404 Tite Front Defense

[sushihorn 3233]

You’ve heard me refer to this previously in the Sugar Bowl write-ups.  UGa uses it as their base defensive front.  So does Texas.  You’ll see it again from LSU next year on nearly every snap.  This is one of the most important trends in FBS defenses today and the importance is only growing.  Get used to hearing about it even if it doesn't get as much press as the sexier pass defense schemes.

What is it?  The Tite Front stars with a 3 man DL that aligns with 4i-0-4i techs.  IOW, 2 DEs play inside eye on the OTs and a 0-tech NT.  Behind them are 2 ILBs – Mac and Rover in Orlando’s terminology with an OLB (Buck or Jack LB) setting one edge.  The other edge is usually controlled by either a 4^th LB (Sam) or 5^th DB (Nickel Back).

Why use it?  It shuts down the A-gaps using the NT and one or both ILBs.  It threatens both B-gaps with the inside shade 4 techs.  It discourages teams from pulling guards due the ability of the 4i DEs to pinch down and follow the guard to the ball.  And it does all of that with 5 players, usually leaving a free hitter while spilling runs to the outside.  The 4i shade makes it easier to double the DE with the guard and tackle but then you’re likely using 5 OL to block 3 DL, leaving the LBs completely clean.

RPOs take advantage of conflicting LB responsibilities.  A favorite uses either inside zone or power run with a pass option to the backside slant.  The QB reads the backside OLB like a read option.  If the LB crashes down, throw the slant instead of a QB keeper since he’s the underneath coverage for that pattern.  If the LB stays to the outside, the QB hands off.  The 404 Tite Front helps stymie this by spilling the play, forcing the RB to slow down and cut to the outside toward run support from the secondary.  The backside OLB (or NB) can hang out there in space to clog the hook/slant zone against the RPO pass.

What are the weaknesses?  There is no big run stopper to set the edge and control the C-gaps, like a 4-3 DE.  The secondary has to come up in run support and be effective once the play is forced outside to them, much like a safety running the lane against the triple option.  The critical role as run stoppers can create opportunities for vertical routes over the top.  Many teams have judged this tradeoff to be worthwhile to stop the horizontal stretch and shorter vertical stretch aspects of Spread Offense from gashing them on long, sustained drives.

There’s a lot of complexity and variation behind the basics.  I just wanted to cover the what and why behind the switch to 3 down linemen across FBS so people can see how defenses are adapting to the Spread.  For those who want more detail these articles are a great start:

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2019/2/5/18205641/tite-front-defenses-explained

https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2018/2/19/17021322/college-footballs-new-favorite-defense-4i-tech-4-0-4-georgia-texas

https://matchquarters.com/2016/10/10/the-3-4-tite-front/

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by sushihorn

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

Awesome summation. I tried explaining to a coworker why essentially having a front 5 instead of 7 is actually not a concession of the run game, but it got lost in translation. His aggy degree probably didn't help much, but still.

I love watching how free the LBs and safeties are in this alignment. Speed kills.

[Bullneck 18987]

[Bullneck 18987]

42 minutes ago, sushihorn said:

 

 

Wait a minute.  Our DE's are the Illuminati?

[cmontexas 3253]

Great writeup. One weakness that was overlooked is when offenses go with 2 tight ends they can run stretch all day like Okie State did to us. This can be countered by bringing in an extra d lineman when the other team has two tight ends in the huddle

[Rockwell Torrey 1277]

Sushi, thanks.  Always enjoy your insight.

 

The 404 requires DL to absorb OLs.  Considering what Orlando asked of Charles O his numbers last year were outstanding.  Like Poona before him, I think Charles O will do really well in the league.  Unfortunately, I have little confidence in NFL scouting.   We'll probably see Charles O drafted lower than he should.  Scouts should judge him on his Senior Bowl practice/game flash balanced against what he was doing and be asked to do in our defense.

[LTtxfan 48976]

Related......

New Defensive Strategies: Simulated Pressure System

https://td328-5f8d55.pages.infusionsoft.net

From Article:

The Simulated Pressure System

"The low-risk, high-reward pressure package that is super-easy for defensive coordinators—and a flat-out “nightmare” for offensive coordinators, quarterbacks, o-line coaches, and running backs… because it gives your defensive coordinator the ability to dictate, then manipulate protection schemes."

