The Heart of a Defense
Penn State Linebackers Coach Ron Vanderlinden has coached many All-Americans during his 30 years as a college coach. His new book, Football’s Eagle &…
Topic
Defense
128 articles
Getting Your Players Ready to Contribute Quickly
At the junior college level, we’re in a little bit of a different situation than four-year schools in that (1) we’re dealing exclusively with undercl…
Defending Double Moves
With spread teams continuing to become more prevalent in offensive football, the use of safeties and corners in defending the run and screen game has…
Off-Man Free Techniques
At IUP we use football as an educational tool to help teach young men to achieve lofty academic goals, unashamedly strive for victory, honor the univ…
Covering Trips By the Numbers
A number of years back, we found ourselves struggling with the increasing number of trips formations. Not only were they appearing more often but als…
Effective Pass Rush Concepts for Defensive Linemen
At Heidelberg University, one of our top defensive priorities is to stop the run. We believe that once you have forced an opponent into physical subm…
ATTACKING THE TRAP
This discussion will address one of the oldest and most basic offensive plays: the Trap (See Diagram 1). Every offensive scheme, including the spread…
Developing a Pursuit Driven Defense
It is the time of year again where everyone is looking for something to give them an edge going into next season. I don’t know how many times I have…
DEFENSIVE END READS IN A FORTY FRONT
Most of the defensive ends I have coached over the years have had one flaw - they all thought they were linebackers! This flaw is what made them good…
The Hidden NFL Debate
“I think there are two types of coaching philosophies. There are schemers and fundamentalists. Schemers don’t necessarily worry about some of the det…
MULTIPLE COVERAGES FROM A COVER 4 PACKAGE
At Parkview High School, we are a 4-3 defense with a multiple cover 4 package. The things we try and do well are to be gap sound, to be in the right…
Combo Coverages out of the 46 Defense
When discussing the 46 or Bear Defense, most coaches chalk up the defense with an 8 man front, utilizing blitzes and man coverages to: • stop the run…
Tackling Drills to Improve Techniques and Defensive Stats
Watching film of previous defensive struggles may be frustrating, but fixing some of those problems might not be as difficult as you think. Many time…
45 DEFENSE
I’ve always thought that a 4-3 defense is one of the most adaptable defenses ever created. The one flaw to it, as I see it, is the positioning of the…
Disguise in the 3-5 Defense
Today’s offenses are becoming more sophisticated with every passing year. The old cliché of three yards and a cloud of dust is almost becoming non-ex…
Nickel Package for the Odd Stack Defense
Most quarterbacks are taught to identify 1 or 2 high safeties to try and get a pre-snap read on the defense’s coverage. There are other factors as we…
Minot State’s Fundamental Defense
To be successful coaching defense a staff must always look for new ways to teach technique and get better at what they believe in. Our philosophy, te…
Adjusting the High School 4-3 Defense Around Personnel Limitations
Most coaches who run the 4-3 defense have an “ideal” make-up of players that they would like to field against their opponents. Myself, I prefer two b…