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Defense
3 $ xps s *$ s* x x xt Q & x s fi c * x $ g E $ t; * 6i t
Team Defense
Setting Up a Successful Defense Dich Tomey 87
A Fundamental Approach to Defense Barry Aluarez 90
Switching Frcm the 50 to the 43 Defense Grant TelrlF 91
Using a Multiple Attack Defense Paut hdwell 95
The Wrecking Crew Defense R.C. Slocum 98
The Eagle Defense BiIl Doole! 101
Adjusting the Eagle Defense Rockr Hager 104

Emphasis on Defense
Stopping ihe Run With a 7:6 Advantage 106
Stopping the Whhbone Dare Wannsted.t 107
Getting Linebackeff to the Point ofAttack Dennis Green 109
Getting Run Suppod From the Secondary Hayd.en Fry 172
The Stunting 4"3 Front GeorgePerles It4
Slanting DefenEe for an Advantage Chuch Broylzs 119
Coachingthe Front Sevenin the 50 Defense Ron Schipper 121
Defending AgainBt the Pass Jerry Sand.usky 124
Making the Secondary Primary BiIIy Joe 124
DefendingAgainst the Run-and-Shoot DelWight 131
Applying Pressrue Without the Risk Frank Beamer 133
Simple Coverages Versus Complex Passins cameB Dich Sheridan 135

85
 Setting Up a Successful Defense
DICK TOMEY wrrn LARRY MACDUF$
RICH ELLERSON, em JOHNNIE LYNN
,l t i , ! : !r'lr ,r r: ,: ir QfI:;ir:::,,,*E'ii.
We believe in playing defensewith grcat efort
and enthusiasm.W€ want a group ofathletes that
exceljn the areasofhitting and effort. The height
ol a player isn't nec$saily as impodant as his
ability to run and his desire to get to the ba1l.
In order to developan outstandjng defense,you
must do the fbllowing:
. Recruit players that can run and ha1'e ihe
physical capabilities that fit your system.
. Establish pride in defense-Create oxpecta-
tions of stopping people,holding them to a
minimum number ofpoints and yards.
. Be willins to h€lp your defense with the stmt-
egiesyou employ on offenseand in the kick-
ing game.
. Have a stmng running game orashortpass-
ing gamethat $ill allow you to consumetim€
when necessaryto help the defense.
. Have a defensive plan and schemethat is
sound,is basedon stoppingthe r-un,and has
enough coyemge vadety to both pressure th e
quad€rback and stop the undemeath throws
on ea.ly downs.
OuI defenseuses one front that takes away
cutbacks,forcesthe ball to the perimeter,and has
r ery simple coverdown responsibilities agaimt
rhe variety of formations we see. Our coverage
packageis a 3-deepcoverageand a man-free cov-
Defensive Line
\\'e consh'uct our defensive front fbur defen
sjle linemen (two tackles and "'ith
two ends), and a
.' nip linebackprGan.rall) rhpccposi
"pFakint.
:ions will cancel all the inside ruIrning lanes, C
,:ap to C gap, and rush the passer,with the pos-
iible exc€ptionofwhip, who may be involv€d in
:he coveraseifpass shows (seeFieure 1).
W€ play with our inside foot back and p]ace a
]eat deal of emphasis on our initial footwork.
\\-e play oul peoplelelt-right whenever possible
FIGURE
I Defensivetronralignmenr
o
oo r
l\ T T
to maximize the numberofrepsin a glven stance.
However,we balance this with the understand-
ing that a position'sjob description,physical re-
quirements, and opportunities will change dra-
maticallv depending on which way we s€t the
front. W]]at follows is a summary of alignments
and responsibilities for our front five.
Stud or Cattside End
Align one yard outside iackle or hcad up to TE.
Cross '.he LOS on the snap of the ball. Defend
the C gap versus th€ run as dcrrnedby the hip of
the tackle. Spill th€ ball-carder deep and $'ide.
Rush the edge versus the pass.As the front is
often Betto the wide side, deny th€ QB the use of
the field. Attackl Make your mistakes on their
sideofthe LOS andmake them full speed.There's
somebuilt in margin for error at this position.
Catt-Side lackte
Align with fcct outsidc thc guard'ssiance,regard'
less otholv iight the splits arc. Crossthe LOS on
the snrp ofthe ball. Defend th€ B sap versus the
run, as defined bv the hip ofthe guard. Rush the
passer! Make your mistakes on their sid€ ofthe
LOS and make thern full sp€ed.Aeain, there's
sotnemargin for error at this position.
Nose or Backside tackle
Alisn on the ccnter $'ith a slisht shadeaway from
thc callside.Steppingwiththe inside foot, attack
the middlc ofthc center,win the LOS, and cancel
both A saps, on€ \ir.ith his body and one with you$.
87
 8E FOOTBALL COACHING STRATEGIES
Keep the cent€r from getting to tbe LB levet at
all cost. Vemus pass, ru6h opposite the callside
and expectto be double-teamed.
Fe x
This position can be played by the whip or end.
Align with a slight inside shadeon the def€nsive
tackle and flex24" to 36' o1Ithe LOS_Detend th€
B gap versus the run, as defin€dby the hip ofthe
guard. From this alignment, we can use our ror-
mal ag$essive footwork and still expect a gTeat
run reaction. Ifpass shows,our end wiU fight for
contain, or if whip is in the flex, he,ll react ac-
cording to the coveragecalled.
Backside Seven
Can be play€d by either the whip or end. Align
and defend the run exactly like stud, but we witl
sacri{icesome ag$essivenessto insure conect,
ness.Versus pass,the end will rush contain and
whip will react accordingto coverage.
We allow our callside people to play "on the
edge"every snap and expect our backsidepeople
to give us the maigin for enor that kind of play
rpquiresby beingeractly correcr.By challenging
the gaps, using consistentfootwork, and rcmov-
ing some fear of the mistake, we tr-uly achieve
the attack mentality our defense is known for
A great deal has been made ofour flex atign-
ment. Int€restingly, this system ofgap cancella-
tion has its roots in the Canadian Footbatl L€ague
where everybody must align a yard otr the ball.
The question thus becamewho to move up. cet-
ting up on the ball helps our pass rush and cre-
at€s the thrcat of quick penetmtion. Playing off
the ball helps us rcact appropriately to a wider
range of blocking combinations and facititates
change-upin assignments liom a single atignment.
Linebackers
Our inside iinebackersarc normaltynottied to a
gap in the tackle box; nther, they are expected
to n]n the alley which our front five has forced
the ba]l to bounc€ into. This requires them to atign
with a $eat deal of variety, depending on the
threat posed by any given for.rnation.
The linebackers align, along with the second,
ary, accoding to strength call that typically indi-
catesthe \.ide set ofthe field. Our rnver,or strong
inside linebacker,r.ill align relative to the third
eligible while Mike, our weak inside linebacker
will align with the second eligible on the weak
side, counting outside in. Our tinebackers(along
w'th thc slrongsafpryI will. I herefoj"c.be rheprin-
cjpal adjustem to any shifts or motion. This ftee-
dom ofalignment facilitat€s man coverage, keeps
us in proximity to changing refercnce points for
zone coverage,and is consistentwith ourru! re-
sponsibility.
Versus a balanced 2-back set, our base align-
ment is 5 yar& deep outside shade ofthe guard
(seeFigure 2).
TIGURE
2 Linebacker
alignmentversus
o
@
o- o
C C tr C C O
R M
If we arc align€d versus a single ba€k behind
the QB, we deepento 6 yards, with our near foot
on th€ ball. wlren aligned on a TE, note that we
assumea position (4 x 4) that allows us to force
the run (seeFigue 3).
 :'::'....

