Developing A Defense

The Seven Principles of Defense.

„ 1. Position - all defenders must be in the proper alignment to carry
out assignments correctly.

„ 2. Defensive blow - the correct method of warding off the initial

block of an offensive lineman must be taught correctly and executed
before the defensive unit will hold up.

„ 3. Recognize pass and react - never get beat deep.

„ 4. Reading keys - defenders must immediately read and react to the

established keys to tell if the play will be a run or a pass.

„ 5. Protect your territory - each player has a certain territory that is

his responsibility to protect; to be successful he must:

a. Know and understand fully what his territory is.

b. What techniques he must utilize to protect it.
c. The inclination to help his teammates protect their areas must be curtailed
until he has done his primary job first.
 The Seven Principles of Defense.
„ 6. Pursuit - once his initial territory has been secured,
the defender becomes a pursuer.
a. He must know the proper and line of pursuit and then carry it out
full speed.

„ 7. Gang tackling - the final principle is to be sure that

each time the ball carrier declares his path, that all able
and available defensive personnel are prepared to share
the meat.
a. Pile up - not on.
b. Prevent the break away run.
c. Demoralize the ball carriers.
d. Create turnovers.
The most important factor in the development
of the defense is the coach.

1. He must understand the seven principles

of defense.
2. He must be able to teach the seven
principles of defense to his players.
3. The players will execute properly.
4. The players will believe in the defense.

Get excited and show enthusiasm!

The 5 segments of a defense that the
coach must know and believe in.
1. Position - as a coach you must know the
exact position in which a player must be
aligned to get his job done first.
The biggest disadvantage that you can give a football
player is to start him in the wrong alignment.
2. Stunts - If you are going to use stunts, you must ask
yourself:
a. What are the stunts that will work best from our alignment?
b. How will we "cover" for our stunts?

3. Weaknesses - you, your staff, and your players must know

the weaknesses of your defense.

4. Fundamentals - what are the extra techniques you must

teach your defenders when in a different alignment or
stunting?

5. Capabilities of personnel - your defense will only be as

strong as your personnel playing it.
a. Determine what your personnel is capable of playing.
b. Compare your findings with the defense you will be asking
them to play.
c Adapt your defense to your personnel adjustments.
 Creating A Defense
One basic method that many coaches use in calling their defense is
to utilize a two-digit number to determine the number of
defensive linemen and linebackers in the game.

The first number telling how many defensive linemen are in the
game and the second number telling how many linebackers
should be on the field.

„ Call 3-4, 3 linemen and 4 linebackers

„ Call 4-3, 4 linemen and 3 linebackers
„ Call 5-2, 5 linemen and 2 linebackers
„ Call 5-3, 5 linemen and 3 linebackers
„ Call 6-1, 5 linemen and 1 linebacker
„ Call 6-2, 6 linemen and 2 linebackers
„ Call Gap 8, 8 linemen no linebackers
 Creating A Defense
Following the number call will come any variations from the base defense
that you may call, including:
„ Any change in defensive line charge.
„ Any linebacker blitz.
„ Any stunt between two defensive linemen.
„ Any stunt between a lineman and a blitzing linebacker.
„ Any blitz by a defensive back.

Cover zero- man-to-man coverage with no free safety in the middle [usually
with an all out blitz].
Cover 1- man-to-man coverage with a free safety deep in the middle of the
field.
Cover 2- two-deep zone coverage.
Cover 3- three-deep zone coverage with rotation to the two-receiver side of
the formation [can be called by direction- left or right usually to the
wide side of the field].
Cover 4- four-deep zone [usually used at the end of the game or half when
the offense must throw deep].
 Creating A Defense
„ Many defensive coaches think that they need
to have some form of an eight-man front in
order to stop the opponent's running game.
„ You can use a defense with a seven-man
defensive front if you commit one or more of
your defensive backs to playing the run first
and then being a part of the pass defense.
„ With the use of four defensive backs, you are
better suited to stop any team that you face,
which has a good passing attack
6-2 Defense
 6-2
STRENGTHS OF THE DEFENSE:
„ With six linemen in the game, strong versus a running team especially for runs
wide to the outside.
„ Two linebackers must control the inside with the two defensive tackles and are
in great position to pursue to the ball in any direction.
„ The six-man line can put a great deal of pressure on the quarterback if he sets up
to throw.
„ With only three defensive backs in the game we are limited to mainly one man-
to-man pass coverage.

