- The Zone Blitz
- The West Coast Offense
- The 4-3 defense
- The Shotgun
- The 46 Defense
- The No Huddle Offense
- The 3-4 Defense
- The Run 'N Shoot Offense
- The Tampa 2
- The Wildcat Offense
So, here we have a laundry list of all the things we see on any given Sunday these days. As always I have a couple little quibbles with this ranking:
- The 4-3 and the Tamp 2 are almost the same thing. The only minor adjustment is that you drop two DBs deep to ensure nobody gets behind you, and the MLB drops back and guards the middle zone of the field.
- The Tamp 2 should be called the Steel Curtain defense. It was invented by Chuck Knoll. Tony Dungy learned it when he joined the Steelers in 1978. Dungy himself has always credited the Steelers & Knoll with inventing the scheme.
- The 46 Defense is almost the same thing as the 4-3 defense. You merely adjust the lineup of the defensive linemen, and shift the Will and Sam linebackers over to one side.
- The 46 Defense can't really be considered an innovation because it was more a crew of men in Chicago than a working scheme. It is said that Buddy Ryan was able to implement this scheme in Philly and Arizona. I deny that. The Philly defense was different in every respect. It was a 3-4 defense. The Arizona Cardinals never got that defense right at all. Ergo, you do not have an organized system of defense that is repeatable.
- The 46 has not stood the test of time at all. Nobody plays this scheme anymore. As the documentary said, a certain dude named Joe Gibbs figured out how to block the thing. Also it did match well against the Run 'N Shoot at all. For those foolish enough to play 4 wide against the 46, touchdowns flowed quick and easy. You just needed a rugged QB who could take a hit.
Finally, I have to take serious issue with making the Zone Blitz the #1 innovation of all time. That's just one of those bizzaro things that make you ask "What the hell were they thinking?" Yes, it is a nice piece of trickeration. Yes, it is a recent innovation. Yes, it does mess with QBs big time.
No, the big Harrison play in the Super Bowl was not a Zone Blitz. James Harrison is an outside linebacker. It is not unusual for one of these guys to fake the blitz and drop back into coverage. I have seen this every year since 1979. If Harrison were a nose tackle pulling off the center of the line, and then made the big interception, that would have been the Zone Blitz. This is not what happened.
I am absolutely fucking amazed that the guys at NFL Films and the NFL Network promoted this play as the ultimate example of the Zone Blitz? What the fuck? Didn't you guys realize that this was a mistake?
Please, please, please don't try to tell me that this is the #1 innovation of all time because it won SB XLIII. You know that just isn't true. If the real motive is to get Dick LeBeau into the Hall of Fame, I am all in favor of it. Still, let's not make factually false statements to get him there.
One other comment: I really enjoyed the diagrams and the explanations. More please. More detail please. Diagram the plays for these schemes. Show us the common plays. You should have shown the people how the 49er triangle pattern works.
