4-2-5 Alignments-Part II

PRO-I SETS

Alignments to the pro I is very straight forward and allows room for flexibility and imagination. In this part I will focus on base alignments with a few other options.


CALL: TITE-2

The front and secondary both declare the strength the same way in this alignment. The TITE call puts the 3-tech towards the TE, the strong DE aligns in a 6. The backers align in 30 techniques. Some people argue that the backers should align in their gaps. ie, the RB should be in a 10. However, in the 30 alignment the RB can still defend his A-gap and is in a better position to play outside and off-tackle plays towards the TE.

The secondary calls "read-left" and sets the SS and FS in coverage to the left. The strong safety aligns 5-7 yards outside the TE and about a hard from the LOS. Also, the SS cocks his stance in and places himself perpendicular to the LOS. This alignment allows him to get under routes by the #1 WR, have a good angle to force the ball, and make it difficult for the WR to crack block him. The last reason needs further explanation. Teams like to run outside, will get tired of the SS forcing the ball back inside. So, they will attempt to crack him inside in order to get around the edge.

Making the crack difficult is accomplished by this alignment for a couple reasons. First, his back is turned to the WR. The receiver cannot legally block him in the back. Second, if he does attempt to crack block him, the crack will occur near the LOS. By making a crack happen at the first level, the corner is free to replace the SS as the force man. If the crack occurred further from the LOS, the corner could not replace as quickly, because he has to respect the crack and go. By attempting the crack at the first level, the threat of the crack go is eliminated. It is difficult to fake a first level crack and turn it into an effective go route.

The WS aligns in a postion to force the edge to his side and play the cutback on plays toward the TE.

VS TWINS

CALL: TITE-25

Twins is a formation where the front and secondary call the front in opposite directions. The AB is aligned in 10 in the diagram, but he could just as easily be aligned in a 30, it makes little difference. The SS and FS align to the twin WR's just like they would versus the spread. On the TE side the corner is shown close to the edge playing force. The WS could just as easily be there. The alignment each year might be different depending on the type of corners and WS you have. Below is a diagram of TCU from this past year aligning to twins.

Versus the Full-back set strong




Here the backs slide over and WS comes up into the nest, this call a "scoot" adjustment. Everything else is the same as regular pro-I alignment.

FLEXBONE



Here the alignment follows the base rules. The strength in the diagram is arbitrarily to the left. Versus the balanced front and the motion based nature of the flex-bone, the free safety will declare the read-side upon motion.


GOAL-LINE

The last view diagrams are an example of how TCU aligned versus Clemson principals. The particular scheme they employ is not really special to the 4-2-5. I am showing it as a way of understanding how the particular positions are aligned.


A safety has replaced one of the corners on the right edge. The DT's are hard A-gap player, and the backers are cheated-up into their gaps. There are two safeties to each side aligned on the edge and behind. The corner in the middle is adjuster who moves with any motion by the backs. This allows the front to stay relatively focused on the play by leaving adjustments to the corner. The next diagram shows the formation after motion.

4-2-5 Alignments-Part I

QUICK NOTE

This is part 1 of a 2-part series on alignments. The alignments I will discuss are in no means things I would do every time. Doing the same thing every time to a particular formation is a recipe for disaster. The offense will be able to scheme you, because they will be able to predict what you are doing. Also, you will be in a position where the offense will predicate to you what you will be in defensively. So when looking at these alignments, consider them a solid base alignment that can and should be adjusted to keep the offense off balance.

In this part, I will discuss alignments versus 10 personnel. Doubles and trips variations will be the focus. In part II I will cover spread sets that involve tight-ends and pro running formations.

BASIC PHILOSOPHY

The 4-2-5 Defense is very flexible to multiple formations. The fundamental thing to keep in mind when aligning to various formations is common sense. The quarters coverage concept is very self-adjusting and does not require too much movement. An important point is linebacker alignment versus 10 personnel spread formations.

The idea behind alignment and coverages in this scheme, is to create an advantage where there is one more defender to each side of the formation (+1 Rule). If there are two WR's to a side, the defense wants to put 3 people in coverage to that side. The linebackers are the people for the most part that allow for this advantage to happen.

As a rule of thumb, the linebackers should slide over to the side that is needed to create this advantage. This usually fits into two rules.

