Communicating Defensive Fronts

Having a way to clearly and precisely communicate to everyone (players and coaches) within your team's organization is vital to the team’s success. A communication system from team to team can and will vary, but it is important to have a system to make sure everyone is on the same page when it counts the most. The communication system within your program needs to cover everything that can be communicated on a day to day basis. From day 1, the communication system needs to be introduces and variances within the system should not be allowed. Variances within the team's communication can lead to someone never knowing what is being communicated. This in return could hurt the team if you are trying to communicate in the heat of the battle. It is important that the communication system is covered for both players and coaches. You can't assume that they know or you will find out that they don't know when it counts the most.


Defensive Front Techniques

It is critical for an offensive staff and offensive players to be able to communicate where exactly a defender is lining up in the defensive front. If there isn't an exact terminology for the defensive techniques, then there is going to be problems communicating within your system. There are many ways to go about assigning the techniques however this is the way I think is easiest for the offense to remember.

Starting from the Center out:

0 Tech - Plays head-up on the Center
1 Tech - Plays on either shoulder of the Center
A Gap Tech - Plays in the gap between the Center and Guard
2i Tech - Plays on the inside shoulder of the Guard
2 Tech - Plays head-up on the Guard
3 Tech - Plays on the outside shoulder of the Guard
B Gap Tech - Plays in the gap between the Guard and Tackle
4i Tech - Plays on the inside shoulder of the Tackle
4 Tech - Plays head-up on the Tackle
5 Tech - Plays on the outside shoulder of the Tackle
C Gap Tech - Plays in the gap between the Tackle and Tight-end
6i Tech - Plays on the inside shoulder of the Tight-end
6 Tech - Plays head-up on the Tight-end
7 Tech - Plays on the outside shoulder of the Tight-end
D Gap Tech - Plays anywhere to the outside of the Tight-end

The same techniques can be used also to describe aligning off the line of scrimmage. The only difference is you add a "0" to the end of the technique. For Example, a linebacker aligned head up on the guard would be a "20 tech". A linebacker aligned to the inside shoulder of the tackle would be a "40i tech".

Five Basic Fronts

Most defensive fronts can be categories into 5 fronts. For this reason, it is a good idea to make sure that majority of your runs and pass protections are sound against all five. With the basic fronts, the exact techniques of the defenders doesn't matter that much. What matters the most is weather the center is covered and/or which guards or covered.

In an even front, both of the guards are covered by a defender and the center is left uncovered. The techniques of the defenders could be two 2 tech's, two 2i tech's, two 3 tech's, or 2i tech and a 3 tech. For simplistic reason's all of these fronts can be categorized as a even front. In an over and under front, one of the guards and the center is covered by a defender. In an over front the strong or tight side guard is covered and in a under front the weak or split side guard is covered. The techniques of the two defenders could be a 0 tech and a 2 tech or a 1 tech and a 3 tech. In a odd front, the center is covered by a defender and both of the guards are left uncovered. In a bear front, the center and both guards are covered by a defender.

Naming Fronts

When naming a front, I like to start with the personnel. The first number represents the number of defenders with their hand on the ground (defensive lineman) and the second number represents the number of defenders without a hand on the ground (linebackers). For example, a defensive front numbered 43 has 4 defensive lineman and 3 linebackers. Some of the most common defensive personnel grouping are 43, 34, 33 (or 35), 52 and 42. In addition, I also like to add the type of front (Even, Odd, Under, Over, or Bear) the defense is in. Only including the personnel of the defense doesn't give you a clear picture of what the defensive front is. For example, a defense with 34 personnel and easily align in a Odd, Over, Under, Even, or Bear front. The last thing that can be added to the front is a tag that describes adjustments to the base front. Some of the most commonly used tags are Stack, Tuff, Tight, and Wide. Stack refers to the linebackers being stacked behind the defensive lineman. Tuff refers to the tight-end and tackle being covered. Tight and wide refers to the alignment and of the defensive lineman. 43 Over Wide would mean that the defensive linemen are aligning closer to gap techniques instead of shades. Tight would mean the defensive linemen are aligning closer to a head-up technique instead of a shade. With these 3 things (personnel, front, tags) you can get a very clear picture of how the defense is trying to align.

Conclusion

As stated before, each program can and will have a different communication system. It is important to make sure everyone is on the same page. I have introduced what I believe is the easiest and clearest way to communicate a defensive front. If you have any questions feel free to comment on the post and I will try to answer them as quickly as possible.