winning defence

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Sports lllustrated

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tubaU D.f.N.

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FmlbaU--Co*hing

L Sporrsiltustnted

(Tide.

iE.)

I .

Titl€

ISBN 0-4J2,260361

pbt-)

l



COntentS

Introdrctrotr

1.

Compon€nts

of the l)ef€$ive Team

15

DdctrsivePooitiot|s

20

Down Lin€mcn 20

Lincbockers 2l

S€crndar/

22

2.Ihe Furdrm€rtda

25

D€fcnsivc

Kcys 25

Block Protcrtion

30

ProFr Anglc of

Pursuit 32

How ro Tacu€

33

How to R€.ovcra

Funble 38

3. Play ol

the Dorn Lln€men 4l

D.fddcr Pmt€ctsOn€Side

44

Fisht ThroughPr€€su.c

a5

Phy of th€ No€eGu&rd 46

Stunt

Chargcs 48

Pars-RushT€chniqu€

50

4. Pby of the

Lin€hockers 57

Stanc€

57

Kc''

5E

SruntChar&s

60

PaseD€fcft Rdpomibilitics

60

5,

Phy of the SecoDdrry

Men 67

Stmce 68



=f

=

=

=

=

:

:

:

=

=

=

:

:

:

Kcys

68

Zoft

Pals

D€fensc

70

Man-for-Man

Plss

Dcf€ns.

7l

Play of

thc

Foui-D.cP

S€condlry

72

Play of

thc

"Molst

r" S€condary

E3

6.

Defenstre

AliSnments

87

Adjustm€otsWithin thc 4_1 Alignmcnt

Adjustin.nts

vr'ithin th€

3_2

Sct

93

coal-Linc

D€fms€

96

"PreY€nt"

Mcmes

99

?,

The

Def€$iYe

Kicking

Gase

105

Kickotrs

106

DcfcndinS

hc

Punting

Gatnc

109

Field

Goah

rlE

Points

Aftet

Touchdof,

121

t.

Defen3iYe

Strtt€gY

123

lmportane

of

Point of

Er(chatr8e

124

Cr€aling

Ofr€nsiv€

rroN

125

Necdsityof AYoidinsBr€akas'av levs

How

to Crcate

a

Lory-Yardage

Situltion

Telrn

Stunls

126

9. Coordimt€d

Dete$lYe

Plrtr

135

CbmSinB

he

Al'gnmol

l4l

eajusiirry

rtre

ociensc

egarnst

M€n

r Motion

sd Fomttion

chlng.s

10. PreDaring

he

Gtme

Phn

147

AmlyzinS

ne OpPonetrfs

Runitg

G m'

147

Andyzins

tbe OpPonmfs

Pass

Otrens'

l'/t9

Adiustin;

he

Dcfcns.

ffer

he

Stan

ot lhc

Gane

l5O

Building

Motalc

151

U.

Prsc-tlce

Scheduletr

155

Wekly

Practic

Schedul6

l5E

PhysicdCoodilioning

l(o

GafleDaY

PrcParation

161

SurnDary

16l

r25

127

to

Wrlch

DefentlYe

Foolltrll

165

Defcnsive

ootbrll

on

T€lcvision

169

Worl|s

173

t42



Keys o Diagrams

Circles

epresnl

ollensiw

p

ayeB

circle w h closs

epresenlsrrecen€r

O

oFFENSE

o

@

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Introduction

ffi

H,::x"3,jff:l'i,':1",t.*1xl;:'"F*il.

nesota n the mid-1930s,and for

most

of the

yeals

I coachedat the University of OL4ahoma,

ootball

vas

a on€-platoon

game.

The same

players

werc

r€quired to

play

both ofense and defense.

In rccent yean, through rule changes, oot-

ball has b€come

a two-platoon

game

and, in rcal-

ity, a football team today

is

two sepaiate

eams:

One team

plays

only ofense,

the other

plays

only

defense.

Either

ofrensiveor

defensive

layers

may

make up the

personn€l

or

the

special eams, hose

units,

ofensive and defeNive, used

on kickofs,

punts,

extra

points

atld field

goals.)

This clear division ofa squad

nto

two

sepa-

rate teamshas

glven

fans

and spectatorsa

great€r

appreciation

of the

value

ard importance of

de-

fense.

An ofrensive eam rnay be

good

and

scor€

seadsof points, but if the opponentsscoremore

points,

the

inadequate defensive eam

has

been

responsible

or a loss.

Though the media and fans are begioning o

rccognize

great

defensive

players-men like Ron-

nie Lott, strong

safetyof the San Francisco

49ers,

and Lawrenc€Taylor,

linebackerofthe New York

Giants-the

fact

remains

that

ofensive

players

"lt

your

opponentdoes

not scor€,

you

cannot

ose."



t0

are

slill

considered

he

"shrs"

in both

college

nd

prolessional

oolball

-lnde€d'

ri:l*ln':litit,::

3il:.',,T'i':",''#*":lf:"':'

ll;

;::,,,}*it".i:-;.tttJ{i:",x

"''f

,,5qLi'ff

li:i*:ii*ff

:

}*-j'm';'i,i"

iil,:J"i'.{:{i:T:iftsir;"f

l

h"i"1"J}tJ}'l'lt,

l:

;l'*{*l*'nt

iT': :lliff

'

*'se

tatisrics'

f i;*;*ii[+*'iii*h+

't''i:'rr'

1. If your oPponent oesnot score'

you

cannot

ose

The

worst

you

can

uo

ttrlteTh"r"

-"

,r"o

*ays

in

which

an

ofrensive

eam

can

8et

he

ball:

when

ffi;ti.r#tF:ffi

f#f*r#il;ilTrrT"

;;i;;il;;;";"

"

winning

record

ro win'

a

team

must

set

possessron

oitl"

tul

uy

.topplng

ts

opPonent

nd

orcing

a

punt'

Eac

or

he

b

ee

hases

t

t:':Tli

litl""rXX

l3,?

f

fi

;f;o$.1:ilfi

;il1;ii{:i: liiiii:'tii$,:iiil",,,"",ion

ffmse

s

by

on,ras

l:;1il#]il..,.':1ffi;:J:""illiT;;";l.;;"",.-p,*i'a',dennedssign'

t*tln

d"f*".,

all

players

are

confionted

with

the

following

problems

ol

every

PlaY:

l.

where

to

line

up'

Sitce

'lifierent

offensive

ormations

have

dif€rent

ffi*qr'$jjkji-lifr

-:ili:n$riiiir"ffi

r:ili*$:



2

The defense

s

handicapped

t

the stat

of eoch

p'oJ'

The ofensive

team

tlo*s

when the

ball

will be snapped,

and

by

proper

execution

of

the starting

:cunt

it can beat

the defensive

eam to

the

punch. Thus,

when the

play

beglns,

rhe defensive

eam

is

momentarily

behind.

3. Offensi're

ldys are desiSned

o mislead

he

dqfet

e All ofthe

maneuvers

and

fakes

ofthe otrensive

eam are

executed

o

fool the defense

egarding

the

real Doint

of attack.

If a defensive

player is drawn

out of

position, even or a

splir

s€cond, he ofredsehas gain€danother great advantaSe'

To

summarizer

The

defensive

layer does

not know

)t'rere

he will line

up'

He will

be slightly

,ettind

at

the start

of every

play And after

sutendeing

rhese

wo

advintages,

he mtJst

Snore

he

okes

of the offense,

move

o the ba1l,

and

stop

the

play.

All

this requires

tremendous

athletic

ability'

By

way of

contrast,

the ofrensive

player knows before

the

play

begins:

1. Exactly

where

he

will line

uP

2. Exactly

when

the ball

wil

be sflapped

3.

Precisely

what

his assiSnment

will be

Thus,

the

ofensive

situation

requires

ittle

in the

way of

reaction

Given

averageability, a boy can be taught, through proper pmctice and repetltlve

ariil"ito

t" un

"f."tiue

offensive

player' Because

of the

difrcult

physical and

mental

reactions

hat

are necessary

o

play defense,

owever,

t is very difrcult

for

a boy

who

does

not

possessoutstanding

athletic

ability

to become

an

efective

defensive

Playel.

That

raises

nteresting

coaching

problems

How do

you

Place

your playe$

in Dosition?

who

will be

your

ofensive

inemen,

defensive

inemerL

inebackers'

off:ensive

acks,

wide

receivers

. ?

The

udgment

involved

in these

decisions

is most

dimcdt

for the

coach.

Because

f

the

glamour ofofrense,

he

natural

coaching

eaction

s to

plac€

the

b€st athletes

on;he

ofensive

unit

and then

piece

ogethel

the

def€nsive

nit

from

the

talent

that

remains

lf defense

s the

most

impoltant

phase of the

same.

houqh,and f it doeJ equiresup€noralhleticability thebeslathletes

ihould

beas'signed

o the

delensive

nir.

The

offensive

eam

would

consequently

be manned

by-the

most effective

athletes

emaining

after the

d€fensive

eam

has

teen set-with

ttre

exceptioo

of

one

position on offense,

quarterback' which

should

be filled

at

the start.

Physical

factors

are

vital

in the assignment

of

squad

members

o vanous

oositions.

he

question

arise(

as

to

whether

or

not speed

nd

quickness re

more

mportant

than

heiSht

and

weighl.

Generally'

t is

more mponant

on

I I



On defens€,

he

guid ing

rule

is: h i t or be

hit



defense

o

have

spe€d

ard

quickness har

height

and

w€ight,

althguS-h

a:ty

-n"rr

*oufa

fo*

io

nuvea squad

ull of

targe,

ast,

dnd agile

playeis D-efensiv€

Dlavers

musl

hrt,

react,

and

the1luse

hcir

speed

o

move to

the Dall

rooloau'

in ii,

o*"rt

*"*".

i. u

gu.e

of

resction

aod

speed

offool,

and

defensive

Players

who

iack

quickness

ald

sP€€d

surreoder

the basic

ingredients

of succ€sslul

defensive

l8y.

The rnental

anitude

of

defensive

layers s also

very important

They

must

be

highly

aggressive-phFical

frghte$.

One ofthe axiomsoffootball is that or

o"h-otav

'\ou

eittter

hit or

get

hit."

The

players

who

"Set

hit"

tle most

ale

th. oneswho

lose. Since

he

defensive

eam

is behind

at the

st'rt of

the

play

because

f

the ofense's

knowl€dge

of

the startinS

count,

it must

be aggressive

enough

c

hit, fr8ht.

and

ovcrcome

hat

disadvantage

with

its willpower'

deter-

.in"tion,

*i

plv.i".t

skills

The defens€

must be

Preparcd

o

"out-hit"

its

oppon€nls

f

ir expects

o

sIop the6.

This

book

explains

he

fundameltals

atrd

theory

of defensive

ootbatl-for

vounq

players,

coaches

at

the cub

football

or

junior

high

level, and

those

ans

,"bo

i""i.i

n

.ot"

"o.pletc

ulderstanding

of

the

Same'



1,,



Ono-Platoon

ootball

@

ooooo

lacld6

Guaid

csnier

Guad

TrcUo

o

oo

O

@

v

EEI

me

o

o

ffi

I

o

One.platoon

ootball's

basic

offensive

snd

defsnsiv6

ormations

virtually

mirrorod

Blo.los bacl(

Cnad€tba'l(

@

Tho off-tacklo

Pley

rom

the

6lngle

wing

r"'itr. o"""

"i,i""pr"t"on

football,

his

was

h€

most

common

l6y un

rom

he

singl€

ing.

@

E] F1

@

o



.=d hnebacke$.

Sure,

eams did

throw

the football, but

almost always

t was

:.srsned

o "loosen"

he defensive

inebackeN

ndsecondary

o heycould

not

: iin; up

as

quickly against the

basic

running attack

Essentially, offensive

::ams expected

o

win by running

the ball,

and they used

pass plays

only

as

:

jurprise,

Th€ running

attack

was considered

he brave,

manly way of

making

yard-

3se.

ockSutherland,

he

great

coach

ofuniversity

of Pittsburgh

eams n the

9-10s,tressedhe pointby stating hat in his opinion a forwardpass lay s

not

only cowardly-it

is immoral

In those days,

the defensive

eams

played

exactly

the same defense

o1r

e\ery

play.

The

gam€

was

rugged and

hard-hitting

lt was not sophisticated,

ofensively

or defensively.

The

"T" formation

came

nto being

through Clark

Shaughnessy hen

he

coached

Stanford Univedity

just

b€fore

world

war II The formation

was iIst

used effectively

n th€ NFL

by the Chicago

B€ars under

Coach George

Halas

and

their

great

quarterback, Sid Luckman.

When

the

war ended, a

rapid

transformation

took

plac€.

Almost

all teams

changed

rom the basic single-

wing

formation

to the

new "T."

This offensive

pattem provided far

greater

deception

for th€

ofense and

running

plays

developed

much

more

quickly

Also,

the

quarterback ceased

being a

blocker'

Instead, he becam€stdctly a

ball-handler

nd

passet.

The single-wing

had been a compact

formation

The defense

needed o

defend a

lateral

front of only

about

14

yards. Pass eceivels were

part

of the

compact

formation,

and it took

th€m considerable

ime to

8et

downfield

and

to

the outside

while

running thei

pass

pattems.

As the

passing

gam€

developed

and became

as important

as the

running

attack

in moving

the ball,

coaches

ecognized

h€ value of detaching

receivels

from the compact

ormation

and

using them

as wide receivers.

Also, the offen_

sive

inemen

n the

"split-T"

formation took

"large spac€s"

betweeneach

oth€r

-that

is, they

did

not line uP close

together'

Those two developments equired the defensive eam to defend the

field

from sideline

o

sideline,

nstead of acloss

a narrow

fiont. Sinc€

he same

men

w€re stil1

playing both offense

and defense,

heir

defensiveskills

were limited

by both

practice time and by

the

physical requirem€nts

hey needed

o

play

on

ofrense,

With the advent

of two-platoon

football, the

game

became

much more

sophisticat€d.

Today,

players

are

able to

spendall

their

practice

time

leaming

and honing

their skills

as either

ofensiv€

or defensive

m€n. In efect,

this

doubles

hei

practic€ time and enables

oach€s

o use

much more complicated

defenses.

t7



l8

ThoEvolution f tho

Passing ame

oooooo

o

o

In the single

wing

{shown

h€r€}and he earlisst

T"

tormation, ocoivers

66deda

greal

d€aloftim€

to run

wid€

pa3spattsrns(A).

owever,

6tho

Tformationsvolved,

on6 end

and on6 back

w€rs mov€d o

th€ otl$ido

as

"wids

receivers

Tho

passing

game

was chsnged

or€v€r

B)

Or--

i 'OOOOOO

i_i-- --- -+o



TheT-Formation

r\Aa)a)

Guard

/1

Guad

T&te

oo

Note he

spacing

b€tween

players-wider than

that

for the single

wing

19

o

O

o

o

TheSplit

Formation

oooo

Guad

o

G@d

ra*b

The

"split-T"with

detachedwide

eceivsrs.

n h s ormation.

he

dsfsnse

was orced

to

dsfend

hs

field both

from sidelins

o sidsline

and

d6ep

down

field

A dramatic exampleof the changewhich the two-platoon systemhas

brourht

to

football

is a

wide

receiver

ike Clitr

Branch

of

the Los

Angeles

Raiiers.

Clifi

runs

the

IOO-yard

dash

n 9.4 sec.nds

He is

5'10" and

weighs

about

1?0

pounds.For

years n the NFL,

he

hasbeen

a dominant

rcceiver'

Were

footbal

a;fle-platoon

game,however,

t is doubtful

that he could

have

become

a football

player: He

would

have remained

a tlack

man since

he lack€d

the

Dhvsical

ake-up

o be

an efrective

efensive

layer'

'

Thereare

a

wide

varielyofdefensive

lignments

sed

n modem

ootball'

Within

those

defensive

attems, however,

he components

are always

he samel

o

o

o



20

l. Down

(or

interior)

linemen

2. Linebackem

3. Secondary

men

A few

yeals

ago,

there was

a fourth

defensive

position--defensive end'

Men who

played

defensive

nd

rushed he

passer

and defend€d

against

unning

plays.

As the ofensive

passing

Same

became

nore sophisticated,

men who

playeddefensiveendwereforced to coler pass eceivers n addition to rushing

the

passer

and

stopping

runs. Men

who lacked

the speed

o cover rcceivers

could

no longer

be efective

defendels.

In today's

game,

men

who fomerly

played end on a

frve', six-, or seven_

man

def€nsive

ine have become

inebackeN.

Defensive

ends

are down

linemen

who

play

on the end

of a

three- or

four-mafl defensive

ine.

DEFENSIVE

OSITIONS

DownLinemen

They

must be big, and

they

must have

grcat arm and

leg strength.

Their

primary

defensive

esponsibilities

areto control the ofensivemen n their area,

to rcsist the

of€nsive block€rs

at the

line of scrimmage,

arrd

then to move

to

the ball.

The

down

linemen

normally

include two tackles

and two

guards,

or

two

tackles and

a nose

guard.

They take

their

Position

within a

yard

ofthe

line of

scdmmage

rom ofensive

tackle to offensive

ackle

Po6ilion of the

down linomen

Defensive

own t inemen ak€

thsi r

posi t ions

wi th in the area

out l ined

o

o



2l

Stanco

ot tho down

linemen

NIost down l inemen take thei r

stance

wi th one

or both

hands on

the

sround

{A}.

A

few coaches, however,

feel that

the

semi+rect stanc€ {B} gives the defen-

sive

inemana bet terv iew

of the act ion

The

term "down"

derives

tom the fact that

they have one or both

hands

on

the

ground

as hey take

their stance

A recent

dev€lopment n defensive

lay

us€d

by teams

has the

"down" linemen

who

play

over the ofrensive

ackl€s

assuming

a semi'er€ct

stanc€

ather

than a stance with

one or both hands

on

the

ground.

Coaches

sing

his techdique

believe

t

allows

heir interior

linemen

to

get

a better

view of the

action il1 the

ofensive

backfreld and to ftove

more

quickly

and

precisely

as

hey

play

the opponents

mmediately n ftont of them

Linebackers

Linebacker

is the most

dimcdt

position

on the

defensive eam

Lin€backers

must be strong

enough

o neutralize

any ofrensive

player

trying

to block them'

but

th€y also

must be

fast enough

to cover a tight

end or

running back who

is a

potential receiver on

a

pass

play.

The

Position

requires both

str€n8th and

sDeed.

lare combination.

Lin€backe$

usually

take th€ir

position

2 to

5

yards

behind the

line of

scrirnmage,

pposite

he ofrensive

endsor

at some

position

to th€ insideof

them.



22

o

o

o

Po.ition

of the

linoback€rs

...

-

,-

the

shaded

rsa

shown

hers.

Defsnsive

inebackerc

aks

heir

posrtrons

n

The

rules

Drohibit

interior

ofrensive

inemell

from

moving

farthsthan

one

"*o

;:;iliil; ;;'

pj"v'

sv

ti"ine

up

ut

least

vards

ehind

he

ine

li:Hlrffi:il#Ttai$:\T",';;i:T'"Tlll:ll

i*rn;"

""""",

move

n

to

block

them

on

pass

plays'

Secondary

seco'dary

en

re

ivid"d

i'l:.,Y:"{:::Tl*:ffiffi

.ililti:f:i:;

The

comerbacks

re

he

outslde

delenoe'

be

able

to

"support"

against

ruffllng

pFys'

their

pdmary

requirem€nt

is

the

.p..aa

"uiriiv

o

"o"".

"" '"tr

il ,1""'l,li""iiltor.n,iu",i

na,

"".

l"rili

Jiil,ili"Trll"1ffi

l'iotu,-J

.oe

eceiver'

hese

en

usr

possess

Teal p€ed

o

cover

Pass

€c€rvErs

€ep

downfield'

ut

they

must

also

i.liii

i"

*pi,."

cuickrr

nd

-enectiverv

asa.[l,,t;il?ll"l';.,,",

n'*

',

ome

eams

use

a

free

saletY

and

a

*

*il;:';,;;;**f

'nou'o

o*uta

lo

a

spot

bout

vard'

'oT

:l-'l::

"i*1.*"*".

rt'i,t

,ftis

position

e

can

suppon

more

uickly garnst

unnlng

plays.



HtE

of tho comarmen

and latctie.

o

oFFEMSE

o

ooo@oo

o

o

Th

posltlon

of tho

fraa lalety sa

"mon.ter han"

Notethstth6

"monstor

d6l5nso,"

which ak€s ts name

rom

the

po3ition

otthe frsg

3afsty,

b in

reslity sn ovorchift o th6

wid€ sid€ of the

lield.

i

l^

tv

i

\J

\-/

\J \y \J \-/

A MET

iMM

l@@A

"P

\&1,

i

Fledldyss"mnsLrmn

l

s9

shns

sLly

\l'

6mn ft mfsw'do

sid.oltEf€ld

i

5 mn Nonds

n'@ id6ottDr6ld

@

o



lS



The

Defensive

men n

proximity

o offensive

layers-

Fundamentab

'3n'ffFff

T:ii:ifrij:r"ffi

:lT;

force to neutralize

their charge, conhol

the oppo-

nents to avoid being

biocked, ocate the

ball, and

then move

to

it. To

do all these things in

a few

s€condsakesgreatathletic ability, and to do them

consistently hroughout

a

game

akes

he skills of

a

Leroy

S€lmon of the Tampa Bay Buccaneets,

a

Randy White

of the Dallas

Cowboys, or a Doug

English

of the Detroit Lions.

DEFENSIVEEYS

Meir

who take their

position

farther

than I

yards

from aly ofensive

player-linebackers

and

secondaryden-must 'tead"

or

"key"

as he ball

is snapped.These tems mean

watching one or

two offensive

playeN

whosemovementat the start

of the

play

usually indicates

he t}T'e of

play

to be

run.

Sinc€ football rules

prevent

the offensive

tackl€s,

guards,

or

center from being more than

a

yard

across he line of scrimmage

on

forward

pass

plays,

the moment arl ineligible receiver

moves

25

RandyWhite s ability o

fight

off attackers

nd move

to ths ball makes

him

one of the

bgst defensive

olavers

n

th6

NFL.



lncorrect

and

Correct

Stepping

echnique

When

Keying

n an

Offensive

ingman

OFFENSE

(AlThe inebscker,ooledby hs quartsrback ndrunningbacks'

steps

n the

wrong

iiracrion. xissecond

step

puls

him

backwhero

h€ stafted

Ho

haswastsd

wo

st€

ps

DEFETVSF

OFFEAISE

DEFEIVSE

P61"r"r

'{

".*ni

"ra

ooo

ry

l /

o.Jo"o

{B)The

smart

inebackertakes

shortdrop

step,

quickly

eads hs

movement

fths

lineman,

hen

movesefficiently

o stop

fte

play



:nher than

a

yard

downfield, the defensecan safely

assume hat the

play

is

i run and clos€ n to stop he ballcarrier.

By watching

the ofensive

linemen

ard

reading

the following keys, line-

backers analsecondarymen

can

leam

the type of

play

aod its

direction:

l. Ofrensive inemen downield means

he

play

is a lun.

2.

Ofrensive inemen

pulling

out either to the left

or

right

indicates

that

rheplay is going n that direction. (Occasionally,however, he linemm maypull

in

the wrong direction to mislead the

defense.)

,

3. Ofensive linemen

drop-stepping back to execute

a

pass-protection

block indicates that the

play

will be a

pass.

(On

occasion,

hough,

they will

move in that way when the

pLay

s a draw

play

or a

screen

pass.)

