Iwould like to thank the AFCAfor theopportunity to speak at the 2001 con-vention and for the work they do to makeour great profession even better.

I will be speaking today about creatingmore pressure on the quarterback throughpass rush games and techniques.

The most essential elements for greatdefensive line play are 1. Ta k e - o ff, 2. P a dlevel and 3 . E ffort. The first technique wework on at Southwest Texas is the take-off .We want our weight on our front hand,enough weight that if I kicked it out fromunder one of the defensive linemen theywould fall. I want feet shoulder-width apartwith a good heel to toe stagger. If a player isin a right-handed stance, the right hand willbe down and right foot back, then when theball moves, react. What Im looking for is theback foot passing the down hand by at leasteight inches. If the foot does not pass thefront hand mark by at least eight inches, wedid not gain ground on the offensive lineman.

Second, we want to make sure on contactwith the offensive lineman that the back is flat,thumb pointed inside and elbow staying with-in the cylinder of the body. Explode insidearm in the middle of the offensive linemanschest, hands and feet working together. If thedefensive lineman is attacking with his lefthand he should be stepping with his left foot(or right hand/right foot). Work the edge of theo ffensive lineman, or half man technique. T h eworst place to be in football is in the middle ofan offensive lineman. Once on edge, plantthe outside foot and pull down on the off e n-sive linemans outside pad with the outsidearm. It is important to get the outside footplanted when pulling to create the powerneeded to displace the offensive linemansoutside shoulder. Keep tight to the off e n s i v elineman, and the crotch should be aimed atthe offensive linemans hip. Pull through witha rip or swim move to the quarterback.

When we reach a consistent level withour take-off and half man technique wemove on to the line twist. We teach two,three and four man twists. When I startteaching twist techniques the first tech-nique we work versus man protection is tomake sure the get-off is at least two steps.We want to create gap expansion in theoffensive line through alignment and get-off. The defensive line must sell the get-off.Do not let the defensive lineman short step.Work on the take-off appearing the sameas the half man technique.

If we are running a Tex twist, the twist isto the three technique side, it is a two man

twist between the three and five or seventechnique. The aiming point for the threetechnique is the offensive tackles inside hip,with pads low. Pad level is important as highpads will allow the offensive lineman to cramyou back to the guard. The defensive endmust widen his alignment to insure the off e n-sive tackle widens to him. The defensive end,after executing his two step get-off, will loopbehind the defensive tackle through the Ag a pwith any pass set. The offensive tackle nowshould be picked by the three techniquesb o d y. If the offensive guard reacts to thedefensive end, the three technique should befree to the quarterback. If the guard stays onthe three technique, the defensive endshould be free to the quarterback.

A two man twist between the nose andthe five is called an Ex twist. The Ex isopposite of a Tex twist. The defensive endwill get off two steps and penetrate throughthe B gap. The nose will attempt to go twosteps up the field to insure the offensiveguards attention towards his movementand that the guard does not slide to pick upthe penetrating end. After two steps thenose will loop behind the end. We want thenoses initial vision to go to the outsidereceiver, so if the receivers numbers arecoming at him, will close to the receiver. Ifthe looping nose does not see any receiv-ers numbers, continue tight to the quarter-back. The nose is responsible for contain-ment, his aiming point is the deep shoulderof the quarterback. On this twist the defen-sive end should pick the guard, if the tack-le pulls to help on the nose, the end shouldbe free to the quarterback if the tacklestays on the end, the ends body will pre-vent the guard from continuing with thenose. The two step get-off is also importantif the offense has called a running play.Anyaggressive or zone block the defensivelinemen are involved in the twist goes backto base, they are now responsible for thegap that they are aligned in.

The inside game we execute with themost success is called twist. On a twistthe three technique is the penetrator. He is

Proceedings 78th AFCA Convention 2001

David Bailiff

Defensive Coordinator

Southwest Texas StateUniversity

San Marcos, Texas

Defensive Line Pressure Games

Diagram 1

to attack through the Agap. The nose willbe slower to react, since during his initialget off he will read the center. If the centerzone steps away the nose will continue onthrough the Agap. If the center zone steps

toward the nose, he will go back to basetechnique. The nose technique on a passset will loop through the B gap where thepenetrating tackle was initially aligned. Twist I is the twist between the nose and

the three technique where the nose is thep e n e t r a t o r, he will attack his Agap. T h ethree technique will use his half man tech-nique and become the looper. When exe-cuted properly the penetrator should holdthe offensive linemans attention andvision long enough to allow the looper toc l e a r, if the guard reacts to the looper thepenetrator will be free to the quarterback.

This is a basic overview of the differentpass rush and twist techniques we use atSouthwest Texas. If you would like moreinformation please feel free to contact meat TCU or Bob DeBesse at SouthwestTexas.

Proceedings 78th AFCA Convention 2001

Diagram 2 Diagram 3 Diagram 4

Diagram 5 Diagram 6

Caution Your Team About Player Agents

A problem for all coaches is the proliferation of agents and would-beagents who seek to make agreements with players prior to the completionof their eligibility. The activity of these people has increased, and it isimperative that all of the consequences of making an agreement with anagent are known by your players.

Contact with players by agents almost always is done without the knowl-edge of the coach. Some agents openly admit they will continue to makecontacts and agreements with players before their final season has beencompleted.

This could lead to forfeiture of games. Some agents are advising playersnot to risk injury by playing. Your players must be warned about this prob-lem. Do it more than once.