Post by voslos on Feb 6, 2007 3:48:23 GMT -6
Below is a Homer Smith article I took from another great website. It talks about categorizing defenses. I would like to hear how others of you teach these especially in regards to oline and blocking rules.
Homer Smith on naming and Identifying Defenses
One of my favorite articles. This is not to say that all names for defenses are bad, but they are often misleading.
A story I like to tell other coaches when thinking about defenses is to ask them if they have ever taken an art class. If you take an art class you work on "drawing what is actually there," rather than what you think you see. For example, the instructor puts a bicycle and some fruit down. Commonly, what people do to draw this is they look up and see a bicycle, then they look down and scribble away on their papers, hardly looking up. Then they see an apple, and they look down and draw an apple, with the little leaves coming out the top and the stem, rounded, etc. However, what they didn't do is draw the apple that was actually there, or the bicycle that was actually there. The bicycle happened to be laying in an awkward angle, or the front wheel was actually missing half its spokes, or one side of the apple had rotted and gone soft, but they weren't looking for all the details, they just knew they had to draw an apple.
This is commonly the problem when scouting or looking at defenses. "Oh, they were in cover 2" and everyone immediately brings to mind their conception of cover 2. Or, "they are in a 5-2 front" so everyone brings up specific responses, etc. Needless to say even simple things like that the DTs are playing a 4 or a 3 technique, or the safeties are playing the outside routes much harder than the inside routes, etc.
Structurally, Homer Smith goes over some better ways to name and recognize what the defense is doing.
Conventional names for defensive alignments—like Eagle G and Four Across—do not tell you what your plays will face. Certainly, computer analysis will not if it is done after inputting conventional names.
What a given play will face is: (1) either a balanced or an unbalanced alignment, relative to your formation; (2) one defender who can keep himself free of pass routes, fakes, and blocks—an unoccupied defender, the counterpart of the offender who has the ball; (3) a degree of compression of defenders over your frontal blockers, which affects blocking angles; and (4) a reaction to the initial action of the play, which will determine where that unoccupied defender is relative to the ball.
This article is about these four features of defenses.
Balance or Unbalance
Picture your formation. If you have one RB and he is behind the QB, a balanced defense will have either one or three defenders either on or very near the centerline. If you have two RBs behind, a balanced defense will have two or none; if no RBs, the same.
With a blink, after picturing that the defense must have either (a) three or one or (b) two or none, you can verify balance or detect unbalance. In the blink, if the defense is unbalanced, you can weigh the two sides and distinguish between heavy and light.
Do defenses unbalance? Yes. From a hashmark, they will sometimes count the sideline as one-half of a man and go heavy to the field. Also, against unusual formations, they will make mistakes. You need to have plays that can be called at the LOS to get you to light sides.
As a side note, the difference between even (no nose) and odd (nose) is still a very helpful rule of thumb that I use quite a bit (though must be augmented by a more complete understanding). I do not teach a lot of audibles, but nearly every run play we go to the line of scrimmage with we expect the QB to identify the strength and weakness and either "flip it" or "stay in it." We probably would flip 40% of our runs.
The Unoccupied Defender
Best formation? Worst? It depends on where the unoccupied defender is, not upon how many linebackers and linemen there are or on how the defense is identified.
The closer the unoccupied man is, the more important it is for (a) one offender to occupy two defenders, (b) blockers to reach toward a playside and the QB to fake toward the backside, or (c) the QB to be the ball—carrier.
The Degree of Compression
Compression is relative to the number of RBs. Look at six offensive linemen, against seven frontal defenders, with four different backfields.
Obviously, the one arrangement of frontal defenders is not one problem for all four formations. Rather, it is four problems for four different degrees of compression relative to the frontal blockers. Giving one name to one arrangement is what misleads.
It is best to identify defenses by the advantages and disadvantages that they present, especially in blocking angles, for the various plays. It is best not to identify them by pat names.
Out of the other, the fullback can block that defender and, additionally, he can be a threat to break off the block and catch a pass before the QB can be stopped.
Sometimes, spreading receivers are traded 1 for 1 with the defense. In another formation compressed receivers and tight ends may be able to make a block or be in an option relationship, and the backside defenders would not be able to make the play.
The Reaction to the Action
Taking the same defense, a 4-3 with Cover 4 behind it, vs a two tight end two WR formation, we see the difference in reactions. Versus a zone run to one side, the playside safety steps up to block. Versus a draw run with the tight ends releasing to block the safeties see the pass action and retreat back.
The defense, which would commonly have a name, is different problems for different types of backfield actions. It depends on the reaction.
Summary. Conventional names of defenses and computer analysis based on those names can keep you from focusing on what your plays are actually going to face.
You do not have to name defensive alignments. You can simply talk of what the plays will face.
How does it sound to talk that way? You say, for example you you are facing a zone-blocked belly play facing straightaway defenders, or versus gapped defenders, or versus compressed, where there is no way to gain a blocking advantage, even with a great QB fake.
You do not equate the three defenses by identifying, with a name.
