Denny M. Burdine - Coaching Defensive Football Successfully: Vol. 1Philosophy and Fronts

Defense begins with the basics. How you call alignments, gaps of assignment, huddle procedures, and personnel is the foundation of your package.

Gaps of assignment are used to assign areas of responsibility. Gaps of assignment tell the defenders the area that they are responsible for once the ball is snapped. After the defender secures his gap of responsibility, he is then free to pursue the ball using the best possible angle of pursuit. Also, the clear and cloudy rule comes into play. If the defenders gap of responsibility is cloudy, meaning that blockers or defenders have clogged up the gap, he may pursue through the next clear gap in the angle of pursuit. Gaps are landmarked by using letters as shown in Figures 1-1 and 1-2.

Figure 1-1. Gaps of responsibility

Figure 1-2. Areas of responsibility

Alignment techniques are number locations labeled on offensive linemen that tell the defensive personnel where to align. The alignment techniques for alignments on the line of scrimmage are as shown in Figures 1-3 and 1-4. For all alignments off the line of scrimmage, a zero is added. For example, a linebacker aligned on the inside eye of the tight end and five yards off the ball would be called a 70 technique.

Figure 1-3. Numbering techniques

Figure 1-4. Alignment techniques

The following personnel are used in this defensive package as shown in Figure 1-5:

Blood is the strongside end, and he aligns to the declared side.

Tackle is the strongside tackle, and he aligns to the declared side.

Nose is the weakside tackle, and he aligns away from the declared side.

End is the weakside end, and he aligns away from the declared side.

Sam is the strong outside linebacker, and he aligns to the declared side.

Mike is the middle linebacker, and he aligns to the declared side.

Will is the weakside linebacker, and he aligns away from the declared side.

Field corner aligns to the wide side of the field.

Boundary corner aligns to the boundary.

Strong safety is the strongside safety, and he aligns to the declared side.

Rover is the weakside safety, and he aligns away from the declared side.

Figure 1-5. Defensive personnel

Defensive success begins with a good, tight, and well-organized huddle. The nose sets the huddle three yards off the ball. Mike, Sam, and Will are the only defenders not facing the offense. The huddle is under the control of Mike, and the defenders listen for his instructions as they read his lips for the defensive calls. Will is responsible for giving the down and distance. Sam gives any movement calls. The strong safety calls the pass coverage. (See Figure 1-6.)

Mike calls the front and stunts two times (e.g., Stack-OH Wham 32. Stack-OH Wham 32). The strong safety then calls the coverage one time and yells Ready Swarm! (e.g., Cover 2-Ready Swarm!). Everyone claps his hands and yells Swarm! They then move into their pre-shift alignment as shown in Figure 1-7.

Figure 1-6. Defensive huddle

Figure 1-7. Pre-shift alignment

Mike declares the front either to the right, by calling Rip! Rip! or to the left by calling Liz! Liz! The strong safety declares the secondary by calling Strong right! or Strong left! Mike and the strong safety use the following rules to declare the defense:

If there is only one tight end, they declare to the tight end side.

If there are two tight ends, they declare to the tight end-flanker side.

If there is no tight end, they declare to the multiple receiver side.

If the offense is balanced, they declare to the field or to that weeks scouting report.

If field is called, they declare to the wide side of the field.