders back 5 yards. This would shift all zones 5 yards deeper and thus make man coverages more effective against the deep pass. The shift block begins: .S The ".S" indicates a shift block. Next, you must call the player or players to be shifted. One of these must follow the ".S": LB -- Shift linebackers. CB -- Shift cornerbacks. DB -- Shift deep backs. AL -- Shift all: linebackers, cornerbacks, and deep backs. player position -- Shift the player specified (ex: RE or MI). jersey number -- Shift the player whose jersey number is specified. Following the ".S" and the specification of player or players to be shifted, you must specify the shift itself. The shift may be either: L -- Left R -- Right S -- Strong (toward offensive strong side) W -- Weak (toward offensive weak side) U -- Up (toward line of scrimmage) B -- Back (away from line of scrimmage) Yards from the line of scrimmage If a direction (L, R, S, W, U, or B) is specified, the amount of the shift in yards must be specified. To place the defender or defenders a certain distance from the line of scrimmage, specify the distance in yards. For example: 43.Z5.SALB5 This calls a basic defensive alignment of "43", 5 deep zone pass coverage, with all pass defenders shifted Back 5 yards. This causes the pass defense zones to be 5 yards deeper than normal, providing extra pass defense deep. Next: 34.MO.SCB0 This specifies a "34" defense, Man Outside coverage, with the cornerbacks shifting up to the line of scrimmage. You can use more than one shift block in a defensive call: 34.MI.SWOU1.SSOW1 This takes a basic 34 with Man Inside coverage and moves WO Up 1 yard, and moves SO one yard to the Weak side. A final example: 43.MB.S2410 This calls a "43", Man Back coverage, with player number 24 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. If a player to be shifted has a jersey number less than ten (a single digit), the digit must be preceded by a "0" as follows: 33.Z5.S06B5 This calls a 33 defense, Zone 5 coverage, with defender number 6 shifting Back 5 yards. Assign Block With the assign block, you can make special assignments to defensive linemen and linebackers. The assign block begins with: .A The ".A" is followed by one or more one-letter assignment specifiers. The assignment specifiers are: I -- Linemen stunt inside O -- Linemen stunt outside P -- Linemen pass rush G -- Guard keying F -- Linebacker force Linemen stunt inside The "I" assignment instructs the linemen to charge to the inside of the formation when the ball is snapped. This is called when the defense anticipates a run inside, typically the 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 hole. For example: 43.MO.AI This calls a "43" defense, Man Outside pass coverage, assigning an inside charge to the linemen. See Figure 6-12. Linemen stunt outside The "O" assignment instructs the linemen to charge to the outside of the formation when the ball is snapped. This is called when the defense anticipates a run outside, typically the 5, 6, 7, or 8 hole. For example: 34.MB.AO This calls a "34" defense, Man Back pass coverage, assigning an outside charge to the linemen. See Figure 6-13. Linemen pass rush The "P" assignment is used when the defense expects the offense to pass. In the lineman pass rush assignment, the defensive linemen charge the QB. The "P" assignment is very effective in reducing the chance of completing a pass, but if the offense has called a run, the effectiveness of the defense against the run is greatly reduced. Figure 6-14 shows the following call: 33.Z5.AP Guard keying To improve the offense's rushing performance, the offense can choose to have linemen that are not at the point of attack pull and block at the point of attack. The blocking assignments used by the offense for this type of trap blocking are: T, P, N, F, and O blocking (see Section 5, Calling the Offense). If an offense traps a lot, the defense may specify the "G" or guard keying assignments. The guard keying assigns two defensive linemen to key the two offensive guards. When a guard pulls to block at the point of attack, a defensive linemen will follow the guard to the hole. This "G" assignment is an effective defense for an offense that does a lot of trapping in their running offense. The offense has a blocking assignment specifically designed to combat the defense that does a lot of guard keying -- the "G" block (see Section 5, Calling the Offense). For example: 43.MI.AG This calls for a "43" defense, with Man Inside pass coverage and the defensive tackles keying on the offensive guards. See Figure 6-15. Linebacker force The final assignment is the "F" or linebacker force. In the linebacker force, the linebackers ignore the pass and step up to the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball. This helps stop an offensive run. For example: 44.MB.AF This calls for a "44" defense, with Man Back coverage and all linebackers force. Beware -- this leaves the offensive HB and FB unassigned as shown in Figure 6-16, but it puts eight players on the line of scrimmage. Blitz A blitz occurs when defenders that do not usually penetrate the offensive line or backfield attempt to do so. The defenders assigned to blitz try to put additional pressure on the ball carrier or passer, at the expense of fewer defenders to protect against a pass. Blitzing is usually done in a man pass coverage to ensure all receivers are covered. Blitzes are very effective in passing situations to put pressure on the passer. Against runs, luck is involved. If the blitzing players are on the side of the point of attack, the run is very effectively defended. However, if the offense runs away from a blitz, the offense usually has the advantage. To specify defenders to blitz, enter the blitz block as follows: .B The ".B" is followed by one or more players that will blitz. For example: 34.MB.B WO WI 55 This calls for a "34" basic defensive alignment with Man Back pass coverage and that WO, WI, and player number 55 blitz the QB. See Figure 6-17. In designing a blitz, you must first decide which basic defensive alignment to use. As previously stated, blitzing is normally called from man coverage. In Figure 6-17, a "34.MB" covers all receivers and assigns zone coverages for WO, WI, and SO. Therefore, WO, WI, and SO could be blitzed and still have all receivers covered. Blitzes can be called from zone coverages as well. Because zone coverages do not overlap zones to a great extent, the blitzing player leaves a "hole" in the zone where no coverage is assigned. For example: 34.Z3.BSI This calls a "34" basic defensive alignment, with three-deep Zone coverage and SI blitzing. The "34.Z3" SI assignment is a pick zone in the middle of the field. However, because of the blitz a "hole" in the zone coverage is created in the middle of the field. See Figure 6-18. To call a "safety blitz", which is a blitz involving a deep back, the recommended approach is to call a man coverage that has the deep backs not assigned to particular receivers: 43.ML.BWS SS This calls a "43" basic defensive alignment, with Man Linebacker pass coverage, and a blitz by SS and WS. In this "43", SS and WS do not have specific receivers to cover, only corner zones. Therefore, SS and WS can be blitzed and still have pass coverage on all receivers. See Figure 6-19. Special Man Covers Sometimes the defensive coach needs to assign a defender to cover a particular receiver man-for-man that a standard defense and man coverage does not provide. The most common need to specifically assign a defender to a receiver occurs when double coverage is desired. Double coverage means having two defenders cover a receiver man-for-man. To use double coverages, call a basic defensive alignment and pass coverage that leaves some pass defenders free for additional assignments. Then specify the Cover block: .C The ".C" is followed by one or more cover assignments consisting of a defender and the receiver to cover. For example: 33.MO.CWS SE This calls a "33" basic defensive alignment with Man Outside coverage, and WS covers SE man-for-man. This call has placed two defenders, RC and WS, on the SE, thereby double covering SE. See Figure 6-20. Another example: 33.MI.CSOFL MBTE WOSE This calls a "33", Man Inside coverage, with double coverages on FL (LC and SO), TE (SS and MB), and SE (RC and WO). See Figure 6-21. Combining blocks More than one block can be specified for the defensive calls. Consider this final example: 43U.MO.SWS3.AG.CMITE.BWS This specifies "43U" ("43" with Under shift, or shift to weak side), Man Outside coverage, WS to shift to 3 yards off the line of scrimmage, guard keying, MI to cover TE man-for-man (creating double coverage on TE), and a WS blitz. See Figure 6-22.