It is important

that men who are keying do not

becomeoveranxious

and

move oo

quickly

in the

wrong direction. A step n the

wrong dircction

requires

another step o

put

the

player

back n his original

position.

Thus, two

stepshav€

beenwasted,delaying

he defensive

laye/s

ability to

get

to the ball.

And since

football is a

game

of inches and split seconds,

hat can sometimes

mean the

differencebetween

victory

and d€feat.

To avoid moving in the wrong diiection, linebackersand secondarymen

should take

a short drop step with either foot while

they read the movemmt

ofthe offensive inemen. By

doing that, they can hold their

position

until they

are sure of the type

of

pLay

being run, instead of advancing

he wrcng

way.

Keying n an Offensive ineman

OFFENSE

ooooo

DEFElVS€

27

The ready

posi t ion:

n h is s i tuat ion, he inebacker

eys

on the of fensive

ightguard.



Keying

on

an Offensive

inoman

cont')

ln th€se

situations,

he

linebacker

#43' dark

j€rsev)

keys

on

#75'

6n

offensive

Silualion #

1 The

offsnsiveinsmancharges crosshe ine of scrimmageTh€plaY

i3 a

run,

The

linebacksr

P€netra&s'



. . . '

}

i -

The

le f t .The l inebacker

moveswi th the

play

o

-r : -at ion

S, tuat ion

#3r

The l ineman

pul ls

o the r ight .The

l inebackermoves

o the r ight .

Situarion

4:

Tho

ineman ropsback o make

a

psss rolect ion

lock. he ine-

backer ropsback n

preparat ion

or the

possible ass

n hiszone.



l0

BLOCK

ROTECTION

The most

mportant

fundamerital

or all

defensive

layeN s

"block

protection "

To move

to ihe ball,

defensive

playersmust

keeP heir

legs

re€ If an

ofrensive

man is successful

n

getting

to

the defender's

egs or

body,

he can eff€ctively

prevent he defender

tom

making

further

movement

n the direction

ofthe

ball'

Prop€r

block

protection requires

hat,

immediately

before

contact

with an,

ofrensive

blocker,

ihe defensive

player have

his feet sF€ad

about

the

width of

his shoulders,

his

kneesbent

and

his

handsalrd

a.rms

angling

down

to

plotect

his knees,

highs, and

waist.

From

that

position, the defender

can

deliver

a blow

with his hanis. arms,

and

shouldeN

o

ktrock

the ofrensive

player

away

from

his legs and

body

and thereby

mahtain

freedom

of movement

ihe defensive

layer canflot

protect

ploperly ifhe

does

not bend

his knees

enouch

o

lower

his center

of

gravity

and

enable

him to

deliv€r

afl up_and-out

hlow:His hands and

arms

arc

now so

high that

the blocker

can

8et

undel

the

block Drot€ction

to the defender's

egs

and body

to

make an

efective

block'

A;other

block-protection

eror

is to

have he

feet too

clos€

ogether'

That

eliminates

he

balance

and

body

control

needed

o fight

the oppoflent'

and it'

too,

raises

he defende/s

center

of

Sravity



>' recting

Against

he Block:

;3.rectand ncorrect

ositions

In the correct block-protection

hittingposition A), he defensiv€

player

s ready or any move

an

offensivs locke.makes n him.

{B}shows

what happsns

when a

defensive man

stands too up-

right.

Th€ blocker has

gotten

to

his body and has

slopped him.

In

(C),

he defender's

tance s too

narrow.

He',sost all

leverage or

fishtingoff

the blocker.



PROPER

NGLE

F

PURSUIT

After

diagnosing

he

playand

ocarijrqth€

all'

alldefensive

layen

must

move

',

ii"-uaT"t

irt".

pt.,i"r "angle

of

pursuir'"

The

conect

angle

s lhe

course

he

ff;d*;;

i"i.;

-".t

ih"

bultotti"t

nt

the earliesl

ossrble oment

-'----The

rclative

speed

f the

wo

men

s th€

controlling

actor'

Tle

faster

he

Ur""J*,'in" r"[rt"t downfield he def€nsiveineman

or

linebacker

must

f--it"-*ti"

rtt*

irte

slower

he

ballcarrier

and

he

faster

hepunu€r' the

more

he defender

arl

move

dilectb

at

the camer'

"'"'i

tt;;;;";;i

importa'ce

hat

no

d"fenders

etbehind

he

ballcamer

uy

pen.tratiogaod

end

up

having

o chas€

h€

play'

-''

i^t*a,

in"

aa*dels

must

dove

on

the

proper

anSle

f

pusuit

to

get m

frotrt

of

the

ballcarrier

at

the

earliest

Possible

moment'

Propor

ngle

of

pu*uit

'

- - '_ 'rhs bal lcsrr ier

nd

stops

im

al

the

ine

The dsfender lisht

€rssv)

tavs

n

lronr

or

I

<l---

lmproper

angls

of

Purluit

;;";;;;;

,;

;""",

ths

d€fendsr white

srseY)

as

gottenbehind

he

barrcar-

ri6r,

who

sasilY

eludes

him



r

TOTACKLE

l'f,*

i',-d

on the ballcarrier,

the defensive

layer is now ready to make the

ftiJb

lr te approaches

he area

ofcontact,

the defendershould

bend his knees

, | ns -.

a balanced.base-the

hitting

position.

His

feet

should

b€ spread

- tr: :rnately

as

cride as

his shoulders

His eyes must focus on

the target,

d:r should be the belt buckle of the ballcarier.

\Gn1_

unning

backshave

excellentbaliance

nd afl uncanny ability

to fake

d rb<rr

head, eyes,

shoulders,arms,

and even

egs But it

is

dimcult

to fake

rd

'i€

belt

buckle.

Even he elusive

Tony Dorsett

will b€ where

his

belt

buckle

I

bd

by conc€nttating

only on the

belt buckle, th€

tackler will avoid

being

ti.a

Having

assumed he

hitting

position

and

keeping his spifle straight,

his

bii

up and

his eyes

rxed frrmly on

the belt buckle,

the tackler closes

on the

i:Larrier.

At

the

moment ofcontact,

he driv€s his

helmet through the ball

as

ir

hands

and arms

encircle the

hips of the

ballcarrier'

By ddving the helmet

The

Tackler's

arget

33

A t6ckler's

argst is th€ ballcarrieis

bel tbuckle.

r should not

look at

hs tackle



Making

hs

Tackle

,

Th€ tacklG

b€gins

with ths

tackler

zeroing

in on

ths

ballcarrier's €lt buckle A)

At the momentof cont6ct,

the tackler's

helmet

butts

the

bal l ,3nd

his

hands nd

6rms

sncircls

he

bal lcaF

rier's hips

(a).

The tacklsr

ifts the

ballcar-

r ior otf the

ground

C)

. .

and driv$

him back

D)



J)

a rll|-

imed

punch

at the

b6ll

is

rErher

legalmethod

or causing

tuough

the

ball

(when it is held

at the

runner's

side), the

tackler

may knock

dc bil

loose

and cause

a

fumble.

The muscles

of

the tackle/s

legs,

back, and

rEs lift the ballcarder otr the ground and drive him back so that he cannot

6ll forward

for extla

Yardage.

The tackler

must evet

close

his ey€s

when about

to

make contact

la the

ricirity of

the tackler,

the

ballcarrier

will

be using

his

most violetrt

evasive

Doves.

If the

tackler

closes

his eyes,

he is

"blind" and

hands

his advenary

a

donumental

advantage

lf

he cannot

see

he ballcarrier,

the defender

has no chance

of making

a

cl€an tackle.

The Side-Body

ackle

Wh€n the

ballcarrier

is moving

at an

angle to

the outside

and

it is impossible

for

the tackler

to

meet him head on, the defensiveplayer should use the

sid€-body

ackle.

Again, the

target

s the

belt buckle.

At the moment

of contact,

the

tackier

assumes

he

hitting

position. He drives

his head and

shoulden

in

front

of the

ballcaxrier,

Srasps

he

min

with both

atms,

and then

rolls sith

the

ballcarrier

as hey

fall forward.

If the tackler's

head s

not ddven across

n

front

of the

ballca.rrier,

the carrier's

legs, almost

certainly

stronger

than the

de_

fender's

arms,

will

enable

he carrier

to

break the

tacllc

and continue

down-

field.

Arm tackting

is risky

business

t best;

against

he likes

of a John

Riggins

or an

Eric

Dickerson

it is

futile.



I

I

The

Side-Body

ackle

(A)shows he

point

of contact

or the

side-body

tackle. Onco

contact

has

been

mad€, he

acklerencarcl€s

he

bal lcarr i€ is

hips as

in a normal

tackle

B),

ut then

rol lswith the

caF

rier to complet€ the tackle (C).

d;r.



lnii

Tackling

In

(A),

he tackler

commits he

un-

pardonable

rror f using

nlY is

6rms

to try to tackle he

ballcaF

rier.Result:

hebal lcarr ierreaks

free

(B).



P,roper

echniqueor

Recovering

Fumble

The

player

iterally alls on the ball and draws

t

close o his body.

So

much for defensive

undamentals. f a

young player

is ever

going

to

shine

playing

defense,

e

should

Factice

these

undamentalsuntil they b€come

secold

nature to him. But

pmctice

alone is not enough.

The

gifted

defensive

player is the one who concenhates

on every

play,

as

f

every

movement,every

hit, evefy tackle

he makes

s tte movemeat, ie hit,

the

tackle that

saves he

game.

And

in

a

way he's right, because

he moment he

lets his

concentration

flag, the moment

he naps on the

job-that's

when the opposition can score.

The best defensive

playeN

are

pretematually

alert.

39

g

:u

I

l

1,

1

;



I



Playof

hef

ffi 'lif

"f,.Tii',r'3]"-1],1#i;l';.lli,T,-li';

Down

Linemen

ffi

3f,:ilf,Tji:;ftH:'Tf#*fi::',.:'i

the

chargeof

their ofensive opponents

and

not be

d

ven back.

They must also

have sulncient

quick_

ness o move to th€ ball after they have avoided

their

opponents'

nitial blocks.

It is one of

football's truisms

that the

team

that confols

the

line ofscdmmage

wins the

gam€.

Defensive

inemen

are responsible

or controlling

the line

of scrimmage

or their team.

STANCE

Therc are

two standard

stances

or inte or

line_

men, the

three-point

stance,$r'ith one

hand on

the

ground, and the four-point slanc€.with both

handson

the

ground.

other than

the

posilionof

the hands,

he stances re

identical.

To assume

either

stance,

he lineman should

sPlead

his feet o

about

the width

of the shoulders,

bend

his kne$,

and

coil his

legs.The hips should

be slightly

low€r

than

the shoulders,

and the tolso

should

be

stretched

fofi{ard

with a reasonable

amount

of

4l

l l r i

rncipal iob

of the defensive

ine

s

o

cont ro l

he



Defsnsive

tancos

Th9 three-point

The

fouFpoint

detensive

stanc€

B).

weicht $tins

on

the

handorhands

n heground

The

groundhand

orhands)

stroito

Ue

op-"n,

with

the

weightspread

vmly

on tbe

fingenip6'

- -

t

pt*iooOv noted,

some

coiches

occasionally

have their

interiot

line-

-.o

olav

in a semi-erect

rance.

his

positionshould

b€ taken

with the

feet

,or"u'a

uiou,

the

width

of lhe

shoulders.

ne

oot

is dropPed

acksliShdy

o

give

the defensive

layer an opportunity

to step

and

strike

a sharp

blow

against

the opponent

who

charges

him.

iiually

the down

lineman

will clowd

the

line of

scrimmage

o

get

as

close

to the

oppo;ent

as

th€ nrles

allow.

On

occasion,

however,

f the defensive

lan

has somewhatslow reflexesor if he hasan assign$ent to "lead" the defense

"i1.

"t*eo,

he

may

play back

ofr the

line of

scrimmage

This

Sives

im a

moment

Jread

his

key

propelly

before

he

offmsive

player

can

make

contact'

in

most defemive

aiignments,

he

interior

linemen

are

given the

responsi-

bility

of defeathg

one opPonent

and

makirg

sule

that the

opponent

doe€

rot

Uto.i

th"-

to a'particuiar

side.

while being

ready to

defeat

tlrc

Primary

oDDonent,

oweve;,

he

defender

houtd

watch

he

other

wo offeDsive

inemen

in Lis immediare

area,

since

any

one of

lhe

tlree may

attack

him

By

watching

the

thfte men

n hrs

arca,

the linemaq

8€ts

a

fast key

to thc

play

b€hg

run

and

is ready

to

fght the

block

of the

man who

is

attacking

him'



M

Protecting

One

Side

Here

the

def€ndsr

uses

his

right

forearm

o

Protect

his

left

sid€

DEFENDER

ROTECTSNESIDE

To defeat

his opponent

and

Prot€ct

his

left side'

the

down

linemarr

charees.the

oo-.*i"t

,rt

i"up

of

lhe

ball

He

steps

with his

right

foot

and

drives

his ight

;"fi;'il;;;;l"sr

of

the

ofeosive

blocker'

keeping

he

block€r's

ead.to

ii.

rttio..iL"

"elt,

"pP€r

arm

H€ then

raises

he

offmsive

blocker

with

lus

il."ii..

-oi",J;,

r;ices

he

man

ack'

rees

imself'

nd

moves.lo

he.ball

*T;;;;tht.;A;'

the

defender

t€Ps

ith

his

eft

oot

and

hits

with

his

left

arm

and

shoulder.

^"

ii-lri*-- o."fer

o

playwith

rheir

hands

ather

han

use

he

orearm

*

,#';it;:ffi;;;;;'.ni

'For

rhis

ectrnique'

he

oot

mov€ment

s

exactlv

ilH;fi;il'iauove Ttreheels f rhihandsdrive'|nder

he

shoulder

fi;;;;;;

;1"v"..

The

hands,

arms'

and

back

ift

the

blocker's

hould€rs

."ii"t*

i"-

Li.tl

iftfs

style

of

charge

s dimcult

or

tall

men.

t also

pl€sents

t"

a"te".

;i

ih"

tl""L-

jetting

under

he

hands

o the

body

alrd

he

legs

of

the

defender.



'Uing

theHands

. Some

defsnders setheir

handstowardolf blockers

A).

However,thisunsthe isk

of

tE

blocker

etting

under

he handsto h€ body

B).

FIGHT HROUGHRESSURE

One

hitrg he defendermust earn

s

that

his most mportant eactions

orglrt

throl/gh he

prcssurc

f tie rlock As he feelswhich way the ofensiveman s

Eying

o blockhim, hemust ight that

pressure.

f he

goes

/orrd the

prcssure,

bc

will be aling himselfout of the

play,

sincehe will

now

bebehind he ball.

Oftenaiv€

pr€aaur€

Always ight through

pressure.

H

/_\ n 4b /-\

"\"

l9

"

\-rd:r

Never

9o

6round

pressure.

e-_o

ooQloo

./

m

o

.r

_:,1r.:



46

PLAY

OF THE

NOSE

GUARD

Any nose

guafd

bigg€r and stronger

h6n rhe

center shoutdcrowd

th€ ba .

Anynos6

u6rd

mal lerand

esssrronghan

hecenrsrshould

tay

ack

off the ins

The nose guard

is

a down linenan

who

plays

opposite---or

..nose

to nose',

with-the

ofrensive

enter.The

basic assignm€trt

f the noseguard

s

to charge

and

defeat the

center, never allowing

the

center to block

him to

either side.

Somenoseguards

crovd the

ball, which enables

hem

to hit the center

as soon

as the

ball moves.

f the nose

guard

is bigger

and stronger

than the

ofrensive

center, then crowdi[g the line of scrimmage s the most efective way to play.

If

the nose

guard

is not bigger

and stronger

than th€

center, he

should drop

back

off the line

of scrimmage

about two feet.

That

will

give

him

time to read

Position

f the Nose

Guard



47

'\.

nose

uard dark

ers€v)

s n

perfect

osition

o

fendofi the

cantsr nd

move

6c Eovements

of

the offensive

guards as he

makes

his charge

against

the

;.rrer. To

keep the

center

from blocking

him to

either

side, the

nos€

guard

rhould

step

wi;h

his rear

foot,

bringing

it about

parallel with tht forward foot

6 it

was

; his stance.

He uses

he handlift

described

abovq

raising the

center

sDaDd

orcing

bim back.

By

having

his fe€t

on line

and his

shoulders

arallel

ro the

ine

of scrimmage,

e can

sucressfully

i8hl rhe

pressute f the center's

block

to the

left or

the

ri8ht.

In thosc

alignments

n which

the down

li[eman

is

playing

opposite

he

ofensive

tight

end,

his mission

s to avoid

being

blocked

nside

by the end'

but'

couallv

oionant,

be

must also

neutralize

he end

and keep

him on

the line

oi

scri-mage.

lf the end

cannot

get

off

the

line. he cannol

be an

efrective

pass

receiver.

Alio, by

controlling

and

containing

the tight

end, the defender

keepc

him

from

making

a double-team

block

or

getting across

he lin€

of scrimmage

to block a linebacker.

The charge

and

play

of the

lineman

against

a tight

end

is exacdy

as

descdbed

above

to

defeat

a single

opponent.

Thcoretically,

the dcfense

will

always

have

one

fie€ man, since

only ten

ofrensive

playersian block

when

one

man has

the ball

If a down

li[ernan

is

able

o occupy

two

ofensive

players, hc

will

free an additional

defensive

mafl'

By

lining up

on the

outside

shoulder

of an

opporent

or

in the

gap betse€n

two

den,

th; defender

c.rr charge

either

or

both of

then

And if he

can manage

to detaifl

both

at tie

line

of scnmmage,

anoth€r

defensive

man

will be

freed'



48

STUNT

CHARGES

I1r addition

to the basic charge

of the down lineman,

the defender

must know

bow to execute

other charges. f

the offensive

players

are sule that

all defensive

linemen

will

simply chargeshaight

ahead hey can

block mote aggressively

nd

€trectively. But if

they are not sule

exactly how the

defenderwill move,

they

must

be mor€

cautious in mfing

their own charge.

By using

a

variety

of

charges or "stunts," as they're called, the defensiveman will confuse the

blocking assigments

of the offense.

There are three

basic stunt

charses: te

slont,

he oop,

and he

penetruting

hoot-he-gap.

SlantCharge

In a slant

charge o the eft, the

defensive

layer

stepswith his right foot,

aiqing

his forearm

ift at the far shoulder

ofthe ofrensive

player.

The

secondstep with

the left foot

must

get

the defender

past

the blocker's

head. He

then makeshis

shoulders

parallel

to the line

of scrimmage, inds

the ball, and moves

o it. The

slant charge

o the dght is made

n the same

way, except hat

the first step is

taken with

the left foot.

OFFEA'SE

{--r-\\

,-c,-'\X

\-./

au

M

LoopCharge

The

purpose

ofthis charge s

to

g€t

outside

he ofensive

player.

The defensive

player

starts by dropping

off the line

of scrimmageabout

I t4 feet. To loop

to

the left,

the defender

akes a lateral

step with his left foot. Without

advancing

forward,

he steps

beyond his left foot

with his right foot,

being certain

to

get

his right

arm and

shoulder

past

the head

ofthe otrensiveplayer.

He

then steps

again

with the left foot,

makeshis shoulden parallel

the

itte

ofscrimmage,

nds

the

ball, and moves

to it. The loop

charge to th€ right

is made in

the same

manner,

except that

the first step is

taken with the right

foot.

oo

Slant charge to tho l€ft

The nose

guard

starts his

slant

charge o

the

lsft

by making

con-

tact with the ar

shoulder f

the

center. He

then turns so that his

shoulders re

par6l l€l

o the ine

of scr immage

nd moves o the

bal l .

DEFENSE



-:EO

Charge

o

the

Left

l?-

The defender { l isht jerseY)

begins

his loop

left by tak

ing a

lateral s tep

with

his

left

foot

{A).

He then takes

a

long crossover

tep

with has

right

foot

(B),

and

with

shoulders

paral le l

to

the

l ine of scr immage,

moves

toward

the

bal l

(c) .



Shoot-tho-GaP

hargs

Loft

Th€ defender

Penetratss

he

l insbystepping

ntothegap

t

a

4s.dsgree

angls

with his

eft

foot

(A).With

his left

shoulder

and

hip

Protecting

gainst

he

block, he stepswith his right

foot

(B).

Hs s

now

thro'rgh

he

gap

and

can

move

o lhe

ball

Shoot-the-GaP

when the

ofensive

blockers

are

concemed

about

pleventing

the slant

and

loop

"ft-go_,ft"v

f.""."

tuln€rable

o the

quick_penetratingsloot-the_gap

harge'

to.iecut

it

ro hi.left.

rhe

ineman

teps

uicklyon

a

45-degree

ngle

olne

inside,

making

penetration

ith

his

left f(rll

His left

arm

aDd

shouoer

sruerq

i'i- i.ii rt- uii

t.c fro-

the

blocker.

He

then

steps

with

bis

riShr

foor

to

".r,lir.i[

o"".""i".

uv stepping

iist

with

th€

left

foot'

be

will make

penetra-

;;";;;

;; ;ai.

i;

pb*'tris agniroot

on ttre

ground

to withstand

the

pressure

ofrhe block rom his outsideHaving

pe-netrated'

he

defensive

layer

ndsloe

;"fi;;;;;;';;

t,;";;"

the tackie

ro shoot

he

gap

o

th€ defender's

ight'

the

frst

step

is taken

with

the

riSht

foot

PASS.RUSH

ECHNIOUES

Otr DassDlavs,

}e

offensive

blocker

always

tries

to ke€P

he

opponeot

from

o*etratine

ihrough

rte

line

io the

quarterback

Wher a

detenslve

man

mal(es

ilt'td;:':,;il,;J

charge.

i

will

as ofren

as

not be

stopped

v

rhe



offensive

man, who can usually

protect

his area and

keep

the

potential

rusher

from

getting

through to the

quarterback.

That rnay not be disasterous or the

defensive

mar-if the

play

is a

running

play,

he may still be able to fight

rhrough

pressure

and make a tackle.

But wh€n the defensiveman ftalizes the

play

is a

pass,

he should use

pass-rush

echniques hat will enable him to

get

post

his opponent.

The techniques are:

the s\)im, the cross-cut, and the wide

loop Let's look at each.

TheSwim

As the ball is snapped,

he defensiveman charges

normally, sinc€he s not su€

wh€ther the

play

will be

a

pass

or a run,

When he realizes

he

offensiveman

is

passivelyprotecting

a

zone to keep the defender

rom

getting

to the

passer,

the defensive

tan dlives

his fist and foreaamup and over the shoulder ofthe

blocker.

When his arm, up to

his ampit, is

past

the blocker,

he

uses

his

arm

and shoulder

muscles o

pull

down

and raise his own body up and over the

blocker'sarm ard body. Once

past

heblocker, h€ ftoves in on the

quarterback.

The afm

movemmt is like that

of a freestyle swimmer.



I

I

I

I

B\



54

The

Cross-Cut

The

alm movement

n

this chaage,

nown

as he

..cross-cut,,,

is opposite

o that

of

the

"ss.im."

Again,

the defensive

man

tnakes

his normal

charli,

since he

is

not

sure

yet

if the

play

is a

pitss

or

a run. Whel

he realiz€s

the

blocker

is

protectinS

he

passei,

he ddves

his near

arm and

shoulder

below his

oDDonent,s

hands

nd

past

he

blockingman's

body.

He then

moves is

arm

and shoulder

toward

the

line ofscrimmage, pulling

his opponent orward and freeinghimself

to

move to

the

pasler.

Some

eams efer

to the

cross-cut

as the

..dosn-under,,

pass

rush

technique.

