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
A Complete Guide to the Hybrid 4-2-5
Connect With MQ
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Art of X Show (Pod)
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)
- Defending 21p from a 3-Safety Structure
- Defending the Spread From a 3-Safety Structure
Essential Playlists (YouTube)
- The Art of X Show (Pod)
- The Art of X Show Minis – Short breakdowns on particular plays
- MQ DB 101 – Quick clinics on different DB techniques
- MQ Quick Hits – Various clinics on major defensive schemes
- MQ Chess Match – Coach A. takes a look at different matchups in the NFL
- MQ Mini-Clinics – Various short clinics on a multitude of defensive schemes
- 2020 LA Rams 3rd Down Clips
- Pressure Paths & Blitzes
“Conversations with Coach A.” (’20)
- 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) [$]
- Seth Galina, PFF (’20)
- Will Windham, Safeties Kent State (’20) [$]
Substack Top-10
Defending the Spread
Run Fits & Pressures
- Zero the Mike (Belly-Key)
- Using Natural Gap Exchanges in Your Front Seven
- Utilizing a HEAVY technique in the run game [$]
- Line Twists to Combat Heavy Zone Teams
- Defending the Zone Read
- Defending the Power Read
- Defending Split Zone
- 5 Tips for Defending Spread Option Teams
- Defending BAsh (“Back Away”) Concepts
- Defending 20p Two-Back Power
- Keeping it simple vs a running QB (’21 Bucs vs Eagles) [$]
- The Saints Nose-Will (Wham) Scheme vs. the Rams (’22)
Clinic Notes/Defensive Structure/Special Coverages
- Creating a Defensive Nomenclature (Language)
- MQ Film Study: OU vs Alabama (2018 – 1st Half)
- Toledo’s EXIT Stunt [$]
- Using an EXIT stunt to combat Zone-heavy offenses (Liberty vs Arkansas ’22) [$]
- The evolution of Washington’s Jack Del Rio (’23)
- Coverages
- “Read” Coverage (20p Field Robber)
- Three Coverages Tags Every Quarters Team Needs
- Three Coverages to carry this Fall [$]
- Match-3 & Cover 3:
- Trap 2 Coverages:
- Using a “Steal” or “Cross” tag in Skinny coverage (Packers/’22)
- Split-Field Post-Snap Rotations & Non-Traditional Tampas (NTTs):
- Changing the Picture: 2-Roll Coverage
- The Jets’ Stab tag in Quarters coverage (’22)
- Changing the Coverage Contour Post-Snap (NTTs & Steal rotations – Michigan ’22)
- The Bengals’ non-traditional Tampa Creeper (Brees)
- Dallas Cowboys Tampa Rotations (NTTs)
- Washington Commanders Tampa 2 Rotations (NTTs)
- Troys’s 2-Steal Tite Front Fire Zone (Spurs/Popovich)
- Coverage 101: 2-Hole (NTT)
- Vic Fangio System (Brandon Staley & Rams)
- Original Article: The Argument For A Light Box (Fangio System/LA Rams Defense)
- Why is the Fangio System taking over the NFL (’23):
- The Fangio Tree’s roots keep growing – Part 1 (’23)
- The Fangio Tree’s roots keep growing – Part 2 (’23)
- The Fangio Tree’s roots keep growing – Part 3 (’23)
- Primer on the system:
- Coverage Systems:
- Penny Package
- Raheem Morris’ Version (Rams):
- Bill Belichick:
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- Many Faces of Bill Belichick (’23):
- The Patriots’ Rain Check (Read Blitz)
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- Defending the Air Raid System
- Defending Offenses
- Defending the Morris/Clemson Offensive System
- Solving the McVay Offense (Super Bowl LIII)
- Football is Back!!! (UCA vs Austin Peay & defending the Flexbone)
