A
anon_0xbraxz5jfzp2
Guest
There has been so much skepticism expressed about BVG's defense and often so little understanding, I thought we might have a step by step discussion about defensive football in college. Now, I am a track and field guy who played high school football, got to watch Ara coach because his practices were in the track area, coached high school cross country and track and shared offices and locker rooms with some pretty good high school football coaches, so I know a little about the sport. But there are clearly guys on this site who know a lot more about it than I do. But I am a retired teacher and I like to write, so my main contributions will be to organize the topics and write the first drafts. It is always easier to respond to a draft than to get it started.
I anticipate an interesting discussion. And I hope members feel free to ask questions. Also questions are much more useful to the discussion than name calling or other kinds of dissing without input.
I am just going to start. I am not going to write all of the drafts at the get go, so I cannot know exactly how this series will develop. But I expect to have these three topics:
A. Essential nomenclature or terms.
1. Gaps
2. 2 Techniques
B. Formations
1. 5-2
2. 3-4
3. 4-3
Gaps
Coaches must be able to tell players in simple and clear terms how and where to line up. Gaps are the spaces between offensive linemen. Running backs run through them and defensive linemen have responsibilities to defend them. That is interesting to me. The battle is between the DL and the OL, but the goal of the DL is to dominate an OL to defend a gap. In some defenses, LBs have gap responsibility, and blitzes are designed to go through different gaps. So gaps are a big deal.
Gaps are identified by letters: A, B, C, D. They are listed from the inside out. So you start with the Center. The gaps on either side of the center, left and right, are A gaps. Once you see that, it is simple and clear.
(C) LT (B) LG (A) C (A) RG (B) RT (C) TE (D)
You only have a D gap if there is an attached TE. So often there is only one D gap, but if the O lines up with two attached TEs, there are two D gaps that must be defended.
As we will see, different defenses, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3 have very different approaches to gap responsibilities. But before we can even talk about those differences, we must become familiar with how defensive linemen, and sometimes linebackers, line up. These assignments are called "techniques". And as will become immediately apparent, techniques are a bit more complicated than gaps.
Techniques
Techniques refer to how defensive linemen line up relative to offensive linemen. There are 18 techniques in Bear Bryant's classic scheme, so obviously DL do not man each one. Where they do lineup represents huge decisions by the DC and the kinds of body and skills the player must bring to his assignment.
Bear Bryant's "Techniques": (Damn! Cannot get the format here to accept mine. You can make a card and draw it up. Put the C (center) right below the 0. Then work out. The two guards are right below the 2s, the tackles are right below the 4s, and the TE is below the 6.)
5 4 4i 3 2 2i 1 0 1 2i 2 3 4i 4 5 7 6 9
LT LG C RG RT TE
A Nose Tackle, by definition, lines up over the center, either head up on him (head to head, dead in front of him) which is 0 technique, or shaded to one shoulder or the other, both 1 technique. But in either case, NT's almost always have two gap responsibilities, both A gaps. If the NT cannot handle both gaps while dealing with the center and one guard, the D probably cannot stop the inside run. At his best, Nix was a dominating force at NT 2012. When he could not handle Alabama's center and guards, ND was in big trouble. But more on that later.
A simpler numbering system will make the discussion of the other DL a bit simpler.
Simpler Techniques: (Again, make a card. C below the 0, Gs between the 2 and 3, Ts between the 4 and 5, TE between the 6 and 7. Actually, making a card might really help most readers to remember the techniques.)
5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
LT LG C RG RT TE
The designation for the NT remains unchanged. But the designations for the rest of the DL are simplified probably because they virtually never are aligned head up on an OL. They are aligned in a gap, on the outside shoulder of one OL or the inside shoulder of the other.
A guy like Day might line up in the 3 technique or the 4 technique but never the 2. If he slides out to the 5, BVG has probably changed his whole front. In 3 technique, he should make it impossible for the LG to help the C with the NT. In 4 technique, he can mess with both the LT and LG. In either case, he is surrounded by giants and must be a stud or very strong and quick, like Day.
It is impossible to talk defensive formations and player responsibilities without using these terms. It takes a little practice. I have kept a little card with the techniques on it so that I can quickly identify the technique(s) I want to think or talk about.