Th€

6ro33au1

ordown

und€r)

As in

the swim, onco

th€ d€-

fender

(whit€

ersey)

s6es hat

th€

play

is

6

pass,

he

swings

around his

blocker

(Al.

How-

evsr, inslead

of throwing

his

n€6r arm

ov€r th6 block6r,

h6

drops his

shouldsr nd

st ip6

his 6rm under the blocker's

hands

{8}.

He

thsn drives

his

arm

and shoulder

forcefully

upward

until he is

past

the

block6r

and can

mov€ to

the

bal l (C).



fhr

Wide

Loop

b

_1o[g

yardage,

sure-pass

ituations," two defensive

playeN

combine

in

a

rr

called

"the wide loop" to

get penetmtion

to

the

passer.

The outside man

-tE

inside

he opponent

n front of him with enough

orc€ to

get p€netlation,

a

though

the of€nsive

guard

sees im slantilg to the

inside and is

prepared

u'

Hock

him. The

inside defensive

man steps toward

his

opponent

with a

sDal charge o occupyhim while his teammates Playingas descdbedabove.

E

tt€n steps

with his outside

oot, crosse€ ver

with his inside oot and

moves

-c.rnd

the ofrensive

ackle to

penetrate

o the

passel

/-\

55

o

ooo

o

oo

To summarize:

The

position

taken by down

linemen will vary depending

on

the defensive

attem

being

used.The linemen

will line up on, or slightly off,

the

line of sorimmage,

whether

head-up with an

opponent, shading to the

outside

oi inside

ofan opporcnt, or

in the gapbetween wo offensive ineften.

Regardless

fthc

podition,

or the charge,

he fundamentalsof

each

play

remain

the same:

1. Take the

alignment accurately.

2. Move s/ith

the snap of the

ball and execute he basic

charge

3. Protect the designated

area.

4. Locate the ball.

5. Pursue the ball

on the

proper angle.

6. Make the tackle.

1



Playof tne

ff"fl.i{i}ffi:fi:Tffi'fii"*il:}i.'ff"'lf;

LinebaCkefg

d."lTri:". eam

becauseheymust ombinehe

sk ls ol bolh the defensive

inemen

and

the

sec-

ondary merl.

They must

be strcng enough

to de-

feat the blocks of the ofrensive

inemen,

quick

and

ftobile enough o coverpass ecervers, nd intelli-

gent

enough o

read

their

key$

quickly

and accu-

rately. All

in

all,

it require$

splendid all-around

athletic

ability to

play

the

position

efectively. And

to see t

played

by a Jack Larnbert of the

Pitts-

burgh Steelersor by a Rod Martin of the

L. A.

RaideN is to see t

played

to

perfection.

STANCE

The

linebacke/s stanceshould be serni-erect.His

feet should

be spreadapproximately aswide ashis

shoulders,

with one foot-preferably the outside

foot-dropped

back slightly. In his stance, the

linebacker

must have

pedect

balance so that he

can move

quickly

in

any direction.

l

51

Ou$tanding

in6backers

uchasformsr

All-Pro

reat

J6ck Lamben

po$ess consummat€ ackling ability.



58

The

insback€r's

emiarect

stance

allows

him

maxi_

mum

mobility

n anYdifec-

KEYS

Usually

the

linebacker

will

key on an

ofensive

lineman

not covered

by

one of

his own tlown

linemen.

The

movement

of that

ofensive

lineman

dictates

the

reaction of

the linebacker.

(S€€

diagrams

on

pa8€s

28 and

29

)

Wheir

the ofrensive

i$€man

charges

at him,

the linebacker

moves orwald

to attack,

using

his

regular

block-protection

technique.

When

the linenan

alouble-teams

o either

side,

the lioebacker

should

move

forward

quickly to

penetrate.He should

drive

at

a

point

just

ofr the

hip of the

ofensive

block€r

;o that

he will

not be

vuln€rable

o the trapping

lineman moving

from

that side'

when the utrcovered

inernan

pulls

to either

side,

the linebacker

moves with

him.

When the

lineman

takes a

droP st€p

to execut€

a

pass-prctectionblock,

the

linebacker

must drop

quickly back to his assigned ass-defenseone wlile

dropping

back,

he must

be alert to

the

possibility that

the

pals-protectionblock

is merely

a fake

to set up

the draw

play. If it is, the

linebacker

nust

suPport

quickly

against

he

back who

is

running with

the ball.

-

In each

nstance,

after

starting

his reaction

charge,

which

is dictated

by

the

rnovement

of the

uncovered

oferNive

linemar,

the

linebacker

must find

the

ball, move

to it, and

mak€ the

tackle

When

the

pLay s a

pass,he coven

his

zone or the

assigned

man until

the ball

is in

the air, at

which

time he agaio

moves

quickly

to the

ball.



oQeoo

E

:E

lE=\6€.

rind6ac*er

Ielt of

Linebackers

ooreoo

6nY- i Fe

,tr"

l--"-."

-r'r

linsbacker

ksys on

an

uncovered

:filnsive lineman. lf the lineman

a..ges

forward,

hs linebacker ushes

lf

he

ineman

oublst€amsnother e-

fender,

h6 lin€b6cker

p€netrares.

l f th€ l insmanmoves o

ei therside, lhe

lin€back€r movss wilh him.

*,',*

an*".r.,

lf

the

lineman

drops back to

make

a

pass.protection

lock, the

linebacker

should

move o his

passiefense

zone

but be alert for the

Dossible

un.

\-,--r

oo000

odboo



60

STUNT

HARGES

ro confus€

he

frensive

rocking

T"""i;T'.:'l;o,i:f

l'"#$#"i""","11f

move

as

he

ball

is

snapped

ather

than

w:

T,T,#ffiTr:Hlli;H:tx;:'"::::1if

l'Lljllii:fi

J,lI'Ti

-*i,:i::"$:"1i1"$lHf".iililir::l#fr

ltrfi

?l-;H:,:

:

ni?#"1;T:'**li'13i'il""T:l'i#'ll :,:fr:;'n

"ii

"'a'""'

to

it .

PASS.DEFENSE

ESPONSIBILITIES

The

Iinebacker's

ability

to

play effecli\e

pa\5 defen\e

5

a fundamental

ngredi-

**l1[:xm:*'l;:".""lJ1i;'1;

lTitri;,iliil

lil#".",11'"',i,

ii

i;;;;"

"""i'"..

r,i"

""ig'".

"

blocks,th€linebackercontmueslomovetohisdesignatedpass-defe

""

l^l',*i;'fl;,,h"

t" il:g::l-iti,:ii.J;:1,

1,fi:":13

;;

ofrensiv€

eams

will

try

to disguise

h€ir

il;;;;ii;";

in

-ost

i""tun""s

will

quicklv

ndicate

o

the

linebacke

*"|i:lT.3JJ-L:'""Xi?',iJ,:-.::t,X;

;#g,i:

eliqible

eceivers

ho start

downfield

n

;;.?;.;;;;;';;ii"'

":*^:

"t1liJllii:")l}illiiilfflJ:i

:lil"J"l;:i:.:::i;:'lff,j.il';'ii'i'ili;;;'r'.ri*uu.-r"'

'ir'i"ri

*"";:;:""11;:;t

f[vm:,lT

pu*.'

ro'

th"

derensi\e

eam

o

cover

re

hot

,rru,

u"l l

t . l . i ' . t

. tossing

he

ield-

o

lhe

opposile

' ide

"

]ru"::x

*

*:i

::l::i'::f#'.T11ili""1

;',::,

:'::

f

fleld.

As.oon

a\

they

are

n

posllton

o

throw

mo\I

passers

il l

look.lo \a

tf '"

"*" " i i i .

i" i ."a.d

recei'er'

a'ser'

re

aughl

o

aloid

doing

hal

bl

I



Lirbacker Coverage n

Pass

Plays

nd€ re@rcr

oFFE

/sE

DEFEIVSE

Passd€leR

zone

or lii€bacld

o

4

d

f@o

o

0n

mosl

passplays,

he

linsback€r

ov€rsa

pass

d€fense one

A).

However,

whon

backfield an runs

out o become r6c6iver,hs l in€backers resDonsibleor

eavinghis zoneand covering

he

back

(B).

Backt ldme who unsout

OFFENSE

DEFEAISE

ooooo

o



onlv

the

hishlv

skilled

achieve

uch

discipline

n aclual

Same

compet'lron

fhus, as

rhi

linebacker

rops

back,

he should

concenlrat€

n

watchlng

ne

pu.*t

<nl"uv.

t""ping

in mi;d

his responsibility

to

prcvent an

eliSible

receiver

from

crossing

he

field).

_---*

tft" o'uaa".

atntis

brs

thro$'ing

motlon,

the

linebacker

should

immedi-

"t.1"

bJ

in the

direclion

he

ball

will be

thrown

On

drop-back

Passes'

}|e

-U"-ii""f.i.ft."fa

""mPl

to rereat quicklymough

to

reach

he

middle

of

his

zone

of

proteclion

before

he

ball

is rhrown

This

sPol

s approxrmarely

ro

lO

yard; behild

rhe

ine

of scrimmage

f the

inebacker

oes

tTl

Tt:1,"::l

he

can

f he is

dropping

back

as the

ball

is delivered

-'-

-li

il"

iir**ii^

ire

quick enough

o reach

heir

zones

nd then

make

tte aesc;ea

faterat

movement

s

the ball

is

thrown'

they

will

establish

n

"ittir"

t"fi

tl"*

"iff

require

he

quarterback

o arch

the

ball

over

he

line-

iu"i"it

to

fti n."".i""t

*ho

it b"yotto

10

yardsdownfield

when the

ball

is

By

moving

backto

their

zone

ot

protsction, he

linebackers

orce

h€

pass€rtoarch

his Da3s

vsr

them.

\

o)

J

@

pr":""i."

i" ,'-",

l".bould

bring

isbodv

otalD

lnaer

tLo1-1a-111

1t

i**ti'"-

f

..i"i".rv

motionlesis

osition

: *ll'9,Ip

11-tl1l1:t:;l:

IiliJ.l..."

*pii

lute,al

moutment

o

the side

he

passs thrown

han

ooo

oo

FFEAISE

D€FEAISE



63

In his

picture,

oth he ine-

backer{dark

srsey)

nd he

receiver

(light

jerssy)

are

playing

h6 bal l eg6l ly.

Herc hs l insbacker s

play-

ing

the rec€iv€r illsgally.

rrched, it takes onger to reach he receivers han when t is "lined." This

extra

:me will give the secondarymen the opportunity to move to the ball before t

:eaches he target,

It is offundamental import4nce hat the linebackers-and

all other defen-

sive

players-ftcognize

that the rules

give

both teamsan equal right

to the ball

lhe

moment it is thrown. When the ball leaves he

passer's

hands,

there is no

offensiveor defcnsive eam,

yet

many

defensive

players

subcorNciously

elieve

that the offense

has

a

prior

claim to the ball.

The rules

prohibit

defensivemer from

interfering

with the receiver'sop-

portunity

to catch he ball.

They

also

prohibit

the ofrensive

player

frorn interfer-

ing with the

right

of the defense o make an

interception.

If either side is



Here,

Lawrence

avlor

ot

lhe

Giants

slays

wi lh

d

potentrd

lors feet

are

ser

o

move

in anV

d reclron

receiver.

Note

how

Tar



.rF.

'-be

man."

it is

guilly of

Pass

nterference

f

both sides

re

"playing

iIJ-

,-t.t

areboth

;ithin rh;

rules

Thus,

when he

ball

is n the

air' the

1lb;i=5

must

go for it with

abandon'

-E.

o*rtine-ptuy.

he

inebacker

must

bolh

play his zone

and watch

or

,,.rrrr"o

,...iu.i

co.ing

out of

lhe backfield

Whm this

situaiion

arises'

he

tEi:r

*itt t"

pt"yin

man-for-man

defense

This assignment

matches

his

-

,r"-tr rtt^t bt the offensive layer-which again lluslrates

he

rigorous

rlr=i

requirements

or

linebackers

At the

business

f covering

ec€ivers'

[-r::

non.

b.,,",

,han

Hugh

Creen

of

TamPa

Bay and

Lawrmce

Taylor

d

fr.

Gianls.

Paling

the

man-for-man

defense

s essentially

a mattel

of

moving

on a

rw'

aagl-e

f

pursuit.A

linebacker

ust

move o

the outside

apidiy

enough

fts-ittt.

or*tin.

player

rom beating

im o

the

outside

f the

receiver

Errs

to

break

back

o the

nside,

he

ules

allow

he

inebacker

o

mainlain

l^iitton,

and

if he

is n

the

right spot,

he

can

€gally

hit the

receiver

nd

rlFar

him

lrom

breaking

back to

the

inside

of the

field'

-

r'hile moving

on

the

proper

angle

to covel

the

potential

receiver on

the

l*-io.--ao

ussiitmettt,

tire

linebacker

should

have

€nough

peripheral

vision

'r

L

"o

ure of thi qoarterback'smovementsHe should be esPeciallyalert to

J-orn.nt

*tten

tite

qourte6ack

throws

the

ball, and

as

soon as

t is

in the

J.

".

stouta

."te"""

ttis

pursuit of

the otrensive

man

and

move

quickly

to

the

]rJ

Il

is an

essential

of

team

defense

hat

all

linebackers

and

lin€rnen)

pursue

5.

b;ll

when

it

is in

the air,

regardless

of their

distance

rom

it lf they

stop

ir

pursuit,

they

become

mere

sp€ctators

The

r€ceiver

may

catch

the ball'

*..iairr.

-*

itii.

i-mediate

vi;iflity,

and

bteak

away

toward

the

goal

line'

-f-.tia.i*.iu"

-.tt

u.e

in

pursuit, how€ver,

someone

will usually

be

able to

]J

it

"

,"""i"".

tto-

behind,

since

his maneuvering

ak€s

ime

Thus'

defen-

sre

pursuit

will

prevent the

touchdown'

tr )



Play

of the

i,iffij]i,ifii;:iil,ffi,ffiifff;

jfff i:

SeCOndaf V

lUfg11

ot"u"nt

tt fastest anon heofeisive eamrom

---------t

- ----

gett ing

€hind hemon

pass lays.

beymustbe

tough,

agile, and strong enough

o tackle the shiff

iest

as

well as the

most

pow€rful

running backs.

That calls for a combination ofphysical attdbutes.

Since football

has

b€come a

two-platoon

game,

he

skill of the ofensive wide

leceivefi has

vastly

improved Ofatsive wide

receive$

possess

hack stars' speed.

That requires hat the

second_

ary men

have similar speed f they are

to

play

etrectively.

Today's

wide receiverswould

have beenvir-

tually inc&pable

of

playing

football back

in the

days when

it was a one-platoon

gam€.

In one-

platoon ball, the wide

receiverhad to

play

defense.

But ihere

is usually ao ilverse

latio b€twe€nsp€ed

andphysicaltoughness, nd the lack of toughness

prevents most men of

gr€at

speed

rom

playing

vell on ddens€.

An outstanding

eiception

is Roy Green, of

the Footbal

cardinals ln the NFL,

he has b€en

an outstanding

defensiveback and

more recently

has beefl selected

by his

p€€$

as the number otre

wide

rcceiver

in

the

8ame.

coverag€,

he

b€st secondary

m6n

display

t-ng, 6nd catlik€ reflexes.

: l

1r

l

,i

3

:ll

*

+

*

*

*

:ry

$

i :

i ;



I

1

lee

I

I

I

I

STANCE

Reeardless

of

th€

alignment

being

played

by

the

secondary'

he

fundamcnlal

ilii*r?

i-

ii"

-?""tt""r

o,

uif*v

'"oruin

h"

tno'e

Hisstance

s

similar

ff#-;;

lt';il-;;.

one

oor

st'ould

e

dropPed

tishtlv

ack

he.

e€t

.i"rfo

u.

sp.J

"iJi

the

width

ofthe

shoulders'

ith

he

knees

etrl

liglov'

il:"ffi ffi;oiiiioi itre"toutae'" 'om thatstanc€'

he

defender

ill

be able

to

move

quickly

in any

dir€ctioo

Th€

r€ady

stance

or a

d6

f6n3ivg

a€cond6ry

man

KEYS

All secondary

defenders

must

thiok

"pass"

at

the

stlrt

ofeach

play They

must

l.?eJ;s;:,1-h;

p*sibilitv

of

a

pais until

lhev

are

positi'e

the.plav

witl

'ol

b.

o

o*ri

Onty

two

de"elopmeots

frer

he

ball

s snaPped

an

give hem

hal

cercamty:

l.

An otrensive

inemal

(tackle,

Suard'

or

ceote )

crosses

he

line

of

scriE

mase

and

moves

downfield'

2.

The ball

crosses

he

line of

scrimnage'

when

either

of

lhode

occus.

the

secondary

men

may-safely

converge

the

ball

to

stop

he

runner.

But

if thev

gamble

hai

lhe

Pl1I

ts,a-,lTa.T

lr-t:

i*

i""*-"-n"fi*"""t

pass,he

recivir

may

well

getbehind

hem

or

an

touchdown.



ln mo6t

defensivealigmenrs,

the secordary

men can look through an 69

Dvered

ofrensive

ineman to

the ball. By keying on that

lineman as the ball

r

sppcd,

they

get

a

quick

readinS

as to whether the

play

will be

a

pass

or

a aE.

This

is the same eachon as

was described

or linebackers.

The

panmount

mission of

the defensive secondary

s to

prevent

the

LELa*ay

touchdown.Thus,

secondarydefenders

must cooldinate theft move-

G s,

always

keeping he ball

in flont of and nsidc of their

unit until the tackle

r Drde or the passbroke up.

There are two

basic alignmerts

fol defensivesecondariee:

l)

four-deeP

d

(2)

the

"monste/'or

rover-back

pattem

ln both alignments, the basic

-sion

of the unit

remains o keep he ball

inside and

irr

front until the tackle

i

nrde.

Secondaries

lay

two typ€s

of

pa$

defense,he

zone

and

the man-fof-man

b

Eo6t situatioN,

teams should

use he zone

pattcm

sinc€ t more efectively

Fwents

brealaway

plays.

Lyr of tho dofonsive

aacondarY

h most csses,

hs defensive econdary

€yson lhe uncovsrsdoffsnsivs inemsn.

OFFEIVSE

DEFETVSE

a)

ooQoQo

ffi ffi,t' ffi tiM ffi

End rekr_e/i

A

Gua/d

A

.Iackre Erd

_,/

Lin€backor Lm€backd

\..

@@

salety saJety



70

ZONE

ASS

EFENSE

In the

zone

pattlrn, all

men

of the

seco

ary drop

back,

k€€ping

relative

disranc€s

e;een

thems€lves

until

the

ball

fu thros'n

Then

they

irDm€diately

move to the

ball.

They

should

ftad

the

pa$er's cyes

ard

try

to

ger

the

jump

on

the dir€ction

of the

pass n the same

manner

d€scribed

or linebackers'

If one

mernber

of

the secoodary

drops

deep

whilc

his teanmate

fails

to

drop

back

to the

same depth,

one deepzonewill b€ left c'4mplctelyopcn'

When

the team

s

playing the

zone-typ€

passdefense,

he defensive

inemen

must

rush the

passerso thai

he

will

not have an

exraordinarily

long

time

to

set up

and thr;w.

It is easy

o maintain

relative

position in the

secondary

or

ive

or six counts

after

the

ball

is snapp€d,

but a

longer

tinle

mak€6

t difrcult

to

hold the

pattem and cover

ihe

lecelvers.

Th€ zono

pass

dofon.a

o o

O

orrrrs.

DEFENSE

l.'

I

o



IAI{.FOR.MAN

ASS

DEFENSE

71

rhcn

playing

the

man_for-man

pass

defense,

each eliSible

rec€iver

s assigned

b

.

particulai rnat

in the defensive

secondary.

In the

man-for-man

defense,

a secondary

man

lines uP relatively

close o

d.

line of

scdmmage.

He

looks thtough

his receiver

o the ball, and

when

it

r rnapped

he moves

with the

receiver,

keeping him

sliShtly to the

inside and

i, ro 2 yards n front ofhimsell When th€ ball is thrown, the defendereaves

h6 man

and

moves to the

ball.

Occasionally

t is

necessary, nd

tactically

sound,

for the

pass

defense

o

rritch

secoodary

len after

the ball

is sflapped

lf the tight

end breaks on

a

lhallow

course

to the outside,

while

the wide

receiver

breaks on a shallow

.ourse

to the

inside, the

coverage

s easier

f the corneman

and safety

switch

E€n and

cover

each other's

receiver.

Of course,

pmctice and communication

|'e

vital.

Ian-f or-man

s65

dof€ns€

"Switchin0"

o-"i"""it":"*it"r'i"g"

curing

manJor_man

asscoverag€

ccurs

most often

when

receivers

un

crisscrossing

atterns.

o

o

oo

Qo

e oFFENSE /\, \

10\ i

Qoq-opo

i t , ,

I

I

Ai

Al

a

L@4s

.4metud

DEFENSE

J

\J

i

o

ooo

) , ,



PLAY

OF

THE

FOUR.DEEP

ECONDARY

The

fou -dcep

secondary

has

trgo separate

units-the

cornerbacks

aod

the

Jeties.

One

safety

s deeiSnated

s the

"stroDg

safety

"

He-

ines

-u-p

opposite

thc ofensive

tight;nd.

Thi othel

safety

s called

ie

"free safety

"

He takes

his

position

to

thJsidc

a*ay

from

the tight

eod

The two

comerm€n

ine up

5 to

b vardsfrom

the

line of

scrimmage,

each

opposile

he

wide

receiver

on his

side'

On the

fout_deeP_zone

assiefense

atlem, the enrireunit must move

together

nd

maintaln

elative

osil on

with each

rher

as hey

eact o

theplay:

TheFour-Deep

efensive

econdary

1

-

I

l.

When the

bal

moves

to

their

left,

the secondary

men rotate

in that

o

o

-.lse

O

/saav

o

?ry

r

+_s

1'-''



:

$aen the

ball

moves

o their

right,

they

rotate

to the

riSht'

o

orrr"",

I

orrtvse

?ooeoo ? t

\ l t

t

\y*."".

O-.* O.-

v

saloty

.-1\^-\>

salety

'1'-\--,

3.

When the ball

moves

back,

as the

passer

drops

back to

get

ir

position

ra rhrow,

the

secondary

men

also

dlop back.

{+

oooooo o

O co."oacr

\

- - - - -

I

.fr-*,*

f"*

."t

"-"#\



14

4.

When the ball

mov€€

oward

the

line of scrimmage,

as on a

rufiri[g

play, the secondary

mefl close

on it.

o\3

OFFENSE 01

\

ooo*qf

^:

,k^

a.) \

*""s

saau

l,/

salery

lJ

DEFENSE

On

all four basic

movements,

he secondary

men must maintain their

relative

positions with regaxd

o each

other

as they

react to the

situation'

Playof

the Cornerbacks

n tho

FourDeep

econdary

When

heball

mov€s

o his side.

he comerback

eacts s

an outside

inebacker

would,by coming

up

quickly o turn

the

play n.

When he ball

mov€s n

the

opposite

direction,

the

comerback

drops

back

quickly

to be

n

position to cover

his third of the

field.

When the

quarterbackdrops

back to

pass,

he

cornerback

should

alsodrop

back

quickly to cover

his assigned

pass_defanse

one.

A dilemma for any cornerback s a play that begins asa run to

his side

but

then develop€

nto a

pass. The running

fake, which

is directed

at the

comerback,

s the

ptoblem. To defend

against

his

t'?e of

play,

the comerback

should

maintain

a neutral

position until the

ball i8 approximately

outside

the

offensive

ackle.

