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Many football junkies are familiar with Pete Carrol’s outstanding teaching video detailing the Seahawk’s use of “rugby” style tackling. While watching a some film earlier today I noticed a great example of the Brown’s defense executing the video’s concept of “Compression Tackles” (the technique starts at 17:00).
“Compression Tackling” is nothing new or revolutionary to proper ball pursuit, but before we look at the concept let’s step back and look at team tackling as a whole.
We all know how the defense fared against the run last year. BAD BAD BAD! The main culprit IMO was the lack of execution in “run fits”
In coaching circles “run fit” has become the buzzword for describing how a defense tackles as a team. It synthesizes the various responsibilities/techniques used to attack the ball and bring the ball carrier to the ground. Terms like”gap control”, “setting the edge” etc. do not address how the various components of a defense work together holistically to swarm the ball.
The easiest way to visualize team tackling is to break up responsibilities into three categories (This explanation is VERY simplistic, but it works): Spill, force, and alley fill. After a brief bread down of the three parts, we’ll look at how they work together.
Here’s the play (Yes I know I’m showing you a screen pass; the same principles apply and I think the clip makes visualization of the concept easier):
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1. “Spill” Players
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“Spill” players are responsible for forcing the ball laterally down the LOS (east-west). The general technique is to attack the inside shoulder of the blocker/ball carrier, forcing him to “spill” outside.
A defender can be in his correct gap (aka gap responsibility) and still lose control if he does not attack the inside of the gap, forcing the ball outside.
Spill players are generally interior DL-men and ILB’s.
2. “Force” players
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Note the wide 9 (LDE) *could* have strongside force here, but I doubt it based on the offense’es alignment
“Force” players are responsible for attacking the outside shoulder of the block/ball carrier to turn the ball back inside towards the “spill players”. The general technique is to keep the outside shoulder/arm free, or not get “reached” in coach-speak.
Each side of the field will have a single force player; it can be a DE, OLB, S, or CB depending on the defense’s alignment.
The force player will “set the edge” of the defense; the key is determining which player is responsible for force. If the force player executes his assignment correctly he will turn the ball back inside towards the spill players, who are flowing down the LOS. The ball carrier will then be meet in the middle by both the force and spill defenders.
The force player must not position himself too wide of the formation’s core or allow himself to be pushed outside, as this will create a running lane between the spill and force player. He should attack the WR’s block and squeeze him back towards the formation, shortening distance in the allye.
Sometimes you’ll see the force player chastised for not making a tackle when the ball carrier cuts inside of him. This IS NOT the force player’s job. Making the tackle is icing on the cake, but his 1st responsibility is to not get reached and force the ball back inside.
3. “Alley Fill”
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The alley fill will attempt to meet the ball heads-up between the spill and force players. Defenses count on the alley fill to be unblocked, which should reflect in tackles near the LOS for the FS/SS.
He should “fit” under control in case the ball escapes the spill/force defenders. He must also play force on the fly if the original force player is pinned inside ( “Crack replace” technique).
Fill players are generally safeties.
Putting it Together….
Here’s how the three responsibilities look together:
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1. Spill players – Black box
2. Force players – Red box
3. Alley fill – Blue box
So spill players force the ball outside, force players force the ball inside, and the alley fill meets in the middle. If executed correctly, all three should converge on the ball carrier from the front, right, and left. That’s how you tackle for minimal gains.
Here’s the play again. Try to pick out the spill, force, and alley fill players on the fly. Look closely at how they attack the ball.
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Let’s look at another good example of the 3 “run fit” responsibilities coming together to create a negative play….
The Titans are running Outside Zone to the weakside of the field (the blocking should look familiar).
Here are the responsibilities:
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Spill Players
-The 4-man D-line (I’m including Kruger) and MIKE/WILL. Again, spill the ball laterally. Attack the inside of your gap.
Force Player
-Because the defense is in a quarter/quarter/half, or Cover 6, the weakside CB has force here. He will use a “squat” technique as he is responsible for the flat in the passing game. Because he is “squatting” on the flat, he will have force to his side.
His technique is to keep his outside arm/shoulder free (don’t get “reached”) and attempt to squeeze the blocker back inside to narrow the alley width. His first priority is to force the ball back inside.
Alley Fill
-The WS (weak safety) will fill the alley on weakside runs. He should meet “in the middle” with the force and spill players squeezing the ball from both sides. He will meet the ball head on, under control.
Here’s the play from wide and tight angles:
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Force Notes:
-The force defender, Joe Haden (#23), fights hard to free himself from the initial block. He doesn’t dip inside and fights to maintain outside leverage to the ball.
When the ball carrier arrives, notice how he attacks the outside half of the ball carrier. He does to ensure that even if he misses the tackle, the ball is forced back inside to the pursuit (provided by the spill players).
Spill Notes
-Although Kruger doesn’t make the tackle, he does force the ball east-west towards the sideline. Again, notice how he attacks the inside of the C-gap to bounce the ball outside
-The Titans get great 2nd level blocks on the LB’s, but look at Armonty Bryant’s (#95) effort to chase the ball laterally.
Fill Notes
-Donte Whitner (#31) gets to the alley in time to help clean up, although the tackle has already been secured.
So you have a spill player (Kruger) forcing the ball to move laterally the force player (Haden) hitting the ball carrier from the outside, another spill player (Bryant) hitting the ball carrier from the inside, and the alley fill (Whitner) meeting the ball carrier head up.
That’s how you attack the ball……
In my next post we’ll breakdown of the “compression tackle” technique we see in both plays….