Run Defense: An NPL Tutorial

By Jeff Bryk 

Introduction

Creating an effective run defense can be a frustrating task in FBPro, but the costs are dire if you get caught without an answer for a team that plays a strong running game. In NPL, where there have been and continue to be several teams that bring a run-first mentality to their brand of winning football, teams that can’t stop the run can pencil in several sure-fire losses each season. Being able to stop the run is not, however, an impossible task. This tutorial will examine the general principles used in run offenses and offer defensive strategies to counter them.

Running offense

Running offenses typically attempt to do one of two things to gain yardage: spread/clear out the defense or overwhelm defensive personnel through sheer numbers of blockers. The different approaches are geared for success against different types of defenses.

Spreading out the field is probably the most common tactic offenses use on inside running plays. Its main value is against man-to-man coverage. The rationale is simple: If there are five guys in man, then each eligible receiver used in the main blocking scheme will add another defender to general traffic in the area. By spreading out eligible receivers and having them run away from a play, the offense gets as many defenders as possible out of the ball carrier’s way.

On gut runs this means moving the defenders to the edges in order to leave the middle open. On sweeps the effect can be used in one of two ways. The first has the offense lining up the skill guys opposite the side of the run. When the play starts they continue to run away from the ball carrier. The skill guy on the LOS on the side the run is going to then heads across the run as quickly as possible. He may do this on a trajectory designed to block or at least slow down the player covering the ball carrier in man. An offensive lineman or two will usually act as lead blockers with this (or any, really) sweep design.

This is a high-risk way to go about things. If the defense isn’t in straight man or guards the outside edges in any meaningful way, this type of play will tend to get stuffed for losses or minimal gains. On the upside, if the defense is in straight man with a blitz coming up the gut, all the back has to do is break a single tackle to get a big gain.

The second way the sweep uses the spread offense is for the skill players to line up on the side the sweep is being run to. In this case, the skill players will usually still run back against the direction of the sweep to pull man defenders away, but may will also clear out zone defenders in the process. Finally having the extra manpower on the sweep side increases the blocking for the offense.

The second method of setting up the run, using numerous blockers, tends to work best for non- or limited-man coverage schemes. When teams are using zone or read defensive schemes, the positioning of the offensive players doesn’t matter (unless you use line up on man logic, which is really asking for trouble, in your defenses). The offense can load skill players as blockers up the middle or on the edges without attracting extra defenders (at least not many) to the area. Again, some of the skill guys may be aimed at clearing out zone defenders.

So that’s what the offense is thinking. Now, what can the defense do about it?

Run Defense

First things first. Before we discuss defending specific tactics, let’s talk about how defenders behave. The most important thing to know about players given run defense logic is that they run toward the ball. They run toward the ball. Memorize it. They don’t stay at home to contain the outside run. They don’t key on a back because he’s likely to get the ball. They run toward the ball. This goes for all players defending the run, no matter where they line up. This goes for all defenders whether their pursuit option is conservative (meaning they won’t cross the LOS), aggressive (meaning they’ll cross the LOS readily if that’s where the ball is) or balanced (meaning the player decides for himself whether to use conservative or aggressive pursuit).

Having defenders make a beeline for whoever’s carrying the ball at a given moment is a substantial advantage for the offense. For instance, if a pitch can be delayed until just before three or four defenders level the player making the pitch, those defenders will be out of position to make a play once the ball is pitched.

Players defending the pass tend to stick with their guys or defend their zones until they, too, are out of position to make a play. Since defenders playing the pass tend to be slow to recognize a run, defenders in man coverage tend to run away from the LOS in whatever direction the player they’re covering takes them.

Since many offenses are understandably designed to draw defenders to the wrong spot on the field, defenses need to find effective ways to ensure that their defensive personnel will be where they need to be to make a play, rather than where the offense wants them.

Now, remember: We’re talking run defense. Using some of the tactics discussed here may leave your defense vulnerable to the pass, but you can’t defend everything at once. We’re going to move forward on the principle that you should know what you want to stop and do a good job of stopping it.

Defending the gut run

Some simple tactics will help you defend runs between the tackles. First, plug holes. Offensive linemen work to create holes for backs to run through. Defensive linemen try to stop these holes from opening up or to plug them as soon as they do. If your opponent likes to run in the gap between the guard and tackle, place a defensive lineman in that gap. If you need to guard the gap between the center and guard, have a DL there waiting. Get the picture?

