Creep and bail
Why it works
A blitz the offence sees coming is a blitz it can block, and a bail that starts too late leaves a zone empty. Running both from the same creep, on a call made at the last second, teaches the disguise and the commitment together, which are the two things that make a pressure package work at any age.
Run it
8 MINEight minutes, about twelve snaps, roughly half blitz and half bail in a random order. Stop when the creep starts early; that means they are anticipating the call instead of listening for it.
Say this
“Creep on the cadence, not before.”
Walking up early tells the quarterback a blitz is coming while he still has time to change the play.
“All the way, blitz or bail.”
A half-speed blitz gets blocked and a half-speed bail leaves the zone open; either one wins only at full speed.
“Leader, call it loud and late.”
The call has to come late enough that the offence cannot react and loud enough that both linebackers hear it.
Good looks like
- Linebackers do not move until the cadence starts.
- On a bail, both drop to their zones at full speed.
- On a blitz, both go through their gap past the cone at full speed.
- The two linebackers never split, one blitzing and one bailing.
The mistakes
Linebackers walking up as soon as they line up. Start the cadence slowly and make them hold until the second word.
Say: “Creep on the cadence, not before.”
Linebackers hesitating after the call. Time the bail to the zone landmark and the blitz to the cone, and race the two linebackers against each other.
Say: “All the way, blitz or bail.”
The call coming early and quietly, so one linebacker blitzes and one bails. Score both linebackers as wrong if they split.
Say: “Leader, call it loud and late.”
Drop the creep and just practise the call: the linebackers stand at depth and react to blitz or bail shouted after the snap, so the only lesson is going all the way.
Add a quarterback who can check the play on seeing the creep, and a running back who has to pick up the blitzer, so the disguise is tested against a real read.