Equipment Needed
- Football
- Cones to mark gaps
Mark the gaps
Cones make it easy to mark each blitz gap so protectors can rep recognition and pickup consistently.
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- Set up an offensive line and running back in protection against a disguised blitz look.
- A quarterback sets the protection call from under center or in shotgun.
Instructions
- Before the snap, the quarterback or center identifies the Mike linebacker and sets the protection scheme.
- On the snap, the line and running back pick up their assigned gaps, adjusting live if the blitz look changes.
- The running back checks their assigned gap first before releasing into a route.
- The quarterback steps up or slides the pocket away from pressure once protection is secured.
Coaching Points
- Identifying the Mike linebacker correctly is the foundation of the entire protection scheme — get this right before anything else.
- The running back's first job in protection is picking up the free rusher, not immediately releasing to run a route.
- Disguised blitzes are designed to confuse the count; communication and a calm pre-snap process are the real defense against them.
- A quarterback who steps up into a clean pocket rather than immediately backing away often turns a near-sack into a completion.
Variation
Run it against a variety of disguised pressure looks to test recognition, or add a stunt on top of the blitz for an even more advanced rep.