The Eat The Captain Defense isn’t just about crazy blitzes and weird alignments, it’s so much more.
This defense isn’t just an exotic package, but it’s a complete scheme with tremendous attention to detail and intent.
Today we’re going to talk about one of coach Holley’s rules that is a foundational key to success for this one-of-a-kind defensive scheme.
Coach Holley discusses this rule in more detail in: The Eat the Captain Defense – The Complete Series.
The 2.5 Second Rule
Everything that the defense does in this scheme is based on extensive film study and formational ID based on what the offense is doing.
Coach Holley explains it like this: The 2.5 second rule says that every play takes between 2.5 and 3 seconds to develop. Whether that’s 2.5 seconds for the ball to reach the line of scrimmage in the run game, or 2.5 seconds for the ball to leave the QB’s hands in the pass game.
This rule allows the defense to take what the offense is trying to do, and flip it on them, allowing them to completely control the line of scrimmage.
Some plays may be faster, like FB trap from the Wing-T or Midline from the under-center Flexbone, but this applies to almost every other play.
What this allows coach Holley to do with his defense, is to ask his defensive lineman to pressure the point of the line for the entire duration of time that it takes for the offense to set up their play.
Coach Holley loves to tell his guys that “pressure bursts pipes”, and by utilizing the aiming points of the blitzes in this scheme, defenders will find themselves 5 yards deep into the backfield in under 2 seconds, completely unraveling what the offense is trying to do.
The more frequently and consistently you can get your guys to accomplish this in-game, the more frustrated the offense will become as they find themselves with no answers for what you’re doing!
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