Gary Patterson is back stalking a sideline. What does... that mean? Classic 4-2-5 Quarters structures. The Trojans' game against San Jose St. gave us an excellent look at Patterson's defensive philosophy against a true Spread offense. Against a "Quads" alignment and backed up, USC "shoved" the coverage and gave a clinic look at "Solo" (poach) coverage. The Spartans attack with a Slot Fade, giving us a look at how the Weak Safety mechanics function. Solo is an "active" poach, and the Safety works quickly to the #3 WR. Once the receiver converts to a speed out, the WS climbs to close the post. Learn more about standard Quarters structures vs. Trips, including Solo, on MatchQuarters: --show more

The Cardinals have one of the most unique defenses... in the NFL. Their "base" sub-package starts as a Penny (5-1) three-safety system and can morph into a 4-2-5 or a standard 3-4. Against the Raiders, the structure moves to a 4-2 once Las Vegas initially shifts to a 3x1 set. Learn more about how Arizona uses its three-safety platform to rotate into different coverages, only on MatchQuarters: --show more

Ohio State majored in Cover 3, and they used... their 3-Safety system to get into Tampa looks. Under Matt Patricia, they ran Tampa and Quarters/6 coverages at about the same rate (~17%). Here is a look at a popular 2-Hole "rotation." Show Cover 3/1, "pop" to the Deep 1/2, and let the Post Safety play from depth. --show more

Defenses in the NFL are increasingly attacking offenses through... the open-side B-gap (away from the TE). Against Duo, the line movement can force the RB weak, which is not how the play is designed to work. The Ravens use a boundary Will "stab" to create and force the Vikings' vertical run horizontal. Adding a Fire Zone coverage and dropping the Boundary Safety adds a layering effect to the run fit. If the Mike (49) rocks back earlier, Baltimore would have a clinic vice tackle. Instead, the Nickel traces back on the line of scrimmage and meets the back with the Safety. Mike Macdonald, another Ravens-tree coach, used this exact pressure in the Super Bowl to kill the Patriots' run game. Learn more about best practices early down pressures, only on MatchQuarters: --show more

A lot of Packers fans are asking if they... will see the 3-Safety system that was a staple of Gannon's Cardinals defenses. Against the Steelers, we got to see shades of the system. Green Bay is in a Penny package (5-1) with three Safeties on the field to match Pittsburgh's 11 pers. The call is Will 4, meaning the boundary Edge will rush and the field Edge will drop into coverage. Though Gannon has run a derivative of the Fangio system, his scheme is unique to him. He prefers Quarters over the "rotational" split field menu found in Philadelphia. I expect Gannon to have a more traditional style in '26, but there is a use case for his 3-High structures, especially against 11 pers. Learn about the evolution of this scheme and why Gannon had to create a mitigating defense in Arizona, only on MatchQuarters: *I made this free to all.show more

Join us tomorrow, June 8th 3 pm ET at... the #FutureGamesShow for an exclusive look at the origins of this single-player narrative experience, and to learn more about how The Casting of Frank Stone came to be. A huge thank you to FutureGamesShow for having us!show more

The Cardinals, Chiefs, Vikings, and Buccaneers have led the... way in recent years in using open post coverage behind pressure. This year, Tampa remained in the top 10 but reduced its usage, relying more on traditional Fire Zone coverage. With that schematic pivot, Tampa focused heavily on "roll" coverages to "Trap 2's" and non-traditional Tampa coverages. Here is an example of a Safety 5-man pressure with a 2-Roll concept behind it against the Lions. --show more

Ohio State's NFL-style defense was highlighted by the use... of a Penny (5-1) alignment within their 4-2 Nickel defense. Arvell Reese (Giants) and Caleb Downs (Cowboys) were the main leverage points of the defense. Below is a look at the hybrid nature of the defense. Reese will cut to the flat once he sees pass, morphing the defense back into a traditional 4-2 weak rotation Cover 3 look. --show more

Lions had the right call to beat Quarters coverage... here… Mills/Pin concept. Safety sits on the in-breaker. Get the 1-on-1 with Jameson Williams. Goff has to climb/re-set. And the throw can be more up the field. But this is a big time play by Sainristil. Close & undercut.show more

This isn't college tape; this is the NFL. Here... is the Arizona Cardinals 3-High Tite Front defense defending a Counter GY from the Cowboys. The coverage rotation sends the Ni to the Post with the two other Safeties working into the Weak Hook and Seam. The move places 3 bodies at the point of attack with one puller to block them. Find more resources on this unique defense at MatchQuarters. Search "Cardinals". --show more

The hate train against jennie must be studied cus... wdym she is being hated on for doing the right choreography??? And it didnt take a genius to figure it out, just look at the dancer at the back.show more

There is not one snap from Saturday that perfectly... encapsulates Ohio States defense and what Arch was dealing with. Pre-snap: 4-2-5 MOFC look, which means nothing since Patricia drops into Tampa/C2 from this look often. Post-snap: Double A gap Creeper (Mahomes) with MOFC. Versus 3x1 Gun Weak creates 4th/1st and 3 Up rules. - Boundary 5t is the 4th/1st Crosser - Field 5t is the Strong Hook - Caleb Downs is the 3 up is 3 player - Nickel is SCIF/B2b player. Caleb Downs gets #3 vertical to start the down that turns into an inside stem. The post safety that starts into the boundary identifies #3 bending back over the middle of field, and Caleb Downs is able to "Cut" him back to the post safety. Essentially the 3 up is 3 and post safety switch roles in them middle of the play. This adds layers to the coverage based off of leverage (#3 is running away from O/s leverage 3 up player, while running into postive leverage post safety). All of this is to say this new Ohio State defense is not predicated on just being talented and being chaotic, they showed an extreme grasp on techniques just in week 1.show more

How about ODU Baseball dropping 15 runs in a... win against a solid SSC opponent? All nine hitters had at least one hit. Mason Kurtz led the way with 4 hits, a double, a homer, and 3 RBI. The Panthers will look for the DH sweep. Game 2 coming up shortly on #D2Baseballshow more

Cheers Eddie Howe! 🖤🤍 Keeping us up against all... odds to Champions League nights back at St James’ and finally ending the long wait with the Carabao Cup – you’ve given us memories that will last a lifetime. What a manager, what a man. Legend. All the best for whatever’s next!show more

Excellent look at how the Base (3-4) defense for... Texas Tech functions. Shiel Woods stems from the Wofford defensive tree, meaning he runs the East Coast 3-4. The system uses "strong" & "weak" reductions (movements) to get into Over or Under looks. Here, the Nickel inserts off the edge with Cover 3 behind it; a standard install in this system. Learn more about the system here: --show more

Escape to the Shire with us on September, 22nd!... ❤️ this post to have a reminder sent on Hobbit Day when it's time to celebrate and get an inside look at Tales of the Shire!show more

The Safety of Being Unknown is a new essay... on the ideas behind Chapter Sixteen, and the relief of having no version of yourself to maintain. A closer look at what was moving beneath the images is now up. #shortfilm #storytelling #queercinema #cruising #cinemao #daddybear #ursoshow more

For those of us that love Khaman Maluach and... want him to play more, take a look at this clip. A couple examples of his rawness that need to be refined.. Gets the rebound highpointed and RIPPED out of his hands by Adou Thiero. Gets upset about the embarrassment and retaliates for no reason giving the Lakers an and one from an off ball foul.show more