In Week 2 against UNLV Michigan tried to run Stretch (aka Outside Zone) as their primary counter to Duo, their base running play. It didn't work. The problem with that is if your base running play is inside the tackles you still need something you can run well that goes outside of the tackles. Otherwise your Duo runs are just going to get swallowed up.

This sounds pretty basic. But what kind of outside run could look like Duo/Inside Zone? And how can you spot it? Let's look.

[After THE JUMP: Wrappers]

Jamming Duo

Duo, as we've discussed ad nauseum, is the running play where you double both DTs to get so much movement on them that a linebacker has to pick one side to go to, at which point the RB can bounce to the other gap. In our base example the RB angles towards the frontside "A" gap between the center and guard, and once he gets the MLB to commit to that gap he bounces out to the C gap.

But he could just as well attack the nose tackle and WLB. The read for the running back is one of those doubles is likely going better than the other, so lock eyes with the linebacker behind it and get him to commit to the wrong gap.

The reason Duo works is because defenses usually align with one fewer defender in the box than there are gaps. If you're defending a six-man front with six guys in the box, and the ends are taking the edges, you're one gap short.

The defense would like their "a"-aligned linebacker to be able to hang back and get to the C gap they're leaving open by alignment, but he can't do that if the "B" tackle gets blown down into him. The LB is forced to pick a side. When the offense gives you an option, whichever one you choose is going to be wrong.

Every defense would love to defeat this by having tackles who won't get shoved out of the way with doubles, but with Michigan's blockers that's a tough ask. Finding a DT who's stronger than two FBS-caliber offensive linemen isn't easy. Even Mason Graham gets moved by doubles.

How do you cheat against this? There are three main ways:

1. Do it with DL: Where your linemen line up are hard nodes, places it's harder to run. Defenses move them to different gaps before and after the snap, and offenses seek soft nodes to widen and attack. Pay attention here where these DL align, and where they end up.

This is a basic Over front with hard nodes threatening the strongside D and B gaps, and the backside A and C gaps.

After the snap the assignments are a little different.

This is a "Pinch." Indiana moved a DT down a gap, jamming up both A gaps. This forces the soft nodes that the RB can threaten further apart, and puts the hardest nodes—those DTs—in adjacent gaps. If one double goes well the RB can't cut to the inside of it because there's another DT there.

2. Do it with LBs: Duo really causes problems for defenses because once you move the DT out of the way you get a linebacker who can't cover both sides of it (unless he gets a safety covering his backside). So if you want to jam up duo, tell your linebackers to shoot up into those doubles and stop them in their tracks.

Watch #44 Aaron Casey, the LB on the bottom hash.

Michigan is getting movement, but even before the ball is in Corum's hands Casey is coming down towards the line of scrimmage to help his DT.

Teams expecting a run up the gut will often slam their linebackers into the line of scrimmage as soon as they see those doubles forming, which not only relieves the DT getting doubled but creates another hard node in the defensive front at a crucial moment. The linebacker's running start gives his body the effect of a particularly strong DT. This should halt the offense's momentum downfield, and might even reverse it.

And since the linebacker here gets to choose which OL he attacks, he's going to take the outside shoulder of the blocker with the most advantageous position, squeezing him next to the guy he was doubling with—closing that gap—and allowing his DT to cover the one behind it. The result is usually a running back running up into the backs of his blockers, technically in an unprotected gap, but not one that he fit a body through.

3. Do it with DBs:

You probably already noticed by now that IU has a seventh guy at linebacker depth. That's #15, Nic Toomer, a cornerback who transferred in this year from Stanford.

Remember the reason Duo works is because defenses usually align one gap short.

If you bring down a safety, or in this case add a cornerback, you've got a guy for every gap.

As this all resolves, the pinching DTs and quick-slamming WLB have created a pileup inside with three defenders occupying four blockers, giving the RB a choice between two lanes outside of those double-teams that have defenders waiting in.

On this particular play the DE on the top actually came inside too late and might have given up a bounce to the outside, but you get the idea. Indiana is selling out on this three ways (and a fourth). It's time to make them boys pay.

DON'T PINCH ME

The best way to mess with a defense that's attacking inside is to run outside, obviously. This also works in the micro. When the defense pinches its DTs they're not just committing their strongest run defense to the A-gaps; they're shifting a linebacker responsibility out of the A-gap, IE they're taking a linebacker out of the middle.

Note how Michigan has a lot of blocking material on the right side of the offense, and Indiana's closest hard node is the frontside B gap.  (This is from the replay).

They're expecting to pass rush here, not defend an outside run. What they get is a jet sweep with the tight ends blocking down and the frontside guard and tackle pulling around. The defense is quickly outflanked and Corum picks up a chunk behind his escorts.

