DEFENSIVE LINE “It takes a thick neck to wear a crown!” -Howie Long, Oakland Raiders DL Defensive Line Key Terms • STACK/HUDDLE RESPONSIBILITIES • DIAGNOSTICS/DESTRUCTION OF BLOCKS – BASE/DRIVE • ALIGNMENT/NUMBERING SYSTEM – REACH/SCOOP • GAPS – LETTER SYSTEM – PULL • STEMMING – DOWN • STANCES – DBL TEAM – “G” SCHEME (DOWN AROUND) – PLUG – CHOP – JET – HITBACK (DOWN,DOWN, PULL) – SLANT – HIGH HAT – GOAL-LINE (60) • PASS RUSH TECHNIQUES (JET) • GET-OFF – PASS RUSH MOVES • SPEED RUSH • HARD COUNT/QUICK COUNT • DENT/RIP ST • SLAP/RIP • PLUG-1 STEP • SLAP/SWIM • DBL SLAP • TWO-WAY GO • HAND PLACEMENT – COUNTER MOVES • TACKLING • SPIN • CLUB OR HUMP • TURNOVERS • RIP TO RE-RIP • RIP TO SWIM – FUMBLE RECOVERY – – INTERCEPTION TACKLE SET LINE – RAKE/STRIP – CONTAIN – PASS RUSH LANES • HOW TO PLAY: – OPTION • MISC. – DRAW – 4-MIN DEFENSE/2-MINUTE DEFENSE – SCREEN – SUBSTITUTIONS – BOOT – READING OL STANCES – REVERSE Defensive Line We flip-flop our defensive line. • Anchor End (AE) – Must be able to play Run/Pass. #1 All-around best DE. • Slant Tackle (ST) – Playmaker on the DL. Starts with his ability to make plays. Must Defeat DBL teams. • Nose Guard (NG) – Occupy Center. Can use different body types. • Angle Tackle (AT) – High motor. Lighter of the two DE’s. Best pass rush guy. D-LINE TECHNIQUES Head-up Alignment Outside Shade Alignment Inside Shade Alignment GAPS Our Defense is a “Gap-controlled” defense. Each defender is responsible for a gap. The front defenders (DL/LB) will protect their gap if the ball is run directly at them. They will also have responsibilities on action away from them. Defensive Fronts We can set up our front 3 different ways • Set front to TE/Away • Set front to Field/ Boundary • Set front To or Away from Formation Strength. • Strength Call = Cat Right (RT)/Cat Left (LT) DEFENSIVE HUDDLE (STACK) N Vs. “No-Huddle”: We will not T “stack” before every play. Cat will make a predetermined Cat T M Call and all defenders will have a wristband. A B C BL RESPONSIBILITIES (PRE-SNAP) MIKE: Make Def Huddle call. SC CAT: Make Strength call. SAFETY: Make coverage call for strong-side. QC BEAR: Make Down/Distance call in stack. BLOOD: Make coverage call for quick-side. NOSE: Set the Stack. FS EVERYONE ELSE: Get Communication and line-up as called. CAT RIGHT T N T A BL B M C CAT LEFT A T N T BL C M B Blood = Walk-up on TE and Jam LONGHORN T N T A M B C Longhorn: Front call that allows the front BL strength to change without flipping the entire front. AE plays a 5 tech, ST plays a shade or 2I, NG plays a 3 tech, and AT plays a 7 tech. UNBALANCED BL T N T A M B C UNBALANCED: Front defenders shift 1-man to the strength. • A defensive lineman must utilize a good stance. A good stance is vital for good line play. An incorrect stance may increase errors. • 4 Tyles of DL Stances st nd – Plug (1 & 2 Down – Run situations) • Base stance for D-linemen. • Strong and Powerful. • Nose, Slant and Angle will line up in a slight tilt to their pressure key. Anchor will line up square. • Feet: wider than armpits, inside foot slightly staggered. Short and powerful steps (6” steps). • Hands: Inside hand=on the ground, outside hand = ready to strike. On the snap, strike the OL’s chest w/ both hands. • Eyes: Up and on target (OL’s chest). – Jet (Pass Situations) • Sprinter Stance (keep weight on the up-foot) • Body is elongated. st • 1 step should be longer in order to beat the OL thru the DL’s gap. • All weight should be forward • Go Up-field! (THE GATES HAVE OPENED!!!!!!) – Slant (30 Defense/Blitzing) • Stance should be balanced. Weight should be on the inner part of the feet (big toes) st • Feet should be square, no stagger. One the snap, do not cross feet. 1 step should be 45 degrees, clearing the OL. • Hands: Once ball is snapped DL should use Slap-Rip technique to get to their gap. • Once slanted into the designated gap, do not go too far up-field, breakdown and find the ball. • If slanting across an OL, the DL may want to back-up a yard to make sure they are not cut-off. – Goal-line (60 Defense/Short Yardage) • 4 point stance. • Feet: slightly wider than shoulder width. • Keep pads low and on the snap have weight going forward. • We must get low and PENETRATE the OL! D-LINE TECHNIQUE: PRE-SNAP • GET-OFF: Another component of good defensive line play is the ability to react on movement, or “get-off” on the ball or any movement of the offense. A good get-off takes away any advantage an OL may have of knowing the snap count. The sooner we get-off and strike the OL, the better chance we have of defeating their blocks. This skills is a trained stimulus response that can be improved upon (see “Get off Drill”). D-linemen go on MOVEMENT, not sound. • HARD COUNT/QUICK COUNT: An offense will try to utilize a hard count in situations to cause the defense to jump off-sides. This usually occurs in a short yardage situation. The offense can also use a quick count to catch the defense off guard. The DL will utilize a “D.JO” call. D.JO stands for DON’T JUMP OFF- SIDES. This call will make the DL aware of a quick/hard count and if it is a short yardage situation. D-LINE TECHNIQUE: FOOTWORK/HANDS • FOOTWORK (PLUG): In addition to a great stance and excellent get-off, a good 1st step is paramount for good defensive line technique. Out of the PLUG stance, the 1st step will ALWAYS be the same, regardless of blocking scheme. The step should be short and powerful (6”). The step should replace the downed hand. DL will read the OL’s block on the 2nd step. The foot that is staggered back and the hand that is down must work in harmony. Same hand, same foot. • FOOTWORK (JET): The 1st step from the JET stance should be very long. Get up-field with the 1st step, it is designed to “close the gap” between DL and OL, thus creating speed during pass rush technique. • HAND PLACEMENT: Proper hand placement will help DL react to blocks and control the blocker. After the “get-off” and 1st step, the DL’s aiming point is the OL’s chest plate. Hands should strike the chest plate with the thumbs up and in close proximity of each other, and elbows tight to the body. When striking the OL, “lock out” the elbows to create separation between the DL and OL. Do not expose the chest to the OL. If the OL does get their hands inside ours, we must replace our hands to gain the dominant position (see “Hand Drills”). Proper use of hands allows the DL to defeat blocks with various techniques: push-pull, shed, grab, and pull-press, etc. DEFENSIVE LINE TERMS • READING STANCES: OL may not be good at disguising if they are going to run or pass. If a OL has a lot of weight forward (rabbit) they will probably be run blocking. If an OL has their weight back, or light (bird), they are probably going to pass block or pull. By reading stances, the DL might be able to tip off what the offense is doing. • CONTAIN: On pass plays, the DE’s are responsible for containing the QB as well as the ball carrier on runs. Contain is not allowing the ball carrier outside of the defender. The DE must cut the field off to the ball carrier and force him inside where there is more defensive help. Losing contain will allow the ball carrier to have more room to run freely and less defenders to contend with. When rushing the QB, DL should aim for the QB’s up-field shoulder. If the DE loses contain on the QB, the QB will be forced to step inside the pocket (where there is defensive help) instead of escaping outside. • PASS RUSH LANES: DL must maintain proper pass rush lanes when rushing the passer. Interior DL (Nose/Slant) must not be on the same side of the ball, or DE’s to crash inside and lose contain on a straight rush. These errors create running and throwing lanes for the offense. DE’s must squeeze from outside-in, keeping contain. Interior DL must collapse the pocket while not opening up inside running and passing lanes. NEVER GO DEEPER THAN THE BALL!!!! DEFENSIVE LINE TERMS • 4-MINUTE DEFENSE: Refers to crunch time near the end of a game. The defense is losing and must make a stop to get the ball back to our offense. The defense MUST hustle, get off piles after plays, force turnovers, deny 1st downs, and make plays in order to get off the field! • 2-MINUTE DEFENSE: In the final two minutes of a game, a trailing offense may try to use Up-tempo/no-huddle in order to move the ball down the field and score quickly. It is crucial for the defense to know this situation. (Does the offense need a FG to win? Touchdown? How will a score effect the game? ) In a 2-minute situation, the defense must get lined-up and ready for anything the offense might do. Big plays are important: sacks, pressures, and turnovers. Tackle players in bounds and keep the clock running. • SUBSTITUTIONS: Our defense plays multiple fronts and like to rotate many players to keep them fresh.