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v. 3, 01/27/04
BACK TO THE FUTURE:
INSTALLINGTHE2-LEVELDEFENSE
By Ted Seay
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Page 3The Concept: Buying -- and Selling -- the IdeaPage 4The Basics: Defining TermsPage 6Position/Personnel RequirementsPage 101L Alignments/2L Stacks and PositioningPage 12Fundamentals by PositionPage 18Variations - 1L Stunts/2L BlitzesPage 29Coverages/Two-DeepPage 32The Basics II: ConsolidationPage 41The Schedule: Installing the 2LD in Two WeeksPage 43The Game Plan: How to "Fine Tune" for an OpponentPage 77
Conclusion: JT and the Mouse
Page 97
DEDICATION:
To John M. Thomson,creator of the 2-Level Defense;and to Darrel "Mouse" Davis,the man who modernized the Run and Shoot offense:"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign --that the dunces are all in a confederacy against him"--Jonathan Swift
NOTE: This document is in the public domain --no copyright is claimed on any of the author's material herein.It is free, and freely distributed.
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INTRODUCTION
This installation guide represents a labor of love -- an attempt to pass on myknowledge of the 2-Level Defense (2LD) to other coaches. Since I firstpurchased the 2LD textbook, Football Defense of the Future: The 2-Level Modelby John M. Thomson and Bill Arnsparger (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,Inc., 1988), I have tried to share this fascinating defense with others. The textand Teaching Supplement have been so hard to come by, however, that untilfairly recently, my efforts have been limited to a small handful of coaches.In recent years, the Internet has given a new lease on life to a number of obscure football concepts from the Yale Formation direct-snap offense to theGap-Air-Mirror (GAM) defense. This new medium for exchanging ideas has alsorevealed a 2LD "underground" -- a small but dedicated group of coaches whohave kept Coach Thomson's concepts alive since the beginning.(I should note here that I mean no disrespect at all to Coach Arnsparger, one of the great defensive minds in football,
but
-- the 2LD is John Thomson's baby. You won’t find reference to the 2LD in any of Arnsparger's other publications,and for good reason: as John Thomson relates it, Coach Arnsparger called himshortly after publication of the 2LD text to say that coaches from all over werebugging him to death about the 2LD. Since he was still coaching at LSU, andattempting to recruit, he basically washed his hands of the whole thing and leftthe 2LD where it belonged, with its creator, John Thomson.)(On a related note, there are ridiculous rumors making their way around theInternet regarding why the 2LD is so little known. The most popular version isthat a hit by a 2LD Deep Safety left a receiver paralyzed or dead, and asubsequent lawsuit forced the recall of the textbook and its destruction by thepublisher. This is pure hogwash -- but it says a great deal about the reputationthe 2LD developed in a very short time for ferocious hits by the deep safety.Prentice-Hall only ever published about 2,000 copies, according to DoctorThomson, and most of those were snapped up by institutional buyers -- librariesand universities. I happened to receive a mailing from Prentice-Hall in 1988offering a number of football texts, and the 2LD book immediately caught myeye. For those coaches interested in obtaining a copy, I suggest you try aninter-library loan and a trip to your local photocopy shop.)My intent with this installation guide is to pass on my version -- a simplified"subset" -- of the John Thomson 2-Level Defense. I outline the requirements foreach position, then lay out key drills and an installation sequence. One word of warning, however: if you aren’t willing to line up your deep safety at a depth of +28 yards from the LOS, you should find another defense.
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