THE BACKBONE DEFENSE

For Youth Wishbone Attacks

The Backbone 6-1-4 defense provides the best platform I know of for attacking
the Wishbone formation. This is true whether the offense is using the Wishbone
to run the option, power football, or any combination of the two.

I should point out that there are two versions of the Backbone -- one the 6-1 I
am discussing, and the other a 4-3 where OLB's replace the outside DT's. The 4-
3 version is better for facing a passing attack, but I believe the 6-1 provides a
better defense against the option and power aspects of the Wishbone running
game, especially at the youth level.

CHOOSING BACKBONE PLAYERS BY POSITION:

Ends: These should be good, tall athletes. Foot speed is a bonus, but the most
important aspect is intelligence -- "football smarts". The Ends are asked to shut
down the off-tackle power play AND remove one of the options. He would be
considered an outside-linebacker type in other defenses, but we do not give him
any pass coverage responsibilities. He shuts down the C gap, plays his option
responsibilities when called for, and rushes the passer outside-in when
necessary.

Inside Tackles: Strength, size and speed -- in that order. Your inside tackles
have the job of keeping the center and guards off of your Mike LB, closing down
the trap, and putting an inside rush on the quarterback. You may choose to
have one IT crash and one read in passing situations, with the reading tackle
responsible for inside screens and draws, or actually dropping to the short middle
zone in a zone blitz.
Outside Tackles: Your OT's don’t need the strength and size of the IT's but
speed becomes essential. The one thing the OT's must do is prevent the
offensive tackle from blocking down to the inside. If he does that, he keeps the
Mike backer free to tackle the FB. He plays right through the nose of the
offensive man he is lined up across from.

Mike Backer: Plays as far from the LOS as the FB does on the other side. He
mirrors the FB and goes wherever he does. His pass responsibilities are to check
the FB for a delay or draw, then drop to the short middle and mug crossing
routes. The IT's protect him from the middle of the offensive line, so he is free
to tackle the FB from B gap to B gap. Converted FB's make very good Mike
linebackers.

Cornerbacks: Speed kills. Your quickest kids play here, and have only one
assignment -- cover the end they are responsible for. Your strongside CB can be
a bigger, slower kid, since he will face TE's -- but if so, you will have to flop him
to whichever side the TE lines up on. CB's can release their receivers to pursue
the ball once it crosses the LOS, and not a second before.

Invert backs: This is a hybrid defensive back - linebacker position. The I-men
mirror the two Wishbone halfbacks. They line up at the same depth from the
LOS as the HB's, and line up on their outside shoulders to maintain outside
leverage at all times. If a HB dives forward, his I-mirror comes forward to stop a
run or cover a pass route. If the HB moves laterally, the I-back goes with him.
Speed and tackling ability in the open field are both essential.

OPTION RESPONSIBILITIES:

There are two option coverage packages commonly used with this defense,
which I call Hook and Cross. I will first detail the option responsibilities which
don't change, then detail how the two packages differ.

Inside and Outside Tackles: Against a true triple option, the IT's will be blocked
and the OT's will be read by the QB. In either case, both are responsible for
preventing the big gain up the middle by the FB. Whether they are being
blocked or not, the IT's and OT's must fight their way to the FB. The IT's are
exerting inside-out pressure against the offensive guards -- they line up inside
eye, but their charge is through the guards' facemask. The OT's charge straight
ahead against the offensive tackles, and prevent the down-block on the Mike
backer.

Mike: Has the FB. Follows him sideline to sideline, tackles him whenever he
touches the ball, as close to the LOS as possible. Hits him before he can build
up a head of steam.
Cornerbacks: Stay with the TE and SE until the ball crosses the LOS.

Backside End: Trail on flow away as deep as the deepest back, looking for
reverse, counter or cutback.

HOOK: In this option coverage, the playside End attack the QB after ripping a
TE and checking the off-tackle hole. (If on the SE side, the End checks the off-
tackle hole for a power play first, then attacks the QB if option shows.) The I
backs mirror their halfbacks, so the playside Invert will attack the lead HB
blocker as soon as possible, while the offside I-man will follow the offside HB to
the point of attack if he gets the pitch. Speed is of the essence -- the I-men
have to arrive at the same time as the halfback they are mirroring. Even half a
step can make the difference between at tackle behind the LOS or a big gain.

CROSS: This is a great change-up from Hook, and one we use when the QB is
much less of a running threat than the HB's. The playside End hits the TE (if
there is one), checks the off-tackle hole, then attacks the pitch man. He sprints
to take away the pitch to the HB -- covering the HB man-to-man in the backfield.
The offside I-back takes the QB if he keeps the ball and turns downfield.
PASS DEFENSE:

A quick word about the 4-3 version of the Backbone: If you can find two OLB's
who can keep the offensive tackles from blocking down on the option play -- that
is, who can effectively replace your Outside Tackles against the run -- you will
have a better platform for shutting down the pass. The alternative, if you want
to be able to play something other than man pass defense, is to ask your Ends in
the 6-1 to cover the HB's out of the backfield on passes (i.e., call Cross in
passing situations or likely play-action downs, and have the Ends stay with the
HB's until the ball is thrown). There are pro's and con's to both choices, but
what matters is what kind of personnel you have available.

The Wishbone obviously lends itself better to play-action passing than to any
other kind of forward pass. First, there is only one spread receiver, so the
defense is not spread sufficiently to throw between defenders; second, the
QB/FB mesh from the Wishbone is the single best play-fake in football, exerting
an amazing pull on short defenders in particular.

The Backbone 6-1 has two basic ways to combat the pass. (Note: Again, the 4-
3 version provides more pass defense possibilities.) Both are diagramed below.
Cover 0 provides for continuity from option coverage to forward pass coverage.
Cover 0 as diagramed is identical to the Hook option scheme, until defenders
realize a pass is underway. It is imperative that anyone who sees a pass develop
yell out "PASS! PASS!" to help other defenders switch to pass coverage
responsibilities as soon as possible. Notice the SE-side Corner and Invert backs
stick with their option responsibilities -- the Corner because he always plays pass
until the ball crosses the LOS -- while their TE-side equivalents start their option
responsibilities before flowing with play action and dropping into zones. The TE-
side Corner drops vertically first, making sure the TE is not releasing on a delay
pattern, before heading toward the deep middle zone.

Cover 2 is a straight zone defense, best used in likely passing situations. In the
play diagramed above, the defense is still reacting to the option threat first,
before dropping to their zones. Note the MLB has the choice of tackling the FB
or dropping to his weakside hook zone. Also notice the strong OT hits his
offensive tackle counterpart before dropping into the TE dump pass zone -- this
is not really a zone blitz, because no one is blitzing, but it allows you to play zone
without giving up the "look-in" pass to the TE.
Here the backs and LB's drop to their normal C2 zones. The strong OT has
taken away the quick dump pass to the TE, and reads the QB's eyes until the ball
is thrown, then pursues. This coverage isn't fool-proof, and is best used on likely
passing downs, but it provides a valuable addition against the dropback pass,
while still offering protection against the option and play-action pass.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the Backbone,
especially if you would like more information on the 4-3 version.

Ted Seay
seayee@hotmail.com