If you haven’t heard of Simulated Pressures, or “Replace” blitzes as they are also known, don’t worry. You’re not alone. It’s the hottest new pressure trend this off-season—and for good reason. This new pressure system flat-out keeps offensive coordinators in a lose/lose situation by bringing control back to the defense.

My research team and I have been tracking this system for a few years. It’s the brain-child of some of the most effective defensive minds in all of football…

• Dave Aranda, Defensive Coordinator, LSU
• Pete Golding, Defensive Coordinator, Alabama
• Ron Roberts, Defensive Coordinator, University of Louisiana

In simple terms, Simulated Pressure is four-man rushes that attack an aspect of the protection or blocking scheme by overloading that particular player or side. This part of it is no different than any other pressure package. But, the difference in Simulated Pressure is that by only sending four in the rush (and not five), coverage isn’t compromised like a traditional fire zone.

[LTtxfan 48976]

More Defense Stuff.....

Dime Defenses in B12....

https://www.footballstudyhall.com/2017/11/3/16599180/why-dime-is-now-base-defense-in-the-big-12

[LTtxfan 48976]

From Satyanash...... "Great read if you want to know more about how our pass coverage schemes work under Orlando."

(Ian Boyd) Inside the Gameplan: Nickel play for 2019

The nickel defender has been one of the most important players in the 21st century. The proliferation of spread tactics made him a focal point and players like Roy Williams and Tyrann Mathieu demonstrated what defenses could do when they had a hybrid playmaker in that role. When you watch film of the 2015 and 2016 Houston Cougars it’s quickly obvious that nickel was a key position for them. Tom Herman’s big opening day win over Oklahoma in 2016 was achieved in large part due to fantastic play by nickel Brandon Wilson, who had 10 tackles while regularly finding himself at the point of attack against OU’s spread. The AAC is largely dominated by “spread to run” offensive tactics that force the nickel to be a hybrid who splits his time between covering slot receivers and supporting the edge against the run. Tite front defenses like Herman’s Houston or UCF under Scott Frost were fueled by having big time playmakers at nickel.



Griffin was a unique player and not just because he dominated with only one hand. He was a freak athlete who ran a 4.38 at the combine. Griffin knew how to disguise hisdeployments then used his insane speed to show up where he was not expected. Obviously, Texas’ production at nickel the last two years did not match even what Todd Orlando got from his crew at Houston to say nothing of Griffin’s outstanding play. Texas’ lack of statistical production here as well as some fairly obvious targeting by opponents has led to a lot of consternation over the nickel role in the Longhorn defense. With P.J. Locke graduating and Texas looking to fill this position in the spring, now is a good time to talk through what that position has been and needs to become in 2019.

Does Texas need a super nickel?

One of the challenges confronting a nickel in the tite front defense is the open C-gap created by the front. The dilemma facing four-down defenses is that with defensive ends on the edge, there are four interior gaps to be accounted for by two defensive tackles two linebackers. At least one of those backers also has to match routes in coverage from the inside receivers, so RPOs (run/pass option plays) can force whichever linebacker is in a B-gap to have to cover two different actions at the same time. In this case, getting to the perimeter to stop a screen while the offense runs inside zone downhill into his B-gap:

It’s hard to be in two places at once for anyone but particularly for a 230+ pound inside linebacker. This is a major reason for the bust rate of blue chip linebackers that Scipio has been detailing in his series on finding modern linebackers. The three-down tite front Texas uses erases many of these conflicts for the inside linebackers by planting a big defensive end in each of the B-gaps and trades those problems for an open C-gap, which makes the more athletic nickel the player who’s put into conflict rather than a linebacker. Additionally, Texas’ base scheme against twin receivers is to play “cloud coverage” where the corner reads the slot and picks him up if he goes outside while the safety plays over the top. The benefit of cloud coverage is that it frees up the nickel to attack the edge on an RPO without being put into conflict:

Cloud coverage and the tite front pair very nicely for allowing a defense to play a big, aggressive nickel to help close on the C-gap. P.J. Locke beefed up some in the offseason and learned over the course of his time at Texas how to be a physical edge defender in this scheme, but there were some other problems that emerged for the Longhorns. A considerable issue that Tom Herman and his staff have encountered in the Big 12 is that this league does not embrace a “spread to run” playing style. Big 12 O’s spread you out to throw it and then come back to the run game after you concede leverage in the box in order to give the scoreboard operator a break. Oklahoma State hunted P.J. Locke with slot receiver Dillon Stoner:

