Bump and run coverage: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 03:36, 10 April 2025

Revision as of 03:37, 10 April 2025

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{{Short description|Strategy in American football}}{{Original research|date=December 2019}}

'''Bump and run coverage''' is a strategy formerly widely used by [[defensive back]]s in [[NFL|American professional football]] in which a defender lined up directly in front of a [[wide receiver]] and tried to impede him with arms, hands, or entire body and disrupt his intended route. This originated in the [[American Football League]] in the 1960s, one of whose earliest experts was [[Willie Brown (American football)|Willie Brown]] of the [[Oakland Raiders]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=STRAUB |first=LUKE |date=2018-01-09 |title=Raiders' legend Willie Brown recalls glory days |url=https://www.petaluma360.com/article/sports/raiders-legend-willie-brown-recalls-glory-days/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=Petaluma Argus-Courier |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-22 |title=Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown dies at age 78 |url=https://apnews.com/article/c7f5fcdc45124731b8d9d8296a0ba1f8 |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> Brown was a rookie with the [[Denver Broncos]] in 1963, and played there through 1966.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Willie Brown Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrowWi01.htm |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> [[Jack Faulkner]] was head coach for the Broncos from 1962-64.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack Faulkner {{!}} Pro Football History.com |url=https://pro-football-history.com/coach/122/jack-faulkner-bio |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=pro-football-history.com}}</ref> While Faulkner was the [[Los Angeles Rams]] defensive backfield coach in 1958, the team tried out future [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer]] [[K.C. Jones|K. C. Jones]] as a defensive back. Using his style as a basketball defender, Jones would cover receivers at the [[line of scrimmage]] and hand check them as they ran down the field. Jones decided on a basketball career, but Faulkner took the knowledge of what he had scene, which came to be known as the bump and run, with him when he became an AFL defensive backs coach with the Los Angeles Chargers; and then to Denver, where Willie Brown became a pro player.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 21, 2017 |title=Bump and run, or just boxing out? K.C. Jones left impact on NFL {{!}} Pro Football Hall of Fame |url=https://www.profootballhof.com/blogs/2017/11/blogs-stories-from-the-pro-football-hall-of-fame-archives-bump-and-run-or-just-boxing-out-kc-jones/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=pfhof |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1963 Denver Broncos Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/den/1963.htm |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

On the other hand NFL defensive back [[Pat Fischer]], who is closely associated with the bump and run, believes that cornerback [[Abe Woodson]] (who taught Fischer the technique when they both played for the [[St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)|St. Louis Cardinals]]) originated the bump and run while playing for the [[San Francisco 49ers]] in the late 1950s and early 1960s.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Leonard |date=October 9, 2024 |title=Undersized cornerback was a fierce competitor |work=Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pat Fischer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FiscPa00.htm |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Dan |date=January 12, 2015 |title=Scot McCloughan’s dad, Pat Fischer, and the birth of bump-and-run coverage |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA397114533&sid=sitemap&v=2.1&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E352b4022&aty=open-web-entry |work=Washington Post}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Turney |first=John |date=2024-09-24 |title=State Your Case: Abe Woodson, 'The Willie Mays of Football' |url=https://talkoffametwo.com/state-your-case/state-your-case-abe-woodson |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Talk of Fame |language=en}}</ref> [[Mel Blount]] of the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] specialized in this coverage to such a point as to cause numerous rule changes (see below) strictly limiting when and where a defender may make contact with a potential receiver in order to make it easier for receivers to run their routes and increase scoring.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mel Blount, NFL 100 |url=https://www.nfl.com/100/originals/100-greatest/game-changers-46 |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=NFL.com |language=en-US}}</ref>