How to use motion to beat the blitz

[DOLFANMIKE]

HOW TO USE MOTION TO BEAT THE "BLITZ ATTACK"

DOLFANMIKE:
"How you handle the blitz usually dictates how much you're going to get. Or better stated, the worse you are at blocking the Blitz, the more Blitzing you are going to see"

In other words CCFL....if you can't block pressure, expect to see it a whole lot all season.

The Run:
Motion the FB, TE, WR, HB to create better blocking schemes and overload your opposition. Use motion to misdirect and counter away for big gains vs the teams that like to slide with motion.

The Pass:
Use motion to improve your pass protection scheme and limit those sacks. Use Motion to double - team opposing stars and limit their effectiveness. Use motion to flood zones or control pass routes in a way that optimizes your success throwing the ball.

The purpose of this article is to share with coaches how to use Motion with your offense. In my scheme, I use motion on both run and pass plays. I use it with the pass to get the defense out of position, to compliment my pass routes, or to bring in an extra blocker. In my run game, I use TE & FB motion to pick up the blitz, to provide an overload blocking, or to misdirect. I motion my WR's to crack back block or kickout backside. All of these forms of motion can really serve as great tools for picking up those Blitz happy defenders on the other side. More over, as you come to understand the game more and learn to identify the schemes you are facing, you can manipulate and hurt those schemes and create both big play opportunities and consistent drives. The key is having an offense that can have success against all schemes. Most defenses Blitz all the time because the average Offensive coach has no idea how to scheme against it. Most coaches that are unfamiliar with how to handle pressure just simply hope to hit and miss away from the attacking blitz scheme. More often than not, unless the offense is lucky on its play calling, the defense will win that battle. This article is one coaches scheme based on the use of motion to combat the "Blitz Attack".......



The Run Game:

Motion may very well be best used in the run game. Season after season I have implemented it in my scheme and I'm almost always among the leagues most productive rushing attacks. I credit that largely to scheme over players abilities. Motion is the heart of the rushing attack that I implement in my online football attack (9 years) and in my real life coaching duties (21 years). Some of the ways motion can be used specifically challenges those coaches that want to blitz often. As you know, many coaches use the blitz to cover up their lack of understanding on how to properly defend without the blitz. In other words, they use the blitz to overwhelm their opponent play after play in hopes of creating turnovers, loss of yardage,general disruption, etc. Some of the ways motion can be used to hurt the Blitz Attack are:
If you are facing a coach that consistently brings pressure on the outside from his SS, FS, or OLB; it is easy to hurt him with a run game that implements motion.
For example, Lets say the defense is bringing Blitz pressure over the RT most of the time. Motioning a FB or TE (onside or backside) out to the RG-RT area can be very effective for picking up the Blitz. You can have your motion man pick it up or let him lead through the hole and create a wide gap for your runner to sprint through. You may be surprised to hear that the game understands the mathematical problem that a blitz brings. It understands that there may be 3 defenders and only 2 blockers. The game "adjusts" when you bring in that motion player. It has them then pick up assignments based on where he is when you snap the ball (most of the time anyhow).
Some of my longest runs have come when coaches jump into a 4-6 or 4-4 or stunt a SS in an attempt to stop the run. If you use the motion correctly, you can pick it all up and still not only average 4-5 yards per carry, but you can also pop some huge gains. When you snap the ball, in terms of using motion is also a key part in the system. Learning how the defenses work and what their weaknesses are is key to implementing this system. Timing it so that you are picking up the right defenders with the right blockers is an art that you'll have to practice in order to master it.

You can also hurt that same SS or OLB blitz by motioning your WR's in to crack-back block on the blitz or by motioning them across the formation so that they can kick out the defender. In my system, I use each and everyone of the types of motion mentioned several times a game when facing a blitz team.

