ArmyCowboy
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With props to Hostile for this concept of a thread.
This is probably the best guide to NFL defense that I have ever read.
The Ultimate Guide to NFL Defense
Posted 5/29 by Jene Bramel, Exclusive for Footballguys.com
It's said that defense wins championships. But it's offense that drives television ratings and merchandise sales. Television broadcasts focus on the path of the football rather than showing an entire play unfold. More often than not, it's the quarterback and his skill position players that attract the attention of most football fans. Football phrases like "seven step drop" and "pulling guard" and "West Coast offense" are easily recognizable terms for even the most casual of football fans. Meanwhile, the unrecognized beauty of the 11 man defense of professional football, the ultimate team sport in many respects, remains the ugly stepsister to its offensive counterpart.
But it shouldn't be.
Defensive football is every bit as exciting and interesting as offensive football. Some of the greatest (and most eccentric) minds to walk an NFL sideline got their start as defensive innovators. Greasy Neale, Tom Landry, Bum Phillips, Buddy Ryan, Bill Parcells, George Allen, Don Shula, Tony Dungy, Bill Belichick, Dick LeBeau, among many, many others cut their teeth as defensive coaches.
If you've ever been confused about the real differences between a 4-3 and 3-4 front, wondered what a three-technique tackle was, wondered why the 46 defense has become a rarely used historical relic or just want to learn a little more about defensive football, read on. While we'll liberally sprinkle some IDP applications in sidebars throughout, the primary focus of the guide will be to bring some love for defensive football to all fans of the game.
This won't be a dry, Wikipedia-like entry. We'll have some discussion of technical concepts and playbook diagrams when needed, but use the words and stories of the true characters of the game to bring the art of defensive football alive.
We could start our journey in any number of places, but we'll begin with a story about Warren Sapp.
The Worst Year of Warren Sapp's Life
Warren Sapp was in the prime of his career in 2004. He was a seven time Pro Bowler and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2000. He was the anchor of a perennial top five defense playing defensive tackle in Tampa Bay. From 1995-2003, he averaged nearly 50 solo tackles and 8.5 sacks per 16 games - extraordinary numbers for an interior defensive lineman.
Before the 2004 season, Sapp signed with Oakland, where he moved to defensive end in the Raiders' new 3-4 defense. The result: 2.5 sacks during a season that Sapp called "the hardest of my life." Those numbers can't be dismissed as age related. Sapp rebounded with another double-digit sack season in 2006 after moving back into a more familiar defensive tackle role. What made Sapp so successful in Tampa Bay but hate life during his first season in Oakland?
We'll let David Carr deliver the punchline.
After one of the rare occasions that Sapp got close enough to sniff Carr (or any quarterback in 2004) and began sniping at the young quarterback's ability to read defenses, Carr apparently snapped back, "You need to be a 3-technique." Translation: "I'm not scared of you as a defensive end." Carr, who will never be mistaken for Brett Favre, voiced what Sapp already knew. Even the subtlest difference in alignment and responsibility can make a huge difference in a player's production. Sapp's new role was significantly different. His Pro Bowl numbers (and ability to effectively intimidate) were paying a heavy price.
But exactly why did Sapp's numbers take such a nosedive in his new role? What's a "3-technique" anyway? What so hard about life as a 3-4 defensive end? To answer those questions, we need to take a quick detour and have a short technical discussion of defensive line alignments and techniques.
For the rest of this article.
This is probably the best guide to NFL defense that I have ever read.
The Ultimate Guide to NFL Defense
Posted 5/29 by Jene Bramel, Exclusive for Footballguys.com
It's said that defense wins championships. But it's offense that drives television ratings and merchandise sales. Television broadcasts focus on the path of the football rather than showing an entire play unfold. More often than not, it's the quarterback and his skill position players that attract the attention of most football fans. Football phrases like "seven step drop" and "pulling guard" and "West Coast offense" are easily recognizable terms for even the most casual of football fans. Meanwhile, the unrecognized beauty of the 11 man defense of professional football, the ultimate team sport in many respects, remains the ugly stepsister to its offensive counterpart.
But it shouldn't be.
Defensive football is every bit as exciting and interesting as offensive football. Some of the greatest (and most eccentric) minds to walk an NFL sideline got their start as defensive innovators. Greasy Neale, Tom Landry, Bum Phillips, Buddy Ryan, Bill Parcells, George Allen, Don Shula, Tony Dungy, Bill Belichick, Dick LeBeau, among many, many others cut their teeth as defensive coaches.
If you've ever been confused about the real differences between a 4-3 and 3-4 front, wondered what a three-technique tackle was, wondered why the 46 defense has become a rarely used historical relic or just want to learn a little more about defensive football, read on. While we'll liberally sprinkle some IDP applications in sidebars throughout, the primary focus of the guide will be to bring some love for defensive football to all fans of the game.
This won't be a dry, Wikipedia-like entry. We'll have some discussion of technical concepts and playbook diagrams when needed, but use the words and stories of the true characters of the game to bring the art of defensive football alive.
We could start our journey in any number of places, but we'll begin with a story about Warren Sapp.
The Worst Year of Warren Sapp's Life
Warren Sapp was in the prime of his career in 2004. He was a seven time Pro Bowler and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2000. He was the anchor of a perennial top five defense playing defensive tackle in Tampa Bay. From 1995-2003, he averaged nearly 50 solo tackles and 8.5 sacks per 16 games - extraordinary numbers for an interior defensive lineman.
Before the 2004 season, Sapp signed with Oakland, where he moved to defensive end in the Raiders' new 3-4 defense. The result: 2.5 sacks during a season that Sapp called "the hardest of my life." Those numbers can't be dismissed as age related. Sapp rebounded with another double-digit sack season in 2006 after moving back into a more familiar defensive tackle role. What made Sapp so successful in Tampa Bay but hate life during his first season in Oakland?
We'll let David Carr deliver the punchline.
After one of the rare occasions that Sapp got close enough to sniff Carr (or any quarterback in 2004) and began sniping at the young quarterback's ability to read defenses, Carr apparently snapped back, "You need to be a 3-technique." Translation: "I'm not scared of you as a defensive end." Carr, who will never be mistaken for Brett Favre, voiced what Sapp already knew. Even the subtlest difference in alignment and responsibility can make a huge difference in a player's production. Sapp's new role was significantly different. His Pro Bowl numbers (and ability to effectively intimidate) were paying a heavy price.
But exactly why did Sapp's numbers take such a nosedive in his new role? What's a "3-technique" anyway? What so hard about life as a 3-4 defensive end? To answer those questions, we need to take a quick detour and have a short technical discussion of defensive line alignments and techniques.
For the rest of this article.
