Gus Bradley's Fronts and Stunts

2nd in a 4 part series priming Raiders fans for a new defensive coordinator.

In the first Gus Bradley primer, we went over Bradley’s cover 3 package and how it allows players to focus on the fundamentals of football and play fast. You can read it here.

Next up on the docket is an overview of Gus Bradley’s defensive structure in both base and nickel situations.

4-3 Personnel

Gus Bradley’s fame and fortune came while orchestrating the famed Seattle Legion of Boom defense. The NFL still used base personnel heavily at that point (4-3 or 3-4) and Bradley’s defenses, in conjunction with still Seattle Head Coach Pete Carroll did a masterful job blending the best of both worlds and aligning in a 4-3 Under front.

The 4-3 Under combines the personnel and alignment of a 3-4 defense (odd front) with the single gap principles and 4 man rush of a 4-3 defense (even front). This blend of philosophies allows Bradley’s defense to not rely on 6’5 260lb defensive ends (the good ones are hard to come by) instead using 6’2 250lb edge players (Sam and Leo) which is generally easier to find defenders who fit that profile.

Even though the NFL has shifted to heavier and heavier doses of Nickel personnel, Bradley will utilize the 4-3 Under base personnel front against run heavy teams on first downs and/or 3rd and short situations. The benefit of the Under Front to put it as simply as possible, is getting 5 men across the line of scrimmage.

The 5-Tech defensive end lines up on the outside shoulder of the tackle and is more of an interior defensive linemen against the run but will become an edge rusher against the pass. The 1-Tech Nose Guard lines up on outside shoulder of the center (to the TE side of the formation). Meanwhile the 3-Tech Defensive Tackle will line up opposite the TE and on the outside shoulder of the guard.

Look at the Sam and Leo positions in the picture above. The gap immediately inside of them is occupied by a defensive lineman. This means these positions (both players 6’2 ~250lbs) don’t need to squeeze the blocker down as much as they might be required to in an even front.

The Mike and Will Linebackers also receive the benefit of this alignment, as long as there is a stout nose guard (1 Tech) they will often be kept clean from guards getting to the second level, allowing them to flow to the ball carrier.

Take a look at this variation of the Under Front from Gus Bradley in 2020. The “G” means the nose guard will line up inside shade of the guard (2i technique, often called a “G Technique”) . Cheat means the strongside defensive end bumps over to a 7 Technique, inside of the TE.

The Strongside DE and the Nose Guard are the most important run stuffing players in the under front. These positions might not get tons of TFLs or Sacks (Joey Bosa is a different breed), but they do the dirty work on run downs, clogging lanes and drawing double teams to keep the linebackers clean. Whenever the Raiders are in the Under Front expect Clelin Ferrell and Jonathan Hankins to be at those positions controlling the line of scrimmage.

Nickel Fronts

If a defense is in Nickel that means they sub out their least effective coverage linebacker in favor of a cornerback to help defend the pass. With the number of defenders to stop the run dropping from 7 to 6 players (4 DL, 2 LBs) the math across the defensive front changes with it.

This is why the base Nickel package for NFL teams (whether they are Base 4-3 Under, 4-3 Over, or 3-4 Personnel) is to get into an even 4 man front when a 5th DB comes into the game.

Gus Bradley is no different in this respect and the vast majority of his Nickel defense is out of the Over Front. Now the 3 Technique goes to the side of the Y (Run Strength) and the Nose Guard goes away from the run strength. Bradley has a few different types of Over fronts he likes to call on gamedays but there are two he’ll use much more than all the other; Over Wide and Over Jet.

To the untrained eye these will look like the same exact call. In fact there is no difference in alignment between the two calls. The difference comes in what the defensive line is doing after the snap. In Over Wide, the Defensive Ends will get their hands on the blocker across from them and try to squeeze down the gaps. This is Gus Bradley’s preferred call on early downs when the offensive personnel calls for Nickel. Meanwhile Over Jet will see the Defensive Line get into a pass rush, disregarding the run and peeling their ears back.

Over Wide

Notice the defensive linemen don’t get immediately upfield, instead looking to control the blocker across from them. This is an effective strategy against the run game because it prevents offensive linemen from getting to the second level, and limits the size of the holes that open up.

But as you can see if it turns out to be a pass play and Over Wide is called, the defensive line has little chance of getting into an effective pass rush— because their first steps are lateral in order to make contact with the blocker.

Over Jet

Notice the difference in the “get-off” and path the defensive line, especially the defensive ends take when the call is Over Jet. If the 9 Technique defensive end has a TE in his face, he will explode off the ball and not make contact with that TE. This obviously helps get pressure on the QB because the defensive linemen aren’t reading run/pass. Jet means peel the ears back and get after the quarterback.

Of course, this approach could cause problems if the play turns out to be a run. Wide open holes for the running back to navigate will naturally open if the defensive line is only focusing on penetration. This is easily the most frequently dialed up front call for Gus Bradley’s defense in 2020…which might explain why so many teams were successful running the ball on him.

