Overload Pressures

ith today's shift towards pass-centered spread offenses, if a defense wants to be successful it has to find ways to pressure the QB. This causes some problems for zone teams. If you have to bring a 6 man pressure (Out of a four-down defense) then you are sacrificing two of your underneath zones. Offenses can key on this and take what you give them. A way to counter this is an overload blitz. An overload blitz focuses on manipulating the O-line's blocking rules to try to get a free hitter through while only bringing a 5 man pressure.

The first thing that I feel like we need to understand before running an overload blitz is the blocking scheme of the offensive line. The rules and style of pass protection can be different for every team. The blocking progression on pass pro in the way I taught it was inside-outside-over. In pass pro, if you have a man to the inside gap, you have to pick him up. If you have no man inside, you look to the outside to pick up a man or help. Lastly, if you are uncovered and have no one to help, then you should get your eyes to the second level to look for a blitzing linebacker. Anytime something comes to the inside it must be picked up. So if I am a tackle picking up the end and a blitz comes B gap, I should disengage with the end and pick up the blitz if my guard is already engaged. The goal is to take away the shortest/most direct line to the QB.

The defense can manipulate this with DL twists, crashes, and single man blitzes behind them. My goal is to find the worst lineman and make him my target. Often the tackles are going to be the worst ones at handling twists, those huge 300 lb dudes who move a little slower than the rest. You can also attack the middle of the line if the center is not the best. A lot of kids' salvation to getting on the field is to learn how to snap really well, attack them, that is a chink in the armor.

My favorite overload pressure attacks the B gap. You can start your linemen out in a stack position or have your ends to the outside shoulder. On the snap, your nose or tackle will crash into the O-tackle trying to fight across the face if possible, but at least trying to the O-tackle to the outside. The ends will then loop off of the nose or tackle's butt to the A gaps. They should move quickly and stay square, using a technique similar to a skip pull. Once the twist is complete, the will or sam linebacker can blitz the B gap and hopefully come through free. This should be a slightly delayed blitz, which allows the twist, and hopefully, the gap, to develop. The success of this blitz hinges on the tackle, he is in conflict. He should let the tackle or nose come free once he sees the blitz coming, but if the nose is crossing his face he will probably engage him. This will give the LB a free shot into the backfield. I would tell the nose or the tackle to focus on making contact as he crosses the face of the O-tackle, this will influence the O-tackle to engage and lets the backer come free. If he is a good tackle and lets him go to pick up the backer then we have the nose coming off of the edge. Another player that is in conflict is the center. In a perfect world for the offense the center would pick up the stunting end, the tackle would pick up the end, and the guard would pick up the blitz. Chances of that happening are very slim in my opinion. There HAS to be a hole in the armor of the O-Line, find it and expose it. We have to remember we are coaching against highschool kids, who, in WV at least, will get 3 weeks of June to practice without pads and about 2-3 weeks of August padded practice before their first game. Chances of an offense having time to learn their base rules for the run and the pass and then all the specials that a team can run is unlikely.

Of course I am not the person that thought of overload blitzes. One of the biggest blessings of my four years of coaching was getting to work with the scout team defense. Working with them I was able to study and implement several different defenses and judge how well they work or fit my own scheme. One of my favorite things that I learned from those defenses were twists and bringing blitzes behind it. The twist creates a hole in the O-line for the backer to blitz through. If your team runs this please let me know how you run it!