Playing is the responsibility of players. Maneuvering for advantages is the responsibility of coaches. In talking about advantages, you do not want to be diverted by the way you name defenses.
Homer Smith on naming and Identifying Defenses
One of my favorite articles. This is not to say that all names for defenses are bad, but they are often misleading.
A story I like to tell other coaches when thinking about defenses is to ask them if they have ever taken an art class. If you take an art class you work on "drawing what is actually there," rather than what you think you see. For example, the instructor puts a bicycle and some fruit down. Commonly, what people do to draw this is they look up and see a bicycle, then they look down and scribble away on their papers, hardly looking up. Then they see an apple, and they look down and draw an apple, with the little leaves coming out the top and the stem, rounded, etc. However, what they didn't do is draw the apple that was actually there, or the bicycle that was actually there. The bicycle happened to be laying in an awkward angle, or the front wheel was actually missing half its spokes, or one side of the apple had rotted and gone soft, but they weren't looking for all the details, they just knew they had to draw an apple.
This is commonly the problem when scouting or looking at defenses. "Oh, they were in cover 2" and everyone immediately brings to mind their conception of cover 2. Or, "they are in a 5-2 front" so everyone brings up specific responses, etc. Needless to say even simple things like that the DTs are playing a 4 or a 3 technique, or the safeties are playing the outside routes much harder than the inside routes, etc.
Structurally, Homer Smith goes over some better ways to name and recognize what the defense is doing.
Conventional names for defensive alignments—like Eagle G and Four Across—do not tell you what your plays will face. Certainly, computer analysis will not if it is done after inputting conventional names.
What a given play will face is: (1) either a balanced or an unbalanced alignment, relative to your formation; (2) one defender who can keep himself free of pass routes, fakes, and blocks—an unoccupied defender, the counterpart of the offender who has the ball; (3) a degree of compression of defenders over your frontal blockers, which affects blocking angles; and (4) a reaction to the initial action of the play, which will determine where that unoccupied defender is relative to the ball.
This article is about these four features of defenses.
Balance or Unbalance
Picture your formation. If you have one RB and he is behind the QB, a balanced defense will have either one or three defenders either on or very near the centerline. If you have two RBs behind, a balanced defense will have two or none; if no RBs, the same.
With a blink, after picturing that the defense must have either (a) three or one or (b) two or none, you can verify balance or detect unbalance. In the blink, if the defense is unbalanced, you can weigh the two sides and distinguish between heavy and light.
Do defenses unbalance? Yes. From a hashmark, they will sometimes count the sideline as one-half of a man and go heavy to the field. Also, against unusual formations, they will make mistakes. You need to have plays that can be called at the LOS to get you to light sides.
As a side note, the difference between even (no nose) and odd (nose) is still a very helpful rule of thumb that I use quite a bit (though must be augmented by a more complete understanding). I do not teach a lot of audibles, but nearly every run play we go to the line of scrimmage with we expect the QB to identify the strength and weakness and either "flip it" or "stay in it." We probably would flip 40% of our runs.
The Unoccupied Defender
Best formation? Worst? It depends on where the unoccupied defender is, not upon how many linebackers and linemen there are or on how the defense is identified.
The closer the unoccupied man is, the more important it is for (a) one offender to occupy two defenders, (b) blockers to reach toward a playside and the QB to fake toward the backside, or (c) the QB to be the ball—carrier.
The Degree of Compression
Compression is relative to the number of RBs. Look at six offensive linemen, against seven frontal defenders, with four different backfields.
Obviously, the one arrangement of frontal defenders is not one problem for all four formations. Rather, it is four problems for four different degrees of compression relative to the frontal blockers. Giving one name to one arrangement is what misleads.
It is best to identify defenses by the advantages and disadvantages that they present, especially in blocking angles, for the various plays. It is best not to identify them by pat names.
Out of the other, the fullback can block that defender and, additionally, he can be a threat to break off the block and catch a pass before the QB can be stopped.
Sometimes, spreading receivers are traded 1 for 1 with the defense. In another formation compressed receivers and tight ends may be able to make a block or be in an option relationship, and the backside defenders would not be able to make the play.
The Reaction to the Action
Taking the same defense, a 4-3 with Cover 4 behind it, vs a two tight end two WR formation, we see the difference in reactions. Versus a zone run to one side, the playside safety steps up to block. Versus a draw run with the tight ends releasing to block the safeties see the pass action and retreat back.
The defense, which would commonly have a name, is different problems for different types of backfield actions. It depends on the reaction.
Summary. Conventional names of defenses and computer analysis based on those names can keep you from focusing on what your plays are actually going to face.
You do not have to name defensive alignments. You can simply talk of what the plays will face.
How does it sound to talk that way? You say, for example you you are facing a zone-blocked belly play facing straightaway defenders, or versus gapped defenders, or versus compressed, where there is no way to gain a blocking advantage, even with a great QB fake.
You do not equate the three defenses by identifying, with a name.
Playing is the responsibility of players. Maneuvering for advantages is the responsibility of coaches. In talking about advantages, you do not want to be diverted by the way you name defenses.
Thing is, not many defense can truly do this.