I wouldn’t blame Don “Wink” Martindale if he was a little envious of the attention the Ravens offense received during the 2019 season. Sure, it was well deserved, what with Lamar Jackson leading a uniquely dominant attack that just looked different from anything we saw out of the other 31 teams. Though it didn’t receive nearly the same amount of attention, the same could have been said of Martinale’s defense. It, too, stood out from the rest of the league in one area in particular: Blitzing the quarterback.
The Ravens led the NFL with a blitz rate of 54.9%, per Pro Football Reference. No other team blitzed more than 50% of the time. Hell, no other team blitzed over 45% of the time, with the Buccaneers finishing second behind Baltimore with a 43.4% blitz rate. Martindale’s defense was truly in a league of its own.
The veteran play-caller wasn’t just blindly sending pressure, though. No, the Ravens’ pressure package was intricately choreographed and routinely updated. No two pressure plans were the same. Martindale based his weekly pressure calls on the tendencies of the opponent.
“Our goal is to try to put as much stress on protection rules that teams have,” Martindale said during the 2019 season. “And the end-all goal is to have a free runner to the quarterback. But what you’re seeing is anybody that comes off the bus can blitz for us, and they know that. We talk about that every day. Sometimes they run into a wall, but they do it 100 miles per hour, and they can beat somebody, too.”
Without an elite pass-rushing talent on the roster, the onus was on Martindale to create pressure through scheme. Based solely on sack numbers, the Ravens had a mediocre pass rush, finishing 21st in total sacks and 19th in sack rate. Those numbers sell the unit short, though. Baltimore led the league in QB knockdowns, finished fourth in QB hits and third in pressure rate (we explained in Part I of this series why those numbers matter so much). The Ravens got after the quarterback, and it would not have been possible without Martindale’s advanced understanding of how offenses protect their quarterbacks — or at least try to.
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Pass protections are a rather nebulous concept for most fans and even a significant number of analysts. Before doing the research for this series I did not have a firm grasp on how they worked. But in order to understand and appreciate how defensive coaches like Martindale attacked offense, I needed to have a general understanding of how they work. So I did what anyone should do if they’re interested in learning about football: I talked to coaches.
I chatted with former Vikings coach Mike Tice, who also served as an offensive line coach in Chicago, Atlanta and Oakland. And to get a defensive coach’s perspective, I talked to Brian Vaughn, who coached defense at the Division II level (until Florida Tech eliminated its program earlier this year amid the pandemic) and runs the popular Blitzology blog, which has become an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the topic of pressure. I’ll try to pass on their wisdom as best I can.
Let’s start with the basics. At the very least, a protection call should allow the offense to do two things:
- Prevent free rushers from running through the A or B gaps
- Avoid unfavorable matchups of strength and/or athleticism
The protection call that allows the offense to accomplish those goals largely depends on the pre-snap look the defense shows. And the calls available to the offense entirely depend on the number of eligible receivers involved in the pattern. For instance, if the play call puts all five eligible receivers to use, there are only five players left over to block. So that’s where defensive coaches start when scouting an opponent.
“When it comes to breaking down protection,” Vaughn says, “two of the first things I’m looking for are: How many people are in it? Literally, how many people are blocking? And then … those extra people that are not offensive linemen, what are they doing? How are they involved?”
There are only so many options. You have five-man protections, which involve only the offensive line. You can add a back or tight end for a six-man protection. Or a combination of two backs or tight ends for a seven-man protection. Or, when you want to take a shot downfield and need time for the routes to develop, you can keep a third back or tight end in for an eight-man, max protection.
You don’t really see a lot of seven- and eight-man protection in today’s game. With offenses spreading things out and putting more receivers on the field, there are fewer players left over for protection. The reigning champions at both top levels of football — the Chiefs and LSU — were big proponents of getting all five eligibles into the pattern.
As always, there’s a trade-off. With fewer players involved in the protection, the more simplified they become. If you’re blocking with only five, there are only so many ways you can deploy those five blockers. Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown says that has allowed him to get more creative with his pressure packages.
“I think the advent of [offenses using more 5- and 6-man protections],” Brown told coach Chris Vasseur on his Make Defense Great Again podcast, “has allowed us to do much more package-wise in terms of the different groups we’re going to throw at you — with different patterns — knowing that there’s a limited amount of repetitions we’re going to have to get in practice in terms of the protections.