 West Virginia hunted Texas’ nickel Josh Thompson anytime the Horns played anything other than cloud coverage that gave him help over the top:

 Trips formations were particularly problematic for Texas because they moved the nickel away from the edge and made him a coverage player while putting the mac linebacker into conflict:

If that Y receiver runs a vertical route then a safety needs to match him over the top. If it’s the strong safety, that means the slot can’t count on him helping over the top against the H receiver if he goes deep. The Air Raid teams don’t let you put run-stopping specialists hardly anywhere on the field. If you play someone that can’t hold up to a good slot receiver in space they’ll find a way to isolate him and make him do exactly that. Eventually you have nearly everyone backpedaling at the snap, then they run the ball.

So a Texas nickel might at one time find himself setting the edge against a downhill run scheme on first down then out wide trying to match a slot fade by a skilled route runner like David Sills on second down. The Longhorns have had a lot of star defenders that could handle such a variety of tasks such as Aaron Williams, Earl Thomas, Kenny Vaccaro, and Quandre Diggs. The tite front ups the ante on the run defense quotient when the nickel has to be a C-gap defender while the Big 12 is constantly upping the ante on the coverage component by asking the nickel to carry vertical routes by increasingly skilled and freakish QB/WR tandems.

Personnel mismatches in 2018

Texas got into a lot of trouble in 2018 when it didn’t have complementary skill sets interacting in the defense. Brandon Jones was the best tackler in the secondary but when Texas played in cloud, it turned him into a deep observer while leaving P.J. Locke and Anthony Wheeler underneath trying to cover sideline to sideline. They had some cover 3 match schemes with Sterns rotating deep and Jones spinning down over a slot:

When Jones dropped down, Locke didn’t always have help over the top and had to give up a lot of space underneath to avoid getting burned. Additionally, it left Kris Boyd on an island against some of the league’s best receivers and that island didn’t prove to be a consistent tax haven for the Longhorns. Another solution UT used at times was “sky” coverage. In cloud coverage, the corner and safety read the slot while the nickel plays the run first. In sky coverage the nickel (or outside linebacker) plays the slot first and one or both safeties fit the run from depth.

Sky coverage asks less of the secondary in terms of being on the same page and trading off routes. It’s simpler and ends up turning into man coverage more often than cloud, which often becomes something akin to cover 2. That means the corners have to be able to hold up outside without help over the top (but they do get help inside) and the safeties need to be rangy and active in run support. Texas played some sky in 2018 and it’s the base call when the offense only has one removed receiver from the formation, but cloud remained the default call facing a slot.

Josh Thompson and the nickel position in 2019

Texas has a number of tasks to resolve in 2019 that the nickel tends to be involved in. The Longhorns need to make sure they always have someone capable playing over slot receivers on vertical routes, someone in the C-gap in a timely fashion against the run, and someone who can be effective off the edge in the pass-rush. The base cloud coverage used regularly against twin receiver sets faces two issues here in 2019.

The first is the same as in 2018, it fails to leverage senior Brandon Jones’ talent as one of the better tacklers on the team. The second regards who plays nickel. Currently, Josh Thompson is first in line and he’s yet to master serving as the primary edge defender in the C-gap. When he had to start against West Virginia, once the Mountaineers had forced Texas to keep Sterns over the top to help Thompson against slot receivers, they focused on attacking Thompson’s edge in the run game and gashed the Horns for over 200 yards.

Thompson is going to be a junior next year who’s listed at 6-0, 200 pounds (may be heavier in 2019) and competed at a SPARQ combine in high school where he ran a 4.57 40, 4.27 shuttle, jumped a 40.4” vertical, and threw the power ball 36.5.’ In other words, he’s one of the best overall athletes on the whole team and it’s possible he’ll make a leap this offseason while under the staff’s careful scrutiny and become a “super nickel” that can fulfill every possible obligation of the position with aplomb. It’s also possible that he’ll be a jack of all trades, master of none, who can be exploited either in coverage or run defense because he hasn’t put it all together in either realm yet.

