Thank you for the invitation to participatein this clinic. It is indeed an honor for

me to represent Flordia State University,Head Coach Bobby Bowden, and ourdefensive staff. At this time, I would like torecognize our defensive coaches; JodyAllen, defensive ends coach, OdellHaggins, defensive tackles coach, KevinSteele, linebackers coach, and KirbySmart, who is our defensive graduateassistant and helps me coach the defen-sive backs.

We have been asked to talk on defensethis morning in regard to methods we usein attempting to create pressure on ouro p p o n e n t ’s offense. With that in mind, Iwill give you an overall view of what welike to do as far as using various kinds ofmovement out of our base look. After that,Kirby will show you how we utilize a fewzone blitzes for pressure.

First of all, our base defense is a 4-3front with man/free coverage. Basically,we are a Strong Eagle G Team. We like toget seven or eight defenders in the box forthe run. We usually roll down one of oursafeties. This allows us to fast flow ourlinebackers and pick up an extra run play-er from our secondary to help us stop ther u n .

We get our front four in a sprinter’sstance so they can really come off the ballon the snap. We want them to attackacross the line of scrimmage, secure theirgap and then redirect to the ball as hardas they can go.

We expect to generate pressure on theo ffense from our front four just by thedesign of our base set up. That is critical.Other ways we want to pressure theo ffense is by moving our defensive align-ments. Movement before the snap iscalled stem. Movement after the snap iscalled stunt. A d d i t i o n a l l y, we use the termfire or blitz when we involve several of ourdefenders in our pressures. This could befour or more people.

Because we do a lot of different thingson defense, we try to keep it as simple aswe can. For instance, we have a two-deep zone coverage we will use with sev-eral different stunts and movements bythe front four. We will use two diff e r e n talignments up front. One is from our basealignment and the other is a reduced lookwhere we adjust the alignment of thedefensive ends on the tight end, as well asthe nose tackle on the center. If we areexpecting a pass, then our front four rush-

ers are in a straight, up-field pass rushmode. This means they will react to a runblock on the move. Since we have takenthe safeties out of primary run support, weuse some in-line stunts to strengthen ourplay on the inside running game. The end,tackle line slant is a stunt we use a lot.We can also stunt with the right end andnose tackle, as well as the left tackle andright end.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, we will use other stuntsto help us get a stronger pass rush. T h i sfull line stunt is one of our favorites forbreaking down pass protection and creat-ing pressure on the quarterback(Diagram 1).

In this stunt, our left tackle and rightend go first and the left end and nosetackle go second. We can also switch theorder of who goes first and second.Another stunt we like to use when we playhalves coverage is where we use threerushers in the stunt (left end, right tackle,nose tackle). The right end will use hisnormal up field rush (Diagram 2).

N a t u r a l l y, we use additional stunts forpressure in our base defense. Time willnot permit showing those. But let meemphasize that selling our players on cre-ating pressure with a four-man rush isextremely important to our defensive suc-cess. In fact, it is imperative if we aregoing to be able to get seven defendersinvolved in pass coverage whether weplay man or zone coverage.

Thank you for your time and interestthis morning. Now, Kirby Smart, whoworks with our corner backs, will talkabout our Fire Zone Package where weuse a five-man rush to create additionalpressure on the off e n s e .

PP rr ee ss ss uu rr ee --TT hh ee FF SS UU WW aa yy

Diagram 1

Diagram 2

Fire Zone PackageI want to say thank you to the A m e r i c a n

Football Coaches Association, our headcoach, Bobby Bowden, defensive coordi-n a t o r, Mickey Andrews, and our players atFlorida State.

You have already heard from MickeyAndrews about our basic four-man rushpressure. We think that a four-man rushmust be sold to our players as the firstcomponent of our Seminole pressurep a c k a g e .

Part two of this pressure package is ourfire zone package. This package is a five-man rush zone coverage principle. T h i s

rush is based on confusion for the off e n-sive blocking scheme. The confusion iscaused basically by covering with a tradi-tional rusher and rushing a traditional cov-erage man. Although some are simplyrushing an extra man from base four orthree-man fronts.

We break our fire zone into groupingsbased on run calls, choice calls (run orpass), and pass calls. The second part ofour grouping is: 1 . inside (middle); 2 . o u t-side strong; 3 . outside weak; 4 . s e c o n d a r y.

The possibilities of the fire zone pres-sures are almost endless. By groupingthe fire zone packages, we can changethe rush concept without changing the rollof coverage. We name our inside firezones after tools (hammer, ax, drill), out-side strong calls are weapons (sword,

knife, dagger), outside weak calls areNative Americans (Cherokee, A p a c h e ,Navaho), and secondary calls are weatherdescriptions (storm, lightning, tornado).This allows you to change the pressurestunt, but keep the roll and responsibilitiesof the coverage the same.

Diagram 3

Diagram 4

Diagram 5

Diagram 6

Kirby Smart, Graduate Assistant

1. Keep the head up.2. Discuss risk of injury.3. Keep the head out of contact. 4. Explain how serious injuries can occur.5. Involve parents in early season meeting.6. Have a set plan for coaching safety.7. Clearly explain and demonstrate

safe techniques.8. Provide best medical care possible.9. Monitor blocking and tackling

techniques every day.10. Repeat drills which stress

proper and safe techniques.11. Admonish and/or discipline users

of unsafe techniques.12. Receive clearance by doctor

for athlete to play following head trauma.

13. Stress safety every day.14. Don’t glorify head hunters.15. Support officials who penalize

for illegal helmet contact.1 6 . Don’t praise or condone illegal helmet contact.17. Provide conditioning to strengthen

neck muscles.18. Entire staff must be “tuned in” to

safety program.19. Check helmet condition regularly.20. Improper technique causes spinal

cord injuries.21. Helmet must fit properly.22. Be prepared for a catastrophic injury.23. The game doesn’t need abusive contact.2 4 . Player safety is your responsibility.25. It’s a game — not a job — for the players.

Excerpted from an article by Dick Schindler for the National Federation News

Coaches’ Checklist

Practice Safety-First Coaching Techniques