Line Stunts - CreatineKasey's Blog

CreatineKasey's Blog

Line Stunts

Posted on May 8, 2009 at 05:23 PM.

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Line Stunt Discussion

Alright let's take a look at some ideas for using line stunts:

Base: I feel the base line stunt does a great job of penetration, especially against counters and generally plays where an OL pulls. Against the pass rush the wide side DE can get a nice speed rush if isolated, otherwise your DT should be 1 on 1 with the guard. Both situations can be effective based on your personnel.

Razor: This stunt can be used to help contain the wide side of the field with your DE on the razoring side. Also, the outward movement of the DT on the razor call should force the guard to take him 1 on 1. Along with this, your razor-side DE or OLB should be 1 on 1 with the OT.

Razor can also be used to create a crease for a blitzer to run through. A 3-4 razor cal can pressure the B gap nicely if the OG takes your razoring DE.

Pinch. I believe the Pinch call can handle the A gaps well against the run, and not sacrifice containment on the outside. B and C gaps should be pretty open, though. Pinch calls could disrupt counter plays by getting inside those pulling guards and getting upfield. Streches would counter this well.

For pass rushing purposes pinch calls can isolate both your DE's in ideal situations - with your 2 DT's taking up the G-C-G. If you have legend DT's this might nullify them at times because they should get doubled more. B gap blitzes would go well with a pinch line call.

All In - Stops inside runs well (obviously) and surprisingly is a very powerful tool for explosive inside moves particularly by the inside technique DE (standard left side of your screen). I can't tell you how many times my gold DE/OLB over there has come inside with a rip.clup, or swim for an insta-sack. It can bypass TE, FB, and HB extra blocking because of how fast some players will penetrate the pocket. QB evades will counter this well as usually other DL haven't gotten close to the QB yet.

Now this is something that isn't 100%, and can be countered well by running outside the pocket, often giving QBs loads of time. It can also occasionally lead to an easy double to your premier pass rusher giving the opponent's QB probably all day to make whatever throw he wants. I see the all in line stunt for a pass rush as a risker, more explosive potential call that can also backfire.

Twists: DE-DT twists seem to blow up inside runs to the side of the twist pretty well. It gives up contain. As Lbzrule commented recently, these twists are inconsistent and a mixed bag. When it works well, the DE should fire in with either a hand barely on him or completely free up the A/B gap area. The left twist seems to work better than the right twist for whatever reason. A blitz to the outside can work with this stunt because the OT can get sucked in trying to pick up the DE or even double the DT. They seem to serve a more facilitative purpose for blitzing in the 3-4 defense.

DT-DT twists haven't been very successful for me, but in all honesty I haven't used them enough to comment on them. I'd imagine a B gap blitz could go well with a stunt like this. as it would grab the attention of the G-C-G group and hopefully leave the LB to come in free.

Fan- Great for QB's in shotgun who drop back way too far. It gives the DE a nice angle on the OT and with some talent out there you can generate fast pressure. It contains QB's that like to roll out as well. Can be used with outside blitzes like DB blitzes out of nickle and dime. The the DT-DE-blitzer against G-T should leave a free rusher.

Obviously ISO runs blow up fan calls. Staying up in the pocket can buy you more time than if they didn't fan the line. Oftentimes there's scrambling room after you step up in the pocket.

Mix- A nice double-twist line call that can warrant some nice confusion on the OL and get a free man in, usually your LDE. Can be somewhat inconsistent much like the other twists. Gives up all kinds of containment and is a big risk-reward type line call. Best called sporadically in passing situations.

Gap calls - It's most obvious use is blowing up runs to an obvious side. When on offense people should be aware of this. Running to the short side of the field and weak side of the formation completely torches this line call. Gap calls kill stretch plays very well. The purpose on the gap calls changes from penetration to holding an area. A pass rush is usually compromised when this call is made. It is fairly high risk, but can be essential against a powerhouse run game. I've shut people down almost single-handedly by making good gap calls.

One thing to be aware of when making gap calls is who will attack the backside. You can call very solid and balanced defenses that start with a gap call. For example, Calling a 3-4 gap call and adding in a weakside blitz can balance out the call and ideally stop everything. The downside would be if the ballcarrier broke a tackle, less players woudl be available for pursuit since you blitzed backside also.

Any advice is welcome. Just thought I'd bring up some ideas for those looking for a reason to pick certain line calls.

Comments

# 1 tonynyy @ May 8

Good write-up, I'll definitely use this when I get my Xbox back.

# 2 CreatineKasey @ May 9

I think DL stunts are another "Game within the game" that can be very rewarding. It's great when you sell your defense one direction with a gap call the opposite way only to see your opponent run right into it

# 3 Valdarez @ Aug 18

Good write up, you should mention how the DL is lined up though (to the left/right of the center) as they greatly affects which gaps are actually closed. You can shift the D-Line with a LB + Right Right Left or a LB + Left Left Right.

Pinch and base are the ones that seem to get your guys matched up in a one on one battle the fastest and thus have the greatest chance for a special move being pulled off and a QB sack, but they don't work too well against the run.

Gap Left + Gap Right are the best for runs to any side of the ball (A & B gaps, stretches, powers and sweeps) as long as you guess the right side and you have your DLine moved to the right/left side of the ball accordingly.

Twists and Mixes seem to be good at stopping counters because you can get a guy that's not locked up who can turn around and engage the runner or a guy to the outside that's running free and can take away a running lane. I rarely use mixes/twists though as they have a very low percentage of success on both run and passing situations. I stick with base, pinch, gap right, and gap left and then cover the runner manually with a LB (usually ILB).