After a defense has successfully defended the veer option and kept their feet against a cut block. The defense next has to respect the Falcons ability when running play action passes. Air Force’s play action is unique because everything looks exactly the same -except for the uncovered linemen.
The running back’s action, the quarterback’s action and the cover lineman’s movements -linemen with a defender in front of them- all do what they would normally do on a run play. On a run play the uncovered linemen have to shoot outward in …

There is another part of Air Forces offense, which makes them unique to defend, cut blocks. It’s not that the cut blocks are vicious or dirty; it’s just that they take a certain amount of focus to defend to insure that you aren’t left lying of your back as a cadet scurries for a first down.

This may be my shortest post of the year because defending the Veer Option is not a complicated task on paper.  The AFA offense tries to out-execute their opponent by getting the defense frustrated and having players trying to do too much, or more than their responsibility.  But if you study their offense you realize that they run the veer the exact same every time.  There are no variations.  It all comes down to who will be more disciplined.

Linebackers and O Line get to know one another quite well throughout the course of a football game.  As Jake mentioned in his X’s and O’s the OL is always taking into account the position and possible responsibilities of the LBs.  Likewise, LBs are constantly reading the keys that the OL may give so that they can put themselves in the proper position to make a play and/fulfill their assignment.

Although they are all “Linebackers,” ILBs see things a little differently than OLBs do.  Let’s take a look at how an ILB approaches each play of the game.
ILB Reads – In a 3-4 the ILB reads the “Triangle.”
If the ILB is lined up over the G or in the A Gap the triangle is the G, C and near back.
If the ILB is lined up in an outside shade of the G or over the T the triangle is G, T and near back.
While the ILB tries to see the …

Good stuff Quinn!! For all you fans and readers….. what a privilege. This is the first time I’ve looked at the sight and he really knows his stuff. I had the opportunity to play offensive line at BYU and Quinn pretty much nailed it on the head, with a couple of exceptions. The QB DOES NOT have the most difficult job on the field! LOL He does get the most scrutiny but at least he is recognized when he plays well. As an …

With this weeks X’s and O’s I wanted to step away from the defensive side of the ball and talk about how difficult it can be for the offense to pick-up a blitz. There is so much communication involved in insuring the success of a play. A lot of that communication falls on the quarterbacks shoulders, but more times than not communication from the center, running backs and receivers makes a play a success.

The corner position is becoming frustrating. In my eyes it isn’t just our coverage that needs help, but our pass rush is having just as many problems. Coverage and pressure go hand and hand. Until our DL and LB’s can get some pressure we will consistently give up a lot of yards through the air.
Here is something to think about: This is our third year running this defense. Teams now understand what we are doing and they know how to beat our schemes. The first year of the scheme change …

Let’s look at the spread formation with an athletic player taking a direct snap. Something tells me BYU fans will be seeing this in the future.
This formation is difficult to defend for numerous reasons:

It cause the defense to spread out and defend the whole field, which leaves running lanes all over the field.
The formation demands that the defense play a more coverage oriented scheme because of the need to cover the possible route combinations.
It leaves almost limitless possibilities to the offensive coordinators playbook. Throw, pass, option, sweep, off tackle run, …

After reading the comments on the UNM Post Game wrap-up there are a few folks out there concerned about our corners alignment depths. I understand how people could be concerned that we give up a lot of easy yards in the passing game simply because we are playing 8-10 yards deep. This morning I would like you to put all of that latent frustration behind you, and focus on the defensive coverages and techniques.
In the New Mexico game, the corners played off because that is what they were asked to …