At Colorado in the early 1980s we developed a short-drop concept that has evolved into a major role for our inside linebackers today. When pass is deter- mined, the short-drop linebacker in our scheme gets no depth. While his duty can vary slightly from game to game, his general rule is “drive to QB.” This means he is to disrupt the shallow routes made popular by the West Coast passing game and, if none, to pressure the quarterback.
Most drive routes are 2 to 4 yards deep. We coach the short dropper to attack underneath the shallow route and force him deeper if he does not knock him down. After the collision, the linebacker does not run with the receiver but rather squares up, focusing on the quarterback as a runner. By game plan, the linebacker could plus to the rush or sit for the scramble.
The short drop is effective in man-free coverage and helps those with outside leverage to play with confidence versus drives. They know the linebacker will disrupt the shallow route and bounce it deep so they can “recapture” it (see figure 6.15).
B
C
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FiguRe 6.15 Corner with outside-leverage man recaptures the shallow route after help
from the short-drop linebacker.
The short-drop concept is also used now at Buffalo in pure zone coverages. It is effective versus shallow routes, screens, and draws while giving another answer to today’s mobile quarterbacks.
Flat
The final underneath zone is commonly called the flat area. Usually, lineback- ers are responsible for most of the underneath zones (that is, zones in which receivers run shorter routes). Figure 6.16 illustrates for our linebackers the relationship of these zones to each other and to the football field.
Defenders can best cover the six zones in figure 6.16 if they get to the center of their zones and break on the indication of the quarterback, as outlined in the earlier discussion of hook-and-curl responsibilities.
FiguRe 6.16 Underneath zones with remote areas shaded.
QB B
B
B B
Hash
mark Hashmark
6 yds 6 yds
L flat—L curl—L hook—R hook—R curl—R flat LOS
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The flat areas differ in that the shaded portions are farthest from the passer. Both time and the sideline aid the flat defender in these remote areas. The ball must be in the air a long time and the passer must throw accurately for it to reach the flat inbounds.
As a base concept, our outside linebacker with flat duty knows he need not enter the remote area until the throw is indicated by the quarterback. The flat defender need not be closer than 6 yards to the sideline on a pocket pass.
When the linebacker’s key tells him drop-back pass and the ball is in the middle of the field, he should turn at a 45-degree angle to his outside, run to a point 10 yards deep and 2 yards inside the widest receiver, and pull up with the quarterback’s set (see figure 6.17).
B3 never wants to be closer than 6 yards from the boundary and always maintains inside leverage on the wide receiver to force the longer throw.
In figure 6.17, another outside linebacker concept is apparent. B3 hangs in the curl, even though it is not his zone, to bide time for B2 to make the longer trip to the curl. When #2 crosses B3’s face, B3 widens and leaves B2 to cover the curl alone. This is a basic thought all flat defenders must recognize. As flat defenders gain experience they learn how long they can hold the curl. With long-yardage situations, let the #2 receiver gain width if he cannot make the first down. Against one Big Ten opponent, we declined to defend the flat against a 260-pound fullback who averaged one catch in four games. Our out- side linebackers squeezed the curl, forcing the quarterback to throw to him. He dropped the pass.
FiguRe 6.17 B3 opens to his flat drop with ball in middle of the field.
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Outside linebackers also frequently get two receivers in their flat zones. We instruct them to get to the deepest part of their zone and break on the shorter route (see figure 6.18).
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1 B3
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Now B3 retreats and either sees the wide receiver running an out or pulls up and breaks to the wide receiver before the quarterback’s throw. In either case the passer has these thoughts:
• If I underthrow the wide receiver, the linebacker can score on an interception. • If I overthrow in the remote area, the receiver may catch the ball out of bounds. • My safe throw is to the shorter #2 receiver.
The defender must keep his eyes glued on the quarterback and react to his throw. Force the shorter toss and then make the receiver pay the price on con- tact. Remember, there is a reason the flat defender is called an outside linebacker: All his help is on the inside. He must tackle with his helmet on the outside edge of the receiver. Remember the triangle tackling concept discussed in chapter 5.
When the ball is on the hash mark in high school and college football, the outside linebacker into the boundary enjoys a narrower area to defend. Now when he recognizes the pocket pass, less width is necessary due to the proximity of the widest receiver. Outside linebackers often use the backpedal exclusively here so they don’t get into the remote area (see figure 6.19).
The initial depth of all our zone undercoverage depends on the drop of the quarterback. On a short three-step drop, we immediately break for the nearest outside receiver at a 5-yard depth. With the popular five-step drop, we expect our undercoverage to get 10 yards deep. On the classic seven-step drop, all the linebackers should have excellent depth. Obviously, the route depth is often tied to the depth of the quarterback’s drop.
FiguRe 6.18 B3 defends the deepest part of his flat zone with two receivers in it to
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