Here is a breakdown of a specific game I played in recently and how I attacked the team I played. They had a tendency to blitz their OLB over the RT of my offense. Play after play I noticed the pressure coming in there. So here's how I dealt with it.
I went to my various I packages, such as true "I" Two TE Wing I, etc and began running away from the Blitz. The play I chose to make my base play in this case was the old "Iso" or "Blast" play that is so popular from the I formation. I ran it using all of the variations that I just mentioned. After running left 7-8 plays in a row, ranging from Blasts, to Dives, to Sweeps, I found myself having moved from inside my 10 yard line to around my 35. Then from 1st and 10 I went on a 4 play combo for the Big TD.
- One Play # 1 I line up in a Weak, offset I. That means TE was left, FB was offset on the Right. The play was a Blast left. I lined up...saw the blitz coming over my RT, motioned my FB to the leftside between LG and LT, snapped the ball....8 yard pick up. The Blitz came over the RT way too late to effect the play, because the Offense had the Defense outnumbered on the LT side, and easily and quickly opened a nice hole for the RB.
- On Play #2, I line up in the same formation, but call the Blast to the Right, motioning my TE this time across the formation to kick out the Blitzing OLB. Again, the Defense stays put (no shifting) and they are out-manned at the point of attack on the Blitz side. The TE picks up the Blitzing OLB, the FB picks up the MLB, and the RG - RT take out the DT and DE on that side. The RB ran through a huge hole and breaks the tackle at about 10 yards of the SS, and eventually after 21 yards gets tackled.

Now the defense decides to shift to where ever i motion with its DL or LB's...

- On Play #3, I line up in a Wing I formation with 2 TE's, and run a power Blast right at his Leftside (no motion...quick snap) for a small 3 yard gain.

- On Play #4, I again use the same formation, and motion my FB across to the left, yet still run the same RT side Blast minus the FB. The Defensive line slides to the left with the FB motion, leaving only the DE on the Right side and the Blitzing OLB on the RT to bock. The RG and RT easily pick them up, The RB sprints through another big hole, and this time its a 30 plus yard TD run as he makes the SS miss and out runs the rest!

Continued below

[DOLFANMIKE]

As you can see, the variations of how many ways you can run the plays you choose is really almost endless. I use Single RB's sets with 2 TE's, Single RB sets with 3 WR, I formations, you name it. The key is understanding not only how to mathematically beat your opponent, but also how to set him up and hurt him with what he thinks he knows about your scheme. Motion IMO is the second most important aspect of the running game, the most important being able to understand what a defense is and what its strengths and weaknesses are. Obviously, part of that is understanding what your opponent is running on you.

As far as running wide or outside goes, the WR motion can also be a big help in your scheme. For example, most the blitz teams also use a lot of man on man coverage. This is great because it allows you to completely control where the CB's will be when you snap the ball. It's what I call a "Free Block"....
Here is how it works: Lets say you want to run some play that goes wide RT (sweep) or off tackle RT and the defensive backs are in man coverage. By motioning the WR on the right; the CB on the RT side moves across the formation to the left, thus; you can remove the most outside defender and get a "Free Block" by motioning your WR on the right across the formation. You can do the same to the SS by motioning your TE across. The "Free Block" is one of the most ignored aspect of the game in both online and real Football. Coaches that just let defenses sit where they want and then wonder why they can't run the ball are digging their own grave in terms of offensive production. It’s really a lack of focus if you think about it. Look at it like this....if your TE needs to block the OLB in order for your play to work, you can not motion and hope he wins the battle and blocks the OLB. Or you can motion the TE and take the OLB to the other side of the offense out of the play altogether. Which is the safer choice? Which offers you the best results on average? Motioning away does without exception. Then why don't many coaches use it?



This is an important aspect of the motion philosophy for you to understand. Most defenses when they originally line up are reasonably sound scheme wise. An offense that uses motion though can twist up a defense, especially those guys that like to watch you line up and then audible their defense to cater to the best Defense against that formation. This is a very popular technique in the CCFL among some of our better defensive coaches. You can totally disrupt those coaches using the motion scheme with your offense. Once those schemes are disrupted, a good offensive coach can have his way with the opposition. You will see teams starting to run things they don’t use much as a panic attempt to try to stop or slow the success you'll have vs their scheme. That’s when things just get worse for them if you understand the schemes they are moving to.

I personally feel my scheme has its greatest success against teams that try to adjust after seeing my formation and audible (I can almost always manipulate them in terms of quick snaps...you don’t have to let the Defense set up in CCFL....the Offense can snap the ball anytime they want, except on punts), or by letting them audible, then motion in some way that hurts them bad after they audible. Since there are just a few audibles, I make mental note each time I see a change and then put it to memory on how to set them up next time I want to see that defense. It's not all that tough to do with only 4 choices on defensive audibles. By mixing up quick counts (snapping quickly) or by using motion after they audible (or both), you can catch the defense in mid adjustment, or in a bad choice. Some defensive coaches have learned the hard way trying to audible a few times each play against my offense. For example, my offense breaks the huddle, the defense audibles to a new play, then while they are moving around, I send someone in motion that will certainly hurt whatever it is they are trying to do formation wise (especially on the pass). Then the Defense tries to audible again....BIG MESS! Usually big Offensive gain. Remember, the Offense sets the tempo in the CCFL, if you aren’t controlling the flow, that’s a major short coming in your scheme.