- Aaron Rodgers & Pre-Snap Motion [$]
- MQ Film Study: Michigan vs Minnesota (’20) – Defending RPO/Check Heavy Offenses
- MQ Film Study: Notre Dame vs UNC (’20): Defending an uber-RPO system
- Fitting DUO from a TILT Front (Under) – Indiana vs Rutgers (’20) [$]
- Film Study: Cincinnati’s “Hybrid” Defense vs Notre Dame (’21) [$]
- 5 Things Defenses Hate in the Low Red Zone [$]
- Michigan State’s 4-3 Quarters Defense
- Alex Grinch Defenses (Oklahoma)
- Clinic Notes
Defending Motions or Topics on Motion
Defending Spread Formations
- RPO Stop Calls
- Defending Pistol Formations:
- Defending Quads Bunch Formations (Bills vs Chiefs ’21)
- Defending Trips/Empty
- Why You Should Run an Under Front to 3×1 Sets
- Defending Trips — Fitting the Run
- Top Trips Coverages Explained
- Specific Split-Field Trips Coverages:
- Defending Trips with Stress Coverage
- Learning Stress Coverage (Arizona St. 2017)
- Defending Trips Into the Boundary (Stress)
- Defending Trips with Special Coverage (Stubbie)
- Defending Trips with Stump Coverage (Stress + Special)
- The Lions Stubbie/Special Cut-Up vs. the Chiefs (W1 ’23)
- Solo Coverage (Poach)
- Locking the Mike in 3×1 Coverage – Taser
- Empty
- Spread Unbalanced Formations
3-4/3-Down-Dime Resources
- Okie Front (5/Shade/4i)
- The Tite Front/Mint Package (404)
- Illinois Penny Package vs. Michigan (’22)
- 3-Safety Packages
- Iowa State Cyclones 3-3-3
- Baylor Bears 2019 3-3-3 – Phil Snow
- Jim Knowles Hybrid Defense
- Auburn’s 3-1-7 vs LSU (2019)
- The Bearcat Stack (Cincinnati ’20) [$]
- The Katy HS (TX) Hybrid 3-4
- Blitzing from an Odd Stack vs a pro-style offense (Ole Miss vs Kentucky ’22) [$]
- The Nebraska Stack (Tony White – ’23)
- Dime Package 3-High:
- 3rd Down
- Attacking 3rd Down With Multiple Fronts
- Jim Leonhard (Wisc)
- 3rd Down Calls From a 3-4
- The BOSS Front (Bigs On Same Side) [$]
- The 49ers BOSS Package (vs. the Seahawks ’22)
- The BLAZERS Front (9s/5s)
Defending Formations/Personnel Groups
- Defending 11 Personnel (Pro Spread)
- 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
- Run Down Stop Calls
- Dog Check (Single-Dog Pressure)
- Pitt’s SPECIAL Coverage (HOT) [$]
- Phil Snow’s (Panthers) Double A-Gap Series (W2 vs Saints ’21) [$]
- Five Concepts from the National Championship Game (’22) [$]
- Blitzing the TE – “Saints” (Safety) Add Pressure [$]
- Clemson’s Red Zone Fire Zones (vs UNC ’22)
- 2020 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 [$]
- Jan. ’21 – LAR’s Over Weak Bomb 6 CRPR [$]
- Feb. ’21 – Indiana’s Over Wick 1 Rat CRPR
- Mar. ’21 – Dolphins’ Odd Mug Stun 1 Rat SMPRS
- April ’21 – 49ers Odd Mug “Back” HOT
- May ’21 – Northwestern’s Odd Bears Ni Add FZ 3
- June ’21 – North Dakota’s Odd Stay Lynx (Will/CB) 6 Safety
- July ’21 – San Diego State’s Odd Wolf Switch 1
- Aug. ’21 – Pitt’s Odd Cowboys Hot blitz
- Nov. ’21 – Denver’s BOSS CHIEFS (Field Not) “Go!” 5MPRS
- Dec. ’21 – Tulsa’s Back SPURS “Add” 0 blitz
- Jan. ’22 – Chiefs’ Under BOAT 0 max blitz
- Feb. ’22 – Gophers’s Dbl A-gap pressure attacking the boundary (Bills)
- March ’22 – LAR’s Over “Read” Pressure [SIM]
- April ’22 – 49ers “ALAMO” Blitz (3-through-the-A)
- BONUS May ’22 – Browns Safety 5MPRS & Creeper [$]
- May ’22 – Clemson’s HOT pressure variations vs Wake Forest [$]
- June ’22 – West Virginia’s MAC 3-Buzz Sim [$]
