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A defensive player may line up anywhere on his side of the line of scrimmage and perform any legal action. Over time, however, defensive roles have become defined into three main sets of players that encompass several individual positions. Defensive formations are often known by a numerical code indicating the number of players at each position.
38 refers to the positions of the defensive players on the line of scrimmage. Two "3" techniques (DT, lined up outside of the guards) and two "8" techniques (DE, lined up outside of end man on line of scrimmage). The DT's are the only down lineman. Two standup players (Monster and Rover) are in "5" techniques.
The three basic defensive positions are: Defensive lineman (DL): Linemen play at the line of scrimmage, directly across from the offensive line. They are categorized as defensive tackles (DT) or defensive ends (DE). The 4-3 defense has 2 tackles and 2 ends; the 3-4 defense has 2 ends and 1 tackle, who is sometimes called a nose tackle (NT) to ...
Most of the time, defensive linemen attack the offensive line, but in some plays, they drop back into pass coverage to confuse the opposing team. Defensive nose guard: The nose guard ("NG"), also known as a nose tackle ("NT"), lines up across from the center. Nose guards are among the biggest players on the field and primarily work to push back ...
The middle or inside linebacker (MLB or ILB), sometimes called the "Mike" or "Mac", [15] is often referred to as the "quarterback of the defense". [16] Often it is the middle linebacker who receives the defensive play calls from the sideline and relays that play to the rest of the team, and in the NFL he is usually the defensive player with the electronic sideline communicator.
The Cover 2 formation, which deploys four defensive backs in a "two-deep zone", is popular among NFL defensive coordinators because it uses two safeties to defend the deep routes instead of one. The safeties line up on or near their respective hashmarks between 11 and 15 yards off the line of scrimmage, while the cornerbacks line up around five ...
Defensive tackle Pat Williams (in blue) with the Minnesota Vikings in 2009. A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the largest and ...
The 3–4 defense was originally devised by Bud Wilkinson at the University of Oklahoma in the 1940s as the 5–2 Oklahoma defense. The first NFL team to regularly employ the 3–4 was the 1974 New England Patriots under Chuck Fairbanks, who employed the 5–2 for all but one of his six seasons (1967–72) as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners ...