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Football is an exciting game for men and women alike. My husband and I can't wait for the spring training to start. We keep up with everything our favorite team is doing and watch every game.

To really enjoy the game however, there are a few fundamentals you must know. The defense is the part of the team who defends the goal. They keep the other team from scoring and are very important to a team winning the game. There are a few basic defensive plays that help them accomplish these goals.

1. Nickel Defense Designed to stop the pass. The line up will have 2 defensive ends on each end of the scrimmage line, and sandwiched in between are 2 Defensive tackles. Behind them are 2 linebackers and the nickel back and 2 cornerbacks are in the backfield to cover the wide receivers on the offense when they are in a 3 receivers set. [1]
2. Dime Defense this is also set up to stop the pass. Here is the basic line up for this defense. Keep in mind that the line up is dependent on the type of pass the defense is trying to block. In this scenario, the defense will line up with four lineman at the scrimmage line and one line backer behind the front line with 2 corner backs, 1 dime back and 1 nickel back in the back field. [1]
3. Blitz Where the defense sends more players than the offense can block to rush the quarter back and involves one or more defensive backs or linemen are sent across the line of scrimmage. [1]
4. Eight in a box Where one extra player is brought to the line of scrimmage to cover the run and for deep coverage situations.
5. Prevent geared toward stopping an extremely long pass mostly used in 3rd and long situations and exchanges speed for strength. Usually gives up yardage but will most likely prevent a score. [1]
6. 3 /4 Scheme 3 down linemen and 4 down linebackers on the line with 2 cornerbacks on each side of the field to cover wide receivers and there are 2 safeties and their position depends on the pass they are covering. This is a fundamental philosophy that a team will adopt. [2]
7. 4/3 Scheme Involves 4 down lineman and 3 linebackers in the front, behind the line there are 2 corner backs to cover wide receivers and 2 safeties whose position depends on the pass coverage this is also a fundamental philosophy. A team will either be a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. [2]

There are odiously many other schemes defensive teams use to combat the offense but these are the most commonly used and talked about. If you have an understanding of these terms, you will be able to follow the defensive game with great prowess.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A merican_football_strategy

[2] http://football.about.com/cs/a /defformations.htm

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