Cody Alexander
@matchquarters.com
Solving defensive problems with data and film. MatchQuarters | Let’s Talk Ball! Pod | 6x Author No Frills Daily Football Clips
The Falcons Jeff Ulbrich was using the same pattern, but from the weak side. Using the Boundary Safety & Will instead of the Nickel & Mike in the blitz. --
Cody Alexander@matchquarters.com · 8h agoOne of the major overhauls that Raheem Morris has brought to San Francisco is his blitz menu. For the last three seasons, the 49ers have been among the league's least blitzing teams (PFF). '25 = 28th (22%) '24 = 31st (17%) '23 = 32nd (17%) ...
The Colts under Lou Anarumo are 5th in 6-man Blitz Rate (19%) after four weeks. Against the Commanders, Indy showed a Nickel + Will "stab" blitz with Cover 0 behind it. This pressure is great on early downs because it functions as a run-stopping pressure while attacking pass protection. ...
The Broncos have a very specific scheme they like to use on heavy run downs. Against LA, they used it in the 2nd Half to shut down the Rams' 13 pers. run game. When facing the 49ers' 22 pers., the scheme was used again to stifle their run game. ...
Will Muschamp’s "Walk" alignment is an extension of his Mint package, designed to eliminate "bubbles" that fuel a modern Spread attack’s run system. Against Tennessee, Texas walked Will LB Rasheem Biles down to the line of scrimmage as an Edge while reducing the DE inside and into the B-gap. ...
One of the major overhauls that Raheem Morris has brought to San Francisco is his blitz menu. For the last three seasons, the 49ers have been among the league's least blitzing teams (PFF). '25 = 28th (22%) '24 = 31st (17%) '23 = 32nd (17%) ...
5-O Fronts manufacture man blocking for most offensive lines. What's the best way to attack man blocking? Set picks. Virginia Tech illustrates a best-practice path with their 3-man game (Magic) against Pitt. ...
The Browns are illustrating a popular way to attack under-center run games from a four-man front. B-gap inserts are an increasingly popular pressure path because they take advantage of modern run blocking and most early-down protection schemes. ...
Team defense is built on gap integrity and restricting space at the point of attack. Against the Rams' 13-personnel run, the Broncos' Alex Singleton meets the block vertically to compress the alley, setting up a vice tackle inside with ED Jonah Elliss. ...
The open side, or away from the TE, is the path of least resistance and where most teams want to attack when sending pressure. Against the Steelers, the Browns flipped that logic and consistently attacked Darnell Washington's (80) side of the formation. ...
Josh Heupel’s system uses tempo and wide splits to create light boxes and isolated throws, but Texas's Will Muschamp built a roadblock. Instead of subbing into a designer defense, Texas used a Walk scheme to get into a 5-1 front against standard splits and the Vols' 12-personnel sets. ...
How Denver Fixed 1st-Half Fits Against 13 Personnel From first-half struggles to a -0.3 EPA/rush. Dissecting how Vance Joseph neutralized the league’s best 13-personnel offense. www.matchquarters.com/p/denver-bro... --
The Patriots' Boss Front Pressures: Manipulating Half-Slide Protection Using 5-O spacing, Peel/Hug mechanics, and layered Not stunts to manufacture unabated pressure against Empty protection. www.matchquarters.com/p/boss-front... --
How Brandon Staley Is Weaponizing Kaden Elliss Meet the NFL’s best interior blitzer... www.matchquarters.com/p/brandon-st... --
There's a reason the Saints went and poached Kaden Elliss from their divisional rival in Atlanta. Unlike popular Edge hybrids, Elliss does most of his work blitzing inside, taking on Guards or taking advantage of the Center's turn. ...
The Vikings' Brian Flores loves a cross-dog pressure and uses it in multiple ways. Against the Buccaneers, he used the path to create a Center "pick" in a double-mug alignment. Both Edges dropped out to make this a simulated pressure. ...
Halftime adjustments involve coaches tweaking calls or eliminating them after identifying how an opponent is attacking them. 99% of the time, they aren't drawn in the dirt. Denver’s second-half answer against the Rams was a clinic in killing a heavy run game. ...
No one runs more Quarters pressures than the Vikings' Brian Flores. Since '23, these five-man pressures have been a change-up to their "all-up" and double-mug blitzes. ...
The Vikings have run the second-most Base personnel in the NFL through three weeks (56%). Minnesota uses Andrew Van Ginkel (43) and Eric Wilson (55) as hybrid defenders. Both can rush or cover depending on the call. ...
A popular way to attack the run game for NFL teams in the past few seasons has been to attack the A- and B-gaps to the same side. Weak or Strong, the path "jams" run concepts and typically creates a free run-through. ...
Offenses use return motion to help identify pre-snap coverage, but defenses can counter with man-indicators or shared rush mechanics. When Pittsburgh motioned to empty and reset the back, Christian Elliss flashed outside before giving Dre'Mont Jones the thumbs-up. ...
Seattle has turned up the dial on its Blitz Rates in '26, increasing them from about 25% to 31% for this season. Last year, they were one of the league's most efficient blitzing teams, and they currently have the 9th-best EPA/play when blitzing (PFF). ...
How Denver Fixed 1st Half Fits Against 13 Personnel No NFL offense runs more 13 personnel than the Rams (42%). Against LA's heavy packages, Denver made a halftime adjustment that completely shut down the Rams' 13 personnel run game. ...
Thunderstorm Thursday with The Hardline 3-7 @dfwticket.bsky.social 4:15 @matchquarters.com 4:55 @gordonkeith.bsky.social 5:55 Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan
Everyone knows about the Vikings and their Blitz Rates (70%+), but #2 shouldn't be a surprise. The Commanders' DC, Daronte Jones, has been with Brian Flores since '23. Dan Quinn brought him to Washington to update his traditionally static defense. ...
Watch any NFL game, and the Boss (Load) Front is a primary mechanism for creating pressure on 3rd Downs. The front sets all the "bigs" on the same side, forcing the offense to slide the protection that way. ...
Simulated pressures are the backbone of Brandon Staley’s pressure system, and LB Kaden Elliss is the ideal player to run them. In Staley's "Wasp" path, New Orleans attacks the weak-side A-gap while both edges play action-to-coverage, transforming the play into a 6-man pressure vs. the run. ...
There is no such thing as a "catch-all" scheme in football, but the B-gap blitz might be the closest thing. It attacks a weak point in protection and the fulcrum of most modern offenses. Good versus zone and gap runs. Teams can build an entire menu off of it. ...
Boss Front Pressures: Manipulating Half-Slide Protections Defenses manipulate protection rules by shifting the pressure point to the Guard and manufacturing the Center's turn to create isolation. ...