Other options for nickel could include using B.J. Foster or DeMarvion Overshown, both of which are clearly deserving of a role in the defense. That would generate some of the same concerns as with Locke since neither have shown much coverage ability yet. One possible solution here would be to move Brandon Jones closer to the ball to play as a joker, linebacker, or at boundary safety and move Sterns to strong safety.

If Texas wants to stay in cloud coverage more often than not and Thompson becomes a physical edge player or else Foster starts at nickel, then it makes more sense to have the best cover safety behind the nickel. With Sterns growing in confidence in the new defense he should be ready to be a reliable helper over the top. If Thompson wins the job and has a higher upside in coverage though, then Texas needs to consider changing the base coverage against twin receiver sets. Texas will probably run some cloud, sky, and match-3 coverage next season but the main question is where it places emphasis and what is the “home base” call that the defense defaults to.

For the last two years that’s been cloud but that may need to change to make the most of 2019. Sky coverage could allow UT to deploy big, rangy safeties more aggressively against the run while allowing an athletic nickel and young corners to have simpler pattern-matching rules in coverage. This coming spring will be about figuring out who the best players are, what they do best, and what coverages and calls allow the best players to put their best foot forward. Whether or not anyone can be a “super nickel” or whether anyone needs to be will be one of the first questions on the docket.

Edited February 19, 2019 by LTtxfan

[Doc Reeves 6434]

I keep reading it as ‘tittie defense’ in my mind

[sushihorn 3233]

10 hours ago, Bullneck said:

That's the aggy version.  They run the Error 404 front.  Coverage in the secondary Not Found aka Dixie Chicks defense.

[Tex Long 4348]

8 hours ago, Doc Reeves said:

I keep reading it as ‘tittie defense’ in my mind

PM Roman

[sushihorn 3233]

11 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

Awesome summation. I tried explaining to a coworker why essentially having a front 5 instead of 7 is actually not a concession of the run game, but it got lost in translation. His aggy degree probably didn't help much, but still.

I love watching how free the LBs and safeties are in this alignment. Speed kills.

Glad you liked it.  When I worked in tech investing, my handle was Speaker to Engineers since I could talk to them in their language and then distill it down for intelligent laymen like my bosses.  There's so much good stuff out there but most of it has so much detail it becomes intimidating.  Most people just want to know the answers to the highlighted questions in the OP.

Easiest way to explain the size/speed trade off to the casual fan is that TCU has fielded one of the best run defenses in the nation from base nickel (4-2-5) for over a decade using talent that the big boys didn't want. 

[Native Horn 3492]

9 hours ago, Doc Reeves said:

I keep reading it as ‘tittie defense’ in my mind

I'll admit my tittie defense could use a lot of work.  I'm giving up yuge plays, all the time.  

[GoldAppleCorps 617]

With an OC being the "eye in the sky" and rapid communications to the sidelines, the static defense is an automatic liability. If you line up and stop moving, the opposing offense knows exactly what you're about to do. Modern offenses have pieces on the field at all times to attack your weakness. The only way to give yourself a chance is to be shifting up until the snap - thus forcing the offense to play together in "real time" - diagnosing the defense and their individual responsibilities while the play is running.

The Texas defense needs a fireplug in the middle to cause a roadblock (thank you, Poona Ford). Running up the A gap is the easiest play in football, and must be stopped with pure mass. After that, Todd Orlando just asks, "What kind of athlete are you?". Take the 10 best ones and start sorting them out. You may line up as a DE, but your actual responsibility may be to rapidly drop to cover a hook. The putative ILB might be an outside pass rusher - to be replaced by a deep safety now covering the inside gap.

This is why Tom Herman wants a dominant TE. That's not really a non sequiter. Tight Ends get to cheat the rules. If every OL could block or catch a pass, football would be an insanely different game. As it stands, the TE alone is allowed to block (thus wanting a DE to match him) or run a passing route (usually needing a fleeter LB or stealing a S for coverage). In the cat and mouse game going on, the TE can scramble up everyone's coverages by doing both on the same play. Even catching a 10 yard pass puts him in the world of DBs - usually too small to effectively tackle him.

Finding a true multi-skilled TE is rare. However, his presence demands a defense's focus.

[Mez2 4021]

tites! 

