Double-A-Gap Pressure

Few defensive looks stress protection schemes like double-A-gap pressure fronts. That’s because the most dangerous pressure to an offense is the type that comes up the middle in the quarterback’s face. So the offense must protect the inside at all costs.

This makes the threat of pass rushers attacking both sides of the center such a problem. It forces the offense’s hand, makes the protection more predictable, and creates opportunities for the defense.

Mike Zimmer is considered by some to be the “Godfather” of double-A-gap pressure schemes. Below are a couple of great examples from his final season in Minnesota showing how these schemes can generate pressure.

On this first play, notice the linebackers aligned in the gaps on both sides of the center (the double-A-gap pressure look):

In response, the Bengals set their protection as illustrated below:

This was a five-man slide, allowing the offensive line to protect inside against the two linebackers in the A-gaps and prevent pressure up the middle (a common protection to combat this look). The problem was that this left Minnesota’s best pass rusher, defensive end Danielle Hunter, isolated on a tight end:

That’s obviously not an ideal matchup for the offense. However, you live with it in certain cases if the trade-off is protecting against immediate inside pressure.

But the Vikings wouldn’t be blitzing either of those A-gap linebackers. Instead, they dropped out and the defensive tackle to the left shifted inside right before the snap. This ended up being just a conventional four-man rush instead of a blitz. But since the Vikings shifted late before the snap, the Bengals didn’t have time to adjust their protection. They were stuck in the five-man slide.

That meant the Vikings were able to get their best pass rusher aligned in a 1-on-1 matchup against a tight end with just a 4-man rush. The result was a sack:

On this next example, Minnesota would adjust their blitz at the line based on the protection call by the offense.

Again, notice the double-A-gap look from the Vikings defense. Also notice the center pointing at the linebacker to his right: