Welcome back , let’s cover the defence
So you’ve read the introduction and the offensive piece and you can’t get enough? Well you’ve come back at the right time , today we discuss the nfl defence and
• how to tell who’s who
• what position does what
• defensive scoring
• turnovers
(Cannot cover defensive formations as there are just so many)
First let’s explain a defence
Traditionally (obviously subject to change on different situations) you will have a front 7 (who attack the quarterback) and a secondary (who line up deep and try to break up passes or pick the ball themselves)
Positions
Safeties (strong and free)
Beginning with the free safety
Traditionally a smaller guy who is great at coverage and great at defending the pass , free safeties tend to have high pass deflections and interception numbers. They traditionally will line up in the secondary and will be the deepest player , free safeties numbers range from the 20s-30s normally
Strong safeties are usually a bigger more powerful guy almost like a linebacker , they lineup slightly higher than a free safety and mostly do the same thing with one main difference , these guys are known to hit the hardest in football. They are usually high on forced fumble numbers and pass breakups , key thing about these guys is sometimes they can lineup on the front 7 and play in the middle of the field with a strong linebacker. They range from 20s-30s in the numbers normally.
Cornerbacks
Corners are a staple in the nfl defence , they are like your safeties but instead of covering one area the corners usually cover one guy . Corners lineup opposite a Wide Receiver to get the best chance at “holding” them. Corners can range from 5’8-6’+ and they will always have a purpose. Corners tend to range from the single digits to the 30s in the numbers. Corners tend to also have high interception and pass breakup numbers.
Inside linebackers
Part of the front 7 a middle / inside linebacker is a very important player in an nfl defence. They can play deep and cover the middle of the field or they can rush the quarterback and try to bring him down. Linebackers tend to have high sack or fumble recoveries numbers and tend to wear the 40s-50s in in the numbers . Also a middle linebacker is one of the strongest players on the defence.
Outside linebacker
Much like a middle linebacker they can play pass coverage but they tend to lean more towards the blitz aspect of things and try to bring down the quarterback . Outside linebackers are very similar to middle linebackers however they are traditionally bigger but slower and this leads to them leaning more towards blitzing the quarterback. OLBs tend to have high sack numbers and wear numbers ranging from 50-60
Defensive tackle / end
Both primarily do the same thing but there’s a slight difference
A defensive tackles primary aim is to clear a path to the quarterback for the linebackers to get through to bring him down however a defensive tackle can also feel the need to bring himself at the quarterback , usually the biggest guy on a team they have one job , tackle everything, they are also very good at stopping the run when it comes up the middle. DTs traditionally wear 50-60 or 80-90s.
Defensive ends are almost the same but they cover the run more but also they play on the edge whilst a tackle plays through the middle , DEs are known to bring great pressure on the QB whilst also collapsing the offensive line around him. Ends traditionally wear 70-90s and are some of the strongest and quickest guys on the team. DEs also are noted to have high sack numbers.
Defensive scoring and what is a turnover
Turnovers are in the name , when the defence turns the ball over from the opposition to their own offence. There are 2 types , a fumble (when the ball pops out of a players hands and it is scooped by the defence) or a pick/interception (when a defensive player catches a quarterbacks pass).
Defensive scores amass from this with a pick 6 (ab interception taken all the way to the endzone for 6points) or a scoop and score (a fumble scooped up and taken to the endzone for 6). There is one other way a defence can score though , a sack for safety, now you might be wondering what a sack is ,I’ll get there in a moment. A safety is when the quarterback is sacked in his own endzone for 2 points and a punt ensues after.
A sack is very simple , a defensive player drops the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.
Thank you for reading and I hope you will be back to read the final instalment in understanding American football before the Super Bowl
An introduction
The offence
No comments:
Post a Comment