Spill and box
Spill it out vs keep it in
Two philosophies for the force defender: 'spill' means attack the outside shoulder and force the back wider toward the sideline (the box), while 'box' means keep outside leverage and keep the ball inside. Most modern defenses spill.
When it applies
Spill against stretch and outside zone; box against power and inside runs.
+ StrengthsSpill uses the sideline as a defender; box keeps everything in front of pursuit.
− Trade-offsSpill wrong and you open the cutback; box wrong and you give up the edge.
Filed under: Run fits and gap control