Sgibs Dime Defense!

It is very important to understand that in order for our scheme to be the most successful we are going to want to come out in dime defense. You may be asking why? The reason we do this is because we manage to fully grasp our teams biggest strengths in all areas. We manage to have 6DB’s 3 LB’s and our 2 most athletic DE’s on the field. We certainly have the “beef” to stuff the run but still have the versatility to bring pressure with our speediest defenders. It is really a great balance. I also want to note that we are going to be controlling the DB on the right side of the screen (our 4th CB in the depth chart) on every play. A key to success is being able to make every play look the same. When we do this we can confuse our opponent. Now lets take a look at our depth chart setup:

Depth Chart

DT

1. Best Pass rushing DE (we do this because when we audible to the 1-5-5 this defender will be the ONE down linemen. We want to have our best pass rusher for this situations.

2. Most athletic D-linemen (height is a BIG factor hear as well, when we audible to the 155 this player will be dropping back into coverage. This player may be one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. If your deciding between a defender that is 82 speed and 6’2 or a defender that is 78 speed 6’5 choose the6’5 defender.)

DE

1. Place anyone here (we will use the LB pass rush package from Dime, rendering this player obsolete)

2. Place anyone here (we will use the LB pass rush package from Dime, rendering this player obsolete)

OLB’s

1.Fastest LB’s here (if we have a backup that is 6’5 88 Speed…ie New England Patriots Gary Guyton…we will play him over a someone like Mike Vrabel. Seems crazy but is much more beneficial to have a 6’5 88 speed defender on the field over a smaller, slower defender.)

MLB

1.Fastest/Best tackling linebacker (typically our MLB will be our best tackler. If he has a nice speed rating that’s an added bonus. The better the player we have at this position the better it will suit this dime scheme. You will see later on why I say this. Look for a hybrid player here, someone that encompasses, speed, height, and tackling ability.

CB

1. Best overall CB

2. Height/Speed (if you have a team that is blessed with a lot of either of these we want to use this player in this position. Height first and speed second.)

3. speed/height (if we have a team that is blessed with either we want to use them here. Speed first and height second.)

4. Fastest defensive back. (he will be our manual rusher)

FS

1.Second fastest defensive back, look for height as well (this defender will be our user controller for the 1-5-5. Speed is certainly important here, however if we are deciding between a 90 speed 5’11 defender or a 6’3 88 speed defender, opt out for the height)

SS

1.Height/Hit Power/Speed (this defender main objective is to be tall and have a good hit stick. We want a guy here that can help defend in the run game. He is a our 6th “big” defender when we add him in the mix with our other 5 LB’s/DE’s on the field)

In the Sgibs Defensive E-Book 1-5-5 Now Available! breakdown I chose to use the Raiders to fill out my depth chart breakdown. There are 3 teams that fit this schemes mold PERFECTLY.Those three teams are the Raiders, Cowboys, and the Rams. Now there area handful of other teams that can be used and still have lights out defense. These teams however have speed for days at all positions on the field. Ideally the Raiders are the best team to use. If you can make there offense work I would 100% recommend using them.

Lets highlight a few other teams in which this scheme can work:

•Cardinals- Dominique Rodgers Cromartie is a monster on the manual blitz. They also posses one of the tallest secondary’s. Adrian Wilson is an absolute monster to user with at the FS position in this scheme.

•Jaguars- Rashean Mathis is shutdown along side him we have Reggie Nelson who is a great fit for our FS position. Our manual blitzer off the edge is the best in the business for this scheme. Witherspoon boasts 98speed!

• Chargers- Jammer and Cason defending the outside and Cromartie blitzing off the edge equals pain for the offense. There is a glaring hole in the secondary as there are no real madden studs to put back there. There secondary other then these three is extremely slow and short.

• Patriots- Solid speed, solid defenders, NO HEIGHT. The Patriots won’t be a team your choosing solely for defensive purposes. However, they do posses enough speed to make this scheme work.

With the Dime scheme expect to see ALOT of deflected passes!

*Let me also say that these teams are NOT the only teams that you can run this defensive scheme with. These are just the teams that I recommend using.*

Demarcus Ware is the PERFECT linebacker for this defensive scheme. Size, speed, and versatility all in one package!

DB Blitz

Setup

1. Bump N’ Run

2. Pinch the defensive line. LB + down

3. Playmaker blitz both DE’s and our right DT

4. manually slide both blitzing DB’s in closer to the d-line. I recommend placing them both just outside where a TE would be lined up.

5. Manually control the DB on the right side of the field and use Sgibs Manual Super Rush tactic.

This play will 100% Bring it! The pressure will be coming from all sides. The reason we like to manually blitz both the DT and the DE’s is that this will occupy specific offensive linemen for us. The key is for both tackles to be occupied by our defenders. When we accomplish this we can come off the edge screaming!. This will either force our opponent to step up into the pocket, where more pressure is coming, or to roll to the opposite side,where more pressure is coming as well. Don’t get to comfortable calling this play all game. I will tell you this it can be beat. Typically the way I like to play defense is I will keep calling a play until my opponent PROVES to me thathe can consistently handle the pressure, once he does that I will start mixing it up more and try to confuse him to get my sacks. What you need to look for when calling this defense:

• Snap and lob type passes

• If they can manage to avoid the instant pressure, one on one coverage can be RC on all day.

• Drags

• Slants

• HB/FB routes

• This defensive can be weak against the run. If we see our opponent audibleing to beat us with the run, we want to audible to 1-5-5and use our run defense from this set.

There are a few other alternatives we can use to get better pass coverage when using this blitz. If we place one DT in a yellow zone(consider placing in purple as well) and also one in a purple zone we are going to have AWESOME coverage on the field. Lets take a look at what we are going to be weak against with this defense

• Snap and lop passes, over the middle of the field

• HB/FB routes

• This defensive can be weak against the run. If we see our opponent audibeling to beat us with the run, we want to audible to 1-5-5and use our run defense from this set.

Now we can see that with a few adjustments we are going to knock out a bunch of options for our opponent. We are still able to create major pressure using this adjustment however we do lose a bit of push from up the middle. As I have stressed time and time again. YOU need to be able to make adjustments and be able to read your opponent. If he can’t handle the heat from the first setup then stick to it, if he shows you that he can beat it that’s when we want to look for other options.

If you have any questions, hit us up on the forums for some help!

Related posts:

1. Free Play Friday: Sgibs Under Smoke Blitz
2. Destroying Cover 2 Defense 101!
3. Sgibs Dominant Defensive Play #1
4. Free Play Friday: Sgibs 4 Man Rush Blitz