Forget that balanced and conservative options exist when assigning logic to your defensive linemen. Don’t bother with reading. Stick with aggressive pursuit and pass rush or run defense.

Good news for the defense: Offensive linemen are morons in FBPro. Sometimes they forget to do the little things like actually block defenders. Defensive linemen may not be any smarter, but their tendency to make a beeline for the ball can yield good results as though they were.

Even when blocking schemes are well conceived, I’ve had good results using Move To logic to set up stunts. The offensive linemen seem to expect defenders to run straight ahead, and they don’t seem to know quite what to do when defenders move side-to-side before attacking. But stunts may reduce linemen’s effectiveness against sweeps and slow their pass rush abilities.

Sometimes (often, actually) DL aren’t enough to stop a good gut run by themselves. You have to have someone behind the line to take mop-up duty. I like to keep a linebacker or two behind the LOS using conservative pursuit and read logic (pursuit and reading being a whole different ballgame for non-linemen). Conservative pursuit helps the LB stay clear of blockers and can keep him from making a mad dash for the wrong hole when the HB makes a cut. Sometimes a little delay helps keep the LB from committing too soon. If you use read, your LB will drop into coverage most often on passing plays and may actually be useful in the defensive backfield now and then (if your karma is really first rate). I like having slow LBs plug up the middle, as long as they’re sure tacklers. Again, this is because they tend not to get way out of position too quickly.

A man defender using bump-and-run coverage, especially on a lead blocker, can give you an extra body in the scrum to help make a play. But if you assign bump coverage to a HB and the HB runs a sweep, your man defender will likely be out of position to make a play before a long gain is made. Doubling up in man on the HB (usually backfield SP1) with one guy bumping and the other playing straight man with conservative pursuit can be effective in plugging the middle without opening the outside as badly.

The more guys you have defending the middle—as a general principle—the more likely they will stop the inside run cold. The more guys you have defending the middle, the more vulnerable you are on the edges.

A note on the gap sack

FBPro coaches sometimes complain that there are too many runs starting from the shotgun formation. There’s a good reason why QBs tend not to line up under center on running plays, however. Quick defensive tackles are often able to blow through the gap between the center and guard to tackle the QB before the handoff is made if the QB is not in the shotgun. This is called the “gap sack”. Good offensive teams tend not to get hit by the gap sack often or at all, but many defensive coordinators will work to line their defensive linemen up so that they get the gap sack as often as possible when it’s there for the taking.

Defending the sweep

Sweeps tend to be the big play runs in FBPro, so it’s important to do a respectable job of keeping them in check. Put a quick and reliable defender in man coverage against the HB with conservative pursuit for an initial measure that will help. But well-placed blockers may pick off the man defender, so that’s not enough if you’re serious about stopping the sweep. You have to cover the edges.

There are basically two ways to make sure you have guys at the edges. Neither is foolproof. Use move-to logic to get them there (and to keep them from being drawn out of position) or line them up on the edge and use stop and wait logic to make sure they don’t get drawn out of position. Either way you can use read to have them drop back into coverage if the play turns out to be a pass (and if it turns out they’re smart enough to realize it’s a pass) or run defense aggressive if you want to rush the quarterback from the edge (especially nice on roll-outs).

You can use spot (one pixel) zones to keep guys in position on the edges, but remember that zone defenders tend to be slow to realize it’s a running play. A spot zone will generally keep a defender in position and provide better defense against the pass than read logic at times (i.e. if the zone is placed well), but it’s not a prime way to stop the run. It can be part of a combination with other tactics to stop the run, though.

Many sweeps have offensive linemen pulling to provide extra blocking. Defensive linemen can sometimes hold these guys up and give your defense the numbers advantage on the edges if they’re placed outside the tackles. Sometimes the pulling linemen carry defenders with them, which also benefits the defense.

If you lose the battle at the edge, you will give up a big play if all your defenders are placed at the line of scrimmage. As in inside run defense, you are well advised to have a second guy in position to make a play behind the first wave in case the first wave fails.

A note on screens

Without belaboring the point, most screens operate on the same general principles as most sweeps. Not all good sweep defenses are good screen defenses, but the similarities make it a nice idea to work up a play that handles both.

Conclusion

Remember: You can’t defend everything all the time. Good offenses will make plays against good defenses because they have talented players and sound playcalling. Good defenses will stuff good offenses for the same reasons.