Create 3-4 Pressure Away From Rotation


By FirstDown PlayBook on Dec 4, 2020

Today let’s take a look at this 3-4 pressure from the weak side vs a 3×1 formation. Safety rotation can tell a smart offensive player a lot. Please note that when we say this, we are not just referring to the quarterback either.

Good centers will look for pre-snap rules too. It is normally not that complicated. If a safety starts cheating down, then you can put odds on the chance of pressure from that side.

This is why every now and then it is a good changeup to bring your pressure away from safety rotation. Now, before we go any further there are inherent risks when you do this.

If an offense lines up in a balanced formation or motions to one then you will need checks that allow you to still get your pressure but you may need to bump your assignments.

Let’s take a quick look at this base personnel pressure below that we call 3-4 Wig. In this situation you are getting your pressure off of the weak side of a 3×1 formation. If you are getting a large dose of 3×1 formation then this is when you can think about using this.

When you show safety rotation to the strong side most offenses worried about the potential Sam/Mike scrape. They will normally keep the Tight End in for protection or push their offensive line to the three down, Mike and Sam linebacker.

If you tap on the drawing below FirstDown PlayBook will take you through a short video about some of the adjustments you should teach if you were to use this.

Also keep in mind that every FirstDown PlayBook play, defense and special teams scheme comes with the same detailed coaching points you would find at the highest levels of football.