The Chess Match: Odd Front and Run Game to Defeat it
May 02, 2022 2:44 pm
Coach ,
The late Junior Seau related football to a chess game:
"Football is a chess game to me. If you move your pawn against my bishop, I'll counter that move to beat you. Football is the same way. I study so much film that I know exactly what teams are going to do. I love knowing what a offense is going to run and stuffing that play."
We will take a look at some of those games within the game this week, starting with the Odd Front and Inside Zone.
BASE CALLS
2020 Football Scoop Coordinator of the Year/NAIA National Champion Phil Kleckler loves what the Odd front can do to shut down a run game, especially the Bear front and its variations.
Like the Tite front which uses 4i’s, the closely related Bear front with two 3 techniques allows a defense to shut down inside gaps and force the ball laterally.
The inside defenders get vertical and penetrate off the snap, and using his OLB, he likes to box the running back in and close down all running lanes inside. Having the DL penetrate causes issues for any inside run scheme.
Coach reviews his base Bear front here (click on image for video):
Jason Mangone, head coach at SUNY Brockport, consistently has a top-performing offense. He utilizes the inside zone scheme, which a Bear front typically can take away, with the ability to bounce the ball outside.
He tags the play with “alley” in order to get a blocker on the defender which Coach Klecker would be counting on to box the runner in. Coach Mangone explains how his inside zone handles the Bear front here (click on image for video):
MOVEMENT
Ideally, either side of the ball would like to stick to their base calls/plays. And sometimes with superior personnel that is possible. In most cases though that means both sides will need to be ready to adjust.
Of course for the defense, movement is the next logical step in the progression.
The NCAA stunt with a long stick is a favorite in college football because the aggressive movement can cause issues for an offensive line that is not playing disciplined and utilizing their rules well against movement.
Coach Klecker shows how they run this out of the Bear front to create an overload to the field and cause issues for the OL (click on image for video):
Coach Mangone knows that the movement will be coming so it’s built into their rules and footwork in order to allow the offensive line the best chance for success against movement which will open running lanes when they pick up the movement. He illustrates that here (click on image for video):
This is just an overview of the chess match that happens on every single play, but no defense is invulnerable, and no run scheme is unstoppable. It is a combination of knowing when to utilize a call or adjustment, and more importantly, coaching up the players who must execute it.
Being able to study and understand multiple perspectives gives you much more insight than studying just one side of the ball.
Always be growing!
Coach Grabowski and the Coaches Clinic Community of Coaches helping Coaches