What is the difference between a stunt and a blitz

To create a good blitz, a team brings more rushers than there are blockers or they have a player assigned to multiple blockers to allow a blitzer to run free. Blitzes are risky because teams would be taking players out of coverage to bring more players to rush the passer.

There has to be a healthy balance of playing coverage and bringing the blitz. Stunts are a little different. To keep it simple, a stunt is when someone in the front seven Defensive Linemen and Linebackers switches gap responsibilities. For example, if a Defensive Tackle is responsible for the A-gap and the end is responsible for the C-gap, they switch; the end would take on the A-gap and the tackle would take the C-gap.

There are times when there are more than just two players involved in a stunt. The concept stays the same just with more moving parts. Email Address. With a stunt, teams are hoping to confuse offensive linemen on what their assignment is. Moving and looping players around makes it harder for the offensive linemen to figure out who they have to block.

Two things have to happen in order to have a successful stunt. After that happens, the other player involved will loop around and find the opening to get to the QB. A stunt is essentially any change in the path linebackers and other defensive players take to reach the quarterback, and is often accompanied by feints or lateral movement to different gaps prior to the snap.

One popular stunt known as "cross-rushing" involves two linebackers who literally cross each other's path on their way to the quarterback. Stunts, while useful, can become predictable, and if used during a running play can lead to disastrous results for the defensive team. If an overhang defender blitzes, then a deep safety would have to replace them and cover a slot receiver or tight end, so they would usually have to line up right over them and closer to the box than usual.

The Green Bay Packers are lined up with an empty backfield and twins to top of the screen. The defense lines up with a linebacker apexing the slot. The deep safety to that side lines up directly over the top of the slot but tries not give away what his coverage responsibility by trying to walk around.

However, he cannot stray too far from the slot because he has to cover him. Rodgers recognizes the blitz and throws hot to the slot, who drops the ball unfortunately. Also, notice how the deep safety is aligned to the trips side on this play:.

He is about 4 yards inside of the 2 receiver and 15 yards away from the line of scrimmage. The safety is lined up directly over the 2 WR even with an overhang defender lined up like he is going to bump 2 WR. This is a clear indicator that something is going on. The nickel corner blitzes and Rodgers wants to throw hot to that direction, but the deep safety did a good job of covering the slot.

The defense did a good job of bluffing a blitz too. Linebacker, Sean Lee , came up to the line like he was going to blitz, but when the ball was snapped, he ran back and covered the 3 receiver.

So how could quarterbacks tell if a defense is disguising and bluffing their blitzes?