When the ball

pass€s

hat

point to the outside,

he

comerback

must come

up and

force the

play.

If the

passer

sets

up and

prepares o throrv

inside of

the

imaginary

line rundng

behind

the otreNive

tackle,

then

the comerback

must

drop

quickly

back

to cover

his assign€d

outside

passdefense one'



bnerback

Movement

%

ooo@oo

-

DEFEIVSE

D'

a

running

play

or screen

pass

o

his sids of the

fisld, the cornerback

mov€s

n

E h€lp m6ke hs tackle.

oooooo

DEFEJVSE

When

h€

quan€rback

rops

back o

p€ss,

hs cornerback

rops back

nto hi5 zone.

q

)

o

,FFEN*E

o



Cornerback

lay

Against

ho

Running

ake

:

It the

quan€rback,

b€fore

reaching

hs

im6grnary

cornerback

drops

back

quickly

o

cover

hls

zone'

OFFEII.SE

a)

oo@oo

DEFENSE

Itths

offense

uns

he

ball

pastan maginaryin€near $ tackl€' ie Gornarbackuns

in to lor€

th€

PlaY

OFFEA(SE

a')

ooooo

DEFETVSE

"I

P

/

L

a)

@

-

o

line,

drops

back

to



The ofrensive eam will

present

a vadety of formations to the cornerback.

tr6.

*idest receiver s within 8 to

l0

yards

of the next widesi receiver, t is

ldle

for the comerback to come up on

plays

in his direction. But if the

dd

eligible receiver s furthei to the

outside, he cotuerbackmust cover him

-+,

sinc€ he dista[ce

is

too

great

for the saJety o move over

quickly

erough

E ;over

that receive&who

may run a de€p outside

pattern.

When

the wid€st

rec€iver s out so fa.l that the safety cannot

get

over to

@< him, the com€rback'$ assigtment always remains the samerCover the

Gril

er deep.

Gornerback

overage f

a Wide Receiver

17

l

n ciagramA, the wide

=ceiver is within 10

.€rds

of the tight end.

-- s,

the cornerback

:-, rush to hslp force

r.

play,

and hs satgty

:rn

cover the wids

h 8, the wide receiver

Ls arlher

than

10

yards

from he tight-end-too

hr away

or the safety

to cover

him, The cor-

i€rback's

assignment:

Cover

the wid€

el

\ /

oFFENSE

n

oo

/ \

ffi*o* @

/

orrru

/*'

Y

.r-

\-''-

o

o

{

'L

{

?\

\

orrs,vsE

O

\

oooooo

I

/

g{___r@

I,t

c"t"'u*t

saletY

f

Thisdisia.c€

s oo14 or

he elely lo.otaleov€r

1:

andcovd

rhewide€ceL€r

/ DEFENSE

o



Bumpand-Run

Th6 playst6(s with th€ cornsrback dark

i€rsey)

ssuming

he

?sady" position

%

ysrds

rom

th€ wide

receivsr

A).

At the snap, the

cornerD

movss

o the

receivsr,

bu

him and

rries

to delav

him

(a)

Bumpand-Run

echnique

Most rcceivers

un

€xcellent

aking

pattems, making

it difrcult

for

comerbacks

to cover

hem.

To

prevenr he

receivers

rom having

oom

o maneuver

o atr

ooen

area

downfield,

omerbacks

an

PIay

he

"bump-and'run"

echnique'

In

professional

ootball.

men

ptaying

he "bump_and-run'_

annot

nlt-or

obstruct

the receiver

after

he

has moved

4t yards downfield F om the line

of

s"dmmage

to

4',

yards downneb,

the defensive

pleyer

is free

to use

hrs

"budD-and-rutr"

technique.

--T"li""

;[".o.a^d-run,"

the

defender

inesup

on

the rside

shoutder

f

rtre eceiver

tour

iU

vards

rom

him

As

rhe ball

is snapPed'

he

defendef,

.i-"

i"a it"

recei"*,

hits

him. and

holds

him

uP

when

the

rec€iver

ets

rec

(alihouch

a

good

hit

might

knock

hin

off his

feet)'

he delender

ums

atro

"ft"to

ii..

6uuiorrfv'

tie defender

must

be as

ast

as th€

-receiver

if

he s

o

te aUl"

to

teep tri-

couered

as

he

movesdownfield'

Thedefender

watches

h

rcceiver

as

hi chases

him.

when the

reoeiver

ums

to look

for

the ball'



r the receivsr breaks free, the

:.rnerback

turns and chases

him

c)

Ths cornerbackconcsntraleson the re-

csiver nt i l

hemom€nthe

eceiverooks

for the

ball, whereupofl he cornerback

also urns

and looks

or

the

ball

(D).

ddcDder,

oo, looks back.

Concenfation

is vital. When the ball is thrown to

lts man,

the defender

c.il1 b€ in the area, n

position

to bleak up the

pass

or

E make ar

interception.

Playof

the Safsties

n the Four-Doepecondary

fhe two

inside defendersof a

four-deep defenseate

known

as

the safeties.To

impli$

thei assignments,

hey usually

change

positions

depending on

the

roength

of the ofrensive

ormation.

Most ofrensive eams oday

use

one tight

od

and one split

end, who is a widc

receiver. The safety vho

lines

up to

the

$de

of the tight end

s called he

"strong"

safety,

while his colleague,who

lines

up on

the side of the split

end, is called the

"free" safety becausehe has no

inmediate

responsibility

for any

particular receiver coming deep. He is thus

free

to rcam the secondary

and

give

support where

it is most needed.

The two safetiesalways

react as a team.

When the

play

moves o either

side, they

move to the outside

in that direction.



Play

of

the

Safetios

n

thE

Four'Doep

econdary

OO

oo

O

)

oo

t

I

@

@

OO

oFFglsE

r)

oo

oo

a\

oEFExsE

@

Ths

strong

safotY

in€3

up

to

the

side

of

ths

tiEht

€nd;

he

freo

saf

sid6

of

th€

wide

rece|var'

n

\t

@



rk Bstween

afsties

o

FF6NSE

o

oFFE

SE

oooooo

oooo

n

-,v

r\

^n

".bac\

^J

P

/

st'ro'a'at

/"""'a

'

DEFENSE

T

1.r

)

oo

o\

\

q ""."m

^_--,

As these

diagrsms

llustrate

safeties

always

work

as a

leam'



As the

comerback

omes

uP. he

safety

o

the side

of the

PIay.has

eep

outside

esponsibilily,

nd

the

salety

away

rom the

Play

has

€sPonslDrllty

or

covering

the

deep

middle

zone.

on-drop-back

passes, oth

men move

back

to cover

theit assigned

ones'

Safsw

mov€m€nt

n a droPback

Pas6

{" '

oooooo

o

"lnv€rtingi'

ri" li.ni

""t"tv

"*it"rtes

assignments

ith

the

cornerback

nd

rushes

n to

forcc

r" olu.

itt"

*""

""t"tv

covers

he

deep

middle '

^R-rc

o.r.n* \ \\n

\oooeoo

I

Ac"*,r*r I

r lo"-,*'". ,O"*-*

/

oEFENsr

V

/

o/

o



fo

change

he

pace

and

confus€ he

ofensive blocking,

the safety

may,

on

83

tFlatrged

siglal,

changeassignments

with

the come6ack.

This adjustment

iirdH

"inverting."

Ifthe

play

starts to

his sid€, he safety comes

up immedi-

dr

ro

force the

play.

Th€

comerback

low covers

he deepoutside,

while the

safety on the side

E

from

the

play

moves

n to cover the

deePmiddle.

goth

safeties

must recognize

he distance

he wide

rec€iver s split away

ft[

the

next widest

leceiver.When this distancebetween he receiv€ls s so

lE

that th€

safety cannot

get

wid€

enough to

cover the wide

rec€lver on a

i+

outside

pattern,

the

cornerback

has the deep

outside responsibility.

AFrsr

such

ofensive

formations, the

safetieswill

play

normally, or

invert if

t

dgnal

has been

Siven

to

do so, at the

snap of the

ball

PLAYOF

THE

MONSTER"ECONDARY

Tbc secondpattem of secondaryPlay is the "moNter" defense.This pattern

r

us€dby

collegeand

high school

eams o take

advantageof

the "wide field"

rtcn the

ball is on the

hash marks,

and to exploit

the skills of thei

pefioflnel.

The monlter

dotonlive

3acondary

Norehow

much cios€r

o the

lin€ the

monst€r

man

(indicated y arrow)

plays

com'

par€d

with the other

66condary

men



84

The term

"monstef'

varies

at diferent

schools

o

81ve

color

and elan

to

tft"

-Jio".

At

Michigaq

the

monster

is

called

the

"Wolf'man

At

other

schools,

e

is lhe

"Husket."

the

"Bulldog"'

elc'

In colleSe

oolball,

slatislics

eveal

hat

he

majoflty

ol

long-galnlng

nys

ur"

,uo to

ti" wia"

side

of

the

field

because

of

the additional

room

for the

off.n..

,o

op.,u,..

The

monster

defense

esponds

o

rhat hreat

b,y

-having

an

extraplaye;on he

wide

sideoflhefield

o

Praclical

erms

hedelensersa

overshift

to the

wide

side.

"

--

o""^ionutty,

*

u change

of

pac€, he

monster

alignment

will

overshift

to

the narrow

side of

the

field

to confuse

he offense'

__--_ite

monster

pattem enables

he

defensive

saf€ty

and

the

two

defensive

tralfbaJs

io

maintain

heir

positions

when

playsmove

o lhe

monsteJ's

ide

when the

pta, moves

way

rom

the

monster

man

he

moves

ackand

n

to

become

he

middle

safety.

The safety

and

halfback

to that

side

react

as the

safety

and

comerback

would

on the

four'deep

defensive

secondary'

-.

When

the

play is a

drop_back

pass,

he

monster

man can

assist

n double_

covering

any dangirous

receiver

n

his area

or else

elieve

he

liflebacker

ofthe

iJ

"i"6*ti"*

"

u^meld

man

who

maycome

out

asa

receiver'

he flexibility

'.t

trri ."",i"i a.ra",. greally educeshe pressure n

lhe

linebackers

nd

thc

secondary,

and

this

is the

basic

rcason

why

the

alignment

has been

used

by so

many

colleSe

eams

n recent

years

_-'

f,u..y"position

on

a

football

team

is

important,

but

the

s€condary

s

literally

"the

last

lirc

of defense."

-'-

'Fiw

football

teams

are capable

of sustained

offensive

drives

of

more

than

l0 to

12

plays. They are

penalized.

Offensive

assignments

re

missed'

causrrlt

,li

i

ballcar

ers

to be

thrown

for

bi8 losses

Furnbles

occur'

The basic,

cardinal

rule

ol defensive

econdaly

play

s alvnt's

keep

he bo

inside

and

in

iront

of

the defensive

econdary

nit If that

objective

s achi

there

will

never

be a

long breakaway

ouchdown

play, either

by

pass

or

By nevff

allowing

a brcakaway

or even

a

gain

of

mote

than

15

Jards

a singleplay, the secondary$r'illforc€ the offenseo makea sustaineddlive

;;r.:

d;;"."

most

osensive

eams

ack the

consistency

o sustain

dri

of

more than

10 to

12

plays,

the

defensive

secondary

gains

a

advantage

n its unceasing

efrort

to

control

the offense'



Secondary

ovemont

o

oo

q

sai€ry

t

I

+

o

o

OO

ot

- r .* l

Movem6nt

of the

d€{€nsive

€condary

wh6n

tho

play i3 away

from

tho monater

P

J

OFFENSE

^

I

ooo

L*-6

.)

ths

def€nsivo

ssconda

tho play mov€s o tho monstefs



DefenSiVe

In

previous

haplers.e

have iscussed

ome

f

-

the

changeshat have

occurred n

defensive lign-

Aliqnmentg

ments

nd

patterns

f

Plav

whm

football

became rwo-platoon ame.

t

was

ound

that

playe$

with the skills nec€ssaxy

o

play

olly one ofensive

or defensive

osition

could

opemtemore efrectivelyhan men who hadto play

both ways. n addition,

coaches witched

rotu the

single-wing ormation

to the "T',

and began o use

detached

ofensive

players

as wide rcceive$

to

force the defensive

eam to cover

the entire field.

That radically

changeddefensive

hategy and tac-

tics.

And

yet

. . .

there is nothing

new in football.

Changes n

stlategy and

tactics rcpresent

evolu-

tion-mutation-fiom

older

pattems

of

pLay.

Many

coaches eel

that my

greatest

contlibu-

tion to defensive ootball

was the development

of

what is

commonly refeffed

to as the "Okie

de-

fense." This

defensive

pattem

has become

one of

the three commonly

used alignments in

today's

game.

But it was not

a brilliant new idea.

Rather,

it was a mutation from

an old defense

sedduring

the otre-platoon days.

A basic defense

n the 1930s

and

1940s

was

the

"7

box." The

sevenofrensive inemen

olaved

87

A

defensivs tsams alignmen$ reflect

its ov€ratl

sengths .nd w€aknessos.



defens€

on

rhe

line

of

scrimmage

The

fullback

and

a

haffb8ck

played

line-

iiliii

ii.

o"*."'""t

l 5$::jY*:*

L'31"1#T'L,,o",.

The Okie

defense

was

a

lol

stretsth

of

the

commonlv

r*i'"e-ii*

form8tigos

T*

df*:l:"-':*

i'r""si"lirnila."rsctimdEgeatdb€csoecomerbacksThefive,lelyrns

iil'l""ffi''-"'J;;*9e'ln$fJllHili,iiffi##;'il'*fr:

Played

oPpositehe ofrensivegua

the

strong

and

free

saletrcs

Basic

Defensive

lignmonts

-q----:-

f

*'ew;cfi.g

o

Tho

7

box

defons€

The"7

box"

defanse

as

popular in

tho

daYs

of

ons-plaloon

ootball

Tho

Oki€

d€fona€

The

author's

own

"Okie

defsnss,"

a

natr,ral

€x-

tension

of

ths

7 box.was

designed

to m€st the

challsnoes

f

new

off6n-

siv€

formations,Panicu'

tarly

thos€

that

6mpna-

sized

Passing,

o

Ljmb@rts

"-"".*Y

***-

9..o"

u-*

" f f iw

@l

@@

ooooooo

o

o

o

@

@

@

o

)



A

team in that dcfensive

alignment could adjust easily to the

valious

1-os

of

wide receiversaad

men in motion.

Ia today's

game,

hcre are two

basic team defensivealignmelts; the

four-

.q'

| d

the

"mooster"

alignment.

The four-deep alignment always

ncludes

Do comerbacks,

a strong safety,

and a free 6afety.

The remaining

seven

men

,-

tso

diferent ahgnments-four

down linemen

with three linebaokers,

br

as

the 4-3, or three dosD

linemet1with four

linebackers,

he

3-4.

A team

which has a

grelter

nufiber of capable ilcbackers than defensive

bcn

usually

will use he 3-2 s€t.Conve$€ly,

f a team hasa

greater

number

d

dcctive defensive

ircmen than

linebackeis, hey will use the

4-l

set.

lh. four"dcoplignm.nt with

th6 4-1 nt.rior 3€t

89

@

,.rr,*.

o

.r**"* t-o"

n,*V

vw

w

ooe

o

f f i@v

ooo

@

o

@

o



DEFEIVSE

OFFE /SE

The 3.2

int6riot let

ot

the fourdoop

defona€

ffi

o

lin€bac*d

Lin€backer

V**

*",oV

r*,"

f f i f f i

oooo

a)

To simplify

the

four-deep

alignment

even

further,

think

of

it as always

hovinc

two comerbacks,

a srong

safety,

a free safety,

ard

two

outside

in€bacl-

en.

Tire

remaining

five men

arc either

in a

4-l or a

3-2 set'

Aoolvinr

rhis

ipproach

to

the 3-4

alignment'

we can

say hat

thc defens€

aeain

ias-r*-o

comJbacks,

a

free safety,

a

slronS

safety,

and

two oulsi&

liiebackers,

but the

interior

s€t

now bccomes

4 3-2

instlad

of the

4-1'

The

"monster"

defense

as

one man,

the

donst€r,

ovenhifted

to the

wide

si<tre f

the field.

The

interior

portio[ of

the defens€

cad

be

played as either

a

4-l set

or a 3-2

set.

ADJUSTMENTS

ITHIN

HE

'Ll

ALIGNMENT

Coaches

rc

always

rying

to cleete

a

mismatch

y

havitr8

a stronger

efensivc

man Dlavioq

asainst

a

physicallyweakerofensivc

player'

in il.-t"iofu"

4-i

ser, he

defeDsive

ackles

play

against

he offenslYc

tactles

and

thi

guards

play opPosit€

he

ofrensivc

uards n this aligrlmelt'

ohvsical

misrnatihes

sually

do

not occur.

The

outside

inebacker

laysovcr

ihi

tight end

and

usually

hey are

evenly

matched'



lb Over-Alignment

t

,rate

a

physical mismatch, defensive eams

use what

is

called the

"over_

*Ercnt."

The adjustment

is sirnple.

The down linernen all

move

over

one

-

ro

lhe side of the

tight end. That

put-s

a defeNive tackl€ opposite

the

&sive

tight end.

The tackle, usually bigger

and stronger than the

tiSht end,

ftold

be

able to defeat his

block ard should

a.lsobe able to

hold him up on

t cbablepassingdowns.The outside inebacker o the sideofthe tight endnow

ta45

off the

line of scrimmage

and moves

hside, setting up opposite the

&sive

guard. The middle linebacker

movesone

man away iom the tight end,

*ning

himself opposite

the ofensive

guard.

The

other outside linebacker

-ies

up o1l he

line of scrimmage

where he can

get

an immediate

penehating

t6[

into the ofrensive

backfield.

That alignment

s almost exactly the sameas

i.

3 2 interior set,

but by having

a big, strong defensive

ackle opposite he

4ir

end-instead

ofa

linebacker-the

defense as

vastly mproved ts strength

qrinst running

plays to the side of the

tight end.

(r,r6r-alignment

rom th€

4.1 dofensiye3€l

,TFENSE

c

OFFEiVSE

9l

r:,

iE

v

ffi

o

Unebacker

Llnebacker

w\9

v

cuard

Y

cuard

f f i f f i

oooo

o

ffi

o



TheUnder-Alignment

When scouting

reports

indicate

that

the ofreNive

team's

runrung

attack

is

panicularly

sriong

ro the

side

of the

split end.

a sound

defensive

djusrmenl

irom the

4-l is rhe

"under_alignment."

he

four down

inemen

ll

moveover

one

mafl away

fiom

the tiSht

end.

That

change

n alignment

puts

the

defen'sive

taclile

on the;ide

of

the split

end

n

position to

get

an

unobstructed,

mmedrate

rush aod penetratiod into the heart of the defensivebackfeld The outside

linebackeito

the side

of

the tight

end

now

plays

exactly

as

he would

in

the

r"t

"f

+-f

alignment.

The

middle

lhebacker

moves

out and

plays over

the

ofrensive

actle-to

the

side ofthe

tiSht

erd,

and the

outside

inebacker'

who was

ro the

sideofthe

split

end

now moves

o and

plays

opposite

he

otrensive

uard

Again, le

inierior

set

ook

almost

ike the

-2 aliSnment

but

the abiltty

ofthe

p'ersonnel-particularly

of

the defensive

ackle to

the side

of the

split end

-to

oenetrate

nto the

backfield

usualy

results

in a

physical mismatch

thaJ

-akes

it almost

impossible

or the

ofrensive

eam

to run

efrectively

o

the split

end side.

ffi

o

t nder.alignmont

rom tho

+1

d€fen3ive

set

aEFENSE

OFFEAISE

L nebacket

racktecua'd

V

coard

ffiffi

ffi

\ooe

\o

v

CO



ADJUSTMENTS

ITHIN

HE -2 SET

lL

3-2

set

s

perfectly balanoed

atrd

has men

aligned

to

be

atle

to match

the

tysicat

skUs

of ttcir

offensive

opponents.

Each

man on tle

line of scrimmage

--iEluding

the outside

inebacker

who is

playing

on

lhe tiSbt

end-must

never

-*

him;lf

to bc blocked

o

thc

inside by

his offensive

ounterpart'

The same

. r[e of thetwo hside linebackers:They 6ust

never

allow the

offensive

guards

frc out

and

t ke them

to the

inside

lf all

thos€

men do

their

jobs,

the1l he

Ec suard

is the only

one

who must

Protect

both sides

of

his opponeDl,

he

dcosive

center.

Sinc€

he usually

has the

physical ability

to neuralize

lhe

d.trsrve

celter,

hc can

cavq

eithar

side to

stop the

play

And

with everyone

&

otr

the teafl

protectiog the outside,

the

defels€

can

funnel all

plays

back

r

rhc

inside.

As

with the

4-l defense,

coachcan

s€t up

physical misEatches

avomble

E

the defente

by

adjusting

the

intedor

aligndent

of

the 3-2'

93

Tho b ic

3-2

interlor

dof€nlivo

361

DEFEvSE

OFFENSE

W

N.""

E/

acr le

\ ,sua '0.7

@,

/+-ffiL\

/oo@o

Linebacke.

Unsb&ker

o

,q

I

'^



94

The

Over-Alignment

On this set

the nose

guard

and tackles

move one

man to the side

of the tight

end. That

puts

the defensive

ackle over

the tight end

and createsa

physical

mismatch.

The tight end

is usually not abl€

to block a

strong defensive

ackle.

The outside

inebacker,

meanwhile,moves

up on the

line ofsc mmage,

rom

where he can

penetrate mmediately

into the offeflsivebackfield.

The outside

linebacker to the inside of the split end also is in position to get immediate

penetration nto the backfield.

The two

inside inebackers

move one

man away

from the side of

the tight end

and now

play

opposite he

offensivecenter

and

tackle.

The alignment

remainsbalanced,

but

physical

mismatches

avebeen

set

up and

h€ ability ofthe

two outside

inebackers

o

p€nettatemmediately

nto

the backfeld

adds to

the defense.

Ov€r.alignm€nt

rom the

3.2 dotonsive €t

DEFENSE

L nebacker

Linebacker

r"*r"

Vlro""

s"",aV

rackle Linebacker

Y

m H ff iy

\ootf^ooc/

\o, /

OFFENSE

Stack

Dsfonse

The stack aliSnment s playedto make t virtually impossible o run any inside

play

etrectiv€ly. t also

puts

the linebackers

n

position

to

read he blocks of the

offensive

inemen and

penetrate

immediately

across the

line of scrimmage

whenever

he offmsive tackle

to the sideof the

tight €nd, or else

he

8ua.rd

away

from th€ tight end,

blocks to the

inside. Fudhermor€,

the alignment

allows

thrce

men-the two inside

linebackersand

the lin€backer away

from the tight

end-to

rush the

passer

when

the ball

is

snapped

Such nstant

penetration

by

three

men makes t aldost

impossible o run

a

play

etrectively

nsideand usually

results

n a successful

ush of the

passer.



DEFEAISE

OFFENSE

The stack dolenso

DEFETVSE

OFFENSE

95

Ln€backer

L n€backer

Linebacker

ackre

,fr

**

Y.1"o.

.'**"**

v

E

.

mr:"""

.m.

o o o o

o.o

Pa$

rush rom

th€ 3tack

d€f€nls

The alignment

is

played

by

moving

the nos€

guard

and

tackles one-half

man awayfr-om he sideof the tight end.The linebackeron the tight end'sside

takes

his

position slightly

inside of

the tight

end and

dakes c€rtain

that the

end

catrnot

g;t

downfield

to

his inside-he

must be

forced to

go

outsid€

or to

try

to blocli

the

linebacker

n.

