Jim Johnson Perfected the Zone Blitz
by Krishna Andavolu
JULY 29, 2009 TAGS:
As the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles for the last ten years Jim Johnson made his opponents nervous. He kept them on their heels with an aggressive defensive philosophy that helped guide the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance, multiple N.F.C. championship games and a reputation for well-orchestrated ferocity. Johnson died yesterday at the age of 68, six months after a recurrance of melanoma.
In the chess match that is NFL coaching, Johnson played like Russian grand master Gary Kasparov, who used varied and unpredictable defenses to surprise and provoke his opponent into mistakes. Mistakes that offered opportunities to go on the offensive.
But rather than using the Sicilian defense like Kasparov, Johnson’s specialized in zone blitz packages, deploying confusing arrays of attacking linebackers, who would try to penetrate the offensive line or drop back into coverage in unpredictable patterns.
The tactic produced results: befuddled offensive linemen would fail to block linebackers rushing in unexpectedly (the Eagles had the most sacks in NFL over Johnson’s 10 years), and pressured quarterbacks would miss opportunities down field or mistakenly read the coverage, resulting in poorly thrown passes.
The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes former Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent:
"Think about what you'd hear from Troy Aikman every time you'd turn on an Eagles game," Vincent said before going into an impersonation of the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current Fox color analyst. " 'You better believe this defensive coordinator is going to bring the heat. This quarterback will see pressure. This young quarterback will be tested and if shows any signs of weakness he will be in trouble against this Jim Johnson defense.' "
The zone blitz also had the subsidiary effect of clogging running lanes at inopportune times and breaking up offensive rhythm. But mostly, it showcased the athleticism and skill of each individual player, especially that of the safety. Under Johnson’s system, Brian Dawkins, an explosively powerful and fast safety became less of a stop gap player, a last resort (as the safety is used in traditional defenses) and more of an marauder, stalking the secondary with larcenous intent.
Johnson’s system wasn’t perfect, and an extremely talented quarterback working in a system of quick routes run by great receivers can break it. In Super Bowl XXXIX, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots beat the Eagles by finding the soft spots left by Johnson’s blitzing linebackers. The Patriot’s eel-slick, undersized receiver Wes Welker converted key third downs by slipping into areas of the field vacated by linebackers and Brady’s pinpoint accuracy delivered the ball right to him, even while under heavy duress by the Eagles’ pass rush.
But against less talented QB’s faced with adverse weather conditions, the constant pressure can stifle drives before they get going. Take last season’s N.F.C. Divisional playoff game against the New York Giants, who were the top seeds in the conference. The Eagles stopped Eli Manning and the Giants on multiple 3rd down situations by effective mix of blitzes. The Giants never scored a touchdown and had to settle for multiple field goals on their way to losing at home 23-11 to the underdog Eagles.
Even though Johnson’s system never won a Super Bowl, he forever changed the philosophy of defense: keep them guessing, make them uncomfortable and take advantage of their mistakes.
--
From NFL.com, a breakdown of Johnson's Zone Blitz as witnessed during week 3 of the 2008-2009 season, when the Eagles sacked the Pittsburg QB Ben Roethlisberger
In the chess match that is NFL coaching, Johnson played like Russian grand master Gary Kasparov, who used varied and unpredictable defenses to surprise and provoke his opponent into mistakes. Mistakes that offered opportunities to go on the offensive.But rather than using the Sicilian defense like Kasparov, Johnson’s specialized in zone blitz packages, deploying confusing arrays of attacking linebackers, who would try to penetrate the offensive line or drop back into coverage in unpredictable patterns.
The tactic produced results: befuddled offensive linemen would fail to block linebackers rushing in unexpectedly (the Eagles had the most sacks in NFL over Johnson’s 10 years), and pressured quarterbacks would miss opportunities down field or mistakenly read the coverage, resulting in poorly thrown passes.
The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes former Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent:
"Think about what you'd hear from Troy Aikman every time you'd turn on an Eagles game," Vincent said before going into an impersonation of the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current Fox color analyst. " 'You better believe this defensive coordinator is going to bring the heat. This quarterback will see pressure. This young quarterback will be tested and if shows any signs of weakness he will be in trouble against this Jim Johnson defense.' "
The zone blitz also had the subsidiary effect of clogging running lanes at inopportune times and breaking up offensive rhythm. But mostly, it showcased the athleticism and skill of each individual player, especially that of the safety. Under Johnson’s system, Brian Dawkins, an explosively powerful and fast safety became less of a stop gap player, a last resort (as the safety is used in traditional defenses) and more of an marauder, stalking the secondary with larcenous intent.
Johnson’s system wasn’t perfect, and an extremely talented quarterback working in a system of quick routes run by great receivers can break it. In Super Bowl XXXIX, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots beat the Eagles by finding the soft spots left by Johnson’s blitzing linebackers. The Patriot’s eel-slick, undersized receiver Wes Welker converted key third downs by slipping into areas of the field vacated by linebackers and Brady’s pinpoint accuracy delivered the ball right to him, even while under heavy duress by the Eagles’ pass rush.But against less talented QB’s faced with adverse weather conditions, the constant pressure can stifle drives before they get going. Take last season’s N.F.C. Divisional playoff game against the New York Giants, who were the top seeds in the conference. The Eagles stopped Eli Manning and the Giants on multiple 3rd down situations by effective mix of blitzes. The Giants never scored a touchdown and had to settle for multiple field goals on their way to losing at home 23-11 to the underdog Eagles.
Even though Johnson’s system never won a Super Bowl, he forever changed the philosophy of defense: keep them guessing, make them uncomfortable and take advantage of their mistakes.
--
From NFL.com, a breakdown of Johnson's Zone Blitz as witnessed during week 3 of the 2008-2009 season, when the Eagles sacked the Pittsburg QB Ben Roethlisberger
RELATED CONTENT
Latest News Delivered to Your Inbox - Sign up with our site and you will get the latest news about people and subjects that interest you.
