Comments on: How to Run a Football Defense: 5-3

on 10/9/2008 I Line my NT head up on the center and my left or right tackles on the outside shoulders of the guards pushing them in so my outside linebackers can blitz through the b gap depending on what outside linebacker is blitzing very effictive if d-linemen do their job and you have a fast and aggresive olb. the olb's line up just outside the ends so the offence dosent see the blitz comming then jump on set. so far its worked pretty good for my jr.midget pop warner football team

on 9/24/2007 Wats the best defensive front to use against a double tight double wing offense

on 9/24/2007 whats the most effective way to defend a double tight double wing Iso back no huddle offense.California Coach

on 12/23/2006 In one of my blitz packages.(swirl)I will blitz my outside linebackers on the outside of my tackles and drop my ends causing confusion. On a youth level the offensive tackle will think to block my ends leaving open a gap to the backfields on both sides.

on 8/8/2006 Gap protection:
We call our 5-3 differently. Inside-out the NT lines up head up on the center but slashes to the strong side A gap. The DTs line up in the B gap and accept a G/T double team, which keeps linemen off the LBs. Should the DTs break the double team it's icing on the cake, but the main responsibility is to hold their ground and keep blocks off our second level. The DEs line up on the TE outside shoulder containing the D gap.

The Middle linebacker lines up behind the nose 3-4 yds off and protects the weakside A gap opposite the NT. The OLBs line up 3-4 yds off the ball between the DE and DT and protect the C gap between the DEs and DTs. With this gap protection we effectively keep every gap protected and blockers off our speedy, hard hitting linebackers.

Pass protection:
We run a cover 3 pass protection out of the 5-3. The corners and safety each have a deep third of the field. The OLBs cover their respective flats from the DE to the sideline and 10 yards up field and the MLB covers the middle between the ends and 10 yards up.

When we call a 5-3 "Buzz" our OLBs shoot the Dgap with an outside-in technique and the DEs pull off into the flat. This applies inside pressure when running stacked TE formation, confusing pass blocking schemes and the quarterback. Both coverage options generate 5 man pressure on the quarterback and cover the deep thirds, flats and middle of the field.

on 6/30/2006 Use this formation in short yardage and goal-line situations. Line the nose on the center, the 2 tackles head up on the guards, the weak end on the outside shoulder of the tackle, strong end head up on the TE. The two middle backers should align stacked behind the tackles 3 yards, and bring the SS up 5 yards behind the nose. The 3 tackles are to chop out the guards and center, blitz either or both the middle backers and leave the SS to cover the field. This eliminates any pulling action from the guards on sweeps or wide traps. This works especially well against double tight and power backfields.

on 3/10/2006 If the other team is doing a long pass, like a Hail Mary, the outside linebacker is going to cover the TE and your MLB will double cover the wide receiver with the corner on the left side. I did this last week and I got an interception.

on 6/11/2007 Against trips I run a zone blitz where the strong side DE drops to the flats and the weak side LB blitzes. Since most middle school age QB's don't feel backside pressure that well, it has been very effective for me in the past.

on 12/13/2005 We line our T-N-T head up on the center and tackles, then right before the ball is snapped we stem to the TE or strong side. The tackle to the strong side moves to a 5 tech. and plays C-gap. The nose moves to the inside eye of the strong guard and plays A-gap. The tackle on the weak side moves to a 3-tech. on the outside shoulder of the weak guard and plays B-gap. Our middle linebacker will call Rip or Liz To give our D-line the direction to stem. This makes it difficult for the O-Line to make adjustments in their blocking.

on 11/22/2005 We tilt the noseguard, so it takes both the center and guard have to block him, on the tilt side we put the tackle on the outside shoulder of his offensive tackle, making the OT open up his outside shoulder to block the DT. Then we run our middle linebacker or safety through the opening that the D-line had created on the tilt side. The offside tacke must shade the OT to the inside shoulder, so the Offensive guard can't get out to the linebackers.

on 11/22/2005 We have decided that the defensive end to the TE should be in a 7-tech (or inside eye of the TE) and the Sam (or SS in the 5-2) will play 4 yards from the LOS head up on the TE. It creates more difficulty for blocking schemes and we don't have two defenders securing the D-Gap. This is our base alignment. Then we will utilize a stacked box; the lineman will align in a traditional 5-2 look, with the DE on the split side on a ghost. The linebackers will stack behind the T-N-T. We will bring many blitzes from this formation and will utilize some 3-5-3 principles. Also, we will utilize a bear front - we will eagle down our tackles, play our DE to the Te in a 7-tech, and walk the Sam to a 9-tech (or outside eye of the TE) we are implementing this this fall.

on 11/22/2005 Two way against the spread, 1 back is to have the safety take one and 1 linebacker take the other on the other side, so you can have 2 linebackers left. That leaves the middle open. Or, use a drop end and 1 linebacker, or if you want - move both linebackers out and leave 1 linebacker inside. If they go in motion to one side, play man on signal side and zone on 3 receiver side with safety over the top.

on 11/22/2005 Tilt your nose guard so that his backside is covering the strong side guard. We do this against a team that runs off-tackle to the strong side. Tilting the nose guard keeps the center and the play side guard off of your linebackers.

on 11/22/2005 I saw last night (ran the 5-3 for the first time) how important it is to ensure that the MLB knows what gap to shoot on blitzes. Mine went the wrong way, and it resulted in a long run by the other team. Thank goodness there was a flag on the play. The next play he went to the correct gap and had a tackle for a 5 yard loss.

This defense does a nice job stretching out the sweep. I was pretty impressed.

on 11/22/2005 If more than one receiver splits out then have your outside linebacker man up on him forcing the cornor on that side to man up. The safety will have the third man out. Move both lb's behind tackles stopping the Iso block.