When studying an opponent it's important to understand how they will be blocking you, but many people don't know what to look at...especially in 3rd and long situations.
That's why I'll be detailing how to use film study to exploit an O-line's weakness when rushing 3 D-Linemen.
The typical 3 protections you will see against a 3 man rush are fan, full slide and kick protection.
Fan
In fan protection, the guards will "fan" out to the double the ends and will leave the nose 1 on 1 with the center.
Kick
In kick protection, the tackle to the side of the back will take on the DE 1 on 1 and the rest of the O-line will zone block to the opposite side.
Full slide protection
In full slide protection, the entire O-line will zone block away from the back and leave him 1 on 1 with the DE.
Now to exploit these protections you're going to want to find the 1 on 1 or the soft spot and for each of these protections...
Fan weaknesses
Because the guards are helping the tackles, the ends need to stay outside and rush the edges and the nose needs to win his 1 on 1. The key here is that the nose wins his 1 on 1 quickly and gets in front of the QB so he can't escape up the middle.
Kick weaknesses
For kick protection you want the DE to the back to counter inside and stay low, the opposite DE to rush the edge and stay high and the nose to overlap the countering DE. That way you can pressure the QB and contain him with only 3 people.
Full slide weaknesses
To defeat the full slide the end needs to win his 1 on 1 with the back. Plain and simple!
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-Craig over and out