With sleek and sophisticated offenses, cunning and confident quarterbacks and recent rule changes designed for player safety, defense in the NFL has never been more difficult.
Blitzing might be the best way to do it.
This is football’s ultimate risk-reward strategy, from recess pickup games with one blitz allowed per four downs to the game’s highest level where masterminds like Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer and Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips devise complex versions to disrupt a quarterback’s rhythm, get a sack or grab a turnover.
“When you blitz, the band plays,” Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly said. “It’s either our band or their band.”
According to STATS research, an average of 21.9 blitzes per game have been used this season, up only slightly from 2014 and lower than each average annual figure from 2009 through 2013. Many of the league’s best defenses, though, have built a scheme fueled by sending extra pass rushers effectively and often.
Gone is the decade-ago heyday of the conservative zone coverages that put a safety in each deep half of the field to prevent the long pass and relied on the front four to pressure the quarterback. Good ones learned how to pick those schemes apart.
So that’s part of why the New York Jets under first-year coach Todd Bowles have blitzed—defined as bringing a defensive player not on the line of scrimmage or using four-or-more pass rushers—on an NFL-leading 48.3 percent of passing plays. The Arizona Cardinals (43.1) and St. Louis Rams (39.6) are next.
“We just try to mix it up and keep the offense off balance,” Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said.
During a 27-14 victory over Miami in London on Oct. 4, the Jets used 22 blitzes just by their defensive backs, the most in any game in the league in the last five years, according to ESPN research. They had three sacks and two interceptions in that game.
Blitzes have worked against Kelly’s Eagles, too. Sam Bradford’s 53.0 passer rating in such situations is the worst among NFL starters this season. Detroit’s Matthew Stafford has been another frequent victim.
With a mix of preparation, anticipation and poise, quarterbacks can certainly beat the blitz. Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, who’s yet to be intercepted in a blitz situation this year, is second in the league with a 122.5 passer rating.
“We pride ourselves on it. It’s knowing when you’re protected and knowing when you’re not, and when you can hold onto the ball and when you can’t,” Dalton said. “So however we can get them blocked, we'll do it.”
The best quarterback against the blitz this season? Oakland’s Derek Carr, just halfway through his second year in the league, with a 126.4 passer rating, 719 yards and seven touchdowns on 71 attempts.
Carr has credited this situational savviness to film sessions with his older brother, David, who took his share of sacks over an 11-year NFL career. Well, that and the blockers in front of him.
“My job is the easy part. Those guys are the ones doing all the hard work trying pick all that stuff up,” Carr said.
