Pressure, pressure and more pressure up front and up the middle. Get the QB running for his life and the spread becomes much easier to defend against. Then when the QB is forced to take his dump off routes, solid tackling on the spot. The deeper routes never have a chance in this situation, and man to man is a heck of a lot easier to play, than it is when the QB is just sitting back waiting on the routes to develop. I know this is all easier said than done, but in the past when we have shut down spread teams, it wasn't because the QB had tons of time to throw.
All-American linebackers