So what is the best call? That’s for Gus Bradley to decide through the ebb and flow of the game. But the benefit of this approach is he won’t ask his players to do both at the same time, instead he tells them exactly what to do (play the run or rush the passer—never both).

Often times we would see defensive linemen, like Maliek Collins for instance, unable to make an impact in Paul Guenther’s scheme. Part of it was because Guenther’s scheme calls for the defensive line to make the right run/pass read and play accordingly. Bradley will take this mental processing off his defensive lineman’s plate and put it all on himself. That way if the Raiders give up a big run play in Over Jet, he can say it was on him. Players respect coaches who do that.

Double Under

Every NFL defensive coordinator must come up with wrinkles in the structure of the defensive front 6 when playing Nickel in order to stop the run. Some teams use the “Bear” Front, many others will 2-gap DEs or DTs in order to “steal” a gap and to keep the Nickel out of the run fit.

Gus Bradley uses a less conventional method that has its roots in High School football. I could not find terminology for this across any Seahawks or Jaguars defensive playbooks that I have access to. Neither is it present in the Monte Kiffin Defensive Line Manual (Bradley got his NFL start in coaching in Tampa Bay under Gruden and Kiffin). So I am taking some liberties here naming it the “double under” front.

The Double Under lines up both DTs in the A-Gaps and the DEs in the C-Gaps. The point of this front is the create havoc in most conventional blocking schemes since it is unusual for both A-Gaps to be covered on run downs.

The DT’s exact technique depends on the location of the back. If the RB is behind the QB, both DTs will have their hand nearest the center in the ground (1-Technique). If the Back is off-set to their side, they’ll have the hand nearest the guard in the ground (2i Technique). The DTs will read the Centers path. If the center steps to their side, they engage and try to create a pile. If the Center steps away from them then they will attempt to shoot into the backfield and beat the reach block from the guard.

“Fist” Adjustment vs 3x1

Perhaps an even more interesting wrinkle is the way this front will adjust when there are 3 receivers on one side of the formation. The Strong Safety in this call will always come down to the “Flex” Side of the formation (away from TE). Whenever he gets a “Trips” Call from the Linebackers, he will direct the DE on his side to line up in a 4i technique and become a B-Gap player and the SS will align on the line of scrimmage and become the C-Gap player.

The DE to the “Solid” Side of the formation (TE side) will bump one technique over from outside shade of the Tackle (5-Tech) to inside shade of the TE (7-Tech) and remains a C-Gap Player. The Linebackers will also cheat over to the run strength.

When I showed this front to several notable defensive football experts, most had never seen it before. Phrases like “Unique” or “Hybrid” were used to describe the “Fist” Adjustment. So Raiders fans should be happy to know Bradley is pushing the envelope when it comes to defensive scheme in the NFL. I’m willing to bet we will see this front against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens week 1.

Pass Rushing Fronts (Nickel and Dime)

Rushing the passer is the name of the game when it comes to defensive football. 3rd and Longs are the money down in the NFL, and it’s time for the defense to shine. The offensive playbook shrinks on 3rd and Long meanwhile the defensive playbook gets bigger and more exotic.

Bradley uses 3 primary fronts to rush the passer in obvious passing situations. These are pass rush ONLY fronts and stunts and used on 3rd and 7 plus (or maybe a 2nd and 15 against some pass heavy offenses).

Green Front

Green means two things for the defense.

1). The defensive tackles or sub rushers will align outside shade of the guards (3 Technique) and the Defensive Ends will line up wide outside the tackles (Loose 5).

2). It also means the DL has the freedom to call their own stunts or pass rush games. These stunts can be called by the defensive coordinator, but if Bradley doesn’t give them an explicit stunt to run, the DL can communicate pre-snap and decide to run any number of pass rush games when they are in the Green Front. Green = Green Light.

Exit/Tex Stunt

Tempe Stunt

Load Front

The Load Front is standard across the NFL, it puts 3 defensive pass rushers to one side of the formation and usually the best rusher opposite, forcing the offensive line to decide which way they will slant.

Like Green, many stunts are available from this front and often it will be paired with blitzes once Bradley figures out which way the offensive line likes to slide the protection. Load = Overload.

Odd Prowl Front

The Odd front is something Bradley can get into either out of Nickel or Dime personnel. The Prowler can be a DE, LB, or even a DB depending on the players who are in the game.

The Prowler’s job will change from game to game, and he is going to either be told exactly what to do by Bradley, or there will be instances where it will be up to him where he rushes. He needs to communicate with his fellow pass rushers his intentions before the snap if he wants to exchange pass rush lanes with another defender.

Conclusion

While Bradley’s base cover 3 package is relatively simple by NFL standards, his fronts on the other hand are not. Most of it is standard across the NFL but there’s a few wrinkles here and there that are unique to Bradley.

The bottom line is, whatever the situation calls for, Bradley has a method within his front 7 or 6 defenders to stop it without the solution getting too complicated on the backend. This is why getting veteran DEs and DTs was so important to Bradley while the front office was willing to wait for the draft to improve the secondary.