“When they’re doing less, you can do more … it’s nice when you can say, Hey, when they’re in 11 [personnel], and it’s 3-by-1 or 2-by-2 [formation], here’s what you’re going to get. Now you can go ahead and set your gameplan against the 11 personnel.”
It’s not nearly as simple for pro coaches, but defensive coaches aren’t seeing nearly as many varied protections calls as they were even 10 years ago. Vaughn says there are really only three types of dropback protections (not including play-action and movement passes) you’ll see across the NFL:
- Half slide: “Half of the offensive line is sliding in a zone protection concept. The other half is manned up.”
- Man: “You’ve declared somebody and the offensive line is working to that guy and then there are man responsibilities.”
- Full slide: “The whole line is sliding one way and a back or tight end is blocking the edge player away from the slide.”
Tice put it in different terms but the concepts are essentially the same:
“You have a five-man protection or ‘scat protection,’ which is a man protection. It could be a five-plus-one protection, too. So the offensive line is picking up the five most dangerous players, which would be four down linemen types plus a linebacker who poses a threat. You have a six-man protection, which you can call a ‘slide protection.’ And then you have a ‘full turn’ protection, where the entire line turns and either a tight end or back is on the end of the line of scrimmage picking up the first thing outside of that tackle.”
There are, of course, variations within each of those categories — and team-by-team, you’ll see variances in how/how often backs and tight ends are used — but if you can differentiate those three from one another, you’re on your way to adding another Infinity Stone to your Football Guy Gauntlet. Let’s break down each of them and look at some of the variations within the categories. Once we have those concepts down, we can take a look at how Martindale and the Ravens strategically attack pass-blocking units.
Half Slide Protection
We’re starting with half slide because it’s the most common protection call you’ll see on Sundays and one you’ll find in every playbook. The terminology may change based on the system — West Coast guys will call it “Jet” protection while Air Coryell guys might refer to it as “Ace” — but the rules are generally the same.
Half of the protection will slide to a particular linebacker, usually the Will. The other half of the line make up the “dual side.” In the example below, it’s the right guard and right tackle. Those two typically end up on the defensive tackle and end, but they also have to be mindful of any other players presenting immediate threats inside.
If there is a sixth protector, typically a running back, he’ll read the Mike and Sam linebackers, picking up whichever one comes. If both come, it’s on the quarterback to throw to his “hot” receiver. If neither comes, the back will help out an offensive lineman or go out for a pass.
In short, the offensive line is responsible for the four down lineman and the Will linebacker. The running back is reading the Mike and Sam. The quarterback is responsible for anyone else who adds to the rush.
Against a three-man line, the offensive line is responsible for the three down linemen and the two widest linebacker types to the weak side. This usually results in a four-man slide with the strongside guard joining in.
We use the term “linebacker types” because against a nickel defense, you’re not going to see three linebackers on the field. You could have a Mike, a Sam and a “Nickel” Will. Or a Mike, Will and “Nickel” Sam.
Protections are set by identifying the three linebacker types. The player in the middle of those three will be identified as the Mike. This tells the offensive line which linebacker(s) it is responsible for in the protection. The Will is the linebacker type to the weakside of the formation (that’s the side of the offensive formation that has the least blockers.) The Sam is aligned to the passing strength (the side with more receivers or, in a balanced formation, the side with the tight end).
Slide protections are vulnerable to overload blitzes and especially so if the defense can get an overload to the side opposite of the slide.
If the offense thinks the defense is trying to create an overload, the quarterback or center can redirect the protection to pick it up. How can the offense sniff out a potential overload? Tice says they can use what he calls “basketball rules”:
“If you have three potential receivers, including the tight end and back, to a side and they have three defenders, the numbers add up, then nothing will probably happen. I always say, ‘They gotta cover the tight end.’ If there aren’t enough bodies over there to cover the tight end, then the pressure’s not coming from that side. That’s the basis of what I teach centers. If you count and they have one more guy playing pickup basketball than you got, you’ve got a problem and you gotta change your point.”
Here’s Tom Brady doing that after he catches the Jaguars trying to send the nickel corner on a blitz.
If you listen closely, you can hear Brady say “Rita.” He’s telling his line to slide to the right. He’d make a “Linda” call if he wanted the line to slide left. Football coaches love alliteration.
