By Coach Martin | Football Defense
There are certain plays in football that can turn an entire game around in an instant — and one example of this is the Pick 6.
A Pick 6 is one of the most exciting plays in football.
It occurs on a passing play, and is something that the defense accomplishes.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
In this defensive scheme, the field will be split in half, with one half of the defense running Cover 2 and the other half running Cover 4.
This provides a wrinkle to zone coverage schemes that can keep offenses off balance and guessing, while at the same time playing to the strengths of the defense based on where the ball is on the field.
It’s a little more complicated to teach and install, as we’ll soon see.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
The Cover 5 defense is a hybrid between a man-to-man and a zone coverage scheme.
Unlike some of the other “Cover” defenses, the number 5 in this instance doesn’t refer to the number of defenders covering deep.
Instead, it refers to the number of defenders who will play man-to-man against a specific receiver.
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By Coach Martin | Football Drills
Defensive line is a very demanding position.
Not only must players have good speed, footwork, and strength, they also must take on shed blocks from big offensive linemen.
They also face constant contact from a variety of players that come from all angles, as they look to break free and get to a ball carrier or a quarterback.
So, here are 5 defensive line drills to help players pick up the skills that they need to play the position.
These drills will go a long way in teaching your defensive linemen the basics to consistently shed blocks and record more tackles and sacks.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
Most defensive coaches are familiar with the two most popular base defenses – the 3-4 and the 4-3.
But for coaches looking for something a little different to optimize to a specific group of players or looking to keep offenses off-balance, a 3-5-3 defense might be a great option.
The 3-5-3 defensive alignment isn’t a formation that you see every day in football.
That’s mainly because it employs five linebackers on the field at all times, and requires the two Hybrid linebackers, as they’re called, to be very versatile – solid against the pass and the run.
Because of this fact, though, most offenses don’t know how to handle the 3-5-3 formation.
In this article, you’ll read about the basics of the 3-5-3 defense, its strengths and weaknesses, and a 3-step guide on how it’s run.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
Defensive line seems like one of the more straightforward positions on a football team.
They start the play at the line of scrimmage, and their job is to get into the backfield to disrupt the offense — in whatever way they can.
That’s their primary job.
But while their duties seem simple enough, how they’re successful in doing so is a little more complicated.
After all, they must constantly take on blocks with offensive linemen who have big bodies.
Defensive linemen have several techniques that they can use to combat the blocks from offensive linemen and still get into the backfield.
In this article, you’ll read about the different defensive line techniques, what types of players play each technique, and the 7 moves every defensive lineman should know.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
The prevent defense can be run by any team no matter what their base defensive formation looks like.
However, it should only be run in certain game situations in which the defensive team has a big lead late in the game.
If the prevent defense is run in the wrong game situation, it could result in doing nothing but preventing that team from closing out a win.
Let’s take a closer look at how the prevent defense is run and when it should be run.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
The 4-4 defense is one of the more popular defensive alignments among youth football teams.
That is because this defensive formation allows players at each and every level of the field to learn valuable experience at their position.
And possibly also learn techniques for their future experience, if they end up changing positions based on their developing size and skills.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
The Tampa 2 defense is a formation that is named appropriately for a specific team’s approach to defense.
Much like the “46 Defense” was named after the stout defense of the 1985 Chicago Bears, the Tampa 2 defense was named after the defense that the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers ran in the late 1990s.
Tampa head coach Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin created what is now known as the Tampa 2 defense as a way to modify the traditional Cover 2 defense for the West Coast Offense.
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By Coach Martin | Football Defense
In obvious running situations for the offense – when the down and distance is third-and-one let’s say – defenses often adjust by going to what’s called a “big” or “stack” formation. This brings extra bodies near the line of scrimmage to stop the run. One of the most popular defensive formations to do this out of is […]
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