The inside

linebacker

to

the side of the

tight end

watches

both

the

guard

and

the tackle.

On

a rundng

play,

he

immediately

shoots

he

gap

to th€

side ofthe

man

who

is blocking the

defensive

ackle

The

same

"readl'

is used

by the

other

inside lin€backer.

He watches he

ofrensive

center

and

guard. He shoots

the

gap

to the

side of th€

block by the

center or

the

ofensive

guard

on

the def€nsive

nose

guard.



Fionl the $ttck,

the effective

pass

ush has

he nose

guard

and

th€ tackles

Denetratinq

be

sap

in front of

them

The outside

ilebacker

to

the side

of the

ilcht end;she;

to the

outside

of rbe

ofensive

ackle

The opposite

nside

liiebacker

rushes

betw€€n

the

c€nter

and the

ofrensive

guard The outside

linebacker

o the

sid€ of

the split

end

rushesbetween

he

ofensive

guard

and

tackle.

Sincesrx

men are

rushing

against

ive blocking

lrtremen,

omeone

hould

be able

to

get peneration i$mediatcly

to

put pftssure on the

passer'

- -

The interior

4-l

set and

the i erior 3-2 set are balanccddefens€s f the

defcosive

players are as

capable

as the

ofelsive

blockers,

both

defenses

re

sound

and

will b€

ef€ctive.

Moreover,

frod

both

sets, he

olig@ent

vaxiations described

abovc can

be

used

to set up

physical llismatches.

That not

only confuses

he

ofensive

blocking

assignments,

ut

it also

enables

he defense

o stop

plays ru$ at

the

streqJh

of the adjusted

alignments.

GOAL.LINE

EFENSE

'lvhen the

offense

has

possession f the

ball

within

ive

yatds

of the

goal line'

the goal-line defens€s us€dand the designatedpel3oflnelare substituted'

the

most

commonly

used

alignment

is the

6-5, with

six down

linemen

setting

up on

the line

of scrimmage

slightly

to

the inside

of the

ofrensive

trlockin.'Wheq

the ball

is snapPed,

hey

p€netrate

o their

inside, att€mpting

to

get

through

€very

gap

into

the ofrensive

backfield'

Tlle

rdaining

five

men

may be the

regular

four

s€co[dary

men

plus

aD

inside or

middle

linebacker.

DEFENSE

l'3

FG€salelv

Lne$der

slons saretu

O .*.- u.""-V';"',"

"""'""

q

**- f f i@ru

FFW,]."*

\ r\ r\ 6

O/O,/q

-o.,*o

Y\'- 5/

'{

r'

'/

@



Defensive

ineman's

oal-Line

tance

nd

Charge

lb

-fensive

lineman's stance

at the

goal line

{A)

allows

him to

make a

quick

rFrDns

charse

{B),

shoot

the

gap,

and

gain

psnetration

(C}.



p*y

F"o^

u

p... d"f-s€

standpoht'

ie

secondary

men

all

play man-to-man'

witftifre

"or'o"rt"cts

prepared

o cove

he

nride

ec€ivers'

he

stloog

salety

"lillJl'i."i"*

i'i*n

t.-[-""

ao*"ntra

o be

a

passeceiver

nd

he

nsidt

iin.i""*a,

on'a

".

*fay

cover

any

backield

man

moving

oul

as

a

pass ecelver

to

their

side.

The

comerbacks

over

he

wide

cceivers

o

theil

t*'iy

TaT^?:.:,

p"'j ;

;;;il"trv

ir

l "i:'T

"1"1t*:-ETL*:iT:i

i*ii

'J";'

'::iJ;;':il;i'islt

it'

"r*"i*'itll

11-llll."l9ll 11,'lT

il::Ji

fi#;#iil.

ii'

*one

r.'v

;T"di:F

Tlli::

ild-Pg*

::'"H#;"#li;;,i";;;

.i;

;#;"i;s

phv r

it comes.

o

ris.siderhe

;:;

#;"r.;;il

upl

itr"

'u"ni"g

tarf

l:J11t-i:ll,Ylillli

lil.""i t'i,.'i.li" a.r-iive inemenobe ertai"9" F"

t*.*iq

p- tfl::.:

;ffi:ffi ;'il,.in"J'A;iri u""r.'y.y111.'1;::.:1'*:

ill,iitl

mii".

n"

r.

"r."

Jv

to

ush

o

he

oint

fattack

f

anv

ut'"irs

Pas6 covetaga in tho goal'line d€fgn3e

DEFENSE

@

i6'".,""."""*"-4*,--r*".L6

. i r" ;*- f f iPP^839"*-

O

uutt

OFFEAISE

€)



The

goalline

def€nses a

gamble.The basic

rule of the secondary-"keep

99

tu

:6ll in

ftont and

inside"-is

no

longer applicable.

The secondary

must be

rd)

ro support

quickly and take

isks to

prev€nt

the

ofrense rom

making afly

gi,age. Any small

gain

in that

area of

the field

can mean an

instant touch-

It should

be

noted that some

eams

use a

goal_line

defense

an''wherc on

ac

jeld

of

play

when

the ofensive

team

has third down

and short

yardage-

c:< rhan

a

yard

and a

hall But

I feel that

playing

a

goal-line

defense

ar from

e

goal line

is

an

unacceptable

isk.

Granted,

the defense

may stop the

play

::id

and

prevent the fi$t down.

If

the

ofrensive

unning

play

breaks

past

the

.iD.

of scrimmage,

however,

a long

gain

or a touchdown

often

results, since

:.ie

are

no d€fensive

men

n

position to

pu6ue well and support

the

Play

The

g'le

is true

if the

ofensive

team usesa

pass

play,

usually a

play_action

pass

th

man-to-man

coverage,

f any

one man

s defeated,

a long

gain

or touchdown

rrli result.

"PREVENT"EFENSES

sJlen

the defensive

eam

s ahead

and time

is running

out in either the

fiIst half

or the

game, t is sensible o

usewhat

is known

as a "prevent"

defense,o ensure

rhat

th; ofrense

will not

be able to break

a

play

for long

yardage

Occasionally,

rhe "prevent"

is alsosound

stlategy

on extreme

ong-yardag€

ituations'

regard-

lessof

the time

remaining

Ther€ are two

standard

Prevent"

defenses:

he 3-5-3

and the

4-5_2.

Teams always

substitute

to

have their

most efective

Players

n the

game for

either defense.

ThE3-5-3

Prevent

efense

On

the 3-5-3,

three down

linemen

are used

o rush the

passer.

The five

[ne-

backers

may

be defensive

comerbacks,

safeties,

or linebackers,

but obviously,

men

possessinghe

greatest peedand

reactionsshould

be he ones

o

play

those

positions. They cov€r the

five short

zon€s.

By dropping back

as the ball

is

snapped,

hey

give

themselves

umcient

oom to

move o the ball

ifit is thrown

to a

receiver

n

thek

zone.



The

3.5.3Prevent efense

. . , .

.a,'

. :1.

bh

$



The three

deep men are either cornerbacks

or safeties.Their

assignment

|.b

cover he three

de€pzones.They are sumciently

ar back from

the

quarter-

E

that they

have ample time, as the ball

is

thrown,

to move

to cover any

-dr-cr

who is in th€ir area.

Ih€ +5-2

PreventDefsnss

h

the

4-5-2 alignment, four

linernen rush the

passer.The

extra

man

rushing

tbould

put

morc

pressure

on

the

quarterback

than can

be achieved rom the

f-5-3 defense.

The five rnen

playing

as

mar-for-man

pass

defenders

will usua.llybe cor-

ftrbacks

and saf€ties.The two comerbackscover the two wide receivels.The

efety

to the

side of the tight end coven

him. The two

remaining

short s€cond-

,ry

men cover any

of€nsive back

moving out of the backfeld to their side.

The two deep

defensivehalfbacksdrop

back deepand

play

the ball when

it is thrown.

They are also n

position

to support the man-for-man coverageof

the short defenders.

t0t



: , , \ '

r@j

c"*'r*i A;,

*r."".

@

,@

' Ix

' .LBmnunmfr

r(

q

^ry^

\ I - , \ - ,

\ \

oFFElvsE

-

o



The

Nickel"

nd he

"Dime"

Often, television

or radio

announc€ni

will speak

of the "nickel"

or

,dime"

defense.

The "nickel"

means hat

the defensive

eam has

changed

personnel

rithin

rhe 3-5-3 or

the

4-5-2

to

put

more efective pass

defendeN

nto

the

game.

The

defmse s

used when the

defelrders

are confident that

the

offedsive

eam will

throw the ball. The most common personnelchange on the ..nickel" is

to

replace he outside

linebacker

to the side

of the tight

end sdth

a safety

man,

*ho represents

he ffth

secondaryman

in the

game.

On the "dime"

defense,60r, outside

linebacken leave

he

game

and

are

replacedby comerbacksor

safeties,That aligment

has ully

six

pass

defenders

m

the

game.

Keep in

mind, though,

that theie is never

a

guaftntee

that the

ofensive

r.am will throw. Teams

that

go

to the "nickel"

or "dime,,

pattem

no looger

bav€ hek most effecfive

personnel

n the

game

against he running

attack.

If

lhe ofense do€s run, it

could therefore be in

a

position

to trample

those men

beingusedas special

pass

efenders.

Ifthe offensemust make more

than 10 o 12

yards

on one

play

to maintain

poss€ssion

fthe

ball, there

is

a minimal risk in

using the nickel

or dime, even

if

the

offense uns the ball. Ifa six-yard

gain

will

maintain position

and a nickel

or dime defense s used, he offense

will

probably

be able

to

make

first down

on a ru'}.

Needless

o say, hen, defensive

oachesmust carefully

analyze he situa-

tion before they decide to use either

of those

prevent

aligfinents.

103



-



The Defensive

Exc€llent execution

of all

phases

of the defensive

kicking

game

s a team fundamental hat can lead

KiCkinO Q21ng

to

ictov.

- ---------,

A truism

sthat he eamwith be most avor-

able

vertical field

position

when the ball is ex-

changedwill almost always win. Excluding inter-

ceptions and

those fumbles that result in change

of

posseEsion,

ll exchanges cvolve around

the

kickiflg

game.

f an opponent never

gets posses-

sion of the ball beyond

its

own

20

yard

line, it is

virtually

impossible or that team to win.

For example,

if on the first six changesof

possession

he

opponents have the ball on their

owrl' 6,25,20,22,

14,ard 2l

yard

ineswhileour

team

gains poss€ssion

n

th€

exchangeat

oul 45,

the opponents'

40, our 48,

our

42, our 40, and the

opponents'41, our team, says he truism,

is almost

sure o win.

Excellent execution

of the defensivekicking

game

will result irl

favoruble field

position.

105

kickinggam6 s usl as undamsnt6l-and impor-

.rt-6s

any oth6r

phase

of d€fenso,



106

KICKOFFS

When

it

kicks otr,

the

team's

basic

objectiv€

s to stop

the

oPponents'

-retum

,froJ

oi,tt"

ZO

u.A ine Obviously,

hat

s most

easily

ccomplished

y having

u

i.t",

oo*.riut

nough

o bool

he

balt hrough

he

end

one

o

that

l cannol

l. ' ." i"t t iJ.

i i tr ' .

l i" ioff

man

acks

he

eg-st

engr

to

kick he

ball

his

af '

i. aftouUp.o"ti"" ti"ting the ball ashigh ashe can to givethe coveringteam

enoueh

ime

o

eel

downheld

nd

make

he ackle

nsjde

he

20'

""-i"

"i"r"J,ilr

f"otball.

rhe

kickoff

eam

Purs

he

ball

in

plav from their

own

J5

yard

ine.

College

nd

high

'chool

eams

by

therules

ovemrngnelr

Dlav,

kick

from the

40.

t'"''rti"-rnut".,

tal.ve

the

kickoff

etum

s one

of the

most

exciting

plays n

tfr. nuri..

p*f..,ionuf

teams

usuall)

havea

man

who

can

kick lhe

ball

con\i\_

i"", i"

" i"", " j

tara"

Bv having

hi

kickrng

eam

begin

he

play rom

he

:

vard ine.

he

ruie-makers

eel

here

s

a

Sreater

hance

hat

the

rec€ivin€

eam

'; i i ; ;";

; t

opportunity

o

rerurn

he

kick

in'read

f

hating

r

go into

or

throush

the

end

zone.

'-l;;;;t;;,

"ollege

kicking

specialists

ave

been

able

o consistenrli

kick heballbj yards r more nanatlempllohavelhekickoflretum.remar'

a srtectacular

la\,

beginning

iLhhe

q84 ea<on

he ollege

ule

was hangeo

N;w if the

ki:k;tr

m;n

kick\

he

ballbevond

he

end

ine'

he eceiving

ear

; i l l Dut he

ball

n

plav

at the

30-

instead

f

the

2o-yard

line

'wnite

rtrit

rule

change

enali/e<he

most

powerful

kickers

it

proba"l

wil l

result

n more

kickofs

acluall)

being

elurned

The kickoff

eam

ine\

up.

erenly

paced'

cross

he

field

aboul

6

)dr: '

b€hind

he

ine

rom

which

th;

ball will

be

kicked

The men

who

are

o

co\:'

ti"

ti"t

-*,

flot closs

theit

restraining

line-

the

35 in

the

ProJ'

the

4

r:

coileee

nd

hieh

schoot-before

he

kicker

as

hil the

ball

As he

kicker

t' -

ior*ira,

,n"

t i . t

*t o

are

o cover

he

kick

slan

orward

with him

bLll

<n.

:

about

I

yard

b€hind

him until

he has

actually

kicked

the

ball'

For

coaching

urposes,

he men who will cover he kick arenumb€:"_:

u"ro,.

itt"

n"ta oiptuy.

The

two

fastest,

most

aggressive

overage

Te.n

r.::'

tiiton

ii". trt

"fOu

th€

number

2 and

number

10

playe$ It

is their

':

:

run

downfield

with

abandon,"

riving

straight

or

the

man

who

has.recer'

ih"

tict.

me

otttet

"overage

men

have

ane assiSnments

nd

stay

n therr

-:E

io

-ut

"

"ut"

the entire

fi;ld

is covered

They,

too'

run

downfield

as

li":

a

Dossible.

When

they

approach

otential

blocke$

on

the

receiving

eam

::'3

ii""fi-.f.*

.fitft,iv

ina

ut

ttt"

moment

of

contact

get

into

the

"hr:::i

oo"itiln

to

"lea-or

"u*

avoiil

the

blockers

and

continue

on to

the

balic:

'



to1

Honsiv€ cov€rags on

tayers

2 and lO move

s.aighl

toward rhe kick

'Eceiver.

Other

players

:.ver thsir

"lan€s."

It is a mistake f the men on the kicking team are

about the samedepth

downfield

as hey cover the kick. Most of the time, this is not

a

problem

since

the men on the line

possess

arying speeds.Each man tries

to cover as fast as

he can, but since somemen run faster than others, the varied

depth rceded as

the line moves downfield is assured.

Ifall the men are of equal speedand run downfield n a stnight li[e across

the field, each man in his lane, the receiying team has

only to break that one

line ofcov€ring

men to make

a

ong retum

or a

touchdown. By

betrg at difrerent

depths the c-overing

men

can adjust their course to the ballcarrieis as they

avoid the men attempting to block them.

The kicker is the safety man fo the kicking team. He does not move

donnfietd

quickly.

Rather, he

aligns

himself

opposite he

man

who has caught

the ball, watches he

men

o1l

his

t€am as they cover, and stays n

position

to

make he tackle should the ballcarrier bre.k

past

he fi$t two walls ofcoverage.



N

t

Onside

icks

When

the

kicking

team

is

still

losing

after

they

have

scor€d

a-touchdown

or

kicked

a

field

goal, they

may

rry

rc

regarn

possessio[

of the

ball

by

makiflg

an

onside

kick.

'"-'ifr"

*.ia"

kick

must

travel

10

yards before

it can

be

lecovered

by

r

-"-#.iirt"

i.i"n"f*u-.

once

the'kickoff

has

gone 10

yards' it is a

"frec-

uoit

*d

th.

t.u.

11'tu1

gcovers

t

gains

possession'

"-'-

O*ia"

n"t"

"t"

tsually

used

ate

in the

flrst

half'

when

there

is

lesstic

fo. ai-ug.

iith;

on.lae

ici

fails.

r ate

n

h:

c"tt:

y*",it

^i 9:f:"1:

;;;ili;#il;J,ror.gvrogumot'onrn;T-.19:i"l-:'l':::f

i

:;-"hi;;

;;;G;"

"in"..

v

ooig

'o

o

*t

sives

rs

opponent

oth

i

dnd

favorable

field

Position

ii""".."ii1,af,""grt.

"s

a surprise'

eams

hould

onsider

eginning

gamewith

an

oniide

kick.It

is

almost

sure

o

cal:h

l" :?. :,T:t:-X

:;il.;

;l["

;"""."trarins

n

executi -g

h'i'

"9t-"t

I'-'l:T ::t-T^:

-

'

'

The

surPrise

alue

and

the

ihan

defending

gainst

he

onsloe

KlcK

l

;;iil;;i;;";.

"f

theonside

ick

o

oPen

he

same

make

r an

gu-Ul. O".pir" he ossof fieldpositionf thePlay

ails'

Executins

he

Onsids

ick

i"-.-*."il

irt".".'a.

kick,

when

he

kicker

s readv

o

put he

ball

n

;;;;.;;;;

;*

."'e

across

he

ield

just

before

the

ball

is kicked'

so

eight

men

re

on

one

side

of

the

kicker'

In

-o"itg

to*a.a

tfte

ull,

the

kicker

disgrlises.hit

ittTlt?i:1T.11:

.;#,;;;;"*'il;i.

ii"t

t'-a

the sid;Iine'

opins

he

has

siven

t

irr"'i-gii

"-."tii"ifuce

and

spin

so

hat

t rolls

no

more

han

0

Movsment

of the

dsf€nsive

oam

for

rocovery

of an

onsid6

kick

KEKCI



ltFri.ld.

The first four men n the

gang

of

eight

gnore

the ball and

drive their

fr:,ate

opponentsback b€yond the legal

distarce for recovery

of the kick.

b

:ther four men, who are behind

them, try to

gain possession

f the bal1.

L sually the r€ceiying eam will adjust by moving

thek men across

he field

-1.unter

hose eight men covedng as the ball is kicked.

Occasionally,

he

q:r

should kick away from the "loaded"

side.

When

that is

done, man

@ber

l0 blocks any receiver remaining

on his side of the field

and man

@ber

I I attempts to recover

the ball aftet it has

gone

l0

yards.

FcnaltieshatMust BeAvoided

y he Kicking eam

:rd most damaging

penalty

for the kicking team is to have

a man "ofsides"

m rhe

play.

It is

the

result

of overeagemess nd lack of

concentotion on

the

lE:i

ofthe man who crosses he restmining line

before the ball is kicked,

and

r' b6d coaching as well. There is simply no

excuse

or

incuring this

offsides

:6alty.

Each man covering the kick should

watch the kicker as he moves

i-'snfield.

He should never cross h€ restraining line

until he s€€s he kicker's

i:--r hit the ball.

The major rnistake hat must b€ avoid€d on onside kicks is a man on the

ccking team touching the ball before t has moved l0

yards

downfield. Ifthat

r.curs,

the kick cannot legally be recovered

by the kicking team-but

the

-rreiying

team can choose

o acc€pt

possession

f the ball at the

point

wh€rc

I

*as

touchedby the defensiveman.

Obviously, hat results n outstanding

ield

:'ositior

for the receiving team.

DEFENDINGHE UNTING

AME

When

the opponent

goes

nto

punt

formation

(usually

on fourth

down), the

def€nsive eam has two options: it can attempt to block the

punt,

or

it

can try

ao retum the ball as far as possible.

All m€n rushing th€

punt

must realize that the

punter

will move forward

about hree

yards

as he kicks the ball. The

point

they want to reach s

4

yards

directly in

front

of where he

punter

takes his initial stance. If

the rushe$ do

not aim

for

this

point,

they will not be in

position

to block the

punt,

and they

run the additional

risk

of

running

into the

punter,

and incurring

a

ls-yard

penalty

or "roughing the kicker." That is

one of the most disastrous

penalties,

since he

15

yards

almost always

result in

a first down for the kicking team

and

enables hem to

maintain

possession

f the ball.

109



a-r

t l

I

*'r'-

I@deep

i l

r 'L

/1 F

,/ d*"\

/ - \

,/,,' \

/ ' t rr l tn\ \

' /v t

\ " \ \

o,o

lo\

o\o\

n-

dn

H

Gua'n

Tac*e

AA

O

o

4% yards in front of wh€r€ the Punter

a

better chance

of

blocking

the

punt

witho

^l

l'

E

@

y rushing o a spor

efenssman

stands

a

By



a

Punt

iq:

:.1mmon rror madeby menaltempring o

blocka

punt

s ro

charge

' E

( r3r

B) doing that, they overlook the signifcant facl

thal the kicker

6 _r:ea steDand a half forsr'ard and continue his forward

motion as he

:E )all and

prepares

o kick il. By charging oo

deepal the kicker,

he

{:apring

to block the

punt

crill not

put

himself

in the

path

ofthe flight

e ?l as t is kicked.

r{-

artemptingo block

a

punt

shouldalwaysaim for a spot 4t4

yards

:r-,r,: ri

the kicker. By reaching

hat spot, hey will be n the

path

of the flight

E :3ll as

it is kicked

and will be in

position

to block the

punt.

i.r:el)-

do€s

an

interior lineman

get

penet€tion

to that

point,

since the

ffisfi.

c

team s alwayszone-blocking

o

prcvent

defensive

layeft

from g€tting

d .n :

mside

gaps.

Nevertheless,he

guards

must chargeaggressively

hrough

r&

41-,_:

et*een the center alrd the upbacks,and the tackles must

attempt to

tr

=.etration

between he ofensive

guards

and tackles.

:}e men

n

the best

position

to block the kick, however,

are the defensive

-<.

Tley

must ruil

their cou6e as

quicldy

and aggressively

as

possible

o

Frrate

to the spot 4r4

yards

n front of the

punter

and

thereby be n

position

r

:Nk the kick.

Sbce the defensive eam s never

positive

hat the

punter

will actually

kick

c

rall, the linebackeisand defensive alfbacks

usually watch the

play

develop

Es:3d

of trying to assist n blocking

the kick. By so doing, on a fake

punt

they

r':

:n

position

to cover any

po€siblepass

eceivers

or be n

position

to

stop any

.1rmng

play.

The safety

plays

deep

downfield

in

position

to catch and retum

the

punt.

When

the defensive eam decides o make an all-out attempt

to block the

t:l:k.

the linebackersmove up and

play

on the line of

scrimmage,and ther€ is

.

r

:urious. concentrated eam efort.

The

two defensiveends charge or a,spot 41h

yards

in front

of the kicker.

Tle defensive ackles shoot the gap between he center and "upback" to his

Rde, occupying both ofensive men. The right linebacker

charges straight

:xough the upbackon his side,attempting to knock the

blocker back. The right

guard

chargesbehind his linebacker through

the open lane crcated and aims

:br

a spot 4

yalds

in front

ofthe kicker.

The two defensivehallbacks

watch the

play

dev€lopand remain ready

to

lefend

against a

possible pass

or

run.