Next we will talk about the 5-2 and 4-3 formations, which if nothing else will help clear up the question, Is Jaylon Smith an inside or outside linebacker. Help, but not resolve until we get to the 4-3.
This post was edited on 4/5 12:15 PM by 65too
This post was edited on 4/5 12:23 PM by 65too
I anticipate an interesting discussion. And I hope members feel free to ask questions. Also questions are much more useful to the discussion than name calling or other kinds of dissing without input.
I am just going to start. I am not going to write all of the drafts at the get go, so I cannot know exactly how this series will develop. But I expect to have these three topics:
A. Essential nomenclature or terms.
1. Gaps
2. 2 Techniques
B. Formations
1. 5-2
2. 3-4
3. 4-3
Gaps
Coaches must be able to tell players in simple and clear terms how and where to line up. Gaps are the spaces between offensive linemen. Running backs run through them and defensive linemen have responsibilities to defend them. That is interesting to me. The battle is between the DL and the OL, but the goal of the DL is to dominate an OL to defend a gap. In some defenses, LBs have gap responsibility, and blitzes are designed to go through different gaps. So gaps are a big deal.
Gaps are identified by letters: A, B, C, D. They are listed from the inside out. So you start with the Center. The gaps on either side of the center, left and right, are A gaps. Once you see that, it is simple and clear.
(C) LT (B) LG (A) C (A) RG (B) RT (C) TE (D)
You only have a D gap if there is an attached TE. So often there is only one D gap, but if the O lines up with two attached TEs, there are two D gaps that must be defended.
As we will see, different defenses, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3 have very different approaches to gap responsibilities. But before we can even talk about those differences, we must become familiar with how defensive linemen, and sometimes linebackers, line up. These assignments are called "techniques". And as will become immediately apparent, techniques are a bit more complicated than gaps.
Techniques
Techniques refer to how defensive linemen line up relative to offensive linemen. There are 18 techniques in Bear Bryant's classic scheme, so obviously DL do not man each one. Where they do lineup represents huge decisions by the DC and the kinds of body and skills the player must bring to his assignment.
Bear Bryant's "Techniques": (Damn! Cannot get the format here to accept mine. You can make a card and draw it up. Put the C (center) right below the 0. Then work out. The two guards are right below the 2s, the tackles are right below the 4s, and the TE is below the 6.)
5 4 4i 3 2 2i 1 0 1 2i 2 3 4i 4 5 7 6 9
LT LG C RG RT TE
A Nose Tackle, by definition, lines up over the center, either head up on him (head to head, dead in front of him) which is 0 technique, or shaded to one shoulder or the other, both 1 technique. But in either case, NT's almost always have two gap responsibilities, both A gaps. If the NT cannot handle both gaps while dealing with the center and one guard, the D probably cannot stop the inside run. At his best, Nix was a dominating force at NT 2012. When he could not handle Alabama's center and guards, ND was in big trouble. But more on that later.
A simpler numbering system will make the discussion of the other DL a bit simpler.
Simpler Techniques: (Again, make a card. C below the 0, Gs between the 2 and 3, Ts between the 4 and 5, TE between the 6 and 7. Actually, making a card might really help most readers to remember the techniques.)
5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
LT LG C RG RT TE
The designation for the NT remains unchanged. But the designations for the rest of the DL are simplified probably because they virtually never are aligned head up on an OL. They are aligned in a gap, on the outside shoulder of one OL or the inside shoulder of the other.
A guy like Day might line up in the 3 technique or the 4 technique but never the 2. If he slides out to the 5, BVG has probably changed his whole front. In 3 technique, he should make it impossible for the LG to help the C with the NT. In 4 technique, he can mess with both the LT and LG. In either case, he is surrounded by giants and must be a stud or very strong and quick, like Day.
It is impossible to talk defensive formations and player responsibilities without using these terms. It takes a little practice. I have kept a little card with the techniques on it so that I can quickly identify the technique(s) I want to think or talk about.
Next we will talk about the 5-2 and 4-3 formations, which if nothing else will help clear up the question, Is Jaylon Smith an inside or outside linebacker. Help, but not resolve until we get to the 4-3.
This post was edited on 4/5 12:15 PM by 65too
This post was edited on 4/5 12:23 PM by 65too
