How to double a top WR
Part of game planning is how do you neutralize or take away a teams best wr or top 2 wr in a game. Sometimes a team will have a great wr and also a tight end that is deadly like the Chiefs for example.
Some questions to ask going into a game is
1. Who is that guy and how good is their supporting cast.
2. What is the plan for when that wr lines up in the slot and they use motions to move him. Tough to press a guy off the line.
3. What is the plan when that #1 wr is a tight end .
4. Do you want to go more zone concepts or man concepts in the game plan.
5.Can you match up your best against him and shut that wr down?
Zone Principles
In Zone you want to try to get an extra man and roll to the best side of the best wr.
This allows you to press him off the line, while helping over the top. Easy to do when the #1 wr is to the boundary or single side.
In 2019 Michael Pittman was a stud at USC. Washington coach Jimmy Lake had an excellent game plan to defend him by sprinkling in some zone concepts while pressing Pittman off the line and not allowing him to get off the ball and disrupting route concepts. They play 1/4. 1/4 half with the lb walked out pressing him.
Pittman is the # 1 wr. They do a great job in the press and get hands on which disrupts Pittman . The qb tries to hit the dover and it is well covered with 2 players under it and the safety over the top leading to the interception.
You can see the double concepts vs USC top wr.
Very tight window to throw the ball.
Here is the video of the play and interception.
Good defense and windows are being taken away in the zone.
Doubling Adams with safety over the top.
Taking Adams away with the coverage concept.
Forces the check down.
Excellent concept
Good coverage as the go route. isn't open with the safety there causing a very tight window.
49ers bring pressure run their match concept but have help over the top with Adams even with bringing 6.
Adams was not going to beat them.
Good scheme defensively causes the pocket to collapse.
Great scheme and taking Rodgers out forces the sack, even though he had the check down wide open.
Strategy:
The Rams put their best cb on DK Metcalf, Jalen Ramsey but played zone with everyone else.
Then a few plays later weasel and the lb forgets about the player in the flat for another 20 yard gain.
Ramsey is on metcalf man to man. He doesn't have the flat (PFF, grading him a 55)
weasel coverage is one of my favorites
They played cover 2 with the best cb in the game guarding Metcalf.
Good strategy.
Best wr as #2
Bracket coverage
3rd and 4 Eagles vs Giants
NEW: The Giants do a great job bracketing the Eagles #1 wr and playing man on everyone else. To the other side they have a deep safety helping over the top.
They also rush 3 with a spy on a very mobile QB Hurts. The scheme is productive as the spy rushes late and gets the pressure which forces the interception
BRACKET CONCEPT
Another way to handle a wr that is inside is to bracket him. In the Seahawks Rams game, the Hawks lined metcalf at #2. The adjustment by the Rams was to play the tight end man for man with the lb and have the safety and cb bracket and double metcalf inside aand outside
nice bracket
nice job and execution.
all eyes on woods as they took him out and made someone else beat them.
Other things Bowles did is he doubled Adams at times .
Below you see the Defensive back playing trail technique because he knows he has safety help over the top on 3rd and 10 .
Rodgers scrambles and dumps it off but the downfield coverage was excellent.
safety over the top on Adams
cover 2 weasel
Jimmy Lake Washington Defense
2nd and 5 vs Hawaii
Hawaii best wr Cedric Byrd is aligned as #2 in the slot
They bring a 3 man pressure play man on #2 and cover 2 with everyone else. Confuse Hawaii, no place to go with the ball and force qb to scramble and throw an incomplete.
Here's a 2 man double vs Northwestern. The #3 WR in the trips is Northwestern's best player. They bracket and double him with the safety and the Mike LB. Great design by Coach Brown.
The Raiders vs Titans.