Backs Against the Wall! Aligning Your Goal Line Defense

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In our September 2012 Webinar we had some great questions about playing Goal Line Defense. The video clip below was just a brief explanation of our Heavy Goal Line, a short yardage package.

The ideal goal line defense is to never get in that situation. But hey, it happens to all of us. When your defense has their back against the wall, do they let the Offense walk into the end zone?

Absolutely not! You bow your neck, get a couple of bigger bodies in the game, and prepare to fight! [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Goal Line Defense, Members, Other Fronts, Videos

What’s the Difference? Part 2: 5-2 Defense vs. 5-3 Defense

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Both are 50 fronts. Both are not as common today because of modern Spread Offenses. And both have close, more popular cousins in the 30 Defense category.

But what about the 5-2 Defense and the 5-3 Defense? How are they the same? More importantly… What’s the difference?

Check out Part 1 of “What’s the Difference?” comparing the 4-4 Defense and the 4-2-5 Defense.

What They Have in Common

The 5-2 Defense and 5-3 Defense have some obvious similarities. Most notably, they feature 5 defensive linemen.

Both defenses are Odd Fronts. As we point out in Defensive Installation Manual, odd fronts are defenses where there is a head up Nose Guard.

Although they differ in that the 5-2 Defense is a 7 Man Front and the 5-3 Defense is an 8 Man Front, they are probably both most commonly seen with Cover 3 or some type of Man Coverage. Neither defense is well suited, in its base form, to defend the pass. Of course, if your Defensive Ends look more like Linebackers, you’ll be fine.

Positions are just names. The 5-2 Defense is very similar to the 3-4 Defense and the 5-3 Defense is almost the same as a 3-5-3 Defense.

What is the 5-3 Defense?

The 5-3 Defense is a version of the Odd Stack Defense, just like the 3-5-3 Defense and the 3-3-5 Defense. The most significant difference is who is being called a Defensive End, Outside Linebacker, or Safety.

In the 5-3 Defense, you use a head-up Nose Guard and two Defensive Tackles head up on the Tackles. The three Linebackers stack behind each one of the Defensive Linemen.

The Defensive Ends in the 5-3 Defense will align either outside shade of the Tight Ends or in a ghost 9, outside of the Tight Ends. The Defensive Ends will be the contain players, forcing everything back to the inside.

Most 5-3 Defenses use a slanting philosophy with the Defensive Linemen. The Defensive Line can slant strong or weak, pinch in or step out. The Linebackers will be responsible for the opposite gap from the one their stacked lineman takes.

Blitzes are common in the 5-3 Defense, and very simple to organize. You can send one or more backers at any time.

The 5-3 Defense is more popular at the Youth Football level where there is limited threat of teams passing to the flats on you. Cover 3 and Cover 1 are the best coverages to match with it.

What is the 5-2 Defense?

The 5-2 Defense was, at one time, the most popular odd front defense in football. Take a look at most offensive playbooks from the 1970′s and you’ll see Option Football plays and Wing-T plays drawn up against the 5-2 Defense. While it is not as common today, the defense is the basis of the 3-4 Defense that we see run at all levels today.

The defensive linemen will be aligned head up on the Center, head up on the Tackles, and outside of the Tight End in the base front. The Defensive Ends are responsible for contain. The two Linebackers will line up 5 yards off, outside shade of the Guards.

The 5-2 Defense is a 7 Man Front which features 2 deep safeties and 2 corners. Cover 2 is an excellent fit for the base front, though many teams will use a version of Cover 3. The 5-2 Monster Defense is a great example. This front uses a Cover 3 coverage with one of the safeties rolling down to handle a flat zone.

Other variations of the 5-2 Defense have included a reduced front on the weak side, called a Weak Eagle 5-2 Defense. That front eventually became the Under Defense, when the Nose and the strong side end shaded to the to the strength as well.

The Double Eagle 5-2 Defense is also very similar in design to a popular modern defense: The 46 Bear Defense. That’s the defense that Rex Ryan has helped to bring to prominence in recent years both in the NFL and at lower levels.

What’s the Difference?

