Components of a Defensive Play Call
Combining your Front, Stunt, Blitz and Coverage
The things you can dream up as a defensive play caller are endless. I think there’s a reason we use whiteboards (formerly chalk) to draw things up — we can always just erase things and keep on going.
At the end of the day, however, these various ideas must be combined into a play call that makes sense to our players.
Here are some of the basic components that go into those calls.
Play Call System
How will you get the call to your Defence? There are a few different options here.
One, you could huddle. This means that only one defender will need to understand the play calling system, whether you’re using signals or a wrist band. The advantage here is that you have a player you trust relaying the information. But what happens if that players isn’t on the field? Also, your players will all need to physically get to the huddle with this system. This creates some extra running on gameday and can be a challenge if the Offence is in “hurry up” mode.
Another option would be to have every player understand the play calls. That way you don’t need to huddle, and they can all just look to you for the signals. This takes discipline, as you need all 12 to find you after each play and watch your call. Also, you run the risk of one or two players misreading the signal and running the wrong play.
However you choose to do it, you’ll likely want to get a lot of reps in practice using your play call system.
Personnel
When making a call from the sidelines on gameday, we must first consider who we want on the field. This decision must be made quickly, as it takes time to transition players on and off the field — especially if the gameplay is currently taking place far away from your bench.
You might have personnel packages that involve wholesale changes based on situation, or it might be a “one-on-one-off” type of substitution. Either way, this is the first piece of information that must be relayed to the players.
Also, if you’re going to be doing a lot of substitutions, the players on the sideline must remained dialed in. You don’t have time to search the sidelines to find the player you want on the field.
Front
The actual play call itself will usually start with the Front. This is a piece of information that typically tells the Defensive Linemen and Linebackers how they will line up.
While you will likely have many Fronts to choose from on gameday, this isn’t an arbitrary decision. The Front you are in must match the later parts of the play call. If you combine the wrong front with a certain Stunt, Blitz or Coverage, there will be mistakes and confusion.
Stunt
Once the Front is set, you may or may not want to tag a certain Stunt. A Stunt would be a post snap exchanging of Gaps, typically between two or three Defensive Linemen.
As mentioned earlier, the Front must match the Stunt. For instance, if you have a Stunt that typically works with two players close together (in adjacent Gaps), but your Front has them spread apart with a Gap in between them, the Stunt won’t work.
Blitz
This tells the Defence who will be rushing the passer or attacking in the run game. It also explains their path (which Gaps they will hit). Again, the Blitz must match your Front and Stunt. Some Blitzes can be run from many different Fronts, with many different Stunts attached. Some Blitzes should never be combined with a certain Front or Stunt
Coverage
For many play callers, I think this is the place we start in our heads when deciding on a call — even though it’s the last bit of info we give to our players. Once again (to drive the thesis home here), the Coverage must match the other portions of the play call. If you have called a Blitz that sends six defenders after the Quarterback, you can’t pair it with a Coverage that needs nine defenders to work. The math doesn’t add up.
Final Thoughts
How multiple do you want to be on Defence? Can you use one word that encapsulates the entire Front/Stunt/Blitz/Coverage, and your players just memorize the call? Or do you want to break each portion down separately to combine them in different ways? These are some things to consider when putting together your play call system.
I would love to hear some feedback on how you call your plays and what has worked for your specific program.
Click here to find my e-book titled Canadian Football Chalk Talk: Defensive Basics.
All the best,
Jon Svec
Defensive Coordinator
St. Francis Xavier University
X-Men Football
IG: @jonsvecx
Twitter: @jonsvecx