By Mickey Mays
Researcher
X&O Labs

This report focuses on developing the shaded nose guard. Every four-down front plays with a shade nose, and he’s usually the anchor of the defensive line. One aspect of our research that we’ve found interesting is 39.5 percent of four-down front coaches play exclusively with a shade nose and a three-technique. They don’t cross train them. This tells us that these positions are specific, and they have to master different techniques. We also found that they are built in different ways physically. While we often visualize a shade nose guard as a massive defensive lineman always eating up two blockers, the reality is this may not be necessary: our latest survey showed that 39% of defensive line coaches prefer their NG to be 5’10 or shorter and one-third of the coaches would rather play with a quicker, smaller type (under 210 lbs.).

The fact is, of the six primary run blocks a shade nose guard must defeat only two are combo blocks. In reality, great nose guards come in all shapes and sizes, but two qualities all coaches agree a great nose guard must possess are not debatable: Being Physical and Mental Toughness.

For the purpose of this report, the six primary blocks and schemes a shaded nose must defeat are below. They will all be clarified later in this report.

• Reach Block by the Center
• O-Scheme
• Double Team
• Power Scoop
• Loose Scoop
• Joker Scheme

Case 1: Stance, Alignment and Key
Our nose guard survey responses included coaches on the college, junior college, high school, junior high school and youth league levels. The majority of coaches teach an inside hand down, inside foot staggered stance with a foot to crotch alignment (41.8%). The most frequent visual key being taught is the “V” of the neck, which 56 percent of coaches emphasize. The most effective way to coach each of these three areas is still to be highly debated and sometimes depends upon the individual player. Three outstanding and successful defensive line coaches, one high school, one FCS level college coach, and one professional defensive line coach gives us three different ways to coach stance, alignment and visual key.

The University of Delaware defensive line coach Phil Petite teaches all of his front to align 15 inches off the ball with their inside hand down and inside foot back. “Because we play against so many offenses that use zone blocking schemes, our first step was up field. But we were always getting our shoulders turned and playing behind the block. Now aligning off the ball allows us to play downhill with force. The first step is still a 6-inch step and the second step depends on the blocking scheme.” Petite does give his kids a “jet” call in long yardage which tightens them up so they can get off the ball and get to the quarterback.

Even though only 6.5 percent of our coaches teach their players to use a tilted shade technique, it still is prevalent in some levels of football. Former New York Jets defensive line coach Kerry Locklin, who spent eight years at Fresno State, gives his nose guards the freedom of playing a true, shoulder-squared shade or a tilt-shade. “Playing a tilt is different and you have to work at it because his visual key is now the back-side guard,” says Locklin. “At Fresno State, we worked the nose guards vs. a center and two guards pre-practice for fifteen minutes a day. He has to rep it and develop a feel for each blocking scheme but still attack the center with each block. His tilt is about 45 degrees with his inside hand down and inside foot back. Horizontal alignment may be a little different for each guy, the best alignment for him.”

While only 14 percent of defensive line coaches surveyed teach a footwork visual key, Tom Beason, defensive coordinator at Wichita Northwest High School in Kansas, would coach it no other way. “We play exclusively outside shades and key the outside foot. We got this from the University of Kansas a few years ago, and I love it. The offensive lineman can give us one of only three things:

1. If his outside foot is at me or outside me, I attack the block with outside leverage.
2. If his outside foot stays still, I know now he is releasing inside, so I have to attack his outside half, close down hard and move with my gap.
3. If his outside foot is back, I rush the passer.

“Giving them only three things makes it a lot easier to teach and the players understand it. Plus, keying the outside foot keeps them lower on the snap.”

Case 2: Defeating a Reach Block and O-Scheme
The reach block by the center and the O-pull are paired together because these are the two primary run blocks the shade will get from the center only. Block recognition between these two is critical and with repetition the shade will be able to react to either without hesitation. While only 16% of coaches teach the shade to attack and rip up field vs. a reach block, over 40% teach an “attack the center mentality” by controlling the front side A gap and crossing face vs. a cutback into the back-side A gap.

By Mickey Mays
Researcher
X&O Labs

The 3-technique’s B gap alignment puts him in position to make more plays than any other defensive lineman. The absence of bootleg and reverse responsibilities allows him to play faster than a defensive end versus the run, and his outside alignment over the guard often puts him in one-on-one pass rush situations. One of the biggest challenges a 3-technique faces is the number of blocks and schemes he must learn to recognize and defeat. Ronnie Eaves, defensive coordinator at North Hall High School (Gainesville, GA) agrees. “Without a doubt, he has to be football smart,” said Eaves. “And a first year player cannot play the 3-teachnique. There are just too many things going on around him.”

