Three Receivers lined up to one side of the Formation, three more Receivers on the other side.
Our American football counterparts have never had to deal with this.
Some initial thoughts on defending 33 Empty.
What is 33 Empty?
As stated above, this is a Formation with six Receivers — three on each side — and no Running Backs in the backfield.
Clearly, there’s a suggestion that this will be a Passing Play. But if the Offence also has a mobile QB to take the snap, things get very interesting.
To Check or not to Check?
How often do you expect to see this Formation?
If it’s a rarity, you can pick one specific Check and live with it. That way, every time you see this Formation, you will Check to that call. The danger here is that if your opponent decides to give you a heavy dose of Empty, you become predictable.
On the other end of the spectrum, you can work to make sure every one of your calls is sound against 33 Empty. This can take up a lot of practice time, and might never get used in a game.
These are the two extreme options. You might want to land somewhere in the middle when it comes to your 33 Empty plan.
Math
As with most things in football, it comes down to the math.
If you need to be “light” somewhere, a common approach here is to be light in the Box (unless, again, the QB is a significant run threat).
A typical approach to your alignment, if you’re using a 4-Down Front, could look like this:
In the above image, all eligibles are Covered Down and you still get a Single High Safety. You could clearly play Cover 1 Man-to-Man with this alignment, and you would still have a Hole player in the Mike LB.
You could also get to your Zone Coverages quite easily with this look.
The challenge with this approach is that you only have five left in the Box. The Offensive Linemen could go one-for-one, and the Quarterback might be able to run the ball on you.
If you’re worried about this, you could always get to a Cover 0 look and keep six in the Box:
This clearly limits your Coverage options, but you have your hats back in the Box.
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Pressure?
A common tactic versus Empty is to send the house.
The Offence only has five blockers, so if you Blitz six you’re sure to get home. This leaves you with only six in Coverage, however, so you need to be sharp with your pressure plan.
You can make some big plays with this strategy, but one missed tackle could mean six points for your opponent.
Coverage?
If you don’t want to send pressure, another option would be to go into max Coverage.
This is a great option if your opponent is substituting personnel to get to 6R. If they are taking the RB off the field and bringing in an extra Receiver, you could match this by subbing out a Defensive Lineman in favour of an extra DB.
This opens up numerous options for you when it comes to your alignment and Coverage schemes.
Final Thoughts
Defending 33 Empty can be an exciting challenge, and is only possible in Canadian football.
Another reason ours is the best game in the world!
All the best,
Jon Svec
Defensive Coordinator
St. Francis Xavier University
X-Men Football
IG: @jonsvecx
Twitter: @jonsvecx
Jon Svec is the author of the e-book Canadian Football Chalk Talk: Defensive Basics.