The safety

plays

deep downfield

in

Dosition

o catch the

Dunt.

l1l



o

I

1

a)\

'z

\

t ] \ \ t

oFFElvsE

/' \ Y'\

,// to r \Q .\

o

/qa /o \o\p\

ffi 6 fl A

AE

D M

unebacNd

Guard

rac*e End

Propor

delonsive

mov€ment

when

ru3hing

tho

punler

Punt

Returns

Most of

the

time,

if the

centel's

snap

s

accumte

and

the

puntei's t€chniqut

i

sound,

he

punter

will

get

his

punt off before

t can

be.blocked

From

t"r"rtl

ii"i."-

.ft""ra

know

ts

chanc€s

f actually

blocking

he

kick

lf

ch^ances

re

not

high,

they

should

try

to retum

th€

punt'

L rlu-"t"""tia

p*i .etum

should

alwavs

ncludg

l-r]rsh

al

th:

k]

That

puts

those

men

rushing

in

position

to block

the

kilk

if there

sa

bad

ft"i i*i"t t*li"n

aaays

he

imlng

of the

kck)

or

if the

punter umbl€s

bdl.

The defensive

inemen

on the

left side

of

the

kicker

try to

rush

the

as

hard

and

fast as

possible.

f they

are

not able

to

block

the

kick' they

past

the

punter to

become

blockers.on

he-retum

While those

m€n-ar€

ii"

f,i"t',ft"

m*t""

o"

the

dght side

of

the kicker

steP

oward

heir

opposite

hem

anduse

heir

hands,

rms,

nd

qdv

t9

kfp

t*i:

Tryi:tj

ih.

lin" of."ti-*ug.

to

that

they cannot

get downfield

quickly o covet

kick.

They

also

force

their

opponents

o

nake

their

getaway o the

iffi&

the

field.

ihen,

men

holding

up

their

opponents

move

to the

outside'

io

ttt"

fi"" of .".i--uge.

Ai soon

as

he

retum

blockers

€ach

a

spot

12

i.o.ift"

"ia"fi""t,

tft"i

tum

downneld

n

the direction

of the

kick

Usuallj



Dary

he

men trying to hold up their opponents

move

to the outside l l3

y

three or foul

yards

apart. They

maintain

this distanc€ as they

rhe comer ard

move downfield.

It€

men who tded to block the kick

have

p€netrat€d

across

he line

of

Ifthey have not blocked the kick, they, too,

will

b€ apFoximately

or fve

yaxds

apart. They circle to the same

point

where their

teammates

-.d

downficld,

which results n an evenly spac€dwall of blockers approri-

rdy

four or five yards apart moving downfield in a line ard in position to

E

t any of the

men

covering

the kick. If the ballcarrier

gets

o their outside

d

ihey have

not had

an

opponent to block, they reverse heir freld and run

-dr

the ballcarrier downfield

again and are ready o block a[y man who com€s

t

them from thet

inside.

fot om€nt

of ths d6f6nseduring sid€line

punt

reium by th€ d€l€nsive3.lety

o

o



114

",",?,.111

:'

#il,:"1;lf

:i*:'':iJ"il'

]l;'ilr1lTf

, :ii{i:

l,i'...

n.

uutt

suarrv

omes

o

rre

i:tl,1,ili.:;ill

ii"iiilii:l

:T'.iil;:

ffljtlJ;,

:'"::'lf

'll'lli.lii;.1

:i';;;L,,

rh",*o

.n'ho

o

o'

iit"n ,i" *"i

-"".

,o spots

ive

yards n

front

of

and

ive

yards o

the

side

:?';;:';;'i,;;;';;"**i,,*:l'.*lliiioJlil',:TJlfil':llX::::

first

coverage

man

who

getsnear'

nelr-(

,;;

;;;;

;"

"*,t

li::Hff.:'"ffi

,l,'l,i,",ol.,if

ii".

.,,

,.0"

:**ki:l{l***;n".llm'.nn;:T#1".*

inside,

giving

the

ballcarrier

a

clear

lane

for his

retum

The

Reverse

unt

Return

whm scouting

epofls

reveal

hal

the

punter

usually

out'kicks

he

coveraS'

rn"n,

,tt.

r.."irrng

leam

kno\rs

lhal

il

has

time

to

execute

he

reverse

ur:

ihe

playhas

he

sreat

advantage

f

keeping

h€,

me.n--cor"fl9"

ll: I::

o","'oli' 'ii""t'-iiii-.-

n'r'i

"**

;:"1

I'i,:::11]t-t:":"i,

"i"'

lil.l'"r"ii

i.r"vlir''ii'ou"ug'

ralso

rings.all

f

he-J:,lT'I:]t:

;il;fi;k";i;'.;i;;'for

the

man

who

will

eventuallv

ave,the

all

to

rur

'r

il"

."i"*

.f

ti"l"u

of

blockers

or a

clear

ane

downfield

if,;.

';t;;

;J;;;

l. called

o

the

r€ceivins

eam

s rigil

andlh€-

mar

*.

riit'.ii"

f"J*

irt.

ball.

he

akes

ivingr

to his

eammare'

eeps

.ion, *A

urr"rnp,t

ro reach

he

watl of

blockers

'il:'T"1?:li:"offiffi

J;;

;.t;i;;'"nts

just

s

hev

d

o:

t"*tf.HlL':T";;,

the

deep

men

who

are

n

position

o catch

he.punr-r:

"r*"i"""i".iJ"""

q"lcklvwitheachther tto

"h:.:itl,T:1L1t::,::-

iii'ih."."""."*"'rhe

carch

musr

eep

is

eyes

n

he,ball

nd

move

:

ii""Jrr'""ra

not

w-atch

is

opponent:

-":iiq

t:*ilg

ItI:

kick

are

o

close

o

he

e''

when

the

opponenls

ho

ale

cov€rlng

ne

.""

;;;;'iil;

Ji'ru

in

po";tion

o

hir

him

-immediatelv

o:t",n:.",:':l'

lillil

ill"*"it"it

-1,

t'"u'''"u'"''r'oura'r'""::

t:l'.:11"^l'.,Illi-

il.';;;';;;ii;;:;

.isnal

or he

air

carch'

n

which

he,rades

he

oppor'

il

"a""^".,tt"

Uf

f.i assurance

hat

he

will

not

be

hit

bv any

opponenr

:

on

forcing

a

fumble



o

o

Th6 rovol3e ount r6tu]n

It is imperative that the

man

catching

the

punt

catch the

ball on the

and neyeralloyl/ t ta hit the

goutrd,

Most

punters

arc able to kick the ba.ll n

the air about 35

yards

beyo[d the line of scrimmage.

Wheo

the ball is caught

in the air, the kicking team will o[ly

gain

the distance of the kick-about 35

yards.

But if the ball is allowed to hit the

ground

and bounc. forward l0 to

15

yards,

as t usually does, he additional distalce

results n

greatly

improved

field

po€ition

for the kicking team.



'i

a\

OFFEIVSE

o

t

o

\

/oo\

/

orolef

oro\

f f i f f iH

f f i f f i f f i

Tackle Guad Glard Tackl€

AA

Lin€backer

Linebacker

Llnebackec

aid s€conday

play

d run or

pss

@

Sal€ty

Punt d€f€n6ewh€n th€ kicking toam may not

punt

but

in3t€ad

run or

pea.

DEFElSE

o

@



FIELD OALS

When the

kicking

team

liner up

irr a

freld-goal

ormation,

there

is

no c€rtainty

that

it will

actually

kick the

ball.

It might

run or

throw

from

the ficld-goal

set'

The

defending

eam,

rlerefore,

while

fundament

lly

trying

to block

the kick'

must always

be

prepared o stop

a

pass

or a

tun.

Basic

Dsfensivo

lignmsnt

Substitutions

are made

so

that the

field-8oal

defensive

eam s composed

of

the

most capable

players available.

Thi linernen

who

are used

should

be

the

quickest, strcngest

dlen

on the

team.

They take

their

Position

on

the lioc

of scrimmage

and shoot

the

8ap

ltr

Basic ield-goal

€f6G€

o

o/r t \ \o

,z do 0

o\C

\

m6@@@@

G@,

Y"

\

g

E n

Guai

.***9

DEFEI\SE

d

f

@

5

I

t

@



':rnr

of

them, attempting

to

get

penetBtion

to a spot

3

yards

n

front of the

ir-].

If the

ball is not

kicked, they

react to the

patt€rn

of the

play

being

run,

r{usting

their course

o tackle he

ballcarrieror

rush the

passer'

Each

of the two defensive

halfbacks

keys the

tight €nd and wingback

on

:Ii side.

If

either

of those

men does

not block, but

instead comesdownfield

as

r possiblepassreceiver, he defensivehalfback must cover him

The safety

adjusts

his

depth

from the

line of scrimmage

o the distance he

scker

is fiom the

goal

line.

Ifthe safety

s sule the kicker

is strong enough o

kick

the ball beyond

he efldline,

he should

ine up 5 to

8

yards

behind the line

-.i

scdmmage

n

position for a fake. He will

move forward

to stop a running

play,

or back

o d€fend he

deepmiddle

zoneon a

pass.

When the

kicker is attempting

a long

fie1d

8oal-more

than

40

yards

ftom

rhe

goalposts-the

safety

should

line up about

20

yards

from the

line of scrim-

mage

n

position

to

field the kick

if it falls short

and can be retumed.

Blocking FieldGoalor

ExtraPoint

To block

a

place kick, the defensive

€am should

substitute men who

have he

best skills

needed

o execute he

play.

The kicking team

will always

be in the same

ormation. They

have the

cmter and

six ofensive

linemefl on

the line of scrimmage,

with flo spac€

b€tween

hem. The oths

two blockeN

set up as

wingbacks. The holder

is 7

yards

from th€ line

of scrimmage.

The kicker

is

a

step and a half behind

the

holder.

when the ball is snapped,

he ofensive

players form a solid wall in an

attempt

to

prevent

any defensive

man

ftom

getting

penetration

o the flight of

the

ball as

t is kicked.

The

c€nter

snaps he

ball and

holds his

ground

Th€ other

linemen drop

step with their

outside

oot. They attempt

to keep any man from

penetrating hrough the gaps o their inside. The two wingbacksstep up with

their

inside

foot and attempt

to make a solid

wall betwe€n hemselves

a.nd he

offensive

ends.

How do the defenders

counter?

The middle defensive

guard

charges he center

as hard as

possible,

n an

effort

to disrupt

his ability to snap

he ball and

then, if

possible,

o drive him

back.

The other two

defensive

uards

chalg€ through

th€

gap

between he offen-

sive suard

and tackle on

their side of

th€ center.

119



t2.a

Q

r<**

Q

nooer

M€n

'ushlng

musr

4ch

lh|sspol

n€v€r .€per

OFFEIISE

DEFETVSE

D€tonsive novem€nt or blocking a field

goal

The

d€f€nsive ckles charge hrough the

gap

between he ofensive

and ends.

The two defensiveends charee at the inside shoulder of the

wingbacks.They attempt to knock them back and to th€ outside.These

should open

gaps

betweel the ofrensiveends and wingbacks.

That

enables efensive alfbackso shoot he

gap

betweenhe wi

and offensiveends.The too haljbacks

penetrate

hrough those

Saps

o the

of the flight of the ball. The spot

for

which they aim is 2

yards

in front of

holder, They aft the men likeliest to block the kick.

The other two defensivehallbacks watch

the

play

dcvelop ard st

t

position

to adjust to a

possible

bad snap rom

c€nter hat

might r€sult in e

to their side by either the holder or kicker.



AFTER OUCHDOWN

{d€e

football

and the USFL, the

team that scores he touchdown

has

the

b

of

kicking the ball to

make one

point

or using a

run or

passplay

to take

bll the

three

yards

to the end

zone or two

points.

In the NFL, teamsmust

for the

one-point colversion.

I believe t would

improve the NFL

Same

.llEr rule werechanged o include th€ option of

going

for one

or two

points.

A.fter a touchdown,

when the

kicking team lines up

in

a

field-goal orma-

-r

the defendeN

should use he

"block kick"

play

describedaboveb€cause

-

crfmse

almost

certainly will kick

the ball. But if the otrensive eam

ines

up

-

a

oormal formation

and the

quarterback s set o ftceive the s[ap fiom center

i

tb

regular

position,

or from the

"shotgun"

set, he other team

must immedi_

d]

substitute

tr regular

goal-lin€

defensive

eam.

On a two-point

conversion attempt,

about 90

perc€lt

of the time the

&sive

teafi will use

a "pass-run" option

play,

throwing the ball if a tec€iver

.

open

or running

it if the receiversare covered.

Th€

goal-line

defense

hould operate exactly

as described

or

the

reguLar

61-line

defense, ut

every man on the t€am

should be alert

for

the

most fitely

tlry, the "pass-ru[" option.

t2l



DefensivelTl:';*ili":,iij'Tf

;"ET'",:LlX""":1:

StfateqV

cemedwith merely loppingheir

opponent,hey

-

-- -- -9r

mustattack heofensive

eam n every

lay.

By

attacking

the opponent-that

is, trying to shut

them do$n for no

gain

or

even

a

loss-they force

the ofensiveteafi into worrying aboutwhat they,

the defense,

.ill do next. That charlg€o he

mental

balanceof the

game.

The confidenceof the offen-

sive team begins

o break down, They start mak-

ing mistakes.

And before ong they are unable to

execute heir

offensive

plays

with any kind of

pre-

cision.

Effective defensive

ootball has a direct rela-

tionship

to the

vertical field

position

of the ball.

when the opponents

have he ball outside he de-

fender's 35

yard

line, they have only thrce downs

to make a fitst do*.rl,

since hey must kick the ball

on the fourth do*n or risk surrendering t at that

spot. Inside the defendeN'

35, th€ ofense has the

luxury ofa fourth attempt

in each series,since f

they are

stoppedshort ofa

tust

down

they ale still

giving

their defeNive team

favorable field

posi-

tion.

Inside the 35 the offeos€also

may

be

n

posi

tion to

try for a field

goal

on

fourth

down.

123

Ths harder. d€fenso

attacks, he

mor€ ikglvitisthat

rhs opponent'sg6meplanwill breakdown.



Thr€€"downand

fourdown

ar€as

rom a defensivo

standPoint

IMPORTANCE

F

POINT

F

EXCHANGE

In

planning he tactics

and

strategy

o win a

football

game,

he

"point o:

exchange"

s ore

of the two

most

important

factors.

The

other

importar:

factor

is "time of

possession."he

team hat

has

possessionf the

ball

rh:

majorityof

the time

usually

wins.For

example,

four team

has he ball

for

+:

minutes, and

th€ opponents

or only

20, our team

should

win

)

The

point

of exchange

efe$ to the

spot on

the fi€ld where

the

offens€

surrend€G

he

ball to the

opponent

The team

that

has he most

favorable

ieli

position,

cumulatively,

on the

exchanges

will almost

always

win the?ame

Favorable

ield

position

on

the exchanges

s

the

result of

a strong

kickir

game,

a consistent

ffense,

he

avoidance

f tumovem,

and a

solid defense'

The strong

kicking

Same

combines

he ability

to kick the

ball out

of ri:

endzoneon kickofs, or to kick it high enough nd coverso quickly hat ti '

opponent

s stopped

n

the retum

insideofhis

own

20 to 25

yard

ine.

Whe:

forced o

punt,

t is the

ability to

make35

net

yards

on the

play That r€qulrr:

a

punter

who can

kick

well and team

speed

n covering

the kick.

A consistent

offeflse

mplies

the ability

to make at

least two or

three

fir;:

downs

mch time

a team

gains

possession

l

thq ball.

The third

factor in

gaining

and

maintaining

favorable

ield

position

is

t:'

avoidance

f the wo

major

erro6 of

fumbles nd

pass

nterceptions

ach ir'

either occurs,

generally

speaking,

he

offensive

eam has surendered

a mrr_l

mum

of the 35

yards

t could

have

made

had it

punted

on

the

play



Breakaway

lays esultfrom

bad ack

e

by defensive

lnemen r

from errors

coverage

y he

defensive

econdarY

l

secondary

lays

collectly

and always

keeps he ball

in front of

and

r.:

:"

its unit. A ball hrown

20

yards

ormore

down he

6eld s n the air

ong

e_

for the secondaryo

get

o it and break

t up

if

the

members re

readl:-

:

pass

keys

properly.



Breakaway

plays

result fiom erors by

the secondary. f that udt executes

ri

-.asic

objective and

gets

reasonable upport

from the linernen and lineback-

<r

no breakaway

plays

can be made.

HOW OCREATELONG.YARDAGEITUATION

wrrh

the secondary

playing

error-free

football, it now becomes

he mission of

ie

linemen and

linebacke$ to create

a long-yardagesituation

by any of the

:Jllowing

means:

l.

A

penalty

against the

ofensive team

2. An ofrensive

ball-handling

error rcsulting

in

a

loss on th€

play

3. An offensiveassignment

rror enabling

he defensive

layer

to

make he

rackle

behiod the

line of scrimmage

4. A well-executed

defetlsive

maneuvet by the

linemen

and

linebackeN

resulting

in a

loss of

yardage

on the

play

It may appear

o b€ negative

hinking to assume

hat the opponent will

be

penalized

so that

the defensive eam

is trcated to a

long_yardage ituation.

But

it remains a

fact that the

vast majority of ofensive

t€ams will incur a

penalty

f they are

requir€d to

put

the ball

in

play

15 or

20

consecutive

imes.

Some

ofrensive

player

will hold,

jump

otrside,clip, botch the

formation. Thus,

a defensive

eam

that

plays

sound

freld-position ootball

can, except against a

truly

excellent oppon€nt,

expect o

get

a

lon8-yardagesituation as a

result of

a

penalty if the team combines

perfect

defens€

aSainstbleakaway

plays

with

excellent

eld

position

at the

point

of exchange.

Th€ same

s true of backfeld

ball-handling

errors.

while

ofrensive eams

.are

expected

o haddle the

ball flawlessly,

the fact lemains that

if

they are

requiredto put the ball in play a number of times n succession, ooneror later

sorneooewill

mishandle t.

And even hough the ofrense

may recover ts fumble,

yardage

will

more than likely be

lost on the

play

and

a long-ya.rdage ituatiol

will be created.

All offensive

inernen have blocking

rul€s that,

if

properly

followed, will

have

each man taking

out an assigned

defender' Again,

while mistakesshould

not occut,

the defense

can sooner or

later expect o

force an ofrensiv€errol if

it

plays

intelligently

and vades

its

alignm€nts

Then

the defenderssrill move

in, throw

the ballcarrier

for a loss, and once

again create their covet€d

ong_

yardage

situation.

t27



I

fi

l,i

I

i

j

128

TEAMSTUNTS

The

preceding

thrce

means of crcating a loflg-yardage situation

require the

cooperation of the offensive

eam. Excellent opponents-afld there are

few of

those n actual competitiol-wi1l

not make hoseself-defeating rrors.

Against

such

good

teams, o deny the ofense the 3x-yards-per-play average,

t will be

necessary or the defense o employ a stunt that

will

enable

t to

penerate

behind the line of scrimmageand throw the ballcarier for a loss. Such stunts

arc

relatively simple o executeand are a combination of

a

slant or

loop charge

by a lineman or end and a

"read-key"

by the

linebacker.

(Seepage

27).

There

arc alrnost

unlimited numbe$ of ways these combinations

of lne

chargesand

keying

by

linebacke$

put pressure

on the ofense.

SlantChargeo

the Right

For example, he linemen can start a

chargeby slanting to their right. Th€

left

end must step with his right

foot

ard

hold up the offensive ight end so that

he cannot block a linebacker. If the ball moves to the right, the right-side

linebacker will shoot the

gap

between

he

guard

and the tackle. Four

men

are

now

penetrating

fthe

play goes

hat way, and a loss s almostsure o

result.

The left-side inebacker,by reading his key

(the

sid€ o which the ball

is

going),

simply

moves to his right and

plays

as a regular linebacker.

Ifthe

play goes

way rom the slanting inem€n, he defenses still sound.

The linemen

are slanting

to the right, but the

play goes

o their

left. That

changes he key ofthe lirebackers.

When

the ball moves o the left, the l€ft-side

linebacker

shoots he

gap

ust

outside he otrerNive ackle.

That

charge,coupled

with the slant

of the

linemen

on the

tackle, has wo men

penetrating

on the side

where the

ball

is. The dght linebacker,

also by

reading

the

key, moves

o

his

left

to support normally.



Slant

Charge

o

the Left

Let's say,

though,

that thc

linemen slant

to the

lelt, and

the ball

moves o the

left.

The linebackers

use

the same

keys de€cdH

above.

The

left lirebacker

shoots

he

gap

between he

guard and tackle,

Siving

four_ma[

penehation on

that

side. The

right linebackel

rcacts

nomally,

moviltg

to his lcft.

Sometimes'

ofcou$€,

the

linemen may slant

to

the left and

the ball

moves o the

right

But

by shooting

the

gap

outside

the ofensive

tackle,

the right

linebacker

may

get

through.

Th€ left

linebacker

supports

normally.

By using

defensive

stuntj

of that

kind,

particularly when

a running

play

is expected,

i is

possible o break

into

the backfield

and stopthe ballcaffier for

a losi. Such

maneuvers

weaken

he

pass

defense,

but the

unexpected

ush of

the linebackers

may enable

a

defensive

player

to

8et

to the

passer

befole

he can

throw and

thus again

create the

long_yardage

ituation.



131

O orrr"",

-

DEFENSE

Defensive in6m6n

lant

l€fL

offonse run3

play

to dgf€n6€'s ett

r-

"(H

*""o\

\

--"

.f

\ \ KoK l l

\O\C O\@ O\O i

tutu

m

/tsfr

r

racrJh

Guad

a

rac'<re

no

Lneb&€

\------------l

Lrebacle,

DEFENSE

r)

Defen8ivc inemon lant left offonso runr

play

to d€f€rue's right



On every

play,

all defensive

men must be consciousof the "down-and-

distancr" situation.

That means hey must be aware ofthe

yardage

neededby

the ofensive team o

make

a

frst down and thereby etain

possession

fthe ball.

Once a

long-yardage situation has been achieved, he objectives of the

def€nse hange.

When

a

s€cond-down-and-15-yards-to-gainituation has been

ceated, the defense alr allow

the offense o make seven

yards

on the next

two

plays

(if

it is in the three-down area of

the field) and still force it to

surrender

the ball.

In such situations, the defenseshould

not

attempt

to

force

the

play

with

so much vigor that

it loses

he swarming

efect of every man being

part

of the

pursuit pattem.

The defensive

layers

should all thinkr "We can et them make

6ve

or

six

yards

on this

play

and still be n control of the situation." The mental

adjustment

will make it extrcmely difrcult for the offeflse o make the first

down.

By following the sound defensive

plan

outlined above, waiting for

an

ofrensiveeror,

and imiting the ofense o relatively short

gains,

he

perc€ntages

will favor the defensive eam.

133



"Defensivesignalcal l ing is a lways something of a guessinggame

'



COOfdinated

AU foorball

ollowersecoC

ze that ofensive

'

- - -

teltrnsusea

variety

of formations.

From eacb or-

DefenSiVe

p1211 rnarion

hey ave

complereffense.bich

ma-

bles them to cal straighFabead

uDnirg

plays,

counters, revers€s,and

all types of

passes.

The

defensive eam must

also

have

a variety

of

plays

with which to attack the ofensg regardlessofthe

formation the

otretrse s in.

The

defensebegins ts

strategy from its cho-

sen basic alignment-the

most

common, as we

have

s€€n,being he 4-l interior

s€t or the 3-2 set.