The biggest difference between the 5-2 Defense and the 5-3 Defense is in the count. With the 5-2 Defense being a 7 Man Front, someone has to be responsible for two gaps. That means that the 5-2 Defense will require more teaching time to install. Even with a Safety rolling down, the defense is more complex than the alternate 50 Front.

The 5-3 Defense is a great defense at lower levels of Youth Football. The simplicity of an 8 man front is that each player is responsible for a gap. Coaches can spend more time working on fundamentals of defeating blocks and tackling. Blitzes are easy to install, and coverages are simple.

Neither defense is necessarily better against the run. Properly coached athletes in the 5-2 Defense will be just as effective as any other front. The fact is that 5-3 Defenses are just simpler to get installed, though.

The 5-2 Defense gives a level of flexibility in coverage that you just don’t get out of other fronts. The ability to run both 2 High Safety and 1 High Safety coverages makes the defense more effective against the pass than the 5-3 Defense is. If you loosen up the Defensive Ends in the 5-3 Defense, making it more similar to a 3-5-3 Defense, you can close the gap in the pass defense quickly.

Interested in learning more about the 50 Defense? Get a Free Trial to Football-Defense.com and check out this article! Stopping the Run in the 50 Front

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Filed Under: Free Articles, Other Fronts

What’s the Difference? Part 1: 4-4 Defense vs 4-2-5 Defense

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One of the most common questions I get via eMail is from coaches asking about what front they should be running. Most of the time, they are trying to decide between one or two Defensive Fronts that have a lot in common.

The truth is, they probably are stressing over a question that is relatively simple to answer. As I’ve explained in our free eBook, Defensive Installation Manual, there are really only two decisions to make:

  • Odd or Even Front? Do you have a player head up on the nose, or not?
  • 7-man or 8-man front? Will you run a single high safety, or two high safeties as your base coverage? You are not locking yourself into either one, just committing to a base defense, the one you can get back to any time.

But that does not satisfy most coaches. They need a number, a title, something to identify with. They are jealous of the fraternities that they see their offensive counterparts enjoying (Air Raid, Pistol Option, Double Wing, etc).

Understandable. Why fight it, let’s go with it.

Over the next few weeks, I will compare some of the most commonly confused fronts and attempt to explain the differences. Keep in mind that as I write these article, our defense lines up on any given down in a 3-3 Stack, 3-4, 4-3 Over, or 4-3 Under front, so I’m not particularly biased to any of them).

4-4 Defense

4-4 Defense vs 4-2-5 Defense

One of the most common debates, with passionate members on both sides, is the argument about the difference between the 4-4 Defense and the 4-2-5 Defense. I have long been in the camp that says, “There is no difference.”

After much consideration, I have decided to stop fighting this fight. I rarely respond to anyone who argues the point, and am now publicly stating, there is a difference between the 4-4 Defense and the 4-2-5 Defense.

Now, schematically, there isn’t really a difference. My 4-2-5 Defense could look exactly like your 4-4 Defense, and we’re just using different words.

But there are also a few variations on the 4-4 Defense and the 4-2-5 Defense that make a big difference in the discussion.

4-2-5 Defense [Read more...]

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Filed Under: 4-2-5 Defense, Members, Other Fronts

Defending the Wing-T Offense in the Under Front Defense

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Just keep in mind going into this… I am an amateur enthusiast of the Wing-T. We will scout the opponent to see what they do best in the Wing-T Offense, and make our game plan accordingly. But I love the offense, and so half the fun of writing this article was drawing up the best I could, a Wing-T Offense.

In my interview with Jerry Gordon, author of Coaching the Under Front Defense, I asked him how he would defend the Wing-T Offense. “In my opinion,” Coach Gordon stated, “The Under Front is the greatest front for the Wing-T.” He’s absolutely right.

The Under Front is what we have used for several years when facing the Wing-T Offense. The defense creates tough angles for some of the top plays in the Wing-T Playbook, one’s that your opponent might be expecting to run if they’ve seen you lined up in something else (like our 4-3 Over Front Defense) for the past few weeks playing Spread teams.