1. Versus a 2x2 formation the backers should slide towards the away-side of the coverage.
2. Versus a 3x1 formation the backers should slide towards the trips.

ALIGNMENT vs 2x2


Versus doubles in the middle of the field, the alignment is simple. If the call is 2-blue-solo. The read-side would be in cover 2 (robber) and the away side is in blue coverage. I will not go into the rules of these coverages, I have discussed this in a previous post. The linebackers slide toward the away side. In the above diagram, the read side is arbitrarily to the left, not because of the back. The read side could just as easily be set to the right. When the ball is in the middle of the field, other factors (devised by game-plan) dictate which side is the read side when the ball is in the middle of the field. A particular receiver, the quarterbacks preferred side to throw, and the opponents bench could all be factors that push one side to be the read side over the other. The time the back plays a role, is the option. If the team is able to run the option well, then the back is an important consideration. However, the offense can easily move the back to the other side and or stack the back behind the QB. This is why the back should not be a dominating factor when setting the read side.

The backers slide to the away side in order to get the mike backer closer to his coverage responsibility and maintain effective positioning on the run. Also, the FS will be involved aggressively to the read side. This allows the backers to slide toward the away side.

One problem with this coverage to the middle of the field is the soft cushion to the slot on the away side. If you sit in this look the offense will attack the away side heavily. The smash, All hitch, and other quick combinations are difficult to cover consistently from away-side blue coverage in the middle of the field. In short, the away side is susceptible to the quick game.

Fortunately, there are a couple things that alleviate this problem. First, the ball is not in the middle of the field often. Usually the ball is on a hash. With ball on the hash, these problems are not as significant.
Blue coverage is much more sound on the hash. The rule for setting the read side in this situation is the field. Versus 2x2 on the hash the FS should set the read-side to the field side. Away side blue is better on the hash for two reasons. #1 The mike is in a better position to get under both WR's, and #2 the receivers do not have as much room to maneuver.

The other thing that alleviates coverage problems when the ball is in the middle of the field, is the ability to mix in coverages to the away-side. The easiest adjustment to the away side is to get into man. Man coverage is designed to take away the quick passing game. If the offense has to guess whether or not the away side coverage is in blue or man, then they will have a harder time attacking you. They will have an even harder time if the WS and away corner do a good job stemming their looks. The backer does not need to stem coverage because his alignment is the same.


The backers do not have to change their alignments. The only thing that changes, is the the away-side backer (mike) is now responsible for forcing the ball and covering the pitch on the option. Again this is not an adjustment that you do all the time. But mixing in blue and man to away-side, when the ball is in the middle of the field, is a solid strategy for dealing with 2x2 formations.

Another important consideration versus 2x2 sets is the splits of the WR's. There are many different variations in their splits, too many to cover in this post. The important point is this: receivers usually alter their splits and alignments for particular reasons. If a slot receiver aligns closer to the core of the formation, he is usually leveraging an outside cut, conversely, if he aligns closer to the sideline, he is leveraging an inside cut. These variations must be accounted for. Here is a common example.


When the receivers get closer to one another, they are usually going to cross somehow. In this particular variation #1 has closed his split and # 2 has widened and deepened his. This is a common adjustment by the offense when the defense puts a defender in outside alignment on the slot. In robber coverage the SS aligns outside the #2 WR. However, versus this variation this would be a bad idea. The offense aligns like this to put the SS closer to the #1 WR. This allows the #1 WR to get around and inside the SS on a slant route easily. The FS will not be in a position to stop the completion. The play to expect here is a Bubble by #2 and a quick slant by #1.

The adjustment in a quarters concept is to adjust the coverage to leverage the most likely route combination. Versus this variation the read side should check into blue coverage. This moves the SS inside the slot in a position to slice the #1 WR, in this case, the slant route.
If the offense does run the bubble slant combination the coverage will be able to play it perfectly. The diagram below shows how the defense should cover these routes.