KEYS TO THE DEFENSE:

„ Defensive backs and two linebackers must be able to play man-to-man pass
defense. Corners must know there is no help deep in the center of the field.

„ In addition to the above defensive alignments, you can also run a Gap-8 defense
where you line up a defensive linemen in every gap and play with three defensive
backs.

„ Easier to attack this defense and to not be overwhelmed with the charging
linemen. Because of lack of depth in the defense, once the ball carrier breaks the
line of scrimmage he will have a long run.
5-2 Defense
 5-2 Defense
„ Consisting of a nose guard, 2 defensive tackles, and 2 defensive ends, it is
intended mainly as a run defense. However, it can be effective against the
pass as well with five pass rushers and two or three linebackers.
Down linemen's first responsibilities are running lane specific, each man
responsible for a certain gap or lane.

Linemen is to read and react to the play, with the defensive end's primary
concern being containment.

„ DE may be called on to pass defend an area such as the flat. LB's first
responsibility is to defend the run, then the pass.
„ -A coach wants his leading tacklers to be down linemen or line
backers. If a defensive back or safety is leading the team in tackles, it is a clear
indication that the opposing offenses are getting throughout the first line of
defense.

„ LBs are 4 to 5 yards off the ball, CBs 3 to 6 yards deep, safeties 10 to 12 yards.
Down linemen keep the ball in the corner of the eye, and move on the snap--
not the QB's vocalizations or other personnel movement.
 5-2 Strengths
„ Must have a solid Nose guard

STRENGTHS OF THE DEFENSE:

„ With five linemen in the game, it should be strong versus a running team
especially for runs wide to the outside.
„ LB’s must control the inside with the nose tackle and be ready to pursue
to the ball. The five-man line can put pressure on the quarterback.

KEYS TO THE DEFENSE:

„ Linebackers' ability to control the center area and run to the ball. Nose
tackle must be able to control the center.

„ Corners must know they are on an island on the split end side and,
although they have deep 1/3 coverage responsibility on their side, they
have to come up fast if the split end runs an "out" pattern.
 5- 3
„ The 5-3 Defense is a commonly used defense at the
younger levels of football.

„ The line normally consists of 1 nose guard, 2

defensive tackles and 2 defensive ends. There are
three line backers, two normally at the outside
shoulder of the T and 1 middle linbacker lined up
behind the NG. Two cornerbacks and 1 safeties are
the standard.

„ The 5-3 Defense can be easily shifted into a 4-4, a 5-2

and a 6-2 scheme.
4-4 Defense
 4-4 Defense
„ The 4-4 uses four down linemen, four linebackers,
two cornerbacks, and a safety.

„ Stunts are a common component of this defensive

set, usually with the some or all of the linemen
stunting left or right and the inside linebackers
stunting in the opposite direction.

„ The 4-4, also known as the "Stack" defense, relies on

quickness, particularly quickness in pursuit. In
order to run the 4-4 on a regular basis, the interior
down linemen must be players of considerable
substance
 4-4 Defense
„ The two center linebackers must read the guards.
„ This is a well-balanced defense with great flexibility.
It has the advantage of four linebackers, but
sacrifices the integrity of the line.
„ The 4-4 is designed to stop the wide running game
as well as the short passing game
„ Don't let the linebackers get fooled by false runs,
which will draw them to the sides and away from
their primary job of protecting a break through the
line.
 Joe Bouffard
Offense-Defense Football Camps
www.O-D.com

JoeB@O-D.com
203-256-1111 x17