On behalf of Tennessee Tech Universityand our head coach, Mike Hennigan, it

is a great honor to present this article forthe 2003 AFCA Summer Manual. I wouldlike to thank my current staff, DamonBradford (linebackers) and DewayneAlexander (defensive line), and past staffEric Roark (SMU) and Chris Jones(Montreal-CFL), as well as all the restrictedearning coaches for all of their hard work,dedication and great times we’ve sharedthrough my four year tenure as defensivecoordinator at Tennessee Tech. Last andmost important, I would like to thank mytwo predecessors, Mike Hennigan (headcoach) and Mike Smith (defense coordina-tor, Jacksonville Jaguars), for their vastknowledge and guidance as I took over adefensive system that has evolved throughthe last 17 years from their hands to mine.

Pass Defense PhilosophyOur philosophy of pass defense begins

with applying pressure on the passer. Mostof the time, your best pass defense is agood pass rush. At the same time, we alsowant to be able to jam and disrupt the tim-ing of receivers with their patterns as theyrelease down field. Communication is alsoimportant to be effective in pass coveragewhere it is the responsibility of everyone inour secondary to communicate by talking(ex: “ball” calls, splits, motion adjustments)or through the use of hand signals.

Our basic theory is to mix a variety ofman to man and zone coverages in pass sit-uations. We try to have a zone coverage tocompliment every man coverage conceptwe have. If our defensive backs execute thecoverages properly, vary their secondaryalignments, and use effective disguises, wecan create uncertainty and problems foropposing quarterbacks and receivers.

This uncertainty can create doubt in theopposing players’ minds as to the type ofcoverage to expect, which in turn, mayreduce the number of pass patterns that aquarterback and receivers have confidencein using. No where is the concept of TeamDefense more evident than in passdefense. With the coordination of applyingpressure on the passer by our line and tightcoverage by our secondary will produceinterceptions, sacks, and the ability to con-trol our opponent.

End Run ForceEnd Run Force is one of the most

important concepts of defense where the

11 defensive personnel fit to support therun. Being sound both against the run andpass in each coverage is important; there-fore, we put a major emphasis on wherewe fit as a defensive unit. Diagram 1 belowshows our defensive base alignment.

The secondary, linebackers and defen-sive ends have the responsibility of stop-ping (forcing) the end run and playing therun-pass. The primary “force” defender caneither be the free safety, rover, corner, line-backer or defensive end depending on thefront and coverage called. There are fourkey elements of defending the end run:

1. Force.2. Alley (Cutback).3. Secondary Support/Play Pass.4. Pursuit.

ForceThe player that is responsible for out-

side leverage vs an end run. The “force”player meets the play forcing the play tocutback to the inside or causing the ballcarrier bounce so he is vulnerable to pur-suit. It is very important that the “force”player must constrict or squeeze the widthof the running lane; therefore, minimizingthe area between himself and the nextinside defender (the alley player).

AlleyThe player responsible for the middle

position between the force and the pursuit.The “alley” player must control the alleyarea by defeating the blocker and stayingin an inside-out relationship on the ball.

Secondary SupportThe player responsible for secondary

outside leverage if the “force” player losesoutside leverage. In addition, the “sec-ondary support” player is also responsiblefor playing the toss pass. If a receiverreleases down field, the “secondary sup-port” player must play pass until the ballcrosses the line of scrimmage. This playermust also replace the force player vs. thecrack block.

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Diagram 1: Base Alignment

PursuitThe other eight players not responsible

for the other three elements of End RunForce. All pursuit players must maintain aninside-out relationship on the ball carrierand have the awareness of other defend-ers’ pursuit angles. Our basic rule in pursu-ing to the football is to close to the nearshoulder of the ball carrier while not follow-ing your own colored jersey.

Each defense we call will have one ofthe four End Run Force schemes:

1. Sky Support: Free safety or rover is“force” player.

2. Cloud Support: Corner is the “force”player.

3. Bronco Support: Linebacker is the“force” player.

4. Easy Support: End is the “force” player.Diagram 2 (Sky Support), Diagram 3

(Cloud Support) and Diagram 4 (BroncoSupport) demonstrate how our defensivebacks and linebackers support the end run.

Zone Coverage (Base)

Zone coverage is the backbone of ourdefensive coverage package. Our basezone coverage is a very flexible package in

which we align in a four spoke secondarywith the philosophy of dropping sevendefenders in coverage. The free safety(strongside) primarily works with the Saml i n e b a c k e r, Mike linebacker, and corner. Ourrover (weakside) works with the Will line-backer and corner to the weak side. The cor-n e r’s base alignments are at seven yardsand head up. The free safety and rover alignat a depth of 10-12 yards deep (dependingon coverage) and are given a landmark ofaligning two yards inside or outside the hashdepending on ball placement and formation.

Our base coverage is simply called“zone.” In Zone, each safety has the option ofmaking one of three calls; Sky, Sink, orFunnel. In order to make the proper call, thesafeties are given rules in which they use tocontrol their side of the formation. The safe-t y ’s call to each side will depend on the num-ber of receivers to their side, the receiver(s)alignment, or the receiver(s) splits. In num-bering offensive personnel, we count fromoutside in to the ball.