 

/roman

[sushihorn 3233]

1 hour ago, Native Horn said:

I'll admit my tittie defense could use a lot of work.  I'm giving up yuge plays, all the time.  

Make sure you bring outside pressure to squeeze the C-gaps.  Then even a little middle penetration can unlock the entire front.  Just remember to watch for the RPO,  Those backside hooks can be a PITA.

Edited February 19, 2019 by sushihorn

[sushihorn 3233]

18 hours ago, cmontexas said:

Great writeup. One weakness that was overlooked is when offenses go with 2 tight ends they can run stretch all day like Okie State did to us. This can be countered by bringing in an extra d lineman when the other team has two tight ends in the huddle

Very true.  404 Tite Front is predicated on shutting down all of the interior gaps with minimal numbers.  A-gaps get the NT+2 LB triangle.  B-gaps have the 4i techs planted firmly in them.  When a team puts 2 TEs on the field, they create 2 new interior gaps as the C-gaps are now inside of them.  You can use the Buck LB to squeeze one C-gap so the front is fine against 11 personnel.  When an offense goes to 12 personnel, you're trying to do the same thing on the other side with a NB in Texas' base 3-3-5.  Not good to have that guy taking on a TE every running play.  If you can use a LB/S hybrid like Orlando did with Jason Hall in 2017, that can work.  Perhaps Overshown can be a more athletic version of that guy in 2019.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

4 minutes ago, sushihorn said:

Very true.  404 Tite Front is predicated on shutting down all of the interior gaps with minimal numbers.  A-gaps get the NT+2 LB triangle.  B-gaps have the 4i techs planted firmly in them.  When a team puts 2 TEs on the field, they create 2 new interior gaps as the C-gaps are now inside of them.  You can use the Buck LB to squeeze one C-gap so the front is fine against 11 personnel.  When an offense goes to 12 personnel, you're trying to do the same thing on the other side with a NB in Texas' base 3-3-5.  Not good to have that guy taking on a TE every running play.  If you can use a LB/S hybrid like Orlando did with Jason Hall in 2017, that can work.  Perhaps Overshown can be a more athletic version of that guy in 2019.

Raises the question, how do you get the personnel on the field on offense to make a 2TE setup work, without sacrificing your ability to also give other looks? Hybrid guys are more valuable than ever on both sides of the ball, seems to me. 

[HtownHorn 14487]

Can Texas deploy a package that contains 2 CBs, Jones, Sterns, Foster, and Overshown? Could Jones play NB in that package, move Sterns to the field, Foster to the boundary, and Overshown as the Joker?

[Jkwellborn 6653]

You want Jones covering a slot receiver?

[cmontexas 3253]

Its easier to find an offensive player who can body nickel backs in the run game and beat linebackers in coverage than it is to find a defensive player who can cover slot receivers and set the edge in the run game

[Machinator 32097]

Hence all the consternation over the "supernickel".

[Slacks 6791]

I am partial to 425... Especially if the 4 can do their jobs and the 2 are flexible at run /pass.

But we're not doing that, so I will continue to be concerned that the defense is made or broken by the NB... The C gap was a struggle for us this year. The RPO creates delay that extend drives.

We don't have 3 run cloggers at any given time. It stresses our LBs (who are not elite).

I'm not a coach... But I miss Duane Akina.

[sushihorn 3233]

12 hours ago, Snacks said:

I am partial to 425... Especially if the 4 can do their jobs and the 2 are flexible at run /pass.

But we're not doing that, so I will continue to be concerned that the defense is made or broken by the NB... The C gap was a struggle for us this year. The RPO creates delay that extend drives.

We don't have 3 run cloggers at any given time. It stresses our LBs (who are not elite).

I'm not a coach... But I miss Duane Akina.

A 4-3 (or 4-2 nickel) Under front can bring devastating interior penetration if you have a strong, quick 3-tech DT.  That's the alignment from which Warren Sapp wreaked so much havoc for years.  The issue is that both of your DEs become edge defenders, leaving the ILBs with responsibility for two inside gaps.  The reason so many teams have moved away from this is because giving both the MLB and WLB/Rover gap assignments against inside runs really helps to open up the RPOs that are now very common in FBS.

[Rimbo 25781]

Great stuff. Thanks, sushi, et al