The Big Nickel defense is alive and well in New England.
When the two clash this Sunday in Super Bowl 52, one of two things are going to happen. If Philadelphia can manipulate the New England defense into falling for their run-pass option, the Eagles will dictate and win the time of possession battle and, most likely, their fist world championship - but if New England can properly defend the trendy offense known as the "RPO", they can win their sixth Lombardi Trophy.
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| Harrison could play a major role against the RPO |
Fortunately for the Patriots, their Big Nickel alignment provides for the proper personnel to minimize the effect of the option.
The run-pass option is to the Eagles like the play action is to the Patriots, only the run-pass option is designed to help methodically pick up first down after first down, and it is Philadelphia's bread and butter formation on offense, which they use on about forty percent of their snaps.
It is different from the boot option that Kansas City, Houston and Carolina hammered them with in the first quarter of the season. Both require the quarterback to make a quick decision as to whether to hand the ball off to a running back, but the boot option's only other option is for the quarterback to keep the ball, while the run-pass option adds the passing game element to further tax a defense.
In the boot option, more commonly referred to as the "read option", the quarterback reads whether a defensive end is going to break down the line of scrimmage to help stop the running back or if he is holding his ground to cut off an escape route for the quarterback. If the end breaks down the line, the quarterback will keep the ball and run off-tackle and if the end holds fast, the running back gets the ball.
Simple, right? Well the run-pass option is a bit more complicated in that the quarterback has to read the coverage on the slot receivers after the ball is snapped, put the ball in the running back's gut and if the coverage breaks on the slot's pattern, the quarterback then reads the defensive end and has the option of handing the ball off or keeping the ball and running up the middle...
...while if the coverage reduces down to help in run support, the quarterback will pull the ball from the back's gut and fire the ball to the slot receiver. In this formation, the Eagles gain close to five yards per play whether the ball goes in the air or to a back, and this is apparent in the fact that they possess the third-ranked rush offense in the league.
There are inherent risks in running the run-pass option, however, the most obvious is the quarterback being baited by the slot cover, who acts like he's reducing down for run support while the free safety breaks on the ball in coverage and has a decent chance of knocking the ball down or intercepting.
That's a lot of information to process in the space of a second-and-a-half, so the key to stopping the run-pass option is to disguise coverages to confuse the quarterback into making the wrong decision.
That's where the Big Nickel comes into play.
For the uninitiated, the Big Nickel is a defensive alignment that utilizes five defensive backs just as a standard nickel defense does, but instead of a cornerback replacing a linebacker as would happen in the standard version, an extra safety comes on instead, enabling two of the safeties to reduce down to help in run support and to man the double slot.
The Patriots are blessed with three starting-quality safeties that make the Big Nickel possible. Patrick Chung is a grizzled veteran who takes on tight ends and lends himself in run support in the box, Devin McCourty is a speedy ex-corner with exceptional cover skills to man the double slot and Duron Harmon may be the best single-high safety - or centerfielder - in the game.
So with Harmon playing over the top, the other two safeties can take on assignments closer to the line of scrimmage with confidence, while the cornerbacks man the wings outside of the numbers. As you can see from the graphic, Harmon (cf) plays the deep third of the field, while Chung (ss) reduces down and covers the tight end leaving McCourty (fs) to bracket the slot reciever with the strong side linebacker (slb).
The quarterback is now forced to make three reads. He needs to know if McCourty is running double with the cornerback on the outside wide receiver, and whether the strong side linebacker is playing the run or sticking on the receiver. The quarterback must also be aware of the weak side linebacker (wlb) coming off the edge and whether he is crashing down the line of scrimmage or coming after the quarterback.
The weak side has been manned lately by Pittsburgh Steelers' castoff James Harrison, but he has also shown his mettle in coverage on the strong side, particularly against the run pass option, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the nearly 40-year-old veteran play the majority of the defensive snaps against Philadelphia.
The Big Nickel raises the level of difficulty in successfully running the run-pass option to the point that the quarterback has to be so precise in his read that any false move or wrong decision could end in disaster, especially if he reads the free safety wrong and he undercuts the route, which would be a sure pick-six.
Of course, the Eagles could add the vertical element and use the run-pass option as a play action of sorts, hoping to freeze the free safety and leaving his top wide receiver with just one corner to beat - but that's where the centerfielder comes into play.
The Patriots could even opt for a "Giant Dime" coverage, meaning that the weak side linebacker comes out in favor of a cornerback, giving the Patriots three safeties and three corners - but no matter if it is a nickel or dime, the role of the defensive ends to get their hands in the air to distort the quarterback's view and to possibly knock down the ball at the line of scrimmage...
...while the nose tackle takes on the interior double team, allowing the middle linebacker to flow to the ball in the event that the quarterback chooses to hand the ball off. But the key to the entire alignment against the run-pass option play is for the guys up front to stay in their gaps and not allow any of the offensive linemen to gain the second level to interfere with the middle linebacker.
If that happens, a running play up the middle could go quite a distance, so it is imperative that the front line behemoths maintain gap discipline.
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