How did Brady know to make that change? It wasn’t premonition that only the smartest quarterbacks can tap into. It was simple math, or Tice’s “basketball rules.” Look at the weak side of the formation. There are two receivers out there and only two defenders to account for them. If the Will blitzes, the Pats would have a receiver left uncovered, telling Brady that the Will is not a threat to the protection and there is no need to slide to him.
Now, look at the strong side. The Mike linebacker is in position to cover for the slot corner if he comes and take away Brady’s “hot” receiver. Now, there’s a potential problem there if the Patriots are sliding to the opposite side, leaving two blockers for three potential rushers.
The “Rita” call solves that issue, and now the Pats have all of the potential rushers accounted for in the protection. And that on-the-fly adaptability is why half-slide protections are so common. The offense can solve problems with a simple call or adjustment.
Defenses want to attack the man side of the protection, but figuring out which side that’s going to be is a challenge.
“Finding where the protection is is not as easy as one might think,” Vaughn said. “It gets more and more complicated the more protection elements that they have. If all they do is block to the side of the back, it’s relatively easy. But now they also have a protection where the back is going to work across to the other side of the formation. Now it’s a binary choice: it’s A or B. And then they probably have a full slide element in there as well. And now that’s a choice C. When it becomes A, B, C, D, E and F as the possibilities, things get much more complicated.”
Film study helps, but the defense is still playing a guessing game (or an educated guessing game, at least) which creates the potential for disaster. If the offense picks up the pressure, the chance of a big play increases exponentially. So how do you avoid having to play that guessing game? By deploying fronts that dictate the protection.
That brings us back to Baltimore. Sure, the Ravens will send their fair share of pressures from traditional fronts that can be picked up with a half-slide protection, but Martindale has become a master of using non-traditional looks that force offenses into “man” and “full slide” protections, which are far easier to exploit. So let’s break those down and look at how the Ravens draw and then attack each concept.
Man Protection
Once you have half slide protections down, man protections are a lot easier to figure out. It’s essentially the same concept, numbers-wise. The offensive line is still responsible for the defensive line but they are working to the Mike linebacker by default and the running back is scanning coast-to-coast for a potential sixth rusher.
Typically, the center will have the Mike, the guards will be responsible for the two interior defensive linemen and the tackles will take the two edge rushers. The quarterback has to throw hot if a seventh rusher comes and overwhelms the protection. If none of the linebackers blitz, the center and running back can help out on the other pass rushers.
This is a protection you’ll typically see against defensive fronts that put a player directly over the center, whether it’s a nose tackle or stand-up linebacker. Because the pass blockers are initially locked onto a specific rusher, the defense will call line stunts against man protections in an effort to create confusion for the offensive line and set picks for looping pass rushers. Here, the Mike picks off for the defensive tackle…
Teamwork is key. The offensive line has to work together to pass off stunting lineman or else you’re going to see a lot of free rushers.
If the defense puts five potential rushers on the line of scrimmage, you’ll often hear the quarterback or center make a “5-0” call. It’s an adjustment that tells the offensive line they are responsible for those five men on the line of scrimmage. The back is looking for the next most dangerous man. Here’s Peyton Manning explaining the “5-0” call from an episode of ESPN’s Detail.
There just aren’t many answers for these looks and Martindale knows it.
“You don’t really have a lot of great options as an offensive line in protection when everyone is covered,” says Vaughn. “When everyone’s covered, you can’t zone the protection. You can’t slide. You’re not going to slide a guard away from a guy walked up on him to go help the center.”
Martindale knows who’s blocking who when he puts five men on the line of scrimmage.
And if you know who’s blocking who, it becomes a lot easier to attack the weak link. Like, say, a running back who is forced to take on a player with a head of steam right in front of his quarterback…
Or a running back who has to scan for a player going from one side of the formation to the other…
Or a running back who has to block on the move…
Are you sensing a theme? Running backs must hate playing the Ravens. Centers aren’t going to be thrilled about the prospect either with Calais Campbell now in Baltimore. Imagine what it must be like for a center, who is typically undersized compared to the rest of the line, with the massive Campbell lining up directly over you and having to block him without any help.
If the offense isn’t comfortable asking its pass protectors to hold up in one-on-one battles, there is another option…
Full Slide Protection
A full slide (Tice calls it a “turn” protection) is exactly what it sounds like: The entire offensive line is sliding either left or right away from a sixth protector who is sealing the opposite edge. This protection is used sparingly, usually reserved for quick passing concepts because a lot of the time, a back or tight end is being asked to block an edge rusher.
