Is it better to change DE assignment to "blitz"?

[NorrinRadd12]

The standard DE assignment has a slanted arrow toward the QB. When you change it to "blitz" it goes to a straight arrow, upfield. Which is more effective?

[thrust]

Always wondered this as well. Anyone? Personally, I blitz them. I like a strong pass rush rather than trying to keep the QB in the pocket. Atleast that's how I always thought it worked.

[TheDelta]

I don't think there's a general answer to that, for the pass rush, in my experience the key is to create overload situations, because if you only rush 1 on 1, the CPU QB has way too much time to make his throw. So what I personally like to do is either try to create massive pressure on one side when I blitz, the Str Eagle Slant play out of the Dollar formation is a perfect example I like to use on 3rd & long, what I do here is I move the Dline towards the direction of the blitz and slant them towards the blitzers, the goal here is to have my Dline get into blocks with the Tackle and Guard on the side the blitz is coming from, maybe even the TE if he stays in the block, then I move the LBs towards the side of the blitz which makes my blitzing OLB move up to the line, then I user the blitzing DB to come in right behind him. If executed perfectly, there's at least one, maybe two guys (usually OLB and CB, sometimes the DE) coming in unblocked, I usually try to come from the side away from the back, so if he stays in the block, he's usually not quick enough to pick up the blitz on the other side. If you just manually blitzed the DEs on this they would go straight ahead and would make it harder for my blitzers to come in unblocked.

When I want to blitz from the inside, one of my favourite setups is using a play where the LOLB is in the rush (so he's slanted to the inside), then slanting the Dline towards the left side, then manually reblitzing the DE, then reblitz the left ILB or just user him to come in right behind the DE. Here, by reblitzing the DE, I have him go straight in, while the OLB and the NT come in from the left/right all attacking at the same point, so even with rushing only five I can create a situation where there should be a hole for my ILB to come in unblocked, because basically, all three "front line rushers" attack the RT, so even if the RG or a TE comes in to help they should be all busy by the time my ILB hits the hole, hopefully to take a shot at the QB. Another play to work nicely often enough is to have both ILBs blitz and having the Dline "crash" inside, if it works you'll have 5 guys attacking the two Guards and Center, problem here is that if the Oline pinches, there's just not enough room for your blitzers to get through, but if it works, it's one of the fastest non-"nano"-blitzes I know to get to the QB.

So my answer would be, use it when it makes sense. The key to an effective pass rush is creating overload situations, because you just can't rely on your rushers to get off their blocks in time to create pressure, sure, sometimes it works, but more often it does not, so your best shot is to concentrate your pressure as much as possible and hope to open a hole for one of your LBs to waltz right in. I guess generally reblitzing your Dline might be more useful against the run because you might be less prone to open up holes on the inside, but in generall I find stopping inside runs easy enough that I'd rather concentrate on defending the pass or containing outside runs.

[Claymaker52]

I find it works best when I have outside pressure coming, either from a OLB or DB. I will tend to hot route the DE to blitz, I find it clears out the OT when I do, which opens up the lane for the blitzer to have a free lane to the QB. Same works when blitzing a MLB, I'll then blitz my DT. I'll also do it when my opponent likes to run a lot of tosses, also helps to contain the QB. However, if you blitz the DE and he runs up the middle or offtackle you could be in serious trouble.

[Senator Palmer]

I am still making discoveries about defensive line play. The one thing that I have noticed is that everything it tied to the call. Pay close attention to the playart. Some calls call for the DE's to get into their man and hold the point while others will have them try to run the arc.

In the 4-3, Buzz Duo, for instance, I notice that the line won't get upfield but try to hold the point. Cover-2 out of 4-3 under -- the playart shows the line rushing more outward. Here is where you'll see them aggressively getting upfield.

Nickel Normal CB Blitz where the slot corner comes off the edge. The defensive end to that side will slant inward. The defensive end on the opposite side will rush more upfield.

Same thing with coverage. Some calls have the CB's playing inside whereas others have the CB's playing outside technique. I think that's where a lot of frustration in the coverage comes from, not totally understanding what each call aims to take away.

What I'm still trying to make sense of is the "pass" d-line audible. The DE's get upfield, but it doesn't seem to make them any more effective at getting to the QB. Once they get into the backfield, there is not secondary move from the DE's to break back inside and track the QB as he steps up.

[Senator Palmer]

Pay attention to the arrows and their arc. Square are D-Linemen. Circles are LB's. X's are DB's.

Look at the location that the arrow is coming out of the defensive linemen. If it is streaming from the outside of the square, towards the sideline, he is in a pass rush call. If it's coming down from the center, he is trying to hold the point, if the arrow is streaming from the inside, towards the ball, he is slanting in.

[JimboJolley20]

What do you mean by "Hold the point"? Point of attack? Stuffing holes to defend the run?

[adembroski]

Best way to create pressure off the edge with your front four that isn't cheese is to audible your defensive line to "pass". This will get the ends running the arc outside the tackles.