The

defensive

quarterback"

i$

the man who

calls the

defensivesignals. He is

usually a line-

backer. Rarely in

today's

game

does he &ctually

select he defense o be us€d. nstead,

he looks to

the sidelineswheie a coach

will signal to him

the

defensive

play

he should

call. In most cases n

collegiate or

professional

competition, the coach

who signals n tbe defensive lay has b€€n n-

structed on the call from

a coach n the

press

box,

who has a much better view

of the entire field.

To b€ certain

the entire defeffive team

on the

field

gets

the corect

signal, it huddles

about a

yard

and a half

behird the line of scrirnmage.

There they can hear

the signal called by the

defea-

sive

quarterback

and be n a

pGition

to break

the

135



l

ir

T

{

o

O

o

O

n

o

136

huddle

quickly

should

the ofrensive

eam

(which,

remember,

controls

''lret

the

ball

is

put

into

play)

Iine up and

snap he ball

mucn more

quickly

than

usual,

in an attempt to

catch the defense

before they

can

prop€rly line up.

Defensive signal-calling

is always something

of a

guessing game. The

defensive

oaches

ave carefully studied

heir scouting

eports and

the "tenden-

cies"

of the offensive

eam.

The facto$ they

consider are

remarkably

varied.

What does he offense

usually do

on flrst and

10-run o throw?

lvhat run are

they most

likely to use?What type of pass?The same acton are cofsider€d

for every down

and for every

distance

needed o make a

first dosr'n.

In addition,

the defeosive

coaches

must consider how

the weather condi-

tions

may alter the offmsive

planning

and throughout

the

game

must be con-

stantly

aware of the

field

position, the score,

and the time

remaining.

The actual defensive

play

to be used

n

any

situation simplifies

tself

to a

great

degreesince,

for

practical

purposes, he offensive eam

has only a

few

options.

They can run an

inside

play;

they can

run to their

right side; hey

can

run to their

left side; hey can

throw a

pass.The d€fensive oach

d€cides

what

play

he expects he

ofensive team

to run and

then calls the defense

best able

to stop

that

play.

For example, f the defensive oachexpects

he offense o

run a

play

to

the

inside, emight call

"pinch."

With this call on

a 3-2 s€t, he

guards

nd ackles

shoot

heir inside

gap.

The

noseguard ttacks

the center.

The insid€ inebackers

"key" the block and

movement

of the ofensive

Suards.

On

a 4-l set,

he

guards

nd ackles hoot

heir

nside

gaps

nd

hemiddle inebacker

keys"

h.

Basicdefsns€

o stop

nsid€

plays

o

o

o

or..r".

^^

/g

o

Atr i

O

o



block of

the ofensive center. This defensive

play

should stop all inside

plays

either

for no

gain

or a loss.

When the defensive oach exp€ctsa

play

to b€ run at the dght

side of

bis

defcnse,

he will signal "slant dght." The t ckles and tlle noseguardslant to the

right. The outside inebackeron the right side crosseshe line of scrimmageand

places

himself in

position

to turn the

play

to the inside. The inside inebackers

"key" themovemcnt and blocks of the ofrensiv€guards.That stud should stop

any

play

run

to the defensive

dght side.

Easic doten3o o stop

play3

o tho right 3id.

I'?

o

or.."o

o

.^^

o/o/o

A &; '

-""*"'-,,A

@

o

\

nl

64

ql

E iNA

Glad

arad'e'j"eb.*s

o

o

a



lVhen the

defensive

oach

expects

he

ofrensc

o

run a

play at the

left side

of

his deferse,

he will signal

"slant

left."

The down

linemen

and

the

linebackers

would

then

perform the

same

stunt

on the

opposite

side'

O.\

\ "

\n\

\ r x .

\JK

\

\x

?€

?'8\

Lin€backer

ackrs

A

Gmd

A

rackre

ineba'ker

ungbacker

unebftk€r

Beiic dolonso

o dop

plaF

to

th€

l€tt sido

@

EFEIVSE

@

@



139

hen

the defensive

coach

expects

a

pass,

he

has two

choices____€ither

defend he pass

by

covering all rec€ive$,

or nrsh

the

passer

n ar

attempt

to

get

to him

before

the receive$

have time

to

get

open downfield.

When

the defensive

coach

wants to

cover the

pass

ather

than

put

great

presswe

on the oFensivequart€lback

with

a rush, he

will signal

"cover."

The

tackl€€

and noseguard

ush

the

passer,

but since

only thrce

men

are rushing,

usually the quarterbackwill have ampletime to throw. But sincethe outside

and

inside

linebackers,

ogether

with

all the secondary

men,

are ready

to

drop

back

to cover

every

potential

receiver,

eight men

are deployed

o react

to

th;

ball

whed it is

thrown.

When

the

defensive

coach expects

a

pass

and desires

to

put

exheme

pressure

n the

quarlerback.

e signals

.blirz."

o

t

OFFEVSE

I

OQC

Lin€backe/,A

m

/

reata

^

Linebackq/44

-2 1

DEFEME

Slrong

aisly

@

I

t

I

il

q

E

Gi:il

Paaa

d€fonse o

cover all r€coivsrs

o

I

oo

o

ffi

{.'"0-*,

A

Tac{e

*\

fr\Ln€bad<er

'\..\^

a

Comeba.l

re

s€y

qJ

?1

.LL

@

)

I



CHANGINGHEALIGNMENT

The defensive

pla,€

describedabove

are simple and easy o

execute,They

put

great presswe

on the ofrensive eam

and might even ftsult in

fumbles

or

interc.eptions.

A well-organized,

pois€d

offensewill, however,

b€ able to

pick

up defensivestunt

pliays.

Therefore,

to confrrs€ he ofeisive

blockers further,

tbe defense an alter itJ aligmetrt, requiring the ofrensive inemento reod;ast

their blocking assignments

and

increasing

the

possibility

of their making

a

blocking mistake.

When

the defensivecoach

decides o try to c.nfirs€ the

blockers, he

will

signal,

"stack

left," In the 3-2, the nos€guard

and the right interior

lineman

move a halJ step to their left,

and

lhe

up io the

gaps.

The linebackers play

dircctly b€hind them. From

that alignment, down linemen

cat chargeback

to

their original

positiotrs,

shoot the

gap

n front ofthem,

or charge o their right,

while the linebacken step lcft

alld

"key"

the movement

and blocks

of the

ofensive

guards.

How o confu3e ffen.iv€ blocking

$ignmentsby movingdsf€nsiv€

ln€men

tu.t b€for€ he b.ll iBsnappod-tho stack €ft"

AEFEIVSE

l4 l

OFFETVSE

+^O+

tr) l r) r) la r \ la)

-FJ*ro

"J#

*,JX

ls

E41.

Es

w

dL

Lineback€r ac&e,,'

cusrd

\\Tackle

U.eba.k€r

AA

@

@

@

6r



t42

That adjustment

or

its miror

image,

"stack

right"-ioes

not require

any

time-con;uming

coaching

ol special

prepamtion

by the defensive

eam

Yet

the

"stack" alignme[ts

put

great

pressure

on

the ofrensive

inemen since

they

ate

not sure which

charge

the

defensive

inemen

will

use

Ofensive

teams

always

try

to recognize

he

d€feosive

alignment

before

they call

the snap

couflt.

Offensive

€ams

hat take

an nordinate

amount

of

time

to iall the snap

sigrtal

alter setting

up

on the

line of scdmmage

usually

are

vulnerable

o a

quick change

of alignment

by

the defenseust beforethe snap

signal

s called.

hat

is, after

the offensive

€am

has set

n its formation,

ifth€

quarterback akes

a long

time to

call a snap

count,

the defensive

inebacker

who

calls the

defensive

lays

to

his teammates

an

call

"teft" or

"ri8ht

"

When they

hea.r hat

call, the

linemen

and inside

inebackers

move to the

stack alignments

described

above.

That change

n alignment,

after the

ofensive

team

has set and

has recognized

he

initial

defensive

alignment,

causes

readjustment

of block_

ing assignm€nts

ust

before

the ball

is snapped.

Almost always,

this

results

n

poor

execution

by

the offensive

eam.

It should

be noted

that

the same

generaldefensive

tunts

can be used

rom

the

4-l alignment.

On

"piflch,"

the

four do{n

linemen

shoot

the

Saps

o their

inside.On;left," the four down inemen lant o the eft On "

ght,"

the

our

down

lineme[

slant to

their

right On

"cover,"

th€ four

down

linem€n

rush the

passerwhile

the remaining

seven

men cover

heir

defensive

ass

covenge

zones'

bn

"blitz," the

lour down

linemen,

inebacken,

and the

stlong

safety

ush

while

the comerbacks

and the

lr€e safety

play man-for-man

pass d€fense

I

ADJUSTING

HE

DEFENSE

GAINST

EN

N MOTION

AND

FORMATION

HANGES

Afier

selting

up al

the line

of

scrimmage.

he offence

an easily

change

r(

formation

by u"iog

a

^utt

in motion.

Th€

man in

motion is usually

a

wide

receiverwho, after the ofensive t€am is ready to put the ball in play, move:

across

he field to

the opposite

side

The comerback

assigned

o him

must

more

across

he ield

with

him o be

n

po()l iono

play

either

Tone r

man'[or-maf

should

a

pass

play

be used.

f the

play is a run, the

def€nsive

man

immediatel)

reacts

to the

play

and

supports

against

he ballcarier'

Since

the com€lback

is moving

laterally,

and

sinc€ the

two safeties

ar'

likely to think

"pass

defense"

ather

than

"run defense,"

he

movement

f lh3

wide

receiver

n motion

weakens

he

ability

of the seconddry

men to suppo'

as

efrectively

against

a running

play

as they

can if there

is no

man ln

motro:

to distract

them,



a)

r)

Adju.ting th6

doferue when a man

on off6ns.

goes

n motion betoro h6 ball is

anapped

Hsr€ he left detensivocornerback

overs he man n motion,

i.)c--o

IA

a)

ooooo

f f i f f i f f i

rackr€

A

Guard

A

r&kre

Lirebacker

linebackq

A

&

@

@

a)

x

A

f-l

Adjurting tho defen.€ wh€n the offenriv€

beck change heir

politions

beforo

th€ b8ll

i3

sn.pped

oooooo

ffi m ffi A,"*"*.

1_.....r*1:_.4,

l,

j._-6rd,"

uneb&reril -i

Lneb&rer

DEFEIVSE

k-,

s

@



-.',;r*,mi$'^+

rsffg#$ffi'td#

'ffiiffif,gtr

i1,?.'

play

is used.

SUMMARY

s"TJl:Hi:,T5i,i".'T:;siti"Tt-il:{i*:ff

i;tl

{$:d;r***-rt#T*,m;*ln*

'o

rn.

o"r.n..

rows

one

r

tht

woT"l :,-"IT-t:':"J:Al'::i;

,".#;i"f

i:.*,"";:;;"':i'J;";.J"y::":,*l*

l,"j$:

il1"[:"ftT'iLJ;.;;;;j;"

ro

anv

hanses

n

ormati



to men n motion and they must defeat he opponent

attempiing to block them

cven hough the ofrensive eam, kno\ring the count, s'ill have

a slightjump. The

defens€

must also ignore all fakes and move to the ball and stop the

play.

All

of

that requires

quick

decision-maLiogability and

fast reactions

o each situa-

tion.

Anyode with

physical

rkills can b€ taught to

play

etrectivelyon ofense.

It takes

a fne athlete with the reactionsofa masterdetective o

play

efectively

on defeNe.

145



l"i



fl@

Preparing the

Game

Plan

b€st dofensive

eams arc always

prspared

o

what thek oDDonsnts o best,

Any offensive

play,

whether a

pass

o a run, al-

ways ooks successfi

in the di.g:rao. Fortunately

for the defense

th€re is a marked diference be-

tween a

pLay

ar

it is diagrammed and as it is ex-

ecuted by an

ofensive t€am.

Moreover,

in

preparing

their ofrense, eafis

usually seekperfecrbalanc€between beh running

and

passing

attacks.

In r€ality, though, such

per-

fection is rarely the cas€. Indeed, the ofensive

team, when

carefully analyzed, will always

have

defnite

srrength8and weaknesses, hich

are de-

iermined

by the skils of their

penonnel.

In

preparing

their

game plan,

the defensive

team should

ftake it their major obj€ctive

o rtop

whot their oppoients

do ,esf. It is a truism that

"the

defense

should forc. the ofense to try to

sucaessfully

un

plays

they have never us€d efec-

tively

in

prcvious games."

ANALYZING

HE

OPPONENT'S

RUNNINGAME

The opponent's

ofrensive eam

will usually use wo

or

more formations.

They may

also

usemen n

147



Bv

analYzing

coui ing

cies

and

weaknesses

Iru';:"*'"u:".:l;ii

:i':";":*""'o

l

*;***r**rs**

g**+*$**.i,*r':'l'



ANALYZING

HEOPPONENT'S

ASS

OFFENSE

The same

kind of defcnsive

planning

is us€d

n stopping the indiYidual oppo-

nent's

passing

game.

Once again, an opponent's

onnations are chart€d

from

films and

scouting

reports, and now it r.ill be

clear where the ball has bcen

tbrown

from each ormation.

Below are a

pair

ofcharts

showing he

pass€€

hat

havebeen hrclen fiom two ofensive formations. In Chart A, it is immediately

epparent hat

the short outside

pattems

must be defended

at all times ln Chart

B, it is apparent

hat the dcfense

must be d€signed

o stop deep

passes

irected

at the

dcht side of the defense.

o

149

o

o

o

oo

oo

(A)

From his

formation, hs oppon€nthas hrown 22 times o the shon outsidsand

only twice

downti€ld ds€p.

o

ooo

{B)

From h s formation, he opponent

has

hrown

13 tim€s o ths dsep righl sideof

the

defenssand only once to the short

right side.

o

o

oooo



150

The defensive

plarl should

also

take

into

considemtion

the

timing

of

the

r".;

;;J;;;.

;ff.nsive

team

lf the

offense

hrows

mostlv

from

the

thre€-

;;;;;;;;.1;."p'

linebackets

should

plav

deeper

and

thesecondary

closer'

Ji.'-"ri

"i

f"

tf."

the

ball

will

be d€livered

quicklv

lf the

otrensive

eam

normall l

hrows

rom

a

6\e-\tep

r

a

\eten-step

rop

by

he

quanerback'. the

ii""#l ' . . .

""0

secondary

an

play

heir

normal

distance

rom

the

ine

ol

;;;;;; ";; .; ^ndread heir

kevs

as

hev

normallv

do'

because

hev

will

l"r"

ii--",

ufo..

the

ball

is thrown,

to

move

to

their designatedareasol

cove@ge.

ADJUSTING

HE

DEFENSE

FTER

HE

TART

F

THE

GAME

As a

rule,

the

defensive

lignment

t

the

start

of

the

gameshould

be

one

hai

i*

t"iui""

tJ

-.rto*n'in

p'"uiou"

ga-ts That

can

bewilder

he

ofensr"

iJln.

a-*

utf

ao.ing

its

practices

n

the

week

before

he

game' he

ofrense

3

*o.t"Ju*uin"i

,ft. ai"nsive

alignments

reviously

sed

when

onthefirst

pl:l

.f"tfr"

"#e-,it""f*.ive

team6reakshi huddle'getso th€ ine of scrimmag:

t.i..

ti

r""ognit"

th"

defense,

nd

sees

n

alignment

hat

it

has

nor

pracd":

"*"i*,'"""ir.."

-lses

and

confidence

s sapped

The,,individtil

rltrtl:ll.

"ir""t'ifri.t '

:'o*

*aching

stafr

has

been

outsmarted

we

haven't

Pracll':':

5nir"'lti.

a.r**r"

Ueanihile,

the

opposing

oachet-both

n the

press :

,""Ji"

,i..ia.fi"",

-"

surprised

y

the

ner^

alignmenl

They

mmediatel\

diven

heir

altenlion

rom

he

low

ol lhe

gamewhile

hey

declde

nal

ihev think

can be

run

effectively

against

he

new

defensive

set

*-

iil-a"f"n.iu.

team

should

stay

in the

new

alignment

as

long

es

r:

successful.

hen

he

ofensive

eam

adjusts

o

it and

begins

o

move

n'

:_

ii"

J"iltti""

i""-

.rt.ulal

etum

to

its

nomal

delensive

laysand

orma:r:

'

Bv

u"ine

he

new

alignmenl'

he defensive

eam

haq

accompli ' l ' (r

'

rhinss:

l has

shaken

heoffen\ive eams confidencen its coachesno rl " -

"ii-rt'?v

ii

-.""..

"g"it.t

the

new

defensiv€

ali8nment'

and

it

has

forc3:

:

nm"n"iu"

"ou"tt.,

io

spend

heir

time

and

attention

on adjusting

o

Ih'

_: '

defense.

And while

that

damage

s being

nflicted'

the

defensive

eam

c r'

'

I

further

confusion

y

retuming

o

their

standard

lignments

nd

stunl'

When

a ilefensive

eam

does

cturn

to

its

nolmal

defenses'

ts

;::-

:

should

carefully

analyze

what

playsare

being

un

successfully

n

p3'

: _;

a"*"--J"".alg"

.ft"ations,

and

then

use

he

defensive

tunts

hal

s:

'

':

these

plays

I



Ofensive

teams

almost

always

repeat

plays that

have b€ tr

suoc'r*j

a

snicular

down

atld

yaldage

situations

Fol example,

f the team

h.5

s--

:.illy

run

inside

plays on short

yardage

situations,

he

next time

that dorE 4

turiase situation

occurs,

the defense

should

call the

"pinch"

stunt- li

c6'

:revious

third-andlong

yardage

situations

the ofensive

team

has b€enco|E_

:ently

successful

n

throwing

long

passes, he

d€fensive

coach

should

call

-bli;." That def€nsiveplay will

place great

pressule on

the

Passer

and

malc

lt

virtually

impossible

ol him

to complete

a long

throw downfield'

To make

those

kinds

of situational

adjustments,

defensive

coaches

must

Le€p

meticulous

records

of the

plays an opponent

is running

successfully

n

certain

down

and

yardage situations.

BUILDING

ORALE

Usually

thete

is a key

back

or

pass

receiver

on

the opposition

who

must

be

lropped

f the

defense

s lo

be succ€ssful

ln Draclic€.

he

"scout

eam"-rhe

team hat

in

practice s running

h€

formationsand playsof the opponent---{houldhave he playe6 wearthe same

numbe$

as

the

key opposing

players to be

faced

That $r'ill

familiarize

the

defensive

eam

with

their

particular opponents,

give the defense

speciic

men

on whofi

to

focus

their

attention,

and

help

motivate

them'

Practic€

should

be organized

so hat

the def€Nive

coaches

now what

play

will be

run each

ime

again;t

the

defenr.

That

enables

hem to

call the

defensive

Dlar.

or slunl,

that

wilt

be most

effeclive

gainst

he

play

beinS

un

Repelition

of

ihe

appropriare

tunt

for each

play builds

he defensive

eam'sconfidenc€

th^t it can

^nd

will

be able

to stop

the

opPonent'

The

coaching

staff

should

always

be

honest

with their

team

regarding

he

offensive

strength

of

the opponent.

When the opponent

possesses ruly

great

ofrense

they

ale, say,

thJitatistical

leade$

of

the confercnce

n all

offensive

catesoriest

he

coaching taffmust condition he playersmentallynot to be

over-b

oncemed

fthe;ffensive

eam

makes

series

ffirst

downs

They

simPly

explain

to

the defense

hat

in all

probability the

opponent's

offense

will

move

the ball.

The team

is taught

to adopt

the

"bend-but-not-break"

defensive

Philoso-

phy,

which

means

hat

he

players emain

onfident

hat rhe

defensive

nit

will

loi

"tlow

"

treatu*ay

tou;hdown

play

by

either

a

pass

r

a run

and thai

they

will

never

allow

a single

play to

gain

over

15

yards Those obj€ctives

are

attainable.



flt

Practi

Schedules

:i;:fr:T:,g;

jj;Tl.Yilff

$

"l;

erforms

better than he ever

has n practice. n

my

long experience

n football,

I have never se€n a

"gameplayer."

Repetitive

practice

is the only way a

player

can leam to

perform efectively. When the ball

is

snapped,defensive

play€$

do not have time to

think. Iflstead, they

must nstinctively react o the

play

being

run.

To teach each

player

to rcact accurately, he

coaching staf, during

Factic€,

m'ustcreate erery

rifrotion the defensive

player

will face n a

game.

The

player

then repeats

his reaction to eachsitua-

tion until

he can

respond

perfecdy.

To 6eate every

situation the

players

will

face

requires meticulous planning by the coaching

staff.

If an opposing

offenseus€s any maneuver

that

the defeflsive

players

have not

practiced

against,

t will

probably

be $uccessful.

The fault

lies with

the defensive oaching

staff, not with the

players.

They have

not

been

prop€rly prepared.

It is a loflg, tedious, difrcult

assignment or

each

player

to be totally

prepar€d

o meet evely

l Jl

bestpractice egsions uplic6te amssituations.

26

A recurring m'4h in foorball

s

that there

is a

- -

'game

player."

The myth

would haveus believe



l " '

I

I

il

I

ll

I

possiblesituation.

However,

t is the oflly

way

players

can

truly be

considered

ieady to

play. There are

no "game

players." There

aie only

mm

who, thtough

diligent

practice, are at

theh

peak

Th;

practic€ time allowed

for high school

and

college

eams

s

governed

by conference

nd

national

rules. Obviously,

professional eams

have unlimited

pmctlce hm€.

Colleges

and

high schools

usually

have hree

s€parate

imes of

practice-

spring,

eaily

fall, and

in_season ractice every week to prepare for the next

opponeni,

From

a coaching

standpoint,

spring

practice has two

objectiv€s

Players

must be taught

to erecut€

efectiv€ly

the

fundamentals

of

their

Particulal

posi_

tion,

and the

skills of each

plays

must

be analyzed

and evaluated

so

that each

man is assigned

o

play

the

positiofl in which

he can best

use his talents

All

meo

work;n agility

drills,

block

protection, nd ackling

echniques

n addi-

tion,

linebackers

and secondaly

men work

on man-for_man

and

zone

pass

defense,

while the

down

linemen work

on their

pass-rushskills

In

early

fall

practice, the

playerssharpen

hek execution

of the

fundamen_

tals

of their

position

and

the coaching

staf leevaluates

he

positions assigned

to each marron the defensiveeam. Any

playel

who

is "out

of

position' and

has he skills

to

play

better

elsewhere

hould

be moved

o the

new

position For

example,

f

a

cornerback

lacks

the speed

o cover

a swift

wide

receiver,

he

should

be moved

o one ofthe

safety

positions.

Likewise,

an outside

inebacker

who

lacks the

quickness

o

b€ an efrective

pass

defender

should

be moved

to

inside

inebacker,

where his

pass

coverage

kill

is not as

mportant as

his ability

to stop running

plays.

During

in-season

ractice, sessions

hould

be design€d

o that

the

players

can

lamiliarize

thems&es

with the

expected

ofrensive

plays

of

the upcoming

oDDonent,

In a1l

three

pe

ods

ol

practice, meticulously

timed

planning

is

a

must

Amateur

players;in addition

o

leaming

o

Play

ootball,

must

keepup

\r'ill

their schoolwork and family and socialrespoflsibilities on the average'ea"

player

can

daily devote

no more

than three

hours-including

time

necesse_'

io be taoed

and dressed-to

football

practice. Demands

on athletes'

time

r'

euer,

*ore s"u"t"

at

th€

military

service

academies

Because

of

the tigor'''

daily

schedules

f

thoseschools,

ootball

players an only

devote

hour

:::

45 minutes

a day,

including

dressing

ime,

to

football

practice

To best utilize

the limited

time

available

for

practice' the coaching

s::i

should

conduct

position and

group m€€tings

with the

team befole

anyone

c'

to the

practice

deld.

