Standard defenses

The standard defenses is a set of basic formations used by coaches for ages. There are seven groupings.

The most popular are 3-4 and 4-3. These digits show the number of linemen and linebackers correspondingly. Their variations are popular in the professional leagues. College and high school teams use 4-3 defense rarely as their coaches consider it weak against runs. The 3-4 defense is actual in short-pass situations.

4-4 is the rarest and strongest defense in football with blitz potential. It includes four linemen and four linebackers. This defense’s most common name is a stack defense. But a huge variety of sources call it 3-3-5 defense. This happens because the coaches use 5 defensive ends to stop the offense. Two cornerbacks is the standard as in case of 4-3. It requires big and quick players to get the maximum potential from it.

The defenses with five defenders are effective against running or tight offenses. There are two variations – 5-2 with linebackers and a safety, and 5-3 where extra LB replaces the free safety spot. Both defenses need some shifts for success. The short-yardage plays often require six linemen to stop the run. Goal-line defense aims to avoid touchdown. Its successful and the most desirable result is the interception and return yardage for the defensive team.