Zone Blitz

The two coaches who together developed the zone blitz will coach against each other in the Super Bowl:

It has been nearly 20 years since Dom Capers and Dick LeBeau worked together on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but their collaborative efforts so dramatically influenced the way the sport is played that the results will remain on vivid display during Sunday’s Super Bowl.

LeBeau and Capers teamed up to bring the zone blitz to the NFL, designing a tactic that the Steelers could use to confuse opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen by keeping them guessing about which defenders would be rushing the passer and which would be dropping into pass coverage on any given play.

The two men will be on opposite sides Sunday, LeBeau as the Steelers’ defensive coordinator, Capers in the same role for the Green Bay Packers. Coming up with ever-more-creative variations of the zone blitz remains a key element in each coach’s successful defensive formula. . . .

The zone blitz is associated with a 3-4 defensive alignment – three linemen and four linebackers. A non-lineman – either a linebacker or a defensive back – rushes the quarterback, while a lineman drops into pass coverage.

“It used to be that you either got one or the other: You used to face either a zone coverage in the secondary or a blitz,” former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann said. “So you set up your pass routes accordingly.”. . .

“You don’t just see defensive ends dropping into coverage and outside linebackers blitzing,” Theismann said. “You see nose tackles dropping into coverage. You see safeties blitzing. To me, the area where football has undergone the most change is the complexity with which defensive coordinators bring pressure.”. . .

The Steelers and Packers surrendered the fewest points in the league this season, making a case for the continued importance of defense even in the highest-scoring NFL season in 45 years. The Steelers led the league in sacks, while the Packers were tied for second.

via Super Bowl: Packers’ Dom Capers, Steelers’ Dick LeBeau pioneered the zone blitz while on same Pittsburgh staff.