Coach Tom Bass Former Defensive Coordinator  Bengals, Buccaneers and Chargers Coach Bass worked the NFL sidelines for 23-years

Coach Tom Bass on the End of the Season

Taking Away A Team's Star 
As a former NFL defensive coordinator, one of the things I always looked for, after we had determined the tendencies an offense had based on down and distance, field position and formation and personnel, was who were the "go to guys" for the offense.

Obviously our focus was on the quarterback first, then any star running back, then first down receiver, second down receiver and third and short and long receiver. Many times the same player might turn out to be their guy in more than one of these situations.

Attacking a quarterback starts with analyzing the type of protection the offense is using and forcing him either up into the pocket or running him to the side away from his passing hand. Most quarterbacks will want to flush out to the same side as their passing arm. The defensive end or any outside blitz man on that side must guarantee in his rush he stays outside and that the quarterback cannot come out to his side.

Some teams will have the quarterback and the inside receiver work together on a blitz read. The receiver will adjust his pattern automatically to a slant route if he sees a blitz on his side. If it is third and ten and the receiver is tackled for a seven-yard gain the defense has won the battle.

Once you understand a team's protection scheme and blitz adjustment routs you can design an overload blitz where you bring more defensive men at the quarterback than the offense has men to block. Teams that go with only one back and have only six men to protect often find that they are faced with this type of blitz.

The key to taking away a star running back's running game is making certain that every gap is covered and that your support pattern on the outside of the formation is organized and has a quick read.

Defensive teams may line up with eight men to stop the run. They still give up yards if they do not understand that when the offense leads with a full back or a second tight end into the middle of the formation, there is now an extra gap for the running back. The defense must compensate by having a defender on either side of the lead blocker.

Often the running back will become a main target on second and third down and less than seven yards. Teams can take him away by assigning a tight coverage man to him man-to-man even when the rest of the team is playing zone or by shortening the drop of their under zone men so that they can react up to make the tackle and stop the back from making a first down after the catch.

A tremendous wide receiver can be taken out of the game by press coverage by a fast corner and having another defensive back always prepared to help on any deep pattern. Press coverage limits the pass routes a receiver can run and takes away his ability to run well-disciplined pass patterns. This style of double coverage can be accomplished out of zone or man coverage.

A great tight end presents coverage problems in that he will usually be covered by a strong safety that may not have the physical ability to make the coverage. Often it will be necessary to have a backer get a good bump on the line and help to slow the tight end from going deep right away.

There are teams who now only rush three defensive men on third and long and play eight men in zone coverage. If the offense has a "go to guy" on third and long you may see one man out of the eight playing tight man-to-man coverage while the other seven play a deep drop zone coverage.


Looking at Weather, Travel and Coaches on the Hot Seat
This is the time of year when weather begins to play a big factor in how some teams play and it is something that you should be aware of in making your selections for the week. Games played outside in the cold put tremendous pressure on warm weather teams. Players from these teams have a great deal of trouble performing in adverse weather conditions. It affects every part of the game but more the offense and the kicking game. Be weary of Florida, Arizona, California or dome teams who end up playing in cold snowy conditions. Coaches have to drive these players out of the warm dressing rooms onto the field and usually they have on so much extra clothing, they cannot move in a normal fashion.

Another thing to check is the distance your players may be traveling to play a game. Changing time zones, especially going west to east can hurt a player's performance. A 1 o'clock kickoff on the east coast is really 10 o'clock for west coast players. Even when a west coast team changes its practice time to 10 in the morning during the week prior to the game they will usually start slow and be sluggish during at least the first half of the game. Teams traveling from the east coast to the west will not have as much trouble unless it is a night game. Then they may easily become tired as the game goes along.

Lastly, you may want to consider in your selection of players how teams are reacting to rumors of coaches on their way out. Looking at won/loss records can quickly identify coaches that may be in this position. It is sad to say but many players on losing teams will soon start packing their bags and really are not concerned with saving the coach's job. Your star may be giving his best effort but it will not matter if the other players are getting ready to go home and play golf. No matter how hard he plays, the surrounding players will not give him the support he needs. Once players see they are out of the playoff picture their biggest concern is not to win the game but becomes playing the game and the remainder of the season without injury so they can return next year with a new coach and a job.

Look out for the teams that are pointing fingers -- have open dissension between the offense and defense and are giving up as soon as adversity hits. Try not to get roped into the idea that these players are going to start playing hard to save the coach's job. Believe me, it is not going to happen.