Breaking Down Nebraska’s Interior Simulated Pressures
Nebraska's defense in 2024 was about as multiple as it gets. They mixed odd and even fronts, rotated through different personnel groupings, and even incorporated three-high safety looks to keep offenses guessing. But one of the most impressive aspects of their scheme was how they affected the quarterback with a four-man rush, whether through a straight rush, a creeper, or a simulated pressure.
In this article, we’ll break down two of Nebraska’s interior simulated pressures and how they used them to disrupt opposing offenses.
Before we dive in, I’ll be using the terminology from my own defensive system to describe these pressures. Every coach has different verbiage for their schemes, so this isn’t meant to be the definitive naming convention, just the language I use. In our system, we use quarterback names for all of our simulated pressures.
Manning
The first interior simulated pressure we’ll cover is what I call “Manning”. Many coaches refer to this path as "Bears," and if you’ve spent any time in the football Twitter community, you’ve probably come across the term "Bears 1 Rat." There’s a reason for that—it’s an effective, low-cost interior pressure that creates problems for the offense without requiring extra blitzers.
Below is an example of how Nebraska used this pressure against UCLA.
In this case, Nebraska runs the Manning path with 1 Rat behind it. Since the running back blocks the outside linebacker responsible for him, the Rat defender becomes the extra player for the quarterback.
If you want to add an extra layer to this pressure, you can coach that player to “hug rush” or “green dog” the back. When the back stays in to block, he should add onto the pressure, creating an extra rusher and forcing the quarterback to speed up his process. This concept is shown in the diagram below.
Here’s another example of Nebraska running Manning, this time against a screen by UNI.
This is a great example of why simulated pressures are safer against screens. With two droppers in coverage, they can quickly redirect and rally to the ball, especially against an empty look.
Mahomes
The next simulated pressure we call “Mahomes”. This is another interior pressure, typically from an even front, but this time both interior backers are blitzing while the defensive ends or outside backers drop into coverage.
In the diagram below, we show it from a mugged look, but it can be run from various alignments.
Additionally, these pressures can be paired with any coverage. In the example below, Nebraska runs the Mahomes path with Cover 3 behind it.
Conclusion
Nebraska’s defense was versatile in 2024 and did a great job incorporating simulated pressures into their game plan. By generating pressure with four rushers instead of five or six, they were able to drop seven defenders into coverage, creating a more sound pass defense.
For defensive coordinators who may not feel comfortable running Cover 0 or other heavy blitz coverages, simulated pressures provide a way to affect the quarterback without sacrificing coverage integrity. If we can consistently pressure the quarterback with four, we give ourselves a better chance to hold up on the back end.
Additionally, both of these simulated pressures attack the A-gaps, forcing the quarterback to flush from the pocket and make a throw on the run, an advantage that typically favors the defense.
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