Football Glossary

The 4-3 defense is one of the most popular defenses in the NFL and across football at all levels. Brought to the NFL by Cowboys great Tom Landry originally with the New York Giants as their defensive coordinator, the defense was modernized by Jimmy Johnson at the University of Miami and his modernized version was brought to the NFL, ironically when he replaced Landry with the Dallas Cowboys. The defense again went through a renaissance in the early 2000’s when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began running the “Tampa 2” coverage winning a Super Bowl in 2003.  So in this article...

Any football team in the country has tendencies. Whether it be situational, personnel, formations, or motions, there are always tendencies that the opposition can key in on. The most successful teams are able to understand what their tendencies are, perceive what the opposition’s answer to that tendency is, then attack that adjustment. One of the simplest examples of doing this is by running the Draw play.  “Oh, you thought we were going to throw the ball? Let’s hand it off instead.” What is the Draw Play? The Draw play is a run play where the offense tries to make it...

The 3-4 Defense has stretched across pro and college football. Between two coaches running the 3-4, 9 College football national championships have been won using a version of this defense since 2005. In the NFL, 7 Super Bowls have been won in that time frame from the same coaching tree. That's 16 major championships from 3 coaches, all coming from the same 3-4 coaching tree. Belichick, Saban, and Smart all use a version of the 3-4 to do their business, and business has been good!  So what exactly is the 3-4 defense, and how does it work? Well, let's find out....

With the modern spread, RPOs and popularization of Air Raid concepts most think that the back end of defense has become more multiple to combat these popular concepts. And although that may be true with many defenses going to “match coverage” and more “middle of the field open” coverages, there is one consequence of this most people overlook, run fits.  With dozens of different approaches to fit all the different runs, its vital for coaches to be able to communicate to one another what they do to be successful. This is where “coach speak” is important and can lead to...

Midline Option is a concept that has been persistent in its relevance, even as the traditional option offenses continue to fade. Programs like Oregon and Coastal Carolina have used variations of this option concept in their respective systems. They’ve modernized it to fit the modern nuances that play-callers have introduced, but the principles remain the same. With all that being said, there is nothing like going against an under-center attack with a bruising Fullback and a dynamic Quarterback running through the heart of a defense. What is the Midline Option? Midline Option is an option play where the Quarterback reads...