Our intent with this report is to show you all the run-block possibilities a 3-technique will see during the course of the game, and more importantly how to defeat them.

If you’re wondering how vital a solid 3-technnique is to defending the run game, consider the following statistics we pulled from a recent survey: 64.7 percent of coaches surveyed put their strongest and most athletic defensive lineman at the 3-technique position.

In order to develop the pro-typical 3-technique, 74.8 percent feel the ideal size for the position is between 6 feet to 6’2 and weigh between 201-225 pounds. That kind of size is needed to defend the strong side blocking combinations in the run game such as double team blocks and drive blocks. These blocking scenarios are the ones we will discuss in the report.

For starters, a 3-technique’s B gap alignment puts him in position to make more plays than any other defensive lineman. When compiling the notes for this report, we assumed that a common discussion among coaches would be whether to align him in the B-gap and jet him up the field on the snap or to align him in a true outside shade with emphasis on keeping the offensive guard off the linebackers. Although, only 11% of coaches teach B gap penetration pre-snap, we found it does have merit when protecting against reach schemes, which was one of the more common concerns among those surveyed.

According to Omaha Nighthawks (UFL) coach Pete Kuharchek, the main factor in this decision is the ability of the individual player. “If I had a really athletic and talented 3-technique I would align his inside foot on the outside foot of the guard and just tell him to penetrate the B-gap,” said Kuharchek. “His athletic ability will keep him from getting reached by the guard or cut off by the offensive tackle, and he can be a disruptive force in the backfield and a playmaker. His wider alignment and gap charge give him a better chance to destroy the angles vs. a double team. The lesser the athlete, the heavier he has to play on the guard – a better alignment to protect linebackers.”

For the purpose of this report, we will address the following nine blocking schemes a 3-technique will encounter in the run game. Each will be explained in detail:

Primary Blocks and Schemes:

1. Reach Block: Guard gets hat to outside shoulder (single block)
2. Fan or Turnout: Guard attempting to widen 3-technique outside and down the L.O.S.
3. Double-Team: Drive block by guard + down block by offensive tackle
4. Power Scoop: Drive block by guard + cutoff block by offensive tackle
5. Loose Scoop: 45 and up by guard + cutoff block by offensive tackle
6. O-Scheme: Inside pull by guard + back block by center
7. G-Scheme: Outside pull by guard + down block by offensive tackle
8. T-Fold: Turnout by guard + inside pull by offensive tackle
9. Veer Release: Tight inside release by guard + release by offensive tackle

According to our research, the chance of a player becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities must be a factor in personnel decisions. A fundamental goal should be teaching him how to defeat all blocks and schemes while taking the thought process out of the equation. The only way to get this done is turning recognition into reflex through key drill repetition.

Eaves does this by continually drilling what he calls his “Read Progression Drills” so that a 3-technique doesn’t have to think, just react to what he sees. These drills should be done daily.

By Mickey Mays
Researcher
X&O Labs

The myth that football coaches can put their best big athlete at the open side end and “just let him go” is far from the truth. Though the open end may have more space and freedom to make plays, zone read option offenses, as well as one and two back counter and power schemes designed to attack the open side, force him to play assignment and technique within the defensive scheme. Also, his alignment, assignment, and technique may change depending upon whether he is aligned outside an A gap nose guard (B gap bubble side) or a B gap defensive tackle (3-technique).

For the sake of clarity within this report, we will refer to the shade side defensive end as a 5-techniqueand a 3-technique side end as a Ghost 7. Illustrations of two defensive fronts, an open side 5-technique in a “4-4” (or “4-2-5”) and a ghost-7 technique in a “4-3 Under” front are included.

Initial reads from offensive tackle:

Our survey responders placed a heavy interest in defending two open side runs: the Zone Read option and Counter O.T. While the Counter O.T. (also known as the 1980’s Redskins’ Counter Trey) has stood the test of time, defending the zone read has only recently become a priority in high school football. This report will place an emphasis on defending these two open side runs. Because a specific technique for a defensive end must fit within the total defensive scheme, we will include the other defender’s responsibilities within the diagrams used.

Case 1: (Part A) Open Side 5-Technique Stance and Alignment:
Our research found that the most frequently taught alignment (40% of coaches) is (1) foot to crotch or outside eye on the offensive tackle, 32% of coaches surveyed teach (2) an inside foot to outside foot (tip-5) alignment, and 25% prefer (3) a tilted stance, targeting the “V” of the offensive tackle’s neck.

