Use the “Advanced” reference tools to gain an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of football so that you can not only enhance your enjoyment of watching the game, but also understand what the heck the broadcasters are saying.
Defense: Man-to-Man vs Zone
There are two basic ways to structure a defense: 1) Man-to-Man and 2) Zone. The true difference between these defenses is Coverage, or how they protect against the pass. In Man-to-Man, as the name suggests, the pass defenders are assigned to specific players. [More…]
Defense: Zone Coverage Schemes (Cover-2, Cover-3 and Everything Coverage)
Coverage Schemes are distinguished based on how many players are assigned deep zone coverage responsibility. [More…]
Defense: The 3-4 vs the 4-3 Defense
There are two primary defensive formations used in football (college and NFL) that are the basis of the defense’s strategy. The numbers describe how many players are on their first two lines of defense, the linemen and linebackers, respectively. [More…]
Offense: Spread Option Offense
Spread Option offense are considered to be “equalizers” on the playing field, allowing less athletic teams to compete with larger and faster defenses. They achieve this by using multiple ball carriers to trick the defenders and by setting up the play so that the defense is not in a position to tackle the player with the ball.[More…]
Offense: The Triple Spread Option
The Spread Option relies on three things 1) spreading out the field, 2) having a variety of running options on each play and 3) utilizing the Zone Read to choose which option to use. The number and types of different options teams use and the formations they run their plays out of are what differentiates these schemes. Paul Johnson’s Triple Spread Option is just one variety of the Spread Option and is uniquely named because it has three different options of possible ball carriers on each play. [More…]
Offense: Man-to-Man vs Zone Run Blocking
A significant component of an offense’s ability to run the ball is based on it’s ability to block out the defensive players and make lanes for its runner.[More…]