ALIGNMENT vs 3x1

Versus trips the alignment is simple. The backers should now slide toward the trips side. The base coverage adjustment to trips is to play SOLO coverage. Solo allows the read side to play cover 2 on the #1 and #2 WR The read backer and WS will be responsible for covering the #3 WR.
The backers slide to create a 4 on 3 advantage. The read-side backer is responsible for the short wall of the #3 WR. What this means is he cannot let #3 run a short crossing route. If he lets #3 get across the formation there is going to be a problem, because there is no one on that side to pick him up. The away backer and away corner are both in man coverage, and are not guaranteed to be there. The WS is responsible for covering the deep vertical and post routes by the #3 WR.

Not all trips are created equal. Offenses think too! (For the most part.) Different trips variations are common place in today's game. Some of these variations will make x-out adjustments (like special) more effective. Versus displaced trips alignment should look like this.
The read-side corner will man #1 (x-out), the SS and read-backer will banjo the in and out routes of #2 and #3. The FS will be in deep 1/2 to provide deep support. The SS, FS, and read-backer are playing blue coverage on these WR's. The away side can vary their coverage. In the above diagram I have shown man with the WS in 1/2's. You could also run a 3-way with the backers and SS.

ALIGNMENT TO EMPTY BACKFIELD

Empty backfields are not a major alignment problem either. Keeping with the idea of common sense and the +1 rule, aligning to empty is a simple process of following the rules. If a team run an empty backfield, there are only two things they can give you. 3x2 or 4x1. The same split variation principals apply here as well. Versus a 3x2, alignment should look like this.


The backers should stack behind their respective ends and read for the QB draw. Once they clear the draw they are on slice responsibility. To the read side the corner x-out's #1 so the read backer is slicing #2 and #3. This is the same technique he would be in versus any trips with an x-out adjustment being run. This is not different. To the away-side the backer plays the same technique that he would play versus a 2x2 set. To him it is still just two WR's.

If the offense runs a quads set, there is only one simple variation. Because the offense has 4 WR's to a side, a backer need to now get out of the box entirely to remain consistent with the +1 rule.

By bouncing the backer out, the defense now has a 5 on 4 advantage. The mike is now the short wall player and the WS can run his solo technique, this time reading the #4 WR. Again the #1 WR is discounted because the corner has him on an x-out.

SUMMARY

Again these are just some of the things you can do in split-safety coverage in the 4-2-5. The rules are simple and allow you to leverage the formation and plays the offense is in a position to run. In the next part I will cover TE spread formations and 2-back sets.

Quarter Coverage- Safety Push Technique

A push is when the #2 receiver to a side pushes vertical and draws man to man coverage by the deep safety to his side. In my previous post on split safety coverage I briefly explained the rules of 2-Robber and Cover 4. In both coverages vertical releases by the #2 WR past 8 yards would put the FS (and WS) in Man to man coverage on the WR. A WR vertical release past 8 yards is known as a "push" call by the free safety.




Knowing the assignments and responsiblities of a coverage is important. However, knowing the technique to execute those assignments is even more important. The technique involved in a push by #2 is more detailed than many might think. There are many misconceptions of the technique. Also, there are many ways that people teach their safeties in a push situation.

FUNDAMENTALS

The goals of the FS coverage technique on a push by #2 has two primary goals:

1. Be in position to cutoff deep vertical routes.
2. Have good enough leverage to play inside cuts by the #2 WR effectively.

Outside cuts are not part of the goals in basic robber coverage. The flat defender or corner are covering outside, so the FS should not have to worry about those routes. He has help there. On the other hand he does not have inside or over the top help. Therefore, it only makes sense that he leverage those routes. So the starting point to proper coverage technique begins with the initial angle the FS takes towards covering the #2 WR.


POOR ANGLE


This is the proper push angle. He should be at point with this type of leverage once the #2 WR pushes man coverage from the FS. This angle (if maintained) will allow the FS to play inside and vertical routes. A bad angle is a common mistake that many FS's make when first learning.


There might not be to much difference to the two angles at first, however the poor angle will get the FS in trouble if he gets an inside route (post or dig) from the #2 WR.

There is not as much of a problem if the # 2 WR runs a vertical route, but inside routes will be a problem. The aiming point of his angle should be past the cutoff point. The cutoff point is the point on the field where a WR will make his breaks inside or outside. It is usually at a distance 10-15 yards past the LOS. The diagram below will show the problem with redirecting from a bad angle.


This angle will make it too easy for the WR to beat the FS inside. From this point the FS will be out of phase in a chase position with no inside help. This is not middle field coverage. In this coverage inside routes must be properly leveraged to avoid giving up the big play.