“The problem with turn protection, after the initial contact, it starts to get a little edgy,” Tice says. “It starts to get a little leaky. It’s not a protection that can really hold up for a long time. It’s used for quick game or something rhythmic, something involving a timing route. Sitting there thinking it’s going to hold for a deep crossing route, it’s not. Unless it’s a turn protection with a play fake.”
Full slide protections are a common tactic against bear fronts and double A-gap looks. This helps to plug up the interior gaps with big o-line bodies. Sure, you’re giving up a mismatch on the edge but, as we established earlier, the offense is protecting from the inside-out. And if the ball is coming out quickly, the back won’t have to hold up for too long.
You’ll see more full slide at the college level — mostly because it’s easier to teach, says Tice — but it becomes useful at the NFL level when defenses implement fronts that make it harder to identify who’s playing which role.
“Everybody wants to do the walk-around stuff, the amoeba stuff,” Tice said. “You really can’t define where guys are. They’re walking around. You got guys standing up. It’s a number count thing. That’s where you see a lot of teams go to that full turn protection, because it’s hard to sort out. And that gives those athletes who are ‘tweener players and designated pass rusher, it gives those players a chance to get a crease or get a mismatch on the edge.”
The Ravens, who played more dime than any other team in 2019, which allowed them to get into those ‘walk-around fronts,’ saw a lot of full slide protections in 2019 — maybe the most in the league — and the biggest beneficiary was Matthew Judon, who feasted on tight ends and backs on his way to a 9.5-sack season.
The interior players also benefited thanks to Martindale calling perfectly-timed stunts working away from the sliding offensive line, which created natural picks for Baltimore’s pass rushers.
Before the 2019 season, the lack of an elite pass-rushing talent on the edge was seen as a major concern for Baltimore. It didn’t turn out to be an issue, as the numbers show. Another offseason has passed and it doesn’t appear that Baltimore is any more interested in adding to its group of edge rushers. They didn’t extend Judon after his breakout season. opting to hit him with the franchise tag instead, and they didn’t sign an edge rusher in free agency or draft one either.
The Ravens know they don’t need a star edge rusher to put pressure on the quarterback. They have Martindale, a human skeleton key that can unlock any pass protection.
All right, it’s pop quiz time. That’s right, I’m springing quizzes on you without warning. Let’s see if you’ve been paying attention.
First, let’s try to identify the Mike. I’ve given you a hint by highlighting the three linebacker types. Which one of those players would we consider the Mike?
If you picked No. 57 … you’re wrong and should feel great shame. Not really, but, remember: The Mike is the middle of those three linebacker types. In this case, it’s No. 54.
If 54 is the Mike, the linebacker to the weakside of the formation would be the Will. That’s No. 57. And that would make No. 24 the Sam:
Question No. 2: Let’s say the running back is going out for a pass and we have a five-man protection involving only the offensive line. If the line is working to the Will, is our protection sound? In other words, do we have everyone accounted for in the protection?
If not, which potential blitzer (not including the defensive line) could present a problem? Hint: It’s not the Will. With the running back running out to the flat, No. 57 is the only defender in position to cover him.
But look at the Mike linebacker and then notice the safety lined up just behind him. If the Mike comes, that safety is in position to pick up the inside slot receiver. With the left tackle and left guard already occupied by two defensive linemen, we have nobody to account for him if he blitzes and the safety can pick up the furthest inside receiver.
So the offensive line can disregard the Will linebacker and work to the Mike instead. Now we have the center, guard and tackle to take care of the two defensive linemen and the linebacker if he rushes.
If the 49ers send both the Mike and the Nickel Sam, they’ll leave themselves with a two-on-three to that side.
Now we have everyone accounted for in the protection. The offensive line has the four down linemen and the Mike (red). The Will can’t come or the running back will be open (gold). The corner to the top of the screen needs to cover the tight end (black). And the three defensive backs to the bottom of the screen have three receivers to cover (silver).
All that thinking, which teams have to do before EVERY play, for just a four-yard gain…
If you’re still a bit confused, here’s a video breaking all of that down…
Now that you have a grasp on how pass protections work and how NFL teams pick up pressures, it’s soul-crushin’ time. What if none of that matters? What if the defense can win no matter what protection an offense throws at it? That would be pretty evil, right? Well, that guy up in New England has a concept that allows him to do just that. We’ll take a look at that in Part 3.