by Thomas Knepper

Created on: October 25, 2008   Last Updated: October 28, 2008

Offense wins games, defense wins championships. Although this is a cliched statement, it holds true. A good defense can not only stop a high powered offense, but get turnovers, which change the game in an instant, and, at times, score. There are many different formations and player sets you can use for a defense, but here we will go over the basics needed for any defense.

Whether playing in high school, or earlier, there are a few things you can, and should apply, regardless. To have an effective defense you must understand the offense you are facing. Most teams at this age are predominantly running teams. Since this is almost universally true (except for teams with an advanced quarterback) you need to be prepared to stop the run. To stop the run you need eight people in the "box." The "box" is the area immediately around and including the line of scrimmage. It is everyone in the immediate area around the ball, and it excludes the receivers and defensive backs.

In order to get eight people in the box you should run a 4-4 defense. This means you have four down lineman, four linebackers, one safety, and two corners. Your lineman should be the largest people on your defense. The linebackers should be big, but able to move quickly and react on a dime. Your safety should be fast but able to come up and hit hard. The corners can be small, but need to be quick since they will be one on one with the receivers most of the time.

Now that you have the basic set up you need to know some basic coverage schemes. You, as coach, will need to assess the situation based on skill level, but there is a few packages that are universal. The most basic coverage scheme from this formation is a cover three. This is where the outside linebackers drift out to the flats, the middle linebackers split the middle of the field (five to ten yards off the line of scrimmage), and the corners and safety drop to about fifteen yards and split the field in thirds. It is a zone defense called cover three, in which each player has their own area of protection and they stay there no matter what. The lineman of course rush the quarterback on this play. It is a base defensive call and should be the play most of the time, since the linebackers can all step up to stop the run if they see it.

From this defense you can call run stopping blitzes. The two most basic blitzes would be an outside linebacker blitz and a middle linebacker blitz. As coach you determine which one would work better, that is part of the game. The outside linebacker blitz would be where your two outside linebackers come in from outside the tackles, and would be used if you think the offense is going to run a sweep or a run to the outside. A middle linebacker blitz is where the middle linebackers blitz right up the middle of the line, on opposite sides of the center, and would be used if you think the offense is going to run a dive or a run in the middle.

With just these three plays you can begin to build a very effective defense. Set this up and you should be ready to stop the run (which is what most teams do at young ages). Good luck, and remember, defense is the best offense.

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