Playbooks

Playbook

Fix Defense

OtherDefense

7Formations

14Sets

174Plays

Overview

Fix Defense is a 174 play defensive specialty playbook that refuses to abandon base personnel. A full 33 percent of the book (57 plays across 5 sets) lives in 4-3, which is a heavier base commitment than most defensive specialty books carry, and it means you can play early downs in true Base 4-3 personnel with your best run fits on the field instead of subbing down to five defensive backs by default. Nickel adds another 48 plays (28 percent) across 3 sets in Nickel 4-2-5, so two thirds of the playbook is concentrated in the two fronts you actually want on first and second down. The coverage menu behind those fronts is deliberately man heavy: Cover 1, Cover 1 Hole, Cover 1 Robber, Press Man and straight Man Coverage, backed by Line Stunt pressure looks like Corner Blitz 2 and 3 Deep Blitz.

The back end of the book is where it gets interesting. Dollar carries 27 plays (16 percent) out of a single set, Dime adds 18 plays (10 percent) in Dime 4-1-6, and Big Dime 3-2-6 and Big Quarter 3-1-7 personnel show up for the genuinely desperate down and distance situations. You get Cover 2, Cover 4 Quarters, Cover 3, Tampa 2 and split safety shells like 2 Invert Hard Flat, 3 Double Buzz and 60 Half Out to pair against man pressure. The two rarest formations are the specialty tools: 46 with 6 plays in 6-2-3 personnel for short yardage run stuffing, and Prevent with 6 plays for end of half and end of game clock kills. Goal Line Defense fills in 12 plays across 2 sets.

Choosing Fix Defense over a nickel or dime weighted book buys you a real base down defense. The 5 set spread in 4-3 gives you more front variety than a book that dumps everything into one or two 4-3 sets, and the 46 plus Goal Line Defense pairing means you never have to call a nickel run stop at the one yard line. The tradeoff is that the third down heavy packages are shallow in set count (Dollar and Dime each run out of exactly one set), so your obvious passing down looks come from a narrow menu that a reading opponent will start to recognize.

Scheme Fit

Fix Defense wants sticky press man corners with high man coverage and press ratings, because Cover 1, Cover 1 Robber and Press Man make up the spine of the book and none of those calls survive corners who lose at the line. You also need two interior defensive linemen with real block shedding and a middle linebacker who can handle Base 4-3 run fits solo, since the 4-3 heavy spread keeps seven in the box far more than a nickel weighted book would, plus at least one rangy safety you trust as a user controlled deep defender for the Dollar, Dime and Prevent shells. This is the playbook for the player who prefers to win first and second down with base personnel and man pressure rather than sit in sub package zone all game, and who is comfortable calling from a narrow third down menu.

Example Plays from this Playbook

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Strengths

The 33 percent 4-3 concentration across 5 sets gives you a genuine early down identity, so you can sit in Base 4-3 personnel against heavy sets and use line shifts and pinches to stuff inside runs without giving up a defensive back to the sub package.
Two thirds of the book (4-3 plus Nickel, 105 plays) fits inside one audible package, so you can flip between Base 4-3 and Nickel 4-2-5 calls with the same pre-snap habits: same press hot routes, same user assignment, same shift keys.
The man coverage depth is unusually complete for a defensive specialty book: Cover 1, Cover 1 Hole, Cover 1 Robber and Press Man all live here, which lets you disguise the same look four different ways by moving the hole player or robber presnap instead of changing the shell.
Rare formation coverage at both extremes. 46 (6 plays, 6-2-3 personnel) handles short yardage and goal line run threats while Prevent (6 plays) shuts off the deep sideline on end of half two minute drills. Most defensive books make you improvise one or the other.
Big Dime 3-2-6 and Big Quarter 3-1-7 personnel behind Dollar and Dime lets you drop to seven defensive backs with Cover 4 Quarters and Tampa 2 without leaving the playbook, and user controlling a deep safety from those shells covers the sideline throws that Cover 1 gives up.

Weaknesses

Dollar (27 plays) and Dime (18 plays) each come out of exactly one set, so every obvious passing down call you own comes from a single alignment. An opponent who sees Dollar twice knows your third and long tendency and can motion to find the rotation.
At 174 plays this is smaller than three quarters of the game's defensive specialty books, and the shortfall lands on the sub packages rather than the base fronts, which is the opposite of where most competitive play happens.
The heavy Cover 1 and Press Man lean means mesh, drive and pick concepts out of tight formations get free rubs, and there is no deep safety help underneath it unless you specifically call Cover 1 Hole or Cover 1 Robber.
Only 6 Prevent plays, so your end of game deep shell is essentially one look. Opponents late in the half will attack the intermediate seams underneath it because there is nothing else to rotate to.
Goal Line Defense sits at 12 plays across 2 sets, which is thin for handling both power run and goal line fade packages. Play action rollouts at the two yard line will pull your user defender out of position with limited alternative calls.

Usage Tips

Build your primary audible package inside 4-3 since it owns 33 percent of the book across 5 sets. Live there on first and second down against two back and heavy sets, and use line shifts plus a pinch to control the inside runs before the snap.

Put Nickel 4-2-5 in the same audible group as your 4-3 calls. Its 3 sets and 48 plays are your second and medium answer, and Corner Blitz 2 from a Line Stunt front is your pressure call when the offense shows three receivers and you want to stay under five defensive backs.

Save Dollar and Dime for third and 8 or longer only. Both come from one set apiece, so mixing 2 Invert Hard Flat, 3 Double Buzz and Tampa 2 out of the same alignment is the only way to keep the look from being readable. Rotate which safety you user control between calls.

Call 46 in 6-2-3 personnel on third and 1, fourth and 1 and goal line run downs before you reach for Goal Line Defense. With only 6 plays there, use it as a run stuff call and not a coverage call, because the back seven is not built to handle a play action rollout from that front.

Use the 6 Prevent plays strictly for end of half and end of game with a two score lead, and user control the deep middle defender to squeeze the seam that the shell leaves open underneath.