Defensive Football Basics

Defensive Positions 4-3 PERSONNEL N = Nose T = Tackle E = Defensive End E = Defensive End M = Mike (Middle) LB S = Sam (Strongside) LB W = Will (Weakside) LB SS = Strong Safety FS = Free Safety BC = Boundary B oundary Corner FC = Field Corner

3-4 PERSONNEL N = Nose E = Defensive End E = Defensive End B = Buck LB M = Mike (Middle) LB S = Sam (Strongside) LB W = Will (Weakside) LB SS = Strong Safety FS = Free Safety BC = Boundary Corner FC = Field Corner

NICKEL PERSONNEL Teams send either a Defensive Lineman or a Linebacker off the field and substitute in a 5 th Defensive Back called the Nickel Back.

Gaps D WR

C B A TE

T

G

A B C C

G

T

D

TE WR

QB

Defensive Line Techniques 9’ 6’ TE

5’ 4’ 4i 3’ 2’ 1’ S 0’ S 1’ 2’ 3’ 4i 4’ 5’ T

G

C

G

T

6’ TE

QB

**LB techniques/alignments techniques/alignments are the same as D-Line except you add a zero (0) to the end of the number. i.e. 00’, 10’, 20’, 30’, and 40’

9’

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