safety will genemlly cheat his alignme:1l11: ::E

3
TIGURE strongB gap whcn the bal) is on the ha'h or F
split the difference between the widest eligibles
when the ball is in the middle (see Fisurc 5)'

flGURE5 l ;"r"" b""K|"b

"rir","".,
C
o
o C
t.i.,ccIoc{.1,
When aligned on a TE to the weak side, we @
have the option of exchanging gaps with thc end
helping deny the QB the field (see Figure ai c ss' F c
Linebacker allgnnenlveBu6 A major part of otll secordary package is our
righl end on widesido
man-to-man coverage. In our man-to-man cov€r-
aEe.we sbow the same look as we do on every
snap.Thestmngsafely.beingresponsible for cov-
erins No. 2 strong.aligns4 vards outsideand 4
vad; back ftom the tight end, or ifthe No 2rc-
ceiver is a slot, he aligns in a levemge position
between the €nd man on the lin€ of scdmmage
and No. 2.
On the snap, the strong safetv maintains hie
inside rclationship, knowing that he has help over
Our alignment ruleB are the same, rcgardlesB
the top. The free safety is aligned t0 to 12 vards
of the coverage call€d, and often our blitzes will
off the ball in the strcng B gap, and is respon-
adjuet dght along with changing forrnatiom As
sible for deep middle help. The field corner and
a ;esult, it's very difficult to get a pre-snap read
boundarl,cornerline up on No l strongand No
on our intentions.
I weak, rpspectivelyThe field corner aligns 8
A key feature of our svstem is that because yards off the ball with an inside attitude on his
our linebacke$ aren't expected to step up and
olus inside running laneB versus offensive line- On the Bnap, the field comer maintainB his
men, we can sacrificephysical stature for speed
inside attitude on the receiver by using a weave
when rccnriting. The net r€sult is that we have
technique to stay squarc on the inside Bhoulder'
more people on the field who r-un exceptionallv
The boundary corner aliglle 8 vards ofT the ball
well, ire effective blitzeN, can man cover people,
with an outside attitude on his teceiver' On the
anal can make plays in the open fi€ld. This mini- snap, the boundary comer weaves with the out-
mizes the opportunities an ollenB€ nonnallv has side shoulder, knowing that he has deep middle
qhen thpy get a linebackeropposirea running
help.
$hen we feel that we re capablpof pressing
the rcceivers,we use our basic press bump-and-
Secondary
Our secondary aligns along the same guidelines 1 Cro$d the line ofscrimmagewith e)es in-
as tlle linebackers. The shong safetv makes the side to check alignment.
direction call that determines what we'llheat as 2. Key receiver's chest with hands up and
shensth and then aligns relative to the second readv hoPuncb (quick hands)
receiver, much as the Mike does on the weakside' 3. Pou;d receiverontop halfofnumbers and
CornerB align with number one, and we can plav tuln and run with him Punch his frame 3o
them teft-right or fi€ld and boundarv The ftee he can't get his shoulders upfield.

Prn""dir(" Co*|"Tbrnzr is h^on coaghat the Universftv of A'itu&' CoachasE erEonatd lann drc hig
-figa
dii-u*o"f is en assistantcoo'h for th2 Neu vo'k Giobts
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