Why the Flyover defense is taking over football

The "Flyover" 3-3-5 defense has taken over the Big 12 but as it spreads in popularity, it becomes increasingly more varied with a more northern style and a newer southern style.

I’ve broken down the “Flyover” style of 3-3-5 defenses a few times already on this blog. First in describing Matt Campbell’s (Jon Heacock’s) development of the package at Iowa State as a solution for handling spread stress in the Big 12.

Space Wars II: Matt Campbell's defense in depth

Secondly when breaking down the TCU version which propelled them to the National Championship game.

TCUs Flyover defense

The common theme to either is utilizing a “defense in depth” style which is simply a good strategy in general. It’s hard to break through a Flyover defense and land big shots without terrific misdirection or high level, methodical execution.

Moreover, the different alignment of the scheme creates different positions for the game of football. In some ways it actually ushers in a return for some older styles of player while erasing some mainstays of the modern game. The flexible, in depth nature of it also allows a team to go a few different directions in determining what personnel to emphasize. The Iowa State version in practice is actually quite different from the TCU version, mainly because the players are different.

These two different styles and the mainstays of the scheme are leading to increased variety, which is turning it into an adaptive trait more and more teams will embrace in the future.