The following rules are given to oursafeties to use in Zone:

1. Sky call given on the strong side byfree safety when the No. 2 receiver is in the“C” area (tight end position) and there is anormal split of No. 1 receiver. Sky call isgiven by rover on weak side when there isa normal split of No. 1 receiver.

2 . Sink call given by free and rover whenthere are two receivers outside “C” area.

3. Funnel call given by the free safetyand rover if the No. 1 receiver takes a shortsplit or motions to a tight split for releasingpurposes or for blocking purposes.

In each coverage Sky, Sink and Funnel,the coverage name not only tells the sec-ondary and linebackers their pass responsibil-ity but also dictates the run support scheme toeach side. Even though there are strengthsand weaknesses of each coverage, we feelthe coverage called based off these rules giveour players the best coverage to be most suc-cessful both against the run and pass basedo ff offensive alignments and formations.

Sky CoverageSky Coverage is a quarters-based cov-

erage where the primary support of the runis handled by the safety (Sky support). Thecorners in Sky are pass defenders first andhave the role of secondary support versusthe run. Sky is a run-based coverage whichaggressively allows your safeties to getinvolved in the running game. When oursafeties support the run in Sky, it enables

us to involve nine players against the run.Sky pass drops can be seen in Diagram 5on both the strong side and weak side.

Corner Progression: SkyAlignment: Seven yards deep and

head-up.Footwork: Back peddle to inside-post

position.Reads/Keys: Ball to No. 1.A s s i g n m e n t : Man-to-man concept on all

deep routes (take off, post, post- corner) ofNo. 1. Intermediate routes of No. 1 (curl, dig,crossers) corner becomes halves player.

Free/Rover Progression: SkyAlignment: Ten yards deep; two yards

flexibility off hash.Footwork: Flat-foot shuffle.Reads/Keys: Ball to No. 2.A s s i g n m e n t : Free safety on strong

side. Read No. 2. Vertical release play No.2. Flat release No. 2, play curl to post. Dragrelease of No. 2, route recognition.

Rover on weak side. Read No. 2. verti-cal release play No. 2. No vertical release,curl/flat drop relating off No. 2.

Linebacker Drops: SkySam: Curl/flat drop.M i k e : Hook/stretch to curl (all three

receivers outside).Will: Hook/curl drop.

Sink CoverageSink coverage is a coordinated coverage

ran against a two wide receiver set. This typeof read coverage can turn into either truequarters or a Cover 2 concept based off therelease of the No. 2 receiver. The primarysupport of the run is handled by the corner(Cloud support), but is a wide force concept.With a three over two look on the outside,Sink offers a safe and sound answer to boththe run and pass. The safety and corner’sresponsibility versus the pass can changewith the release of the No. 2 receiver.

Diagram 6 demonstrates Sink pass drops

Diagram 2: Sky Support

Diagram 3: Cloud Support

Diagram 4: Bronco Support

Diagram 5: Sky Coverage

on the strong side with release patterns ofNo. 2 and Sky pass drops on the weak side.

Corner Progression: SinkAlignment: Seven yards deep and

head-up. Footwork: Lateral Shuffle.Reads/Keys: Ball to No. 2.Assignment: Read No. 2 for technique.

Vertical release of No. 2, play No. 1 likequarters. Flat release of No. 2, settle withdepth like Cover 2.

Safety Progression: SinkA l i g n m e n t : Twelve yards deep; two

yards flexibility off hash. Footwork: Controlled back peddle to

throttle.Reads/Keys: Ball to No. 2.Assignment: Read No. 2 for technique.

Vertical release of No. 2, play No. 2. Flatrelease of No. 2, overlap No. 1 like halves

coverage.Linebacker Drops: Sink (St. Side)Sam: Curl/No. 3 flat.M i k e : Hook/stretch to curl (all 3

receivers outside).Will: Hook-Curl/No. 3 flat, unless other

coverage called.

Funnel CoverageFunnel is a true Cover 2 coverage where

the corner squats the No. 1 receiver playingthe flat and the safety is a true half-fieldd e f e n d e r. In our Zone coverage package,Funnel is called when there is a short split ofthe No. 1 receiver for releasing or blockingpurposes. The primary support against therun in Funnel is handled by the corner (Cloudsupport). In Diagram 7, Funnel pass dropsare illustrated on each side of the formation.

Corner Progression: FunnelAlignment: Seven yards deep and

head-up.Footwork: Work up to five yards; mirror

No. 1.Reads/Keys: Ball to No. 1.Assignment: Collision No. 1, play the flat.

Safety Progression: FunnelA l i g n m e n t : Twelve yards deep; two

yards flexibility off hash. Footwork: Controlled back peddle to

throttle.Reads/Keys: Ball to No. 1.Assignment: Halves; eye control No. 1

to No. 2.

Linebacker Drops: FunnelSam: CurlMike: HookWill: Hook/Curl unless other coverage

called.In closing, Zone coverage gives us the

built-in flexibility to run multiple coveragesto one side of a formation based off ofoffensive sets and splits. Because of vari-ous offensive personnel and formations,we feel that the options of Sky, Sink, andFunnel in Zone put our players in the bestcoverage to be successful both against therun and the pass. Again, I would like tothank the AFCAfor this great opportunity toshare these ideas and that our doors atTennessee Tech are always open to you.Best of luck in 2003.

Diagram 6: Sink Coverage

Diagram 7: Funnel Coverage

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