Playbooks
Landingzone Heavy Safety Kick Left is a designed safety kickoff formation used to pin the return unit and dictate field position rather than a standard offensive or defensive concept. This kick sends the coverage unit angling toward the left hash, loading up defenders on that side of the field to funnel the returner away from open grass and into a heavy pursuit lane. The primary read for the kicking team is contain discipline on the left edge first, then rally to the ball as the return develops, since the kick trajectory and hangtime dictate whether this becomes a directional pooch kick or a deep boundary kick.
Read the return team's blocking wall pre-snap, if they are stacking blockers to the right, this left directional kick immediately disrupts their leverage. Watch the returner's starting depth and lean, a returner cheating right pre-snap is vulnerable to this kick forcing him back toward traffic on the left. Post-kick, key your outside contain defenders first to prevent the returner from bouncing outside the numbers on the left sideline. If the return team shows a heavy up man blocker near the left hash pre-kick, expect an early crack block attempt, so keep your gunners disciplined and avoid overpursuing inside. This kick loses effectiveness against return units with a true speedster who can turn the corner before your coverage unit closes the left lane, so be ready to rally with safeties over the top.
Use this kick when you want to force the return man toward the numbers on the left side, especially against return units with a dominant right-side return lane blocking scheme.
Pair this with Landingzone Heavy Safety Kick Right in your kickoff sequencing so the opposing return team cannot key on a single direction snap to snap.
Take manual control of your outside left coverage defender immediately after the kick to squeeze the lane and prevent cutback lanes toward the middle.
This kick works best in low risk situations such as after a touchdown or field goal when you are comfortable trading hangtime for directional control instead of maximum distance.
Mix this in with Landingzone Safety Kick Left on drives where you want a shorter directional kick versus a heavier coverage look, keeping the return team guessing on your kickoff tendencies.