Using a spy is always an option for containing mobile quarterbacks. The problem with a spy is that you’re either taking a defender out of coverage or out of the pass rush.
Sometimes, that’s not a good option, especially if playing against a quarterback who can use his legs but predominantly plays from the pocket.
So what’s the best way to play defense against these quarterbacks and keep their legs from killing you without making it easier for them to throw from the pocket?
The Seahawks defense had a pretty good answer last season with their 4-man rush.
There were two key aspects to their approach. First, their pass rushers were conscious of not getting too far upfield, particularly on the edges. They rushed at the depth of the quarterback, helping to prevent the emergence of any escape lanes.
Second, they brought lots of stunts inside to create chaos in the middle, break down the O-line’s interior, and minimize the existence of any clean escape routes in front of the quarterback.
Let’s take a look at some examples below.
This first play comes from Seattle’s Week 9 win over the Commanders and is a perfect illustration of what I described above. This was a 4-man rush with a stunt in the middle and the edge rushers never getting past Jayden Daniels:
Of course this wasn’t a pass rush merely designed to contain Daniels and do nothing else. It was still meant to get to the quarterback.
Watch Leonard Williams (#99) deliver a powerful blow to the center, knocking him out of the middle. That allowed him to penetrate inside and get pressure on Daniels, who had nowhere to escape:
Take another look from the sideline angle to see the depth of those edge rushers:
You can see the Seahawks do the same thing against Kyler Murray on this sack:
Below is an example of another way that Seattle was able to get pressure inside and smother the quarterback.
This was a 3rd-and-9 against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars in Week 6. The Seahawks used a tilted front here with 3 down-linemen to the left of the center: