The 4-2-5 is one of the more popular defenses used by defensive coordinators over the last ten years to stop the spread offense. The 4-2-5 defense has four defensive linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs. This defensive scheme is designed to be balanced to stop both the run and pass. In this article, we’re …
The 3-4 defense is one of the most popular defensive sets in football. High school teams and NFL teams will use the 3-4 defense to stop high-powered spread offenses. But what exactly is the 3-4 defense, and how do coaches use it? Football’s 3-4 defense has three defensive linemen and four linebackers. In the defensive …
The nickel, dime, and quarter defenses in football are packages that defenses run. These packages are about how many defensive backs are on the field. The nickel package means five defensive backs on the field, the dime means six defensive backs, and the quarter means seven defensive backs. Coaches will use these different packages to …
Similar to how the offense lines up in different varieties of formations, defenses have formations as well. As the offense will line up in the “I-formation” or the “Wing-T,” defensive formations contain numbers that typically identify the defensive lineman and the linebackers. Defensive formations are named after the number of defensive linemen and linebackers. For …
To win football games, the defense needs to control the line of scrimmage. Understanding defensive fronts and how players align is a major part of controlling the line of scrimmage. The 3 main defensive fronts that football coaches use are the 3-4, 4-3, and 5-2. The first number relates to the defensive lineman, and the …
The 4-3 defense is common among professional and even youth programs. It’s easy to install and allows teams to use different personnel at different positions. The 4-3 defense requires four defensive linemen and three linebackers. The three linebackers are often called Sam, Mike, and Will. This article will learn more about the 4-3 defense and …
Zone blitzes are a newer blitz style, which was created to confuse the quarterback. Teams are starting to use the zone blitz more often now that spread offenses are common. A zone blitz is when the team blitzes a linebacker then drops a defensive lineman into pass coverage. Zone blitzes are run to confuse quarterbacks …
As the passing game continues to advance, defenses need to match personnel and scheme. Defenses have used personnel groupings like nickel, dime, and quarter defenses to match the offense’s speed. What exactly are nickel, dime, and quarter defenses? The nickel defense means there are 5 defensive backs on the field. Nickel defenses are used on …