Understading Football Defense
Football Defense is an extremely important part of a football team. As most football coaches know, offense can win games but defense wins championships. Football offenses have a wide variety of formations, plays and feature a lot of different skill players. In order to counter offensive football schemes and plays, there are a lot of formations and positions on defensive side of football as well.
This article is meant to provide in-depth understanding of the players, schemens ahd formations on the defensive side of a football team.
Fooball Defensive Positions and Schemes
Defensive Linebackers
Linebackers are critical components of a defensive side. Number of linebackers used in a schemes is dependent of the type of defense. For example 4-3 defense will have three linebackers. These three linebackers have a lot of responsibility. In this scheme, one of them is known as Strongside linebacker, linebacker inthe middle is known as middle linebacker and the third linebacker is the Weakside linebacker. Their primary job is stopping the run, though they also must be quick enough to cover running backs and tight ends in the passing game. A fast linebacker can disrupt a short passing game as well as running game. Linebackers are usually the tackle leaders as well. For example, in the 3-4 defense, the outside linebackers are usually sack leaders.
Defensive Tackles
A defensive tackle is an interior lineman on a defense. Defensive tackles are responsible to generate the initial push on the offensive line and they are the biggest defenders on the field. Defensive tackles are responsible to stop the opponent's running game.
Defensive Ends
Defensive ends are responsible to stop the run. Defensive ends are also highly skilled pass rushers. Especially in the 4-3 defense, Defensive tackles are required to take on offensive linemen on running plays with the quickness to get around them on passing plays. As predictable, in the 4-3 defense, defensive ends tend to be the sack leaders.
Defensive Cornerbacks
Defensive cornerbacks are the quickest players on anydefensive team. Defensive cornerbacks are responsible to cover the offense's wide receivers and flankers. These players take on even bigger roles and challenges on teams which blitz a great deal. In case of a blitz, cornerbacks are left in one-on-one coverage, and therefore their mistakes can easily cost a game due to big play potential. A highly talented cornerback also has great hand and football catching abilities.
Defensive Safeties
Safeties are usually between linebackers and cornerbacks in size. Safeties must be able to help cornerbacks on deep plays. They should also be able to cover tight ends man-on-man in short passing situations. The strong safety is often moved to the line of scrimmage to help out in run defense. This is called "eight men in the box", with the strong safety being the eighth man (the linemen and linebackers being the other seven). The free safety stays back in coverage, helping out on double teams and providing additional coverage in the backfield.