- July ’22 – Troy Trojans Study & Using Sims to Create Natural Cross-Dogs [$]
- Aug. ’22 – Louisiana’s BOSS Back Check Sim [$]
- Sept. ’22 – Attacking the RB with a Cross-Dog Progression [$]
- Oct. ’22 – The Buccaneers’ BOSS Mug Cross Trap 2 (5MPRS) [$]
- Nov. ’22 – The Dolphins’ NOT stunt to & from the boundary [$]
- Dec. ’22 – Georgia’s “Pod” Alignment & EYES blitz. [$]
- Jan. ’23 – San Diego State’s Torch Stunt from a Nic Front
- Feb. ’23 – Western Kentucky’s Mug Diner Tampa Sim
- March ’23 – Eagles Safety Simulated Pressure in the Divisional Round (Geno)
- Pressure/Blitz Design
- 5 Tips for Developing a Blitz
- How to Packaging Blitz Calls
- Building a Better Zone Blitz
- Blitzing the Formation (BTF)
- 5 Tips For Blitzing From The Secondary
- Designing an Odd Cross-Dog Blitz [$]
- HUG & SHARE Rush Concepts [$]
- Attacking the Guard in Pass Protection
- Miami Dolphins “Plug” Blitz (Boyer/’22)
- Georgia’s A-gap Pressure Package (vs TCU ’23)
- Creating a “Layered” Pressure (Texas vs Bama ’22)
- Oregon State’s 3-thru-the-A pressure (Alamo)
- “TAG” Pressures (Max Drop-Out)
- Simulated & Creeper/Replacement Pressures
- Simulated Pressures from a “Positionless” Defense (Texas – Sugar Bowl ’19)
- Building a Creeper Toolbox [$]
- Attacking the Center (BELLY/MANNING) [$]
- Packaging Your Creepers & Sims (Leonhard/Wisconsin)
- Attacking the Offense Away from the RB [$]
- The Fire Zone isn’t Dead [$]
- Layering the Fit (Creepers, Sims, & Fluid Fronts) [$]
- The FALCONS Path (Saban NFL Sim) [$]
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Ron Roberts puts on a Creeper Clinic (Auburn vs. Cal & Texas A&M ’23)
-
Baltimore Ravens System:
- Mex/Allen path:
- Favre/Panther/Newton Path (Ni Creeper):
- Brady/Whip & Miami (sister)Paths:
Cool Clips Series
- Southern Miss’ Fluid Front & Trap Coverage
- Oregon’s Odd Front Flush Concept
- Georgia’s “Big 12” pressure vs. TCU (Half-Field Zone)
- Defending a Stack Mills concept (UCLA vs. Pitt ’22)
- Defending “pause” bubbles
- The Eagles’ “Quads” Zone vs. the 49ers (’23)
- The Chiefs “return” motions in the Super Bowl (’23)
- The 49ers’ (BOSS) Wrap Stunt
- Tulanes’ “Pyramid” Scheme (Travel)
- Tennessee Vols’ “Bears” Sim
- Oregon State’s MARS off-ball Sim (Marino/Mahomes)
- Tulane’s Tex-Mex (Chuy’s) “pick” pressure
Game Reviews
Pedagogy and Drill Tapes
- Get the self-titled book Match Quarters
- DB 101: Drill Work From Winter to Fall
- Creating a Fall Camp Indy Schedule [$]
- MQ’s DB Resource Page
- LB Philosophy and Fundamentals
- Thoughts on creating a position manual.
- Quit using a ball in pattern match drills early in Fall Camp.
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?“
- Three questions to ask yourself after a clinic
- 5 Reasons You Should Use Simple Efficiency Data This Offseason
Special Projects
- ’22 Off-Season Study Guide [$]
- MQ Previews the 2021 NFC Championship: Bucs vs Packers
- 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)
- Yearly Non-Football Post
- 2023 NFL Draft:
Hudl Newsletter
- Creating an In-Season Scouting Report in Hudl Beta
- How to Create Great Tendency Charts Quickly in Hudl Beta
-
Scrap the passing chart—these four columns give you a better…
Pro Quick Draw Blog
© 2016 – Present | MatchQuarters | #ArtofX | Cody Alexander | All rights reserved.
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.