At these

meetings,

he

players re old

exactly

t'dl

I::'



158

but

greater

emphasisshould now

be

placed

on

preparing

for

an opponent's

probable

ofrensive

plan.

Players

will

pmctice

diligently until they leel

comfortably confident of

their

assignmentsagainst

an upcoming oppon€nt

and are confident they

can

ex@utehe assignments

ith eas€.Whena

player

cacheshat

poitt

mentally,

further practice

is

unnecessary. ndeed, he may

lose valuable incentive

and

purpose

f drilled further.

Thus, coachesshould

plan practice

schedules

are-

fully so that lor a gamebeingplayedon Saturday,no playet is totally comforta-

ble

about his

prepantion

until the end of

practice

on Thursday.

Coach€sshould

also

realiz€

that as the

season

progresses,

ess

ime

need

be spent on fundamentals.

When a

player

has

bem through spring

and early

fall

practice

nd

play€d

halfolthe regular

season, e will

be aboutascapable

a fundamental

player

as he can

possibly

be during the season n

progress.

At

that

point, grueling

practice

sessions

re

foolish.

Instead,

practice

should be

shortenedand

ge[erally

design€d o maintain

fundamental skills

while simul-

taneously

preparing

the team for its next

opponent.

WEEKLY

RACTICE

CHEDULES

The following

practice

schedulesassume hat the team

played

a

game

the

previous

Saturday

nd hat the

players

te availableor

pmctic€

at 3rl5 in the

aftemoon. he

pedod

between :15and3:30,whennormal

practice

egins, ill

be used o "loosen

up" and

give

the specialty men-kickers,

holde$,

punters

-an

opportunity

to work on their skills.

3:30

3:40

Monihy

Stretching

and

s,arm-up

exercises.

Playe$ who participated in the gameon Saturday will be in sweatsu'ts

They will

come ogether as a team to

practice

the new

defensive

plays

and

stunts that will be

used

n

the coming

game.

A comfortable

amount of

time

to allow for that is

about

20

minutes.

When

the

period

is over, those

player

should run two or three laps

around the fi€ld and retun to the dressing

room to shower and change. Players

who did not

play

in tle

game

on

Saturday

should scimmage againstan otrensiv€

€am

for

about 30 minute\

That

will

maintain

their

"real-game"

skills and keep

them in a

"hitting



159

l:30

3:4O

400

4:25

5J0

5:10

5:20

5:30

Tu€3&y

Stretching

and

warm-up €xercises.

Isolat.d

group work. The defensive

inemen,

linebackeA, and secondary

men €ach work

in

a

separate

group

to

practice tlek skills and techniques.

The

linebackers and

s€condary

men

join

to

pmctice

Pass

defens€.The

defmsive

inemetr onrinue

heir

group

work

The defensive earn oins together and pmctices the defens€s o b€ us€d

against le

coming oPPonent.

Practice

punt

d€fenses nd

retums.

Practice

ffeld

goal

defens€.

Pmctice kickoff

cov€rageand

onside kicLs

End oi

practice.

Wedneadey

Stretching

snd

warm-up exerclses.

Isolated

group work.

The linebackers

and

s€condary

men

join

to

Practice

pass

defense.

Th€

d€f€nsive

inemen onlinue her group work

The

defensive

€am

joins

together and

practrc€s he defens€s o

be used

against

he comirg

opponent.

Pmctice

punt

defeffes

and

r€tums.

Pnctic€

field

goal

dcfense.

Practic€

kickof coverage

and

onside

kicks.

End of

practice.

Ttulsday

Stretching

and warm-up

€rercises.

Isolat€d goup work.

The linebsck€rs

and secondary

men

join

to

pmctice pass

defens€ The

alefcnsive

inem€n continue their

isolated

group

work

Thc deferBive €3n

joins

togetler and

practices

the defeNes to be used

aSainst he coming

opponent,

Practic€

putrt

defeft€s

and retume.

Practicc feld

goal

defcnse,

Practicc kickof coverage

and onside

kicks.

End of

practice.

3:30

3:40

4120

4150

5'00

5:10

5:20

3:30

3t45

4,o5

4:35

4t45

4:55

5:05



160

3:30

3:35

3:55

Fridry

Stretching and wam-up exercises.

Defensive eamwork €mphasizing

short

yardage

and

goalJine

defen*s.

R€view

punt

defenses nd

punt

returns.

Revies, kickoF

coverageand onside kicks.

Review field-goal-block-kick plays

and defense.

End of practic€.

PHYSICAL

ONDITIONING

Through learning

and executing

he

"will

to

prepare," players

will achieve he

physical

conditioning

needed o

perform

well. In addition to

the

physical

and

mental work

dudng

practice, players

must understand he vital importance

of

eatinga well-balanced

i€t and

getting

enough leepand rest

o achieve nd

maintain

prime physical

condition.

At

the collegeand

professional

evels,

players

eat

at a training tabl€. Their

diet

is

desigoed o

provide

the n€ededcalories and

prope

balance ol dairy

products,meats, ish, owl, vegetables,nd salads.

Players

at the

high

school evel and b€low do not have

raining tablesand

musteat he ood

provided

y their arnilies. t thebeginning

f spring

practice

and again n

the

fall,

high schoolcoaches houldarrange

a

meeting

with rhe

parenl$

of all men on the team. At this meeting,

parents

are told, in depth, hor

the football program

qdll

be operated, how their

sons will be coached,whar

their diet shouldbe,and how much rest

hey will need.The

parents

hould

b€

asked o coopemte n assisting heir sons

o develop he

proper

mental attitude

and

achieve heir top

potenlial

as

playen.

Ditrerent

families have varying economic esources.While

a w€ll-balancec

diet is desirable or every

player,

some amilies

do

not

have he needed ncome

to

provide,

on a continuing basis, well-planned

"training

table" meals. At the

parents'

m€eting, oaches houldshow

the

parents

ways o

provide

an

ade-

quately

balanced diet for their sons even

though they may not have large

financial

tesources.Cereals, or example,

arc

inexpensive

and contain most c:

the

vitamins

and iberneededn a balanced

iet.Many vegetabl€sre nexper-

sive and, when

properly prepared,quite

nutritious.

Eggs ar€ a relatively cheaf

form

of

protein,

and

fresh fruits in

seasonare inexpensiveand

complete

th3

needed ood requirements or

a

football

play€r's

diet.

Parents hould

alsobe

nstructed

bouta desirediqhts-out

chedule

o:

4:05

4:15

4t25

I



their sons.

Under normal

circumstances,

parents

should

b€ asked

o see

hat

their sons

are

n

bed by 10:30

each night. The

boys will

be tired from pmctice.

By retiring at

this hou, they

will havesumcient

ime to

get

their needed

mount

of rest.

GAME.DAYREPARATION

Teams

usually

play

their

games

n the

aftemoon or at night.

In

either case,

he

same

general

scheduleshould

be followed:

Players

should eat

a

pre-g

trLemeal3t1

houm before

he

game

will begin.

That will

ensure hat the meal

is digested

properly

and

that

players

will not

becomehungry

before the

game

has

ended.

The

team should have

a final meetiflg

two hours

befote the

game.

At

the

session,

oaches hould re-eftphasize

all

phases

f the

defensive

ame

plan

and

r€mind

each man, one last

time, what

he must do in

each situation

to

Dlav

effectively.

After

the m€eting,

players

report to

the locker room

to be

properly

taped

for the contest.

The team should

go

on the field for

warm-up

drills about,{O

minut€s

before

the kickon That

will

give

them ample

time to

prepare

themselvesphysically

and leav€ mough

time for a short

pre-game

pep

talk by the

coachesbefore

returning

to the field for

the kickotr

SUMMARY

Another recurring

mylh about ootball

is that coaches

an deliver

a tousing

,ep

talk to the team

before he

game---or

at halftime-which

somehow

emarkably

makes

he team more

efective than

they have ever

been.

In practical tems, unless the team has had the ',will to prepate," no

last-minute

exhortations

on the

part

of the coach can

damatically

afect the

team's

performance.

Players must

leam during

spring

pmctice

and early fall

practice

how

to

play

the

game

and they must

develop he habit

of making

their best

efort at

all times. If those

objectiveshave

not been

achieved, he team

\rill never

be able

to

perfom

to its

pot€ntial.

Ifthe

twin objectives

have been achiev€d,

he

team

can always

play

to its fullest

capability.

An intricate

part

of

each

player's

self-unde$tanding

should be that,

for

161



The

great p layer

s the

one

who

plays

o

his fu l lest

polentra l



12

HOW

tO

Watch

Fans

ttend

ootballgames

o enjoy

he

c.lorful

crowd,

pageantry,

and bands

as

well as the game

DefenSiVe

itself.

The

enjoyment

f simply

being

here

often

FOOtball

ls

more mportant

o

thespectator

han he

game

For manyfans,sophisticatedmodemfootball

appea.rso

be too confusing

to understand

n any

technical,

strategic

sense.

The

players

are obvi-

ously excellent

athletes.

One eam

has he

ball and

the other

team does['t.

Both

teams

are usinE

w€11-

practiced

plays.

but wby

they

do

preciseli

what

they do is not

unde$tood

by the

average

s[,ecta-

tor.

Everyone

who

attends

a football game

would

enjoy th€

spectacle

more,

I think,

with

a basic

krowledge

of how

the

gaoe

is

played.

As

in any

leaming process,

hat requires

a

small amount

of

study and understandinS.

Since

he rnovement

of the ball

is always

easy

to se€,

and since t

is the

object

of the

game

o

get

the ball

across he

goal

line

for

a touchdown

or

rc

kick

a

field goal

when

the kicker

is in rang€,

mosr

spectators

arc

content

simpb/

to follow

the ball

instead

of expanding

heir

knowledge

o

compre-

hend

why the

otrensive

eam us€s

he formations

and

pLays

hat it

doesand

why

the defensive

eam

to)

whenwatching ootb6ll ame,1ryot o warchhe

bal l .



deploys

as it do€s o counter the

play

of the ofrensive eam.

In

previous

chapters, w€

have described he basic of€nsive

formations

used

n modern football: the

"T"

formation; the Pro set; the

"I" formation;

three wide

rec€ivels;and four widc

rec€ivels.We have also carefully exambed

how ard why

the

defense

adjusts to the ofensive

fotuations.

Knowl€dge ofofrensive

ormations

s vital to a sound understaodhg ofthe

game.

When the ofensive teambreaks he

huddle, what is its ofrensive €t?

How

many wide receiversare being used?How many running backs are in position

to carry

the

ball?

It is also helpful to understand

he defens€s sed

n modern

football, which are described

n this book.

It requiresdiscipline and

pmctice

on the

part

of the spectator

o watch a

football

game

ntellig€ltly.

The basic urdameotal the

fan must leam is ,ot

to

watch the ball, Instead.

hc

should.

in order:

1. Recognize he ofensive

formation b€ing used

2. Note the numbd of defensivedown

linemed

3. Note the number of defensive

inebacke

4.

Recogrizc the

pattein

ofthe def€nsivesecondary

TheFiveBasic

Offensive

ormations

n Modern ootball

oooo

o

ooo

The

"T"

formation

o

o

ooo

o

oo

o

Ths Pro s6t

two

wide receivsrs, wo

running backs)



o

o

ooo

o

o

o

ooo

The

"l '

lormalion

with

two

wide

receivers

ooo

o

oo

oo oo

o

Thre€

wide

receiv6rs,

wo

running

backs

O

o

o

o

o

o

o

Four

wide

receivers,

no

running

back



Af terrecogniz ingtheof fensiveformat ion, thespectatorshouldcount thenumberof

down l inemen and the number of

l inebackers nd should

note the

pat tern

of the

defensive

econdary.

The spectatorwho

mentally not€s hose

our

points

n the order

Iisted will know

before the ball

is s apped both the offensive

omation being

us€d and the

defensive lignment gainst

t. Is the

inte or defensive lignment

he 4-l or

the 3-2?

Is

the secondary

he regular

two comerbacks afld

two safetiesor

is

it a "monster"

alignment?

Is

the

defense

playing

a

"prevent" defenseor

a

goal-line

efense?

When the ball is snapped,

what would

haveseemedo be a confusing

melee

of playersnow takes on a certain shapeand order as the spectatorbegins o

understand

what the defens€

s trying to accomplish

on the

play

being run.

As the

play

develops,

he defensive

pectatorshould train

himself to make

the following observations:

How did the

defensive inemen charge?

Did they

slant o one sideor

the other?Did they

shoot he inside

gapsl

Did the inebackers

ead heir keysand

simply eact o the

play

being un

or did

they

penetrat€

across

he line of scrimmage

or start immediately

to drop

back o be

n

Dosition

o covera

Dass?

L



-

Hoqr

did he secondary

layl

On a running

ja),

did

he]

quicklv

uoDon

al rhe

poinr

of atack?

If

lhe

offensi\

ream

,

J"*i"g pu*.

".J

,h;

,'".;,ij;"

men

playing

a zone

or a rnan-for-man

defense?

ia

"iti",

,ui"tv

o,

u

"or""Ji"i

mmediately

eave

his

position

on

a blitz?

.. .

As

you

read

his,

t

still may

s€em

omplex

nd

confusing.

With

ust

a ittle

discipline

and practice,

however, ou

can leam

to see

hi play

develop

as

described.

Again,

he

cardinal

ul

e s not

o watch

he

ball

By

watching

he

d€fensive

team'(

l ignmenrs,ou

can earn

o

recognize

t. i ,

puri"rn,

f

pt ir

unO.

r;;u_

ally.as

you

watch

hedefen\e

eact

o rhepla]

being

un.

he

bali i l l

bicome

the focal point

of

your

attention.

WATCHING

EFENSIVE

OOTBALL

NTELEVISION

For most

of the

past

20

years

have

worked

as

a

,.color

comm€ntator,,

or

televised

oolballgames.

he

play-b)

pla)

announcer

s re5ponsible

or

describ_

rng

nepray

and reporttng

ho

carries.

hrows.

r

carches

he

ball

and tho

mak$ lhe tackle r b_reaksp rhepass lay.As rh.

"olo.

announ"e., u,

responsrbte

Iler

he

ptay-by_play

nnouncer

as

describ€d

he

play

o

explain

,

ny,rne

Jlcnnvc.ptay

)at

ccessful

r why

t.[ailed.

ime

permirting _anj

rhar

rsarways probtem-

.try

o

explain

hy

he

offensire

eam

s

u\ing

t\

tact|cq

andslrateg)

ndhow

he

delense

\

atrempring

o adju\r

o the

offensive

lavs.

-

The

major problem

every

color

anno;nc;

fucei

l.

tl. aif"ren".

U.iri'.n

what

he

can

se€ y

watching

he

entire

i€ld

ofplay

and

what

the home;ie;e;

can see

on his

own

screen.

.

Television

ameras

arely

show

much

of

the defensive

eam.

Usuallv

he

viewer

can

see he

defensive

inemen

and

occ".i..uflv

tfr"

irrij"

fi-r"J"i"r_l

Rarely

doeshe

see

any

ofthe

defensive

econd"ry

-",

,",if

*.fi

"it

,

irr.

pi"l

ln lheannouncer'sooth. ehave TV monilor har ho\rs

\

lhe

Dicture

)ou

see

t.home.

have

aughl

mlself.

efore

he

ball

.

r"upp.a,

o

"ui"f ,

i i"

:nrl l :

neld

Al the

momenl

he

ball s

rnappsd.

look

ar

our

booth

v

so

har

r

w

r

De Dte

o

comment

n

r\hat

he

viewer

as

een

and

avoid

mentioning

anything

he

has

not

seen.

^

Before

he

ball is

snapped,

he viewer

should

irst identify

the

ofensive

formarionbeing

rd.

The

camera

luays

how.

h"

otr"". i""

i ; . ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

posrron

t

lne runntng

acks,

sually

t

doe\

not

(ho\r

ride

ecei ers,

he

vtewer

an

make

an easy

mathematical

alculation,

hough:

f

a

tight

end

and

169



t70

When watching

ootbal lon te levis ion,

ans should

i rst ident i fy he

of fensive ormat ion

being used,

hen lhe

posi t ions

of

the defen

sive

inemen

and

vis ib le ;nebackers.

trvo

runningbacksare n the

game,

herewill be two

wide receiv€rs;f a tight

end and

one running back are

in the

game,

here will be

three wide receiv€rs;

if no tight

end and two running backs

are n the

game,

here will

be thre€ wide

r€ceivers; nd

fno tight endand only one

unningback s

in

the

game,

her€

will be four wide receivers.

Before the ball

is snappedand after the

viewer has d€ntified the ofensive

formation being used,

h€ should

focus his

attention

on th€ down

linemen and

thei

preciseposition.

Are there three or

four down linem€n?Are they

playing

head-up$ith

theh opponentsor

in

the

gaps?

f the

viewer

can see he

interior

lin€backers,

s

thereonly

oneor are here wo?

That will enablehe viewer

o

know whether he nte or set

s a 4-1 or a 3-2.

How

deep

are he inebackers

playing?

That will

give

the

viewer a hint as o whether the

linebackerswill read

their keysnormally or be

nvolved n a forcing stunt.

o

F

F

F

T1

F

E

rl

o

o



-

As

the ball

is snapped,

he

yiewer

should

try

to watch

the

charges

of the

defensive

own

linemen

and

the linebackels.

As the play progresses,

f,e viewer

notes

wlich defensive

men frst

aplrear

on

the screen

as they-react

o

the

play.

That will

enable

he viewer

o

undersland uickly

he

defensive

anem

beine

used.

ven hough

he

cameras

o nol

show

the

entire

defmsivi

team

as tl

play

begins.

To watch asdescdbed equiresa little study of ofensive formations and

defeosive

patterns.

Thereupon,

he

viewer

must

discipline

himself

to watch

the

play

in the progression

described.

f he

can

do so,

he result

is

a far

greater

enjoyment

ofthe

game-the

yiewer

can

see, ecogaize,

and understand

w-hyand

how

the

game

s

being

played.

17l



f,3

LaSt

WOfdS

In

lhe

.pasr

ew

years

efensiveootbalt

as

changeda

great

deal. More

changes an

be er-

pected

because he ddeI1semust

always

adjust to

the formations

and

plays

used by the otrensive

team,

and

football

ofenses

are constantly

being

revised.

When

football

was a one-platoon

game,

ofensive teams did not

have

great

versatility.

Rarely did they

possess

a fine

passing

attack.

Mainly,

they relied

on their ability to run

the foot-

ball.

Two-platoon

football

radically

changed

ofrensive hinking. Play€rs

with the skill

to throw

and catch the ball

became nqeasingly

profcient

and

passing

attacks increasingly

complex.

In today's

game,

he defense ealizes

t must

play

etrectively

against he running attack and at

all times be ready to

defend well against

a

ve$a-

tile, well-designed

passing

attack.

A further refnement

by today's

defensive

teams s the

expand€duse of the free

substitution

rule,

so that the

proper playeN

are always n the

game

o

defend against he

play

most likety to be

run by

the ofensive team, no

matter what the

down and

yardage

situation. In

fact, nowadays,

the

only time the defensive

eam

plays

ts starting

t73

Expanded

sc fthefree ubstitut ionule as

reatly

refined

defensive Dlav.



Nomat terhowsophist icatedthelevelofp laymaybecome,gooddefensewi l la lwavs

personnel

s on first and en,

s€cond own and

frveor six, or third

down and

threeor

four,

The

rest

of

the time, defensive

oaches ill substitute.

On short-yardage

situationshey

put

additional

inemen

n the

game.

On

ong-yardageituations,

one or two

pass

defenders

ill enter he

game

o strengthen

he

pass

defense

I cannotemphasize

nough hat excellent

efenses the

key o victory.

A

teammust stop he opponent

nd

gain possession

f the ball before

t can use



its

own offense.The only other way

th€ team can

get possession

s

by allowing

the offense o scoreand then receive

a kickoff. Teams arely

win by

getting

the

ball that way.

The of€nse

possess€s

he nitiative.

ts menknow

what formation

will be

used,what

play

srill be run,

and the moment he ball will

be snapped.

hus,

the defensiveeam s at

a disadvantageheneach

play

begins.t requir€s reat

athletic skill and

preparation

on the

part

of all members of

th€ defense

o

overcomehosedisadvantagesnd still stop he play.

Most ofthe

publicity

and

glamour

urrounding football

eam s focused

on ofensive

players-particularly

the

quarterback,

unning backs,

and the

pass

receivers. he

coaching taf must

understand nd accept

he challenge

hat

presents

egarding

he

placement

f

personnel

n the offensive

nd defensive

teams. f

great

defensive

play

is the key

to victory, obviously

the best

athletes

on the team should be assigned

o the defensivesquad.

The coaching taffmust

explain nd hesquadmust

understand

hat truth.

Perhaps

h€ bestway of

putting

t is that the oflensiv€

layers

are

not in the

game

vntll th€ team

gets possession

f the ball. When

the best

athletes are

assigned o offense,while

the opponent has the

ball they are sitting

on the

bench. When they arc not participating in the game,they cannot make any

contibution

to help their team win.

Players know

and recognize

hat the most

publicized players

will

be the

men on the

ofensive team-particularly

those who are involved

in throwing,

running,

and catching the ball. Players

relish the

personal

recognition

they

receive,

and

it is

normal for them to

$ant to

play

ofense. Each player

must

be taught, however,

o subordinatehis

own selfish nterests

and

play

the

posi

tion where he can make his

greatest

contdbution

to the success

f the team.

That is one reason

ootball is such

a

fascinating

gam€.

The

men who

are

the most responsible

or s.inning or losing-the

linemen rarely

get

much

attention or notice. The headlines

and

glory go

to the

publicized

ofrensive tars.

Yet to win, the unnoticed,

unpublicizedmen must

perform

with

maximum

efectiveness.

Fans are

beginning to better understand

the importance

and value

of

defense.

suspect hat this undemtanding

and appreciation

will

grow

in

the

yea$

ahead alrd

perhaps

one

day, defensive

players

will finally receive

the

accolades hey deserve.

Until then, all defensive eams

should realize hat when

they have held

an

opponent

corelessr limited them

o only 7 or 10

points,

h€y havemuch

o

be

proud

of They can say-and

theh offmsive teammates

hould know-that

their

perfofinanc€

on defense

was the most important ingr€dient

in

achieving

the victory.

t75



sF.FOOfBAlt

Winning

Defense

by Bud llfilkinson

cfcnse

s wh t wins ootbal l

games.

nd his

br i l l ianlupdate l , t

sports

nstnrct ionallassic

s

perlec( l

uitedo today

playet

co ch

and

fnn. Herc. Rud

WilkiDson. jn iversi t )

f Okl homas tartred

finrrcr coach. nrlyzes

hc basic

.rltems

ndstralegies

m r)yedn deltnsivc

f ix)lbrl lodav.

a\ ' ishlyl lustrated

hft)ughoul.

i lkinson te{t ncludes:

I

How o readan otTensc,

orv o tackleand create

umbl€s

I

Six echniques

or becoming better

pass

usher

I

Threestunt charges

hat everydefensitc

inemanshouldknow

I

l he keys o becoming belter

inebacker nd secondaryman

I

I ifteen mportant defensitc

ormations nd lhen

to

use hcm

I

Four wals 1obuild a successful€fensire

ame

plan

I

A bonusView€r's

Guide 10Defensiv€

iDtball, and much, much more.

winning defence

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