“We align the open-side 5-technique a little wider and slightly tilted. He should never get reached because of alignment, and he is in position to shoot his hands and friction a veer release,” said Rex Norris, former college and NFL defensive line coach. A fourth option is widening the open end to at least one foot outside the offensive tackle. All four alignments have their advantages: a foot to crotch alignment better ensures keeping the offensive tackle off linebackers; a tip-5 alignment puts the defensive end in a better position to play a reach block and play a “chase” technique vs. flow away; a tilted stance gives the 5-technique a better angle to read the tackle/near back/far guard triangle and attack kick-out blocks; and finally, a wide 5-technique gives an athletic defender more freedom to be a play maker and mesh charge a quarterback vs. option. The question that must be answered, “How much of a collision do we need vs. an inside release by the offensive tackle?” is a major factor in this alignment decision.

(Part B) Open Side Ghost 7 Technique Stance and Alignment:
Because there is no B gap bubble to the 3-technique side, 38 % of defensive coaches teach an alignment of at least one foot outside the offensive tackle. However, a surprising statistic was revealed from our survey: We found that 34% of defensive coaches teach a tip 5-technique or tighter alignment to the open side, even with a 3-technique tackle aligned in his B gap.

A potential problem with a wide alignment, as explained by longtime Harnett Central High School (N.C.) defensive coordinator Bill Wyrick, is getting trapped. “The wider we align him, the better chance he has to run up the field and get kicked out.” Wyrick added, “Versus a down block by the offensive tackle, we teach him to read near back (for kick-out) to off-side guard. We will always play our open side end in a foot to crotch 5-technique, squeeze the tackle’s inside release and make sure we spill all kick-out blocks.”

Though a tight alignment may be a good starting point, an argument for playing a wider technique (one foot to one yard outside) may be supported by the following: first, a wider alignment gives him much better initial leverage for a contain rush vs. drop back pass, sprint-out or boot-leg. Secondly, the offensive tackle must block down on the 3-technique vs. any power or counter play run to the open end side, and a wider alignment puts him in a better position to read through the offensive tackle, near back, far guard triangle and still spill a kick-out block. It should also be noted that a tilted stance by a wider alignment (Ghost 7), which is taught by almost 25% of defensive coaches, will give the end a better angle to flatten, attack, and spill kick-out blocks.

By Mickey Mays
Researcher
X&O Labs

Ask any defensive coach and he’ll tell you that defending the C gap – the gap located between the play side tackle and tight end – is essential in stopping the run game. Conversely, the C gap is also where many offensive coordinators want to attack with their run game. Attacking the C gap is a sure-fire way for offensive coordinators to assess how strong your defense is up front. Its guts vs. glory. Can you handle the pressure that a tight end places on the defense by creating that extra C gap? Just for clarification purposes, this report focuses on a three-man surface, complete with a tight end. If you’re a pure spread guy, you may not have a legitimate tight end. If you’ve noticed, recent success from spread teams like Florida, Oregon and Boise State have all come because of the physicality that a tight end presents. So once he lines up next to the tackle, how can you protect it?

Our research found that almost 50% of defensive coaches play a variation of a 7-technique at least half the time within their defensive schemes. We’ve found that this number is significantly higher than it was over ten years ago. Many originators of the 4-3 front would employ a 9-technique defensive end who would play on the outside shoulder of the tight end. He would be responsible for the D gap, while a stacked outside linebacker would be responsible for the C gap. But some teams didn’t have the talent or the size to play the C gap with a second level player and started getting gashed by gap schemes like power and counter. It then became necessary to leverage that C gap with a down lineman on the line of scrimmage rather than a second level linebacker. It’s important that these defensive linemen convert recognition time into reaction time. This process requires a complete understanding of blocking schemes and a knowledge of how to physically defeat each block. It’s our intent in this report to provide information so defensive line coaches can either verify the stance, alignment and techniques they are currently teaching or discover a better way to coach a specific detail for a 7-technique. On a personal note, I learned a lot from working on this report and will make some adjustments to what I’m doing as Defensive Coordinator at Sequatchie County High School (TN).

For verbiage purposes, there are six blocks and schemes a 7-technique must learn to defeat. They are identified below and will be further explained in this report. It’s important to note the corresponding diagrams based on each blocking scheme. They will be referenced continuously during this report.

A drive or base block by the tight end (diagram 1).

A cutoff block by the tight end, where he will try to gain leverage in the C gap (diagram 2).

An over-block by the tight end and offensive tackle (diagram 3).

A “T-scheme” by the tight end and offensive tackle (diagram 4).

An arc release or fan by the tight end and offensive tackle (diagram 5).

An influence/kick-out by the tight end and a back or pulling offensive lineman (diagram 6).

Case 1: Stance, Alignment and Visual Key