Broncos' Wade Phillips Among Most Creative Defensive Playcallers

We looked last week at the NFL's most creative playcallers on offense. Game plans, matchups and window dressing -- that's the name of the game on that side of the ball. Now, let's flip over to the defense and break down five coaches (in no particular order) who get the most out of their personnel using disguise, coverage and pressure. From Wade Phillips to Gregg Williams, here's how the most creative defensive playcallers produce results.

Wade Phillips, Denver Broncos

There are plenty of tapes we can look at to dissect the brilliance of Phillips as a playcaller. Versatile with his game plans, he will bring the heat, play coverage (zone, man, combination looks) or use a variety of defensive line stunts. But Phillips can also keep it simple, make a few minor adjustments and play the matchups.

Take the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers. This wasn't an exotic game plan from Phillips. Instead, it was more about playing with technique while adding a few wrinkles to limit the Panthers and quarterback Cam Newton. We all know the Broncos had the advantage on the edge (Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware) when they got off the bus at the stadium. Speed wins. All day. And I'll take those Denver cornerbacks (Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr., Bradley Roby) every time, too.

However, the small adjustments Phillips made still stand out. Whether that was using Miller (at times) as a spy versus Newton or the decision to "add" the safeties to apply pressure. The result? More man-to-man coverage. More matchups that favored the Broncos at all three levels.

Check out this example from that Super Bowl matchup. Again, it's simple -- with some wrinkles tossed in. Man coverage with a linebacker disrupting the release of tight end Greg Olsen and two safeties adding to the front.

With the Broncos playing man-free, or Cover 1, Phillips brings six defensive backs onto the field and walks his safeties down in coverage versus the running back and tight end. This allows both Darian Stewart and T.J. Ward to "add" -- or use a "green dog" technique. What does that mean? In short, if the guy they're covering blocks, they attack to the coverage and enter the front as extra defenders. Plus, with linebacker Danny Trevathan jamming Olsen, and then also adding to the front, Phillips can play man coverage (with a safety over the top) while rushing six defenders.