Go deeper into defense with MQ’s Books:
Cautious Aggression: Defending Modern Football
Hybrids: The Making of a Modern Defense
Match Quarters: A Modern Guide to Split-Field Coverage
Breaking Down Your Offensive Opponent
Anchor Points” Building a Defense from the Ground Up
Connect With MQ
** Each link will open in a new window, so bookmark this page and get to reading!**
CoachTube Courses
- Designing Pressures from a Two-High Shell (Half-Field Zone Concept)
- MatchQuarters Guide to the Belly-Key Technique for Linebackers
- Breaking Down an Opponent eClinic with Kenny Simpson & Cody Alexander
- Developing a Game Plan with Kenny Simpson & Cody Alexander
- Teaching Quarters: 2-Read (Cloud/Palms)
Essential Playlists (YouTube)
- MQ DB 101 – Quick clinics on different DB techniques
- MQ Quick Hits – Various clinics on major defensive schemes
- MQ Chess Match – Coach takes a look at different matchups in the NFL
- MQ Mini-Clinics – Various short clinics on a multitude of defensive schemes
“Conversations with Coach A.“
- Patrick Toney, DC, Louisiana (’20) [$]
- Warren Sharp, Sharp Football Analysis/NFL (’20)
- Matthew Powledge, STC/Safeties. Baylor (’20) [$]
- Doug Farrar, USA Today/Touchdown Wire (’20)
- Randall Joyner, DL, SMU (’20) [$]
- Andrew Thacker, DC Georgia Tech (’20) [$]
- Ted Nguyen, The Athletic (’20)
- Brian Vaughn, Blitzology (’20) [$]
- Seth Galina, PFF (’20)
- Will Windham, Safeties Kent State (’20) [$]
Defending the Spread
Run Fits
- Zero the Mike (Belly-Key)
- Using Natural Gap Exchanges in Your Front Seven
- Line Twists to Combat Heavy Zone Teams
- Defending the Zone Read
- Defending the Power Read
- Defending Split Zone
- 5 Tips for Defending Spread Option Teams
- Defending BAsh (“Back Away”) Concepts
- Defending 20p Two-Back Power
Clinic Notes/Defensive Structure/Special Coverages
- Saban’s Rip/Liz (Match Cov. 3) & How it Applies to Quarters
- The Argument For A Light Box (Fangio System/LA Rams Defense)
- MQ Film Study: Notre Dame vs UNC (’20): Defending an uber-RPO system
- Defending the Air Raid System
- “Read” Coverage (20p Field Robber)
- Three Coverages Tags Every Quarters Team Needs
- MQ Film Study: OU vs Alabama (2018 – 1st Half)
- Defending Offenses
- Defending the Morris/Clemson Offensive System
- Solving the McVay Offense (Super Bowl LIII)
- Football is Back!!! (UCA vs Austin Peay & defending the Flexbone) [$]
- Aaron Rodgers & Pre-Snap Motion [$]
- MQ Film Study: Michigan vs Minnesota (’20) – Defending RPO/Check Heavy Offenses
- Fitting DUO from a TILT Front (Under) – Indiana vs Rutgers ’20 [$]
- Michigan State’s 4-3 Quarters Defense:
- Alex Grinch Defenses (Oklahoma)
- Clinic Notes:
Defending Motions or Topics on Motion
Defending Spread Formations (10 Pers.)
