COACHING THE RV 3-5-3

1. COACHING THE RV 3-5-3 JASON LYNCH Head Football Coach River Valley High School JLynch@rivervalley.k12.oh.us

2. OUTLINE • PHILOSOPHY • FRONTS • Base • Gap • Solid • Bear • BLITZ PACKAGE • Fire Zones • COVERAGES

3. WHY RUN THE 3-5-3? • It suits the available personnel. • It allows the defense to be aggressive and dictate tempo. • It keeps the defense active. We want our LB’s to “prowl.” Never be static. • It’s easy to teach and learn. • Players can be active and have a part in the decision making process.

4. PHILOSOPHY • We will be a gap control defense, and utilize stems. • Our goal is to score on defense, or at a minimum, set up a score. • We will make the offense adjust to our defense. • We will force offenses to max-protect, thus minimizing the the number of receivers we must cover and how long. • We will attack!!

5. ALLOWS FOR BALANCE

6. BASE

7. GAP

8. SOLID

9. BEAR

10. LINE STUNTS

11. RV BLITZ PACKAGE • We will blitz over 75% of the time. • To run this defense, you must be willing to take risks and live with the results. You must be able to play (teach) man-to-man techniques. • We spend extensive time game planning our blitz package for each opponent.

12. RV BLITZ PACKAGE (cont.) • We use BTF (blitz-to-formation) calls. We entrust our LB’s to make these calls. Therefore, the LB’s must be schooled in our tendency breakdowns and scouting reports. • We give written quizzes, to all players, every Wed. Scouting reports are distributed on Mon. • Our LB’s never make a “wrong” call as long as they blitz the gap opposite of where they deal the defensive line.

13. 1-MAN BLITZES • We can blitz to any particular gap by calling Strong A, Weak B, etc. • We can blitz off the edge by calling Bam or Ram. • In one backer blitzes, we typically play Cover 3. We will either blow a zone or roll coverage to the blitz.

14. 2-MAN BLITZES • These are our most common blitzes. • We play man-free behind this. • We teach LB’s to blitz through blockers, and don’t let anyone cross their face. • The 2-Second Rule: • If you cannot reach the QB in 2seconds or less, the blitz is useless. LB’s must “spark” through the gap.

15. DOUBLE “B”

16. DOUBLE “C”

17. DOUBLE “D”

18. STINGER

19. THUNDER

20. SLAM

21. WHAM

22. 3-MAN BLITZES • We use these when we need a big play or sudden change. • Must be willing to play man-free (cover 1) or cover 0. • Teach a “peel” technique to account for flares and swing passes.

23. DEAL

24. HOUSE

25. ZONE BLITZES • Allow us to be aggressive in our scheme. • Multitude of possibilities in developing defensive pressure schemes. • Allow us to blitz and still be “safe.” • We are no longer gambling with one-on-one coverage. • Feel we are better at stopping the run in zone coverage, with all 11 defenders keyed to the ball.

26. FIRE ZONE - MaRk

27. FIRE ZONE - WilliaM

28. FIRE ZONE - WeBster

29. FIRE ZONE - MattheW

30. COVERAGE RULES • We typically play a Cover 3 Zone or Cover 1 (Man-Free). • We want a player in the middle of the field as much as possible. • You do not need exceptionally “fast” players to play “Man” but they must have good technique. • We will not give up the inside in man coverage. Force QB’s to throw “outs” and “fades.” • Stop “slants” and “curls” at all costs. Take the penalty if necessary.

31. COVER 3 • Bandit/Rover have curl-flat. • Sam/Will have hook-curl. • Mike has middle underneath. • Corner/Free have deep thirds. • Keep eyes on the QB. Get in passing lanes. • Get contact on crossers. • Completed passes are not a problem. Yards after catch are problematic. Focus on teaching good open-field tackling skills with your DB’s.

32. COVER 1 (MAN-FREE) • This is our base coverage. • C’s have #1. • B/R have #2. • S/W have #3. • M has FB Circle route or mirrors QB. • Inside leverage is crucial.

33. COVER 0 • Keep use at a minimum. • Can play with “press” or not. • C’s have #1. • F has #2 to the strength. • R has #2 weak. • B has #3 strong. • S/M/W have any backs out of the backfield. • We do not believe in running man-to-man against Wing-T or Option teams.

34. RV Vikings The River Valley coaching staff would like to thank Jake Bruner and Bucyrus football. JLynch@rivervalley.k12.oh.us COACHING THE RV 3-5-3