If you already use a 4-3 Defense attack with lots of bending and wrong arming, you’ll be in great shape against the Wing-T Offense. While the Under Front creates the look of a reduced 50 Defense, it uses 4-3 Defense principles that will be tougher for the Wing-T Offense to handle.

Using the Under Front to Stop the Wing-T Buck Sweep Play

My primary reason for liking the Under Front is that it just creates tough angles for the best plays. Take a look at the Buck Sweep, which looks to kick out the last man. This is the feature play of the very popular Wing-T Buck Series.

We invert the Safety in our Quarters Coverage, and walk the Corner back to stay over top of a vertical release. When the Safety reads the down block by the Wing, he will be squeezing the air out.

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Filed Under: 4-3 Defense, Game Planning, Other Fronts

Shut Down the Spread in the Double Eagle Flex Defense

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This is not a misprint. The Double Eagle Flex Defense, known as the Desert Swarm Defense when it was introduced in 1992 by Dick Tomey’s staff at the University of Arizona, has long been a point of fascination for defensive coaches.

Fascinating, but not practical. At least in today’s game.

The Double Eagle Flex looks cool, and the principles behind it are so sound, yet so devastatingly genius, we wonder why no one does it. Until you get the chalk out, and look at running it against 10 Personnel, and stopping the Zone Read Option or the Air Raid Offense.

While some coaches are using the defense as a change-up, the coaches who are running the Double Eagle Flex as a base are few and far between.

Ted Amorosi introduced us to the defense with his book and video, Coaching Football’s Double Eagle Flex, and I decided to consult the book after getting some questions about running the defense as a base in response to this video.

Zoning 1 Back Sets

When we line up the Double Eagle Flex against 21 Personnel, it is perfect in every way. But when we get into 10 or 11 Personnel sets, things get dicey.

Short of running a Zone Blitz on every down, you will have to get that hybrid lineman / linebacker (Whip) that makes the defense so effective to show off some of his athleticism when you defend the spread offense.

Against one back sets, where the Fullback is not a threat to create new gaps, we lose the element of the Double Eagle Flex that makes it so unique. The defense becomes a 4-2-5 Defense, with two hybrid safeties outside – the Rover and the Strong Safety. Our two Inside Linebackers are the Whip, a hybrid Lineman / Linebacker, and the Blood, your one true Linebacker.

It is a Single High Safety look, so Cover 3 is the natural fit. You should not rotate the Weak Safety back and use a 2-High Safety coverage like Quarters here. Unlike the 4-2-5, your Whip Linebacker is probably not athletic enough to cover the ground necessary for this.

Note that Amorosi recommends locking down the boundary corner in Man Coverage

Defending Trips in the Double Eagle Flex Defense

If we get a Trips Formation of any sort, the Rover and the Strong Safety need to be on the same side. You will be putting a lot of pressure on the Whip here, as he is going to be vulnerable to a flare or wheel by the back. The Corner on the single receiver side will lock down in man coverage.

A personnel substitution for your normal Whip may be in order if you’ll be seeing a heavy diet of this. Or you could just bring 6 and dare them to drop back and throw to the back.

Man Coverage and Zone Blitzing

The other option is to keep bringing the Whip, and drop into a 3 Under, 3 Deep Zone. You can also use Cover 1 and Cover 0 blitzes to keep heavy pressure on the Spread Offense.

The position of the Whip makes for some excellent blitzing opportunities. Running some simple twists with the Nose Guard or the weak side Defensive End are simple ways to start heating up the Quarterback.

You can get extremely creative with your Cover 1 or Cover 0 blitzes, just like in any defense. Bring the heat and see how well the offense can handle it!

Don’t let the fact that the Double Eagle Flex turns into a 4-2-5 Defense when you face Spread opponents. The fact is, the 4-3 Defense also turns into a 4-2-5 look when you start spreading the field.

This is not a defense I would run as a base in our area, where we see the Spread almost every week. But if you are facing more Option, Wing-T and Power / Counter teams, it is definitely a front to be considered. Don’t underestimate the value of being different from everyone else!

 

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Filed Under: Free Articles, Other Fronts, Zone Coverage