Another way outside motion can be used on the wide RT type plays is by motioning the WR across but then snapping the ball when he gets to a target player you want blocked. Perhaps to cover for a pulling OL, or perhaps to block an OLB or SS that may be a tough block for someone else. These blocks can have a double devastating impact though. For example, if the defense is in man coverage, and you motion the WR across the formation to the left side and use him to kick out the opposing OLB on the LT, he not only kicks that player out and prevents any pursuit, but he also brings the CB from the right side with him. Double whammy.....1 Player blocking two....and a WR at that! You get a "Free Block" when the CB travels with the WR, and a true block when the WR kicks out the backside left OLB. This leaves the RT side outside very vulnerable and the success of the sweep has a much better chance.




The Passing Game:

Motion can be used in terms of pass protection the same way that it can be used for the run. If you see a player blitzing you constantly then you can always motion a player into that area and he'll pick him up and help with the pass rush. This includes players that did have routes. That’s one of the reasons we don't need "hot routes" in the CCFL. We can motion in an extra blocker anytime we want. I will frequently motion a FB or HB over to a trouble spot on pass plays, or on plays I want them to think I'm passing and will run an inside draw or dive. It's very effective, especially if you have a particular OL that gets beat a lot on his pass blocking. You can motion a TE, FB, or HB over to his area and then snap the ball, now you have a double team or outside lead for roll - outs.
As far as how motion can compliment the passing game, its quite simple and I think most coaches get it. If a defense is in man, and you motion across a WR its pretty tough for a DB to chase a WR all over the field by himself, regardless of the route ran. If a defense is sitting in a zone though, they really aren’t all that much safer because you can use motion to flood a zone, and 2 defenders can't defense 3 routes most of the time. Again, when you use motion in your passing scheme, you create a mathematical problem for the coverage much that same that a Blitz does for you when they send LB's or DB's on the Blitz.
The two things I primarily try to accomplish in terms of routes when I use motion are to flood a zone on all three levels or to take a defender away from where I want to see the ball thrown using the "free Block" style of motion. In other words, I want to attack the right with my TE on an OUT route, so I motion my WR in causing the CB to follow him across and the SS to run up and cover my TE in the flats all by himself. I'm sure you can think of hundreds of situations where this type of motion can be effective. I'll also motion in a player if he's running I route I deem dangerous against the defense that I see and instead use him as an extra blocker vs the pass rush. That’s a great way to get better protection and ensure the ball doesn’t go where you don't want it to. This leads to the ball being thrown to the right places and a higher QB %...which to me is always the bottom line. If a coaches QB % sucks then his routes sucked and his choices of when to throw and what to throw also sucked. PERIOD!

One scheme I'll share that I use as an example is when I use my 2 TE sets with an ACE RB and two WR's. Its a great package because its balanced and I can use the same formation and really mix the motion, plays, and run / pass. It’s a real devil to defend because there is no sure read that its run or pass, other than my tendency that I prefer to run the ball about 4-1. In my particular playbook, I can run inside dives, traps, and draws from it or outside off tackle, sweeps, etc with each type of motion. It all becomes a blur really to anyone defending it. The success of my running scheme has also led to my QB (only rated 82 overall) having over 100% QB rating in 4 of his 5 games. The one game he didnt have over 100% QB rating, he finished at 83%. Obviously the defense isnt getting a clear message of when I am passing or where I am passing. I also like to implement play action that is based off of all the runs plays and motions that I use....
Overall, it all builds on itself and blends into a scheme that makes defensive coaches unsure of what exactly is about to hit them. So much of it looks alike, and the few breaks in the look often create bigger and better play opportunites when the defense makes over aggressive attempts at stopping the offense or guesses wrong.

IMO....when an offense doesnt use motion to enhance its fakes, play action, runs game, blocking scheme, it really is playing with one arm behind its back. To build on that thought, motion allows a coach to run all the plays offered in Madden and multiply each play times 10 when you think of all the combinations that can be used, turning a play into 10 different plays. The coach that masters the use of motion will always have a bigger and better playbook than the coach that doesn’t![/b]