A defensive coordinator is only as good as the answers they've practiced and prepared their players for. The moment an offense finds a weakness in your scheme, whether it's an unexpected look on 3rd and Medium, an unbalanced tackle-over to the boundary, or a +1 run scheme drawn up for the two-yard line, the game is compromised.
Young coordinators get exposed not because they were out-schemed for four quarters, but because they lacked a concrete plan for the handful of high-stakes, unscripted looks a veteran play caller was holding back.
To survive, your playbook can't just be a collection of your favorite pressures, it has to be a comprehensive toolbox with answers for all of the most critical situations in game. That's exactly what Coach Brett Hickman has built with his latest installment in the Blackout Defense System.
The Blackout Defense: Match Coverage & Situational Defense
- Part 1 - Combination Coverages & Rip/Liz Match
- Part 2 - Defending Empty, FIB, 2 Minute and End of Game Scenarios
- Part 3 - Nickel & Dime Personnel
- Part 4 - Goal Line & Red Zone Defense
- Part 5 - The Defensive Coordinator's Year Round Blueprint
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Part 1: Combination Coverages & Rip/Liz Match
Topics covered include:
- The TBS method (Travel, Bump, Spin) — how to handle ANY motion: travel in man, bump in split-field, spin in Cover 3.
- "Area" check — your one-word answer to bunch, stack, and condensed formations (the man-beaters that break most match teams).
- "Smoke" vs. "Flame" — your complete answer to 3x1, whether the trips are open or the tight end's attached (it's still "just 4 dots on the board").
- And more!
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Part 2: Defending Empty, FIB, 2 Minute and End of Game Scenarios
Topics covered include:
- The "Fist" check — your camp-rule answer to any 1x3 formation into the boundary, built right into your split-field coverage (no scrambling, no panic).
- The two non-negotiables in 2-minute defense: eliminate fatals (ball over your head / lost leverage) and limit explosives — and why the 12-yard middle completion won't kill you but the 17-yard hole shot will.
- The Spades / Blackjack / Hearts / King family — multiple 3-deep, 5-under disguises off one structure, all with 10 eyeballs on the QB.
- And more!
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Part 3: Nickel & Dime Personnel
Topics covered include:
- Four-bracket and outside-leverage Rip/Liz principles that turn a single dangerous slot into a covered slot — the calls reserved exclusively for nickel.
- The "first cousin" principle — dime replaces the wheel, nickel replaces the Joker, and the X's on the board just interchange. Same teaching, faster personnel.
- The true three-safety alignment that lets you play Tampa 2, rotated Cover 3, and man-free "rat/robber" coverages from one top-down presentation.
- And more!
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Part 4: Goal Line & Red Zone Defense
Topics covered include:
- The Double / Single / Triple call system — one word that tells your overhang and DBs exactly who has vertical, who has flat, and who gets to "just play football" in the box.
- When to get heavier (extra-tackle "12" sets where a TE is ineligible let you drop a DB and add a linebacker) — and the bind that creates if you're not careful.
- Why goal line gets knocked out on Monday — and the four questions you must answer first
- And more!
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Part 5: The Defensive Coordinator's Year Round Blueprint
Topics covered include:
- The three core tenets every off-season decision rolls back to ("If you do that, I don't care what you do, you've got a chance").
- The contingency-plan exercise every coordinator must run during spring ball
- The growth-rate reality: older guys improve ~1% if they're doing it right; young/redshirt guys can jump ~5% — so identify "the next guy" early.
- And more!
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