There’s always a lot of discussion every year about Defensive End technique, specifically for the strong side Defensive End. We’re talking primarily about Even front defenses like the 4-2-5 Defense and the 4-3 Defense. Real quick, let me just say that I call an inside shade on the Tight End a 7 technique, a head up shade a 6 technique, and an outside shade a 9 technique.(note: If you look at my 4-3 Defense book you’ll see that when I’m actually teaching it to the kids I call the inside shade a 6i technique. I do this because all even numbers are head up, all inside shades are the head up number with an “i” to indicate “inside” and all outside shades are odd. But if I’m talking to a coach, I call it a 7, 6, 9 technique because… because for god’s sake, Bear Bryant said it that way and who the heck am I to argue!?)So what are the advantages and disadvantages to playing each? Everyone has their reason to play each individual technique. If you hear someone tell you that you “should not” play a certain technique, without any consideration for your personnel or style of defense – walk away from that person politely. They aren’t really thinking. All three of these techniques have their advantages.For starters, let me say that if I look at a defense and they’re playing a 9 Technique the majority of the time, I consider that team a 4-3 Defense. If they’re playing a 7 tech most of the time, I would consider that a 4-4 Defense or 4-2-5 Defense. Is that right? I don’t know. Don’t care. But for future reference in this article or in reading other posts on Installing the Miami 4-3 Defensive Front.
The 5 Defensive Schemes that Dominate
What defensive innovations will we see in the new decade? Probably not many – there’s nothing new in football. But there’ll be adjustments, tweaks, and without a doubt, cool new nicknames for the same idea. What is the best defense to use in the 2010 season? Whatever you know best, or whatever fits your personnel best. Depends on who you are, how you operate, and what you believe. Here’s my Top 5 Defenses for 2010 and the decade to follow:5. 46 Bear DefenseI’m no expert on the true 46 Defense. I know enough to know that it is not a 4-6 Defense (46 was the number of Doug Plank – I had to double check that with the 46 Bear Wikipedia Article). What I consider to be a bear front is anything with two 3-Technique Defensive Tackles, and a head up Nose Guard. At least, that is the simplest way to identify the front.The Bear Defense relies on Man Coverage most of the time. It is a great run-stopping front, there’s no question. But if you’re not a big time Man Cover guy, you may not be excited about running it against a passing team. The true Buddy Ryan-created Bear Front also does some funky things with the backers and Strong Safety that I’m not going to get into. A great resource is Rex Ryan’s book, Coaching Football’s 46 Defense
Defending the Option Offense
Warning: This is a pretty long post. There’s a lot to talk about in defending the option. I tried to separate it into sections, so you might want to print it out and read it at your convenience!
For reasons I won’t go into, there’s no question that I’m not expert in defending the option. In fact, if I ever run my own offense, you can bet there’ll be some element of option football in it. Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! I also know that I have made a lot of mistakes in teaching how to defend the option, and spent a lot of time thinking about it and trying to learn more about stopping an offense that doesn’t even need to block all of your players in order to score.The biggest mistake I have made in the past is in not taking all of the thinking out of the play for my defensive players. What it boils down to is gap responsibilities though, and knowing who is coming to your gap. Let your players understand what’s happening to them and why they should never look for the ball.Understanding the OptionA standard Triple-Option attack consists of a dive back, Quarterback, and pitch man. If you already understand the basics of option football, you can skip this section… or read it, and tell me what I have wrong. [Read more...]
Football’s 4-3 Defense: The Over Front
Over the last few years, I have been involved in running several different defenses. I began with a 4-4 Defensive front, switched to a 3-5-3 when I was able to run my own defense, and then adapted to the 4-3 Over Front.
You will find the 4-3 Over Defensive Front to be the best, and most adaptable front in football today. That is why I have written and released a eBook on the front, Installing Football’s 4-3 Over Defensive Front.The book gives a detailed look at the 4-3 Defense’s Over front, also known as the 4-3 Miami Defense. Keep in mind that the focus is on the front, meaning the four linemen and the three linebackers. You will get in depth descriptions on each of these 7 positions. Also included are tips on choosing personnel, calling the defense, and teaching the techniques of both the Linebackers and Defensive Linemen.BONUS! Buy the eBook now and download 5 Exclusive Videos with it for FREE!The secondary, coverages, blitzes, the Under Front, and other aspects are discussed, but not in the same depth. [Read more...]
Odd or Even Front
There is a lot of discussion about different football defenses. The 4-4 Defense has been around forever, as has the 5-2 Defense. Today’s favorites include the 4-2-5 Defense and the 3-5-3 Defense. In the NFL, all teams are either 4-3 or 3-4 Defensive teams. But when you boil it all down, all defensive fronts are either Odd, or Even.
Very simply, an Even Front has an even number of defensive linemen. An Odd Front has an odd number. Normally, the Even front has 4 defensive linemen, while there are 3 or 5 defensive linemen in an Odd front.
The Odd Front defensive traditionally uses a Nose Guard aligned head up on the Center. The assignments of the rest of the defenders are based off of this one key player. Many successful Odd front football defenses utilizes a powerful, dominant nose guard. High School programs may also utilize a “shooter” Nose Guard, who is a smaller and quicker player that can cause havoc for the offense.
The Even Front does not use a head-up Nose Guard. Instead, there will be two interior defensive tackles will align themselves somewhere between the outside shoulders of the Right and Left Guard. A standard Even Front defense is to align the strong side Tackle on the outside shoulder of the Guard. This is known as the 3-Technique Tackle. To the weak side, this football defense will align the other Tackle on the inside shoulder of the Guard, or the weak side shoulder of the Offensive Center. These techniques are a 1-Technique or a ‘Weak Shade.’
Neither defensive front is better than the other. Teams have been successful with both. What is more important than the type of football defense a coach chooses, is that he has players suited to that particular style. If a team does not have a player capable of controlling the offense from the Nose Guard position, then the Odd Front is not the best defensive choice. By contrast, if a team does not have 4 capable defensive linemen, they may find an Odd Front using only 3 defensive linemen, such as the 3-4 or 3-5 defense, more beneficial.
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