The Jet Sweep is a neat outside running trick, but it doesn't really look like the main thing Michigan runs, which limits its effectiveness. Here it was a gimmick on a passing down that took advantage of the defense relaxing while Corum motioned, apparently to his normal RB position, to hide the jet intentions.

But the Jet Sweep is really just a variation on the Crack Sweep--the play where they pitch it to the RB--and that should work on pinching DTs just as well. That looks like Duo before the snap at least. But what if I told you there's a way to run outside from a pure Duo look?

WINDBACK

Windback ("wind" as in what you do to a clock), also known as Counter Duo, attacks outside after committing the defense to trying to get upfield. It's usually run with a tight end wrapper but Wilson will do here:

Windback has three main components:

1. Duo blocking inside that gets the last interior defender downblocked.
2. Edge control from the last man on the line of scrimmage.
3. A "wrapper"—basically some kind of long backside puller to handle the edge defender.

click makes big

Usually this also includes some kind of counter motion from the running back to really sell the Duo look before he bounces outside (I used to say always but I've learned not to). I also use "Edge control" instead of "kickout" because that's more of a zone block—if that SAM decides to go inside of Bredeson he has to downblock and the wrapper, in this case Roman Wilson, will know to head another gap outside, or become the kickout man if he meets an unblocked defender on the edge. Also if the SS in this graphic were to come down outside of Loveland, he'd have to kick him out and that would be the gap.

But this is what they're expecting. The safety hammered down to add himself to the front and Loveland put him inside. The SDE is responsible for the edge and accepts a kickout from Bredeson. The gap forms between the kickout and the next guy inside, who needs to be blocked down.

There are reasons both obvious and subtle that this works as such a great counter to a defense that's selling out for Duo. The obvious part is the defense is burying itself in the line of scrimmage, using up its linebackers for gaps that the offense has no intention of going through. Look at Casey (#44) on the bottom hash in the clip above. He came to help his DT getting doubled by Zinter and Nugent, and now he's in no position to get back to Corum until the midfield M at least. That's the obvious part.

The subtle part is how the DTs (and in this case, a DE on the top) end up beating themselves by trying to beat Duo blocking. The end on the side they're running is the crucial player who needs to be blocked down, else he can gum up the entire works. They need this guy put inside, and intend to double through him to the linebacker level if needed. AJ Barner and LaDarius Henderson are committed to the task.

But this guy thinks he's defending Duo, right? So when he gets that double he thinks the best thing he can do is occupy the gap while working across Henderson to close the B gap forming behind him.

This would be some great defense if it was Duo. That DE is feeling super proud at this moment I bet. He has the C gap between Henderson and Barner controlled, and he's winning the B gap between Henderson and Keegan as well. And with the linebackers crashing down to fill those gaps this Duo should be good and stuffed.

The point is our DT is fighting to get to the wrong side of Henderson. Henderson just has to let him. If the linebacker figures out what's up, Barner should be able to come off and seal him. After all, the linebackers are obsessing over inside gaps—it's not dangerous to let the outside guy release.

Barner didn't release. He just kept blocking down and blocking down. The MLB saw Henderson as the main threat and slammed into him.

The other thing I want to point out here is the strong safety, who filled the gap behind Barner. Remember how nosy DBs were one of the issues with the run game earlier? The Harbaugh response to that is to turn those DBs into true run defenders. If you wanna play the game, we'll give you a tight end. Step right up and play the game, or in this case, eat Potato man; you're now the inside of the gap.

We said the DTs were hard nodes; a safety is not, and Bredeson widens the kickout to make a nice lane. As Wilson and Corum approach it, it starts to dawn on Casey at the bottom that he maybe shouldn't completely bury himself in Nugent. He abandons the backside B gap and starts to work his way back. The safety is not built for this. The DE is still fighting to get himself washed away from the play.

The WLB, Casey, is able to track this down from behind after just a decent gain. But had he been stuck on the blocking—say, if Keegan had been able to release after his DT crossed his face, the WLB wouldn't have an angle to get back. Space Coyote did a nice breakdown of it just over a year ago when Michigan brought it out against Maryland that showed the efficacy of these vertical blocks.

Michigan ran windback again after the jet sweep got Corum down to the redzone. This time the windback was Bredeson. Case again made the stop, though not before Corum got a head of steam against a cornerback and gained most of the distance to the goal line.

If you're grading this, watch the blockdowns from Loveland and Barner on the top and notice how much they move their respective guys. Loveland blocked down instead of kicking out (like Bredeson) on the play we drew up.

Michigan ran this or things like it (like power where the backside guard is the windback) a few more times on the first drive of the second half. And Indiana learned their lesson. Because the next Michigan went to run Duo, rather than putting their hard nodes on the inside, IU had the DTs slanting frontside, and the linebackers picking sides.