PROPER ANGLE

With the proper angle the FS will have adequate time to redirect and leverage both types of inside breaking routes.



The FS has more inside leverage on this coverage, and can see the route break-off with plenty of room to to allow for the proper recovery. This is the players main priority. It might make it harder to play corner routes, but he should have help from the corner there. This is a timeless football principal: LEVERAGE THE BALL TO WHERE YOU HAVE HELP.

This angle has benefits for the vertical route as well. If there is a speed mis-match, the FS has a better angle to cutoff the deep route.

This shows the FS cutting off the WR at the appropriate place on the field. There is still a chance the WR can cut inside but routes that deep are uncommon, the FS will have more time to recover, and the QB will probably thrown the ball the time the route gets this deep.

Below is some video of the proper angle and technique on a push. The FS is playing the TWINS WR's on the defensive left.

tcuv2 @ Yahoo! Video

Even though the WR makes a break past the typical breaking point the FS should not worry too much about getting beat at this depth.

Robber Coverage Notes

I posted a reply on the Coach Huey boards about Robber Coverage. I will probably put a more detailed post with diagrams in the near future, but here is some more detailed technique on the coverage. This should be seen as a more in depth look at cover 2 (robber) technique from my original post on split safety coverage.

The biggest technique issues are for the the safeties: SS (Flat player) and FS (Robber).

VS Twin WR's

SS

Drop back and break to the flat if #2 releases outside. If number two release vertical past 8 yards, drop to flat and get under #1 and check if there is a back out (#3). If number #2 Releases inside get under #1 now and be aware of #3.

FS

#2 Release vertical, get in slow back pedal, if he passes 8 yards you have him man to man.

#2 Release inside, remain flat footed and read the depth of the release. If he releases under the linebackers, rob under #1. If he release above the LB's cut off and cover him now (think PAP/boot).

#2 Releases out-side. The eyes flash to #1. The key is to read the feet of the #1 WR. Most of the time one of three things will occur.

1. WR will buzz feet. FS Should rob curl to dig NOW.

2. WR will plant and drive at 45. FS Should roll into a position to cutoff the post.

3. WR Continues vertical. This is different from other peoples idea. The FS should flash his eyes to the QB and now "ROB" his eyes. Break on the ball. If the ball is thrown to the other side,break across the middle. The FS can't help the Corner when #1 releases vertical.

4-2-5 Split Field Coverage

I have read enough of these post and found them helpful and enjoyable. I thought I would try to contribute to the cause. Here is my first post.

You can find the TCU 1999 playbook here. There is not a whole lot of detail on the coverages but you can get a good idea for what they are trying to do. I have never visited with the coaches at TCU, only talked with others who run similar 4-2-5 defenses, so the terminology and alignments will not be exact, but within the general idea. I am going to discuss how to utilize a split safety coverage system versus spread offenses (2x2 and 3x1). These will be called out of 4-2-5 personnel. These will be different for a 4-3, because the COS is difficult.

In defense it helps to begin with the ordering of a coverage call. In this scheme the front call is irrelevant to the coverage the secondary is given. The call I will be discussing is 2-BLUE SOLO & 2-BLUE SPECIAL

The "2" Refers to the read side coverage. The read side is the side of the passing strength, and is the side that the SS and FS go to. The read side safeties will relay the coverage to the read corner and linebacker. The "BLUE" call is the away side coverage. This is the side away from the passing strength. The WS will let the away corner and linebacker know what the coverage is. The Diagram below shows it.





COVER 2

Cover 2 in this scheme is not the typical squat/halves (cloud) coverage that is quite common. Cover 2 is a robber scheme. There is a post about Virgina Tech's Robber coverage here. TCU's and Virgina Tech's are very similar.

To summarize robber. The FS will align o/s shade of the OT and 10 yards deep reading the linemen. On the snap of the ball the FS will remain flat footed until he get his read, on a run read he pursues the ball inside out. If he reads pass, his eyes flash to the #2 WR to the read side.

If #2 releases vertical past 8 yards the FS will yell "Push, "Push" and takes the WR man to man. If #2 releases out or in within 8 yards the FS will rob under #1 looking curl, post, dig.

The SS is responsible for the out cuts by #2 and if he gets a "push" call from the FS he will move to get under #1. The read corner aligns at 7-8 yards off LOS and bails playing a 1/2's technique over # 1.

BLUE


On the away side the WS and away corner are playing cover "BLUE". This is a type of combo man between the two of them. Both are reading the # 2 WR.

If the # 2 WR pushes vertical past 8 yards the WS takes him man to man and the corner locks up on #1.

If #2 releases outside within 8 yards the WS will make a "wheel" call to the corner. On a wheel call the corner Comes off and takes #2 man to man, and the WS locks up on #1 with over the top leverage.

If #2 releases inside the WS will yell "IN" "IN" to the linebacker and then double #1 with the corner.

The read and away sides respond differently to outside cuts by the #2 WR's. The picture below shows how each side will respond to the curl/flat combination.




SOLO


The final word of the call is SOLO. This is the trips coverage. This alerts the secondary that on any 3x1 formation the away side will check into SOLO.



SOLO is a trips check aimed at defending the trips side at the expense of putting the Corner on the single receiver side on an island man to man. The Read side continues to play Cover 2 on #1 and #2. The handeling of the #3 WR is done by the read side backer and WS. The WS has force/ pitch to his side. On pass, the WS sprints toward the middle of the field hunting for the # 3 WR. He has him Man to man. The read side linebacker's job is to wall #3, re-routing him and preventing a quick throw.

Versus a split play the coverage looks like this.



On the read side the FS makes a "Push" call and takes #2. The SS gets under #1, and the WS sprints across the field and takes #3. Below is another example.



This is an example where running 2-Solo is perfect. The play is designed to attack the trips side. The FS sees #2 release o/s and then robs the curl of #1. The SS drops to the flat and picks up #3, and the corner is deep to handle the wheel route by #2. If the QB is reading the corner and SS he will throw to the curl not realizing the FS is getting underneath it.


CHANGE OF STRENGTH (COS)

COS deals with motions that change the read side. This is one of the most troublesome things to deal with in this system. However, the presence of a third safety makes adjustments easier. Thats why this system is more difficult to run out of a 4-3 or 3-4. If the read side changes the FS moves to the other side, and the SS and WS swap responsibilities.




The read side flips to the right. The FS and WS play cover 2 and the SS checks his side into SOLO. After the motion the secondary is aligned like this.



The beauty of this is the adjustments were made by the secondary. The linebackers don't really have to move, only change responsibilities.

ANOTHER TRIPS COVERAGE "SPECIAL"

SOLO is designed to Load up on the trips side. You can run multiple coverages to the trips side with SOLO on the away side. You can put your read side into squat/halves, man, and BLUE. SOLO allows for flexibility in coverages to the trips side.

However, you might not always want to lock up on the single receiver side. You need a coverage call that allows for flexibility to that side too. That is where "Special" comes in. If the coverage is 2-BLUE- SPECIAL, your secondary checks into special with any 3x1 set.

Special puts the read side corner man to man on # 1. The SS and FS play #2 and #3 with BLUE coverage (Treating them like #1 and #2). The SS acts like the corner does in Blue and the FS acts like the WS. The other players disregard the #1 WR the corner has man to man. (This is an X-out concept. You could use a similar adjustment VS TE trips (trey) You can lock the SS on the TE and have the FS and corner play blue on #1 and #2.) This locks down that side and allows you to play games with your WS and away corner on the single receiver side. You have many options here. You can run different brackets, play squat/halves, Spy the QB with WS, or even send him on a blitz off the edge.



You can add a 4th tag to the call to let the WS and Corner know what to do vs trips, or have the WS look to the play caller for a call when he gets trips. It helps to have a base call for the away side in special. A simple bracket call works best for starters.

Special is also the call of choice versus an empty (3x2) set. Versus empty the FS checks Special to the trips side and the WS gets the away side into blue. This is a good coverage it provides great run support for draws and get all the WR's covered.



With 2, blue, solo, and special you can present a number of looks to the offense,have a plan to deal with the trips side and open side in 3x1 sets, and even cover empty (3x2) sets. The ability to play with 5 players in the secondary makes adjustments and communication simple.

Addition

I have written another post that goes into alignment details of split-field coverage versus 2x2, 3x1, empty backfields.