- RPO Stop Calls
- Defending 10p 2×2 Pistol
- Defending Trips/Empty:
- Why You Should Run an Under Front to 3×1 Sets
- Defending Trips — Fitting the Run
- Top Trips Coverages Explained
- Defending Trips into the Boundary (FIB) [$]
- Specific Split-Field Trips Coverages:
- Empty
- Defending 11 Personnel (Pro Spread)
- Spread Unbalanced Formations
3-4/3-Down-Dime Resources
- Okie Front (5/Shade/4i)
- The Tite Front/Mint Package (404)
- 3-Safety Packages
- Iowa State Cyclones’ 3-3-3
- Baylor Bears 2019 3-3-3 (Phil Snow)
- Auburn’s 3-1-7 vs LSU (2019)
- The Katy HS (TX) Hybrid 3-4
- MQ’s Simple 3-Down Dime Package
- 3rd Down
- The BOSS Front (Bigs On Same Side) [$]
Defending Formations/Personnel Groups
- Defending single-width or “nub” formations
- 12 Personnel (Ace/Ace Trey)
- Y-off or 20 pers. (H-back/Sniffer):
- 21 Personnel (Defending Power Football From a Hybrid Defense)
- 30 Personnel
- Defending the Wing-T
Stop Calls/Pressures/Blitzes
- MQ Pressure Tape Series:
- North Carolina Defense (Bateman) vs Clemson Offense (2019)
- Clemson Defense vs Ohio State Offense (’19 Fiesta Bowl)
- Virginia Defense vs Notre Dame Offense (2019)
- Pitt Defense vs UCF Offense (2019) [$]
- Georgia Defense vs Texas A&M Offense (2019)
- Texas Defense vs LSU Offense (2019)
- Ravens Defense vs Browns Offense (W1 2020) [$]
- Blitz of the Month
- July ’20 – Tampa Bay’s Trap 2 5MPRS [$]
- Aug. ’20 – Boise State’s Fly Mug SMPRS [$]
- Sept. ’20 – Cincinnati’s Dime Bluff Mex 2 SMPRS [$]
- Oct. ’20 – Tampa Bay’s [Ni] Over Cross CRPR [$]
- Nov. ’20 -Washington’s Jet Shoot C1
- Dec. ’20 – Chicago’s BOSS Bears C1 5MPRS [$]
- Jan. ’21 – LAR’s Over Weak Bomb 6 CRPR [$]
- 5 Tips for Developing a Blitz
- How to Packaging Blitz Calls
- Building a Better Zone Blitz
- Blitzing the Formation (BTF)
- Simulated Pressures from a “Positionless” Defense (Texas – Sugar Bowl ’19)
- Run Down Stop Calls
- Dog Check (Single-Dog Pressure)
- 5 Tips For Blitzing From The Secondary
- Designing an Odd Cross-Dog Blitz [$]
Quarters Pedagogy and Drill Tapes
- Get the self-titled book Match Quarters
- MQ’s DB Resource Page
- LB Philosophy and Fundamentals
Analytics/Install/Opponent Breakdowns/Practice/Self-Scout
- MQ’s Full-Length Opponent Breakdown Manual
- Building a Hit Chart
- Four Day Install Plan for a 4-2-5
- Weekly Schedule (Practice Plan)
- 5 Cut-ups to Improve Your Self-Scout
- Throw Out the Stats – “What really is a “good” defense?“
Special Projects
- Desert Heat Pt. 1 – The Air Raid Invades the NFL (Kingsbury) – The Roster (’19)
- Desert Heat Pt. 2 – The Air Raid Invades the NFL (Kingsbury) – The Scheme (’19)
© 2016 – 2020 | MatchQuarters.com | Cody Alexander | All rights reserved.
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Make sure to bookmark this page which is updated after each article.
– Coach A.
Really have enjoyed articles — etc OUTSTANDING content and presentation — ordered book
Could you explain the difference between a bluff and a bait ??
It can also be refered to as SHOW. You are just showing a pressure, then popping out. Bait can talk to the inside guys, Bluff to the outside. Depends on how you want to structure it.
Coach – Thanks for all you do. Great site. I’m looking for some resources to help teach LBs (incuding SAM with a full cover down) their responsibilities in pass coverage, specifially 2-Read/Cloud and 4-Read/Sky. Your pages on teaching Safeties (“How I Teach Match Quarters – Pt. 2”) and Corners (“How I Teach Match Quarters – Pt. 1”) are great. I’m just having trouble finding something like that for LBs. Is there certain post I should be looking for on the site?
I will try & work on that this week
Coach A, keep up the good work. Lots of your resources helped me out this year. I was wondering, do you have a link that defines the terms you use (cut, push, late push, etc.)
Thanks again Coach.
No, but that is something I need to do. If you need something specific just email me.
Is this something that is available, yet?
My new book coming out over Thanksgiving will have a glossary in it.
Coach, Great site – I love it. Do you have anything on defensive line fundamentals and drills.
The link for defending the air raid is linking to the MQ Link Book instead of the actual article.
Thank you. Should be fixed now.
This page is absolutely fantastic! Great information here, some info confirms what I know and more importantly reading up on new ways to defend different offenses. Great website.