Today we are going to talk about identifying a key receiver and how you can isolate to take that receiver out of the game.

At Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier High School, we see a lot of spread offenses. Every time we see spread, we’re going to see that isolated receiver somewhere on the field, creating mismatches and problems for you.

It’s usually the 6’4 “cat”, the dude that can hurt you. You want to double team him and you ultimately want to take him out of the game. That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

We are an odd-stack defense. We run a 3-3-5, but I think this coverage philosophy works no matter what type of defense you are currently running. The coverage principles all remain intact.

We are going to identify this key receiver in one of two ways as either the “snake” or the “mouse.”

Anytime the key receiver lines up as the No. 1 receiver, we identify him as the “snake.” We want to double team him with bump, inside leverage and man coverage with the corner.

Now we are going to roll the safety over the top of the No. 1 receiver.

I think you have to determine whether you are a true zone team or a pattern match team. So, as I talk about our underneath coverage, you can adapt it to being a true zone team or a pattern match team.

I’m going to go ahead and talk about how we pattern match this.

To get the rest of this Coaches Note, go here: Defending a Key Receiver

TEACH

Learn how Coach Specht teaches his defense for defending a "star" receiver. Depending on whether the receiver is lined up weak or strong. 

INSTALL

Coach Specht goes through the details in each coverage he employs to shut down a "star" receiver.