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Sometimes called the "inside linebacker" (especially in a 3–4 defense), and known colloquially as the "Mike" linebacker, the middle linebacker is often known as the "quarterback of the defense", as they are frequently the primary defensive play callers and must react to a wide variety of situations.
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.
This is the base defense of some teams. It consists of three defensive linemen, four linebackers, and four defensive backs (two safeties, two corners). The advantage is that while 4 players still usually rush the line, the quarterback can be less sure of which of the 4 linebackers will join the 3 linemen.
The defensive line works with the linebackers to try to control the line of scrimmage. The 4-3 defense, most commonly used in the NFL, employs two defensive tackles (and a defensive line of four men, with three linebackers behind them), while the 3-4 defense uses just a single defensive tackle, called the nose tackle (and a defensive line of ...
A defensive formation with seven defensive linemen, two linebackers and two defensive backs. It is akin to an offensive two tight end set, or a goal line defense. It was invented by Amos Alonzo Stagg in 1890 and used as the base defense by Knute Rockne at Notre Dame and Mike Donahue at Auburn. n-possession game
The box is defined as an area on the defensive side of the ball, within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage and framed by the offensive tackles. This area is commonly occupied by defensive linemen and linebackers. The secondary can refer to the defensive backs as a group, or to the area behind the linebackers usually occupied by defensive backs ...
A drawback of the 3–4 is that without a fourth lineman to take on the offensive blockers and close the running lanes, both the defensive linemen and the linebackers can be overwhelmed by blocking schemes in the running game. To be effective, 3–4 linebackers need their defensive line to routinely tie up a minimum of four (preferably all five ...
Besides the standard set of defensive backs, teams may also remove a defensive lineman or a linebacker and replace them with an additional defensive back. The fifth defensive back is commonly called the nickelback (so named because a five-cent coin in the U.S. and Canada is called a nickel).