Read This, Be Smarter: Super Bowl Matchup on Defense

[pbmax]

He gives great credit to LeBeau and gives somewhat short attention to Capers, but a nice primer on the opposing defenses in the Super Bowl, plus some coaching tape off last year's game and a link to Dom Capers 1997 Carolina D playbook we saw earlier.

While Chris is mainly a college guy, those who have been watching the Packers and Capers will recognize each of the blitzes he describes as a scheme the Packers have run. In fact, Chris uses a Packer replay, you may all remember it, to demonstrate one of LeBeau's prototypical zone blitzes.

Unfortunately, there is little attention paid to the techniques used in the secondary beyond zone assignment and matchup to man when someone enters a zone. Because the one difference between the defenses are the corners and how they play. Also be on the lookout for the link that once led me to incorrectly assign credit to Bob Davie for first using the zone blitz.

http://smartfootball.com/defense/dick-lebeau-dom-capers-the-super-bowl-and-the-evolution-of-defense

[pbmax]

Also be sure to catch what each team has that can ruin the best laid plans of the zone blitz scheme.

[mraynrand]

Great line:

" It’s also not true that a defensive lineman must drop into coverage for it to be a zone blitz; plenty of effective zone blitzes don’t use that tactic. Indeed, it’s one reason why the 3-4 and the 3-3 and other multiple defensive back and linebacker formations are great with the zone blitz — you don’t have to drop the 300 pounder into space where, beyond the initial surprise, he’s a liability."

This is what I always thought about the zone blitz - for crying out loud, you don't want that lineman in coverage! Well, almost always you don't!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugDIS4woDYU